Alpha Protocol ‘officially’ pushed to 2010

Here’s a bit of a non shocker - SEGA of America and SEGA Europe Ltd. officially announced that Alpha Protocol, Obsidian Entertainment’s much anticipated and first original RPG (an espionage thriller) will be moving to a spring 2010 release date for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the PC. Didn’t we already know this and was there any doubt about that fact? Online retailers pushed the date into 2010 awhile ago. Anyway, here’s Obsidian sounding absolutely delighted about the delay - shouldn’t the tone be a little bit somber?

“We’re very happy that SEGA has made the decision to hold back the shipment of the game in order to give it the best chance at becoming the publishing success that we at Obsidian and our partners at SEGA are striving for.“

“We’ve worked in conjunction with Obsidian Entertainment in making the decision to move Alpha Protocol’s ship date to spring 2010 to ensure that we have the best game possible at launch,” said Masanao Maeda, President and COO, SEGA of America.”

And there you have it and it’s official: no Alpha Protocol in 2009.

Mass Effect 2 dated, pre-order items revealed

BioWare revealed that its sci-fi action RPG sequel, Mass Effect 2, will be on store shelves in North America on January 26, and on January 29 in Europe. The company also revealed a number of unique in-game items consumers can get when they pre-order.

In North America, the pre-order bonuses include special-ops armor and weaponry that are designed to boost Commander Shepard’s skills and abilities. At GameStop, Terminus Gear is available with pre-orders, which includes the Terminus Assault Armor and the M-490 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon. The Terminus Armor is designed for use in extreme planetary conditions, increasing run speed and personal shields, and augmenting weapons with an additional magazine of reserve ammo. The M-490 Blackstorm Heavy Weapon generates a high-powered localized gravity well, accelerating particles to near-infinite mass, and ultimately expanding the selection of heavy weapons available to players when they gear up for combat missions in Mass Effect 2.

Players that pre-order Mass Effect 2 at other retailers in North America will receive the Inferno Armor, which gives a negotiation bonus to Commander Shepard and an increase in run speed and augmented damage from combat powers.

Mass Effect 2 will be available on the Xbox 360 and PC.

Queen headlines Rock Band DLC next week

Harmonix and MTV Games will bring Queen to the Rock Band platform next week with a 10-pack of songs in the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii.

Tracks from Blink-182 and The Offspring will also be available for download next week for Rock Band Unplugged on PSP

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Oct. 20) and PlayStation 3 system (Oct. 22):

- “Another One Bites the Dust”

- “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”

- “Fat Bottomed Girls”

- “I Want It All”

- “I Want to Break Free”

- “Killer Queen”

- “One Vision”

- “Somebody to Love”

- “Tie Your Mother Down”

- “Under Pressure” (with Davi Bowie)

These tracks will be available for purchase as “Queen Pack” and as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and as individual tracks on Wii. Price: $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track; $15.99, £9.19 UK, €11.25 EU (1280 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Queen Pack”; $2.00 USD (200 Wii Points) per track

Tracks available for Rock Band Unplugged (Oct. 22):

- Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”

- The Offspring – “All I Want”

Price: $1.99, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU per track on the PSP system

Hudson announces Creature Defense for PSP

PSP owners will get a taste of something new this fall from Hudson Entertainment: a downloadable strategy title called Creature Defense. Creature Defense combines Tower Defense gameplay with card-based gaming fundamentals to create a different kind of strategy game - allegedly. In the game players defend their land from invading attackers using a deck they create. After creating said deck, players use the cards to defend against a variety of attackers, keeping in mind what its strengths and weaknesses are and using an appropriate card.

Special skills and attacks are added to the player’s arsenal as the game goes folds. The game also offers new levels and attributes to explore, as well as 50 types of Monster Cards available for download. Hudson hopes that Creature Defense is an ongoing adventure for strategic minded gamers.

Look for the game sometimes this fall.

Runic Games, Dungeon Masters: The Torchlight Interview, Part I

Runic Games first title, an action RPG called Torchlight, got a lot of buzz at the Penny Arcade Expo in Sept. and a lot of positive feedback from fans that were seeing it for the very first time. A month later the game is in its final stage of development as the team races towards its Oct. 27 release date. To understand the appeal of Torchlight, you need look no further than the gentlemen working on the game and their influences and past accomplishments. Collectively the small development team working on this game has worked on such titles as Diablo and Diablo II, the indie hit RPG FATE, and the now cancelled MMO Mythos. While that list of accomplishments might seem short, it’s also very impressive.

What I learned from talking to Runic Games co-founder and CEO Max Shaefer, Art Director Jason Beck and Runic Games co-founder Travis Baldree was that these influences are helping them to build a better game and later to build a perfect extension of that game with an MMO project. In part I of my interview with this trio I learn about the first fruits of their labors: Torchlight. Read on.

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