The folks over at Black Rock Studio, responsible for last year's trick-based ATV racer Pure, and studio owner Disney Interactive today revealed the developer's next project.

Titled Split/Second, it's an explosion-filled city racer coming to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in early 2010. The premise involves a "hyper-competitive reality show" in which players trigger explosions to run their competitors off-road and create new routes.

"Action racing has captured the imagination of video game fans worldwide and we're going to redefine that experience with Split/Second," promised director Nick Baynes.

Epic's multiplayer shooter Unreal Tournament 3 has seen a 2000% increase in simultaneous players of the game following the recent Titan Pack update and various Steam sales, according to Valve.

As a result, the Steam UT3 40%-off sale has been extended through Sunday, March 22. Valve also notes that the game will again be free to play this weekend, beginning on Friday March 13.

A new Star Trek game apparently tied to the upcoming J.J. Abrams movie is set for release in May, according to a notice included in Star Trek Blu-rays found by Trekmovie.

The game, titled Star Trek D.A.C., is being developed by Naked Sky Entertainment. The independent studio's first project, RoboBlitz, debuted on PC and Xbox Live Arcade in 2006.

Though no official details on the game are available, Kotaku notes that Naked Sky employees list an "unannounced PSN/XBLA title" on their resumes, indicating a downloadable console release.

The cover for Game Informer's upcoming BioShock 2-laden issue has confirmed the existence of Big Sister enemies in the 2K Marin sequel, as well as a reprisal of the original game's Rapture setting.

"Big Sister" enemies--apparently sleeker versions of the "Big Daddy" enemies from BioShock--were mentioned in rumors starting earlier this week.

A viral BioShock 2 site, www.somethinginthesea.com, has been updated regularly over the past several days. Materials found on the website hint at the abduction of several girls by a "skinny monster with a single red glowing eye."

More information about BioShock 2 is expected to be revealed following this month's Game Developers Conference.

In the post-Matrix and post-Max Payne world, slow-mo shoot-outs are starting to feel a little generic. That's why, as producer producer Nick Torchia explains below, Wanted: Weapons of Fate only lets you trigger "assassin time" when popping out of cover.

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Taking place mere hours after the Wanted film, the GRIN-developed action game hits PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 24. PS3 and Xbox 360 demos are downloadable now.

Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV (PC, PS3, 360) has sold nearly 13 million copies as of January 31, according to publisher Take-Two.

The Grand Theft Auto franchise made up nearly 40% of Take-Two's sales in its first quarter, which saw total sales revenue of $256 million on a $50 million loss.

Take-Two reiterated its plans to release the next Xbox 360-exclusive GTA IV DLC pack before October 31 of this year.

Though Take-Two has confirmed that BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams is "destined" for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the publisher has still yet to say what platforms the narrative-driven shooter sequel will hit when it launches between August and October.

In an earnings statement issued today, Take-Two Interactive again stated that BioShock 2 is due out by October 31, 2009, but listed the platforms it'll hit by then as "TBA."

The first BioShock debuted on PC and Xbox 360 in 2007, and arrived on PS3 over a year later. However, the PS3 port was not started until after the other versions released.

The advertising campaign for the the sequel, in development at 2K Marin, is now underway. The game will be featured on more than 30 magazine covers next month.

THQ today announced the official game based on Pixar's upcoming film Up, developed by Heavy Iron Studios (Wall-E, Ratatouille). The game is set to launch alongside the movie in May, on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, DS, PSP, PC and Mac.

Up will feature playable versions of all four characters from the movie--Carl, Russell, Dug the lovable dog or Kevin the prehistoric bird--possibly making this the first game allowing players to take control of an old man with a walker.

The action-adventure game also offers two-player co-op, and a four-player multiplayer aerial combat mode.

Strangely enough, the announcement was conveniently accompanied by a demo release. Check out the PC demo on FileShack.

Activision today released loads of new assets for Raven's upcoming Wolverine beat-em-up, movie tie-in game X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Also revealed was a significant preorder bonus from GameStop, which includes four rather sadistic "rooms" for Xbox 360 and PS3 players. More details after the break.

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Click through for more information on the GameStop danger rooms: ... Read more

A downloadable "Toy Soldiers" multiplayer map pack for Monolith's F.E.A.R. 2 will be released in April, publisher and studio owner Warner Bros announced today.

The pack is said to "allow players to experience multiplayer from a new perspective." Players will be able to battle within a pinball machine, hospital lab, and a sandbox filled with toys. All of the maps feature large objects to make players feel relatively small.

Platforms and a price for the upcoming content were not provided, though the content briefly appeared as a free download in the Xbox Live Marketplace today. The spooky first person shooter arrived on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in early February.

The Xbox 360 is "the console online gaming leader" in the United States, according to a study conducted by marketing research group NPD between January 6-26, 2009. However, the PC remains "the most widely used platform for online gaming activities."

An online survey of "just over 20,000" U.S. residents found that the Xbox 360 accounted for 50% of consoles played online. The Wii made up 29%, a jump from 2008's 18%.

As for PC, NPD told Shacknews that 87% of those surveyed used a PC to play games online. That's down from 90% in 2008, described as a statistically significant decrease. This number presumably includes Flash-based casual games.

Specific figures for other platforms were not provided, but the company said that "PS2 fell dramatically and PS3 moved up from fifth place to third place."

The study further noted that micro-transaction downloads have slowed... Read more

The developers at Starbreeze put together this lengthy diary of production on The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, explaining the genesis of the project and how it came to be a much larger piece of work than originally planned.

The game--which includes a new campaign in addition to the remastered Escape from Butcher Bay--arrives April 7 on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A demo is now available on Xbox Live, with PC and PlayStation 3 demos set to arrive soon.

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The latest entry in Capcom's viral video campaign for Resident Evil 5 reinforces that whole "fear you can't forget" marketing slogan, as protagonist Chris continues to suffer from flashbacks and suicidal thoughts in the wake of his little expedition through Kijuju.

The zombie-splattering action game hits PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this Friday.

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Electronic Arts announced today that EA Redwood Shores' open world action sequel The Godfather II has gone gold.

The game will hit the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on April 7.

Major additions in the sequel include The Don's View, an overworld strategy component (pictured right) that tasks players with managing properties and taking territory.

The Godfather II also allows players to customize their own crew of AI-controlled family members. The crew members can be used in the game's multiplayer modes, which mainly center around various class-based specialties, such as demolition and arson.

Doublesix's downloadable PSN title Burn Zombie Burn will PlayStation Network on March 26, according to the developer.

The top-down, arcade-style shooter includes six arenas for cooperative or competitive play. No word yet on a price.

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id's post-apocalyptic not-quite-open-world shooter Rage definitely "won't be out this year," id CEO Todd Hollenshead revealed in the latest episode of Gametrailers TV.

Though some debate whether Hollenshead said "will" or "won't," Geoff Keighley, who conducted the interview, confirmed via Twitter that Rage isn't coming this year.

Per usual, id has remained rather quiet about a possible release date for Rage, with project lead Tim Willits claiming that the PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Mac game will probably hit before 2011, assuming that's "when it's fun and when it's done."

Not only does this week bring Resident Evil 5, we're also getting the black and white Wii beat 'em up MadWorld and a Wii version of the original Pikmin with motion controls. And let's not forget Dream Day: Wedding Destinations on the Nintendo DS, either.

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, Nintendo DS and PSP sections. Should you want to check out any past release lists, scope out our handy archive.

While Resident Evil 5 won't appear at North American shops until Friday, March 13, the rest of this week's offerings should arrive at stores no later than Wednesday, March 11.

... Read more

Entertainment Software Rating Board president Patricia Vance has penned an open letter to Utah citizens, urging them to oppose legislation that would see retailers fined if they establish and then break a policy for not selling mature content to minors.

The bill, drafted with the help of renowned anti-game activist Jack Thompson, would amend Utah's "Truth in Advertising Act" to cover "a good or service labeled with an age restriction or recommendation," such as movies and video games.

Opponents of the bill argue it actually discourages retailers from establishing such a policy in the first place, as stores are not penalized if they don't have or drop a policy that restricts the sale of explicit content.

The ESRB claims that a recent audit of Utah video games stores found that minors trying to buy mature games were turned away 94% of the time.

"It would effectively penalize responsible retailers that have policies, and provide safe harbor for retailers that refuse to adopt a responsible policy in the... Read more

A sleuth on the NeoGAF forums has done some digging on the newly-posted BioShock 2 teaser site, apparently uncovering the final map revelation and the likely setting of the sequel.

According to the teaser site, strange creatures have been kidnapping little girls from beaches, the first location currently marked with an "X" and dated.

But poster MirageDwarf has uncovered the final dates and locations, including an ominous "X" in the middle of the ocean, seemingly indicating the source of the kidnappings.

While the "X" may at first seem to indicate the location of... Read more

Sucker Punch's super-powered PlayStation 3 action game inFamous will arrive worldwide in June, producer Greg Phillips revealed on the PlayStation.Blog. Phillips added that a downloadable demo of the title will be "available shortly."

The game puts players in the role of bicycle messenger Cole McGrath as he unexpectedly receives electrical superpowers and must save his city from chaos. Of course, saving is a subjective thing, so players can act as a hero or a maniacal villain.

Also due out this June is Radical's Entertainment's Prototype (PC, PS3, 360), which is also an open-world action adventure that features a super-powered protagonist.