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Even though I was a big fan of the original "Crackdown," I hardly used one of the features that made the game unique: Co-op. Issues with lag and the lack of drop-in-drop-out made playing online co-op a chore, so I mostly spent time leaping from building to building on my lonesome.

"Crackdown 2" is hoping to rectify the online issues of the first game with a completely re-written network code which allows for drop-in, drop-out at any time for up to 4 players in the campaign (akin to "Borderlands"). While they were at it, the developers at Ruffian went ahead and added adversarial multiplayer to the mix. Two modes from player vs. player combat were shown off at PAX East, Team Deathmatch and Rocket Tag. TDM is pretty self-explanatory, whereas Rocket Tag is basically "Kill the Carrier" with rocket launchers. Or, if you're a "Halo" fan, "Oddball" with rocket launchers.

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Tags Crackdown, crackdown 2, ruffian studios

"Call of Duty 7" will swing the franchise's spotlight away from Infinity Ward and put it back on Treyarch for a turn when game, potentially set in Vietnam, launches. In addition to tackling 'Nam, a new report says the game will be titled "Call of Duty: Black Ops" and return to dedicated servers for a November 2010 release.

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Tags activision, call of duty, call of duty 7, treyarch

"Super Street Fighter 4" has a lot of playable fighters. Nearly 30, to be exact. Many of these are returning characters from other "Street Fighter" games, including some pretty obscure additions. Apparently there was one "Street Fighter" character that the game's producer, Yoshinori Ono, would have loved to get into the final game. Sadly, it wasn't to be. That character? The peculiar Rainbow Mika.

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Tags capcom, Street Fighter, super street fighter 4, Video

"Battletoads" may have spawned spin-offs on multiple platforms and become one of Rare's biggest franchises of the '90s, but that doesn't mean the Microsoft-owned company is itching to bring them back. Asked about his studio's plans going forward, their current boss balked at committing to any retro Rare property revivals in the near future.

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Tags battletoads, Rare

With the DSi XL in stores now, you may be wondering whether it's the handheld device for you. Well, you've come to the right place. Just answer five simple questions and you'll know if you should head on out and pick one up or leave the giant handheld gaming to those more enormous than you.

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Tags dsi xl, nintendo

On Saturday night of PAX, a handful of journalists went out to dinner with Ken Levine and some other members of Irrational Games. We were told beforehand that Irrational's next game wouldn't be revealed and it would really just be a good excuse for a nice meal that doesn't involve mini burgers.

But, towards the end of the dinner, those in attendance were presented with a limited edition Andrew Ryan figure. It's about 8 inches tall and has a sort of art deco color scheme that would fit perfectly on the desk of any splicer in Rapture. Or my desk. That works just as well.

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Tags bioshock, irrational games, Ken Levine

"Half-Life 2: Episode 3" and "Half-Life 3" may not be officially scheduled releases from Valve right now, and since "Portal 2" and Steam for Mac plans in full swing, they probably won't be for a while. That doesn't mean Valve co-founder Gabe Newell isn't willing to talk about what he wants to see from the series, though. He thinks games need to get back in touch with "scaring" their players.

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Tags half-life, valve

Since "Lost Planet 2" was originally pushed to May 18th from Q1, I don't know if you can call its new May 11th launch date "early," but that's when you'll see it in stores. Capcom unloaded a new timetable for the game, which also includes a multiplayer demo giveaway starting Wednesday, March 31st and a public demo that will kick off for Xbox Live and that PlayStation Network on April 21st and 22nd, respectively.

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Tags capcom, lost planet, lost planet 2

FROM SPLASH PAGE: When I spoke to "Penny Arcade" creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik last month, the conversation covered a lot of ground — including some talk of the "Nerdcore Rising" documentary that followed musician MC Frontalot on his first national tour. That tour culminated with a show at Penny Arcade Expo, the massive gaming convention organized by the webcomic duo.

Well, the webcomic's "rapper laureate" is at it again this year, bringing nerdcore to the masses at PAX East, which kicked off today in Boston and runs throughout the weekend.

The comics- and gaming-friendly rapper hits the stage tonight (Friday, March 26) with fellow geek-friendly musicians The Protomen, Anamanaguchi and Metroid Metal during the show's 8:30 PM EST concert. MTV Multiplayer editor Russ Frushtick is already on the show floor (so keep an eye out for new and updates), but I managed to get a preview of tonight's performance from the man himself, MC Frontalot.

Continue reading PAX East Preview: MC Frontalot Brings 'Zero Day' To Boston over at SplashPage.MTV.com.

Tags mc frontalot, pax east

Quantic Dream co-CEO David Cage said that he might have a "Heavy Rain" announcement regarding the PlayStation Move soon, and that announcement appears to be that his game will adopt motion control support later this year. "Heavy Rain" was original designed for the Move, but since it beat Sony's new peripherals to stores by the better part of a year, that command system wasn't integrated at launch. The game and the Move will reportedly be reunited, however, by the end of 2010.

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Tags heavy rain, quantic dream, scea