Lots of news in the gaming world last week. Here’s a quick run down.

• BlizzCon Sold Out… Stay tuned for a third round of tickets. Buy tix.
• Lord Of The Rings Online follows D&D Online by becoming free. The game will instead make money through premium content such as expansions, equipment and quests. You can get the Beta now.
• Heroes of Might and Magic Online  Open Beta due to be released on 11 June 2010.
• Alpha Protocol released. Is this a sign of what we can expect from Fallout New Vegas?
  Reviews:
  • Gamespot 6.0/10
  • IGN 6.3/10
  • Amazon 3/5
  • 1UP B+
• Company of Heroes Online announced to be released in Fall 2010. Read more in the Q&A.

Alpha Protocol

One of the more recent things they announced was what would be included in their Collector’s Edition.

Thankfully it’s not just a rebranded version of the Fallout 3 Collector’s Edition (which was awesome by the way) but a series of new merchandise (that is casino themed of course) that you can add to your Fallout collection.

Included in the pack is:

• 8 Gaming Casino Chips.
  One from each of the 7 casinos found in Fallout New Vegas as well as a special Platinum Chip recreation.
• Deck of Cards.
  Use these Fallout New Vegas themed cards to challange your friends to game of Caravan which is a brand new game created for Fallout New Vegas.
• Hard Cover Novel.
  This book, called ‘All Roads’ contains some of the back stories of characters that you will meet during your trip.
• ‘Making of’ DVD.
  Looks like an interesting documentary(/marketing piece) with a look behind the scenes on the creation and development of this latest Fallout game.
• DVD copy of the game.

This looks like one of the more awesome Collector’s Edtions that I’ve seen. You can always use an extra deck of cards and I think the DVD would be really interesting to watch. I always enjoy finding out why they make certain decisions about characters, plots and objects in games.

With the release date still being listed as some time in Fall of this year, it’s time to put down that $10 to pre-order Fallout New Vegas at your favourite store.

Trophies and awards will be added for Xbox 360 and PS3 players although the game will stay the same as the PC version for the most part. Wii gamers won’t miss out with Nintendo securing an exclusive beach town add-on for the Wii version.

The Nintendo DS version will be slightly watered down but will allow users to still build their Sims houses and furnish them (much like the mobile version). They will also be able to use the stylus to ‘sculpt’ their Sims facial features and attributes. The DS version will also get a story mode in which players will be able to unlock new furnishings and buildings.

The PSP will not be receiving a version of The Sims 3 at this time.

I’ve always enjoyed the Sims although I found the ‘play in background’ feature annoying in The Sims 3 as it meant you missed a lot of important moments in your family and it also made it ridiculously easy to make money in the game. With that feature turned off however it has brought a lot more to the game and made the options nearly endless which is a great thing to see in any RPG.

So if your a console gamer you can look forward to getting your calloused hands on this in a few months. For PC gamers, no need to wait, you can get The Sims 3 now.

…and get this, it’s not a linear FPS either, but a full blown RPG. Can you say awesome much? While initial screenshots so that graphics not looking quite as glamorous as games like Call of Duty or the new Battlefield, the gameplay looks like it more than makes up for it. The ultra realistic hand to hand and ranged combat will definitely be leaving the FPS genre developers shaking in their boots.

Your choices throughout the game consist of (but are not limited to):

• Good spy or bad spy?
• How would you like to defeat your enemies?
  • Get up close and personal
  • Take them out from a distance
  • Use tech gadgets to sneak your way around them all together
• Slow down time and take careful aim at your enemies before taking them out in a blaze
• Fully customize your character through a brand new character creation
• Make spur of the moment decisions in the heat of the situation that could seriously effect later gameplay. Do it now!

[Hi-Ya!]

Who is making it?
This is a joint project between Sega and Obsidian. It’s great to see the old Interplay crew so busy, I just hope they can keep up with the demand of all this new work.

Alpha Protocol Release Date
Here’s what you are looking for: Thursday 27 May 2010. That will be the release date for all three platforms (PC, PS3 and Xbox360).

Pre-order it… Quick!

Amazon have the pre-order button raring to go. Take advantage of their price guarantee: If the price goes down between when you pre-ordered and the release date, you get the difference back!

Alpha Protocol

Keep up to date with the online developers video diary

Regular videos with all the insider news are being posted on the SEGA Europe Youtube Channel or on the Official Website.

Check out the teaser trailer: