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World of Warcraft’s newest expansion has been in closed beta for a full month now without a peep of a release date. Blizzard has said time and time again that they plan to launch Cataclysm this year. Blizzard’s lead game designer on World of Warcraft recently gave reassurance to the over 11 million subscribers.

“…the expansion still needs a couple more months.”, “…we are planning to ship the game this year.”

-Tom Chilton

Sounds like Azeroth won’t be ravaged until October at the earliest. World of Warcraft Cataclysm was originally rumored to launch before Blizzcon 2010 (Oct 22-23). Who knows? Maybe Blizz will pull a fast one and rollout patch 4.0.1 tomorrow.

worldofraids.com

The Sacrifice is a piece of recently announced DLC for the Left 4 Dead series. It involves a similar story and setting as the previous DLC “The Passing” but The Sacrifice has you going though that campaign from the point of the original survivors (Bill, Zoey, Francis and Louis). The main thing about this DLC is at the end of the campaign the player(s) choose who will die (it is not known at this present time if the decision that is made will affect the passing campaign,where the left 4 dead 2 survivors meet with  the remaining left 4 dead survivors on the bridge during the passing).

Compatibly for the sacrifice will be compatible with both left for dead 1 & 2 (it does not really mean which version of the game you own you will still be able to play The Sacrifice, this does mean that the original survivors of left 4 dead 1 will be playable in left 4 dead 2 for the first time)

Pricing for the DLC will be similar to “The Passing” which means free for pc/mac and around 560 – 800 MSP for Xbox 360

This DLC was slated to be released 1 month after “The Passing” but due to “Valve Time” it has been pushed back. I think that due to info being released that “the Sacrifice” will see release within a 2 month window.

Imagine my surprise when I stepped out to lunch, came home, and found out that a new game in one of my top five favorite series of all time was announced in my absence. Needless to say, I watched the trailer for the newly announced Bioshock Infinite and I was completely blown away.

Official Synopsis:

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter currently in development at Irrational Games, the studio behind the original BioShock (which sold over 4 million units worldwide). Set in 1912, BioShock Infinite introduces an entirely new narrative and gameplay experience that lifts players out of the familiar confines of Rapture and rockets them to Columbia, an immense city in the sky.

Former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt has been sent to rescue Elizabeth, a young woman imprisoned in Columbia since childhood. Booker develops a relationship with Elizabeth, augmenting his abilities with hers so the pair may escape from a city that is literally falling from the sky. DeWitt must learn to fight foes in high-speed Sky-Line battles, engage in combat both indoors and amongst the clouds, and harness the power of dozens of new weapons and abilities.

A real character for a protagonist? An origin story for Rapture and its development? A completely new setting with the same gameplay style? Consider my copy purchased two years in advance.

Football (read: soccer, not hand-egg) fans, rejoice! SEGA and Sports Interactive announced today that Football Manager 2011 will hit PC and Mac before this Christmas. Even PSP fans will get some football love via download only with Football Manager Handheld.

A revamped training system, match engine improvements and real-time contract negotiation make the top of the list for new features. Hit the jump for the full press release and feature low down.

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2011 UNVEILED

Sports Interactive Confirm Football Manager 2011 Release This Year

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Through rain, sleet, snow…and fire…

The follow-up to 2009′s Batman: Arkham Asylum is currently in development by Rocksteady Studios for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC said Warner Bros. Interactive.

The game is set in Arkham City, Arkham Asylum’s successor and the new home for all of Gotham’s maximum security prisoners. According to the press release, the game “draws together a new all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.”

Sounds like a good time, yeah?

Source: http://arkhamhasmoved.com/

It’s official. Torchlight, the little Diablo-like game that could, is getting a sequel. “We’re so proud of everything Torchlight accomplished, and we feel that Torchlight II will not only give the fans everything they’ve asked for, but far surpass its predecessor in terms of fun, balance, customization, story, and just being a great game to play with your friends,” Runic Games’ CEO Max Schaefer said in today’s press release.

While Torchlight II includes the expected new character classes, an expansive overworld, new quests, monsters and countless new dungeons, it’s big ticket feature is co-op multiplayer. “We still are going to make the MMO,” Schaefer emphasized. “But it became apparent that Torchlight II was the logical next step for us given the phenomenal enthusiasm of gamers petitioning us for multiplayer.”

Torchlight II will make its debuts at gamescom 2010 in Cologne, Germany August 18-22 2010, and at PAX Prime in Seattle, WA, September 3-5 2010.

Worried about the original title’s success inflating the price of the sequel? Worry no more! Acording tot he press release, “Torchlight II will be sold at a low price point, and include a free matchmaking service for peer-to-peer multiplayer experience.” Torchlight II to “ship” in digital download from in Spring of 2011.

The Award winning PC Puzzle-Platformer ‘And Yet it Moves’ is officially coming to WiiWare with an August 23rd release date.

The PC version was released in 2009 by Indie studio Broken Rules, And Yet it Moves is unique in it’s class. The game allows you to rotate the world at will to solve mind bending and sometimes dangerous puzzles, with some levels becoming ever so more deadly when you rotate the world and the physics come into play.

Key features of the game include:
• Advanced Platforming – Players run, jump and must rotate the world to solve puzzles.
• A Living World – Creatures such as bats, bees and monkeys populate the game world and react to ever-changing gravity.
• 20 Levels In Four Different Environments – Mind-bending puzzles set in an extraordinary paper collage world created with colored cardboard, brought to life with handmade sounds and music.
• Endless Replayability – Unlockables include bonus levels and competitive play modes: Time Trial, Limited Rotation, Speed Run, and Survival. Additional modifications can be unlocked that can change the entire game.
• Multiple Control Options – Play as you wish with 4 different control schemes. Use the motion sensor and Wii Remote pointer, or use the Classic Controller™.

The game is priced at 1,000 Wii Points and is rated “E” for “Everyone” with Mild Violence by the ESRB.

[Press Release]

During their Q1 Earnings call yesterday evening, EA announced that it is pushing back the release of the highly anticipated Crysis 2 until Q1 2011.

This means that the FPS developed by German developer Crytek will go up against the likes of Gears Of War 3, Killzone 3 and EA’s own Bulletstorm in the same quarter during 2011.

It’s worth noting that in Q1 2009 EA faced a $234 Million net loss, while this year it recorded a $96 Million net income in the same period.

Activision today have revealed that  life-to-date sales of Call of Duty Map Packs (DLC) have passed the 20 million units sold mark.

These numbers take into account all DLC released for the whole franchise on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. They also included the two Modern Warfare 2 Map Packs from this year (2010).

“The Call of Duty franchise is unique in the world of entertainment and delivers one of the best multiplayer experiences ever,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick.

“We are thrilled to deliver to fans exciting and engaging content that has the intensity they have come to expect from the franchise.”

It’s worth noting however for those of you that didn’t catch Activision’s E3 announcement, that all DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops will be released first exclusively on Xbox 360 in a deal that runs until 2012.

At this point VGTribune doesn’t have the ‘Per Platform’ sales data but we will be sure to bring it to you when we do, along with some more bad Idiom’s.

[Source: MCVUK]