Blood. Chaos and Blood.. Oh and lots of Cake for everyone.

Check out the plus-sized E3 trailer for this upcoming PlayStation Network game. Fat Princess, while marginally offensive to some, seems like (and pardon me for my cross platform comparison) the PS3 answer to The Behemoth’s Castle Crashers on the surface except its got a lot more of everything you’d expect.. more blood (if that’s possible), more mindless hack-n-slash action, and more princess.. markably more princess.

The game is scheduled for release later this month and looks like a lot of fun with its massive gory combat and support for up to 24 players online.

You can check out the E3 trailer which introduces the character classes and the game’s very basic premise after the jump.

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I’ve been a fan of the Battlefield series since BF1942 launched way back in 2002. I have to admit to being at least moderately excited about the upcoming release of Battlefield 1943.

Sure, it’s just a downloadable game for consoles, but BF: Bad Company was a blast, and BF1943 is based on the same Frostbite engine. Sure, it’s just a remake of some classic maps for BF 1942, but they were great maps!

Anyway, on the back of this month’s gamesTM magazine (a German games publication) you can find an ad for Battlefield 1943. In that ad, it lists the release date for the game as June 25 on Playstation Network and XBox Live.

Here’s hoping that’s entirely accurate. You can find that ad after the break.

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The Sony press conference for E3 2009 is set to prepare gamers for the return of a juggernaut. Sony’s had a tough year for its PS3 console, but things are looking up. This is Sony’s year to make the most expensive console on the market profitable. With God of War III, Heavy Rain, Batman Arkham Asylum, Modern Warfare 2 and MAG on the horizon, this year’s E3 press conference promises to give gamers a reason to pick up a PS3. I’ll be blogging live as Sony wows gamers with 364 new PS3, PSP and PS2 titles. Check out the running commentary after the break.

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This is the first time in 4 years that I’ve not been scrambling and hurrying to get things ready for my trip to E3. I wish I could say I was disappointed because there is the faint chance that this year E3 might be something more akin to a sane version of my first visit to the LA convention center in 2006.

However I can’t help wondering why E3 excites anyone anymore.

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Been playing Fallout 3 on your PS3 and wishing you could get your hands on the DLC? Well, wish no more.

Bethesda announced today that they are bringing all the current and upcoming Fallout 3 DLC to the PS3. Operation Anchorage is slated to hit the PlayStation Store sometime in June, with The Pitt and Broken Steel following along at 4-6 week intervals.

In addition to the existing DLC, PS3 owners can look forward to the two new DLC packs that were announced as well. First up is Point Lookout, a massive swampland full of new quests. Point Lookout is scheduled to hit XBox Live and Games for Windows Live in June, and on the Playstation Store after the first three DLC packs are available.

More DLC information, as well as a retail Fallout 3 announcement, after the break

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Brand new footage from Naughty Dog’s action adventure sequel Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has been released. Clocking in at just under six minutes, the footage shows off more of the game’s single player aspect.

By jumping over walls, flipping over objects, etc., we can see from the video that not only is the game’s protagonist, Nathan Drake, able to interact with the environment, but the enemy AI will do so as well. Uncharted 2’s departure from Tomb Raider-esque jungles to a war torn urban setting certainly gives the game an eerily resemblance to Metal Gear Solid 4.

Most notably, as we watch Nathan zig-zag throughout the city rubble as the enemy patrols the area, the possibilities of stealth play become apparent. And just like the original, the sequel will certainly be delivering in the eye candy department again.

My favorite part of the video has to be the riot shield interception shown towards the end. I laughed.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is slated to arrive this fall for the Playstation 3 console.

Finnish developer Recoil Games have released the first screenshots of its upcoming ‘when nature goes wrong’ inspired 3d shooter Earth No More. Powered by a heavily modified Unreal Engine 3, the screens (above) show off the game’s Crysis-like graphics. However, very little of the game itself is known at this time.

What little we do know is that the game takes place in a small New England town that has been quarantined due to a mysterious outbreak. The player will assume the role of Will Foster/Forsythe, a DHS chemical weapons specialist, initially responding to a gas attack on Washington, D.C. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that the gas-attack is nothing but a government cover-up devised to hide the truth: plants are taking over the world. Poisonous red vines have spread throughout the region simultaneously strangling and terra-forming the environment. It is up to the main character, who will be joined by four other characters, to survive the apocalyptic threat of environmental extinction. Conversation paths similar to Mass Effect will presented to substantiate the game’s character driven story. Multiplayer and co-op options have also been put on the table.

Recoil Games is founded by Remedy Entertainment (Max Payne) co-founder Samuli Syvahuoko.

Also worth note is that Scott Miller’s Radar Group will be producing the game. Many of you may recognize his name in association with the now defunct 3D Realms (Duke Nukem Forever).

When recently asked if the recent closure of 3D Realms will have any effect on the game’s development, Recoil Games responded “No, the situation at 3D Realms has no effect on us or Earth No More.”

Recoil Games and Radar Group plan to release the game for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 at a future date yet to be announced.

Gamesindustry.biz recently conducted an interview with gaming industry vet and managing director of Bethesda Europe, Sean Brennan. The interview, a first of many, discusses their (Zenimax/Bethesda’s) notable success in marketing Fallout 3 in the UK. While bragging about how awesome Fallout 3 did, Sean also took liberty at poking fun at some (at the time) competing EA titles that did not fair as well in that region.

Sean also unveiled Zenimax/Bethesda’s diabolical plan to dig its tendrils deep within the remaining European territories with assurances of eventual world domination… and, oh yeah, assurances that “we’re still going to focus on what we’re doing best, which is 360, PS3 and PC, triple-A products aimed at a more mature market place” (Although, Sean hinted that Wii titles were not out of question).

The most exciting part of the interview was Sean’s teasing us with news of Splash Damage’s next title:

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I’m not usually one to litter the site with “This Game has Shipped!” announcements but the news that the console conversion of CDV/Ascaron’s Sacred 2 is out gives me a good opportunity to talk a little about the game and sing its praises to our readers here at Gaming Today.

So.. first the news:

Sacred 2 will be in stores soon. Its available for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC platforms. It will retail for around $50 US and you should consider buying it, the folks at CDV would really like that. (Ascaron might also if it hadn’t gone belly up the same day the game went gold – poor developers.)

Now, to the reason why I recommend Sacred 2: Simply, Sacred 2 is like Diablo II on crack after its gone out and finished its Masters degree in Mathematics.

Kill stuff, get loot, power up, kill more stuff. You know the basic formula.. but add in hot hi-tech angels, undead champions and robot dogs to the character list and you have a game that will hold over action RPG fanatics until the eventual release of Diablo III for every system known to man – probably iPhone as well.

Initially Sacred 2 can be a bit intimidating – there is a lot to grasp beyond shooting stuff and collecting loot but the conversion from PC game to Console title went very smoothly for this title. Simply equip a skill or weapon, map it to one of the controller buttons and go to town. Earn upgrades, equip loot, learn new magic powers and go forth to purge the enemies of your character. The game features two main campaigns and each of the character classes has a unique starting point that leads players to wander the world of Ancaria in search of action, adventure and T-energy.

The Console version also supports co-op and online multiplayer too so there is no need to venture out alone. While the game features a lot of generic “step and fetch” quests every once in a while you’ll run across some seriously funny quests that poke fun at the conventions of action RPGs and fantasy games in general. The comments of the characters as they die also should not be missed.

If you’re looking for some great insight into why Sacred 2 is worth your time you can read through Tom Chick’s Sacred 2 Game Diaries over at Fidgit.com. Tom speaks a good deal about the problems that plagued the PC version but also manages to capture the fun of Sacred 2 that I share.

“… dogs and cats, living together… mass hysteria!!”

As I quote the fictitious, yet venerable, Dr. Peter Venkman, it seems Sony Entertainment is currently attempting a coup of sorts towards bringing the upcoming Ghostbusters: The Video Game within its exclusive ranks. With just over a month until the game’s imminent release, this bit of news will come as a shock to many anticipating its release via the “other” platforms – namely the PC, Xbox 360, and Wii.

According to gamesindustry.biz, Sony acquired the game from Atari and has simultaneously revealed (as of today) that the game will launch on the Playstation 2 & 3 platforms exclusively with a PSP version to follow later. Officially, there is no word as to the fate of the other platform versions that were originally to be launched the same day. Speculation has it that Atari will still retain the rights to publish the game for the remaining platform versions, albeit, launching at a much later time.

Personally, I’m not sure what to think of this bit of news. The game has certainly changed hands (both developer and publisher) more than I can recall. The project would surely have died if Atari had not stepped in and secured the publishing rights last year. However, I can’t help but view this recent acquisition as anything but “dealing under the table”. When first hearing this news, I was given a strong visual of Sony and Atari representatives touting trench coats; both exchanging a briefcase full of cash in some dark alley late at night. Am I overreacting? Perhaps. But I sincerely doubt I’m alone here. It just seems so last minute given all the teasing we’ve had from trailers, demos, etc. added to the knowledge that it would be coming to our favorite platform very soon. The candy dangling in front of us has certainly been yanked away.

Nonetheless, I am still hopeful and looking forward to playing this game on PC. For now, it seems, I will be watching this game from the sidelines. My new multi-core Intel processor was also looking forward to crunching away at some neato physics calculations powered by the Velocity physics engine.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is still slated to hit shelves around June 19th. However, gamers will only see the box sitting in specific sections of «insert favorite game store here».

Update: It seems MCV has confirmed (from Atari) the game will be released for Xbox 360, DS and Wii “later this year”.

Update: Atari has just sent out a press release with clarification that Sony exclusivity is for PAL regions only. You can check it out after the break.

… and there was much rejoicing in the west.

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