Sidhe has announced that its popular title, Shatter is now available for PC download via Steam. Shatter is an addictive brick breaking game, and the PC version of the features new PC-exclusive game modes, Steam Achievements and leader boards, and brings the excitement of the award-winning original title to PC gamers. The game is available for $9.99 via Steam.

“PC gamers can now experience the fun, frenetic action of Shatter with new modes, achievements and leader boards,” said Mario Wynands, Managing Director of Sidhe. “We’ve continued expanding the game to bring modes to the PC version that will appeal to both new players and those familiar with the PSN version.”

The Aliens vs. Predator Swarm Map Pack is now available at the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PlayStation Store and STEAM. The pack includes 4 new maps previously only available in the Special Editions packages. Outpost and Hive are survival games where you can team up with up to four marine buddies to face off against Alien hordes. Docks and Machine are multi-player maps for the following online modes: Deathmatch, Predator Hunt, Infestation, Species Deathmatch, Mixed Species Deathmatch and Domination, and pits species against species in two new settings for a fight to the death. The Swarm Map Pack is available for $6.99 or 560 Microsoft points. Ok Marines, now move along nothing else to see here!

The Wii is seen as the “family” console with titles that dare not raise the middle finger or spill blood. There have been a few titles that were made available, but always from outside developers. Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo America head, recently shed some light on why this is so. He says that Nintendo’s developers do not enjoy making mature games and that they have made a conscious decision to make more family friendly fare. However, he says, they do encourage third party developers to come up with more adult-themed games. He makes it clear that Nintendo does not have a “no-mature” policy and focuses on making a broad collection of games.

- Benjy Ikimi

Source: escapist

EA’s Bad Company 2 has racked up 2.3 million sales and is staking its claim to become this month’s biggest seller. With Bioshock 2 and Final Fantasy XIII making the rounds and the recently released God of War 3 for competition, Bad Company will have its work cut out to take the top spot.

This is welcome news for EA who recently laid off 1,500 staffers (a 15% layoff). The game giant will be hoping that the title will have the legs to compete with Modern Warfare 2 on the online circuit. At the moment, Modern Warfare 2 is the gamer’s choice for online play, but Bad Company is slowly catching up. Alas, the days when Halo went unchallenged on Xbox Live seem so long ago.

- Benjy Ikimi

Source: Venture Beat

Microsoft is planning USB storage support for its Xbox 360 game console, citing the increased market penetration of high-capacity, high throughput USB mass storage devices. Xbox owners will have two options on how the USB device is used by the console, with “Configure now” and “Customize” settings that allow a user to choose between occupying the entire storage capacity of the device or limiting the usable storage space to 16 GB, respectively.

Source: eWeek

Square Enix revealed today that sales figures for Final Fantasy XIII show that more than one million copies of the title moved off of store shelves in its first five days. The company also reports that this release is the “largest first-week sales in franchise history.” The franchise has combined sales of more than 96 million units worldwide in its more than 20-year history, and Square Enix anticipates that chapter 13 will add another 6 million to that number.

Paradox Interactive has announced the release date for Fatshark’s third-person shooter, Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West, and the gun-slinging action of the Old West will be available April 8 via Steam. Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West attempts to capture the spirit of the Wild West with team-based combat and a colorful cast of characters just itching to pull their triggers.

(click to play the video)Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood fans rejoice, as a trailer for the upcoming RPG for the PSP, Fullmetal Alchemist: Yakusoku no Hi e has just been released. The title is scheduled for a Japanese release near the end of May, but there’s unfortunately no information on a North American release date as of yet.

Take Ed and Al on their quest to fix what they have done. Walk their path, meet Roy and Risa and fight the homonculus. Be adventurous, take the unbeaten path, don’t be afraid to make unconventional choices and you’ll be able to unlock secret scenarios within the game. Combine attacks with the comrades you meet during your journey, pull them to your side and they just might do something to help you out of tight situations.

At Lionsgate, newcomer Kyle Ward is writing a script for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Bruce Willis has been confirmed for the role of Kane and Jamie Foxx has just been secured for the role of Lynch. Willis and Foxx as a pair of anti-heroes is certainly enticing, but there’s an odd element to this casting, as the Lynch in the game is an aging, long-haired Caucasian man, which Foxx is decidedly not. That said, what could be better than seeing Foxx and Willis rack up a body count and cause millions in collateral damage as they embark on a mission to retrieve a stolen microchip.

Source: MTV

Due to unforseen circumstances, we will not be hosting tonight’s Halo 2 game night. Chris Troilo will be returning with a new game selected for May, but due to a familial emergency will be unable to attend tonight. Keep checking both the forums and the front page for April’s announcements for both our PS3 and PC game nights, and please forward your suggestions to Ryan Asher and Andrew Clark. We look forward to playing with you again, soon!

Realtime Worlds, the developer behind APB: All Points Bulletin, have today laid down the law to all wannabe Criminals and Enforcers looking to get hands-on the game during its third and final closed beta session. With the beta test already underway, gamers are required to sign up at www.apb.com/beta-application where lucky applicants will gain early access to the violence of gangland San Paro.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming thousands of new players to San Paro in the coming weeks.” said Dave Jones, Creative Director at Realtime Worlds. “As APB enters this final stage of closed beta testing, we’re anticipating a huge surge of interest with gamers from all over the world applying to take part and provide invaluable feedback to the development team preparing us for launch.”

APB is set to launch simultaneously in North America and Europe later this year.

Has one of your friends been playing StarCraft 2, while you’ve found yourself unable to even check it out? Well, while you probably should have signed up for the beta last year, hope is not lost. Joystiq reports that Blizzard has sent out a wave of fresh beta codes to everyone who’s already in the beta, so that they can share with a friend. The codes are being sent via email, so if you’re already enrolled, log in and spread the fun!

Inside MGC has posted a list of achievements for Microsoft’s upcoming Game Room for the Xbox 360. There are a full 1,000 achievement points to be had in 56 achievements. You’ll receive points for every three medals, and even some points for just spending time in the arcade. Game Room opens in less than a week on March 24.

The release of GTA IV episodes The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony on the PlayStation 3 and PC has been delayed following last minute requests made by Sony. Both games will now be released on April 13 in North America and April 16 in Europe. Related events, which include Rockstar Social Club multiplayer sessions on PSN and Games for Windows Live, will also be held back until April 16 and 17.

Rockstar’s official statement said the delay was “due to a last-minute game submission request from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to edit some of the in-game Liberty City radio station, television and internet content. Unfortunately, with each round of changes comes fully re-testing the game and a full re-submission to PlayStation. This is the nature of the game submission process. Believe us, if we could expedite the turnaround any sooner – we would. We are dying to get this game in the hands of fans who’ve waited for it for so long in the first place.”

These episodes have been available on the Xbox 360 since last year, due to an exclusivity agreement held between Rockstar and Microsoft.

Warner Bros. Interactive has announced Lord of the Rings: War in the North, a co-op action RPG, to be released in 2011 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game will be based on the J.R.R. Tolkien series, not the film property, and will “explore both original and familiar narrative elements” of the series. The game is under development by Snowblind Studios, best known for producing popular action RPG Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance for Interplay.