We really haven't heard a lot about Crackdown 2 apart from the really sparse description we got from the game's official site. That's changing a bit today. Details after the super-powered jump.

Hands down, the biggest news for this week coming from Microsoft would be the flub by their CEO, Steve Ballmer, at a conference, saying that a "new Xbox 360" will be released in 2010. Only to have his VPs and Directors come rushing forth to do some damage control before all hell breaks loose from disappointed fans who have been waiting and wishing and praying for a new console. It was a dark cloud that hung above the Xbox 360 state of affairs, casting heavy shadows on other news that came out, though not necessarily miniscule by themselves. See what  I mean after the jump in this week's Warrior recap.

It was just around early last month when we reported of how Bizarre Creations spilled the beans on their ex, Microsoft, describing them as "getting cocky" at the tail-end of their partnership. Today, we have another company coming forward airing out their being upset with Microsoft. This time, it's Realtime Studios. Things apparently got really cracked up in Crackdown 2.

Is a Crackdown 2 possibly still in the works? We're hoping the answer to this would be a resounding yes. Okay, while we don't exactly have that, we guess Realtime Worlds studio head Colin MacDonald's statements that they are in "ongoing" discussions with Microsoft would have to do for now.

It may not have registered in your radar when Realtime Worlds reacquired the license for the cops-and-robbers MMORPG All Points Bulletin weeks back. But rumor has it that APB will be pitched to Rockstar Games as Grand Theft Auto Online. More details after the jump.

Rumors, good or bad, are fun to muse over. When talking about rumors, Quartermann is a hot topic since Electronic Gaming Monthly's (EGM) rumor monger has a reputation for precise predictions. The latest batch of Quartermannly things involves the absence of Crackdown 2 and a mysterious mixed martial arts title from Electronic Arts. Head over to the full article if you want to learn more.

Crackdown was a surprising, if not a sleeper hit for the Xbox 360. Not only did it offer an awesome sandbox city to play in, but some awesome physics mechanics to go along with it as well. Plus, you get to throw cars. Now, no other than Shane Kim himself is saying that there might just be a sequel to the game in the near future. Check it out in the full article.

Develop has recently announced the list of finalists nominated to receive awards offered by the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Set for the region of UK and Europe, the awards will be held during the Develop Conference & Expo to be held this year at Brighton. Again.

 

Top of the nominees list is Realtime Worlds (Crackdown), bagging a whopping seven nominations. Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Rare (Viva Piñata), SCEE Studio Liverpool (Formula One Championship Edition), and independent developer and publisher Introversion (DEFCON) get three nominations a-piece. Other nominees include GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) from Russia, EA DICE (Battlefield series) and Avalanche from Sweden, Opera from Norway, and Fishlabs from Germany.

Some of the big names nominated for the 2007 awards night include Eidos Hungary, Ubisoft France development studios, Eden Studios, and Kynogon. The fate of these nominees will be decided by a panel of almost 100 industry experts who choose only excellence over anything else. Stuart Dinsey, publisher of Develop magazine, stated:

In a period which has seen the launch of two home consoles, the continued improvement of Xbox 360 and PC software, and the mobile games market emerge as a genuine creative and commercial alternative to the more traditional games platforms, only the most excellent titles have any chance of standing out from the crowd.

Two other special awards, Development Legend and overall Grand Prix, will be given away in the awards night on July 25 to be honored to individuals, companies, or titles deserving in the eyes of the magazine's editorial staff.

Independent Game Developer RealTime Worlds (RTW), the people behind Crackdown, has signed a deal with Dare to be Digital 2007 and is now a key sponsor for the event. Dare to be Digital is a games design competition for students held annually in the UK.

RTW will be providing both financial and logistic support by providing source persons and speakers for the duration of the 10-week competition. In addition, RTW will be showing some exclusive "behind-the-scenes" footage from Crackdown at Dare ProtoPlay where competitors will feature their entries.

Here's what RTW CEO and creative director David Jones had to say regarding the event:

Talent is a key factor behind the success of every game, and Dare to be Digital makes a big contribution to spotting and developing high quality talent for the industry each year. I have been closely involved with Dare to be Digital’s organisers, Abertay University, for many years, advising them on course structure, lecturing to students, and benefiting from already having had many Dare graduates join RTW over the years.

I am delighted to take that involvement and commitment to another level through this sponsorship and through becoming a Patron of Dare. We are employing 150 people at our Dundee office and would like to expand to near 200 by end of this year. Partnering with Dare will help attract more talent to our production hub in Dundee. We also have plans to work with Dare on our international expansion.

This event, which began in 1999, has grown and become one of the premier game developer competitions for students in the UK. So far, 12 teams have already committed to joining the event and are heading to Dundee, Belfast and Guildford in early June. Be sure to keep checking back here for more news on this competition.

Major Nelson has announced that the downloadable content packs for Crackdown are now available for download on Xbox Live. That's both the free "Free-For-All" pack and the premium "Getting Busy" bonus pack, the latter of which is available for 800 Microsoft Points. Both downloadable content packs are not available in Japan, Germany and Portugal.

A word of warning to those who download the packs, though. Reports of games getting reset (as in all your hard work so far goes "poof!") because of the DLC packs have been running rampant around the internet. Crackdown developer RealTime Worlds has acknowledged that they are aware of the situation and are currently working on a fix or, barring that, a workaround.

Keep checking back here for more updates on the issue.