Well it’s that time of week again to bore or delight you with the news from around the gaming world.
First up with have an excuse for you to watch porn, well kind off, as 2K games have signed a deal with Playboy magazine to use over 50 of their classic covers and centrefolds for use in their upcoming Mafia II game. Now I don’t know about you, but the idea of looking at 50’s muff doesn’t sound too appealing, there was no such thing as a bikini line then, so you’ll be looking at women’s hairy sporins, not to mention that these women would be older than your mother by now!

CodeMasters have just released info on a game called Bodycount (no it’s not based on Ice T’s band ) it’s being developed by the creator Stuart Black of the classic shoot em up Black that came out on … Read More.

I’ve re-written my opening paragraph a half dozen times or more now for this story, as nothing has eloquently summed up how excited we are about Stuart Black’s new shooter Bodycount. So perhaps I’ll settle for a very simple ‘OH HELL YES!’

Speaking about the title, executive Producer Tom Gillo reports that  ‘Our core focus for Bodycount is to deliver best-in-class gun play that places the gamer at the heart of the experience. From the jaw-dropping devastation caused by firing into enemies or shredding the world around you in a hail of bullets, Bodycount will crystallise that moment of pulling the trigger into an exhilarating sensory overload of action.’

If you’re not in the know, one of Stuart Black’s previous titles was Black, a gem of a game released back in 2006 for PS2 and the original Xbox that entirely focused on … Read More.

2K Games have announced a partnership between themselves and purveyor of finely written gentleman’s articles Playboy. Bringing 50 ‘vintage’ covers and centrefolds from the world famous magazine to the gangster filled streets of Mafia II, this move by 2K hopes to inject more authenticity into the universe of the open world crime series.

“While most mob-inspired games’ emphasis is solely on action, Mafia II features a deep and compelling narrative that is embellished with a sophisticated, era-evoking atmosphere,” says Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “In partnering with Playboy, we are able to add a unique element of authenticity to the game by using vintage images from the magazine that illustrate the power of Playboy’s influence on the attitudes and culture of that generation.”

[caption id=”attachment_2423″ align=”aligncenter” width=”480″ caption=”What, like you've never sat around in your crackers, with a jazz mag on the table, while a male friend tries to look unaffected by … Read More.

Games Out This Week March 6th – March 13th

A bit of a quiet week on the game releases front, apart from one of the most anticipated games of this year, Final Fantasy XIII. I probably don’t have to explain what type of game this is. Having been in development for years, it is finally getting released. If you are into your JRPG’s, this is a must own.

All you Warhammer fans will be rejoicing to hear that the new Dawn of War 2 expansion, Chaos Rising is arriving. The expansion offers new campaign missions in both single player and multiplayer, a raise in level cap (from 20 to 30) and new weapons.

If you are not into clicking away on a keyboard, Yakuza 3 is also arriving this week. The PS3 exclusive is the latest installment in the action-adventures series that is Yakuza. The game is set in a fictional version … Read More.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Charles Cecil, MD & founder of Revolution Software just days after the re-release of Beneath A Steel Sky on iPhone and iPod Touch. He tells MidLife Gamer that a new IP point and click adventure is still feasible in a modern market, and that he is aiming more for the ‘casual market’. He argues that whilst core gamers will play casual games, casual gamers won’t play core games, and that many casual gamers are yesterday’s core gamers, very familiar with adventures of old. He admits though that the commercial model is different, ‘we have to bring the price down’

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As someone who lives in a multi-platform household I often find myself wandering around the games for Mac sections of stores and websites alike. All in all its not a fulfilling experience because the bottom line is that titles for the Mac are a dismal representation of what’s going on in gaming.

But it looks as if that’s about to change.

Doug Lombardi, Valve’s VP of developer marketing, confirmed to MacNewsNetwork that the company is planning to port some of its most popular games to the Mac. And while details remain thin, most in the gaming community view this as a positive step.

One of the teaser images released by Valve makes reference to Apple’s “Get a Mac” ads. Standing in the place of PC and Mac are the turrets from Portal and Team Fortress 2, suggesting that there are good things to come for the Mac.

UK based game developer RARE have announced that they are opening up an NEW Project Natal testing facility in the centre of Birmingham in central England.
Central to the development of Microsoft’s new motion sensing technology, RARE have been working on the project from their UK Twycross studio, but they have now expanded their operations to focus on NATAL’s scheduled world wide autumn 2010 release at a purpose facility in Digbeth.

In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, RARE Studio head Mark Betteridge said:
“First of all, because of the nature of Natal – and it would have been exactly the same with the Wii – to test it properly you need a larger physical space than you had before,”
“…with Natal there’ll be a huge variety in the set-ups that people will have in their homes, so it’s very important that we optimise any title to work … Read More.

Intel is expected to introduce a 6-core processor designed to crunch through the most 3D-intensive games in the coming weeks.

Midlife Gamer spoke exclusively to an industry insider who confirmed that the new chip codenamed ‘Gulftown’ has yet to be given a definitive launch date but is certain to ship in the next few weeks. While other sources speculate that the first glimpses of the chip running 3D-intensive games such as Napoleon: Total War could happen at the 2010 Game Developer’s Conference next week.  The official roll-out of Intel’s 6-core “Westmere” processors, however, is expected later this month.

The Core i7-980X is distinguished primarily by being Intel’s first 6-core “Extreme Edition” processor based on the chipmaker’s cutting-edge 32-nanometer process technology. Generally, the smaller the manufacturing process, the more circuitry can be packed onto the chip, increasing performance. Most Intel processors still use … Read More.

Rockband’s current library of over 1,000 downloadable songs is about to grow at a rate of knots as it releases songs created via the Rock Band Network Community.
Using the media of video games, musicians, producers and recording labels can now showcase their work via the Rock Band Store. Xbox 360 owners will be able to rate the songs via the dashboard Marketplace function providing feedback from gamers worldwide.
The artists to make use of the service include Marillion, The Shins, The Hold Steady, The Main Drag, Bang Camaro, of Montreal, Skeleton Witch, 3 Inches of Blood, Lacuna Coil and Stroke 9.
Also of note are Portal “Still Alive” songwriter Jonathan Coulton (Songs: Creepy Doll, Ikea and The Future Soon) and ex Whitesnake and heavy rock Halo 2 theme song performer Steve Vai (Songs : For the Love of God (Live), Get the Hell Out of Here and The Attitude Song).

With in … Read More.