As avid retrogamers, we here at QJ.NET are rather wary of "re-imagined" classics. However, when Atari revealed that they were coming out with Warlords on the XBLA, we put these fears aside and decided to check it out. Is it worth the 400 Microsoft points it's being sold for? Well, check out the full article to find out.

Are you excited about Rare's upcoming Banjo Kazooie 3 game for the Microsoft Xbox 360? A lot of people are, and we're licking detail morsels like tasty chops. In a recent Scribes post over at the official Rare site, it was hinted that the latest installment to the famed franchise won't be a typical platformer. Full details after the jump.

Call of Duty 3 embodies the saying (or some might say the cliche) that history repeats itself. We know we're stating the obvious when we say that the success being enjoyed by Call of Duty 3 is like that of Call of Duty 2, which was the highest selling Xbox 360 launch title, selling 250,000 units in its first week of availability, happening all over again. But more than that is the actual piece of significant WW II history embedded within the game, as would be discussed further by Activision's Sam Nouriani in an interview (full interview is available via the read link) with Cesar A. Berardini of Team XBox.

You have revealed that Call of Duty 3 will revolve around the Normandy Breakout. We would like to know if you plan to take games throughout the entire “Operation Overlord”, from Operation Detroit, Chicago and Tonga, passing through Operation Neptune (D-Day), to the 30 June 1944 and into Operation Cobra and beyond.

Sam Nouriani: The Allied Invasion of France offers so many amazing stories and battles, that it would be impossible to fit them all into one title. For Call of Duty 3, we focused on what happened after the beach landings, from the beginnings of Operation Cobra, to the closing of the Falaise Gap and the eventual Liberation of Paris. One of the compelling reasons for us to focus on the Normandy Breakout campaign was to show how different countries came together to fight as one against a common foe. It was truly a multinational effort and in Call of Duty 3 the player assumes the role of ordinary soldiers from each of the four countries that fought in the actual campaign: American infantry, British SAS, Canadian mechanized infantry and Polish armor. The game starts in the weeks following D-Day commencing with the taking of St. Lo. This was a key area that was supposed to be taken on D-Day June 6, 1944, but it took 44 days of constant bombing and artillery attacks to finally gain a foothold and take the city. Call of Duty 3 culminates with the closure of the Falaise Gap, trapping over 100,000 of Germany’s elite forces. It was important for us to tell the story of the campaign in a way that allows the player to understand how the events unfolded and how each nation contributed towards the Allies’ victory. We tie every battle together with in-game sequences that replace loading screens and provide a seamless cinematic experience that keeps you immersed in the action.

We are sure the introduction of Canadian and Polish forces will be for more than aesthetical purposes. What would gameplay be like now that there are four forces in the game?

Sam Nouriani: Having four forces allows us to have quite a variety of gameplay. The Polish army is represented by their armored division so you’re commanding a tank and taking on the might of Germany’s Panzer Divisions in some heated combat. For the British you’re playing as the SAS, so you’ll be carrying out sabotage and diversionary missions within your squads behind enemy lines. The Americans drive forward with heavy infantry, while the Canadians press on with their mechanized infantry using unique vehicles such as the kangaroo, which is new to the franchise. In addition, each nation has its own distinct weaponry. And many of the missions’ objectives are expansive, so you’ll row across rivers in boats under fire, storm ancient castles that were vital to success, fight through fuel depots and battle through rubble-strewn streets in pretty heavy combat as some examples.

Can you give us an example of the new branching mission path, and how this new system will reward gamers’ creativity?

Sam Nouriani: With player-choice routes, gamers have the freedom to take on challenges however they want. For example, if your objectives are to take out a mortar crew at the end of the road, you can choose whether you want to drop into the trenches in the west and battle through close-quarter combat flanking the mortar crew, or perhaps take the route in a building to the east and provide tactical cover fire using a sniper rifle, or you can take your chances and go straight up the middle using brut force with heavy firepower. The choice is all yours and each route has its own challenges. This allows for more varied gameplay and additional replayability.

So if you're allowed only one saying slash cliche per year, take Call of Duty 3's lead and say the no fail "History repeats itself" because it's the most amount of truth you can put in a sentence.