There was going to be separate entries today for all the releases but there’s too many of them. (i.e. I’m too busy to produce a bunch of news posts.) Here we go, some releases for November 17, 2009:

• Left 4 Dead 2 (360, PC) from Valve Software and EA
• Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Wii) from Capcom
• Naruot Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 (Wii) from Tomy
• Princess and the Frog (DS, Wii) from Disney Interactive
• God of War Collection (PS3) from SCEA
• LittleBigPlanet (PSP) from SCEA
• Tony Hawk: Ride (360, PS3, Wii) from Activision
• Assassin’s Creed II (360, PS3) from Ubisoft
• Lego Indiana Jones 2 (360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP) from LucasArts

If Stalin vs. the Martians didn’t tweak the B-movie part of your brain, maybe Dino D-Day will do the job. One of the best game trailers I’ve seen in a while, Dino D-Day (scheduled for a 2010 launch) showcases some great faux WWII newsreel footage and Nazi dinosaurs. Good stuff for the start of the weekend:

Only a handful of months separates me and the concluding chapter in the C&C Tiberium timeline. Today EA announced the Command & Conquer: Tiberian Twilight will hit our hard drives March 16, 2010.  As a fan of the series, I’m already looking forward to this.  Here’s what the official word from EA looks like:

“Finally, fans will learn what happens to Kane, Nod, GDI, Earth and Tiberium when Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight hits store shelves March 16th,” said Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer of Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight at EA Los Angeles. “We can’t wait for fans to experience the trademark C&C action with the new level of strategic depth we have added, especially with our new experience system.”

Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight throws players into the epic battles between the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod with its enigmatic leader Kane. With its new experience and class-based systems that are persistent across all game modes, Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight sticks to the action-packed gameplay fans have come to love while offering them entirely new ways to play Command & Conquer. Whether conquering alone, in co-op mode or in an all-new 5v5 objective-based multiplayer mode, Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight delivers an innovative social real-time-strategy experience never seen before in a Command & Conquer game.

“Finally, fans will learn what happens to Kane, Nod, GDI, Earth and Tiberium when Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight hits store shelves March 16th,” said Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer of Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight at EA Los Angeles. “We can’t wait for fans to experience the trademark C&C action with the new level of strategic depth we have added, especially with our new experience system.”
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For next to nothing — $9.99 and €9.99 — PC gamers can download Fort Zombie just in time for Halloween.  From Vancouver, BC developer Kerberos Productions, Fort Zombie is a RPG/action summed up thusly:

“Assemble your party from the survivors you can find. Equip them and send them out to find weapons, ammo and food, to help with the survival effort. Seek out military and emergency vehicles, the best sources for hardware and vital ammunition. Select from an assortment of handguns, shotguns, rifles and assault-weapons or pick-up an ever reliable fire-axe. Then shoot, swing and bash your way through an endless sea of undead.”

And here’s the launch video:

I wish more companies held events like this to celebrate their accomplishments. Not only does it promote the game, it creates some excitement among genre fans anticipating a game’s release.

BioWare and Electronic Arts are hosting an international competition to mark the November 3, 2009 release of Dragon Age: Origins, which features “ten teams of four players each [that] will live, fight and explore [Dragon Age: Origins Wardens’ Quest] as the drama unfolds in their 24 hour quest to claim the grand prize. Each winning team member will receive $12,500. Official rules can be found at http://www.wardensquest.com”

The competition gets underway in two days — October 28, 2009 — at the Debating Chamber at County Hall in London, England and feature some LARPing. Here are few more details:

There will be ten participating teams representing their countries: the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands and Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and a specially selected team comprised of the most loyal BioWare fans from around the world. The competition will take place in the Debating Chamber at County Hall in London, England. This space will provide a grandiose setting for the competitors to play the game, discuss strategy and battle for the grand prize as teams are eliminated throughout the day.  Around the chamber, screens will be used to display leader board stats and show highlights. BioWare staff and costumed actors will further enhance the environment, theatrics and dramatics of the day.

In Dragon Age: Origins, players take the role of a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians.  Now, as a rising evil threatens to destroy all life, it is up to players to unite the shattered lands and slay the corrupted dragon known as the Archdemon.  To restore peace, players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind.

There will be ten participating teams representing their countries: the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands and Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and a specially selected team comprised of the most loyal BioWare fans from around the world. The competition will take place in the Debating Chamber at County Hall in London, England. This space will provide a grandiose setting for the competitors to play the game, discuss strategy and battle for the grand prize as teams are eliminated throughout the day.  Around the chamber, screens will be used to display leader board stats and show highlights. BioWare staff and costumed actors will further enhance the environment, theatrics and dramatics of the day.
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It was announced today that Dragon Age: Origins, BioWare’s anticipated role-playing game, has officially gone gold and will hit retail November 3, 2009 for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  We’ll soon see if the extensive wait was worth it! Also of note, is the release of the BioWare Social Network launching with the Dragon Age: Origins “Character Creator where players can create and customize a player character on the PC and then upload their character data and avatar to the BioWare Social Network before Dragon Age: Origins launches. ”

Origins will be available on all three platforms with several packs of downloadable content (DLC) including The Stone Prisoner, the Blood Dragon Armor and Warden’s Keep; each further enriching the gameplay experience.

“We’re excited to confirm that all three versions of Dragon Age: Origins will be available to fans on November 3 in North America,” said Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager, RPG/MMO Group of EA, and Co-Founder, BioWare. “The Dragon Age: Origins development team was able to polish the PlayStation 3 version to our high standard of quality and we are ready to deliver the richest and deepest role-playing fantasy experience across all three platforms.”

In anticipation of the game, players can begin their Dragon Age: Origins experience early by joining the BioWare Social Network — a destination to share in-game screenshots, review game data and share story information. Players can also download the free* to download Character Creator where players can create and customize a player character on the PC and then upload their character data and avatar to the BioWare Social Network before Dragon Age: Origins launches. The Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator will provide players with the tools to create a character with a nearly endless amount of options.  Players can download the character creator and get more information on the BioWare Social Network by clicking here.

In Dragon Age: Origins, players take the role of a Grey Warden, one of the last of an ancient order of guardians. Now, as a rising evil threatens to destroy all life, it is up to players to unite the shattered lands and slay the corrupted dragon known as the Archdemon.  To restore peace, players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind.

Origins will be available on all three platforms with several packs of downloadable content (DLC) including The Stone Prisoner, the Blood Dragon Armor and Warden’s Keep; each further enriching the gameplay experience.

“We’re excited to confirm that all three versions of Dragon Age: Origins will be available to fans on November 3 in North America,” said Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager, RPG/MMO Group of EA, and Co-Founder, BioWare. “The Dragon Age: Origins development team was able to polish the PlayStation 3 version to our high standard of quality and we are ready to deliver the richest and deepest role-playing fantasy experience across all three platforms.”

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It’s really easy to tell what time of year it is just by the pile of games hitting shelves lately.  Here’s your update for today, Tuesday, October 20, 2009:

• Borderlands (360, PS3; PC coming October 26)
• FIFA 10 (360, PS3)
• Astro Boy:  The Video Game (Wii, PS2, PSP, DS)
• Lips: Number One Hits (360)
• Tropico 3 (PC)
• Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars (PSP)
• MotorStorm Arctic Edge (PS2)
• Charm Girls Club (DS)
• Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo (Wii)

If there’s one thing that Peter Moore is good at it’s quotable quotes.  The “burning platform” as he calls disc-based media referred to in the headline is pretty awesome but the fact he follows it up with “do you stay on the platform and face certain death, or do you jump into the water and face probable death? Most of you would choose probable death.”

I love visual metaphors like this but, hey, Mr. Moore, why so much doom and gloom? Things change but that doesn’t mean it’s all about death! It doesn’t help much when he refers to digital distribution as a “cloud”, which any chest-beating English major will point at as a reference to Heaven. More death or the promise of better things in the next life? You can read that however you want. Here’s the full brief from GamesIndsutry.biz:

EA Sports president Peter Moore has compared the traditional videogames sales model to a sinking ship.

“The core business model of videogames is a burning platform,” said Moore, speaking at the 5th annual PLAY Digital Media Conference.

“Look at the platform we’re on, it’s a burning platform,” said Moore. “As a concept, do you stay on the platform and face certain death, or do you jump into the water and face probable death? Most of you would choose probable death, so you start moving towards a hybrid model of digital distribution.”

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The official Brodeo Reunion posters were exclusive to those that attended the panel at PAX but now you too can own this piece of CGW/GFW Radio “The Brodeo” memorabilia at the very reasonable price of $5.00(US).

Created by EGM contributor Bill Mudron, this poster features the cartoon likenesses of Jeff Green, Sean Molloy, Robert Ashley, Ryan Scott, and Shawn Elliott, all flanked by twin cudgels.

All profits will be donated to Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play Charity.

http://brodeo.storenvy.com/products

Thanks to Ben Cuzza for arranging this!

In what could possibly be the coolest contest giveaway, Capcom has teamed up with Tesla Motors Company to give away a Tesla Roadster. (The same kind of car EA big-wig John Richetello drives.)  It’s a promotion tied to the January 2010 release of Dark Void (PC, PS3, 360), which features a video game version of Nikola Tesla, hence the tie-in.  Normally I wouldn’t promote such a giveaway because it’s limited to residents of the U.S., but the Tesla Roadster is too cool to ignore:

tesla roadster

The Dark Void Tesla Roadster Giveaway is the first time that Tesla Motors has partnered with another company to give away a Roadster, the record-setting electric sports car that’s faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo and greener than a Toyota Prius. To celebrate the launch of the sweepstakes and promote Capcom’s highly anticipated action-adventure game, Dark Void, Capcom held a test drive event Monday that allowed the media and San Francisco Bay Area members of Capcom-Unity.com to experience both the car and the game.
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Ubisoft has announced that the company has acquired TrackMania developer, Nadeo, for an undisclosed amount. It’s definitely good news for Nadeo!

“The acquisition of Nadeo is an important step in our expansion within the on-line gaming sector”, said Yves Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft. “Through Nadeo, Ubisoft will gain an expert team, one of the best on-line technologies around as well as a flagship multiplayer game that enjoys an unrivalled reputation among a loyal and committed community. We are excited about the idea of introducing TrackMania® to an ever-wider audience and sharing the expertise of Nadeo’s teams with our Group’s other developers”.

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Rather than have many, many separate news entries, we’ll just lump all of today’s releases here:

• Order of War (PC) from Square Enix
• Katamari Forever (PS3) from Namco Bandai
• Spyborgs (Wii) from Capcom
• Family Party: 30 Great Games Outdoor Fun (Wii) from D3Publisher
• Halo ODST (360) from Microsoft
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up (Wii) from Ubisoft

Some really great news for Warhammer 40,000 fans from THQ and Relic Entertainment today. Chaos Rising, another standalone expansion to Dawn of War II. The announcement is short on further details other than it will offer “new single-player and co-op campaigns, a level cap increase from 20 to 30, more powerful war-gear and a suite of innovative multiplayer options.” But they also note that Chaos Rising is featured in an upcoming issue of PC Gamer, which will no doubt have a bit more information.

Full release follows:

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. September 21, 2009 — THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced Warhammer® 40,000TM: Dawn of War® II – Chaos RisingTM, the next standalone chapter in the critically acclaimed Real-Time Strategy (RTS) series, is scheduled for release on Games For Windows-LIVE in spring 2010.  Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising features a new playable army, the traitorous Chaos Space Marines, and continues the epic journey of the Blood Ravens as they battle this new, more personal enemy.  Developed by award-winning internal studio Relic Entertainment, Chaos Rising offers new single-player and co-op campaigns, a level cap increase from 20 to 30, more powerful war-gear and a suite of innovative multiplayer options.  The exclusive first look preview of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising will be featured in PC Gamer’s December issue, available on newsstands by October 12.

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On Talk Like a Pirate Day, what could be any better than finding Davey Jones locker filled with swashbuckling booty? How about a free PC game?

To celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept. 19), Telltale Games and LucasArts are giving gamers the first episode of the new Tales of Monkey Island episodic series completely FREE.

Here’s the swashbuckling details from LucasArts and Telltale, you scurvy landlubbers:

SAN FRANCISCO – September 17, 2009 – Each year on September 19, brigands and scallywags ‘round the globe rule the day on International Talk Like a Pirate Day. And what better way to mark the occasion than by jumping into the celebrated Monkey Island® swashbuckling pirate games by LucasArts and Telltale!

On September 19, Telltale is making the premiere episode of Tales of Monkey Island® a FREE download on their website (http://www.playlikeapirate.com/) all day.

In addition, through September 21, LucasArts is offering a virtual treasure trove of deals on several versions of The Secret of Monkey Island®: Special Edition titles, including:

• 50% off the iPhone and iPod touch version of LucasArts’ new The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition via Apple’s App Store

• 50% off The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on Steam®, Valve Corporation’s delivery and management platform for the PC and Direct2Drive, IGN Entertainment’s digital download store

Best ye’ jump on these offers smartly before they expire!

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There were a lot of people involved in bringing the GFW Radio Reunion together at PAX this year.  Though I was the guy that gave the boulder the first push down the hill, I still need to thank the folks at Reed Expos, particularly Khahil White and Bill Butler, for letting us use the room for free (and for way longer than originally planned); Ben Curran was instrumenntal in getting Bill Mudron involved in the creation of the awesome artwork and getting the posters printed for the event; and I also want to thank 1UP’s David Ellis for taking video of the whole event.  And, of course, thanks to all of those who were able to make it to the show!  It was a great night! NOTE: If you’re not familiar with GFW Radio, most of what you’ll see is completely alien (and occasionally, really gross) so consider yourself warned.

In case you missed it, video of the reunion is available from 1UP and it’s also available in a two-part podcast form on Geekbox.net.  Here are the quick links:

Part 1 of the Video:

Links to Part 2 and 3 of the video:

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/26294

http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/26293

Part 1 & 2 of the audio podcast (also available on iTunes and Zune Marketplace):

http://media.libsyn.com/media/geekbox/GeekboxRadio_Brodeo2009_part1.mp3

http://media.libsyn.com/media/geekbox/GeekboxRadio_Brodeo2009_part2.mp3

And in case you missed the downloadable artwork here’s that too.  It’s slightly different than the posters that were available at PAX.  The PAX poster features the Cudgel of Xanthor and will be available online sometime in the very near future:

1280×1058:

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3000×2480: