In a Left 4 Dead blog post that rekindles memories of the great 2008 Diablo 3 darkness debate, developer Randy Lundeen has explained why Valve made the decision to lighten up the look of its tense zombie shooter.

Lundeen noted that in an early, much darker version of the game's lighting system, "Playtesters weren't able to see zombie silhouettes in the midground and background. Because of this, they were repeatedly getting mobbed."Left, an early, darker version of Left 4 Dead. Right, the final ...

Independent developer Semnat Studios today announced that its quirky 2D action title Eduardo and the Samurai Toaster will be hitting the Wii as a downloadable WiiWare game sometime later this winter.

Described as a run-and-gun shooter, Samurai Toaster boasts 1-4 player co-op support across 13 unique levels. In addition, the game will also include "incredible funness," according to Semnat. Upon completion of the game, Semnat also promises "overwhelming pride in knowing that you're helping the little guy." Aw.

Following in the unfortunate footsteps of World of Goo, developer Beautiful Game Studios' claims that its Championship Manager series of PC soccer simulators is the victim of a 90% piracy rate.

"That's not just a number in the air, we can measure it and we know that there are a huge amount of pirated copies," said Beautiful GM Roy Meredith.

World of Goo co-creator Ron Carmel recently stated that his game was suffering from a 90% piracy rate--though Carmel later lowered the estimated figure to a still-staggering 82%.

Despite Meredith's obvious concern regarding piracy, he recognizes that adding DRM copy protection to the upcoming Championship Manager 2009 could create even more problems.

"There's a real issue around DRM... I'd love to defeat pirates, but actually, with all this mess on Spore and Football Manager, which I haven't been able to play this year... I spent about three hours t...

Developer CCP today announced that its spaceship MMO EVE Online recently reached a peak of 45,000 concurrent players. The impressive number tops the previous record of 35,000 simultaneous users.

Unlike most MMOs, EVE Online is operated as a single instance, allowing every player to communicate and meet up within the massive universe of New Eden.

The game has been a technical challenge to maintain, with users often testing the limits of CCP's technology by swarming single systems en masse.

Treasure CEO Masato Maegawa has revealed that Microsoft requested an XBLA port of the Japanese developer's Saturn shoot-em-up Radiant Silvergun, but noted that the project would likely be more difficult than the company's recent porting of Ikaruga.

"Microsoft actually asked us if we could put it out," said Maegawa. "We're thinking about it, certainly, but it's not as simple as just saying 'OK, let's put it up.'"

"With Ikaruga, we released it as is without having to do or add a great deal to the game, and it was popular and well accepted for what it was," he added. ...

It turns out that GameStop wasn't joking around when it promised "exclusive access" to a downloadable Killzone 2 (PS3) demo in exchange for a $5 pre-order.

Publisher Sony has confirmed that if you want experience a portion of Guerrilla's anticipated first-person shooter before its retail release on February 27, you'll need to enter into a financial arrangement with GameStop and its retail monkey minions.

At some point following the game's release, the demo will then be made public.

"The demo will be available on the PSN after the game ships but only through GameStop until then," Sony cl...

Just two games were added to Nintendo's Wii Shop this week: Kirby's Dream Land 3 on Virtual Console, and Konami's WiiWare title Sandy Beach. Finally fulfilling the Wii hardware's potential for a crab-based sand castle battler, Sandy Beach challenges gamers to construct fully-armed and operational sand battlestations in preparation for a deadly crustacean invasion. Similar to Rampart, players must defend against increasingly difficult waves of pirate crabs, rebuilding their defenses in turn.

Both titles are available today. Check below for further details.

The Wii remake of Capcom's Dead Rising packs more than just motion-sensitive controls and fewer on-screen zombies--it's got Japanese rockers GaGaGa Special! At least, that's what I took away from this in-game music video for the song "Dead Rising." [video]13506[/video]

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop will be released on Wii come February 27.

Sony Bend is releasing its PSP Resistance game this spring, and we now have a better look at it thanks to the following screenshots. Resistance: Retribution takes place between the events of Resistance and Resistance 2, following a British resister in his fight against the alien Chimera.

The portable shooter will feature eight-player online multiplayer and PS3 connectivity when it is released this spring.

Crysis Warhead developer Crytek recently assured fans in a community update that a patch for the standalone shooter is nearing completion.

"Crysis Warhead will receive a patch in the new year," said the team in a statement. "It's almost finished thanks to some hard work from the Warhead team, so that's something to look forward to." The company also noted that a new editor and SDK will be the next priority.

"The Editor and SDK are being worked on and will be available for release in the new year. We currently don't know when this will be, but good progress is being made and we're hoping it...

Remember when Microsoft said that Lode Runner, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, South Park, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix and R-Type Dimensions would help ring in the new year for Xbox Live Arcade? Sadly, the first release of 2009 is not among these.

Instead, we get TikGames' family-friendly hide-and-seek adventure Interpol. The 800 Microsoft Point ($10) title has players examining pictures for clues that will help stop Dr. Chaos. Now published by Microsoft instead of Sierra, it arrives Wednesday, January 7.

Interpol joins a growing library of family-oriented downloadable games in the Xbox 360's online Xbo...

Capcom today confirmed a February 27 North American release for Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, the Wii remake of its zombie-massacring Xbox 360 title Dead Rising

The same date also applies to Europe, according to the publisher. As February 27 is a Friday, and North American releases usually ship on a Monday or Tuesday, the game could arrive on Wednesday, February 25 if retailers are not given a hard street date.

Other Capcom releases for the first half of 2009 include Street Fighter IV (PS3, 360) on February 17 and

Japanese electronics giant and PlayStation 3 maker Sony claims that it has no plans to announce another restructuring plan that would see the closure of multiple divisions.

The statement comes in response to a recent report by Times Online, which said Sony was "on brink of upheaval" and that employees were preparing for a "a series of 'sacred cow-slaying' measures" that would see major divisions and factories closed.

"We do not plan to announce additional restructuring measures at this time," Sony spokesman Atsuo Omagari informed Retuers. "We don't have any such plan."

In early December, the company said it was cutting 16,000 jobs, and would reduce focus "unprofitable or non-core businesses," as well as LCD and mob...

PC manufacturer Lenovo today unveiled the IdeaCentre A600 All-in-One Desktop and a Wii-like motion-sensitive remote for gaming.

Lenovo claims that the remote "is the first to bring PC users the ability to play games using the remote control's 'motion drive' feature."

The Wii imitation influence even extends to software, as Lenovo marketing director Ninis Samuel told PC World that, "we have an example of a bowling game [where] you can wave the remote and that actually controls your game."

Alongside gaming, the optional remote performs other function as well, and can be used as an air mouse, a voice chat handset, or a...

Some new rumors have emerged regarding future video games in Traveller's Tales' LEGO series, which has seen Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Batman releases.

The oft-rumored LEGO Harry Potter won't arrive in 2009, according to Eurogamer. Some had speculated the LEGO game would arrive alongside the next Harry Potter flick in the summer, which is being accompanied by an Electronic Arts-developed tie-in.

Meanwhile, videogaming247 reports that LEGO Rock Band is currently in development, and will somehow provide a block-busting rendition of Harmonix's music game series. VG247's source assured the site that the information is "100 percent correct." Then again, don't sources always say so...

As the trend of looking back at 2008 continues, Microsoft has provided lists of the year's 20 most popular Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, and original Xbox games.

As noted by Xbox Live programming director Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, the original Xbox and 360 lists were calculated by the amount of Xbox Live users playing each game, while the Xbox Live Arcade list was based off sales of the 360 downloads.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. GTA IV
4. Gears of War 2
5. Gears of War
6. CoD: World at War
7. Guitar Hero III
8. Battlefield: Bad Company Demo
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo
10. Rock Band
11. Fable II
12. Mirror's Edge Demo
13. Madden NFL 09
14. BF: Bad Company
15. Rainbow Six Vegas 2
16. UNO
17. Castle Crashers
18. COD: World at War Multiplayer Beta
19. Forz...

The PC edition of GRIN's Bionic Commando will "shortly" follow the release of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, according to publisher Capcom.

"[Bionic Commando] will be initially available for gamers on Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Sony Computer Entertainment's PLAYSTATION 3 with the PC version following shortly afterwards," noted Capcom.

The developer had previously spoken out, suggesting that the PC version could be delayed due to piracy concerns and the need for more polish.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 releases of the gun-toting, mechanical arm-swi...

Like a gentle lover, 2009 is taking things slow and letting us acclimate to new things at out own pace while still rewarding us with a noteworthy game or two in the next week.

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

Barring any delays, this week's releases should be at North American retailers by Wednesday, January...

As the new year kicks off, sales-tracking firm NPD Group is looking back to December 14-20, 2008 and listing that week's best-selling PC games at U.S. retailers.

Though the games are identical to the week before, the order is a little bit different, with Left 4 Dead and The Sims 2 Double Deluxe rising, while Call of Duty and Fallout, er, fell.

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $40 (Average)
2. Spore / EA Maxis / $49 (Average)
3. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $41 (Average)
4. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
5. Call Of Duty: World At War / Treyarch / $48 (Average)

An unannounced air combat game titled "Stormbirds," in development by Juice Games, was recently cancelled by THQ, according to former Juice artist Greg Calvert.

Stormbirds was set for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC--before THQ apparently got cold feet. As a result, the team of over 30 developers was laid off by Juiced owner THQ. "The game was in the same genre as Ace Combat and HAWX," wrote Calvert in a recent blog post. "THQ deemed the project too high risk, [and] as a result the entire team were made redu...

The first edition of the official Dead Space comic is available to freely peruse online at Newsrama.

The comic was drawn by Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night), and written by Antony Johnston (Wasteland).

Dead Space: The Comic serves as a prequel to the EA game, which Johnston also scripted. The full series can be found as a hardcover collection.

A large portion of Hamrmonix' Rock Band 2 DLC lineup for the month of January was momentarily posted earlier today on the game's official forum, according to Kotaku.

While the Roy Orbison track pack has been confirmed by Harmonix for release next week, the list also reveals several unreleased Lenny Kravitz and Steve Miller Band tracks.

The leaked list:

The Roy Orbison pack: 160 Microsoft Points ($1.99) apiece or 800 Microsoft Points ($9.99) for all.
• Claudette -- Roy Orbison
• In Dreams -- Roy Orbison
• Mean Woman Blues -- Roy Orbison
• Oh, Pretty Woman -- Roy Orbison
• Ooby Dooby -- Roy Orbison
• You Got It -- Roy Orbison
  
  
• Are You Gonna Go My Way -- Lenny Kravitz
• Freedom Train -- Lenny Kravitz
• Let Love Rule -- Lenny Kravitz
• Mr. Cab Driver -- Lenny Kravit...

The Japanese broadcasting industry has reason to fear Nintendo's new Wii video content initiative, according to the Times Online.

One senior executive at Fuji Television, the largest commercial broadcaster in Japan, called the planned Wii streaming video service "the stuff of television producers' nightmares."

Nintendo announced last week its intention to launch a Wii streaming channel in Japan. The company has partnered with top Japan advertising firm Dentsu, and intends to launch the service sometime this year.

The Fuji executive noted that if Nintendo did push for the Wii to become "the centerpiece of the living room," it would come at a particularly bad time for Japanese broadcasters, which are currently being criticized for "relying too heavily on repeats and celebrity formats."

It's okay if you've forgotten about Wet, as it seems like everyone else has as well. Though dropped after the Activision-Vivendi merger, the sexy A2M-developed action game is apparently still planned to hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at some point in 2009.

These screenshots are brought to you by middleware company Illuminate Labs, which provided the technology for the game's lighting, as noticed by

A downloadable demo of EA Black Box's extreme and pain-filled amateur skateboarding effort Skate 2 will be released on Xbox 360 next week, according to Xbox.com.

The page details a demo-related contest that will run from January 8-15, during which time Xbox 360 owners can win Skate swag and Microsoft Points by downloading the free demo and the accompanying Skate 2 Demo Registration Gamer Picture.

As January 8 is a Thursday, a PlayStation 3 version of the demo is likely to arrive then, as that is when Sony will resume ...