Morning Battlefield 1943, it's nice of you to join us. We've been ...expecting you.

Go ahead and hit up the full list, or, if you're looking for a particular system, skip right to the PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PSP. Should you want to check out any past release lists, scope out our handy archive.

Retail releases should be at North American stores by Wednesday, July 8, with Tales of Monkey Island - Chapter 1 PC debuting via digital distribution on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Battlefield 1943 arrives in the Xbox Live Marketplace Wednesday and the PlayStation Store Thursday, with the multiplayer shooter dropping in on PC come September.

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"We really tried to make the different approaches not necessarily equivalent but always balanced," explains Alpha Protocol creative designer Travis Stout in a new developer diary, "and there's always something and interesting and fun going on in each path."

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Publisher Sega recently announced a release date of October 6 for Obsidian's PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 espionage RPG, with the creative tagline "The Espionage RPG."

Though Left 4 Dead 2 is slated to arrive on PC and Xbox 360 come November 17, developer Valve has reaffirmed that it will continue to support the original edition of its cooperative zombie shooter with as-yet-unspecified downloadable content.

"More info will be coming shortly on the [Left 4 Dead 1] DLC," Valve's Chet Faliszek told Shacknews, adding that the DLC will come in addition to enhancements, such as the promised team-based matchmaking update for the first Left 4 Dead.

"We plan to keep supporting Left 4 Dead 1," Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi recently told CVG. "I think folks took our [E3] announcement [of Left 4 Dead 2] as a sign that we were dropping Left 4 Dead 1 and that's just not the case."

Lombardi noted that "there will be some announcements coming before summer's out about what's coming there," explaining that the internet's vocal... Read more

"The art style...is the glue to everything," Gearbox's Mikey Neumann explains above the gentle hum of a crowded meeting room during E3. "It allows us to embrace what our game actually is, and man, when we had that epiphany, when it all came together, we were like, 'shit man, that's what this game is, this game is about having fun.'"

Neumann, whose job title today is "a guy who can get you things," is talking about the radical change that the studio's shooter-RPG Borderlands recently underwent, shifting from a gritty realistic aesthetic to something a bit more... stylized.

It was a risky move, especially considering that the game is nearing completion--it's hitting PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October--and this is the first time that Gearbox has demonstrated the new art style, in real time, to most of the gaming media.

And though the game's not out until October, it needs to be completed much sooner than that due to the need for testing. "You can subtract two and a half to three months for certification time," he says. "Subtract three months off of October... Read more

Codemasters seems to be on a screenshot kick today, with some new screenshots of Operation Flashoint: Dragon Rising accompanying this morning's DiRT 2 screens.

Developed internally at Codemasters, not by creator Boehmia Interactive, the tactical shooter sequel is slated to appear on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall.

The IGF award-winning platformer Fez will be released on Xbox Live Arcade early next year, according to developer Polytron.

The clever indie title makes use of perspective shifts and optical illusions, some of which can be seen in the trailer below.

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The beta for the Dawn of War 2 update 'There Is Only War' is now live on Steam.

Users can participate by opting into the beta. In Steam, select "file," then under the "beta participation" section, click "change." Select Dawn of War 2, restart Steam, and the patch will automatically download.

The beta brings eight new multiplayer maps, balance changes, bug fixes, and a multiplayer map editor to Relic's RTS.

The insanely long list of content is copied below:... Read more

Now this is a deal. 2K Games just launched its Huge Game Pack on Steam, bundling 20 of its games--which would normally sell for $229.80 individually--for the total price of $60.

The pack has also been marked down by 10% for a limited time, bringing the cost to $54--a real steal considering the quality of games.

Bundled titles include Civilization III, Civ IV and its expansions, BioShock, X-COMs, Freedom Forces, Railroad Tycoon II and 3, Prey, Sid Meier's Railroads! and Pirates!, and more.

The full list:

• Sid Meier's Pirates!
• Shattered Union
• Prey
• CivCity: Rome
• Sid Meier's Railroads! ... Read more

Stardock has released new screenshots of its upcoming PC fantasy 4X strategy title Elemental: War of Magic.

"The best way I can describe the battles is that they're tactical with XCom being a major inspiration but designed to be relatively short," wrote Stardock CEO Brad Wardell. During the battles, players can zoom far down to the front lines (see below, left).

Wardell also noted that while city growth in the turn-based game is largely cosmetic, players will be able to zoom in to view their towns, and design roads that connect them.

Elemental is slated for release in February 2010. A beta test is scheduled to begin later this year.

The first developer diary for Splinter Cell: Conviction sees the team at Ubisoft Montreal discussing their plans to push the stealth-action series "further" while staying true to it.

The oft-delayed title, once due in 2007, is now expected on PC and Xbox 360 this fall.

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Obsidian's spy-themed action-RPG Alpha Protocol will ship off to North American retailers on October 6, publisher Sega has just announced.

The game is now tagged "The Espionage RPG," going by the box art issued today, with all three versions--PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360--to be released simultaneously.

In addition to Alpha Protocol, Obsidian has two other projects in the works--Fallout: New Vegas and a secret mystery title--with its Aliens RPG recently confirmed to be cancelled.

As Independence Day is drawing near, online retailers have already kicked off their weekend sales, with the highlight thus far being Steam's half-off sale on Fallout 3.

Usually $50, a digital download of Bethesda's acclaimed post-apocalyptic PC RPG can temporarily be yours for $25. However, this doesn't include any of the $10 downloadable expansions, so the more frugal of you may want to wait until October, when the game and its five downloadable add-ons will be sold together in a $50 Game of the Year bundle.

Other standout deals include the X-Com Complete Pack for $7.50 at GamersGate and Call of Duty: World at War PC for $35 at Direct2Drive. Impulse also has several noteworthy sales going on, including a $30 Sins of the Solar Empire/Expansion Bundle and free copies of Red Faction 1 and 2 with a pre-order of RF: Guerrilla.

Oh, and don't forget that with Street Fighter IV PC coming out next week, both Steam and Impulse are offering 10% off pre-orders, making the fighting game $36.

As DiRT 2 enters the final stretch--it's slated to arrive this September--developer Codemasters has released some new screenshots illustrating the various off-road tracks, including Battersea, Croatia, Morocco and Utah.

Look for DiRT 2 to hit PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP.

DICE has announced that Battlefield 1943 will be released July 8 on Xbox Live Arcade then July 9 on the PlayStation Network, priced at $15 (1200 Microsoft Points).

A new trailer introduces Guadalcanal, one of three maps available at launch for 24-player WW2 warfare. A fourth map will become unlocked by a community challenge.

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A PC release is due in September, potentially with gameplay closer to Battlefield 1942.

The downloadable PC release of Frozenbyte's platformer Trine will go live this morning, according to the game's Steam page. The PC version is priced at $30 on Steam, and is set to unlock at 9am PST today. The PlayStation 3 release, expected either today or next Thursday, will cost only $20.

No idea what Trine is? Think LittleBigPlanet, but with a fantasy setting, three distinct characters, and only offline multiplayer to start. Or just check out the excellent demo.

Fans are never shy of criticizing Blizzard teams. And while it's tough to imagine the intense scrutiny doesn't affect developer sanity to some degree, StarCraft II lead designer Dustin Browder can say for a fact his game is better for it.

I asked Browder how that feedback factors into Blizzard development during an interview at the company's headquarters last week. Other topics included Battle.net, singleplayer content, new "challenge" missions that act as tutorial levels for casual players, and the decision to keep StarCraft II looking like StarCraft.

Dustin Browder: Everyone always kind of knew that we wanted to make this game feel like you were coming home. Still at its root a really bad-ass, competitive RTS. Not like, "We're bored of RTS, let's redo it completely! Let's get rid of base-building and redo this. We'll have a first-person mode!"

I've been at studios that wanted to do that. First-person mode was going to go into every Command & Conquer since 1999. It was going to be like, "First-person mode!" [laughs] It was like, oh my god you guys, this is a terrible idea. So we really wanted to make it like--we still think RTS games are cool. If you're bored, then that's cool, go buy another game and we're fine with that. But we think RTS games are cool, we think you'll have a lot of fun if we make a really good one--let's just make a good one. Read more..

Digital distributor Impulse is sowing seeds of destruction by offering the first two Red Faction titles for free with PC pre-orders of Volition's shooter Red Faction: Guerrilla.

While Guerrilla focuses on demolishing constructions in the third person, 2001's Red Faction and 2002's Red Faction 2 delighted in exploding environments from a first-person perspective, complete with a terrain destruction engine.

However, Impulse notes you will not receive the two games until you are charged for your $39.99 Guerrilla pre-order--which will only happen when Guerrilla arrives. Publisher THQ hasn't confirmed the PC release date quite yet--the console editions arrived in early June--but several retailers, Impulse included, expect it to arrive on August 25.

Mere hours before it was slated to begin, the public beta for the impending Dawn of War II (PC) update "There is Only War" update has been briefly delayed due to technical snag.

Developer Relic now expects the public beta test to kick off tomorrow, July 2, at 2:00 PM PST. "We know you're all really excited to get your hands on the new maps, balance and features - so are we," reads a developer update. "Please bear with us."

The massive update brings a ridiculous amount of tweaks to the action-RTS, including new multiplayer maps, balance changes, bug fixes, and a new multiplayer map editor.

Owners of the game will be able to obtain the beta patch by going into the Steam settings menu and choosing to participate in the appropriately listed beta. The patch can be removed by reversing those directions, with the final version expected later this summer.

Update: When contacted regarding the "Cataclysm" trademarks, a Blizzard representative told Shacknews that "we don't have any details to share at this time."

Original: Acclaimed developer Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft) has filed new game-related trademarks for "Cataclysm," and that's all we know.

The studio is known to have at least four projects in development--World of Warcraft, Diablo III, StarCraft II and a new MMO--with the company recently confirming that the new MMO is to be the start of "a brand new franchise" created "entirely from scratch." In addition, rumors of a fifth mystery project began circulating earlier this year.

The trademark filings, noticed by superannuation, cover computer game software, paper goods like comic books or strategy guides, and online gaming.

As one would expect, the filings have triggered a tidal wave of internet speculation. Some believe "Cataclysm" to be the name of the next World of Warcraft expansion, while others suggest it could be the new MMO or a new branding for the redesigned Battle.net.

Industry veteran Dave Perry has released a video demonstrating Gaikai, an upcoming cloud-based service that can be used to stream games and other software in near real-time from a remote server to an internet-connected computer.

Unlike OnLive, which requires a specialized application, Perry claims that Gaikai only requires a Flash-capable web browser. The below video sees him run through several pieces of software, including World of Warcraft, Spore, Mario Kart 64, and Photoshop.

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In a blog post, Perry says that the video shows a "home cable connection in a home" connecting to a server that's "not hosted by a Tier 1 provider, just... Read more