Gaming News Round-Up: January 21st, 2005

Today's wrap-up includes apparent news on forthcoming Electronic Arts titles, a possible American publisher for Mizuguchi's Lumines, and some neat secret characters for Mercenaries. - According to a Dutch Electronic Arts press conference reported by Xboxworld.nl, the European branch of the company has apparently announced a number of previously unconfirmed titles for the 2005-2006 time period. The list includes Batman Begins, Medal of Honor: Dogs of War, Battlefield: Modern Combat, Black, and the recently-announced Godfather game, but also includes games such as FIFA 2006, Tiger Woods: PGA Tour 2006, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, SSX 4, The Urbz 2, Harry Potter and the Gauntlet of Fire, Burnout 4, James Bond: From Russia With Love, and FIFA Street 2. Finishing off the list is a "Secret Marvel Project," likely to be the EA vs. Marvel fighter originally announced in 2003, although none of the above information has been confirmed by the U.S. branch of the company. - GameStop, an online videogame retailer, may have provided the answer to the question of who, if anyone, will be publishing Lumines in the U.S. A new listing for Tetsuya Mizuguchi's music-based puzzler has appeared, citing Ubisoft as the game's publisher, rather than Bandai, who published the game during the PSP's Japanese launch. Ubisoft would not confirm the news, but did say that it would have an announcement next week. If the listing is true, its March release date may also indirectly confirm the release date for Sony's new hardware. - Multiple online sources are reporting that the Lucasarts-published, Pandemic-licensed military action console game Mercenaries, which largely uses original IP, also has some unique hidden bonus characters. Drawing on the company's archives, the title allows players to use Han Solo and Indiana Jones in their efforts to complete mercenary assignments in North Korea. Collecting 20 national treasures in the PlayStation 2 version opens up the Raiders of the Lost Ark hero, while accomplishing that feat in the Xbox version unlocks Star Wars' cocky smuggler.