News

Word in from VG247 today reveals that Blizzard's new RTS StarCraft II will be getting a day one patch, when it lands within the next few months.

"We will have a day one patch, a required day one patch," in order to give the team working on Battle.net "a little bit more time to sort of get their ducks in a row."

Lead designer Dustin Browder continues, admitting nerves over the game: "I'm always nervous about everything we do, to be clear. I guess you're asking if I'm especially nervous. Well, I know that we have a lot more development ahead of us on Battle.net."

More StarCraft II news soon.

With Codemasters' new FPS Bodycount now unveiled, designer Stuart Black has revealed that a much called-for Black sequel was in the works at EA Criterion, before being canned.

Black 2 was in the works at EA, but its cancellation prompted the designer's departure to Codemasters, where he heads the new Guildford studio currently working on Bodycount.

"I certainly did some preliminary pre-production work on Black 2 once we finished Black, the first three or four months. I moved on quite quickly after that," Black tells Gamespot.

"A lot of the guys on the team I'm working with here now carried on with that and did a lot of pre-production for about a year or so on Black [2], before that kind of bit the dust. So, I don't really have personal knowledge about how that all played out. But there seemed to be overall a kind of general lack of direction. I'd be surprised if they managed that again."

EA and DICE have revealed today that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 could be released on Mac platforms - following in the wake of news from Valve that Steam and a number of big titles will be released for Apple's format.

Battlefield producer Karl Magnus Troedsson offers: "We're currently investigating the possibility of making BFBC2 available on Mac."

There is a precedent here, too, DICE having unleashed Battlefield 2142 for Apple computers in 2008.

We'll have more Mac news from GDC as we get it.

Word in from Valve, via the Left 4 Dead blog, reveals that not only is Left 4 Dead on the way to the Mac alongside Steam, but that cross-platform play will be implemented.

Apparently, lucky Mac players will also be able to craft their own maps and host their own servers.

The blog makes a point of explaining that the title will also run natively on Mac OSX, and isn't to be regarded as an act of emulation.

Left 4 Dead 2 is also on the way for the Mac, we hear, with both games set to be delivered via the upcoming Mac version of Steam - confirmed yesterday.

Codemasters have officially lifted the lid on Bodycount today, their new first-person shooter en route from their brand new Guildford studio.

The game will be the brainchild of Criterion's Black creator, Stuart Black, with the title due out in the first-quarter of 2011.

In the game's mysterious plot, players will take down 'Targets' on behalf of the Network, with full online multiplayer and co-op modes also mooted.

"Our shredding tech enables us to create a different kind of gameplay, where players and AI can't hide behind indestructible cover," enthuses Black.

"Here the environment is constantly changing as the game world is shot to hell; it's going to be a huge amount of fun."

Thanks Joystiq.

Having launched in Japan late last year, Final Fantasy XIII officially hits Western markets today on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Reviews of the hit RPG have gone down well for the most part - despite widespread accusations of linearity in Japan that have left some fans concerned.

Of course, this will be tempered by a multi-platform release that must be music to Microsoft's ears, even if the game remains a PS3 exclusive in Japan.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII (PS3) and Final Fantasy Agito XIII (PSP) remain in the works at Square Enix. More Final Fantasy XIII news soon.

According to VG247, Sony's US stock shortages are likely to continue for a little while longer - the firm struggling to replenish supplies fast enough.

According to communications exec Patrick Seybold, the US is likely to follow UK shortages last month - the firm blaming rising sales and big game launches.

"There is incredible pent up demand for PS3 right now and with incredible software momentum right for PS3 with Heavy Rain, MLB: The Show, BioShock 2 and God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII, so we expect to see inventory to be tight for a bit longer," Seybold told GDC.

"We're working hard with our retail partners to meet that demand."

Apparently, the 120Gb Slim model is the worst effected. More soon.

According to soothsaying analyst Michael Pachter, the only console to have made any gains last month stateside was probably the PlayStation 3 console - all the other systems are expected to show sizeable declines when the latest February NPD figures are unleashed.

According to an Edge report, the Wii and DS are still likely to top the chart - but with sales down some 30 or 40 percent.

The PS3, meanwhile, is expected to enjoy a modest rise of 1 percent, versus the 360 down 14 pecent. The PSP and PS2 are expect to have dropped a whopping 50 to 60 percent overall. More soon.

Having revealed that the PC servers supporting the DRM-locked Assassin's Creed II have been under assault as part of a deliberate attack over the last couple of days, Ubisoft reveal that having beaten the assailants their servers are once again being attacked.

The assaults prevent normal players from accessing their games, as well causing Ubisoft no end of grief, we assume.

"Our servers are under attack again," revealed a Ubisoft rep in a Twitter update.

"Some gamers are experiencing trouble signing in. We're working on it and will keep you posted."

Ubisoft are of course hugely apologetic over these ongoing issues.

As rumoured last week, Valve have let slip at GDC that the Steam content delivery platform will be unleashed upon the Mac next month.

Word has it that Steam will usher in Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series for Apple's platform in April.

The developer have also let slip that Portal 2 will be released on the Mac and PC simultaneously this winter.

"Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," offers Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead.

"We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac."

Speaking online this week, Sony Santa Monica have revealed that God of War III - reviewed today - cost a gigantic 44 million USD to develop.

Chatting with GiantBomb, Sony's John Hight revealed the game's epic budget.

"We are stamping discs now, so we're effectively done. Just got a couple of countries that we're finishing up on this week, and we spent 44 million USD to make God of War III," early reviews of God of War III have been unanimously positive.

The game launches next week in Europe and North America.

Speaking with Sonic Stadium, Sega exec Takashi Iizuka has said that Episode II of Sonic the Hedgehog 4 could introduce some favourite old faces from the Sonic series.

"Fans will be very pleased with the cast in Episode 2," teased the Sega man, speaking with Game Informer.

While Episode I will only feature Sonic himself, old co-stars could well return in Episode II according to rumours.

Episode I is out this summer on PSN, Xbox Live and WiiWare. An iPhone version is also possible.

Big-scoring Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has hit the UK top spot in its first week on sale, with Ubisoft's casual Just Dance a surprise number two.

Third is Aliens vs. Predator, still selling strongly, while Heavy Rain clings on in fourth space.

Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing comes in fifth, followed by Wii Fit Plus and Modern Warfare 2.

Wii Sports Resort, FIFA 10 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii round out the UK all-formats top ten.

In hitting the top spot, Bad Company 2 became the UK's best selling game of the year to date.

Rumour on the street has it that LittleBigPlanet 2 could be released this year, VG247 reporting rumour of 'LBP2' before 2010 is through.

With GDC getting into gear stateside, the rumours are starting to circle over new titles that may be unveiled at the industry bash.

A Big Sony press event is scheduled for Wednesday, although it remains unclear if the next sackboy adventure will be delivered on disc, or will arrive in digital form. Media Molecule were of course purchased by Sony last week.

The original LittleBigPlanet for PS3 has been expanded numerous times, although always in DLC form. We'll have more on this sequel as we get it.

A top-secret brand new action game is en route from Codemasters, word reaching us that Bodycount will be a brand new shooter title - as revealed by the Official Xbox Magazine.

According to the report, which unveils the game Bodycount is the "ultimate shooter", although details are nondescript beyond this bold claim.

Although this game is apparently unveiled by the Xbox magazine, it seems likely that the game will hit the PS3 as well as the Xbox 360, as the title has previously been hinted at in the Official PlayStation Magazine.

Rumour has it that this will be the debut project from Codemasters' new Guildford studio - which is being headed by the designer of hit EA blaster Black. More as we get it.