Pandemic Studios were known for their excellent properties; most notability the the Star Wars: Battlefront series. However, sadly, it was revealed this morning that the studio would be closing its doors for good, something that comes as a huge surprise seeing Pandemic Studios were one of Electronic Arts’ major developers.

That said, EA has since confirmed that it did send out the order to terminate Pandemic. But, don’t worry, EA hasn’t complete gotten rid of the team. According to the publisher, the “core IP team” has been moved to their Los Angeles office, including Andrew Goldman, formerly the studio’s CEO; Josh Resnick, formerly the studios president; and Greg Borrud, vice president of product development.

“Today we informed employees at Pandemic that development on all the Pandemic franchises is being consolidated at EALA. As a result, we are eliminating roughly 200 positions at Pandemic,” said EA vice president of corporate communications, Jeff Brown. “That said, EA is very committed to the Pandemic brand, and a core team of Pandemic developers will be developing existing franchises and other projects at EALA.”

BioWare wasn’t keen on releasing any details on the newest alien character, which debuted as an assassin, at E3, however, now, that has changed because it’s “Meet Thane” day over at the official Mass Effect 2 website. And you won’t believe who’s the star of the event.

“We’re going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA when announcing the game. “Mass Effect 2 is shaping up to be an unforgettable RPG-shooter experience, taking players on a non-stop roller-coaster ride filled with stunning plot twists and no-holds-barred action.”

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Note: This is an article was written for the sole purpose of the Artur’s  experience with Left 4 Dead 2, with his dislikes and likes, however, this isn’t a “hands-on” of the game, but we will have a review once the game has released.

At E3, we were shown the first revealed level of Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to the revered PC and Xbox 360 title. There, we had our choice of preferred console, select food and drink, and even some excellent posters courtesy of Valve. In case you don’t know, Valve does an excellent E3 suite, and to my knowledge, always has.

EA’s showing of the latest revealed level, a swamp, was a little less homey and a little more ghoulish. Set in the same room as Dragon Age, GI Joe and Saboteur, L4D2 had its own entire wall, and to the right of it a leg sticking out of a wall and a body hanging from the ceiling. A nice touch, though perhaps a little extreme for the fast-paced fun that is Left 4 Dead.

Seated, armed only with puny Xbox 360 controllers (seriously, it’s a PC game, and I’m not being a snob about it), the new team begins in the swamp area. A large building, some marshes and a sniper rifle later, my friend and cameraman, myself, and two strangers were under attack by a horde while trying to escape from one land mass to another. Glitchyness aside (one guy accidentally flew off into the water, for no apparent reason except that the hiding alligators compelled him), the brainless zombie defeat was at hand.

I spent half the fight halfway down a ledge in the water, unable to pick myself back up. This, of course, wouldn’t have been a problem if my teammates didn’t have either the brainpower of a piece of toast or the finger dexterity of roasted duck. Suffice to say, I’m used to playing on the hardest difficult on the PC. Normal on the Xbox 360, no matter how much I distaste using a controller for this game, is still ridiculously easy for a veteran, and is only good as fuel for hating your inept teammates even more.

So if you see or have seen any videos of EA’s showcase, you may have heard me yelling at them to do things properly. Like shooting their guns, or throwing pipe bombs/molotov cocktails, or picking up the new incendiary ammo over and over when a horde attacked near a weapons cache.

What does this all mean? It means that Left 4 Dead 2 is as good, if not better, than the first. A few new bosses, larger open areas and more necessary teamwork mean player compatibility is at an all time high, and I was taken out by Valve and beaten with an ego-crushing stick to learn that. At least when it was done, I had that prop zombie to high five, since their side did pretty damn good in comparison to the puny human survivors.

In an interview with Tim Schafer, it revealed that Brütal Legend will have a unique feature not presented in many M-Rated games, a profanity filter. This profanity filter will allow the players of Brütal Legend to turn on and off a filter that censors in-game profanity, “bleeping out” swear words, and putting shields over improper visuals.

“But there’s a certain age where – there are certain players who are old enough, but just don’t really like playing with all that stuff. So we actually put two things up: there’s a profanity filter in the game, where you can actually turn it on and it’ll actually bleep all the language out, and it’ll actually cover certain profane things with the ‘parental advisory’ sign, which is in itself is a reference to the PMRC, right, which is part of the history of heavy metal,” said Schafer when speaking to Planet Xbox 360.

“It’s optional, so you can turn it on if you want. There’s also a gore filter, which you can turn off, and you won’t be dismembered and there won’t be blood. It’s for those people who like playing with their kids, or who just don’t like it.”

This filter will open the option for parents to play Brütal Legend with their kids, while protecting their innocents for the time being. Schafer also mentions that bleeping out swear words in the game adds the possibility of making the in-game jokes funnier, and make your imagination run wild with the options of what the person is actually saying.

Activision are building a new studio in San Francisco. And, believe it or not, they need people to work there. So they have picked up two of Visceral Games’ senior staff member.

According to Kotaku, Activision got their hands on Glen Schofield, who was general manager at Visceral, and Michael Condrey, who was chief operating officer.

They both left today.  To go onto work at Activision’s new studio, whose name and purpose are a mystery. However, I bet we can rule out anything “family friendly”. Seeing that EA’s Visceral Games worked on such games as Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno.

[Dead Space Devs Jump Ship To Activision via Kotaku]

If you’re anticipating release of Brütal Legend, this 17 minute introduction video, narrated by Tim Schafer himself, should have you wanting more.

“Holy crap!” exclaimed Schafer when announcing the title, “I have been dreaming about this day for fifteen years. And now it is finally here. We’ve gathered small clues over the years about the Age of Metal, in songs, t-shirts, and album covers. But now we have uncovered the metal mother lode, the full legend of what actually happened in that loud and heavy era, and we are the lucky ones who get to tell the tale.”

Last year, EA release some very interesting new titles; raging from parkour to mutant space creatures. The key to success? Hardly, because EA seems to think that, that was its down fall in 2008.

“I think in the spirit of your question, I think we launched too many new IPs all at once in Q3,” said EA’s Frank Gibeau in an interview with Gamasutra.

“I would have spread them out and found better windows for them. I would have had longer marketing for them. The marketing cycles were fairly short. We didn’t have enough assets to really build the fanbase, build the community, and get that long lead demand built,” he continued.

“So I probably in hindsight would have picked a couple different windows for Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge.”

In the shadow of Gibeau’s statement, yes!!! If their titles had more time to develope a stronger fan base, the sales would have seen a increase, along with, stronger interest. Just look at Valkyria Chronicles.

Today, EA Montreal announced the return of the weapon design contest for Army of Two: The 40th day. From June 23, 2009 to July 12 2009, participants can submit their ultimate weapon at the game’s official website for a chance to have it included in a future EA Game.

To enter the contest, gamers will need to submit an image of their weapon and a brief 200-word description. Please click on the game’s official website to view the contest rules. Once gamers submit their designs, the images will be posted to the site for the community to vote on. Starting on July 20, 2009 the top weapons will be reviewed by the development team who will then pick the two best designs.

No… Why? Come on!!! After waiting for god knows how long, it seems that the one of the most anticipated titles of this year The Saboteur wouldn’t be releasing anytime soon. Just in case you guys though that it would. 

“There’s still definitely a lot of work to do,” dev boss Tom French told VG247 in London this week.“We’re not even alpha yet. There’s little quirks and kinks, but we still have plenty of time to work that kind of crap out.”

Hoping for a shot in the dark, VG247 asked if the game was going to release anytime this year. 

“We haven’t said an exact date yet,” said French. “We are getting closer, and we are getting closer to locking down that date. We want to make sure we hit the right window. We don’t want to get lost, and hopefully we’ll find the right window and the right place in time to get this game out.”

In addition, French goes onto revealed that the 2007 announcement of the game was way too early considering what had been accomplished at that point. Then he goes to revealed that “…people from Mercenaries and other games… [are] working on the project…”

Electronic Arts revealed a June 30 ship date for EA Canada’s Fight Night Round 4 (PS3, X360) in this new trailer, which hypes the sequel by punching Round 3 in the face.

 ”What we’re really trying to deliver is the most realistic simulation of the sport of boxing ever in a video game….Fight Night Round 4, you see a much more fluid, natural game.”

“[In Fight Night Round 3], you often found that the gameplay degraded into two guys standing in front of each other and trading blows,” says producer Brian Hayes. “You saw a very scripted, very repetitive experience where people stood in front of each other.”

Fight Night Round 4 will feature over 40 licensed fighters. There will be several new modes – such as the Legacy Mode.  The game’s cover will feature Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

Why EA, why? In a conference call earlier on today, it was revealed by EA CEO John Riccitiello that both Mass Effect 2 and a sequel to DICE’s Battlefield: Bad Company would be releasing within the first three months of 2010.

According to Shacknews, who originally reported the story, Riccitiello, during the conference call, said that Mass Effect 2 will arrive on multiple platforms, which means it could hit both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But, however, when they asked about about specific platforms for Mass Effect 2, an Electronic Arts representative told Shacknews that no details were available at this time.

Any-how, both games will now be released during the fourth quarter of the publisher’s 2010 fiscal year, which runs from January 1 to March 31.

Electronic Arts announced today that they have decided to change Dante’s Inferno’s release target from within this year to sometime within 2010.

They have also confirmed that Starz Media will be creating an animated feature film based on the title – though no release date for the project has been given. If you remember, Starz Media are the same folks responsible for the animated feature film for Dead Space entitled Dead Space: Downfall, which we saw last year.

“The feature-length project will expand on the story in EA’s new, must-have game coming out for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system in 2010,” an official statement reads. Dante’s Inferno will available for PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 platforms.

We have been patiently waiting for sometime now, but still they haven been candid on releasing any details on the title. But, now it looks like they plan to change that with the release of the 200th anniversary edition of PC Gamer mag.

In an CVG report it revealed that in the 200th anniversaryedition of PC Gamer BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams will be unveiled to the public – screenshots and everything.

The ‘next month’ page of PC Gamer issue 199, which is in subscriber’s hands now, promises a “world exclusive” on the 2K sequel, which after all the teasing we’ve been succumbed to this month surely must be the first proper look.

According to vague hints on 2K’s viral website, the second game takes place seven years after the original when a spree of mysterious kidnappings of young girls are cropping up in coastal towns along the Atlantic – and it looks like something from the sea is responsible. PC Gamer 200 will be on shelves on April 9.

At the DICE ‘09 conference, John Riccitiello told the attendees at the conference that the current recession has been ‘a blessing in disguise [so that] we can clear away junk’. Stating that the overall goal from this is that the developers can ’stop sending pointless product to retail stores’. ‘Junk is hard to compete with,’ said Riccitiello. He felt that developers should shift their focus on quality and away from quantity.

‘We did get fat in too many places. It seemed like anyone who could draw a guy with a gun with a crayon could get funded. At least for EA, we got a little too fat, and a little too reliant on where things were,’ he continues. ‘I’m not pro-recession but to quote Rahm Emanuel: never waste a crisis.’

This is a great wake up call for developers atleast they can wake up before it  became too late.

Well, you know what they say ‘you really never miss something until it’s gone’ and it seems that Activision has got that feeling all over. Although heavy metal roadie fable Brutal Legend was let go in the Activision-Vivendi merger, Activision still thinks that it has all the rights for the game.

According to the industry weblog The Cut Scene, Activision has sent a later to both EA, who picked up the game after Activision-Vivendi merger, and Double Fine stating that the rights to the game is still under negotiations. Meaning that it debugs EA’s deal, but Double Fine says that it owns the rights to the game.

In the report it says, Activision received payment from Atari to release its rights to Ghostbusters and Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, and may be seeking the same from EA. But, a rep for EA thinks that ‘Activision would try to sue.’

‘The Godfather’, altogether, is one the film industry’s most recognized, and most acclaimed, films and when some in the gaming industry embraces, or finds, that it well make a great game they will go after it. Thus was born The Godfather: The Video Game, the game, being the first game, was a very interesting first try releasing on most of the last-gen systems.

Now, its developer, EA, plans to release it on current nex-gen systems in the form of a new game, The Godfather II, and it was recent revealed that the title will be releasing in February. Now-however, it seems that EA has also finally revealed the Box-Art for the game.

If you were wondering why EA was planning to put their upcoming Beatles/Rock Band hybrid against a number Music games that would be released this year, here’s why.

According to Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopolous, who spoke at a Billboard CES session today, the company will be taking a break from the release cycle of Rock Band this year.

“We’ve actually made a choice to break out of the annual release cycle for Rock Band this year,” Rigopolous told the assembled press and industry members. “[This is] partially because the annual cycle places limits on the choices you can make as a developer. We’re trying to take a long term view.”

Rigopolous added that the delay was also partly so the developer could focus on the Beatles-focused game announced last October. But, I hope, the cycle will return next year.

[Harmonix’ Rigopolous: “Rock Band 3 breaking the annual cycle” via Crispy Gamer]

For some reason EA just can’t seem to keep its head out of the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean that it’s bad thing. Anyway, French publisher Infogrames, who is the parent of Atari, announced today that an EA Veteran, that was most likely recently laid off, has join their distribution team.

According to GameDaily, Jackie Fromion has joined the company as the head of its newly formed distribution business, which has temporarily been labeled “Distribution Partners.” The new distribution entity regroups the Asian and European operations and will be 34 percent owned by Namco Bandai.

“I am very pleased to welcome Jackie,” said Infogrames CEO David Gardner. “As head of the new distribution company, he will bring his dynamism, professionalism and experience to help us to grow the business and develop the strategy.”

Fromion comes to Infogrames from Electronic Arts where he managed France, Southern Europe and finally Label Brand Development for The Sims.

Before you start reading please take note that the story has been updated below.

Independently, Black Box Studio was a great studio that produced many great games for one of the industry dominant publishers, EA – which is also a developer. There was a rumor going around that the company had plans to close Black Box Studios because they were having some financial problems.

Now, Black box Studio, responsible for the Need for Speed and the Skate franchises, has officially been given the boot. It was said that the games that EA released this holiday, like Mirrors Edge, Dead Space and Need of Speed, didn’t sell as well as they planned.

“Shutting down the studio is part of EA’s restructuring plan that hopes to save them US$ 120 million in annual costs. Part of the plan is to reduce their overall workforce by 10%, or 1,000 people.” said the press release. There was no word given on if the studios upcoming game Skate 2 has been affected.

[EA has officially closed Need for Speed Studio Black Box via Slice Gaming]

Updated: We had a chance to speak to an EA spokesperson and according to them, “Black box studios is not closed. It is going to relocate to [EA's] Burnaby facility in June 2009.”

Well, this holiday season isn’t as white as it should of been for video game publisher and developer EA, but besides all of its problems they processed to try an fulfill the needs of their Mirror’s Edge fans.

Yesterday, EA confirmed that Mirror’s Edge will be seeing a follow-up, but on the downside, it’s sad to see the company announcing this in the face of a disappointing holiday sales rate.

“While we saw significant improvement in the overall quality of our key products this year, we are disappointed that our holiday slate is not meeting our sales expectations,” said EA CEO John Riccitiello to GI.biz. “Given this performance and the uncertain economic environment, we are taking steps to reduce our cost structure and improve the profitability of our business.”

However, despite slow sales the warm critical reception afforded to Mirror’s Edge will ensure a sequel.

“Many times with a new intellectual property, the first edition doesn’t generate the units that subsequent editions could generate,” Riccitiello continued, “Mirror’s Edge is one that was very strongly reviewed, that one’s going to go forward. We’re probably going to look into some issues around the design to make sure strong IP is married with strong business.”

We all have dreams, and sometimes they can be a bit crazy, but what is the influence behind the kick and push game Skate 2? In an interview with G4 Patrick Duffy, a pro skater at EA’s Skate 2 event, was asked what “influence did [he] have on Skate 2?” He returned with an answer saying:

“All the skaters, myself included, had some input on what the storyline should be, where we should go, what San Vanelona should look like now, and all that. It all came together pretty awesome, I think, you know what I mean? The whole premise is that the city is dilapidated and skating is outlawed. Most of the skaters are in jail. It’s up to you to come back up and make skating cool again!”

I know the “crazy dreams” thing doesn’t make much sense to you right now, but here’s a better look into it.

The reporter in reaction says, “storyline was taken from crazy dreams you guys had?” Duffy says, “it was a collaboration — a brainstorm that combined everyone’s dream.” Then the reporter returns saying, “the storyline is from a lot of people’s drunken dreams about skateboarding?” And Duffy comes back saying, “Exactly, but it wasn’t just dreams. It was drunken realities too.”

Wii owners may not be able to play Stake 2 to on the Wii, but yet the more they can still Skate it up with skill. Today, in a press release EA Montreal released the North American and European release dates for both Skate It on the Wii and DS. The press release revealed that Skate It will be hitting retail stores on November 19th in North America and November 20th in Europe. The game was recently announced to integrate the optional use of the Wii Balance Boardand, which adds to the realism, go figure.

According to Variety, EA is planning on producing sequels to recent hits Army of Two and Battlefield: Bad Company. This news comes from EA boss, Frank Gibeau, who loosely confirmed EA’s plans for some new franchise iterations in an interview with Variety.

“If you look at the year “Gears of War” shipped the first time, it was one of the best sellers. “Bad Company” has come out and done very well. “Army of Two” sold very well. We’ve got sequel ideas planned for those.” -Frank Gibeau

There was also some talk about there being some new toys for their recently released game, Dead Space because EA is talking to some partners about it. There’s was also talk about there being a Dead Space movie in the making and EA Redwood Shores general manager, Glenn Schofield, also revealed that there is a “Dead Space” sequel is already in the works.

[Army of Two sequel, Dead Space movie talks, and more on EA's new approach to original properties via Variety]

Isaac Clarke. Who is that? Well, you don’t know? So let me tell you, he is the back bone of this game and today CVG revealed that the back bone of Dead Space has already been tested. According to ComputerandVideoGames, first review for EA’s impressive survival horror game is in and that the fans will be very happy with the verdict. In the latest Xbox World 360 mag, which is on shelves today, it revealed a score of 91% and it claims that Capcom should take note, “Because EA can teach them a thing or three about survival horror.” Sounds like Resident Evil 5 had just have meet it’s match. “Keeping a clear head sits just below keeping a head at all in the importance stakes,” it says. “Because unless you carefully pick the limbs off the approaching enemies you’ll find yourself surrounded with an empty cartridge in your weapon.”

“The Ishimura has a fully designed vent system which allows monsters to make their own way through the ship. Fail to stop them before they jump into an air duct and they’ll pop out behind you minutes later and take two bites out of your arse.”

But Dead Space’s real showpiece, continues the review, is its Zero G environments. “When the gravity is removed the fun really starts,” it says. “Usually the space hopping is combined with a lack of oxygen. If you’ve not been bolstering your O2 supplied via the BENCH upgrade system, the time limit can make for a tense scramble for the next airlock.”

For a game that’s anything but funny this game sure has alot of hype behind it and this is a survival horror game that you don’t want to miss. Today, Electronic Arts revealed that it’s hit survival horror, Dead Space, has gone gold and will ship in North America on October 14 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. They also revealed that the PC version will ship on October 20. Also people who buy within the first two weeks of the game’s release will have the opportunity to download a platform exclusive suit.

In addition, for Xbox 360 owners in North America, the EA Store is offering a very limited run of 1000 copies of the Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition. This package contains a copy of the game, Dead Space Downfall Animated Movie on DVD, bonus content DVD, 97-page art book, the 160-page graphic novel (which combines all six issues of the Dead Space comics), exclusive lithograph illustrated and individually signed by Ben Templesmith, and an Ishimura crew patch, all sealed in a limited edition Dead Space packaging. The Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition will be available on the Xbox 360 for MSRP $149.95.

The twelfth installment of the popular racing video game series Need for Speed has been shown at the Games Conventions in Asia. And according to John Doyle, the producer of the latest Need for Speed game, EA would not be releasing a demo. He told GamingIndians that EA would not be releasing a demo of the game since they wanted to concentrate on the game rather than spend time on the demo. Need For Speed: Undercover is expected to hit in the month of November on PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS2, Wii, DS and PSP.

Last week I had the chance to pick up Battlefield: Bad Company and I continue loving every second of it. Earlier this month voting closed as we where all allocated a chance to pick, which map pack should DICE begin to work on. A blog post on the Official DICE site went up today that briefly accepted that their will be new content dropping when the patch releases soon, we desire.

The future update will be free.The patch will fix many major bugs,server lags and VOIP issues.With the bonus of a few gameplay tuneups and three new weapons added that where only available if you pre-order the game or played the demo will be added to the game which will be available for everyone at no cost. A list of what you can expect has been posted on the DICE Blog.

Trophy support will be added to the game.While these updates are great we hope to find a release date very soon on when you can expect this update.

Black Box studio has revealed some new details for their upcoming game, Need for Speed: Undercover, the details are as stated from the press release: Need for Speed: Undercover has players racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals as they go deep undercover to take down an International crime syndicate. The new game heralds the return of high-intensity police chases and introduces the all-new ‘Heroic Driving Engine’ — a unique technology that generates incredible high-performance moves at 180 miles per hour during breathtaking highway battles.

“Need for Speed Undercover puts you at the center of a big-budget Hollywood movie with all of the drama, action and dazzling chase scenes, right on your gaming console. The unique Heroic Driving Engine will give you ultimate control over the hottest cars and push you to use every ounce of skill to outrun the law and take down criminal adversaries,”-Executive Producer Bill Harrison

According to Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, Redwood Shore’s, which is in parthership with EA, are planning to release their sequel to The Godfather Video Game, The Godfather 2, “a few months” after the November release of Valve Software’s Left 4 Dead. This was revealed during an annual investor’s conference, which was held today, when talking about the upcoming roster of mature-themed titles. If the game is planned to be released a few months after Left 4 Dead that means it could be released in early 09.

Absent from the recent E3 line-up, Electronic Arts announced that it’s upcoming game Tiberium, a FPS based in the universe of Command & Conquer, has been delayed until its 2010 fiscal year. That is provided that the basic plan for making the game goes well, Tiberuim is planned, as of now, for a April 2009 thought out March 2010 release date. The game is planned for a release on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, there’s was no cited by Electronic Arts for the delay. The game was originally planned for a, well we don’t really think there was an official release date, but we do think it was planned for a early 09 release date.

According to Dark Zero, in the trailer for Need for Speed: Undercover Christina Milian makes an appearance, which pretty much confirms that she’ll be this years poster-girl for the game, also actress Maggie Q also appears in the trailer too. The trailer ends by confirming a release date for the game, Novemeber 18th, the release date was also shown on the game’s official website.

Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello stated that Undercover takes inspiration from action films such as The Transporter to tell the games story. John Doyle, from EA Black Box also hinted that the game will have a “Most Wanted-ish” sandbox style of gameplay.

So Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will be coming to a system near you on August 31, 2008 and in Europe on September 5, 2008.Some people have been dying  to gaze on how this game has been arranging up there is not really much to say about this video due to everything is explain with such ample details, man talk about a mouthful.

While EA Redwood Shores is very busy making the upcoming Dead Space, they have also been working on a new game called The Godfather. EA’s CEO John Riccitiello was very nice to share some info on this game here’s what he had to say.

“You can play this game both at the street level, much like a GTA-style game, but you can also play it top-down, almost like you’re in an RTS, controlling the strategy of the boroughs so you can see what’s going on…

It’s a game that I think we’ll be talking a lot about this fall.”

While you may have to this fall,You can make up that time by finshing Grand Theft Auto 4.

EA games has revealed the next charter in the Need For Speed series entitled, Need for Speed: Undercover. By the sound of the game the first thing that may come to mind is that the games about a cop that goes “Undercover” to try and stop a underground racing circuit but, it’s not my place to give details about any games at this point.

Anyway, the game is being developed by one of EA Vancouver’s two Need of Speed teams. The Need for Speed team was split into two teams giving each team more time to give yearly updates for the franchise. Instead of having one team only 12 months to create the next installment, giving each team a full two years to work on the game.

It was hinted that the game could be inspired by movies, somewhat like “The Transporter.” With all these facts in mind this game may turn in to a worthy competitor for the Burnout series?

[Need for Speed: Undercover Coming via IGN]

Today,EA have released two new trailers for Skate 2. With no real gameplay, but it is a discussion with some of the most elite skaters in the world regarding the man of the party of Skate. The second video, they talk about how the best skate spots can become your biggest downfall when big operation start to move in and take over the spot .

Shortly after you won Skater of the Year, your character disappeared. No one knows what happened to him, but the skaters of San Vanelona hope he’ll come back. And they need you. In the past five years, the cops have cracked down on skaters. Caps were put on rails to make it almost impossible to grind and "No Skating" signs are everywhere.

San Vanelona was once a paradise for skaters. Now it’s their worst nightmare.

[Skate 2 Leaps Forward Five Years via IGN]

Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver under the EA SPORTS brand. EA SPORTS Fight Night is back with the most realistic “in the ring” experience to date, featuring some of the greatest boxers in history fighting in their prime.

“The EA SPORTS Fight Night franchise has always been synonymous with quality and innovation that raised the bar for the sports videogame genre”, said Kevin Wilkinson, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS. “EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 was a platform defining game as the industry transitioned to next generation consoles. EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will change how boxing games are played and measured in the future.”

Featuring a re-written gameplay engine, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will add a variety of fighting styles and boxer differentiation to authentically emulate the greatest fighters of all time. Pressure your opponent with the brawling inside style of young Mike Tyson, bobbing and weaving to set up powerful hooks and uppercuts. Capitalize on Muhammad Ali’s reach, hand speed and fleetness of foot to bewilder your opponent with lightning fast jabs and straights from the outside. For the first time in history, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 gives you the opportunity to pit these legendary heavyweights against one another and name a true champ.

No fight will be the same with an all-new physics-based animation system that recreates the full spectrum of true-to-life punch impacts, giving boxers a devastating arsenal of punches, blocks and ring movement. The new physics system allows for missed punches, glancing punches, knockout blows and for the first time ever, rough and tumble inside fighting. Fatigue, adrenaline, footwork and timing all come into play as you hammer away at your opponents.

EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will be available for the Xbox 360 system and the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and ships to retailers in 2009. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI.

Harmonix has announced that Rock Band, as we know it, has surpassed the three million copies sold mark. But wait, that’s not all. We also so have gotten word that nearly ten million songs were downloaded since the launch of the game last November. The game will be revealed in Europe on the Xbox 360 in 20 days and on August 29 on PS3, PS2 and Wii.

Today Rockstar Games released three new screenshots for the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV coming this April. These screenshots where exclusive to a few other gaming blog but was released in full size. GTA IV you follows the story of Nikolai Bellic who has come to Liberty City to pursue the American Dream. Grand Theft Auto IV the game is powered by the RAGE game engine and will be releasing worldwide on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

(You can click on the images to see them in there full page glory)