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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.

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Tags blizzard, netease, world of warcraft

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.

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Tags scea, white knight chronicles

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.

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Tags bioware, ea, mass effect, mass effect 2

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.

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Tags nintendo, shigeru miyamoto, wii motionplus

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.

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Tags plants vs. zombies, popcap games

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.

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Tags battlefield, battlefield: bad company, battlefield: bad company 2, dice, ea

Microsoft's decision to end Xbox Live support for first-gen Xbox titles did not go unnoticed behind the walls at Bungie. "Halo 2" will be among those games losing online multiplayer support, and if you count yourself among those wanting to send the game away from the XBL network properly, you won't be alone.

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Tags bungie, halo, halo 2, xbox live

Now that the only respectable portions of "Star Wars" have been mined clean, TT Games has no choice but to return to the prequel timeline for their next game: "Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars." It's an interesting move, given that The Clone Wars were already covered by the first "Lego Star Wars" game, but it seems this installment will focus on the Cartoon Network series of the same name, with all its different characters and lack of constant Lucas meddling.

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Tags lego, lego star wars, lego star wars: the clone wars

The original "BioShock" reached hall-of-fame status in the gaming world, so the appearance of a sequel isn't exactly a surprise. It does, however, create some pretty lofty goals for "BioShock 2" to reach, especially when you consider that a different developer (2K Marin instead of the original's Irrational Games) has taken on the project. So does "BioShock 2" live up to franchise expectations, or should it be written off as a blatant cash-in by 2K?

The Basics

"BioShock 2" takes place 10 years after the events of the first game. You'll be controlling a prototype Big Daddy (a half-man, half-machine giant who fans will almost certainly recall from first game). You're a bit beefier than a standard human, and come packing a hefty drill, but otherwise the character plays identically to the first.

Big Daddies are mentally tied to Little Sisters in the underwater world of Rapture. It's the job of the Little Sisters to collect Adam (a form of genetic currency) which can then be used to upgrade someone's genome to superhuman levels. Your Little Sister, it turns out, is actually the daughter of the current ruler of Rapture (Andrew Ryan's philosophical opposite, one Sophia Lamb), and the monarch isn't likely to give up her kin to you. It's up to you to save your Little Sister and escape from Rapture.

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Tags 2k games, 2k marin, bioshock, bioshock 2

Back in early 2008, "No More Heroes" created quite a stir in the Wii community because it was one of the first M rated titles for the system, and was it was commonly looked to as a game for hardcore gamers. In addition to that, it was also famed developer Goichi Suda's (A.K.A. Suda 51) first creation for Nintendo's latest console. Even though most of his previous games were critically acclaimed, they were highly stylized, and didn't reach the broader gaming audience.

"No More Heroes" could be credited as Suda 51's breakout hit, based simply on the fact that it was his first title to receive a sequel in the west. "No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle" follows suit, toeing the line of ultra violence while mixing in sophomoric humor that will appeal to the teenager and/or wannabe assassin in all of us.

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Tags no more heroes, no more heroes 2, ubisoft