All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Our beloved sister site, Big Download, reports that Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter has been slightly delayed to April -- and, frankly, if you can't trust your own sister, who can you trust? (That's on PC, mind you. No word on the 360 port's timing.) BD was also told that a deathmatch and dedicated servers update for the first game would arrive soon and that The Second Encounter would ship with both of those features.

We're happy for the tidbits, but we can't figure out why Devolver Digital would give all that cool, manly news to our dumb little sister. She still plays with My Little Ponies and Polly Pocket. What does she know about a game where dudes have bombs for hands?

Attack or defend the objective in Multiplayer Rush mode in the demo for Bad Company 2.

Action cinema's greatest icons return to games, and this time it's war.

Generally speaking, when a company can post a year-over-year growth in the double digits, it's doing pretty well. We write up a lot of financial news here at the 'Stiq, and it's not often that we can report that a company managed a 623 percent increase in its income. And yet, here we are, as GameSpot reports that NCsoft has done exactly that -- thanks in no small part to its latest MMO, Aion. Specifically, NCsoft reported revenues of KRW634.7 billion ($546 million) for its fiscal 2009, an 83 percent increase over the previous year. Actual income (profit, in other words) reached KRW185.4 billion ($160 million), a 623 percent increase over 2008.

Narrowing things down solely to the company's 4th quarter, income was actually up 1009 percent over the same period last year, with NCsoft reporting KRW72.1 billion ($62 million). Fourth quarter revenues, meanwhile were up 99 percent at KRW197.3 billion ($170 million).

Again, all this is mostly on the fantastic back of Aion, which brought in 43 percent of the company's game revenue for 2009, followed by Lineage II with 26 percent, the original Lineage with 23, City of Heroes with 4, Guild Wars with 3 and other titles with 1 percent.

[Via Edge]

After narrowly escaping Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's impact crater in late 2009, Raven Software's tardy, time-bending first-person shooter, Singularity, finally appears to have settled on a new ETA. Speaking in an investor conference call following the release of the company's latest financial results, Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith mentioned that both Singularity and star vehicle / vehicle star Transformers: War for Cybertron were due some time in May 2010. [Update: Activision's Dan Amrich has an updated release timeframe for Singularity, confirming a June release.]

If neither of those appeal to you, Shrek Forever After: The Game is also set to release during the same month. But ... really? You don't like transforming robots or time-distorting techno-gloves? What if the robots were wearing the gloves?

We get it. Who wants to play an X-Station or a PlayBox when tending virtual crops and vanquishing zombie hordes is so much more appealing? At least, that seems to be the case for some Europeans, as the BBC reports players have shown their support for the casual by plunking down hundreds of millions of Euros last year.

In Great Britain alone, 13.3 million gamers enjoyed casual titles through various game portals, with 2.4 million of those users actually dipping into their piggy banks to pay while they play. This averages out to a profit of £117 per person per year -- casual gamers alone in Great Britain spent a total of £280 million. It's also reported that gaming on mobile platforms generated £170 million in the UK (which includes all of Great Britain plus Northern Ireland) last year.

Other large markets in Europe have also seen significant revenue. France tallied up £220 million in cash from casual gaming throughout 2009, while Germany doubled that total, securing £440 million from its Hasselhoff-loving populace. We guess Germany can finally be known for loving two things!

Wizards of the Coast today announced that it has signed a new deal with the developer of Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers, Stainless Games (also responsible for the upcoming Risk: Factions). The press release states that Duels of the Planeswalkers has been a great success for Wizards of the Coast, noting that it has been among the top 10 Xbox Live Arcade games since it was first released in June 2009. No specifics are given regarding the deal, so we'll have to wait to see what projects Stainless has going, though it's probably safe to assume there is more Magic on the way.

Wizards of the Coast has already confirmed that versions of Planeswalkers are headed to both the PS3 and PC later this year. Given the collectible nature of Magic, it wouldn't be surprising to see Stainless produce more DLC for all platforms, either. Of course, Wizards of the Coast also has some other lucrative properties under its belt, notably Dungeons & Dragons and Star Wars, both of which could easily be turned into video game properties.

We know, the idea of a Star Wars video game sounds crazy, but it just might work.

Filed under: X3F TV This week on Xbox Live Arcade, Darwinia+ finally, finally makes its way onto Microsoft's download service. It's been a very long time coming, but now it's here for everyone to enjoy. There's plenty to enjoy, too, as the game contains both the original Darwinia and the multiplayer version, Multiwinia. See what all the hubbub is about in the latest XBLA in Brief, then decide if you want to plunk down the 1200 ($15) entrance fee.

Shortcut: Download the trial version of Darwinia+ [via Xbox.com]

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So, was a 25 percent reduction not enough incentive to pick up Trine? Did you scoff when Impulse only halved the price? If your cold, frugal heart was unmoved by these gestures of kindness, perhaps its icy confines will be breached by Steam's latest deal. You see, from now through Thursday, Trine can be purchased from the service for 75 percent off its retail price. Yes, that means you can pick up Frozenbyte's magical puzzle-platformer for only five bucks.

Should that fail to penetrate the stony tomb of loneliness inside your rib cage, well, then there's nothing more to be said.

[Thanks, AJ]

Well, that makes both Australia and Spain that are getting this limited edition set. What part of the world is going to be up next?!

I never played any of the Gargoyle games, and I have no good excuse as to why. There were three of them to my knowledge, and for some reason I missed them all. I think it’s time for these to see some WiiWare revamps!

Okay, I know most of you guys don’t like dungeon-crawlers or roguelike games…whatever you want to call them. That most likely means you’re going to ignore Shiren the Wanderer much like the DS outing is passed over. These games are tough, ridiculously tough…but that’s what makes them fun. Actually, Shiren the Wanderer [...]

Toby Gard is the creator of Tomb Raider, and he has standards for Lara Croft, damnit! When Gard was working on Tomb Raider: Legend/Anniversary, he was asked to scribble out Lara in nothing but the flesh, and the image above is as far as he allowed himself to go. If you’re looking to [...]

It seems SouthPeak's taking its recently acquired role as European publisher for 3D Dot Game Heroes pretty seriously -- according to a recent press release, the company will release the PAL version of the bizarre action-RPG on May 14, just a few days after North America gets its hands on the game.

In addtion, attendees of the Midlands MCM Expo, held February 20 in the heart of Shropshire, England, will be able to get their first hands-on time with the game. We'd book our flight to the event post-haste -- if we only knew how to speak Shropshirian.

Did you know that Taito was at one time considering a revival of Elevator Action for the DS? You know, the same Taito that has revived both Space Invaders and Arkanoid for Nintendo’s platform. For whatever reasons, Taito scrapped the idea, but we are just now getting to see the proposed character art [...]

Put on your snow gear and kill enemies with your friends!

PlayStation Home hasn't forgotten about you, avid Warhawk fan. It may have been years since the multiplayer PSN game released, but its community is still going strong. If you're still obsessed with taking to the skies, you may want to plunk down some cash on the Warhawk Apartment, which features a Sand Table that lets you strategize. Even cooler, it also includes a co-op shooter that lets you take down flying bogeys.

That's not the only thing to grace Home tomorrow. For more details on tomorrow's update, check out the PlayStation.Blog. Check out a trailer after the break.

New positions, moves, and--of course--fighters grace the upcoming UFC Undisputed 2010 in this interview with Neven Dravinski, Dana White and Martin Kampmann.

This multiplayer gameplay has you facing off against the bad guys with the help of your friends.

Click to Ooga-size

First revealed in September of last year, NinjaBee has released the very first screens of Ancients of Ooga, an upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game. The game centers around the Oogani, comprised of tribes of voracious, imp-like creatures. According to the press release, the primary action of the Oogani is to eat. Depending on what one consumes, the player-controlled Oogani can be imbued with special abilities, though apparently some tasty morsels have detrimental effects as well.

The release also notes that the game is "packed with puzzle solving, bad-guy fighting, ladder-climbing, catapulting, strange-object eating, puking enjoyment." Given the bizarre humor of Ancients of Ooga, it shouldn't surprise that J. Kenworthy Entertainment is developing the game as a spiritual successor to its first XBLA outing, Cloning Clyde.

Check out a bunch of beta build screens -- which are definitely giving off a demented Kirby sort of vibe -- in the gallery below. Ancients of Ooga is planned for release later this year.

A portion of the WiiLoveIt Review: All in all, there’s very little to find fault with Driift Mania. Admittedly, some aspects could’ve been a bit better such as the fact that the game contains no leaderboards to speak of. That being said, the minor niggles of the game are really overpowered by the compelling multiplayer [...]

If you're willing to commit to purchasing Yakuza 3 next month, despite the fact that your pre-order bill already includes God of War III and Final Fantasy XIII, you'll be rewarded with extra content. In North America, a pre-order comes with four DLC bonuses, including a "Battle for Survival" boss-rush mode, two tournament modes and a "Haruka's Request" set of missions. Pre-ordering from GameStop will add an additional Challenge Pack, containing alternate costumes and two-player pool, bowling, darts, and golf minigames.

In Europe, the Challenge Pack is the lone pre-order bonus, as Yakuza 3 will be released in "Premium Edition" format, which includes the other DLC mentioned above, a 31-track soundtrack and a "Yakuza Who's Who" guide to the characters -- useful for distinguishing the good gangsters from the bad gangsters!

Four of these reasons are spot on. I can’t stress enough how the games listed here are going to be great. As far as the vitality sensor goes… Nintendo is going to have to show me some reason to be excited about it. Hmm… The Wii Vitality Sensor will be the most HARDCORE, EPIC and BEE’S [...]

Direct Link Here Everyone’s Recommendation Selection - Commercial, 428 - ERS Trailer, 428 - ERS Commercial, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - ERS Trailer, Otona no Renai Shousetsu: Harlequin Selection - Overview Trailer, Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll - Trailer, Daikaijuu Battle: Ultra, Coliseum DX - Ultra Senshi Daishuuketsu - Trailer, Fushigi [...]

Campaigns of the Coalition mode allows players to play as a number of empires in the Napoleonic era.

Speaking to VG247, Rebellion's Tim Jones has revealed that day-one special edition DLC for Aliens vs Predator will eventually be available for everyone else. The DLC will be made available on release day for those that purchase the special edition (which is pretty hard to miss) and, as is becoming tradition, vanilla edition purchasers will have to wait. As for the DLC itself, Jones says that it will include four separate multiplayer maps (two for the survival mode, two for other modes). Concerning future DLC, Jones simply says, "Watch this space."

Alas, it looks like our dreams of a day-one Alf skin for the Xenomorphs have been dashed. Here's hoping someone at Rebellion jumps on this potential DLC goldmine.

Executive Producer Luis Gigliotti describes the brand new engine used to produce the extremely detailed post-apocalyptic world plus innovative new weapons!

Humanity struggles to survive in Moscow after nuclear devastation strikes.