We all know that Hellgate: London was an incredible success. As in, it was an incredible success at FAILING in the biggest of ways possible. Flagship Studio went down the drain, and along with it, the rights for this would-be game came into the pockets of HanbitSoft. Well, more exactly, Hanbit owns the IP and the distribution rights outside US and EU (Namco still holds distribution rights in ze States).

Hanbit has been trying too hard to keep this game alive (it's like trying to keep a 120 years old senior alive using medical equipment from WW II), so they announced an expansion, also testing the grounds for a possibility for it to be launched in US. Namco said "go fuck yourselves, take your shit elsewhere".

And, if that was not enough, Namco plans to shut down all Hellgate London servers in the US and EU early next year. For good (and thank God). What a joke way to end this joke of a game. Thanks Shack for the scoop.

And, since we are still lurking like (greater) shadows in the realms of Turn-Based Strategy, it is probably worth to mention Elemental: War of Magic, an incoming game from Stardock. When I say "incoming", I mean "incoming so far away, that we will probably forget about it".



We will most likely get the hands on this fantasy game not earlier than the beginning of 2010, with a public beta to start in June 2009. As usual with Stardock games, players will be able to use impulse for the game download, and beta testers will be able to give feedback, and even do some creative work in-game via the modding tools provided.

Some more screenshots here.

If you were anything like us (which, I hope for your sake, you are not), you would be extremely aroused to hear that the infamous King's Bounty, the TBS/RPG/Adventure/Thing from Katauri is about to receive an expansion.



For starters, let's just say that King's Bounty is the king and queen of awesomeness since Heroes 3 hit the shelves. Second, it is worth to mention (for all you lolicons out there), that this time around, you will spank Princess Amelie in a brand new (and possibly dangerous) land, called Teany, while she will do this, and that, and various other things (to herself, hopefully).

Although the official website is in Russian, I was able to steam up some of the features King's Bounty: Princess will hold (clickie to continue): (...)

 Continue reading 'King's Bounty Expansion INCOMING!'...

Up until several years ago, I would've shit my pants in excitement at the thought of a new Red Alert game. But now? Now here it is, and I couldn't possibly care any less about the way EA fucked up Westwood's legacy (as they did with plenty of other legacies). But hey, I figured there's still a few stubborn C&C fans out there, hanging on to their last shred of hope, as they hide among all those horny teenagers drooling over the hawt chicks pimped for the game's cinematics. So, for whatever it's worth, today marks the release shipping of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 to retail stores.

This longtime PC-exclusive strategy sub-series is making a bold - if not reckless - attept to conquer two power-platforms, as it launches on the PC and Xbox 360. The actual release will happen on October 30 for the PC in North America and Europe, and on November 11 for the Xbox 360. Originally there were also some suicidal plans for a PS3 version, but... not any more.

The third chapter comes precisely 8 years after Red Alert 2's release in 2000, which was expanded with Yuri's Revenge one year later. As for what Red Alert 3 brings to the table, we'll let EA do the talking. Update: We have the launch trailer as well, by the way. (...)

 Continue reading 'Red Alert 3 Launch Sequence Hits Zero'...

What a time I found for quitting WoW... again! Not only is the Lich King unleashing his Wrath in less than a month, but today the big-bad patch 3.0(.2) is being deployed, giving players a taste of things - and inevitable patch-fixing patches - to come.

As any WoW player and his lolpet knows by now, this latest major update is called "Echoes of Doom" and brings more changes and additions than you can read while downloading it; no matter how bad your connection, or how huge the patch. And it's HUGE, like 1.6 GB worth of porn downloads. Not to mention the patch notes are longer than a Wednesday morning maintenance; and we've all had those... So you might want to start reading those official patch notes for v3.0.2 right away.

You won't be seeing this screen for much longer.

Below I'll only slap the "General" section of said patch notes - should be enough to get you through a pack of cigs. So enjoy the read, and I'll see you in-game. Oh... wait... wasn't I quitting WoW? Again? (...)

 Continue reading 'World of Warcraft Patch 3.0 Deployed'...

Holy Crimson Cow, they're actually, finally releasing this game?! The adventure genre truly is undead then... and so is A Vampyre Story. Having first heard about it some 4 years ago, during which time the devs from Autumn Moon had their fair share of trouble, it's pretty cool to see they eventually got out of the proverbial shit woods, and are now ready to launch their debut project at the end of October / November in Europe.

Autumn Moon's "debut" is only relative, though, since the core team headed by Bill Tiller used to work on LucasArts' legendary quests from the past, such as the Monkey Island series, Sam n Max Hit the Road, Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango and The Dig. Much like these, A Vampyre Story is an instant-classic adventure game, with a pretty obvious theme given its purposely miss-spelled title. To get a feel for it, check out these latest screenshots we received today, along with the sole trailer we have so far. More about the game, down below.

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 Continue reading 'A Vampyre Story Pre-Launch Screenshots'...

If your trigger-happy finger is itching and lusting for some hot action, you will be more than glad to know that Activision, in an act of faith, good will and infinite kindness, has announced that some of the luckier Xbox 360 owners are now eligible to jump right in the middle of combat, with the freshly released Beta for Call of Duty: World at War. Sadly, the PC version of the game will "enjoy" the same treatment a bit later.

Access is granted to those who were fast enough to pre-order the game via GameStop, these fellows will receive some sort of activation key and will be able to start downloadin' the Beta right away. For the rest of us, the puny folk, the only chance to take a glimpse at Treyarch's shooter before it hits the shelves, is a visit to the game's official website and a lucky strike at the "we'll choose you randomly" factor.



While inside the Beta, players will be able to choose between four factions - U.S., Germany, Japan and Russia - then clash like titans using one of the four modes available. Call of Duty: World at War is destined to rock our socks on November 11, for all platforms.

Blizzards's Rob Pardo, Vice President of Game Design, had a recent chat with the very versatile Sticks of Joy, clarifying for them (and for us, and for the rest of the world, actually), how's it like to be producing a single game that will ship into three separate episodes. Yes, ladies and little sisters, we are, once more, talking about Starcraft 2. Or, maybe, Starcraft 2, 3 and 4.

Last week's news about the game being split in three, due to its "massive" and "epic" content was not a pleasant one, indeed. People would have expected a final product that they can devour in one setting, but hey, the strings are being pulled in different directions. Pardo insisted on the fact that the second and third campaigns are, unlike the "original" Terran Starcraft 2, NOT being considered as separate products by Blizzard. They are, let's say, the equivalent of expansion packs, so that's why the company does not think separate release dates will affect the game's overall quality. So the only thing we will miss, while waiting to play the Protoss and the Zerg, is the singleplayer component.


About timing, Pardo had no exact figures to set to the table, but being the speculative man he is, he heralded one year time between each part of Starcraft 2. Just like they are doing with World of Warcraft, where expansions are scheduled to be released in the same way. Long story short, we will buy the game in 2009, and we will get to fully enjoy it by the end on 2011.

The time has come for us to polish those shotguns and dial that Stargate secret access code, because, here it is, a closed Beta Test begins on Wednesday for FireSky's Stargate Worlds, the very much anticipated sci-fi MMO. Interested in this? I bet you are, well, at least, I am. If your breakfast consisted of immense quantities of shit and your luck has skyrocketed faster than George W. Bush can count to ten, pay a visit to the game's official website and sign up for a chance to get a spot into the Beta.



It seems like the developers are also planning some Open Beta in the near future, more exactly somewhere early in 2009. Stargate Worlds should also launch in 2009, that is, if nothing bad happens.

Oh boy! I'm pretty excited, this will finally be my chance to kill that son of a bitch Daniel Jackson, I hate that helpless idiot almost as much as I hate Bethesda.

Cleverly crawling under Midway's skin, the folks over at Eurogamer got their hands on some juicy details regarding the European Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe special edition. It seems that, exactly like in North America, buyers will be treated handsomely with all sorts of goodies, be it T-shirts, bags, posters, all depending on the chosen retailer. Here's what Midway told Eurogamer:

"We have a full complement of different offerings for Europe. A reward pack with a drawstring bag, comic and Alex Ross poster will be available with certain retailers; EU-exclusive t-shirts with a few partners; exclusive litho prints; and there's one last unannounced item that may be coming. Final details are being ironed out now."

Due for release on 21 November, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is scheduled for both next-gen consoles (Playstation 3 and Xbox 360). Amongst the treats American players will receive, unlike their European counterparts, are hand-painted box arts, made by Alex Ross himself, plus a 16-pages long comic, drawn by John Tobias. This comic is supposed to be some sort of a prequel.