"Developed by THQ’s Relic Entertainment studio, creators of the award-winning Company of Heroes® and Dawn of War® franchises, Company of Heroes Online is an online multiplayer Real-Time-Strategy game that is free to download and play.  Building on the frenetic Real-Time-Strategy action of the original Company of Heroes, Company of Heroes Online offers army specialization, commander customization, and persistent progression. Players will enter each match with a unique selection of upgrades and hero units with new items and experience earned with every match played.

The Company of Heroes Online Open Beta features two different armies, the Allies and Axis, each with three different divisions offering players a choice of play style. The Open Beta features 17 different multiplayer maps, which will be split between 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 modes. Players of the Company of Heroes Online Open Beta will also be able to enjoy the single player campaign from Company of Heroes for free. Players can download and play the Open Beta now by going to www.companyofheroes.com.

Users who register for the Company of Heroes Online Open Beta before September 8 will also receive an exclusive in-game item pack for free. This pack will include 3,000 free supply points to use in the shop, 500xp to level up the commander, one free hero unit and one free army item giving early adopters a head start on the competition."

• "The Doggie Bag Pack  – Take on new heists and unlock new Achievements with two never before seen maps and five exclusive weapons for Multiplayer and Arcade modes. Dockyard and High Rise maps, plus the Radio Tower map provide new opportunity to increase your wealth. And with the inclusion of five new weapons, including the DD 33, KL Viper, RTS, SMi 69, and the TOQ Model Four S the odds are in your favor of pulling off a successful heist.
• Alliance Weapon Pack – Increase your weapons arsenal with seven powerful new weapons for all Multiplayer modes and Arcade mode. A mix of handguns, shotguns and assault rifles the new weapons include: Doretta Silenced, Steele 870, TOQ SBR, Kaliningrad 47, PAC 10 silenced, N 77P Silenced, TOQ Elite.
• Multiplayer Masks Pack – Conceal your identity and avoid revenge attacks with 8 costume masks stolen from a Chinese gift shop, for all Multiplayer modes and Arcade mode. You never want to be identified, especially if you are a traitor!"

"StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released simultaneously in North America, Europe, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on July 27. With day-one sales topping 1 million copies, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty became the bestselling PC game of 2010 within its first 24 hours of availability. The game went on to sell more than 1.5 million copies in its first 48 hours, setting the record for fastest-selling strategy game of all time, and has won numerous critical accolades, including multiple editor’s choice awards from major gaming publications.

"We appreciate all the enthusiasm that players around the world have shown for StarCraft II," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "It was important to us to deliver an overall gameplay experience that was accessible, balanced, and fun, and it’s been gratifying to see how strongly the global community has already embraced the game."

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is the sequel to Blizzard Entertainment’s 1998 hit StarCraft, which has been hailed by players and critics worldwide as one of the top real-time strategy games of all time. Sporting a vibrant 3D-graphics engine, StarCraft II once again centres on the clash between the protoss, terrans, and zerg, with each side deploying legions of veteran, upgraded, and new unit types. Unparalleled online play for StarCraft II is available through a new version of Battle.net®, Blizzard Entertainment's world-renowned gaming service. Battle.net has been redesigned from the ground up to be the premier online gaming destination for Blizzard gamers, with several enhancements and new features, such as voice communication, cloud file storage, leagues and ladders, achievements, stat-tracking, and more.

The solo campaign for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty continues the epic saga where it left off in StarCraft: Brood War®. The story line chronicles the exploits of marshal-turned-rebel-leader Jim Raynor and features both familiar faces and new heroes. Players are able to tailor the experience, choosing their own mission path and selecting technology and research upgrades to suit their playing style throughout the 29-mission campaign. Several challenge-mode mini-games are also included, with focused goals designed to ease players into the basics of multiplayer strategies.

For more information on StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, visit the official website at http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/"

"Jimmy’s Vendetta takes players into an alternate perspective of the mob through the eyes of Jimmy, the guy the other guys call when they need to finish the job. Players will get their hands dirty helping Jimmy clean up other people’s messes as they deal with the Italian and Irish mobsters that reside in Empire Bay. As players progress, a slew of new quests are unlocked, including assassination and timed vehicle pursuits ending in dramatic shootouts and explosive car chases. Execute with deadly head shots or charged explosives, and rack up points for precision-timed vehicular power slides, lofty jumps, and supercharged velocity. Multipliers and combos add bonus points to overall scores that will be immediately posted to thenew online leaderboard system, providing extensive re-playability as players work to rise to the top of the ranks.

Through a compelling narrative,Mafia II transports gamers into the dark and unforgiving world of the Mafia. The fiction is embellished by a sophisticated, era-evoking atmosphere that meticulously replicatesthe clothing, cars, music and advertising of 1940s and 1950s Americana. Players will easily become immersed in the game's cinematic Hollywood-style experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing metropolis. By fusing action-packed gameplay with white-knuckle driving and an epic gangster story, Mafia II is the industry's most compelling Mafia title to-date.

Mafia II is developed by 2K Czech, the same creative team behind the award-winning, genre-defining Mafia®, which captivated millions of gamers around the world. Mafia II is rated M for Mature by the ESRB is currently available worldwide.

For more information on Mafia II, please visit www.mafia2game.com."

PC Games:

• Arma 2: British Armed Forces DLC

Movies Opening This Week:

• A Simple Noodle Story (limited LA/NY)
• Going the Distance
• Last Train Home (limited LA/NY)
• Machete
• Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (limited)
• The American
• The Tillman Story (limited)
• The Winning Season (limited LA/NY)
• White Wedding (limited LA/NY)

DVD and Blu-Ray Releases:

• 9th Company [Blu-Ray]
• Apache Rifles
• Beatdown [Blu-Ray]
• Black Blood Brothers – the complete series
• Brothers & Sisters: Complete Fourth Season
• Celebrated Women of Color Film Collection Vol. 1
• Clear Lake, WI
• Family Movie 4 Pack
• FlashForward: The Complete Series
• Girls on the Road
• Harry Brown [Blu-Ray]
• Hell is Sold Out
• House, MD: The Complete Sixth Season
• Leonard Cohen – Bird On A Wire
• Made for Each Other
• Marmaduke [Blu-Ray]
• NCIS: Los Angeles – The First Season
• Parenthood: Season 1
• Point of Terror
• Sons of Anarchy: Season Two [Blu-Ray]
• Spread
• The Best of Soul Train
• The Evil Dead [Blu-Ray]
• The Judy Garland Show: Volume 5
• THe Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season
• Thriller – the complete series
• Why Did I Get Married Too? [Blu-Ray]

"World Supremacy is a Windows beer-and-pretzels strategy game of contemporary conflict for one to eight players. In World Supremacy players have but one goal: total global control through utter annihilation of all who oppose. Control is derived from conquest and the tools of conquest are many; land, air, and sea. And when you care enough to send the very best you can even say hello to your foes with a well placed nuke or two.

In World Supremacy the game world is created fresh for each game with players choosing a variety of settings to tailor their experience. While this means that initially one cannot fight over already familiar territory mod makers will be pleased to learn that any type of map can be created. Want to fight over the real world? Middle Earth? The world of the Destroymen series? Create and conquer.

The weapons of war are instantly recognizable, from modern armor to jet fighters to hunter/killer submarines. Each type of unit can be upgraded up to three levels through a streamlined research process. Even nuclear and neutron weapons can be found in World Supremacy. Battles are fought on a fast playing tactical map, allowing players to flex more than just their strategic muscles. Combat is a do-or-die proposition. Once you attack only one side will be left standing so be sure to bring enough hardware to the fight.

Coming from the developer of the Space Empires series, which was well known for its mod friendliness, gamers will find that World Supremacy is open to mod making. Combined with the random set up of games and the ability to have up to eight players at once ensures that World Supremacy will be a highly replayable game.

Fans of classic light strategy titles will find a lot to like in World Supremacy. Mechanics are easy to grasp and a wide variety of strategies can be applied. Fighting tactically means that it's not enough to bring a whole stack to the fight, knowing how to use that stack will be the key to victory.

World Supremacy currently has no specific release date but is undergoing beta testing, and has a projected general release date of later this year. It will be available for Windows with a price yet to be determined. For more details about the game please visit its official product page.

And for the finest in independent niche and strategy games be sure to visit us at www.shrapnelgames.com for our complete catalog of both free and premium titles."

"Less than two months after Operation Arrowhead successfully routed the Takistani military regime, NATO coalition forces face a large-scale outbreak of guerilla insurgency. A mechanized force of British troops are about to deploy and embark upon a large-scale counter-insurgency campaign, which will define the future of the coalition presence in Takistan: Operation "Crimson Lance".

The development of the brand new content has demanded engine updates, resulting in unique features and new gameplay options. The fully modelled artillery and mortar strikes, and the extension of the engineer class to include new duties – such as vehicle repair and bomb disposal – add a new depth of realism to the most authentic mil-sim available.

This brand new faction, with a large number of units, vehicles and models, will redouble the allied efforts in this volatile Central-Asian nation.

Arma 2 – British Armed Forces key features:

• New vehicles and weapons
• Modern British troops in multi-terrain, desert and woodland camouflage
• Personal weapons: L85A2 and L86A2 rifles, L110A1 machine gun, LRR and AW50 sniper rifles, N-LAW AT launcher
• New vehicles: Jackal 2 MWMIK all-terrain vehicle, modernized FV510 Warrior
• New helicopters: AH11 Wildcat (multi-role), HC3 Merlin (transport)
• British versions: off-road car, Chinook HC2 transport helicopter, Apache AH1 gunship
• Desert and woodland paint schemes of the ground vehicles
• New single player campaign
• Player will command a mobile observation team of British troops into battle with Takistani insurgents. Short campaign will focus on depicting asymmetrical warfare with a guerilla force and counterinsurgency operations.
• Multiplayer modes
• Cooperative scenarios featuring the British units, vehicles and equipment.
• Engine Improvements
• Extension of the Engineer's role
• Ability for players to effectively operate and command artillery and mortar units.

Set in the visually attractive environment of rugged Central Asia, Arma 2: British Armed Forces will add even more depth to the already extensive size of the most realistic combat simulation experience available. Unprecedented freedom of movement, action and tactics – together with hundreds of models and epic sandbox-style maps – creates the most authentic military simulation game: war without the training wheels.

For more information on Arma 2 – British Armed Forces, please visit: http://www.meridian4.com/games/arma2baf/index.html"

Questions from Gareth Von Kallenbach
Skewed and Reviewed

1. Tell us about the background and setting of the game

The basic setting and back story of Rage is, of course, brand new intellectual property from id Software. If you’re not familiar with id, we invented the first-person genre, with Wolfenstein, and we were involved with Doom and Quake. With Rage, we wanted to do something that was different enough to really make it stand apart from the other games that we have done. We didn’t want Rage to just be another corridor shooter with mutants. So, the game is set in the distant future after an asteroid strike has destroyed most of the human civilization and mankind is trying to rebuild itself. You play a survivor – somebody that was a part of a program that the governments of the world initiated before the impact. Where, instead of building one big huge Ark underground, they built thousands of these smaller complex supporting pods. We call them Arks but they’re very small and you’re basically frozen for years. The plan was that after the dust settled, these Arks would reappear and the people would come out and find each other and they would rebuild society.

The game starts in your Ark, which is damaged, and there’s an emergency so it brings itself back to the surface. You’re the only one in your Ark that survived and you discover that the world is a lot different than what anyone expected. There are mutants, bandits, peddlers, more people survived the impact than initially expected and the entire project has long been forgotten. You eventually discover that there is a force in power called “The Authority” that is trying to shape the future of mankind in the way that they want. You will ultimately fight against them to save the future of man.

Many people ask us: “Why another post-apocalyptic game now when you have Fallout 3 and all these other games out right now?” For us, the setting is there to support the game but really it’s the story and the gameplay and what you actually do in the world that makes up the bulk of the experience. Whether it’s a nuclear war or an asteroid or some other method of apocalypse, the post-apocalyptic world worked well for us and what we wanted to do. When we set out to work on the id Tech 5 engine, we were looking at what we were able to do with the technology. We knew we could build these large, outdoor, very lush and very detailed environments. In order for players to really experience these environments to the fullest we knew we wanted people to drive around in them. We all have a love for muscle car type vehicles and we wanted to put machine guns on them. In addition, we all love science fiction. If you want sci-fi elements, muscle cars and machine guns on them, there’s really only one setting you can use. The Mad Max film series immediately comes to mind, which is exactly how we arrived at the setting for Rage.

2. What kinds of locales and missions will we get to see in Rage ? How are missions assigned and what have you done in terms of mission linearity?

The wasteland is basically a plate, which holds all of the missions. You can have a mission that happens in the wasteland where you don’t have a load a traditional level. On the other hand, there are some missions in the wasteland were you have to go into more traditional id Software environments, where you’re shooting indoors. However, the missions in Rage are all very different. We like to call the game “open but directed.” There is a story arc and path that you follow and we tried to make it appealing to the largest audience possible. If you’re a player that wants to do what you’re told to do, you can follow the main storyline missions and have a great experience. On the other hand, if you’re a player that likes to explore and follow side missions, race vehicle, hunt bandits, play mini games, etc. you have many opportunities to do this in Rage. The actual missions range from kill everyone, to more puzzle-like missions, to saving people, etc. and vary greatly. There’s quite a bit of mission variety but as always there is a lot of shooting.

3. What types of enemies will be featured in the game?

One of the cornerstones of the new technology is the virtual texturing system, which allows us to uniquely paint everything in the world differently; you won’t have to worry about running around in the same corridors for 20 hours. When we looked at the environments and how diverse we could make them we knew that we also had to make the enemies and their combat styles very different as well. In our E3 and Gamescom presentations we highlighted 3 groups of enemies::

• We fought a bandit clan called the “ghost clan” and they are very acrobatic. They can climb rails, jump down from ledges and are very quick and nimble.
• Then, we switch to a group called the “wasted clan”, which are your standard run-and-gun enemies. They have very colorful personalities and say all kinds of crazy things to you but they’re pretty straightforward and not too difficult to take down.
• The third group that we’ve been showing is the mutants. We have skinny mutants, medium-sized mutants and one giant mutant. They can throw clubs, they have melee attacks, range attacks, some are super quick, the big fat ones are slow, and so on.

One of our objectives in Rage was to make sure enemies are different and fight differently. Of course, The Authority also has another kind of fighting style. Variety is the spice of life in the Rage universe.

4. What kinds of weapons will we get to see in Rage and how customizable will they be?

In every new area or level in Rage we tried to make sure that the player will have something new to play with. Whether it’s an entire new weapon, an ammo type, or an engineering item there’s always something new in your arsenal of tools. We don’t have weapon customization in the sense that you can tweak weapons up to make them unique and different but we do have weapon add-ons, different ammo types and engineering items. In testing, we found that some people really enjoy the ammo types. They’ll make sure to use a certain type of ammo when fighting the wasted clan, for example. Some people like to play with all engineering items such as machine guns, turrets, RC bomb cars, etc. In other cases, there were some people that just like to use the shotgun with no ammo type. So again, players will have a clear choice and variety is something we’re trying to emphasize with Rage.

Any BFG weapon in Rage?

There is an Authority type weapon that might be comparable but it is different from the classic id Software BFG. However, Rage definitely has some badass weapons.

5. Are there any well known voice actors that play characters in Rage?

John Goodman. He was great to work with and has a rough, natural deep voice that fits well with the wasteland environment.

6. Tell us about the new engine

Rage is built on our brand new technology called the id Tech 5 engine. The cornerstone of this technology is that it allows us to paint everything, as I mentioned earlier. It was built from the ground up, which allows us to take full advantage of the power across all systems. We feel that we’ve been able to overcome a lot of the struggles that most developers have with cross-platform games. The game plays at 60hz on each system and when you play a game at 60hz, versus 30hz like lots of other games, there’s a huge improvement with the precision, control, and sharpness. In fact, at QuakeCon we had a live

Rage demo running on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 at the same time on big 10ft screens so the audience could see that they look exactly the same and they all ran at 60hz. It’s truly a cross-platform engine and the texturing technology allows us to move past the tiling texture system that most games have.

7. I really like the idea of the vehicles but sometimes vehicles in games can be somewhat limited, such as Quake 4. Will I be able to use a vehicle whenever I want or will they be limited to only certain missions? Are vehicle functions limited in any way?

In most of the missions you are either in a vehicle or on foot. You can get out of your vehicle on “vehicle missions” but it probably won’t be as much fun. We wanted to make the vehicles as approachable as possible to first-person fans. A classic part of id Software games is you pull the trigger, the cool gun goes off, and hopefully you kill some people. In the cars, we use a really straightforward interface: gas, break, some auto targeting, etc. When we were working through the physics and the car functionality, any time that we came to a path that crossed another, in terms of realism vs. fun, we always chose fun. For instance, in all our games when you come across a bounce pad you can control yourself in the air a bit. In Rage, we added air control when you are airborne in a vehicle. Of course, this isn’t realistic, but it makes it much more fun and the experience is more enjoyable. The vehicles in Rage are used to get from point A to point B, there are vehicle specific missions where you need to go and find certain cars, hunt them down and kill them, etc. with as much fun thrown in as possible. You are able to get out of your vehicle wherever you are in the world, but your vehicle is one of the safest places in the game. Vehicle upgrades are fairly standard: armor, front smashers, weapons, drop bombs, and so on.

How are vehicle upgrades earned?

Racing is a key component in Rage. We don’t force players to race much, if they’d rather not, but we encourage players to race by offering vehicle upgrades after winning them.

8. WIl the PC use an in-game save system or a console style checkpoint save system?

You will be able to save whenever you want and all 3 systems will be exactly the same. Checkpoint games drive me nuts and I don’t understand why any developers would still use that method. Auto-saves at the beginning of each levels are fine but – save anywhere and play the game how you want to play it.

9. What’s the music like in Rage?

Music is based on the setting, there isn’t a move-like soundtrack. When you’re in combat music picks up, when you’re exploring there’s more subdued music and so on. However, we are still possibly working on some type of theme song.

10. During the game’s development, what have been the largest challenges and rewards?

The vehicle racing and vehicle combat was much more challenging than we thought it would be and I now have a lot of respect for developers that do racing games – it’s hard to do and everybody has a different opinion of what is fun. Some people love the Gran Turismo feel, others love the MotoStorm feel, etc. and there were several conflicting opinions and thoughts on what a game with vehicles should include. We tried our best to make it as approachable as possible for everybody.

As far as rewards go, it’s always exciting to check on an artist’s progress on some work, after not looking at it for a week or two and seeing the amazing progression and creativity. They can do anything with the map textures now, with the new technology, and they aren’t limited by texture size. There are some really cool areas like the Dead City, an old area with knocked down buildings a great landscape.

11. What do you think the future will hold for the new engine?

One thing that’s different this time around is that we are not licensing this technology. This was previously announced but I’m not sure that everyone has picked up on it. Historically, our engines have powered some of the best games. Now that we are a part of the Bethesda/ZeniMax group we are keeping the technology in the family. So, if a new game is published by Bethesda, of course it can have id Software technology in it but we are not licensing to outside publishers or developers.

As we move in to the future John Carmack has talked about some really interesting things he wants to do with id Tech 5 in order to expand and enhance it to work great on the next consoles, he’s working on an iPhone game that uses some of the id Tech 5 core technology and he’s looking forward to working with some of our new ZeniMax partners to do new games as well. So, the future is bright all in all.

"This video highlights the three specialized divisions in the Allied Army: Infantry, Armored and Airborne.  Additionally, with the closed beta phase coming to a close, THQ and Relic Entertainment are happy to announce the Company of Heroes Online open beta is scheduled to go live next week.  For the latest information on Company of Heroes Online, please go to www.companyofheroes.com."

"The cooperative portion of the game features different characters, challenges, and story than the single player portion of the game. More details on Portal 2 coop will be revealed (and shown) next week at PAX in Seattle, WA. For more information about Portal 2, please visit http://www.thinkwithportals.com/"