DreamCatcher Games and JoWooD have indefinitely delayed the release of ArcaniA – Fall of Setarrif. The legal background of the official add-on to Gothic 4 is unclear, and diverse legal positions with the BVT fund that financed the main game are present.

“It’s uncertain whether the game can be released onto the market in its current form,” explained Stefan Berger, Business Development Manager JoWooD. “Of course this must be investigated and settled before the release – unfortunately.”

On Monday, Paradox Interactive and Nitro Games started taking applications for the closed beta of Pirates of Black Cove. Due to an overwhelming response, the companies today saw themselves forced to end the application process early.

“We wanted to avoid too many disappointed gamers, since this is a closed beta with limited spots, it made no sense to keep the application open as we have already exceeded the expected number of applicants by a landslide. All I can say is, Shiver me timbers, I mean we expected that Pirates of Black Cove would hoist a few sails because it’s so very different from anything we’ve done to date, but this many closed beta applications is just awesome. Finally, we would like to thank everyone for their interest in our game and continue working hard to meet the expectations people have on us and the game,” said Brendon Neuwerth, COO of Nitro Games.

Code Redman just released Blackjack 88, their fourth major release exclusive to the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The objective of the game is to build your pile of playing chips by betting smart on the value of your hand of cards. As the title indicates, the aim of a hand is to get to 21 or as close as possible without going “bust.” This implementation of the classic game includes fully illustrated playing cards, simple gameplay and optional background music.

Blackjack 88 requires iOS 3.0 or later to play, and is available as a free download.

Madden NFL Football, the first EA Sports title available for the Nintendo 3DS, has shipped to retail stores throughout North America and will be available on Sunday, March 27, to coincide with the launch of the new platform. The 3D handheld experience includes 11-on-11 football, 5-on-5 action and Season Mode. Additional features literally jump off the screen with 3D graphics, such as Spotlight Moments and Call Your Shots. Utilizing the power of the Nintendo 3DS Touch Screen, Call Your Shots allows users to draw their own plays directly on the screen.

Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime is now available via XBLA, PSN, and PC Download. Representing the first Ghostbusters digital video game title, Sanctum of Slime is a four player, ghost busting adventure that will take players on a brand new paranormal experience. Suit up with your proton pack and assume the role of a rookie hired by the team to save New York City from a disaster of ghoulish proportions in either single player, or cooperative (online or local) mode.

This new Boxercising video for ExerBeat provides a look at the Martial Arts group of activities that will be available within the Wii title when it releases April 26.

ExerBeat offers an interactive fitness experience where 1-2 players workout to the beat by utilizing the Wii Remote to perform over 150 exercises. With all of these activities, in-game personal trainers, customizable programs and data for calories burned, the title aims to offer a virtual workout studio for only $29.99.

Valve, in partnership with Aperture Laboratories, has released the first of four investment opportunity videos leading up to the April 19 release of Aperture’s documentary video game, Portal 2. This first video, titled Panels, showcases one of the many lucrative products in development at the applied sciences company. Narrated by Aperture CEO and founder Cave Johnson, it offers a glimpse of the future of test environment construction.

Despite mixed reviews, Eurogamer reports that THQ’s Homefront opened very strongly, and sold over 374,000 copies during its first day of release in the US. THQ is of course pleased with themself, and is already working on re-orders from numerous retailers around the country. The company believes that this is due to an “excellent multiplayer experience.” Bold and confident words, but can they really nudge Black Ops off the throne?

Irrational Games has announced that the development of BioShock Infinite on the PS3 won’t be adding any platform-specific gimmicks. Creative director Ken Levine stated that Infinite won’t feature PlayStation Move integration, expressing that he’d, “never want to throw in Move support just because it’s going to make some first party happy.” Levine hinted that Irrational just didn’t see enough novel use to justify adding motion control. “You can have Move support on your box, but people are going to know you’re cheating them,” he said, noting that “you have to be able to say you’re doing something special with it.” On the question of a 3D display option he was more flexible. “It’s something I’d be more open to,” he admitted. “I’m not saying whether we’re doing that or not, but it’s sort of a passive integration.” The game is planned for 2012.

On July 5 New Detroit is going to be overrun with creepy crawlies, and you’re going to need more than a rolled up newspaper and a jug of boiling water to stop this infestation. Some of these bugs are several stories high! Defense Force: Insect Armageddon lands you in a fight for a fictitious city against a giant alien run insect invasion. Giant ants, spiders, wasps, and prey mantis infest the urban streets.

Insect Armageddon is the sequel to Earth Defense Force 2017, and improves upon the old theme. Where the original was split screen co-op only, the new version will be four player co-op via Xbox Live or couch co-op with a friend. There’s also a new Survival mode that’s six player co-op against unending waves of bugs or worse. Also new to this game are the various classes available. Four different load outs with drastically different gameplay let players decide how to engage the crawlies. So far it looks amazing, and is slated to be available for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Spogg has just released Rainbow Rage for the iPhone and iPod touch. The app is classic arcade meets modern arena game arena, where you must defend your cities against a roaring meteorite storm. Every level is only 15 seconds long, and you must tap on the display to place shots on the screen. Just be careful not to let the energy meter run out! Collect shooting stars to activate a variety of power-ups, including getting your lost cities back or enabling shields. If many meteorites are popped in one shot, the rainbow rage mode starts, giving the player unlimited energy for a short period of time and adding a multiplier to the score.

Rainbow Rage is currently a free app, and requires iOS 3.1.3 or later to play.

One of the hottest tickets in the gaming world seems to be Star Wars: The Old Republic‘s upcoming public beta. According to EA CFO Eric Brown, close to 1.5 million gamers have signed up for a precious spot in the beta since applications started being accepted in September 2009. Brown also said that Old Republic has a potential audience of 12 million players in North America and Europe alone when the final version of the game is released in the fall. No date has been officially set for the beginning of the beta session.

Source: Gamespot

Turns out that not all hackers are evil creatures bent on ruining the gaming hobby for the rest of us. Rift user ManWitDaPlan, who was a hacker in his younger years but who now owns a data security company, found that he could access a friend’s game account without knowing any of his login information. Not only did he inform developer Trion Worlds about the exploit, but he also assisted them in fixing it. Despite the seriousness of the exploit, no personal information about any Rift player was compromised, according to the game’s executive producer, Scott Hartsman. If any of you know ManWitDaPlan, buy him a drink or three for all of us.

Sources: Shacknews, Zam

Just when you thought you’d seen your last bracket for the year, now you’ve got another one to fill in. EA is putting the decision on which lucky (or unlucky, as the case may be) NFL player will grace the cover of Madden 12 in the hands of the fans. One player from each team has been selected as a candidate, and the teams have been seeded into a bracket similar to the one used for the NCAA basketball tournament. Each week from now until the end of April, you can go to the ESPN website and select your favorites in head-to-head matchups. The winner will be revealed on April 27. Madden covers have been bad luck for the athletes in the past, so if there’s someone you want to jinx, here’s your chance.

There’s a guest this week on Episode #18 of The PlayBunker Podcast that’s a HUGE soccer fan. Ricardo and friends talk about Battlefield 3, and the guys caught Gina off guard during the second half, as it was noticed she had no thoughts at all on the game. Then Gina, as resident iGadget Geek, shares her opinion of the iPad 2, and Khriz chimes in about the new Nintendo 3DS.

This podcast is recorded in Puerto Rico and broadcast in Spanish.

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