Some people will look anywhere for racist undertones. Houston Chronicle writer Willie Jefferson posted an article on Game Hacks, a video game blog with the Chronicle, earlier this month and accused the yet-to-be release Left 4 Dead 2 of containing racist undertones.

Jefferson points out that “players will have to fight their way through hordes of zombies – with several of them who appear to be African-American.” He also accuses Valve of being insensitive to Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath, saying that having the game set in New Orleans so soon was a bad call and “the city has enough to deal with – Valve should have spared them, even if it’s a video game.”

Apparently including “several” black zombies in a video game deems the entire project racist in these turbulent times. Obviously Valve and the team behind L4D2 disagree and when Left 4 Dead writer Chet Faliszek was asked about the accusations by Destructoid, he called them “utter insanity.”

“There are mixed races of zombies” stated Faliszek, “there are all different races of zombies that you shoot, and since we placed it in New Orleans, that makes it racist? I honestly re-read the paragraph about five times … but when two of the characters in your game are African-American, it’s a weird thing to be accused of. We’re like, ‘how does this work’?”

“… As far as Katrina goes, if you go down to New Orleans, Katrina’s still going on. I mean, it’s messed up, it is crazy that the city is still in the state it’s in, and we treat that with the utmost respect. Our CEDA thing is not some subversive commentary on anything. This is a videogame, those are real people’s lives, we are not trying to make a statement with that … It’s a place we love, it’s dear to our hearts. We would not cheapen it. It’s not a brick-for-brick representation of New Orleans; it’s a fictional version, and I love that city.”

Left 4 Dead 2 is due to be released on Xbox 360 and PC November 17th 2009, racism free of course.

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Guess what…Gamestop is rolling out another exclusive deal to hit your wallet where it hurts, but for BioWare fans, this one may actually be worth it…

The mega retailer is releasing a Collector’s Edition set for the upcoming game Dragon Age: Origins and they want to pack in something a little extra. Besides the usual stuff you get in the box (soundtrack, cloth map, DVD, etc), fans who will also be picking up Mass Effect 2 will be given an unlockable item to use in the game if you purchase this set.

No word as to what the item is or it’s functionality as of yet, but for all you die-hard Mass Effect fans, we’re sure there’s not much else needed to say to convince you to get the CE version of Dragon Age: Origins if you were planning to buy both games anyways. Of course, the Mass Effect 2 bonus is only in the Xbox 360 and PC box’s of the game…leaving PS3 fans once again on the outside looking in.

We’ve got a full run down on what you can expect in the CE box after the jump for those of you that wanna check it out.
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By now, you already know which killer villains will be making a showing in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum game (Joker with his lovely assistant Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and Bane).

Eidos apparently thinks you’re not pumped enough though, as it has released this new trailer to get you psyched up even more for the game’s villains. Hopefully you’ll think as I did, that this is by far the best trailer for the game to date. If you haven’t already pre-ordered the game as of yet, this trailer may in fact inspire you to do so…You’ve been warned.

The game is slated to be released on August 28, 2009.

Just hit the jump to watch the trailer.
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Call Infinity Ward crazy if you like, but it looks like they have finally come to their senses on returning the “Call of Duty” label back onto their upcoming game, which is now re-named once again as, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2“.

Next week we’ll find out they forgot to add the “4″ on the title as they most likely rename it one more time…

Whatever the reason, it looks as if they are sticking with it for now. Kotaku already has pictures (provided by a tweet) to prove that the Call of Duty name is back on the box cover.

Here’s the official statement Infinity Ward has released to Kotaku:

“Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 is the direct sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,” a spokesperson told Kotaku. “We have focused our attention on Modern Warfare in order to most effectively communicate the fact that this is the first true sequel in the Call of Duty series. Infinity Ward, the original creators of the Call of Duty franchise, has said from the beginning Modern Warfare 2 resides in the Call of Duty universe. This is reflected in the title’s package.”

No answers as to why the name was taken off the title to begin with, but who are we to complain…

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Piranha games have been teasing us all week, with tease trailer after tease trailer on a game that everyone immediately thought was the rebirth of MechWarrior. Finally, we have official word today, as Piranha had an interview with IGN earlier to discuss these rumors.

Well MechWarrior fans can now rejoice, as Piranha Games have confirmed a new game to the series, simply named MechWarrior. However this isn’t the same MechWarrior game you grew up with. Piranha decided that, with today’s technology, they could move the series forward; giving us gameplay from within the gigantic metal beasts.

The in-game footage with cockpit gameplay shown today, is just simply stunning. Everything from feeling the weight of your mech as it moves to the dust and smoke that blinds your vision adds to the atmosphere of this game. When the Mech is hit with heavy blast fire, you feel and know that hit really hurt. Telling you what happens when your mech is no longer operable to use, would just be a total spoiler.

The game will be coming to PC and Xbox360 with no release date mentioned yet.

To watch the full length debut trailer for this game, click here.

To read the Q & A interview on IGN, click here.

Calling all current and future Champions.

According to VG247, they have details for current and future beta testers for the upcoming MMO, Champions Online.

For all of you lucky enough to be beta testing the game as we speak. On July 17, you will get a level cap extension to 17, with Millennium City open for extended beta hours to last full weekends.

Here are the dates:

• July 17 –20:  Friday morning 10:00 a.m. PDT (19.00 CET) to Monday morning 9:00 a.m. PDT (18.00 CET)
• July 24 – 26:  Same Times
• July 31 – August 10:  Same Times
• August 14 – August 16:  Same Times

For those of you itching to test this bad boy out, you will be able to jump in for open-beta on August 17 and the beta test for the game will remain open 24-hours until it’s finished.

So if you haven’t already doodled your new Champions costume and look.., then now is the time to start.

Activision have announced their plans to move Singularity to Q1 2010. The reason? Well Singularity was suppose to be released this fall (along with every other game in existence), but Activision is worried that Modern Warfare 2 will cut sales on Singularity this holiday season.

Kotaku has Activision’s explaination:

“The level of excitement for Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 coming out of E3 well exceeded our expectations and therefore we have decided to move Raven’s upcoming sci-fi first person action title, Singularity, from 2009 to Q1 2010,” said an Activision spokesperson. “We believe that the March quarter will provide a better opportunity to establish the new cutting-edge action IP as a ‘must-have’ title and clears the way for Modern Warfare 2 to dominate this holiday season.”

Although it’s lame that we won’t be able to play Singularity until early next year. They do have a valid reason why to move the date for this new title. Releasing Singularity in fall will only have the game lost in the sea of titles washing up this fall. Releasing it in Q1 of next year, will give the title a chance to find land.

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Watchmen returns with their second episodic adventure for Xbox 360,PS3, and PC. The First episode was a bit of a disappointment for most, but there were still a few who enjoyed it for what it was.

According to Shacknews:

Players will once again inhabit Nite Owl and Rorschach, taking down bad-guys on another quest to fight crime. Apparently the plot of part two involves the duo tracking down a villain “who has molested an actress appearing in a pornography film.”

“The search leads players to a strip club that contains go-go dancers in cages, peep-show booths, and a pornographic film playing in the background,” writes the ESRB, which dutifully notes that, “although moaning and suggestive dialogue (e.g., “Ohhh, it’s so big!”) can be heard echoing from the film, no nudity or sexual acts are depicted.”

For those of you itching for the second part, according to Kotaku, official word on the games release and packaging have been released:

Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience is an innovative, retail Blu-ray Hi-Def game and film hybrid which will include Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 and the Watchmen: Director’s Cut on Blu-ray. This new cut of the action-packed blockbuster includes an additional 25 minutes of footage not seen in theaters, available only on Blu-ray and DVD. The two-disc collectible set will also feature exclusive artwork in a premium package. The game will be playable on the PLAYSTATION 3 which can also play the Blu-ray disc of Watchmen: Director’s Cut. The Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience will be available on July 21 for a suggested retail price of $49.99.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 will be released as a single game available for the Xbox 360 on July 21 for a suggested retail price of $29.99.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2 will be available for download on PC on July 29 and PlayStation Network on July 30 for a suggested retail price of $14.99 and on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 on August 26 for 1200 Microsoft Points.

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This September, Frogster will be releasing Chapter 2 “The Elven Prophecy” for its free-to-Play MMO, Runes of Magic. As far as F2P MMO’s go, Runes of Magic has established itself as one of the leading contenders in the genre, and now looks to distance itself from the pack by introducing an elvish story into its next chapter.

With the introduction of Elves, there will also be two new classes to choose from; The Warden and The Druid.

The Warden will be specialized as a support class, with beneficial spells for your allies. Wardens will also have the company of a spirit companion to help fight beside them. Details on the spirit show that it will change depending on the growth of your character.

The Druid will specialize as a mix of both supportive and powerful attacks, which include healing and nature spells. “Depending on how you train as you level, you will have the choice whether or not you wish to concentrate on supporting and healing your allies, or directing the devastating force of nature at your enemy.”

Sounds pretty cool.

To read more on this new chapter of Runes of Magic, click here.

Attention future “Champions”, it’s time to upgrade your machine if you haven’t already in the pas 1-2 years. That is if you plan on playing the upcoming Champions Online MMO. Most of you will triumph this victory easily, while others may need to return to fight another day.

The required system specs for the game released by Cryptic can be found after the jump…GOOD LUCK Champions, and happy upgrade hunting….
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