Mobility In Diablo III Will Be Equal Across Classes

Blizzard community manager Bashiok has commented on mobility in Diablo III stating all classes will be equal unlike in the previous title:

“We definitely want to avoid as best as possible a single class being far and away better than all others at something (such as mobility) and thus used exclusively for specific tasks."

“As long as there is choice and variety in the game there’s going to be one solution that gains a general consensus as being the best at “X”. The hope and the intent is to make the difference between the best and second best, third best, etc. as close to imperceptible as possible so that you can use what ever class/character you want, what ever build you want, and not feel that you’re far and away below the abilities of something else. That’s balance in choice."

“We’re taking a close look at what those specific mobility issues were in Diablo II and could be in Diablo III, and yes we’re certainly trying to be a bit smarter about planning for it. You specifically mention the witch doctor. With the way he plays and feels a big warp or jump around skill just doesn’t really seem right for him, but he may have a trick or two up his sleeve…”

Source: OfficialBoards

George Lucas Heavily Involved In Star Wars: The Old Republic

BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka has commented on George Lucas being very involved with development of MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic:

“I haven’t shown it to him [Lucas] personally, no. but I know he keeps his finger on the pulse of everything that LucasArts is working on, so I know he’s involved in it. I’ve talked to him about the project in the past and I know he’s excited about it."

“He’s very involved in the development side of things.”

Source: G4

Zeschuk Comments On Moving Away From Baldur's Gate

BioWare’s Greg Zeschuk has commented on Baldur’s Gate being succeeded by Dragon Age: Origins stating the company has no regrets on moving in the current direction:

“The things we miss more than anything else are some of the characters we created. It’s frustrating – like Minsc and some of the other characters we built over the years – not being able to continue to stem that is a bit frustrating. Though, to be fair, we feel like we closed the series."

“There are a lot of video games that – like the original Wasteland - never had a sequel, but there are a lot of games that never actually end. Whatever happens, they’re left hanging and fans are like, ah I wish I’d finished it."

“But because we were able to finish the sequence of games in Baldur’s Gate: Throne of Bhaal… it’s funny, we were satisfied that we were able to deliver that entire arc. Go ‘there it is and that’s the story of Baldur’s Gate’. We feel like we finished our work at that time."

“We don’t have regrets.”

Source: Videogamer

THQ Will Support Microsoft And Sony Motion Tech From The Start

THQ core boss Danny Bilson has said the company will be supporting motion control technology from bot Microsoft and Sony in future titles from the start:

“We’ll be there at launch with some very friendly titles for the first audience who will adopt that stuff, which is families."

“The technology is really excellent, for both Xbox 360 and PS3, so now it’s all about the creative versus the business model. What’s the installed base like and how much can I spend against those? Of course at first you’ll see games that cost less money, but as the installed base grows we’ll do more robust stuff.”

Source: GI

Capcom Announces Marvel Vs Capcom 2 XBLA Release Date

Capcom has announced that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 will be available globally as part of Microsoft's "Summer of Arcade" through Xbox Live on Wednesday 29th July and will cost you 1,200 Microsoft Points.

Source: Internal

Remedy Defends Alan Wake Changes

Remedy has defended their decision to remove the open-world sandbox elements from Alan Wake.

"It's not a good mixture with storytelling. For it we would have been forced to make such compromises in the game that we at Remedy don't want to. The most important thing for us is a compelling story and so we decided to go in that direction."

Following this news fan expressed disappointment at the decision and spokesman for Remedy, MarkusRMD (screen name) responded to fans concerns on the official forums:

"It's always tough to change big things in a game [...]"

"Max Payne was originally to have a multiplayer, but we dropped it. It certainly made some people sad, but the game was better because of the hard decision."

"It's natural that new game IPs evolve over time. To avoid any kind of design communication changes, we would need to start talking about them only 6-12 months before release, [...]"

"This increases the publisher side risk tremendously and raising any awareness for a new brand in a short time is difficult. We could perhaps start talking about the game late if we were an internal team for a big publisher, but the rules are a bit different for independent developers...."

Source: IncGamers

Konami Confirms Wii Pro Evo 2010 Releasing This Year

Konami has the Wii version of PES 2010 will be released in Autumn, following hot on the heels of its next-gen stable mates.

PES 2010 for the Wii will share the cover stars in Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres. And will also boast the extensive additions to the Master League via the integration of UEFA Champions League license elements, while the Wii game’s graphic elements have been further enhanced. However, Producer Akiyoshi ‘Greyhound’ Chosogabe and his dedicated team have also worked to add key gameplay advances to the new iteration.

Likewise, a decisive addition to PES 2010 is an all-new game balance system that affects both attacking and defensive elements of the game. The player in possession now has ‘instantaneous stamina’ in addition to his overall stamina, which prevents unbeatable runs from being used as a constant tactic. Overuse of sprinting will have an adverse affect on the player’s body balance and their immediate control of the ball. As in a real match, excessive attempts of trying to gain possession will drain the player’s stamina, further demonstrating the Wii game’s realism.

Source: Internal

Alien Breed Remake OnThe Way

Team17 have formally confirmed the remake of Alien Breed, their title from the Amiga 18 years ago. Known as Alien Breed Evolution, the remake will be a single player action adventure with co-op option, powered by Unreal3 and is a download only title for next-gen consoles.

Source: JunkieGamer

EA Confirms Development Of Command And Conquer 4

Woo, EA actually confirmed development of Command and Conquer 4 today in the form of a press release.

EA Los Angeles is bringing the award-winning Tiberium series to an epic conclusion with Command & Conquer 4. Shipping in 2010, Command & Conquer 4 will introduce a multitude of innovations to the to the classic fast and fluid Command & Conquer gameplay while retaining the core compulsions that fans have come to love over the series’ history. Introducing new class-based gameplay, mobile bases and persistent player progression throughout all game modes, Command & Conquer 4 offers players new, innovative and compelling strategic depth. Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer of Command & Conquer 4 commented:

“Command & Conquer is a powerful franchise with an amazing 15-year legacy. We are thrilled to bring the dramatic Tiberium saga to a conclusion in Command & Conquer 4. This game is designed to give fans all the answers they’ve been looking for. With its objective-based multiplayer mode, persistent player progression and all-in-one mobile base, players will experience Command & Conquer like never before.”

Source: Internal

Harmonix Announces 5 New Rock Band Uplugged Tracks Available

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced five new tracks available for download in the Rock Band Unplugged in-game music store for the PSP. These additions bring the current total number of songs available in the Rock Band Unplugged music store to 19.

Source: Internal

Fuel Demo Now Available On Xbox Live And PlayStation Network

Codemasters has announced a new demo for Asobo Studio's FUEL is now available on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network from today and later tonight for PC gamers. (May be available any time now). It released in Europe a week or two back. Go try it out, can't say we were too impressed unfortunately.

Source: Internal

New Mass Effect DLC Will Be 'Fun To Play'

BioWare head Ray Muzyka has commented on the coming new Mass Effect downloadable content stating it'll be 'fun to play':

“We haven’t announced it formally yet but I think you can expect something in the next little while."

“Probably some kind of announcement about [the ME DLC]. It’s pretty cool. I’ve been playing what we’re working on there and fans will find it fun.”

Source: IGN

Singularity Knocked Back Until 2010

Developer Raven, and publisher Activision-Blizzard have confirmed upcoming title, Singularity has been delayed into a 2010 release so that it doesn't arrive during the launch of 2009's undisputed best-seller to be, Modern Warfare 2:

“The level of excitement for Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 coming out of E3 well exceeded our expectations and therefore we have decided to move Raven’s upcoming sci-fi first person action title, Singularity, from 2009 to Q1 2010."

“We believe that the March quarter will provide a better opportunity to establish the new cutting-edge action IP as a ‘must-have’ title and clears the way for Modern Warfare 2 to dominate this holiday season.”

Source: GS

Moore: "Microsoft And Sony Motion Tech Will Improve Fitness Sector"

EA Sports boss Peter Moore has said upcoming motion technology from Microsoft and Sony will greatly improve the sports sector in videogames, but more specially, the fitness sector:

“It’s a huge opportunity for sports. We’re already working on it, we’re expecting dev kits to be arriving very soon."

“Both are different technologies – one obviously has a controller and the other one your body is a controller. I think there’s already a lot of learnings we have right now with our Wii [products] and certainly there’s stuff with EA Sports Active that we could apply to both platforms."

“Fitness is a huge play for us and will continue to be a huge play for us, and this just makes the opportunity bigger, to say the least.”

Source: IG

Third Mortal Kombat Movie On The Way

An article over at the source has an interview with Chris Casamassa, a karate teacher that played Scorpion in the Mortal Kombat movies who has accidentally mentioned he'll be reprising his role in a third movie. Go check it out at the source and see what you think.

Source: SGVTribune

Juiced Games Looking For Staff To Work On New Racing Game

Juiced developer, Juiced Games has posted a new job listing on Edge looking for new staff to work on an “ambitious new racing game" and “an interest in developing game code for console platforms including PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.”

The developer let 30% of their staff go last year.

Source: Edge

Namco Bandai Title Release Dates Announced

Namco Bandai has published some release dates for upcoming titles including the delay of Dead to Rights: Retribution slipping into a 2010 release. Other titles and dates include:

• September 2009: Katamari Forever (PS3), Family Trainer: Extreme Challenge (Wii) and One Piece Unlimited Cruise 2 (Wii).

• October 2009: Cities XL (PC) and Magna Carta: Tears of Blood (Xbox 360)

• TBC: The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf , Star Trek Online.

Good to see the Witcher is still due to release after the whole fiasco.

Source: EG

Ghostbusters Demo Now Available

A demo is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation network for Ghostbusters if you haven't yet got it on PS3. The Xbox 360 version of the game is still awaiting a release date. Weighs in around 800mb.

Source: Internal

Batman: Arkham Asylum Has Cheat Death Mechanic - Kinda

Batman: Arkham Asylum is said to feature a death cheating mechanic similar to that of Prince of Persia. When the Batman is about to fall to his death or land on something, unpleasant, the game slows down and prompts you to fire a Batarang to get you back on top.

You can of course, still die, which is always good. In theory. Game launches August 25th in the US on Xbox 360 and PS3 and August 28th in Europe.

Source: MTV

Europa Universalis: Rome GOLD Ships To Stores In US And Europe

Paradox Interactive today announced that Europa Universalis: Rome GOLD has shipped to stores in the United States and Europe. This new compilation contains the acclaimed original grand strategy game set in ancient times - EU: Rome, along with the substantial updates available in the Vae Victis expansion pack.

Europa Universalis: Rome GOLD has a SRP of $19.99/ € 19.99/£14.99 and will also be available on all leading digital distribution portals on July 10th, 2009.

Source: Internal

Freaky Space First Screenshots And Info

Abandon Interactive Entertainment today released the first screenshots and trailer for Freaky Space, the first expansion to the massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), Freaky Creatures. The screenshots and trailer gives players a look at the game that will let them captain spacecraft and explore the open realms of an entirely new galaxy.

Freaky Space adds more depth to the Freaky Creatures universe, introducing all-new player-versus-environment (PvE) gameplay and multiplayer intergalactic battles. Players can join one of four alien races and numerous factions as they journey to the very edges of the Freaky Creatures universe. Players will also encounter dozens of characters and become part of all-new storylines in Freaky Space. As gamers explore this new uncharted territory, they will encounter some of the galaxy's deadliest challenges, improving on their spaceships and battle skills along the way.

Source: Internal

Dead To Rights Retribution Slips Into 2010 For Release

Namco Bandai has announced Dead to Rights: Retribution has been delayed until 2010. The game was planned to arrive in Q4 this year but has now slipped into next year.

Source: EG

Japanese Software Sales Week Ending July 5th

Wow, what a surprise, Nintendo's Wii Sports Resort on Wii is still on top of the Japanese software sales charts for the week ending July 5th:

01. [WII] Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo) - 153,000 / 507,000
02. [PSP] Hatsune Miku: Project Diva (Sega) - 101,000 / NEW
03. [PSP] Boku no Natsuyasumi 4: Seitouchi Shounen Tanteidan, Boku to Himitsu no Chizu (SCE) - 57,000 / NEW
04. [NDS] Tomodachi Collection (Nintendo) - 51,000 / 221,000
05. [NDS] Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (Square Enix) - 14,000 / 477,000
06. [PSP] Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, PSP the Best (Capcom) - 12,000 / 807,000
07. [PSP] Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono 2 (Acquire) - 12,000 / 58,000
08. [PS3] Atelier Rorona: Arland no Renkinjutsushi (Gust) - 11,000 / 59,000
09. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) - 11,000 / 3,444,000
10. [NDS] Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Monogatari (Level 5) - 9,900 / 149,000

For past Japanese sale charts, click here

Source: Internal

Disgaea 3 Gets Trophy Patch For US Gamers

Disgaea 3 will be getting a trophy patch on PS3 for US gamers on July 16th adding 50 trophies for you to play with but you won't be able to play your existing game saves apparently. No word on a European patch yet.

Source: Joystiq

Gamerbase Growth Kicking Off In Glasgow

HMV plans to launch of 30 new Gamerbase areas throughout the UK this year, starting off primarily in its Glasgow branch. The Gamerbase areas offer gamers multiplayer online gaming from within stores, earning HMV the winner in the Retail Innovation category of this year’s MCV Awards. Project founder Dominic Mulroy commented:

“We will be rolling out five of the larger Gamerbase centres this year, to join London, Manchester and Edinburgh. We also plan to build smaller, scaleable Gamerbase experiences in around 30 stores nationwide. So by Christmas, HMV will have almost 40 Gamerbase experiences.”

Source: Internal

Battlefield 1943 Xbox Live Arcade Was Lag Fest

Following the launch of Battlefield 1943 on Xbox Live Arcade yesterday, the game's developer, DICE had fun watching everyone kill the game with lag and are now frantically looking to increase server capacity to accommodate. All should more or less be sorted now. It's your fault for wanting to play it really, you have yourself to blame.

Source: Official

Exclusive TV Programmes Coming To Xbox 360?

Microsoft's European boss, Chris Lewis has said securing exclusive television programming through the Xbox 360 is the next step in the console's plans for domination in UK living rooms. After securing deals with UK broadcaster Sky, and French broadcaster, Canel + Lewis commented on the thought of exclusive programming for the console:

"Exclusive TV content would be very cool. We have nothing to announce, but we're focussed on partnerships."

"People are very demanding in what they consume. I've got nothing specific to announce, but Xbox 360 will increasingly be the place consumers get their entertainment."

"Exclusivity is part of that."

Source: Internal

Wii Horror Title 'The Calling' Confirmed In Famitsu

Scans in the latest issue of Japanese games magazine Famitsu have confirmed the development of the recently rumoured Hudson Soft horror title, The Calling on Nintendo Wii. Scans can be found here and here while videos of the game can be found here which were leaked, speaking the recent rumours. The game is said to be about 70% complete.

Source: Internal

Toy Story 3 Game Planned For 2010 Will Wow Gamers

Disney Interactive Studios head, Graham Hopper has said the upcoming movie tie-in game for Toy Story 3 will 'wow gamers' when it launches alongside the movie next year boasting quality above regular movie tie-in games:

"Really, it was about quality - that is what Disney Stands for. The game itself is really unlike any other movie license game. It is going to be very innovative and will garner a lot of attention when it comes out."

With today's technology, it could be interesting to see what Toy Story would look like, in HD.

Source: Internal

Japanese Battlefield 1943 On Japanese PSN

Those who couldn't wait until today may have downloaded the Japanese version of Battlefield 1943 on the Japanese PlayStation Network which wasn't released until today. Apparently the Japanese version was in English.

Source: SixthAxis

THQ Detail Upcoming UFC 2009: Undisputed Patch

THQ has posted details of an upcoming patch for UFC 2009: Undisputed. No word on when the patch will arrive though. See patch notes below:

Premature match quitting is the biggest online issue. The Patch will have integrated code that detects who pulls the cable and will assign a Loss as well as a Did Not Finish to that player. The DNF is only counted for the player who executes the disconnection. The DNF rate will be displayed on the fighter selection screen of the Online Ranked Match. When disconnected the Winning Streak is also reset to zero.

Adjusted Ranked Matches to match up players with better connections, which will improve lag issues

Adjusted the difficulty of performing submissions against AI opponents to improve the balance of subs vs. striking when playing against the AI.

Adjusted the Flash KO rate so that they are less frequent.

Increased maximum number of points awarded in online play from 99,999 to 999,999 and increased the Max Level from 100 to 200.

Lowered the Winning Streak Bonus Max from 5 to 3.

Removed the decimal places on the Leaderboard Winning Percentage so it will only show whole percentages.

Addressed the CAF cheat so the skill levels in CAF cannot be cheated and increased. Also any CAF with unfair point values will no longer be able to be used Online.

For PS3 users– fixed a bug that causes a freeze during auto-save; whichever controller was used to Press Start on the Title Screen will be identified as the main controller.

Source: Official

First Screenshots Of Kingdom Under Fire II

Korean developer Bluside has released the first shots of Kingdom Under Fire II which they assure us will stay “true to the action RTS tradition of the series that began with The Crusaders and Heroes.” The game is due to arrive in the second half of 2010 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. More screens at the source.

Source: CVG

EA Accidently Tweet About Command And Conquer 4

An EA staffer may have accidentally Tweeted news before it was ready that Command & Conquer 4 was in development at EA Los Angeles:

"New release: EA Los Angeles announces the development of Command & Conquer 4"

The Tweet pointed to a press release that wasn't there so it may have been a cock up either mis-timed or accidentally Tweeted. But it's like, totally in development.

Source: Joystiq

WipEout Fury Art Director Talks About Development Process

The US PlayStation Blog has a video developer diary with Marcus Tanner, the art director for WipEout Fury, talking about the development process of the add-on pack coming to WipEout HD:

“WipEout Fury is all about the use of bold structural shapes which define the architectural forms. These structures are oversized so they register with the player as they accelerate past at high speed and their striking shapes become associated as icons of each track. Interlocking modular shapes & overlaid layered surfaces make best use of the lighting by allowing shadows to play over the structures, and sunlight to glint through the gaps."

“This gives the impression of a highly complex and richly populated environment which is enhanced by the use of hyper-real gleaming hi-tech surfaces.”

Source: USPB

Champions Online Level Cap Extension And Live BETA Details

Champions Online BETA testers will get an extension to their level cap up to 17 with Millennium City open from July 17th. BETA hours will be extended to last full weekends too, dates below:

July 17th –20th: Friday morning 10:00 a.m. PDT (19.00 CET) to Monday morning 9:00 a.m. PDT (18.00 CET)

July 24th – 26th: Same Times

July 31st – August 10th: Same Times

August 14th – August 16th: Same Times

The open BETA begins on August 17th, and shall remain open twenty-four hours a day until finished.

Source: Internal

Tales Of Monkey Island: Launch Of The Screaming Narwhal Demo

Following the release of Tales of Monkey Island: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal on PC, a demo is also available for those who'd like to try before they buy. You can grab it from here.

Source: Internal

New Mass Effect 2 Video Showing Tonight On SpikeTV

Watch our for a new Mass Effect 2 video tonight on SpikeTV/Gametrailers.com as BioWare mentioned via Twitter:

"New Mass Effect 2 video debuting on Gametrailers TV on Spike Thurs Night/Fri morning. Up on their website after. Set Tivo now! - Evil Chris"

You heard the man. I still hate Twitter. Incidentally, we have a Twitter account too...

Source: Twitter

Rather Long Unofficial Tracklist For Guitar Hero 5

Joystiq has compiled an unofficial tracklist for Guitar Hero 5 which you'll have to go check out at the source because it's way too fucking long to post here. The list is compiled from tracks mentioned to be in the game from various articles and press releases that have been published online, so should be fairly accurate.

Source: Joystiq

BioWare Release New Dragon Age: Origins Screenshots

BioWare has released some new, quite frankly awesome looking screenshots of Dragon Age: Origins which you check out above. They show some pretty gnarly looking demon dude and is due for release on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in October.

Source: Internal

Mythic Helping Out On Star Wars: The Old Republic

Greg Zeschuk has revealed that Mythic is helping out with development of Star Wars: The Old Republic, but BioWare won't start helping out with Warhammer Online:

“Ray (Muzyka) and I (have) both played Warhammer, and actually I’ve still been playing it on and off for a while. So I think for us it’s not to much a popularity boost as just the fact that we can probably bring perspectives to the table that will be new and perhaps helpful to the guys from Mythic in the same way from an online perspective they can certainly share with us."

“To give credit to the Austin team [making Star Wars: The Old Republic], we have a number of serious MMO veterans on there, so it’s certainly not neophytes, but there’s absolutely opportunities to share and learn things back and forth.”

Source: EG

World of Warcraft In China Still Offline

World of Warcraft in China has been down since June 7th due to an operator handover. New server operators NetEase took over from The9 and made a statement about the delay:

"We have met with some factors which are out of our control [and] the servers' reopening will be delayed. [...] As of now, we don't have a specific reopening timeframe."

Source: Edge