The Logic Factory has sent word that after a 15 year absence, the classic game Ascendancy has returned for the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, 3rd/4th generation iPod touch, and iPad for $7.99. Winner of the Codie Award for 1996, this new release sees a major update to the GUI to take advantage of mobile, wireless, touch screen devices.

Having been a big fan of Ascendancy from The Logic Factory, I noticed back in 2007 that the website was still active, so I attempted to contact them both by phone and by email but to no avail. There was an indication that Ascendency II was being worked on and I wanted to see if that was still in progress. Alas, there was no response and the phones just rang and rang.

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Do you want to play in 3D, but don’t want to buy a new TV? Sony just revealed that they’re working on something to accommodate you. The company is developing a 3D visor nicknamed the Headman, which will let you play games in 3D on a standard television. Though pricing details, and a release date are not yet available, Gamesradar reports that the device will have two small displays (one for each eye), and built-in headphones.

During their keynote press conference at CES last week, Microsoft unveiled their new lineup of downloadable titles for the Xbox 360, Windows Phone 7, and PC. The publisher will kick things off with their second annual Xbox Live Arcade House Party on February 16 with Konami’s 2D side-scrolling action title Hard Corps: Uprising, to be followed by the release of several other titles over a five week period, including Full House Poker, Bejeweled Blitz Live, a remastered HD version of Beyond Good & Evil, and Torchlight.

Microsoft also reiterated earlier announcements that both Age of Empires: Online and Fable III are in the works for PC, before moving on to their smartphone titles. The Windows Phone 7 lineup of titles includes Fable III: Coin Golf (a puzzle title based on traditional British pub games that allows users to earn gold and unlock new skills and abilities that transfer back to Fable III), Game Room (such classic arcade titles as Centipede, Asteroids Deluxe, Shao-Lin’s Road, Time Pilot, Lunar Lander, and Pitfall), Full House Poker, Pac-Man, Pro Evolution Soccer, and Pocket God.

Last week at CES, Valve co-founder Gabe Newell took to the stage to praise Intel’s latest microprocessor as a game changer. According to Develop Online, the company’s Sandy Bridge family of processors show a much higher emphasis on visual performance than ever before, carrying an integrated 32 nanometer graphics-processing unit. The chip is expected to open up higher-end graphics performance on laptop devices.

“Sandy Bridge is awesome,” said Newell, whose team at Valve have worked with the tech to optimize performance in its upcoming Portal 2. “We’ve been using it for a couple of months,” he added. “Sandy Bridge really does give us the great features and performance that we need to develop great customer experiences for gamers. Sandy Bridge cannot only run today’s games, but even the next generation of games.”

Intel rival AMD will release its own CPU/GPU hybrid, called Fusion, later in the year.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade set PC sales records upon its release in January 2007, selling 2.4 million units worldwide within 24 hours. In November 2008, Blizzard Entertainment trumped its own high-water mark, when Wrath of the Lich King sold 2.8 million units in a single day. With the third expansion to its 12-million-subscriber-strong massively multiplayer online role-playing game on store shelves last week, Blizzard has confirmed that the streak has continued. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm sold more than 3.3 million units worldwide through both retail and digital channels within 24 hours of release. Blizzard claims that this feat has earned the expansion the title of “fastest-selling PC game of all time.”

Eurogamer reports that a group of students at Sheffield Hallam University have formed their very own on-campus development team. The unnamed outfit appears to be working on a Zool revival, and while the students will provide several options for the title to move into the 21st century with, the final decisions lie with Zool’s creator, Ian Stewart. The end result of this collaboration will hopefully be a PSP Mini release.

The wait was worth it! The Batman: Arkham City trailer shows Batman taking down crooks with style. Though not firmed up as of this writing, the title is due out toward the end of 2011.

In Sony’s VGA trailer for Resistance 3 you’ll see some more live-action representing two different scenes from the game: a treacherous boat journey and a brutal arena battle. You’ll also see gameplay footage during the boat sequence, as Joseph Capelli and Dr. Malikov make their way through a flooded city filled with Grims while trying to avoid Chimeran death squads.

Resistance 3 is coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3 on September 6.

Travel into the dark and humorous world of Dungeons with this new gameplay video for the upcoming title that mixes elements of strategy, simulation and tower-defense. The trailer takes viewers into a labyrinthine world where players, in the role of a recently deposed Dungeon Lord, craft insidious dungeons in an effort to entice hapless adventurers. Once these unfortunate adventurers are captured, the Dungeon Lord harvests their precious soul energy.

Dungeons releases for PC in February.

A new downloadable pack for Costume Quest, Grubbins on Ice is available now via Xbox Live (400 MS Points), and arrives December 21 on the PlayStation Network. Costume-clad twins Wren and Reynold reprise their starring roles for this winter-themed adventure, as they set out to rescue their friend Lucy who has been kidnapped by a new monster leader and whisked away to the monster land of Repugia. In addition to the storyline, the DLC includes new costumes with special abilities, new characters, eight new battle stamps, and eighteen more cards to collect.

Toshihiro Nagoshi is best known for his work on the Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball franchises, but the man is distancing himself from these properties for his next body of virtual work. Sega has announced Binary Domain, a squad-based action game from the mind of Nagoshi. It’s set in Tokyo in 2080, a time when humans are locked in a battle with robots. The game is described by Nagoshi as a “dramatic and energetic sci-fi shooter.” In the game, players take control of a peacekeeping team that, as it continues its fight against the robots, begins to ponder whether or not they are becoming robotic, or if robots are becoming human.

“When you hear sci-fi you may think of cold, clinical environments, but with Binary Domain I wanted to combine this with a deep human drama,” Nagoshi says. “The keyword we have in mind for this project is ‘Life’. I wanted to make something that will be accepted by both the Japanese and Western markets, and this fundamental theme is something everyone knows but which the full extent of can be difficult to grasp.”

Source: GameSpot

To show how much it appreciates your business and cares for you on a personal level, Microsoft has launched a rewards program for the Xbox 360 offering the second-best thing to hugs—free Microsoft Points. Unless you live outside the USA or UK, that is, in which case Microsoft doesn’t care for you just yet.

The program rewards Xbox Live members with 200 MS points ($2.50) for renewing a 12-month Live Gold subscription, 20 MS points (25 cents) for taking a “quick” monthly survey, or for purchasing “select” Marketplace content. It’s free to join, and something’s better than nothing, so huzzah. Xbox Live director of programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb notes that Xbox Live Rewards is currently available only in the US and the UK, raising hopes that it might launch elsewhere later.

Source: Shacknews

According to Shack News, Xbox Live’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb has revealed a new Marketplace-based promotion focusing on a select number of Xbox Live Arcade titles. Throughout the month of December, Microsoft is offering 400 MS Points to users who purchase two qualifying XBLA titles. Before purchases can qualify for the promotion, however, players must first download the Arcade Offer gamer picture to register for the giveaway. Qualifying titles include:

Comic Jumper
Super Meat Boy

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Atari and Sony have announced plans to release a follow-up to last year’s Ghostbusters: The Videogame in the spring. The title will be a PC, PSN and Xbox Live downloadable game in which players assume the role of the rookie. Sanctum of Slime will be a four-player adventure playable either locally or online. Unfortunately, none of the actors who appeared in the films will be lending their voice talents.

PlayStation is planning their biggest PlayStation Plus publish to date this month with more than $50 of content being made available over the next two weeks. Kicking things off on December 7 is the LittleBigPlanet spin-off PSN title, Sackboy Prehistoric Moves. Enjoy 10 unique Move-enabled levels on a multiplayer adventure through the land of dinosaurs. PlayStation Plus subscribers will not only get the game free, they’ll be able to download it before everyone else. Later on in the month Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse will be made available with Marvel Super Hero Squad for PSP rounding things out just before Christmas Eve.