And in even more goodies-for-download news, yet another map pack was let loose over the world wide webs. Called "Armored Front", this is the second map pack released by Monolith and Warner Bros. for their shooting sequel F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. It only brings 2 new maps - "Conductor" and "Decoy" - and 4 unique character heads to swap out, but at least the pack's PC version is free to download.

You'll find it on the likes of FileFront, Fileplanet and wherever else you usually get your downloads from, either associated with the "Armored Front" title, or with patch v1.04. Oh and don't bother looking for it if you're running the Steam version: the pack was already released as an automated update via Steam last week.

The "Armored Front" pack follows the earlier "Toy Soldiers" that launched a few months ago, and it will be followed by a third F.E.A.R. 2 map pack later this summer. (...)

 Continue reading 'F.E.A.R. 2 Map Pack, Armored Front Released'...

While on the topic of downloadable stuff, a quick mention is in order for the freshly released Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2, courtesy of publisher Activision and developer Treyarch. The pack brings 4 new maps, and is now available for download for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, costing 800 Microsoft points and £7.99 respectively. That would be $9.99, give or take...

For more info on the new maps, see the shameless copy-paste from the press release below.

Update: Or simply watch the 2 trailers we've just added for this map pack - here and here.

 (...)

 Continue reading 'Call of Duty's Latest Map Pack Is Out [Update]'...

Feels kind of redundant to write about Sam & Max, after Telltale's recent announcement for the new Monkey Island games. But for those of you who still didn't get to sample the wild detective duo's adventures, and happen to have a Xbox 360 wired to the webs, now's your chance. And by "now", I mean on June 17 - when Telltale Games will release Sam & Max Save the World on the Xbox Live Arcade.



This will basically be the episodic Sam & Max: Season 1, but with a few enhancements for the XBLA, such as achievements, widescreen and HD graphic support, and updates to the gameplay controls. The press release also mentions the game will include German, French, Italian and Spanish subtitles, to go with the usual English audio and subs.

Featuring all 6 episodes from Season One, the Sam & Max Save the World pack will sell for 1600 Microsoft points when it launches this June 17. The second season's pack (...)

 Continue reading 'Sam & Max Save The Xbox Live Arcade'...

"Play. Die. Respawn", eh? Well we've certainly been doing plenty of playing, while the site's been doing plenty of dying. And as much as respawning hurts (especially after getting gank-banged by a horde of mooing taurens), every once in a while a fresh restart is in order. Or is it?.... Apparently not if you ask EA Games about their Godfather franchise. The first two games in the series did some mediocre playing and dying of their own, but it looks like there'll be no respawning for The Godfather anytime soon.

In an E3'ish article over on LA Times, Frank Gibeau (EA Games label president) was bluntly quoted as stating that "We're not going to do another one". A wise decision, if there ever was one to come out of Electronic Arts. As to how their "great partners" from Paramount feel about this unplanned-for decision... well, who gives a damn, really? The fewer crappy EA games, the better!


"The bloom is really off the rose for licensed games" - Frank Gibeau
So now that we know there'll be no third The Godfather game bugging (on) us for the foreseeable future, we can go back to waiting for the one true mobster sequel, Mafia II.

I just had a flashback of Interplay's messy end-of-days saga a few years back... What a mess that was. Seemingly stepping in the footsteps of that once legendary game company, the Japanese group Gonzo keeps on cracking and shattering, in the midst of escalating corporate "restructuring". Just yesterday I was pitying them for their rumored loss of the Strike Witches 2 anime project. And today ANN brings word of another major, self-inflicted blow: the "divestment" of Gonzo's online game development studio Gonzo Rosso.



By the way, since it's April 1 in Japan already, we can stop using the parent company's obsolete GDH name. So as I was saying, Gonzo will cut off its game subsidiary in an attempt to further consolidate whatever resources is still has, entirely abandoning the gaming scene in order to focus on its anime business.

Some of Gonzo Rosso's best known MMORPGs include (...)

 Continue reading 'Gonzo Cuts Off Game Division, Gonzo Rosso'...

Kadokawa, the Japanese anime / manga publisher that has inspired us with so many feelings of hatred lately, is turning its twisted eye over to the gaming industry. As of April 1, 2009, the parent consortium Kadokawa Group Holdings is opening a game development and marketing subsidiary called Kadokawa Games Ltd. The news has slowly been creeping its way to a few English websites since Friday, but the only known details are still those contained in the early reports.



Kadokawa Games is being set up with a capital of 250 million yen (US$2.5 million) as a fully owned subsidiary. Its focus will be on online games and the international market, with titles developed based on the already popular content owned by the publishing group. But the real kicker is the name (and former position) of Kadokawa Games' president: (...)

 Continue reading 'Kadokawa Penetrates The Gaming Industry'...

Ever wanted an all-in-one game engine for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, DX9/DX10 PC games and MMOs alike? And had a crapload of money to spend on it? Well I guess the second part may be a bit tricky, so just for the sake of curiosity, the devs from Crytek will be introducing their new CryENGINE 3 game development solution at this year's GDC Expo (March 25-27) in San Francisco.



The package advertised in Crytek's announcement includes the CryENGINE 3Sandbox level editor - a 3rd generation "What you see is what you play" (WYSIWYP) tool designed by and for professional developers - and significant new features specifically designed for (...)

 Continue reading 'CryENGINE 3 To Be Revealed At GDC Expo'...

Reviews were never “that friendly” regarding LucasArts' latest multiplatform lightsaber mayhem, the game being, many times, valued as “mediocre”. Well, it seems that fans are doing the right thing for once (that being stop believing every little piece of golden bullshit that some “objective” game reviewers and game sites tend to throw at them), since this title sold no more than 5.7 million copies, since its September release.



Obviously, the fact that it IS a multiplatform game helped a bit - well, multiplatform minus the odd PC component – but heck, according to the numbers, it is the fastest selling Star Wars game in the history of... Star Wars gaming.

Ze Source.

Some people like to betatest games, while others don't. Prior to the European Wrath of the Lich King Beta, I was proudly a member of the first half, but after that rentless mass murder of common sense, patience and last bits of humanity, I decided to take a break, keep my sweat inside and let it loose only when the actual game comes out.



But things are about to change. And not because it's yet another Blizzard game, but because Starcraft is one of those little jewels that made college life (ignoring retarded individuals, skipping exams and such) much more easy to bare. It seems that, according to Blizz's Paul Sams (chief operating officer), we'll be getting our Starcraft 2 Beta “in the coming months”, so stay tuned for that extremely lucky invite. Because I bet it won't gonna be easy to get it.

Ze Source.

Gotta love this world economic crysis. Umm, crisis, that is. Lots of people getting to spend more time with their friends and family (and have a good laugh over how they lost their job), lots of prices going down (in pure theory), and lots of companies becoming easy takeover targets. Especially those who thought they could get away with cheap thrills like Haze.

Well, the tide has now turned for the British game developer, as Crytek announced the acquisition of Free Radical's entire assets and business yesterday. Originally founded by some former Rare developers, Free Radical became synonymous with their TimeSplitters franchise. Last year, however, they went through some rough financial times, and saw their team getting decimated - leaving them an easy and, apparently, convenient pick for Crytek.

So what's next for Free Radical? (...)

 Continue reading 'Crytek Enslaves Free Radical Design'...