Information on the next installment of "Assassin's Creed" continues to trickle out of Ubisoft, and it would appear that I'm playing into their diabolical hands by feeding you said information on a drip-by-drip basis. Today's tidbit comes from Ubi's fiscal report, and it basically confirms the location of the upcoming "Assassin's Creed" Ezio spin-off. Here's the quote from Ubi:

Read more...

As "Diablo 3" moves forward at a snail's pace to its unrevealed launch date in "the next few years," new character class reveals are likely to be the best new info we get for a while. The game's monk class showed up at BlizzCon 2009 and in some action shots from a trailer, but he only had one gender at the time. Now, Blizzard has pulled back the curtains on his feminine counterpart.

Read more...

Classic literature doesn't always make for the best video game subject matter (yes, "Beowulf," I'm looking at you). With "Dante's Inferno," though, EA managed to pick an epic with a powerful story of love and a fascinating, varied setting. But can a revived classic make for a decent modern day video game? Depends on who you ask. Oh, you're asking me? Ok, fine.

The Basics

You play as Dante, a soldier in the Crusades who dies during an uprising of prisoners and is sent down to hell for his varied sins, only to battle Death and return to the land of the living. But when Dante discovers that his old lady, Beatrice, has been killed and sent down to hell (for his acts of betrayal against her), he decides he's going to save her from an afterlife of eternal torment. A little late, Dante!

The game plays out as a 3rd person, combat-heavy action game. The combat is focused around an extending scythe and a powerful cross, both of which can be used in tandem to create new combinations. There's also some light puzzle-solving and a character upgrade system.

Read more...

Hey, look that! "Ghost Recon: Future Solider," the title that Ubisoft trademarked last year, turned out to be for a game after all. "Future Soldier," which may or may not be the game "Ghost Recon: Predator" was supposed to become, should be out this year with a beta coming out as soon as this summer and a full release planned for the 2010 holiday season.

Read more...

The ongoing conflict between Chinese "World of Warcraft" operator NetEase and China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) just kicked up a notch, as the company has suspended new user registration while it tries to get approval to run the "Burning Crusade" expansion pack in the country.

Read more...

Released in Japan in late 2008, Level-5's RPG "White Knight Chronicles" took forever to reach North American shores. Here's the question: was the wait worth it?

The Basics

In "White Knight Chronicles" you'll control a variety of party members in a pedestrian tale of woe, destruction, revenge, and deceit. The narrative hinges on Leonard, a wine peddler who stumbles onto a set of 20-foot-tall organic armor that only the chosen, like him, can use to defeat a group of bad men set on destroying the planet.

Read more...

I completed "Mass Effect 2" early last week and, I'll be honest, the only reason that it took me so long to complete (about 40 hours) is that I was busy relishing every last moment of it. BioWare managed to wield a massive axe so deftly that lopping off entire mechanics that we've so often associated with RPGs (inventory management, exploration) felt like a choice of zen-like clarity. But it wasn't until the final moments of the game, when I finally set my course for the Omega 4 relay, that I began to discover how "Mass Effect," as a franchise, has changed the way I roleplay.

WARNING: I'm about to discuss how the game ends. So yeah, spoilers.

Read more...

Nintendo has been cagey about what their hardware plans call for when the Wii and DS eras subside, and the DSi XL has yet to begin its lifecycle in the U.S. Shigeru Miyamoto made no secret about the fact that Nintendo is working on new equipment during a talk at the Japan Media Arts Festival on Saturday, however. He also indicated that he's involved in a new Wii game using MotionPlus -- and that's in addition to the next Wii Zelda title.

Read more...

It's not every day that one of my top 5 games of 2009 makes its way to another platform, so it's important to gasp those moments when the happen. "Plants vs. Zombies" is coming to the iPhone (and iPod Touch). This is not news. What is news is that it's coming next week, on February 15th.

The game has seen several delays since it was first announced, but it looks like PopCap is ready to roll with this new date. Considering that they did an awesome job with the "Peggle" iPhone port, and have continued to support the "Bejewled 2" app with Facebook connection excellence, I have pretty high expectations for "PvZ" iPhone. Expect some hands-on impressions once I'm able to give the title a spin.

Read more...

EA may be taking its "Medal of Honor" series directly into modern-day combat in 2010 in its quest to reclaim the FPS crown. "Battlefield: Bad Company 2," meanwhile, will be keeping World War II alive for at least a few scenes before transition into the present day. Such details, along with accounts of power-drill attacks, appeared in the ESRB's M-rating justification.

Read more...