So, a lot of people don’t like the linearity in Final Fantasy XIII. The complete lack of bustling towns, world maps, and other such expected RPG traits is leaving some gamers sour, and Square Enix has taken notice. Director

This year, EA’s long-running Medal of Honor franchise is being remade for the modern era. World War II is out; the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is in. The series reboot, simply titled Medal of Honor, is due out this fall; EA Los Angeles is putting together the single-player campaign, while Battlefield developer EA DICE is working on the multiplayer component. In fact, the two portions of the game will be running on different engines — a “heavily modified” version of the Unreal Engine for the campaign, and DICE’s Frostbite engine for the multiplayer.

I saw a slice of the campaign at an EA press event in New York City last week. (EA isn’t showing off the multiplayer yet.)

Capybara is bringing Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network later this year. This isn’t just going to be a straightforward port of the DS game as Capy is giving Clash of Heroes the HD treatment!

The game will receive all sorts of awesome updates to it, such as hand-drawn artwork replacing the 16-bit style sprites and scenes. Clash of Heroes HD will also feature four-player versus or co-operative modes. A number of complaints about the DS version, such as how you couldn’t go back to previous areas, will be addressed in the HD version as well.

We’ll be getting a look at Clash of Heroes HD this week at the Game Developers Conference. If you’ve any questions for Capy, be sure to leave a comment below so we have the ability to ask them at our meeting tomorrow!

GDC 10: Clash of Heroes Battling on XBLA, PSN [IGN, via GameSetWatch]

Via Destructoid

With Final Fantasy XIII finally releasing in North America, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada has touched upon the always controversial decision to port the game to Xbox 360. According to Wada, it wasn’t a hard decision to make. His team wanted to do it, and the install base was such that it was essentially a no-brainer.

“The Xbox team has been asking us to have a [Final Fantasy] game developed on our platform,” explains Wada. “Also, the Xbox 360

While Black might not have blown people away as much as the hype leading up to might have made us believe it would, it was still a technically impressive FPS and those behind it showed true potential. So it shouldn’t be that surprising that people are looking forward to the devs behind it next game, which OXM seems to have accidentally outed.

In a post that has since been taken down (here is the Google cache) the magazine’s online component announced that the next issue would be revealing all about the game. The game is being developed by Codemasters Guilford, which has brought in several of the team members from Black including Stuart Black. There is no other information shared in the post, but they do state that if you like shooting guns and destroying things you’re probably going to enjoy Bodycount.

Let’s cut right to the chase: Boulder Dash is getting yet another revival. Xbox LIVE Arcade is the place, Q3 of this year is the time, and Catnip Games is the handler of development duties.

No screenshots were given out, but we did get a nice piece of Rockford art. On the off chance that the people who are making this game read this and are open to advice: guys, please don’t go overboard with the art style. Less is more for these newly-updated old-school games, trust me.

Usually, I’m all about bringing enthusiasm to the table — not this time, sadly. Boulder Dash is one of those games I don’t have any fond memories of from my childhood. It was before my time, honest! So really, the most excitement I have the ability to muster up is “okay, sure.”

Via Destructoid

While Epicenter’s Rock of the Dead has only been announced for the Wii, the developer states “there’s no reason why” we couldn’t see it on other platforms.

Talking with Epicenter’s Bryan Jury for my preview, I’m told that there’s a definite possibility we could be seeing its “kill monsters with your guitar peripheral” on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

“We’re also looking into other platforms as well,” he tells me. “Nothing’s finalized at this point, but we feel like there’s no reason why this kind of gameplay wouldn’t be able to work on other platforms with, you know, the obvious graphical and other enhancements. We’re definitely checking out all of our options at this point.”

When the game was first announced for the Wii, my reactions were blended. The concept certainly appealed to me, but since I do my rock gaming exclusively on another platform, I thought I’d be left out in the cold. Judging from your comments on our preview, you felt the same way. According to Jury, they’re listening.

“People listen, publishers listen, people with money actually do listen and read message boards,” he admits. “And because people were really interested in this game for the 360 and PS3, we are talking to people to actually bring it out on those platforms.”

I also wondered if there’d be any chance I could use my other peripherals — a microphone or even a drum set — to rock the dead. I advocate letting out a blood-curdling metal howl, in the style of Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, to explode a zombie’s skull. Jury laughs at my brilliant idea, and admits that it’s something the team had considered.

“These are things we’ve completely explored,” he states, “and kind of seen how it plays out. Currently we only have guitar support, but you never know what we’ll be able to announce in the next couple of months.”

In the meantime, I’ll work on my falsetto. Just in case.

Via Destructoid

Hiding in the bushes just off the lake, I could see them. They were having a good time, listening to music and dancing in the cabin, but it wouldn’t be that way for long. Knowing that they always had to have things perfect, I went to the

Square Enix has confirmed the first details on the upcoming Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition, which is set for a European release on March 26.

The package will come with six extra challenge maps on the disc, which is set to hit Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Personal computer. The maps will have players facing off against Arkham’s inmates in locales such as Crime Alley and Scarecrow’s Nightmare.

But beyond that, the game will also support 3D on all three platforms. Citing an “innovative new technology” called “TriOviz 3D,” console players will be able to view the game in 3D, compatible with standard definition and HDTV sets.

The Arkham Asylum GOTY will ship with a pair of 3D glasses, insuring that you’ll see Bats and the Joker in all their 3D glory. No word on whether or not insurance will cover migraine treatment as a result.

Via Destructoid

Remember those old-timey fragfest FPSes? The ones that got your mouse-palm all sweaty as you reduced opponents to giblets and sprays of viscera on poorly textured arena walls? A new (old) one is set to hit Xbox LIVE Arcade and PSN. It’s called Nexuiz, and if you’re familiar with the Computer scene, you might have checked it out.

Developed now by IllFonic, Nexuiz is the kind of teeth-rattling FPS experience that isn’t too common on the downloadable platforms. It was originally an Alientrap Software open-source joint, but now IllFonic is taking it to the next level, polishing up the visuals and ostensibly making it a console-friendly experience. Anticipate it to hit at some point in 2010.

Via Destructoid