Strategy Informer  

EA hired some PR goons to think up something viral, the result was 20-hired 'Christian protestors' who picketed E3 in opposition to Dante's Inferno.

Naturally this marketing ploy has now backfired a little, with Catholic Video Gamers saying they "ought to work on making this game" something greater than a GOW-rip off. Ouch.

Ubisoft announced today that Assassin's Creed II will be released on 20th November in the UK for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Assassin's Creed 2 is an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of a Renaissance Italy. Ezio befriends Leonardo da Vinci, takes on Florence’s most powerful families and ventures throughout the canals of Venice where he learns to become a master assassin.

The Warcraft universe is big, so it stands to reason Blizzard should hold tournaments with cash prizes. The regionals will take place in Cologne, Germany.

They start on June 26th and end on the 28th, which will decide who gets to duke it out in the global finals this August in Anaheim, California. It's time for WoW 3v3 Arena and Warcraft III.

Recently there's been some whisperings around Gears of War 2, more specifically that it could be blasting Locust on desktops, following in the original's footsteps.

Rod Fergusson, Epic man, has confirmed this to be total tosh. He's sorry but there's no hope to be had, reiterating they've said many times there "will not be a Gears 2 PC."

Eidos have now released two new maps for Battlestations: Pacific over Xbox Live Marketplace, with a version to hit Games For Windows Live on June 25th.

Costing 560 Microsoft Points, the pack adds Volcano and Choke Point to the list of maps with Duel, Siege, Escort, Island Capture and Competitive modes for one or both; enjoy.

Crystal Dynamics have had 25 staffers let go in San Francisco, which is all in step with Eidos' "continued drive" to squeeze out better efficiency.

In a case of 'does my studio make me look fat?' - Eidos told Lady Croft yes it does, lose 25. The US-based team had already knocked its roster down in January, after Underworld undersold.

Shock, disbelief - these two words seldom travel through our minds when it comes to publisher EA and sequel plans. Exec John Pleasants has outed two.

DICE are working on Battlefield 3, which the COO "had the luxury" of gorping at, along with confirmation that Criterion's Burnout team is to give Need for Speed time in their garage.

Developer Turbine will be cranking out the free-to-play model for the Dungeons & Dragons MMO in the US, but publisher Codemasters says big 'no' for Europe.

At least "for the time being" we online Euro D&Ders will keep paying our monthly tributes, only the US is adopting the new model. It's a beta scheme that could roll out across the pond.

Rockstar Games' upcoming Max Payne 3 is set in Sao Palo, Brazil according to the July issue of Game Informer magazine. His pain pill popping is to affect gameplay.

The game is on par with Uncharted 2's fidelity, complete with "vibrant colors and fully destructible environments," owed to Rockstar's RAGE engine, and animation systems.

Ubisoft Producer Alexandre Parizeau has confirmed the latest Splinter Cell does have multiplayer supported, but they can't dish on it until "during the summer."

DLC is "always part of our strategies" and so fans can expect some things for Sam Fisher. Once the dev team are done they can "move on" to expanding the content. It's out this Fall.