Rey chatted it up with the developers behind BioShock 2's multiplayer and got to hear about some cool stuff in regard to the blasphemes mode. BLASPHEMES INTERNET RAGE RAWR!

Jim is crazy thinking that Aliens are better than Predators, the latest episode of Podtoid features Samit talking about #sports, Ubisoft announced Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Dead Space Extraction might be hitting XBLA/PSN and more happened on 02/09/10.

Destructoid Originals:
Podtoid 137: Pixeljunk Gears of War
What happens if you hate BioShock 2?
How Aliens are blatantly better than Predators
Answers to my 'in the moment' Mass Effect 2 questions

Community:
My Expertise: Sh*t Talking.
Community blogs of 02/09/10
Forum of the day: Game series that need to get back to basics

News:
Schedule for Dante's Inferno DLC revealed
Wada's FF XIII statements confuses his own developers
Ubisoft announces Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Pre-order Transformers: War for Cybertron, get Shockwave
XBLA sale: Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Turtles in Time, and more
Borderland's General Knoxx gets his own Twitter account
EndWar is 'on the backburner'
Man who read a magazine says L.A. Noire hits in September
Kickstart the Gamma4 event, get some indie games
Level 5 developing PS3 and Wii titles
Fluid dynamics! Q-Games talks PixelJunk Shooter 2
BioShock 2 crap available for your Avatars
Silent Hill composer speaking at GDC 2010
Sam & Max season three outed as The Devil's Playhouse
Nintendo blames piracy for late Aussie release dates
Nintendo awarded $1.5m over New Super Mario Bros piracy
Rumor: Dead Space Extraction coming to XBLA/PSN
Nintendo didn't have you in mind when Pikmin was created
Greg Hastings Paintball 2 announced for consoles
Next Deus Ex likely called Deus Ex: Human Revolution
LEGO Universe beta sign-ups are now open
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 getting free and premium DLC
This is what Metro 2033's special edition looks like
Ezio in Rome for next Assassin's Creed
Dead Space 2 won't be coming to PC
Immortal Empire: Free to play, surprisingly good!
Fans petition for 'classic' Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Unannounced EA 'fighting title' coming in early 2011

Offbeat:
Why not? Cloud Strife hacked into Smash Bros. Brawl
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 already exists on SNES

Media:
Finally! Plants vs. Zombies on iPhone ready for next week
Hudson brings Dream Chronicles to PSN, XBLA
NIS changes name of Holy Invasion of Privacy due to IP conflict
A look at Supreme Commander 2's 'The Kraken' in action
Explore MLB 2K10's Total Control Pitching and Hitting
Naughty Bear does not approve of Peanut Butter Jelly Time

Within Monday's financial earnings report from Electronic Arts was a list of games that the publisher is planning to ship in the remainder of its 2011 fiscal year, which runs through March 31, 2011. Buried in that list was a "Fighting Title TBA," set for release on consoles in the fourth quarter of said fiscal year. We're not sure what that game could be, but here's a clue: it's listed under the EA Sports label.

By then, EA Sports MMA will have released in the prior quarter (fall 2010), so this probably doesn't have anything to do with that. Brad Nicholson wonders if it's going to be a revival of 2008's FaceBreaker (we both hope that that's not what it is). If I had to put money on it, I'd guess that the game in question is Fight Night Round 5, or some kind of Fight Night spin-off -- a Q1 2011 launch would be roughly a year and a half after the release of last summer's Fight Night Round 4.

Let's brainstorm, gang. What do you guys think this fighting game is?

In case you're unfamiliar with Backbreaker, a bunch of folks from the game's developer, NaturalMotion, are here to tell you all about it. The video above is a three-and-a-half-minute developer diary in which they explain why Backbreaker is unique -- not just among football videogames, but all sports games. The studio's Euphoria engine (which you saw in games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed) is responsible for Backbreaker's realistic football action.

Another key idea in the game's design was to create a pick-up-and-play experience. Having played the game myself, I can tell you that the controls are, indeed, intuitive. If this looks like your idea of a good time, you've only got to wait until May, when Backbreaker hits stores on the PS3 and 360.

2K Sports' Major League Baseball 2K franchise hasn't been good in a few years, so developer Visual Concepts knew it had to up the ante if the game was going to compete with Sony's stellar MLB The Show series. We haven't had many details on the gameplay of MLB 2K10 -- until now, that is.

The three-minute video above explains how Total Control Pitching and Total Control Hitting will work. Both pitching and hitting use the right analog stick. The pitching is almost identical to the system that MLB 2K8 employed -- different sequences of gestures on the right stick correspond to different pitches. I hope it's more forgiving than the pitching in 2K8 was. At least this time, you'll choose the pitch first with a button press; that should let the game know what kind of gestures to expect.

The hitting also looks largely similar to analog stick hitting of MLB 2K games past, but this time, you have the option of a defensive swing to fight off a pitch, in addition to the standard contact and power swings. The video closes with a quick look at the new Batter's Eye feature, which flashes the strike zone and tells you what kind of pitch is coming if your hitter's Eye rating is high enough. It looks rather obtrusive; if you ask me, the Hitter's Eye in EA Sports' MVP Baseball 2005 was better because it was more subtle.

In any case, there's also plenty of gameplay footage to gawk at here, and it looks much better than it has before. Major League Baseball 2K10 will be out on March 2nd for PS3, 360, Wii, PC, PSP, and PS2.

As bold as day, Electronic Arts has stated that Dead Space 2 will not be coming to PC. A version for computers was conspicuous in its absence when EA listed its releases for 2011, and when asked about the situation, EA was forthcoming in its declaration that Dead Space 2 would be a console-only affair. 

The publisher has been less clear as to why it is denying the PC crowd. No reasons have been given for Dead Space 2's console-only status. All that's been said is that "As of right now, a PC SKU is not in the plan." Until that changes, fans of computer gaming are being left out in the cold. 

With the original Dead Space not selling as well as EA wanted, you'd think the publisher would be doing all it could to push the sequel on as many formats as possible. Apparently not. I guess either the sales figures were so bad on the PC that the sequel just isn't worth it, or EA simply doesn't rate the PC market anymore. Either way, it looks like you guys are boned if you were hoping to play Dead Space 2 on anything other than a PS3 or 360.

No PC Dead Space 2 [Blue's News]

You've probably never heard of Jesse Attard, but he's a man with a pedigree. After all, he was the project lead on BioShock 2's multiplayer. With that game now wrapped up, Attard has founded Tactic Studios, a new developer that has just launched its first ever title, Immortal Empire. 

Immortal Empire is a completely free strategy game, playable in one's browser, similar to games like Evony. However, unlike Evony, Immortal Empire is actually rather good. It's similar to Dawn of War in that it's about a few powerful units as opposed to grand armies, but it's a turn-based affair. It reminds me of Astonishia Story in its gameplay, an RPG that a lot of people disliked but I actually loved. 

It costs absolutely nothing, and it's worth checking out. There's a premium charge of $10 to access all the classes, but the main game can be played through for free. Pick one of nine unique and bizarre character classes, recruit up to four other characters, and complete quests to earn loot and acquire more power. Simple stuff, but pretty damn fun so far. 

There's your free game recommendation of the day. Give it a look and see what you think. If it sounds tasty, register right here and support a brand new studio. 

Fans. They're never happy with anything, are they? Sega announces Sonic the Hedghog 4, a 2D retro experience that people have been clamoring for since the move to 3D, and people still manage to find things to complain about. Some of the complaints I already addressed, but by far the most controversial issue seems to be the fact that Sonic himself doesn't look old school enough. 

Internet justice to the rescue! Fans have set up a petition (470 sigs and counting) in a bid to make Sega change the current Sonic design to something more reminiscent of the Genesis era. Apparently, people aren't fans of the sleeker modern Hedgehog, and want the old pot-bellied guy back on their screens. Sega's bound to ignore the outcry, but it never hurts to try I suppose. 

As possibly the biggest (or only) Sonic fan on Destructoid's staff, I personally have never had an issue with Sonic's current look. I might be in the minority, but I've always kind of liked the way he looks these days, and I don't think character design has ever been the guy's biggest problem. Still, if people are determined to find things to whine about before we've seen more than a teaser trailer, I guess this is as good a subject as any. 

Bring the classic Sonic to Sonic the Hedgehog 4 [GoPetition via GoNintendo]

Annoying Internet memes have a new flavor of fear. A2M's conceptually brilliant Naughty Bear has a brand new trailer, and this week our fine furry friend has shown exactly what happens when Peanut Butter Jelly Time meets a baseball bat. It's short, it's to the point, and it does very little to stop us being pumped for this game. 

Even if this game sucks, it'll deserve a play for the idea alone. We need more sociopathic teddy bears in games, and I'm glad A2M is representing. I really hope this game turns out as brilliantly as I imagine it to be.

What's the downloadable content situation for Battlefield: Bad Company 2? Speaking to Worthplaying, senior producer Patrick Bach gave some solid information on the matter.

"We see the game as the first step to a longer experience. We have an in-game store where you get free content or you can buy new content to the game, so it's a very integral part of the game that we will have a long post-launch campaign."

"I think people will be thrilled to see what's in that already," says Bach. "On day one, you will get some really cool stuff." Interesting. Not that I'm against free content at launch, but if this is going to be a hot new trend to prevent used game sales, we need to up the ante in terms of hard drive accessibility.

Why yes, I am still rocking a 20 GB hard drive for my Xbox 360. I can't let them win. I don't exactly know who "they" are, but letting them beat me is the worst thing I could possibly do.

'Battlefield: Bad Company 2' (ALL) Developer Interview [Worthplaying via Blue's News]

Can't get Mass Effect 2 out of your head? I can't either. I have questions, all of which tickle me, compel me to prod. But they aren't about what happened in the game. Instead, I wonder about its characters, its genre and possible DLC.

With tons and tons of swirling thoughts, I approached EA about doing an interview. I didn't ask many connected questions. That wasn't the point -- I wanted to learn more about what was in my head at that second, those hungry beasties filling my skull.

Wish granted, the game's project director Casey Hudson unwittingly satisfied my desire to just know more in the moment -- to know more about those curious flashes when Shepard talks to Thane, how BioWare defines Mass Effect 2, and the exclusion of a same sex relationship. Spoilers abound.

Special editions for brand new videogames without a proven pedigree. I've ranted on the arrogance of such a thing before, but nevertheless, it's getting more and more common so we'll have to deal with it. Still, the Metro 2033 special edition isn't overly ridiculous, so at least there's that going for it.

UK retailer GAME has revealed the special edition in all its glory, detailing the in-game special shotgun, the fancy embossed box, and the artwork postcard set commissioned by novelist and Metro 2033 creator Dmitry Glukhovski. A pretty neat little package if you're convinced that this game is going to be worth the cash. 

We preview the game a few weeks ago and voiced a number of concerns with it. The graphical issues and the unbalanced gameplay leave us with a sour taste, but one can hope that developer 4A has listened to criticism and made the game a little more sensible. If you're going to make a special edition, you better damn well make a game good enough to justify it.

Metro 2033: Limited Edition [GAME]

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"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes-and ships-and sealing wax-
Of cabbages-and kings-
And why the sea is boiling hot-
And whether pigs have wings."
-Lewis Carroll

I thought long and hard about what area of expertise I may yield in gaming and came up with nada, zip, nothing. Sure I love fighting games and can appreciate as well as understand the mechanics of them to be a proficient fighter but to call that my "expertise" would be very presumptuous of me. I'm not comfortable saying that. Same thing with every genre of games I play which is about all of them except the simon says silliness of rhythm or music games.

No, under closer scrutiny I realized I'm your typical competent gamer. Yet there is an ability that I possess that accentuates my gaming skills and raises the quality of it. A trait that unto itself is amusing at best but coupled with my gaming, elevates my play significantly. What is this fabled area of expertise of mine? What comes naturally, effortlessly, without barely a thought?

I can sh*t talk ... well. 

While the jump from Assassin's Creed to its sequel brought about a whole new set of faces and places, don't expect the same for the follow up.

In its third quarter financial conference call today, Ubisoft revealed that the Ubisoft Montreal-developed title would not only star Ezio, but would take place in Rome. There, the assassin will continue his quest to destroy the Templar Order, this time at its source.

The title, which is said to feature an important multilayer component, could ship anytime between holiday 2010 or March 2011.

Personally, I find it a bit disappointing that Ubisoft isn't taking the Assassin's Creed story line in a such a direction that would introduce gamers to new assassin's and a completely different change of scenery. It's incredibly likely that Ubisoft will reveal more at E3, so until then, I'll continue to be excited for the follow up to one of my favorite games of 2009.

Everyone always says gardening was Shigeru Miyamoto's inspiration for Pikmin. Yeah, we get it. His personal interests often relate to what his videogames are about. Enough already! Way more interesting than that bit of insight is who Miyamoto was targeting with the game:

"Every once in a while, you want to make something that high school girls can get into."

So Pikmin, one of the best original Nintendo series in recent memory, was aimed at high school girls? If the result of Nintendo making a game for that audience is something as incredible as Pikmin, the company needs to do so more often.

Essentially, that is Nintendo's design philosophy these days. With the Wii, everyone's the target audience, including the beloved high school girl crowd. Too bad the best we've seen come out of this initiative is (arguably) Wii Sports. How about you guys start talking Pikmin 3?

任天堂，宮本 茂氏が語った「ゲーム機を介したコミュニケーションの活性化」。新ハードを開発中との発言も出た，第13回文化庁メディア芸術祭「功労賞受賞者シンポジウム」レポート（New スーパーマリオブラザーズ Wii) [4Gamer via Kotaku]