If Toys "R" Us has their own bit of Ubisoft promotional discounts, then what's to say EBGames/Gamestop can't either? While we've reported yesterday of Red Steel getting some price shavings, it turns out that yet another game got the similar "super (down)size me" treatment. As things stand now, both Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Red Steel are available (for this week, at least) for US$ 29.99.

As Siliconera reports, the promo runs from March 2 - 8, so if you haven't gone spying with Sam Fisher, then now's your chance. If, all this time since the game was released, you've been thinking that it wasn't worth getting, then maybe with this offer, you might change your mind. On top of that, the 360-version of this game is getting a price cut too. However, instead of a 20-bucks cut, you'll only be able to save 10 from its original price, thus bringing the 360-version down to US$ 39.99. Hey, anything for a discount, ya?

For those not in the know, Playboy has been running a yearly nude (or sometimes semi-nude) portfolio of hot video game characters for three years now. According to Scott Alexander, Playboy's Senior Editor, this is their way of injecting the video game culture into the magazine (read: getting the geeky hardcore gamers into buying Playboys).

Now, this year's Playboy Women of Gaming photo spread features nude female characters from different games gracing the front of the Playboy Mansion. Included in the list of virtual hotness are the following characters:

• Sarah Morrison from Tabula Rasa
• Jessica McRae from Scarface: The World Is Yours
• Lida and Persephone from God of War II
  
• Alica Claus from Bullet Witch
  
• Dr. Jasmine Lin from TimeShift
  
• Enrica Villablanca from Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Wii, PC, Xbox360)
  

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but we don't have pictures of this year's photo spread. And the one pic we got (see image above) was cut out from the neck up, which, I really don't think we even have to explain to you why it was cut that way. Alexander explains further that good old Hef (Hugh Hefner, THE Playboy guru himself, for those who don't speak Playboy lingo) has always been a hardcore gamer. Hmmm...interesting. We've always known the man as a player, but as a gamer?

Apparently, Hefner even has a high-profile, real techy game room in the mansion which has everything from pinball machines down to the latest gaming whatnots (we wonder if he already has a PS3 and Wii in there?). Alexander says that combining video games and Playboy is the perfect move for the magazine because "the demographics for video games are a good match with the average Playboy reader..." and that "...tech is a huge part of men’s lives. The constituency of gaming and Playboy are almost exact."

So if you've got the hots for sizzling virtual babes (and you are of mature age, and it's not illegal in your state, and yada yada), you can check out Playboy's Women of Gaming photo spread and satiate those voyeuristic cravings of yours. A shame though, Samus didn't make it to this year's spread. Maybe next year?

Mister Fisher's got a gun, and he's out to prove he's Ubisoft's number one asset in the field. Well, that's what we'd like to think, but he's supposed to be Mr. Sneaky MacSneakypants more than Rambo.

What we have today for gamers everywhere is more of the interesting way you're supposed to use the Wiimote to play Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Besides being part of a tutorial, you also get a glimpse of what it means to have a partner, as you also get to control him and order him to help you out. That includes getting past obstacles that one player couldn't normally climb through, as well as learning how to socialize with your buddy, who'll probably be dead at the end of the level if cliches are anything to base gaming on.

While we've had some doubts about the feasibility of using the Wiimote for this game, it doesn't look all that bad to control it. Perhaps gamers will just need to get used to the controls of the game. They should probably allow an option for disabling motion sensing so we can use it as a normal controller, but that's just nitpicking. In any case, Enjoy the trailer, and keep away from the light.

Are you ready to rumble? Coming to Europe on December 8 is Nintendo's Wii, along with awesome launch titles, including Wii Sports and Wii Play. Soon, you'll be able to check out for yourself just how fine the Wiimote can be on The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (it won't matter anymore that Link's already a rightie), EA Sports' Need For Speed Carbon, and Ubisoft's Red Steel. But wait, let's not forget about Activision's war-action game Call of Duty 3 and Ubisoft's Rayman Raving Rabbids.

That's a lot, right? But we're just getting started. We have here for you the list of Wii launch titles for Europe. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled out for your favored games, and mark that day red on your calendar! This is as good as a treasure hunt could get. Enjoy!

Wii Europe Launch Titles (December 8)

• Wii Sports Bundle
  
• The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess
• Wii Play (including Wii Remote)
• Call of Duty 3 (Activision)
• Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Activision)
• Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (Activision)
• Madden NFL 07 (EA)
• Need For Speed Carbon (EA)
• Happy Feet (Midway Games)
• Rampage: Total Destruction (Midway Games)
• Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz (Sega)
• Gottlieb Pinball Classics (System 3)
• Super Fruit Fall (System 3)
• Disney/ Pixar Cars (THQ)
• Barnyard (THQ)
• Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (THQ)
• Blazing Angels Squadrons of WW II (Ubisoft)
• Far Cry Vengeance (Ubisoft)
• GT Pro Series (Ubisoft)
• Monster 4x4 World Circuit (Ubisoft)
• Open Season (Ubisoft)
• Rayman Raving Rabbids (Ubisoft)
• Red Steel (Ubisoft)
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft)

December Titles (but without specified dates)

• Impossible Mission (System 3)
• Leaderboard Golf (System 3)
• Tennis Masters (System 3)

While everyone is asking how the Wii remote will help Sam Fisher maintain his stealthy craft, the Wii version for Splinter Cell: Double Agent is still worth a second glance. The video below gives us a hands-on with the controls and gameplay, with the player going through the training levels.

Notice that white triangle hovering around the screen. While the Nunchuck is used to maneuver Fisher around the levels, this white triangle indicates where your Wiimote is pointing. This also helps you aim your firearms better. From what we can see, aiming in this FPS mode is made easier - you simply need to guide the Wiimote triangle to the center of the cross-hairs.

You may watch the rest of the video to see how to climb, select from your inventory, and other general stealth tips. We know how some of you have already gotten used to the controls of the previous Splinter Cell games, and since the Wiimote brings in a new dimension of the game, it won't be uncommon to feel a bit awkward with the controls at first. Given time, we're sure that playing as Sam Fisher on the Wii would prove if you're built to be a special ops agent.

Download: [Wiimote-Nunchuck hands-on vid for SC:DA]

  

Today we bring you five new screenshots of Ubisoft's much-awaited Wii version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent. And with the Wiimote and the nunchuk able to control Sam Fisher, as well as loads of spy gadgets, this should really be enough to make your hands itch in anticipation.

Now, don't think that this is a one-man mission kind of game. Because even if the plot of the story gives that impression, the actual gameplay does in fact provide a whole deal of leeway for you to interact and cooperate with other players through its multiplayer mode. The game is set to reveal itself on your Wii by November 19, so just hang in there a little bit more.

   

Pre-Order: [Splinter Cell Double Agent]

"One man's bread is one man's poison," as the saying goes, and while the Wiimote's control interface has been a huge attention-getter for shooting games like Red Steel, or hack 'n slash fighting games like Bleach, the Wiimote's having teething problems when used with Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent.

Chris Kohler over at Wired blogs just posted his outlooks on the Wii port for Splinter Cell, and from the looks of it, the game is beginning to look more and more like a rushed PS2 port of the game, with the controls redistributed on the Wiimote/Nunchuk setup.

The games looks very much like its PS2 incarnation with slightly better graphics, and sneaks you right into the gameplay, with the usual tutorial vids scattered throughout the game.

As for basic controls, The analog joystick (we're assuming the one on the Nunchuck) controls Mr. Fisher's movements, and the pointing with the Wiimote adjusts the camera angle. Moving Sam while the pointer's off-screen automatically re-centers the cam.

When Sam's got a weapon drawn, the Wiimote pointer aims it, much like in the other  FPS-style games we've seen for the Wii. Shaking the Nunchuk in an upward motion commands Sam to grab unto walls, shinny up pipes, and basically interact with his surroundings. The two trigger buttons are relegated to the Nunchuk's trigger, and the directional buttons are controlled by the arrow buttons on the Wiimote.

Sounds good so far, but Chris reported having serious problems with the setup - which he says felt like a redone PS2 setup - and a stage that would have taken just a few minutes for him to finish on the PS2 took him half an hour to do on the Wii.

One point less for Nintendo, which repeatedly claims that the Wiimote facilitates more intuitive gameplay. But given that this is just a demo version, we're not too sure if we can expect this from the launch version, and we're hoping that Ubisoft  has something extra in store as the players point their way through  game - like the usual lineup of gadgets, only built up to work  for the Wiimote.

Play it again, Sam.

Pre-Order: [Splinter Cell Double Agent]

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." We're not too sure if he was a Splinter Cell fan, but from the looks of it, he was.

AI developer SpirOps just announced that the enemy AI in Splinter Cell: Double Agent will be running on their latest-generation Artificial Intelligence programming.

The AI will be running on SpirOps' "Drive Oriented" technology, which allows the virtual character they're programmed into to independently learn from their surrounding environment and the player's behaviors to better their own battlefield survivability - much like how a real soldier adapts.

“Bots had to be a realistic alternative to human players. We needed an AI solution that could handle various human behaviors while letting us keep control over the game. SpirOps AI, thanks to its Drive Oriented layer approach, totally fit this need.” said Olivier Saillant, Lead Programmer for Ubisoft’s Annecy Studio.

The AI will be used in the game's multiplayer mode, and will be the first time that bots are to be placed in a Splinter Cell game. Axel Buendia, SpirOps CEO:“Artificial Intelligence is one of the major steps forward in next generation gaming and together, SpirOps AI and Ubisoft are bringing life to games.”

Somewhere out there, Hideo Kojima-san is probably reading this, and googling SpirOps' web site....

Ubisoft's going South the border this time around as they announce the opening of their new business today in Mexico City, Mexico. "Opening an office in Mexico is a strategic decision for Ubisoft," said said Olivier Ernst, Ubisoft's general manager of operations in Canada and Latin America.

"The Mexican market shows more stability than before and we believe it provides an amazing opportunity for growth in video games. We look forward to showing off a selection of our most highly anticipated titles for the Holiday 2006 season in Mexico City."

The new office opens up with a new core team that'll help improve Ubisoft's business relations and market shares in the area. It will be under the command of area manager Etienne-Charles Nobert, who in turn reports to señor Ernst.

In related news, Ubisoft has also announced their presence at the Electronic Games Show in Mexico City, Mexico, and will be presenting the following games at their booth:

• Red Steel (Wii)
  
• Rayman: Raving Rabbids (Wii)
  
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Wii)
• Open Season (PS2)
  
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Xbox 360)
  

The EGS will be opening this October 27 to 29 at the Mexico City World Trade Center, and with 30,000 visitors expected to arrive, it's said to be the largest game convention in Latin America.

In Ubisoft's Tom Clancy: Splinter Cell for the Xbox 360 (and coming soon for the Wii), the Fifth Freedom is a fictional right that entitles agents of the Third Echelon to do whatever is deemed necessary to protect the four cornerstones of American moral thought. Those four cornerstones, in case you're interested to know, are freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.

In the game, an operative can pretty much do anything including breaking laws and all other means to accomplish his mission and charge it to the Fifth Freedom. Under "all other means" you have assassination, torture, and kidnapping, to name a few.

Now, imagine the Fifth Freedom was packaged and made available to everyone for $59.99! That's what John Badsky's Fifth Freedom is all about. In this hilarious tacky infomercial spoof (click on the Read link below to see it), Badsky offers the Fifth Freedom for $59.99. But wait! There's more. Fifth Freedom comes with a free Double Agent Starter Pack, 24 hour mission support, and two bottles of Bleed Out blood stain remover.

We haven't seen a deal like this since the Pink Plastic Flamingo was offered on QVC.