Today publisher 2K Games announced that the next iteration of the critically acclaimed Civilization series will land on North American PCs September 21. The rest of the world will have to wait until the 24 to get in on the turn-based action.

Developed by Firaxis Games, Sid Meier’s Civilization V features numerous changes that significantly alter gameplay. These changes include, a newly created hex-based grid system, “a heightened tactical combat system; vast, realistic landscapes to explore; deeper diplomatic interactions; and an array of expanded features.” Read more… »

Developer Twisted Pixel is no stranger to giving freebies to their loyal fans and their latest announcement is tantalizing as well. For those of you who don’t know, their newest game in development is Comic Jumper, which sees an eccentric super hero jumping through several stylized comics to save the day.

In true indie fashion, the devs have decided to include a free DLC package for ‘Splosion Man for fans who purchase Comic Jumper, including both a multiplayer level and a single player level for fans to explore.

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Wow, I amaze myself sometimes. I really didn’t know I attained the ability to predict the future – as you may recall in my last post regarding the recently announced Sonic Adventure title for XBLA and PSN, I stated that this could indeed be the beginning of a new trend where we will see re-releases of classic Dreamcast games available for download.

Well, according to SEGA, it has just been announced that Crazy Taxi will be joining the roster, featuring HD quality visuals, online leaderboards, achievements and trophies. The very thought of it brings a tear to my eye.

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It seems that Sony can’t get enough of exciting pre-E3 reveals, as they have now announced MotorStorm: Apocalypse, the successor to the platnium selling MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and portable spin-off Arctic Edge.

This time around, the action will take place in an abandoned city inspired by the West Coast of America after previously focusing on desert and tropical terrains. Don’t think the switch in environments will result in a tame experience however, as MotorStorm: Apocalypse is set to continue the series’ hallmark of gloriously rampant racing by introducing real-time environment destruction. Seemingly taking its cues from Split/Second, this will include collapsing buildings, along with an all new festival  mode (now with an added storyline and cut scenes) that focuses on an evolving earthquake.

Evolution Studios are also promising a greater emphasis on split-screen and online racing, with an in-depth ranking and perks system inspired by Modern Warfare 2. More is likely to be revealed at E3 next week, but for now a salivating selection of screenshots awaits you after the break. MotorStorm: Apocalypse is currently slated for a 2011 release.

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Is it just me, or is the Mortal Kombat franchise making a huge push this week. Earlier in the week, a video hit the Web showing what appears to be a pitch for a newly rebooted Mortal Kombat film franchise. Today, publisher Warner Bros. announced that it is producing a new Mortal Kombat title, the ninth in the series.

The new game, simply titled Mortal Kombat, marks a return to the classic 2D game mechanics that made the franchise such a hit. Development on the game is being handled by the re-branded NetherRealm Studios (formally WB Games Chicago,) who predicts the title will arrive on the Xbox 360 and PS3 sometime in 2011. Read more… »

Today, City Interactive announced its line-up for this year’s E3, and while the news is limited, buzz is beginning to generate around Sniper: Ghost Warrior.   Playable versions of Sniper will be available on the PC and Xbox 360.

“Thanks in part to the overwhelming reception of Sniper: Ghost Warrior within the industry, retailers and consumers, 2010 has already been an exciting year for us,” said Marek Tymi?ski, CEO of City Interactive. “As we continue to broaden our platform offerings and grow our presence throughout North America, we hope to meet with IP owners and development houses whose content is a fit for our portfolio.”

Among other titles, City Interactive will be showcasing:

• Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII (Wii)
• Crime Lab: Body of Evidence (DS)
• Farm Frenzy Animal Country (DS)
• Jewels of the Tropical Lost Island (DS)
• Logic Machines (DS)

This little piece of PSN software has hit us at an unfortunate time. While most golf fans will be concentrating on the latest Tiger Woods installment, the folks over at Zen Studios will be shaking their heads wondering why the powers that be decided to release their game at the same time as Tiger Woods 11.

Sure, some PSN titles are able to stand up (and even trump) highly anticipated AAA releases, but unfortunately Planet Minigolf doesn’t have a lot going for it from the beginning. Unless, of course, you’re obsessed with the 90s.

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We all know the old adage, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” And while that’s true for the most part, sometimes what appears to be a great deal is simply that: a great deal.

Awhile back, I was seldom excited by independent games. Pretentiousness and fourth-grade development skills rarely caused me to email friends and family imploring them to shell out some dough for a great deal. However, when the Humble Indie Bundle appeared, it was something else entirely. Not only did it offer six spectacular indie titles, but it also appealed to gamers’ sense of community.

We gamers could all do with a few more Humble Indie Bundles.

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Focus Home Interactive and developer Spiders Studio introduce Faery: Legends of Avalon, a new RPG / Action adventure on the PSN, XBLA and PC.   The game’s graphical design closely matches its original illustrations to deliver a fantasy world inhabited by magical beings and creatures.

The player assumes the role of an elf or fairy and evolves as the game progresses through each quest and turn-based battle.  While the game will probably not generate a tremendous amount of appeal, the premise seems fairly interesting.  Take a moment to check out the screen shots, you’ll actually be fairly impressed. Read more… »

If you like Dragon Ball Z esque action, and don’t like the licensed Namco Bandai Dragon Ball games, you’re pretty much out of luck: that is, provided you haven’t heard of Caster yet. Mike Smith, programmer for Hidden Path Entertainment, created Caster as a side project of sorts, and it really took off. The trailer really shows it all, but the game centers around running really fast, kicking bug ass, and shooting psychic beams to a high intensity soundtrack.

Truth be told I’m generally not very interested in Indie Games (there are just too many to follow), but I was sold immediately by the trailer, and rave reviews across the interwebs. Caster is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux: you can grab the demo here and see if its worth the $4.99. You can also buy the iPhone version for $2.99 (which I just did). Hell, I’d buy that song for $2.99.

A brand new “vote aggregation” site is in town, and it’s looking mighty fine. But since aggregator sites are a dime a dozen, what makes this database better than its competition?

Wire explains that “Most of the biggest problems on nearly all news aggregation sites comes down to them being based usually entirely on user submitted content. We don’t want to give you some random shitty blog’s version of the news, we want you to give you the source.”

I most certainly agree with that mission statement! Every single day on other sites such as N4G.com, I see random rumors like “SONY SELLING THEMSELVES TO MICROSOFT MORE AT 11″, created solely for hits, and shock value. Wire.vg is essentially a “no nonsense” reddit, and I really respect that – plus, Gamer Limit is listed, so you know it’s good. Plus it has kitten pictures if there’s a 404 error on your posts picture. Head over there now and check it out.

The first five people to link pictures of kittens playing with toys will get a free beta key, so sound off below! There’s no limit to the amount of comments you can make, and the contest is open to staff, but you can only win one code per account. Just make sure you’re registered so we can send you your code!

So then, what PSN treats have been unleashed onto the store this week? Well, there’s Joe Danger for starters, the debut title from Hello Games. What’s more, a host of PSP games have had some tempting permenant price reductions under the PSP Essentials umbrella, including Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice and WipeOut Pulse amongst many others.

A full listing of this week’s store update can be found after the break. Also, look out for a bumper PSN update next week with the arrival of E3 – a host of trailers and the possibility of the entire Sony conference have been hinted at.

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