14 DAY TRIAL // Fresh back from an entertaining holiday in Prague, I talk a bit about how the real world influences our gaming choices in a new edition of EndWeekGame, while the Weekend Reading feature deals with how time influenced the way The Awakening expansion for Dragon Age: Origins turned out. We also have a review of Napoleon: Total War and, of course, all the news from last week that should be noted and talked about.
On Monday and Tuesday, I was out of office but my colleagues wrote about two of the most interesting stories of the moment: Microsoft's move to bring back the most important arcade titles that shaped the history of gaming with the Xbox 360-based Game Room and the decision made by Sony to actually remove the Linux support from the PlayStation 3 in the next firmware update. Both moves could have quite an impact in the long run, driving arcade fans to the Microsoft made home console and leading to a consumer backlash against Sony for its closing down of the PS3.
On Wednesday, we talked about the problems regarding the launch of the Stimulus Package map pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, as a gameplay patch related to the new maps did not come out when it was supposed, causing problems for the whole Live service. Meanwhile, analysts also thought that because of the 3DS announcement, sales of the DSi XL would suffer.
Videogames are going mainstream and the most recent sign is the news that the title Epic Games plans to launch next will be revealed on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show. Most people bet it's Gears of War 3 and it’s coming in 2011. Also in the teasing department, THQ talked a little about a new and mysterious fighting title that it plans to unveil at the E3 show.
On Friday, more details popped up about the futuristic side of the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, while NBA Jam was confirmed to feature a match up between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.