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Do you love RTS games? On the other hand, do you also enjoy shooters? Good, because Raven Squad will help you take care of both your needs at the same time! A few days ago, SouthPeak Games announced its plans to distribute Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Danger for Xbox 360 and PC as soon as it hits Gold status, that being expected to happen this Fall. So...why wait for this one?

According to Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak Games, Atomic Motion's Raven Squad "combines two extremely popular genres into a single robust experience where either gameplay mode could stand on its own merits." Well, if you ask me about the visuals...at first sight, I thought this is some game using the graphics engine from Crysis!

"Atomic Motion is creating something that’s visually compelling and building new boundaries in what a military title can accomplish. Fans of both RTS and FPS games are going to love it, as will anyone who enjoys intense, action titles," added Ms. Mroz.

Other than the above, you should know that you will be in control of two 8-men squads behind enemy lines, in the Amazonian jungles. Obviously, each member has his own skills and weaponry, and playing the game properly requires switching between the RTS part and first-person shooting. If you don't get this right, just don't ask yourself why you keep losing...but anyway, there's plenty of time until we'll get our hands on this title, so relax, and enjoy what you got now!

Can you smell it? It's in the air! This year's E3 summit is getting closer and closer, and PC gamers have a lot of things to expect hearing about there. Obviously, I am talking about the hottest PC games expected to be shown at E3 2008, and that's exactly what we'll talk about today. Expected to take place between the 15th and 17th of July, in the Los Angeles Convention Center, E3 2008 is an event you shouldn't miss, and here you have 10 (PC) reasons for that...

1. Crysis Warhead - after Far Cry and Crysis, I can only hope this game won't push the system requirements even further. After all, most PC gamers can't even play Crysis maxed out yet, but since Crysis Warhead seems to use the same graphics engine, let's hope for the best.

2. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - leaving shooters behind, we step into the RTS realm, with one of the classic series - Command & Conquer. Expect an entirely new faction, and the same attributes that made the games released so far in the series so well appreciated.

3. Rise of the Argonauts - mythology and action combined, in one title that could easily replace those hours we once spend watching the Hercules or Xena TV series...

4. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky - Shadow of Chernobyl, despite its flaws, was and still is a great game, and if its follower manages to be just as captivating, and with less errors...then we're set for another round of serious shooting, exploring, and enjoying the Zone.

5. Left 4 Dead - a shooter coming from Valve, Left 4 Dead is an online cooperative shooter allowing you to slaughter countless zombies with your friends. The demo looks pretty good, so let's hope the full version will live up to the expectations!

6. Far Cry 2 - after Cryris Warhead, we're going to have another follower to a great shooter, but this time things are really different. If you missed the gameplay movie, be sure to check it out right away. Any additional comments are pointless, once you have done that.

7. Alpha Protocol - a new RPG from Obsidian, this is a unique espionage game, set in the contemporary world.

8. Spore - remember Spore Creature Creator? The tools are already here, but no additional details on the game, so... keep your eyes wide open!

9. Empire: Total War - another Total War game? Oh, yeah, finally we're leaving Rome and medieval Europe behind, and moving on to more serious things! How serious? Well, what about the 18th and 19th centuries? No rush, guys, I would really want to enjoy the battles in the last two centuries in a future Total War game, so this is just great!

10. Fallout 3 - Bethesda is finally getting near to turning the dream of so many gamers around the world reality. Unfortunately, there's no release date announced yet, and details are still sketchy, but everything looks good, so far.

As my final thoughts, I would like to bring back some pleasant memories - Panzer General 2! After that brilliant game, the series went spiralling down, but I am still dreaming to see one serious effort in the TBS war games field. I know it can be done, and I am sure there are still people dreaming about this...or am I the only one left?

I guess you already knew that Rockstar Games is much more than just GTA 4 or Manhunt, but now I will remind you this. Obviously, if you thought Rockstar is only about GTA, you'll surely change your mind now! Ever heard of Midnight Club? Yes, no, it doesn't matter, because the fourth game in this series has just been announced properly, with a release date and all the details we need to start trembling already. If you're a real gamer, you know how that feels, I am sure!


Before starting to talk about Midnight Club: Los Angeles, maybe you want to check some GTA 4 cars, just to get in the mood, you know... Now, did you know the Midnight Club series sold over 12 million copies so far? Just a fact, but this should show you that we're not talking about just "some other racing game."

Good, now, let's get to it - today, Take Two Interactive announced, in a press release, that Midnight Club: Los Angeles will be first available on consoles, this OCtober. To be more precise, we're talking about PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The release dates are October 7, in North America, and October 10, in Europe.

The good part is that you'll be able to freely roam and race through a hyper-realistic LA, and drive real world cars, not fictional ones. If handling proves to be as realistic as it should, I'll surely be one of the first buyers of the game!

Unfortunately, there's no date about the PC version of the game, so we should wait and see, or...maybe even get a game console until then, what do you think?

Day of Defeat: Source is a World War II shooter developed by the notorious Valve Corporation (if that doesn't ring a bell, I am sure Half Life or Counter Strike should do that!) and distributed online through Steam, while the retail distribution is handled by Electronic Arts.

In this game, you can choose the US Army or the German Wehrmacht, each having six player classes available, and the scenarios available are all inspired by historic World War II engagements in the European Theatre of 1944. Today, this game just got a major update...

...called Palermo and adding no less than 51 achievements, an improved avatar able to display the scoreboard and win panel, and now the detailed player statistics are integrated with the Steam Community features.

At last, it should also be noted that the Palermo update brings in popular features introduced by Team Fortress 2, such as "nemesis/revenge" freeze cam, as well as new effects that have been made possible by the particle system introduced to the Source engine for Team Fortress 2.

Wait...need I say why the update is called "Palermo?" Obviously, we're talking of a new map here, which is basically a remix of the most popular community map, dod_salermo, created by Magnar "insta" Jennsen. These being said, I hope you'll enjoy your return to Second World War, and maybe we'll even get to fight together in Day of Defeat, one day...

I know we should talk about games here, but what can I do when, all of a sudden, everyone starts throwing with cheap game consoles at me? Hehe, don't get me wrong - I wish that would literally happen, as long as they don't throw them too fast, so I can catch them safely... Anyway, let's get serious now - after rumors about cheaper Xbox 360 consoles from Microsoft, now official sources from Sony say that a new PS2 model is on its way to India and Europe...

Why a new PlayStation 2, when PlayStation 3 is already around, and quite a hit? Well, the problem is that, in some markets, the PS3 is also a hit for most gamers' budgets, and that's why Sony announced this fourth version of the good old PlayStation 2.

In an interview with the Indian Economic Times, Sony's country manager Atindriya Bose said the launch will be simultaneous in Europe and India, and this should happen by the 28th of October. The new PS2 will be slimmer, and have a built-in AC adapter.


"PS2 is an entry-level console, which helps first timers to enter the gaming zone," and "has the potential to penetrate further into the Indian and Russian markets. Console gaming is in its nascent stage in India. These are untapped markets and are new to the gaming world, hence we have no plans to phase out PS2 anytime soon," said Bose.

Obviously, one would think about the impact on PS3 sales in those markets, but - come on! We're talking about emerging gaming markets here, and low priced products = success there, in most cases. While experienced gamers may go for the PS3, even in Russia or India, there are entire legions of newbies ready for a cheap gaming console, and the new PS2 will offer exactly what they're looking for.