For those who have been hankering for a Devil May Cry 4 update from Capcom, well, here's another massive dose of eye candy for you. This time around, we get loads of pictures of DMC4's hero, Nero, fighting against something that we're hoping to be a boss and not a lowly minion. *gulp*

In any case, the only thing that comes to mind at the moment is that the thing that Nero is fighting looks like a cross between the Balrog from the LOTR movie, plus Nelo Angelo and Phantom from DMC1. Hmm... eitherway, we get to see more of Nero's moves, and hopefully, this makes the waiting a bit easier, as we continue to pray that the Autumn release date of the game for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 finally gets narrowed down further.

But then again, in case that takes too long, at least there's the anime version of Dante to keep us distracted for a while, right? (And that brings up the question of: So, DMC's timeline now goes as DMC3, DMC the Anime, DMC1, DMC2, and then DMC4...?)

More screenshots right after the Jump!

Phil Spencer, a British TV presenter, had a lot to report regarding Halo 3, Bungie, and Crackdown. Among the more interesting topics discussed in the video, Bungie is expecting more than 1 million players to be playing multiplayer. They are currently working to avoid the excessive lag expected on its release.

In addition to this, you can hear about the apparent team-up between Bungie and Peter Jackson (Director of LoTR and King Kong). The video is very informative and if you are planning on picking up Halo 3, then it wouldn't hurt to spend five minutes to hear what the video has to say. Unfortunately, there are no lasers in this video... maybe in the next one.

 

After the successful Lego Star Wars I and II, TT Games promised more Lego-licensed games in the future. Jonathan Smith, head of production at the UK-based company, coyly teased Lego Star Wars fanatics with the promise that "we are definitely...working on more Lego-licensed games. We are working on another Lego project right now." Although he refused to give more information on what they're working on and when it's going to be released.

Some concern on these kind of titles is that it's primarily made for children, and that most hardcore gamers would choose to ignore it. This is what Smith said regarding it:

I think that a game that is made for children, which children genuinely enjoy, will also be enjoyed by older players as well, because it will appeal to the child in us all. The more you make games for an 8-year-old boy, the more you'll make a game for everyone

When asked about what he thinks would not work as a Lego game, Smith answered that "one of the amazing things about Lego is that it can be literally anything." So what would be next, then? Lego Batman? Lego LOTR? Lego Spongebob?

Electronic Arts indefinitely suspended the production of The Lord of the Rings: The White Council while they are "looking at the creative positioning and feature set on the Lord of the Rings franchise." Decoded, the statement would probably mean: "We are reviewing the LOTR licenses."

EA CFO Warren Jenson reassured an analyst that the game has only been put on hold when asked whether or not the RPG game slated for the PS3, 360 and PC has been cancelled.

Does this confirm the rumors? Unfortunately not anymore solid than the last one. Jenson added, "The Lord of the Rings product is back in development in terms of being on hold." Does that mean it was on hold and now it's back in development? Or it was about to get cancelled and EA decided to resume its production but paused it?

While EA is reviewing the license and what they could do with it (which includes selling it to other publishers) the game's production will be halted for about two more years. Yes, you heard that right the first time: two years. The game will not be coming out during EA's current financial year, which ends March 31, 2008. There is speculation that the game may never see the light of day again.

Oh, woe is the 'morrow of mankind...

Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II has received its first content pack in the form of Aragorn's Journey Map Pack 1 available now in the Marketplace. For those of you out there that can't get enough of BFME II the map pack gives you three new maps: Weathertop, Argonath and Umber, which you can play to your RTS heart's content.

The maps are for single player skirmishes as well as online multiplayer. The map pack comes in at 700 Microsoft Points so it might seem expensive for some. So if you want to add even more game time to your copy of LoTR: BFME II, go ahead and check out the map pack on the Marketplace.

Gamespot opened its online recruitment office for 48 warriors who are not afraid to die! Not literally, of course. It's The Battle for Middle-earth II (Xbox 360) tournament. In King of the Hill, 48 players compete for the top prize and walk off as the King of Kings.

Each round will pit three players against each other in a tug-of-war battle until the top three players emerge from the dust and ashes of the battlefield. Only the top three players get the spoils of the the war which happens to total a $1,000 prize package! Winners will receive gift certificates from Best Buy - 1st place winner will receive a gift certificate worth $600, 2nd place player $300, and 3rd place player $100.

If you think you have what it takes to rule Middle Earth, sign up now! Tournament registration starts Wednesday, July 26, 2006 at 3 pm PT. Sign up now to make sure you get one of the limited player slots. The championship battle will broadcast live on GameSpot Tournament TV.

For those of you out there that weren't sure if EA did justice to the RTS genre with the new Lord of The Rings: Battle For Middle Earth II, a demo has hit the Marketplace, so you can try before you buy. The demo weighs in at a staggering 848.84MB, so go ahead and put it in your active downloading list to get it out of the way.

In the demo you'll be able to build your armies and conquer Middle Earth as Elves and Goblins on two maps as well as having the option to challenge a friend and play as the Elves and Goblins in Evil Lorien or Buckland. So go ahead and check out the Marketplace if you want to try out LOTR: BFME II.

Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II has received quite an amount of themes and picture packs. The barrage doesn't look to be stopping any time soon; another set has hit the Marketplace in the form of an Arwen, Dwarves + more! Theme and Picture Pack as well as a Demo walk-through Trailer too. The theme costs the usual amount - 150 Microsoft Points - and the picture pack cost 80 Microsoft points. The Demo walk-trough Trailer comes in the usual 480p (58.50Mb) and 720p (370.23MB) formats. So if you have a LOTR addiction, head on over to the Marketplace and check the goodies out.

For those of you who can't hardly wait to immerse themselves into the warring world of middle-earth, the wait is over. Recently, Electronic Arts announced that The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II has recently shipped to stores nationwide and will hit store shelves this July 7.

This marks another immortalization of the J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece in this postmodern age that we are in. It's quite sad to think that people became more aware of Tolkien's creation after the LOTR string of movies, but still a great work like this one should forever be etched not only in the field of literature but also in the history of our civilization, which we are still making through our own little ways.

Based on the PC version of the same name, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II for the Xbox 360 system takes players into the heart of Middle-earth to live the battles seen in the blockbuster films and detailed in the classic J.R.R. Tolkien literary fiction.

Players can now take matters into their own hands as they command and strategize in epic Middle-Earth battles. If that's not enough, players can challenge friends online and engage in intense, action-packed real-time battles over Xbox Live. Truly, the fate of Middle-Earth lies within the palm of your hands.

Tolkien's masterpiece was said to have been immortalized by the movie some years back. With the magnitude of success it has gained, not a few doubt that the feat will never be achieved by any franchise in any field of entertainment. Well for people who learned to love fantasy via LOTR, it would have done them good to "fantasize" more. Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II is scheduled for release this July 5, and judging from these gameplay videos, EA, for once, may have earned their 'ring'.

It has long been mentioned how rich the gameplay of this title will be. With the abundant set of characters, a lot of story to delve into, and deep history, it's hard to go wrong with this one. Well for some, that strength might be the very source of the game's weakness. The hardest people to please are fans (have you ever seen a fanboy succumb to the views of an opposing fanboy?), so Battle for Middle Earth might be in for some serious bashing from hardcore middle-earthlings; but for the rest, it may be smooth sailing for them.

The game revolve around strategy-based moves, much like disciplines in chess where each formation suits a different type of creature, army and terrain. You can create caves to attract goblins, fissures to beckon trolls, then dig tunnels to make a path for both armies. If you're the girly type and like pretty elves, then set up woods or glamorous castles set in nature to gather their flock.

The game is a test to determine the gamer's ability to build, manage and lead armies. Numerous tactics can be used, proving that game is much more than violence and pointless enjoyment (take that Jack!). You are truly the captain of every battle, only this time with detailed orcs swinging scintars, trolls wielding clubs, giants hurling boulders, elves springing arrows and slashing elven knives, dwarves making killer cuts with their axes, and high elven heroes summoning  powerful magic. Got the picture? Yeah, all out warring chaos with a middle earth flavor!

I can go and on, but I think I've already talked too much. If you can't bear my writing (don't worry, you're not alone), just click on the links below and immerse yourself to the warring world of middle-earth.

Download: [LotR: Battle for Middle Earth II Gameplay Video 1]
Download: [LotR: Battle for Middle Earth II Gameplay Video 2]