UPDATE: This story is retracted as certain facts of the report within can't be verified outside of the Russian blog I referenced. The site which I referenced, GotPS3, does not cite any external sources and the content of the report is largely the result of speculation, not verifiable fact. 

Every copy of the console version of Modern Warfare 2 has been recalled from stores in Russia due to the content of the “No Russian” mission, better known as the controversial airport massacre level. Likewise,…  More

A boycott in name alone is no boycott at all. It might as well be show a of support.



Now just imagine if animal rights activists supped at KFC after a long day of protesting the very company they despise. And you wonder why nobody takes online petitions seriously. 

Go have a cry about it.

Source: Rock Paper Shotgun…  More

To commemorate the release of Overlord: Raising Hell on Steam, Valve is offering the entire franchise at a 75% discount with the Overlord Complete Pack flying at a super-affordable $8.75 USD. 

I'm not huge on the whole Overlord series, but paying 9 dollars for the entire deal -- sequel, expansion and all -- is pretty much a steal. 

Grab it here.…  More

I'd like to thank everyone for participating in the Torchlight Six Word Story contest. All submissions have been read and our two winners have been decided upon. I hope you've enjoyed contributing your stories to the contest as much as I've enjoyed reading them. Without further ado, here are our two winners:

Auctus, for his myriad of submissions, and for the one that won him the contest: "We discovered worlds made of pixels."

Lilithraevyn, for her story: "Empty bag; room for more loot!" 

Congratula…  More

Previously, players would have had to purchase the Warden’s Keep DLC to gain access to a storage chest that was available only at Soldier’s Peak.

Inundated by requests for a storage system in Dragon Age, Bioware designer Craig Graff has released a downloadable add-on for Dragon Age that spawns a storage chest at the party camp.

The designer writes that the chest only works in the party’s main camp, and some versions where combat or special cutscenes take place will not have access to the che…  More

I'm getting quite a bit of heat reading some article and Steam forums about the Modern Warfare 2 Steam release debacle. Let me state this once: release dates have nothing to do with Valve/Steam!

Steam is merely a platform that publishers like Activision can use to publish their games and have some protection from piracy. It is up to the publisher to decide when the game is released.

Activision. Not Steam.

So all this hate branching towards the digital distribution service is quite unwarranted.

Now …  More

Never one to keep his thoughts to himself, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford lashed out at Valve in an interview with the Official Playstation Magazine in the UK, according to blog AnalogHype, which transcribed the interview from text.

Perhaps hoping to build his cred with Sony, Pitchford took a swing at Valve’s Doug Lombardi for his negative comments about the Playstation 3, likening him to a “fanboy”.

Pitchford praised the Playstation 3, and stated that he didn’t know why Valve would criticize th…  More

Speaking to Kotaku, GameStop spokesman Chris Olivera confirmed that the broken street date for Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2, which is only slated for a November 10 release was a corporate decision and anything but an accident.

He wrote:

"This past weekend, GameStop made the decision to break street date and sell reserved copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in select markets where other retailers had broken street date. 

Though their games are original, well-written and fun, I’ve always found similarities in BioWare RPGs – particular clichés unique to their games and even a few of Obsidian’s. Inspired by JackSlack’s “Bioware Trope Chart” [link], currently work-in-progress, I decided to make my own chart based on my experience with their games over the years.



Please note that the list I've created is rather tongue-in-cheek and takes none of the nuances of each game's narrative into proper account. Be sure to click…  More

Bioware has officially launched the toolset for its new RPG, Dragon Age: Origins.

The Dragon Age Toolset, which comes in a 472mb-sized package, provides everything you need to create your own adventures in Dragon Age. The toolset is equipped with the same utilities and features that were used by the designers at Bioware to create all of the game’s content, including the main campaign. Additionally, the toolset includes several enhancements and is polished specifically for the benefit of end users…  More

The Diablo series and other games like it (Titan Quest, Mythos, Torchlight) were always confined to a fixed axonometric camera. With the exception of Mythos, which allowed for WASD controls, Diablo’s fixed view was always one of its greatest strengths as it allowed for the designers to map out locations, pace encounters and design set-piece boss battles based on the confines of the fixed perspective.

Blizzard representative Bashiok addressed the forum’s question regarding the fixed view in Dia…  More

Due to the requirement of Valve’s Steamworks in the PC version of Modern Warfare 2, online retailers like Direct 2 Drive, Impulse and GamersGate are refusing to carry the Infinity Ward title on their lists.

Speaking to Kotaku, a Direct2Drive representative said, “We don’t believe games should force the user to install a Trojan Horse.”

Infinity Ward is using Steamworks to handle everything from installation to save-game management and DRM, similar to Valve’s own games.

Direct2Drive also told…  More

id Software’s John Carmack dropped a bombshell today when he announced that the company’s upcoming game and next-generation FPS, Rage, would have no plans to support dedicated servers.

In the wake of Modern Warfare 2’s omission of dedicated servers on the PC, Variety asked id Software co-founder and video game god John Carmack the company had any plans to follow suit with their upcoming game. Carmack’s replied: “It’s not cast in stone yet, but at this point no, we don’t think we will have dedic…  More

As most of us hack, slash and burn our way through Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2 looms on the horizon. I can almost detect a BioWare plot to keep us permanently indoors and out of sleep during the winter months with their time-devouring role playing games.

Ever eager to cater to the whims and demands of the more ardent collectors among us, BioWare has announced the Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition. It includes:
A tin case48-page hardcover art bookIssue 1 of Mass Effect Redemption, the official com…  More