hot song

May 1, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

hot song

Green Day’s new single, “Know Your Enemy” (Reprise), is a straightforward three-chords-and-the-truth guitar stomp that seems designed to tamp down expectations for the upcoming “21st Century Breakdown” album while still riling up the faithful. It’s not quite “American Idiot,” because that was driven by rage. “Know Your Enemy” is more fitting for these times — instructional, methodical and practical — but still potent enough for motivated scream-alongs.

‘Fallujah’ is no more

The publisher behind a video game based on one of the Iraq war’s fiercest battles has pulled the plug on the title, called “Six Days in Fallujah.”

A spokeswoman for Japanese game company Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. confirmed that the company is no longer publishing the game, which was set to go on sale next year.

The game sought to re-create the 2004 Fallujah battle from the perspective of a U.S. Marine fighting against insurgents. It was developed by Atomic Games with input from the Marines.

Konami had advertised “Six Days” as a shooting game “unlike any other,” combining “authentic weaponry, missions and combat set against the gripping story of the U.S. Marines on the ground.” The game was criticized by veterans groups and others who called it inappropriate.

what ‘madden’ curse?

“Madden” curse? What “Madden” curse?

That’s the attitude of Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, one of the two gridiron stars featured on the cover of EA Sports’ “Madden NFL 10.”

Fitzgerald is sharing the cover with Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, and that’s one reason he thinks the curse will be broken this year: It’s the first time in the franchise’s storied 21-year history that two athletes have been featured.

“Being on the cover of ’Madden’ is a real honor,” Fitzgerald said. “And sharing it with a talent like Troy is really special.”

The “Madden NFL” franchise is known for its mysterious “curse”: Previous cover models like Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick and Vince Young have suffered injuries during their “Madden” season.

huge game titles

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, the video-game industry’s biggest party, is a little more than a month away, but companies are already jumping the gun with early announcements of some huge titles for this holiday season and beyond.

Two of the most popular franchises in the business are joining forces for Warner Bros. and MTV Games’ “Lego Rock Band.” As you might guess, the collaboration between developers TT Games and Harmonix will let you build your own combo out of Lego blocks, then rock out to “chart-topping songs and classic favorites suitable for younger audiences.” Apparently (judging from an early set list), that means yes to “Kung Fu Fighting,” no to “There Goes My Gun.”

Expect some more big sequels. Ubisoft will have “Assassin’s Creed 2” ready this year, with a new protagonist and a new setting, Renaissance Italy. And Sony’s Insomniac Games studio will deliver its biennial “Ratchet & Clank” chapter, after the boys fall through “A Crack in Time.”

No surprises there. However, one announcement that has raised some eyebrows is Bethesda’s “Fallout: New Vegas,” which will come out next year. It’s being developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind “Neverwinter Nights 2” and “Knights of the Old Republic II.” Bethesda says it isn’t a sequel to last year’s award-winning “Fallout 3,” but “simply another ’Fallout’ game in that universe.”

Now if only we could get “Lego Fallout.”