With the holidays fast approaching and the recession still ongoing, we here at QJ.NET decided to do another round of bargain hunting at Amazon.com. If you're a first time game console owner, or maybe just looking for a great deal before the holidays, or one of those avid games collector, then you better checkout our list of 25 excellent games under US$ 25 and hopefully this can help you out with your purchasing decision. The full list after the jump.

Good ol' Toys R Us. Still coming up of ways to make the boys go back for more toys. For PS3 and Xbox 360 owners, you get to buy one Platinum or Greatest Hits title and get half off on a second. Cool beans. Check the lists after the jump.

We scored an interview with Clark Stacey, Vice President of Smart Bomb Interactive, the folks who brought us Snoopy vs. the Red Baron on PS2, PSP and PC. Clark was nice enough to answer our questions and divulge the first details of Snoopy's brand new adventure, DLC, multiplayer, gameplay mechanics, and brand spanking new screens lie just a click away!

It's better to give than to receive - this was the point of the new initiative set up by Ratchet & Clank developers Insomniac Games as it introduced a new technology sharing program entitled "Nocturnal" for other video game developers in the industry. Its aim is basically to create a central information hub which different devs can share with one another. You can find out more about the Nocturnal initiative by reading our full article after the jump.

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced that the nominations for the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards has finally been closed. The final list of candidates has been compiled and is currently entering the general voting stage. Want to find out if your bet got into the final list? Read the full article!

Let's face it: Square Enix' current lineup of games is made up of entries to known franchises that promise good sales.  Sure, we're still waiting for Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery, but aside from those big names, the rest of Squeenix' promising games are either of Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest lineage.

In this list, we'll take a look at games that deserve their sequels Sit tight, and prepare to ride the nostalgia train! Find the list at the full article.

September was a big month for Microsoft, when the Xbox 360 and Halo 3 topped hardware and software sales, but analyst Jesse Divinch of simExchange predicts that the Wii will once again take top spot for October's results, concurring with Pachter's own forecasts.

Read more on his predictions in the full article.

 

Over at the U.S. side, the rental charts at GameFly eyes FASA Studios' Shadowrun for the Xbox 360 and the PC, which climbed a fair share of spots on either platform to become the most requested game on GameFly. Forza Motorsport 2, published by Microsoft, took the second top spot across the charts, with Codemaster's DiRT revving up Forza's tailpipe for a solid seat at third.

Nintendo's Mario Party 8, pegged by GameFly as last week's most request title, now slipped five spots down to number six in the overall charts. The top title at the Xbox 360 charts is Shadowrun, while Take Two's Darkness tops the PlayStation 3 wish-list. Mario Party 8 celebrates on top of the Wii charts, while Nintendo's Pokemon Diamond keeps its chances for the number one spot rock-hard. Apparently, size actually does matter for unlikely duo Ratchet and Clank as Sony's Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters get big on the PSP charts.

The list of the top five titles for each platform to follow right when you click "Full Article."

Last week, it will be noted that Ubisoft's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was GameFly's most requested game title. This week, however, the lean green fighting machine will be taking a backseat to second, as we report that Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii takes GameFly's top post among several other to-be-released and already released games. Activision's upcoming Spider-Man 3 multiplatform game replaces Sega's Armored Core 4 for the number three position.

See the lists below for the breakdown of each console's top five games.

Nintendo Wii

1. Super Paper Mario (Nintendo)
2. Cooking Mama: Cook Off (Majesco)
3. Medal of Honor: Vanguard (Electronic Arts)
4. The Godfather: Blackhand Edition (Electronic Arts)
5. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Electronic Arts).

Xbox 360

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft)
2. Spider-man 3 (Activision)
3. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (Ubisoft)
4. Armored Core 4 (Sega)
5. Earth Defense Force 2017 (D3P).

PlayStation 3 (PS3)

1. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
2. MotorStorm (Sony)
3. The Godfather: The Don's Edition (Electronic Arts)
4. Spider-man 3 (Activision)
5. MLB 07: The Show (Sony)

Nintendo DS

1. Pokemon Diamond (Nintendo)
2. Pokemon Pearl (Nintendo)
3. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (D3P)
4. Spectrobes (Buena Vista)
5. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (Nintendo)
   

PlayStation Portable (PSP)

1. 300: March to Glory (Eidos)
2. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (Sony)
3. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Another Road (Atari)
4. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (Konami)
5. Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (D3P)
   

The folks over at Bungie have just revealed the first official teaser for the much awaited installment to the Halo series, which we are guessing would most likely send a number of fans reaching for their Master Chief replica suits. Anyway, Frankie of the Bungie team have also noted that the teaser piece that we have here marks the actual beginning of the official marketing campaign for Halo 3.

Oh, and by the way, just in case you haven't noticed yet, Frankie pointed out an important piece of information that has been included in the teaser image. *Points to pic above* Found it? Well, saying that we're excited may be an understatement, but at the same time, we can't help but wonder which online retailer actually knows more about the game's release date than they're letting on. After all, there HAVE been some pretty close guesses in the past.

On other things, Frankie also stated on the site that the public can look forward to seeing the teaser image a little more often:

Soon you will start to see this popping up all over the place. We've seen comps of this plastered on bus stops, billboards, and even the sides of skyscrapers. We hope you like it because you'll be seeing a fair amount of it in the weeks ahead.

Eventually we'll graduate to phase two which will feature new imagery that's in development right now – and it's shaping up to be really sweet ... A lot of it is going to follow this in tone and style, but I can tell you that these images ratchet up the excitement and atmosphere with each successive poster.

So there you go. If you happen to know a particularly rabid Halo fan who may have the tendency to chase after buses decorated with the Halo 3 logo (or Master Chief's reflective visage), then now would probably be a good time to buy a sturdy leash.

Regarding the game's development Bungie also reports that they are currently busy with writing and recording the game's combat dialog, and that they are making progress with giving voices to the characters in the game. Meanwhile the next item on their audio team's to-do list include the scripts for the cinematics as well as the game's musical score.