Every week we do a quick wrap-up of some news items that may have slipped through the cracks. The wrap-ups will be shorter versions of our articles, lumped together to give you an idea of things you may have missed.

Coming Out of Hibernation – Alan Wake is Back!

Anyone that has had a conversation with me for more than five minutes will know that I am very much looking forward to Alan Wake. This is usually why conversations with me don’t last very long, but now at least I’ll have something to talk about because a brand new trailer has been launched along with a newly designed website, which was a big improvement over the barren landscape that was the old site. While the trailer doesn’t show any gameplay, seemingly, and is basically just another demonstration of how much work has gone into the look of this game, it’s very promising and should definitely put the game back on the radar.

The trailer shows off the basics of the story as we’ve seen it before; an author arrives in a small town to work on his new novel, crazy stuff happens and his stories start coming true. Has all the atmosphere you’d expect out of a Hollywood experience wrapped up in the trailer, showing off gorgeous daytime vistas and darkened forests at night. The one thing that seems to have changed is the enemy, which is no longer a shrouded group of mysterious attackers, but seemingly people from the town with axes and other fun toys. Bottom line is that my excitement is renewed, and you should definitely give the trailer a look. It’s the first video seen since 2006, and it might show some promise for this Xbox 360/Vista exclusive arriving sometime next year. We can only hope.

Lips is Go – Track List Has Been Released

On the note of 360 exclusivity, we move onto Microsoft’s SingStar equivalent in Lips which has gotten an official soundtrack sent out by Microsoft earlier this week. It actually seems reasonably substantial when held against Sony’s offerings, with a list of songs in both SingStar and SingStar Vol. 2 that really didn’t satisfy the amount paid or played (though the second volume is not out, we had a chance to play it at the Gaming Invasion). While Sony London, who develops the game, obviously has a European market in mind with the artists and songs used, Lips seems to be a little more varied in terms of genres and decades that it spans. Also the fact that it includes Johnny Cash does make me think that they’ve got some smart people on that project.

Made by the same team that brought out Elite Beat Agents for the DS, this game seemed to get a lot of shrugs when it was announced at E3 earlier this year, but is definitely gaining a bit more steam now. The game essentially ships with double the amount of songs you can get on SingStar and allows you to add your own DRM-free music to the game, essentially making your own track list. Lots of different modes with duet/parties in mind, and the fact that it does come with two wireless, motion-sensitive microphones is really taking the concept to the next level. Yes, Rock Band and now Guitar Hero: World Tour have vocals and a much bigger song list, but it’s a lighter weight idea with a good mix of songs. We’ll see how it all works out with the game hits mid November.

Four Times the Sin – Sins of a Solar Empire Getting Expansions

The PC market charts always have a very similar feel from week to week. You’ve got your Warcraft and you’ve got your Sims, and maybe a few bundles and expansions of each mixed in. Perhaps a new title will show up, and then someone comes out and says PC gaming is dead and the cycle begins anew. The biggest surprise for the PC market last year for me was Sins of a Solar Empire, a space-based RTS that actually managed to sell half a million copies without a big publisher behind it (the game was published by Stardock, makers of eponymous software suite) and without any DRM built in. While it wasn’t a runaway hit, it remained on the charts for quite a long time and managed to make a pretty big impact in PC sales. PC gaming was alive again according to the naysayers. That didn’t last, of course.

For fans of the game good news is that more Sins is coming in the form of expansions, planned to be released all throughout next year and even one late 2008. What the company is calling “Add On” packs, the first one will include a new building type called Star Bases, which will be race specific and upgradeable. They will also include more types of mines, more defense systems, new artifacts and “much more”. The price was announced in the UK for £7.99, which with the current market puts it at roughly $400 CDN (actually, more likely around $15 or $20) and is actually quite promising. It will be a downloadable set, probably in order to save the 20 dollar premium you’d get from the box, so keep an eye on that coming out very soon. Support for existing titles is really a great way to lengthen the experience for those heavily invested in the games, so having any type of content added is good news for players. It’s a pretty solid game, as well, and worth playing through so give Sins a try if you haven’t already.

BONUS ROUND! Max Payne.

I’ve had a few people asking me about what I thought of Max Payne the film, as it was released last week after years and years of waiting. Since I’ve already established myself as a fan of a game that isn’t even out yet in Alan Wake, I’ll specify that the reason for my excitement stems from my love for Max Payne. That, combined with the fact that filming took place in and around the district I used to work in, I feel grossly under qualified and in way too much of a weird spot to walk away from that movie with a balanced opinion. I will say as much as I don’t think it stuck to the source material very well, and didn’t explore the story in any new or interesting way. Vibrant cinematics at times are offset by bland scenes in others. It’s a mixed bag and I’m sure if you wanted to see it you would have already, if not you can wait for the Gamers Cut on DVD. But really, you should just go and play the games. $14.99 on Steam right now is well worth the price, and it’ll save you the trip and the ticket.