Avalanche Studios' explosive and grappling open-world sequel Just Cause 2 will hit North American retailers on March 23, 2010, publisher Square Enix announced today.

All three versions of the game--PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360--will be released simultaneously, with the European release following on March 26, 2010. The action game sequel packs an all new island, along with the ability to grapple things together.

Along with the release date, Square Enix, which acquired the game's original publisher Eidos earlier this year, provided a handful of new screenshots (embedded above) and added that Just Cause 2 will still be released "under the EIDOS brand portfolio."

In an announcement highlighting the revelation of "exclusive" Splatterhouse-branded shoes, developer Namco also passed along some new screenshots and artwork from the game.

And as that artwork shows, the shoes--crafted by GLOBE.TV and now available at $79.99--resemble those of protagonist Rick's in-game kicks, except his are green. Said Namco of the premium footwear:

"Designed as a testament to Splatterhouse's gory, intense, and horror movie-like tone, the Splatterhouse Co-op limited series features the Splatterhouse logo splayed across the vulcanized outsole siding in blood red, along with faux splattered blood detail all over and a Skull icon hit--all to tie in the game's iconography in a moody yet playful way."

Once helmed by now-defunct independent developer BottleRocket, the troubled PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 revival of Namco's classic action game is now in the hands of its internal Afro Samurai team and expected between July and September 2010.

Accessory maker Datel taken Microsoft to court, accusing the console manufacturer of unfair competition and monopolizing the market for Xbox 360 peripherals.

"With the specific intent to acquire or the intent to maintain monopoly power in and over the Aftermarket for Xbox 360 Accessories and Add-ons, Microsoft has committed exclusionary, predatory, or anticompetitive acts," asserts Datel.

The lawsuit follows a recent Xbox 360 system update that causes the platform to no longer recognize Datel's unauthorized MAX Memory Cards. Said update must be applied for users to connect to Xbox Live, play online and download new content.

As the cheapest of Datel's two MAX Memory Cards, the $39.99 2GB model, offered four times the storage space of Microsoft's only current official Xbox 360 Memory Card (512MB) at the same price, Datel accuses Microsoft of attempting to "exclude competition from the Xbox 360 aftermarket for memory cards" in order to promote its own goods.

Following the system update, Microsoft told G4tv that the decision to block unauthorized memory cards stemmed from concerns of consumer safety and... Read more

Final Fantasy developer Square Enix will be creating the cinematics for Eidos Montreal's Deus Ex 3, studio general manager Stephane D'Astous has told Edge.

"The people in Tokyo are just so glad to work on it," said D'Astous. "This is the first project for them that's a non-Final Fantasy title--they even want to work on Thief 4 too."

The Japanese publisher and developer purchased Eidos earlier this year after the Tomb Raider developer and Deus Ex publisher struggled and courted buyout bids.

The cyberpunk prequel was originally scheduled for release in late 2009--a date clearly no longer happening--with PC the only confirmed platform. It's unknown when Eidos' first entry in the hallowed Ion Storm-created shooter RPG series is now due to arrive.

Lead designer Jean-Francois Dugas simultaneously raised fan hopes and crushed their dreams in 2008 by saying Deus Ex 3 may not hit consoles due to its complexity--sequel Invisible War was often criticised as 'consolised'--while commenting that Ion Storm's original was "kind of slow" and had too few "exciting, memorable moments."

The downsized and "consolidated" Pandemic Studios was working on a multiplayer entry in its shooter series Mercenaries, according to a demonstration video released by former Pandemic effects artist Dorian Compo and noticed by superannuation.

"This was the first demo for Mercenaries Incorporated. Pandemic Studios next multiplayer sandbox game," Compo explains, noting "To [sic] bad it was cancelled because the effects were coming along." Compo's resume lists Mercenaries Inc. as under development for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 until being cancelled this winter.

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More Mercenaries was expected, given Mercenaries 2's strong sales and then-EA Publishing chief operating officer John Pleasants' declaration that "there will be a Mercenaries 3, and if I can have anything to do with it, there will be... Read more

It's a shame you can't choose the day because today is Tuesday. Now there's a hilarious piece of observational office humour you won't find in any newspaper comic strips.

We do have video games too, mind. Loads of them. Big games, little games, long games, short games, indie games, AAA games, console games, PC games--and all of them involving some form of violence. Downright hilarious observational video game comedy is on tap too, apparently. What a barrel of laughs we are today. Ho ho ho.

My weekend gaming time got completely swallowed up by Left 4 Dead 2. Between bouts of zombiecide I started thinking about the game proved itself a worthy sequel but somehow seemed to not be as big a deal as you'd expect after the love for the first. True, you can draw a line to unfulfilled expectations of post-release support for the first game. And I get that the additional stuff they did still fell short of what many would have liked. Another argument came up this morning while I was over at GameTrailers shooting Bonus Round. Their EIC, Shane Satterfield, flatly said that it lags for not having done much to evolve the basic hook of kill swarms of zombies.

Whatever the reason, the rest of the panel echoed surprise at L4D2 being in the group of five finalists for Game of the Year at the VGA's. When Modern Warfare 2 came up, though, those same points didn't come up despite their being equally valid. It's interesting to me how the perceived expectations for these two games varied.

And for the record, Left 4 Dead 2 definitely stands up as a full-fledged sequel to me. The environmental effects add a lot of tension and fit in extremely well. The enhanced in mission objectives that require a little more than just flipping a lever make it more important than ever to work together as a team. And already I've had scores of OMG how'd we survive that moments and plenty of that's a wipe's too.

During our break from gaming (aka work) we grabbed a couple stories:

• Zombie MMO Announced by WoW Veterans
• Blizzard Has Realized That They Announce Games Too Early
• Study Examines Video Game War Crimes
• Former Pandemic Employees Go Out Office Space Style
• Zombieriffic Trailer for Borderlands DLC

Remember back when the government was concerned for national security over the computing potential of the PS2? Well, the US Air Force is buying 2,200 PS3's to go with the 336 it already owns for a supercomputing research program.

Israel is back in the military tech news, developing a cell phone text message incoming missile alert system. Think there'll be an app for that?

Thanksgiving PSA: How to cook a turkey.

And then there's this man driving a bull around in his car. How do you follow that?

A new trailer for the upcoming Borderlands downloadable content, called 'The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned,' showcases the mad doctor himself, undead vomit, and what is quite possibly the most awesome strap-on mustache in the history of video games.

'The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned," will be available for download on the Xbox 360 and PS3 tomorrow for $10 (800 Microsoft Points).

Brrraaaaiinnnssss!

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Sony Online Entertainment and Nexon America Games have both announced a slew of Black Friday deals for those looking to bolster some online games with discounted extras.

SOE's deal runs from November 23rd until November 29th, during which time you'll receive a 25% bonus for Station Cash Cards that are redeemed in-game. Station Cash cards can be used in FreeRealms, EverQuest, and Everquest II, and can be purchased at a number of retail outlets.

Nexon America also promises that "players will be rewarded with major discounts on Cash Shop items," in four of their free-to-play MMO's... Read more

Update: Sony has updated its post with the note that RotWD has been "temporarily delayed," with a new launch date to be announced "once it becomes available."

Artificial Mind & Movement's Wanako studio has announced that its 2D Kung-Fuelled beat-em-up, 'Revenge of the Wounded Dragons,' hits the PSN for download tomorrow.

"In far away China," the trailer begins, "a happy family will suffer the inevitable..." In this case, inevitability comes in the form of a mafia Boss kidnapping your sister and killing your grandfather. Hungry for some payback, it's a good thing that grandpa trained you in the ancient art of Kung-Fu.

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According to the announcement on the official PlayStation Blog, 'Revenge' is all about old-school arcade action. Would-be pugilists can expect... Read more

Further revving up the Bayonetta marketing machine, Sega has released another video examining Platinum's stylish action game--this one detailing "transformations."

The latest from Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya, Bayonetta hits North American retailers in PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 5, then Europe on January 8. A downloadable demo of the game is due on both consoles starting December 3.

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The final two playable classes of BioWare's PC MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic have been revealed as the Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor, according to fansite Darth Hater, as noticed by StarWarsMMO.net and reader Jeff.

"We thought as core classes the Consular and the Inquisitor made the most sense," producer Jake Neri told Darth Hater. "We thought they balanced well against the other two. You can think of the Jedi Knight and the Sith Warrior as more of a melee-style Jedi, and the other two maybe more of the ranged-style Jedi. I think it made a lot of sense."

Going by fan translations--the info first appeared in German magazine PC Games--the Jedi Consular's abilities include Lift, Sleep and Force Push, while the Sith Inquisitor gets abilities such as Shock, Execute, Sabrestrike and Dark Meditation.

The two join the game's six other classes--Imperial Agent, Trooper, Smuggler, Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter, Sith Warrior--making for a total of eight playable classes at launch. Exactly when that launch will be is unknown, though beta signups are open.

With The Saboteur developer Pandemic having laid off a majority of its staff and relocated a "core team" to Electronic Arts' Los Angeles campus, a few former employees have produced a video tribute in honor of those affected.

"Former members of The Saboteur team do some Office Space," Pandemic said of the video via Twitter. Be forewarned that the clip is not-work-safe due to its music.

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Video games frequently flaunt international human rights and criminal law without portraying the consequences, a study by Swiss human rights organisation TRIAL and youth rights advocate Pro Juventute Switzerland has unsurprisingly discovered.

Lawyers trained in international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law cast their legal eyes over twenty shooters including Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, 24: The Game, Far Cry 2 and "Metal Gear Soldier 4 [sic]" for the study titled 'Playing by the Rules.'

The study makes for slightly surreal and mildly entertaining reading as one discovers what would be the real-life consequences for fictional video game characters.

Fist-bumping Army of Two stars Salem and Rios, for example, "may be tried for their mere participation in hostilities" as "mercenaries are considered to be civilians and as such, they have no right to participate in the hostilities... Read more

Following up on word that Blizzard's Diablo III won't arrive in 2010, studio design VP Rob Pardo has admitted that the delay-heavy studio behind World of Warcraft and StarCraft has "always announced all of our games too early."

"We realize that and go, 'You know what? Next time we're not going to do that,'" he explained to Techland, as noticed by Big Download. "And then we always fail at that. But I'd rather fail at that than fail at making the game great."

Diablo III was formally revealed in 2008, with the only concrete word on its arrival being repeated statements that the action-RPG is not due in 2010. However, the studio expects to release the first entry in the StarCraft II trilogy, Wings of Liberty, within the first half of 2010, with World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm also due in the year.

"We've been wrong [on release dates] for as long as I can remember," Pardo added, joking that "when we announce [a game] we just go, 'Here's the game we're working on, we're going to start talking about it and who knows when it ships.'"

Just in time for the holidays, Nintendo has announced two limited edition Nintendo DSi harware bundles, each coming pre-installed with "more than $20" worth of software.

Available in North America "while supplies last" beginning Friday, November 27--the day after Thanksgiving, often referred to as Black Friday--both the white "Brain Age Bundle" and metallic blue "Mario Collection" will be available at the hardware's usual price of $169.99, according to an advance Best Buy circular obtained by Kotaku.

For details on the downloadable games contained in each bundle... Read more

Developer Undead Labs today revealed itself to the world, announcing its intent to "create the definitive massively multiplayer online zombie game (MMOZ) for console gamers."

The studio was founded by Blizzard veteran Jeff Strain, who contributed programming to both Diablo and StarCraft and, according to today's press release, formed "the initial team and kicked off development on the wildly successful MMO World of Warcraft [in 1999] while taking on the roles of team lead and lead programmer on the project." Come April 2000, Strain and two others had left Blizzard to co-found Guild Wars developer ArenaNet.

Unsurprisingly given the long incubation period that MMO development usually entails, the studio did not specify a release date or specific platform in today's announcement. However, the company did note that it will "pioneer a new development model that will create a new breed of MMO built from the ground-up for console gamers. "

"Undead Labs is committed to bringing to life an MMO loaded with action, humor and, of course, a whole lotta zombies, because the world doesn't need more dragons," explained the company. "Nothing screams funny quite like wading into a group of rotting zombies with a lawn chair and a box of sharpened #2 pencils, and nothing says fun quite like doing it with your friends, whether online or on your couch."

A trio of savings are on offer for Xbox Live Gold subscribers this week, including substantial savings on PopCap's positively prolific peg-popper Peggle.

The temporary discount brings the downloadable ball-bouncer to 400 Microsoft Points ($5), half its usual asking price, with an expansion pack available at the same cost.

As Major Nelson reveals, the week's other two sales are Fable II's "See the Future" expansion ($5, usually $7) and Snowblind's Death Tank ($10, usually $15).

Following an admittedly "very difficult week" during which the studio lost a majority of its staff alongside its office, Electronic Arts subsidiary Pandemic has announced the completion of its latest title, World War II-era stealth-action game The Saboteur.

"This has been a very difficult week for Pandemic Studios, but does not change the fact that a team of amazing people worked very hard to make The Saboteur a great game that fans will be able to enjoy this holiday season," Pandemic community manager Mathew "Sledgehammer70" Everett explained on the game's official forum.

All three versions--PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360--are now off to manufacturing, with a European release due December 4 and a North American debut December 8.

Capcom has "no plans for PC at this point" for the recently-announced Resident Evil 5 downloadable content or DLC-bundling 'Gold Edition,' a representative has told G4tv.

Scheduled for release on March 9, the Gold Edition of Capcom's action horror includes a prequel mission, a new episode and two costume packs--all of which will receive seperate releases as downloadable content. The Xbox 360's Gold Edition contains a download code for new content, while the PlayStation 3 version packs it onto a disc.

However, it would not be uncharacteristic for Capcom to release a PC edition later. Street Fighter 4 arrived on PC five months after its console release, as did Devil May Cry 4, and Resident Evil 5 was not announced for PC until two months after it hit consoles.