To patch or not to patch? After reportedly saying that they are currently working on a patch meant to fix Pro Evolution Soccer 2008's (for the Xbox 360 and PS3) lag woes, they now refuse to comment on the patch rumor. Could it just be a case of a broken press release date, or have we been led to hope for a non-existent patch?

After news of gamers getting copies of Halo 3 before its actual street date surfaced, Microsoft quickly moved to curtail the spread of some early Halo 3 gaming.

Earlier reports stated that the company would freeze the accounts of those caught playing Halo 3 before the game's official release date. Video game news site Pro-G, however, reports that Microsoft has backtracked on the ban. Here's a snippet from a Microsoft statement issued early this morning:

We can confirm that Microsoft is not taking any action (such as banning Xbox Live accounts) against gamers who are playing Halo 3 before the official street date. Any rumours or speculation to the contrary are false.

According to another Microsoft spokesperson who spoke to Pro-G, the ban is still in effect for Microsoft employees. Those with no connections to the company, however, are apparently free to play the game without suffering any consequences.

 

It's no secret that one of the games we've been waiting for is Clive Barker's Jericho (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC). Codemasters looks to be doing a great job in translating the work of Mr. Barker into a format we all love: video games.

The Vice President of branding at Codemasters Tim Woodley was recently interviewed by Pro-G, and gave a few details on the game. However, the big bomb he did drop was the fact that the game will not have multiplayer, which has become a staple in first person shooters such as this. However, they did this due to the fact that the game is very plot driven, which reflects the style of Clive Barker. Here's what Woodley had to say about it:

Obviously the game is quite plot-driven, so it is not going to include multiplayer. We thought long and hard about first-person-shooters, and how people expect them to include multiplayer in this day and age. When you think about what Jericho is, and how the storyline delivers and provides the ability to bend time and slow down time, this creates all kinds of physical difficulties.

If you were to create a multiplayer that had any real worth you'd have to strip away all of those special things that are so crucial to the single-player. Ultimately all you'd be left with would be the maps we'd created and a bit of deathmatch and capture the flag.

Rather than put that in and get marked down for a weak multiplayer, we thought "no, we're going to concentrate on creating what is essentially a multiplayer game in a single-player world." It was an agonising decision but we feel we've made the right one.

This is probably a good decision to focus on one aspect of the game rather than coming out with another generic shooter. Judging from the trailers and the screenshots, it looks like their decision is paying off. However, we have to wait and see how the rest of the gaming community will take to the game once it's released. If you want to see the full interview, feel free to click on our read link. More updates as we get them.

 

James Orry of UK gaming news site PRO-G reports that Ubisoft's Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions, has unfortunately been set for a delay of sorts. It's supposed spring release is now a more specific August 31.

In this iteration of the franchise, you play the leader of Operation Wildcard, an undercover and elite squad of pilots secretly created by the American government. Your mission is to stop the Nazis from creating a weapon of mass destruction. In the game itself, you get access to spy missions using some extremely hush-hush prototype aircraft, so your life as a spy isn't all that bad.

Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions is to be released for the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3. The US is set to see the game a few days earlier as the North American release date is August 28.

In case you've forgotten, the scheduled Downloadable Content">downloadable content for Battlestations: Midway will finally go live tomorrow, March 1. The download will include two new historical battle maps and five brand new vehicles. It seems that the folks over at Eidos Interactive are really making sure that fans always have something new to look forward to.

Anyway, we've already discussed the last time around the battle maps that will be included in the download. To refresh your memory though, the single player map is called "The Raid on Truk" while the multiplayer map is called "The Battle of Sibuyan Sea." But what are wars without vehicles, right?

The new battles, like what we've mentioned earlier, will feature a new set of air, sea, and undersea vehicles. These will definitely challenge any player's skills and naval strategies. Here are the newest mean machines:

• P-38 Lightning: A fast, powerful and distinctive twin-engine interceptor and one of the most important American fighters of the Second World War. Its long range and twin engines made it well suited for duty in the Pacific.
• Nakijima J1N1 Gekko: The first Japanese aircraft designed and built specifically to intercept and destroy other aircraft at night. It was deadly against Bombers and as a powerful kamikaze plane against ships.
• USS Iowa (BB-61): The lead battleship of its class. Nicknamed ”The Big Stick”, this famous flagship fought in numerous and significant battles in World War II and the Korean War.
• IJN Shimakaze: The IJN Shimakaze ("Island Wind") is considered to be the fastest and most powerful Destroyer of World War II and she was the only one of her class built.
• Type A mini-sub: The Type A mini-sub was a two-man submarine. Difficult to detect, the Type A submarines were used during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and throughout the war.

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Update: We've got info from gaming site Pro-G that the downloadable content set to be released March 1 will be delayed because of "technical issues". The content for Battlestations: Midway - both for the PC and for the Xbox 360 - will be released simultaneously later in March.

See more screenshots after the jump!

Buy: [Battlestations: Midway (Xbox 360)]

Buy: [Battlestations: Midway (Windows XP)]

And such bloody hands they are, belonging to the UK-based Pro-G. "Bloody" not only because it's a quintessential British expression, but probably because of all that chainsawing going on.

Yes, the first thing we'll talk about in Pro-G's multiplayer hands-on is the bloody chainsaw. It's the secondary weapon of the assault rifle. In fact, all weaps on the field have a secondary fire option, activated with the B button. A useful function as you'll only carry two front-line weapons, a sidearm and grenades, like Halo.

Enough about the bloody weapons, let's get on with movement on the field. Watch any of our previous game videos, and you'll notice that Gears of Waris a TPS and an over the shoulder, as opposed to an FPS. One advantage is that it affords the player a greater view of the whole scene, quite useful since you can also exploit cover realistically in Gears.

Read more at the full article!

Pre-Order: [Gears of War]

Can it be that we'll be looking at the new Resident Evil from a different perspective?

Pro-G reports from Leipzig that Capcom's Jun Takeuchi said the next Resident Evil will use the third-person perspective previously used in Resident Evil 4. However, it may also have something a bit new in regards to perspective, but Takeuchi refused to be more specific.

When asked about Resident Evil Wii, Takeuchi said he didn't know if it will occur, though if he is referring to Resident Evil 5 on Wii, and not a separate Wii entry in the series, is unknown. He was still being mysterious about the series' debut on the Wii.

On an amusing note, Takeuchi said Capcom's production staff groaned "Oh god, he's gone and invented another one" at many of the new ideas for the new installment. And that remark is indeed promising for us gamers.

Pro-G is giving you the chance to go head to head with the best Prey players out there by hosting an online PC and Xbox Live Prey tournament during the first two weekends of September in cooperation with AlienPants (who will be running the tourney) and Jolt Online Gaming.

“With the Pro-G community in full swing, it’s fantastic to be hosting another big tournament,” said Adam McCann, Operations Director at Pro-G. “This tournament will most certainly be the best one yet.”

Both matches will use the Deathmatch gametype to gain a place in the semi-finals. Eight players will duke it out in PC Finals, but oddly enough the winner will be taking home an Xbox 360 console; the six tough enough to make it in the Xbox Live Finals get a chance to win a selection of Xbox 360 games. All the prizes will be provided by 2K Games, publisher of Prey.

The PC tournament will take place on a blisteringly fast ÜberServer clan server provided by Jolt.co.uk. Tournament and sign up details are available at Pro-G's website. Go then, cock those guns and prepare to stalk your 'prey'.

Here's a chance for racing fans to own the Joytech Xbox 360 Officially Licensed Nitro Racing Wheel. Pro-G, one of UK's fastest growing video game publications, is hosting a Project Gotham Racing 3 tournament on Xbox Live this June 17 to 18. The race will be administered by AlienPants, which has previously administered over 200 Xbox live tournaments.

Registered players will race against each other in a knockout-style heat on the tournament's first day. Day one winners will then proceed to battle head-to-head against each other on day two. Whoever plays his cards right in the Project Gotham Racing 3 racetracks takes home the Nitro Racing Wheel.

This month, Pro-G will also offer its readers an exclusive driving guide written by 2005 Forza Motorsport Champion Adam Plum. To be released this week, the guide will cover the best methods for attaining the fastest lap time and a comprehensive explanation of how to approach different types of corners coupled with illustrations.

To sign-up for the tournament and to know more info, just click the 'Read' button below.