In this cluttered, often overbearing world of video games, it is sometimes hard to imagine how anything unique and charming could be borne out of a medium that is sustained by sequels and clones.

Since its announcement, Machinarium has seen a host of Samorost faithfuls cling to every new press release or screenshot, and with good reason. Amanita Design has given us a diamond amongst a wealth of petty gems – even if it is a small one.

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Despite the fact that PC gamers were delighted to hear the rumors of a Modern Warfare 2 delay on PC were in fact false, information being released over the past week have upset many.

First, a 10 dollar increase from 50 to 60 dollars. And most recently, on the latest Bash and Slash podcast, Infinity Ward’s community manager, Robert Bowling, has notified everyone that there will not be dedicated servers for Modern Warfare 2 on the PC. Read more… »

One of my least favorite things about gaming is that when a new smash hit game comes out, other games try really hard to emulate it for years to come. This cycle repeats itself over and over again, and thus, the most popular games in certain genres are the ones that best reflect the current trends. This is true for all genres, but I notice it most in RPGs; until a few years ago, the trend was to make the most ‘epic’ storylines possible, a la Final Fantasy 7. These days, the trend seems to be more about making really complicated, allegedly original combat systems.

Thankfully, we have people interested in game development who love their genres enough to poke fun at them, and that’s what Tales of Game’s Studios (bad grammar intentional) did with their RPG, Barkley: Shut Up and Jam! Gaiden: Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa. This is an RPG that looks at the recently receded trend of epic RPGs and roasts it mercilessly.

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Today publisher Activision announced a new dinosaur themed first-person shooter for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, and Wii.

Dubbed Jurassic: The Hunted, the new shooter drops gamers off on an “island lost in time,” where you are forced to fight for your life. “Players assume the role of weapons and survival expert Craig Dylan, who has been hired to protect a research team studying the strange temporal energy of the island. Protection quickly becomes a fight for survival as Dylan is pulled back in time through the Bermuda Triangle and finds himself facing the most terrifying creatures in the history of the planet.”

To find out more about this new shooter, hit the jump. Read more… »

Electronic Arts has officially announced that Mass Effect 2 will be launching in North America on January 26th, with the European release coming three days later on the 29th.  In addition, they have also posted details about the pre-order bonuses for the game, which will come in the form of special armor suits for your characters.

Unfortunately, no information has been given to indicate whether a collector’s edition will be released, but something tells me Bioware has something special up their sleeve.  At least there is a firm release date, so we can all start planning to take that day off work/school.

Read on to find out more about the Mass Effect 2 pre-order bonuses and to see some new images from the game. Read more… »

Today Sega released a new trailer for Rebellion’s movie monster FPS, Aliens vs Predator. This time the trailer focuses on showcasing the Alien’s abilities.

Marking the third game in the series, Alien vs. Predator seeks to reboot the franchise and set the stage for future titles. Sega previously stated that Alien vs. Predator‘s success will directly affect the release date of Gearbox Software’s Aliens: Colonial Marines. Alien vs. Predator is currently slated for a first quarter 2010 release on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

To see the new trailer, hit the jump. Read more… »

Apparently, Modern Warfare 2 developers intended to offer an additional co-op mode as part of the main story. However, when chatting to VG247, Infinity Ward’s community manager Robert Bowling revealed that any sort of campaign co-operative mode simply “ruined the experience”.

Instead, MW2 boasts an all-new Spec Ops mode that allows co-operative mission play for online or local split-screen gaming.

Read on to find out what Bowling had to say on the issue, and a few of juicy screenshots from Spec Ops.

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Today publisher JoWood Productions announced that Homegrown Games’ biblical shooter Painkiller: Resurrection has gone gold. In celebration of this even, JoWood has released a new trailer for the game.

Slated to arrive October 27, Painkiller: Resurrection is the third game in the Painkiller series. Resurrection will feature: “new & improved monsters,” “new & improved weapons,” a “new co-Op Mode,” “dynamic light sources” and “destructible environments.”

To learn more about Painkiller: Resurrection and to find out where to checkout the new trailer, hit the jump. Read more… »

Today Valve sent out some details regarding Left 4 Dead 2′s demo. We last reported that both Xbox 360 and PC gamers who pre-ordered the game will receive access to the demo on October 27.

On November 3, the PC demo will become available to everyone and the Xbox 360 demo will be available to Xbox Live Gold members. Xbox 360 gamers who are Silver members will have to wait until November 10 to get their hands on the demo.

To find out what is included in the demo, read on.

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LEGO Indiana Jones 2, scheduled for release on November 25, is the follow-up to your girlfriend’s favourite console game. You’ll play through setpieces taken from the fourth film, while again re-living the first three Indy flicks.

Seemingly questionable, the developers have reassured us that the adventure from LEGO Indiana Jones has not been recycled. Copied and pasted or not, Indiana Jones 2 will this time allow gamers create their own levels via a map builder according to their every whim.

Swing from tree to tree, do a backflip and jump right in for the developer walkthrough.

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Developed and published by Arcen Games, AI War: Command Fleet is a galactic strategy game that pits a Starfleet Commander (You) against a well trained opposition (AI). Although the tongue in cheek title could have been a bit more creative, the game is well done for a development company in its early stages.

While the casual gamer will find the sheer volume of this game very intimidating, AIW:CF will undoubtedly have a strong draw to the RTS enthusiast.  Because of its support for a vast number of units, and exploration of a seemingly endless planetary system, it will leave gamers playing the same map for hours on end. Read more… »

Ever heard of PlaySEGA?  I hadn’t either, until like five minutes ago.  Apparently, it’s this new (still in beta) browser-based service that lets you play old SEGA games!

The catch: you have to pay for a subscription.  The good news:  it’s only $14.95 for three months, and you get this sweet controller with your paid subscription.  Where do I sign up?

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