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Fable creator Peter Molyneux has revealed Curiosity, the first project from 22 Cans.

An easier way to browse for and play community creations is downloadable through battle.net.

Details up on Battlenet tell of the beta for patch 1.5 for Starcraft II, and it’s got a couple of important things in there. The most important of these is The Arcade, which is a way to find “custom games”, aka mods, that have been created and posted by the Starcraft community. Blizzard explain: “When you log into the beta, you’ll find the Arcade has games available to play, because the industrious StarCraft II custom gaming community has already been hard at work crafting, refining, and posting their creations.” The patch also contains some editor refinements, to make that mod crafting a little easier.

Also in this patch is a streaming launcher, which will allow people to install and patch the game a little faster. Because speed is everything, eh mortals?

The collapse of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games, after the commercial failure of Kingdoms Of Amalur, left a lot of game developers completely out of work. Which is not a good situation to be in. But all is not lost, thanks to the need for Epic to expand. In a letter written by Mike Capps, the company explains that they need lots of talent, and consequently they’re jumping right in with both feet and hiring a bunch of Big Huge Games folk: “The way we see it, there’s been a big storm in Baltimore, and we’re taking in a few of the refugees — as are the awesome folks at Zynga East, Zenimax Online, and other southeastern studios. Epic’s in a situation where we can do this, and it very clearly fits with our company values, so we’re going to give it a whirl.”

So that’s a new Epic studio in Baltimore, working on something owned by Epic, starting, well, right now.

A picture of Barack Obama flashes up on the screen. There’s a big, warm smile on his face, but in the background there’s the sound of a helicopter gunship firing. “I searched for happy photos of Obama,” says Angelina, the game’s creator, “because I like him.”

Angelina makes computer games. I guess you could call her an indie developer of sorts – her games certainly exist away from the big-budget mainstream industry, and she doesn’t have a huge team at her disposal. Like many indie developers, she seeks to inject her games with meaning and purpose, and tackle issues that other releases stray away from. There’s just one difference between her and most creatives working in the field.

Angelina isn’t a human being. She’s a computer program.(more…)

It seems that Survarium devs Vostock weren’t the only studio to rise from the ashes of STALKER developer GSC. There’s also Union Studio, whose LinkedIn page states that they are “developing cross-platform action shooter which will be available for PC, Mac, PlayStation, XBOX.” It also reveals that the CEO is Eugene Kim, one of the Stalker coders, while the design lead is Peter Dushynsky, who apparently worked at Metro devs 4A, as well as taking the lead for “Stalker Online” at GSC.

Sega have announced the tracklist for Jet Set Radio HD (will it be called Jet Grind Radio again in the US?), which will be arriving on PC later this year. There’s also a new trailer to celebrate this fact, which you can see below. It’s apparently some kind of amalgamation of the tracklisting from the various versions of the game that were released around the world when it first appeared on the Dreamcast.

Man, the year 2000 seems like a long time ago…(more…)

Look, if you don't have a mouse designed exclusively to play your favorite types of games, you're doing it wrong. At least, that's what Razer wants you to think. The company recently released it's Naga Hex mouse, which was created especially for MOBAs and action-RPGs, with six side-mounted buttons just for activating in-game skills.

If your mouse just doesn't have enough buttons - or perhaps has too many - the Hex just might help you out, assuming your willing to shell out 80 bucks, of course. Check out Joystiq's overview of the Naga Hex above.

Cryptic tweet and mystery blog strongly suggest that another Alan Wake adventure is coming.

Sundays are for listening to spooky old records and peering out at the rain. Ah, the British Summer. Fortunately we’ve got a blazing hot internet to crowd around. Gosh, look at the glow!

• Brainygamer argues that it’s high noon for shooters: “History rarely offers a precise road map, but it can sometimes point us in a useful direction. The decline of the Western – the causes of its near-demise, and its reemergence in other guises – are worth noting because I believe shooter games are on a similar trajectory. It will be 1959 at E3 next week, and we will find ourselves awash in barely distinguishable shooters. But it won’t last. It can’t last, and that’s a good and necessary thing.” This seems optimistic to me. I bet the folks in comics thought they were going to get past the superhero thing back in the 1980s, but oh look. My suspicion is that we’ll just have to hope that amazing stuff still happens in the margins. (And it will, as the next link testifies.)

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Hello youse.

I’m back. Even better than that, I’m back full time as a fully integrated member of Team RPS. That means I’ll be here every weekend, delivering all your board game and card game and RPG content. Basically, if it’s a game, and you need to sit at a table to play it, I’ll cover it. I’ll write about it, photograph it, film it and show you it. And I’ll also do those things with the game.

It’s a big responsibility. Where else can a fella speak about board games to OVER TWO MILLION UNIQUE USERS? Nowhere else. Only here. Only on the best games website on the planet. I will make you spend mad money in the months and years ahead. You will hate me for it. You will be penniless. You will have no space left in your house. You will wish death on me.

This week, a catch-up.(more…)

Dark Souls is coming to PC with tons of new content. Here's what you'll get (and yes, it's coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 too).

The pace of change in Kickstarter is perhaps the most interesting thing. Just a weekly dip reveals enormous changes, successful and failed projects, and perhaps most revealing of all, those stuck and static. So once again, here’s a round-up of what’s going on in PC projects.

A quick note: saying, “But what about X?” in the comments won’t get anywhere. Email me via my name above to bring projects to my attention. And as ever, our including a project here is not an endorsement, and we are in no way saying that you should give it your money. You can make that decision for yourself.

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Some of the best games from the last few years are on sale this weekend. No matter what your tastes, I reckon you’ll find a deal that’ll grab your attention in this week’s bucket. At these prices I’d say that it’s got to be worth trying something you might not think you’d be interested in, you might be surprised. If nothing takes your fancy here, be sure to check SavyGamer.co.uk for constant news on the best deals in gaming. (more…)

After putting out Alice: Madness Returns last year, American McGee's Spicy Horse studio has been working on Big Head Bash, a multiplayer shooter set in a toy store universe. It's been in beta for a pretty long time, but now you can play it all official-like.

Spicy Horse describes the game as "a free to play title combining heated PvP death match battles and collectable elements that will feature licensed goods from popular comics, music, movies and even alternative fashion." You can play Big Head Bash for free right now on Kongregate, along with the 100,000 other individuals who have taken it for a test run.

If you have an Xbox 360 or a PC, download Minecraft and use this handy Minecraft Beginner's Guide to get started.

Slow-motion tumbling and headshotting with a mouse a keyboard.

With big improvements but some severe limitations Google OS fans are presented with an option: Go big or go Chrome.

Welcome back to Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly news show. This week: Why buy games at launch? And could 38 Studios kickstart Kingdoms of Amalur 2?

Filed under: Features, PC, Online, RPGs It's the little things that push a game from good to great. Attention to detail is a big reason why Diablo 3 sold six million-plus copies in its first week. It's part of why Blizzard has one of the best reputations of any developer in gaming.

My favorite collection of "little things" in Diablo 3 are the "paper doll" effects. When your character equips new armor or weapons, they clearly show up on your avatar. New helm? Ooo, it's got a plume! New two-handed sword? Man, that sucker is big.

Is this the first truly co-operative RPG?

Use your camera and microphone to express your character in new ways in EverQuest 2.

It was in a sockless state that I last wrote of Lilly Looking Through, my footgloves knocked off by the exquisitely animated Amanita style adventure that has shades of Miyazaki in its tale of inquisitive childishness and fantastical worlds. The demo is well worth your time if you haven’t already played it and now the three-person team are seeking funds on Kickstarter. It should be noted that the funds aren’t needed to finish the game, this is still a thing that will exist, but hiring extra personnel would allow for more speed without sacrificing quality. There’s an endearing video, with special effects and actual fence-sitting, and the now standard series of pledge tiers. Here’s the trailer again for anyone who doesn’t know why I’m won over by this one.

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This is no surprise but confirmation comes that Lego Lord of the Rings will be released in the Autumnal phase of 2012. I was quite disconcerted when the Joker started talking in a video for the next Lego Batman, which looks quite superb, but the trailer for Lego of That Ring goes even further, re-enacting scenes from the film and using the dialogue right in there. I’m not sure I like it and I hope it’s just for the trailer. I like the comedic and intentionally stripped back take on the source material the previous games have presented. Watch and see what you make of it all.

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EA and Maxis have announced a release month for SimCity, and it turns out you won't have to wait all that long.

Robert Bowling's new outfit Robotoki has revealed its first project and ... it's a zombie game. Human Element revolves around survivors in the zombie apocalypse. Players must choose from three different classes (Action, Intelligence and Stealth) and three different identity profiles: Survive Alone, Survive with a Partner and Survive with a Young Child.

"Their greatest strength is the fear that [zombies] instill in us, the survivors, that unreasonable fear. Unreasonable fear that leads us to do unreasonable things to survive," Bowling told Game Informer. "How you choose to start in the world will determine how you can engage and impacts the scenarios you will be presented with on a physical and morality level."

Don't expect to play Human Element anytime soon, though. Human Element is slated to launch in 2015 for next-generation consoles, mobile, tablets and PC. Game Informer's July issue has a four-page spread on Bowling and Human Element.

Is Blizzard’s hit merely a clever psychological trickster, or is there art in its soul?

Total War meets arcade dragon action meets relationship simulator in Larian Studios' distinctly unusual game.

A press release (available after the break) detailing Electronic Arts' full E3 line-up has revealed a launch window for Maxis' forthcoming reboot of SimCity: February, 2013. Previously, we were left to ponder over a woefully vague "2013" release window for the reboot.

Apologies, lovers of metal-mangling, flesh-rending trainwrecks. I’ve got some bad news for you. The no-holds-barred modern battlewarfront of words between Activision and former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella – which has been brewing since 2010 – won’t be going to court. After the lawsuit reached a fever pitch of $1 billion in demands, Polygon‘s reporting that the two sides have opted to settle.

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