While Telltale hasn’t yet made the formal announcement, current information points to Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse as the title for season three. This news comes from a recent rating issued by the OFLC for Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse – Episode 1: The Penal Zone as a multi-platform game. We’ve of course contacted our friends at Telltale for more information, but they report that “they’ve nothing official to say at this time.” We’ll keep you posted.

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Publisher: Meridian4
Developer: Headup Games
System requirements: Windows XP/Vista/Win 7; 3.4 GHz Pentium IV or Athlon 64 3600+ or better CPU; 1 GB RAM (2 GB for multiplayer); DirectX 9.0c; 128 GB Nvidia GeForce 7600 or Radeon X-series graphics card or better, supporting Pixel Shader 2.0; DirectX 9.0c-compatible sound card; 2 GB hard-drive space
Genre: RPG
Release date: Available now

As the release date of Diablo III slipped neatly through the fingers of the hungry action-RPG crowd and settled somewhere in 2011, a collective sigh of relief could be heard emanating from the rest of the RPG developers that aren’t Blizzard. This means they have one more year to safely release their games without fear of being eaten alive by the biggest PC game this side of a World of Warcraft/Sims/Duke Nukem crossover. Greed: Black Border wants to be yet another one of those games meant to satiate your appetite, so if this review sounds a little like others I’ve written before, it’s because I’m basically playing the same game.

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Read the rest of Greed: Black Border PC review on the site

© Andrew Clark for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Someone in Australia pirated New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a week before it was even available in that country, and was summarily caught and taken to court. That court has since awarded Nintendo $1.5 million dollars in damages to compensate for loss of revenue.

What did Nintendo have to say on the matter? “Fewer sales of Nintendo’s hardware and software systems means fewer resources that Nintendo, its licensees, developers and publishers have to create and market new video game products which is ultimately to the detriment of video game enthusiasts. When there is a decrease in game development, there is also a decrease in the number of jobs in the industry. The existence of piracy jeopardizes the strength of the video game industry overall.”

Source: Destructoid

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

2009 was a tough year for World of Warcraft in China, and unfortunately, 2010 doesn’t appear to be faring any better.

NetEase, the company which operates the game in China, has blocked new users from registering while it applies for a license to run WoW’s expansion pack, Burning Crusade. Due to this issue, no new registrations can be completed for at least a week starting next Monday. NetEase may claim a week, but I’ve no intention of holding my breath.

Source: Kotaku

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is in development at Ubisoft’s Paris studio and is scheduled to be released in time for Christmas. Additionally, the title is scheduled for a Multiplayer Beta this summer. This exclusive beta invitation will be available for a limited time via Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction for the Xbox 360, which will be released on April 13.

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Click here to view the embedded video.

Join Armagan Yavuz, Lead Developer at Taleworlds Entertainment, as he takes players through the multiplayer modes of the game at the recent Paradox Interactive Convention. “This is one of the most exciting features for us and also for the fans as well,” says Armagan, as he speaks on the new multiplayer aspect. “If you like the idea of fighting on a horse and fighting with tough guys with swords…you are going to enjoy Mount & Blade: Warband.”

Mount & Blade: Warband will be available next month.

© Michele White for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Petroglyph Games
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now

Like tanks? Big explosions? Strafing aircraft? Unpredictability? Then you might do well to invest some time into Panzer General: Allied Assault. It wouldn’t surprise me if you haven’t heard of it. This turn-based wargame has sneaked under the marketing radar. This is rather a shame, as it offers more value and entertainment than some of the bigger hitters. There have been a plethora of World War II games (most have been first-person shooters), so it’s refreshing to see a different type of wargame. Don’t get me wrong, I love bumping up other players’ kill ratios in Call of Duty, but it tests my reflexes without giving me much of a neuron workout. So it’s nice to find a game like Panzer General that keeps the cobwebs at bay.

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Read the rest of Panzer General: Allied Assault XBLA review on the site

© Simon Moore for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Electronic Arts is happy with two of its hardcore titles. The company has announced impressive sales results during its fiscal third quarter earnings call yesterday for both Dragon Age: Origins and Left 4 Dead 2.

Dragon Age: Origins has shipped 3.2 million copies worldwide since its
launch in November 2009. The team is now preparing a second title in the series, or perhaps a major downloadable expansion, sometime in early 2011. The new title is expected to launch on consoles, PC, and handhelds (which includes mobile phones).

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Read the rest of Left 4 Dead 2 and Dragon Age sales hit 3 million each on the site

© Christopher Troilo for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Peter Molyneux, the force behind the Fable series, expects that an impending announcement at Microsoft’s X10 about the new game (Fable III) will annoy fans. To be honest, I am not sure that Mr Molyneux has got this marketing business pinned down. In a recent interview in Copenhagen he said “I’m really scared that when I go out and tell people what it is, they’re going to be super pissed off. They really are. But it’s the right thing to do, man. I’m sure it’s the right thing to do.”

This has started tongues wagging in the Xbox community that Fable III might be the ‘big title’ that Microsoft has promised to be the first employer of its new motion controller, Project Natal. As if pouring petrol on the small fire he initially created Molyneux later added, “if you’re thinking that Natal is going to give you another version of an FPS, you’re just not thinking broadly enough. After all, it was the invention of the mouse that gave us computing as it is today — not the invention of the microprocessor. The mouse was the real revolution of the PC — not the Intel processor. And who’s to say Natal couldn’t end up creating something you and I can’t even imagine now? It forces us to approach technology in a completely different way.“

I am sure this opinion will calm the multitude of Fable fans quivering at the thought of this dramatic change. I can’t wait for his announcement at X10 this Thursday in San Francisco. I just hope he remembers to wear protective clothing.

© Simon Moore for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink

Square Enix (owner of Eidos) has trademarked the name Deus Ex: Human Revolution in Europe (it will get the same name in the US minus the colon). The third installment is a prequel to events in the original Deus Ex game. Square Enix is publishing and producing all CG cinematics, and while details of the game are still scant, a “powerful, layered” plot is promised for the third game. Players will assume the role of private investigator Adam Jensen, and the title will have cover-based stealth and customizable weaponry and armor. Responding to the rumor that it will be exclusive to the PC, an Eidos spokesperson has retorted via the official forums that “only the PC version has been announced so far.”

© Simon Moore for The Adrenaline Vault, 2010. | Permalink