EA and DICE have announced the release date of the upcoming Battlefield 1943. The game, which goes back to its Battlefield roots in World War 2, will be released this June as a download on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, and will be priced at $15 (1200 MS points for the Xbox 360). Unfortunately for PC gamers, they’ll have to wait until September for the game.

Battlefield 1943, powered by the new Frostbite engine, will feature three of the most popular maps from Battlefield 1942, including the famous Wake Island.

Browsing through the Apple app store can be a bit tedious when looking for quality content. Many companies have jumped on the popularity of the portable device by releasing floods of cheap games that are simply knock-offs of flash games or other iPhone games. Generally they utilize either a touch screen interface, tilt controls or a combination of the two, but a few games have utilized a shaking option, one of which has stirred up a hornets nest of controversy.

The game has you shaking your iPhone (or iPod Touch) in order to quiet a crying baby, an act which if carried out in real life would result in death or severe injury. As you might expect as soon as people got wind of this a fair amount of stink was raised. Apple has since pulled the application from the store after the waves of criticism from various baby shaking prevention groups.

This has since raised other controversies, including a New York Times blogger who raises the question of how far Apple will take their censorship. Unfortunately while I agree that Apple should limit censorship to truly tastelessly offensive materials the fact remains that the app store is owned and run by Apple, giving them not only the ability but the right to censor or ban any content they wish. The big question that arises out of all of this is whether or not Apple would be so quick to pull something that was generating a much larger revenue stream.

And so, the flood of first person shooter video games that attempt to differentiate themselves in the dumbest possible fashion continues with recent release Fracture, now available for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. First, the plot rundown:

In the fairly distant future of 2161, turns out Al Gore was right and a lot sooner than anyone expected—global warming has taken hold and flooded out a lot of the planet, including major chunks of the Midwest for some reason and the coasts.  In order to prevent the total destruction of the coastal states, new technologies emerge that can reshape the landscape with the press of a button, forming valleys where there were cliffs and cliffs where there were valleys, allowing threatened areas to easily build bulwarks of land against the oncoming floodwaters.

The United States has been split in two at about the Mississippi River, with the United States operating out of Washington D.C. and the new offshoot, the Republic of Pacifica, functioning out of its new capitol of San Francisco, which probably should’ve been flooded right along with most of California if the Pacific goes up as much as expected.  Anyway, Pacifica’s embraced genetic modification as a way of life—those crazy Californians!—and they’re now at odds with what’s left of the United States, who thinks that genetic modification on a grand scale is so immoral that they’ve declared it illegal, choosing instead to focus on the technological prowess of man.  And thus, the two republics find themselves at war in the future.

When I said that it was going to try and differentiate itself using some pretty weak methods, I meant it.  First, it’s not a hundred percent accurate to call Fracture a first person shooter, because you are not merely behind the gun—you are behind the entire CHARACTER.  As far as I’m concerned this is a toe-MAY-toe / toe-MAH-toe sort of difference, but that’s just me, and really does little overall to separate this from the slew of first person shooters already out on the market.

Second, there’s been a lot of fuss about the “entrencher” gun, quite possibly the single unique feature about this game.  With it, you can raise and lower portions of ground, probably based on the same technology that I described in the plot synopsis above.  It’s nice to be able to make cover wherever you go, but would I play an entire game because it exists?  No, not a chance.  It’s a nifty feature, a sweet addition to the list of bells and whistles, but frankly, I wouldn’t ever play this game again.

Why?  Because it’s almost EXACTLY the same game as Too Human and Gears of War and Gears of War 2 and all those other games that we’ve been playing over and over and over again with virtually no distinguishing features except those in character and story and bells and whistles.

And while I’m at it, whose brain-damaged idea was it to name the game’s lead character “Jet Brody”?  I mean, come on—did you have a CONTEST and bring in some fourth graders, get them loaded on Pixy Stix and Red Bull and tell them to come up with the coolest action hero name EVER?  Did you pass on “Max Power” just because The Simpsons already did it?   Even Matt Hazard made a little more sense and that was a DELIBERATE parody.  Please stop insulting my intelligence by coming up with this crap.  Seriously.

Basically, there’s no real reason to play this game unless you’re absolutely desperate to start reshaping landscapes in video games to suit your own desires because you’ve already played this game about a dozen times over.  Fracture is yet another in a long string of miserable retreads that aren’t even worth a rental unless you can’t get enough first person shooter action.

Way back when, in the depths of the eight-bit revolution and the good old straight-eight Nintendo Entertainment System, back when Mario was still a plumber and not a merchandising icon, I remember playing a little game called Lode Runner.  It was a strange little title, a kind of strange puzzle / platform action hybrid in which you ran around a maze, trying to lay hands on piles of gold while being pursued by robots who would have preferred it if you were dead.

You were unable to jump, and instead were given a blaster gun that didn’t work on your enemies, but rather on the floor to your immediate left or right.  I didn’t have a whole lot of fun with it, but maybe that’s because at the time I was like eight.

Now here’s the part that really got me.  Recently–like within the last couple days–I found a copy of Lode Runner on Xbox Live Arcade, for twelve hundred Microsoft points.  And except for the updated graphics, there’s virtually nothing that distinguishes it from my memories of the original.  And oddly, I STILL didn’t have a lot of fun with this.  Fully twenty years of growth and maturity still couldn’t make this canard be fun.

So if you’re looking for an almost completely intact copy of Lode Runner with a little bit of a graphics upgrade, then head on over to Xbox Live Arcade.  And if you’re not, then don’t worry–you’re not missing anything.

The nineties saw skateboarding evolve from a passing fascination into a full blown phenomenon. Names like Tony Hawk could be dropped in casual conversation without a need to explain yourself. Snowboarding also shot up in appeal, likely because of the overall similarity between the two ‘extreme sports’. As with all fads however much of the ‘extreme sport’ fascination died down and while the events are still televised they’re watched these days more by die-hard fans than the general public. Though the appreciation of the skill involved in executing a daring mid-air maneuver is still there, the ‘ooh’ novelty has long since faded.

Recently though a new sensation has begun sweeping across the public consciousness. Parkour, or free running, no matter what you call this particular combination of strength, acrobatic prowess and sheer guts, it’s incredibly impressive to watch. It’s been featured in some films; briefly in the newest Die Hard film, the action-packed beginning scene of Casino Royale and heavily in French action film District B-13, which is a must-see for anyone and everyone.

Mirror’s Edge was one of the first games to feature this style as a central focus of action, though games like Prince of Persia and the recent NInja Gaiden titles have incorporated elements of it without doing so, but recently a game was released in which pulling off cool tricks and complex maneuvers is the central focus. It’s from Reef Entertainment and bears the accurately descriptive yet boring title Free Running. Originally released for the PSP and PS2 its success has garnered it the honor of being brought to the Nintendo DS, Wii and PC in Europe later this year. They’re retooling the game a bit to take advantage of the processing power and unique control scheme of each system.

Gamers have their share of people wanting to play investigators or some socialite adventure and with Electronic Arts new game, MySim Agents, expect a lot of plot twisting tales to come forth. EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. today announced MySims Agents, an original IP, mystery-solving adventure game for the Wii and Nintendo DS where players are the heroic agents who must stop a sinister plot that threatens the fate of an entire city.

“We’re thrilled to bring you MySims Agents, the next game from MySims, and something completely different than any MySims game before,” said Tim LeTourneau, General Manager of the MySims franchise. “Its mystery-meets-adventure theme allows players to hone their problem-solving skills while still enjoying all of the beloved MySims charm; characters, customization and humor.”

• In MySims Agents players take on the role of a special agent hired to foil the sinister plans of Morcubus, lord of the criminal underworld. By recruiting different MySims, each with their own special characteristics, players can build up their very own crime-busting dream team. From tracking footprints and using forensics to picking locks, hacking into computers, following leads and collecting clues, players must rely on their wits, skills and trusty gadgets to piece together the clues to solve the mystery. Jump aboard the jet to reach an ancient temple, a spooky mansion or an icy mountaintop chalet in search of clues that lead players closer to the sinister Morcubus. Return from the adventure with cool treasures that players can use to construct and customize their headquarters and make it their own.
• In MySims Agents on the Nintendo DS players are agents assigned by their agency to help the mayor stop a notorious thief from stealing an ancient treasure. By searching for clues, solving intricate puzzles and matching wits with the thief, gamers can protect the treasure and the town! Along the way they can talk to their favorite MySims, sharpen their agent skills with 10 different mini-games, and search through underground caverns for clues to the thief’s undoing!

(Source) Press

Replay Studios today sent out word that its stealth-action take on the WWII exploits of British agent Violette Szabo has gone gold. Dubbed Velvet Assassin, the game lets players take control of the agent as she takes out Nazi soldiers during the war.

The game is due out on PC and Xbox 360 on April 30. However, several retailers are currently listing the game as shipping out a few days earlier – April 28.

Contradicting the “face tech” announcement made a couple days ago, developer Funcom today denied any current plans to bring such technology into Age of Conan.

"While Big Stage may be planning to implement the technology in games soon, it is not currently slated for implementation into Age of Conan," said Funcom.

The confusion seems to have originated from miscommunication and tricky word play. Big Stage had put up a trailer demonstrating the technology with Age of Conan assets, telling viewers to look for it “in-game soon”, but interestingly did not specify if the game would indeed be the violent MMO.

Steam’s catalog keeps on expanding, as MMOG publisher NCSoft has announced that its various titles will soon hit Valve’s digital distribution platform.

Already available are City of Heroes, Guild Wars and Lineage, with Aion due out this fall.

"NCsoft is a clear leader in the MMO industry, and we believe our player community will be very excited to have access to the diverse catalog NCsoft has to offer our members," said Valve business development director Jason Holtman.

To celebrate the occasion, they will be running “special offers” for NCSoft’s games in the coming weeks.

Metal Gear Solid Touch completed, free update issued
Skype probably not coming to DSi anytime soon
ThinkGeek offers brand new Dreamcasts
Griffin International announces The Hunt and The Strike
Final Maw DLC Dated
Brutal Legend Gets Release Date
Court gives Square Enix the go ahead to buy Eidos
Killzone 2’s ‘Steel & Titanium’ priced, gets new trailer
Shaun White Snowboarding Game Review–You Can Almost Feel Air Moving
Funtown Mahjong Game Review–Hot Shots Mahjong
Will Wii MotionPlus Bring Back Wii-itis?
Dante’s Inferno Invading the PSP