Crackdown 2‘s July 2010 release date is quickly approaching so it only makes sense that Ruffian Games is starting the hype train. The latest bit of CD2 details? The world featured in the game is to be 1000 meters tall or about 3,281 feet (or 1 kilometer if that’s how you roll).

They recently told Kotaku that the tallest building featured in the game will be over 500 meters tall which means you will be doing a bit more climbing than you did in the previous title (read: a lot).

Of course, that 1000 meters includes the depths of the oceans featured in the game, but who doesn’t like to go swimming?

Ever since Bungie announced their exclusive 10-year contract with Activision, rumors have been floating around that say the studio will debut their latest development at this year’s E3. Unfortunately, this is not true.

Bungie has just come forth to announce that their game will not be shown off at this year’s E3, going on to say that they have no idea where this rumor came from. But don’t listen to me, listen to Bungie’s community head honcho Brian Jarrard:

“I don’t know where that’s come from, I can tell you we’re definitely not showing the game at E3. It’s definitely our intent to make this announcement and return to business as usual and know that we don’t have to worry about our future any more.

But, Halo fans, fret not as Bungie will not be abandoning Halo: Reach shortly after launch. Jarrard comments on those matters as well:

“We definitely want to focus on Reach. We have a lot of work to go, and we have the game to get out the door and to support, so you won’t be hearing anything about this project this year. It’s going to be all Reach for us in terms of where our public focus lies.”

Watch Bungie’s latest title be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. That would be all too cliche.

via edge

Well folks that’s it, the newest Call of Duty has been announced and it is to be officially entitled Call of Duty: Black Ops, the same name that has been rumored for some time now. Well, we don’t have any gameplay videos or screen shots for you, yet, but we do have some details.

First of all, players will take the role of a Black Ops operative (obviously) and will be dropped into missions that take place in various locations including Vietnam, Cuba and the Arctic. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten word of any Nazi Zombie remake but considering it’s being developed by Treyarch, I’d say it would be safe to assume that we will see some reiteration of the popular game type in Black Ops.

Oh yeah, we also know that it’s hitting store shelves for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on November 14th of this year. Hell, you can even get your pre-order in already.

When Super Street Fighter IV first got announced way back when I was a bit skeptical about the title — A new Street Fighter IV with characters that seemingly should have been nothing more than DLC? No thanks. However, after actually getting my hands on the game and seeing the immense amount of updates and tweaks Capcom had included along with the new characters, my views changed drastically.

And apparantly, I’m not the only one who thinks like this as Capcom has just announced that they have already shipped 1 Million Super Street Fighter IV units to retail. To put that into perspective, according to Capcom, the Street Fighter franchise has sold 28 million console units worldwide as of March 31st and this isn’t even including the SSFIV numbers I detailed above.

Pretty ridiculous.

Have you ever wondered how long it would take it actually beat Bejeweled 2? According to a Calfornian by the name of Mike Leyde, about 2,205 hours and 51 minutes. But what, beat Bejeweled 2, you say? Yep, beat Bejeweled 2.

After collecting 4,872,229 gems in PopCap’s popular puzzler, Mr. Leyde has maanged to rack up 2,147,483,647 points which is reportedly the highest the game is able to calculate.

This may seem like a ridiculous joke but it’s legit and documented in the above video. PopCap Games has even come forth to congratulate Mr. Leyde for being the first person in the world to ever beat Bejeweled 2.+

via joystiq

While the whole debacle between Activision and Infinity Ward is well under way, Activision themselves have acquired a new heavy hitting partner, one that you probably never would have guessed; Bungie. That’s right, Activision and Bungie have recently announced that they will be teaming up as part of a 10 year contract.

This contract will give Activision the exclusive rights to publish Bungie’s newest titles worldwide. But don’t worry Halo folks, Halo won’t be CoDified any more than Reach already has been as Microsoft still owns the rights to the Halo franchise.

Any guesses as to what Bungie will release first under Activision?

via yahoo

We all knew that Blizzard would look to be incorporating Mac users with StarCraft II but ever since the beta was made available, Mac users have been left in the dark. Luckily, Blizzard has just released a Mac client of the StarCraft II beta for all to enjoy.

Of course, if you’re not alreaday in the beta you’re not going to be able to access this and if you are, you already know where to get it.

Enjoy!

via destructoid

Have you ever wondered how long exactly the Halo: Reach beta, which is set to drop on May 3rd, will last? Well, recent reports are saying that the beta will only be playable for 17 days. That’s right, just 17 days. However, Bungie will not let those 17 days run stale recently announcing that they will be unlocking various game modes throughout the beta.

And, thanks to TVGB, we have the full breakdown for you:

• May 3 – Arena mode (4v4 ranked Team Slayer games), “Free-for-All” and “Grab Bag” playlists,” which include a mix of classic and brand new game types.”
• May 7 – Spartan vs. Elite “Invasion” playlist.
• May 14 – “Generator Defense” game type.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. Are you?

Street Fighter is arguably the most famous fighting franchise in history, and the last few editions of the game have solidified that place. And with Super Street Fighter IV, Capcom takes Street Fighter IV, adds a few more characters — 10, actually — a few more locations, and keeps the tried and tested gameplay. The result? One of the best fighting games you can get today. If not the best.

In case you’re wondering what the difference between Super Street Fighter IV and plain ‘ol Street Fighter IV is, you’ll have to look at the new additions and features. It includes 10 more playable characters — 2 all new ones — and a bunch of new features. The game was originally meant to be released as a DLC, but Capcom opted to release the whole deal separately at a lower price, and it’s an excellent deal for any fighting fan.

The gameplay is very easy to pick up and follows the ancient mantra of “easy to learn, hard to master”. You’ll be handing out combos and special moves within no time, while mastering everything will take you a long time. There are a total of 35 playable characters, all with their own unique feel and look, just the way it should be. In fact, there are so many characters that it’s easy to get lost, and it’ll certainly take you hours upon hours learning all the fighters. There are also new stages as well, and they look and feel just like you’d expect. This time, it’s easier to keep track of your improvements and score, with a dedicated point system for each of your fighters.

Visually, Super Street Fighter IV looks wonderful, with colorful characters and settings, and most importantly, a feel of throwback to the old games, with it’s retro charm and bright colors — almost cell-shadish. Multiplayer wise, there are the same features you’d expect, including online rankings, and now, a “endless” mode, where players can queue up and watch while two go at it, and when one is out, another player takes over. Another new feature is the replay mode, where you can not only replay your online matches, but also others’ matches as well, which leads to a great learning experience. Overall, Super Street Fighter IV is nothing short than the best fighting game out there at the moment, and offers endless hours of fun gameplay, both offline and online.

The Good:
Lots of characters
Great features
Awesome gameplay
Great visuals and style
Runs smooth

The Bad:
Campaign can get repetitive

Overall score: 10/10

With all of the fuss going on at Infinity Ward, it leaves you to wonder what kind of stress it’s causing executives of Activision. Well, it’s not officially related but it was just made known that the president and CEO of Activision, Mike Griffith, will no longer be working for Activision.

And when I say he will no longer be working for Activision I mean that he will still be the company’s vice chairman with a reported salary of $250,000 a year.

Honestly though, I wonder if this had anything to do with the whole Infinity Ward mess? Let us know what you think in the comments.

via tvgb