Last year, Square Enix dropped a lot of jaws when it was announced that Final Fantasy XIII would also be coming to the Xbox 360. This year they're planning to make another big splash.

We're still waiting on OPM to finally reveal this mysteriously new Square Enix game, but before that happens, this bit of info looks to be a pre-cursor to that eventual announcement. Following news of a "Front Mission Evolved", we hear that another new trademark has been filed by the RPG giant - a trademark for a "Vanguard Storm". What could it be?

Remember the other week when a rumored mysterious screenshot supposedly hinted at a new Square Enix game? Well, we got that screenshot now! And true enough, the guy shown in the picture is most definitely not Sephiroth!

Square Enix sure has a lot on their plate right now - to now hear them come up with yet another new franchise is quite surprising. Nonetheless, it seems that that just might be the case if recent rumors from Japan are to be true. A screenshot has surfaced showing something completely new, something completely mysterious - yet something quite familiar too.

We can't open the week without some speculation, now can we? Today we hear of the latest batch of rumors from UK's OPM publication. Though this batch of rumors come from the Official PlayStation Magazine, they do touch on some cross-platform franchises. (EA, I'm looking at you!). PSP 2 rumor, check. Rumors of sequels, check. Rumors of spin-offs, check.

One of the most anticipated FPS titles this year is Haze (PS3, Xbox 360, PC), but Free Radical has more in store for fans of new and old. The latest IP is sure to attract a wider audience, but loyal followers of TimeSplitters also have something to be happy about. After OPM UK revealed that a new TimeSplitters is in the works, Free Radical's Rob Yescombe confirmed that they're working hard on the fourth installation in the series.

"In the past TimeSplitters has been very satirical at the expense of movies, this time it will be satirical at the expense of video games," Yescombe told Kotaku. What crazy ideas they're planning with this promise, we do not know.

The game is still in very early stages of development, so no confirmations on which platform it will come out yet. All Yescombe could say was they're "unsigned at the moment." As long as the monkeys and hilarious weapons are back, we're all good.

 

Rockstar Games' gruesome Manhunt series gets another addition, this time following the story of a Dr. Daniel Lamb and his bloody escapades through the help of one psychotic Leo Kasper, who is more than happy to teach Lamb the art of maiming and dismembering not-so-friendly people.

The Official Playstation Magazine was hearty enough to describe some of the kill feats you can pull on unsuspecting vic-err-guards, like thrusting a syringe to an enemy's eye to finish him off, or ripping off his testicles with a pair of pliers. Whoops, there goes Jack Thompson on his way to OPM right now...

No character from the first Manhunt, yes even James Earl Cash, will be making an appearance in Manhunt 2 coming for the Wii and the PSP. The story instead follows that of Dr. Daniel Lamb who works for The Project, a collective behind a top secret drugs-based weapons program. He soon finds himself inside a private asylum, where he soon breaks out from.

With Leo Kasper, Lamb dodges enemies and takes them down with style, in the old Hasty, Violent and Gruesome flavors. He can also use the environment to kill his adversaries, all the while using loud ambient sounds to drown out his victim's screams of agony. Players will have to follow a button combo closely while hidden in shadow to regulate breathing. If an enemy happens to come near, Lamb could get caught for his huffing and puffing.

He can also climb objects and crawl out of harm's way, and use guns to perform stealthy kills.

It has been reported that UK's Official PlayStation Magazine will be featuring a new development for 2K's Bioshock! game, previously announced to be a 360 exclusive. According to OPM's March 2007 issue, 2K Games recently announced that Bioshock's exclusivity was only an initial announcement, and that it may be heading for the other next-gen consoles. See the images below to see what we mean - specifically the one on the lower right:

 
  

For now, we invite everybody to keep this rumor watered down, as we don't have any confirmation on this snippet. Besides, with the previous cross-platform rumors that have been sprouting up, we don't want to get anybody's hopes up...just yet.

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