Did you pick up Starcraft II but regret you didn’t play the original Starcraft? IGN will get you up to speed by rehashing the entire plot in a five minute video, with tongue planted firmly in cheek – enjoy!

IGN discovered a nice little Easter Egg in Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty: an arcade cabinet with a shmup called Lost Viking.

If you happen to find the arcade machine sitting in the cantina of the Hyperion, lead character Jim Raynor’s spaceship, you’ll find this. It’s a game called Lost Viking, an in-joke referring to Blizzard’s old SNES puzzle-platformer. Only it’s a top-down scrolling shooter where you pilot a Viking craft, a Terran air unit, against Protoss and Zerg forces.

Let us know if you’ve fooled around with this game-inside-a-game.

It’s a national holiday in South Korea today, and there’s quite a few happy people in North America and Europe, too, as Blizzard’s long awaited Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty has officially arrived for PC and Mac, though GameStop has been holding midnight launches last night.

Let us know if you bought Starcraft II and are enjoying it now.

The final Starcraft II trailer has been released, called “Ghosts of the Past”, which focuses on the single player story of Wings of Liberty.

Let us know if you’re going to be buying this game Day One.

The expansion will allow players to explore the city at night, where their Sims can “become a local celebrity, member of a music band, mixologist, director, and more.” In order to access exclusive areas, a Sim will need to develop their personalities to cater to the type of club or bar they’re trying to enter. If that weren’t enough, the expansion will allow a Sim to become a vampire, though it’s probable the vampire will be more Twilight than True Blood. Regardless, if you wanted to pen your own vampire story with Sims, this will be your chance.

The expansion will also come with the usual new objects and settings, like hot tubs and penthouses. Let us know if you’re hot for some Late Night thrills, which will be coming out this Fall for PC and Mac OS.

Click “Read more…” for the full press release.

THE SIMS GET THE PARTY STARTED IN EA’S NEW EXPANSION PACK TO MASSIVELY POPULAR THE SIMS 3

The Sims 3 Late Night Expansion Pack Gives Players VIP Treatment In A Dynamic Urban Setting Filled with High Rise Homes, Parties, Celebrities, Bars… and Even Vampires!

GUILDFORD, UK., July 20, 2010 - The Sims players will soon have a reason to stay out late on the town! The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced The Sims™ 3 Late Night Expansion pack* is in development and will hit store shelves worldwide this fall. The newest expansion to The Sims 3, the best-selling PC game of 2009**, The Sims 3 Late Night gives players all-access and lets them loose on a vibrant, active downtown scene where they’ll rub elbows with celebrities at the hottest parties, hit the local bar after work, tour the scene with their Sims’ band, kick back in a plush hot tub, and discover what’s lurking as the lights go out and adventure begins after dark.

“The community has been very vocal about unleashing their Sims in more interesting and unpredictable social situations,” said Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims Studio at EA. “The Sims 3 Late Night is full of ways to approach a rich, new life beyond a Sims’ normal day, such as schmoozing with celebrities on the rooftop of a skyscraper, wooing the crowd with your Sim’s band, or being the best bartender in town at the hottest new lounge.”

Players will be able to take their Sims into the bustling urban setting where they’ll be able to become a local celebrity, member of a music band, mixologist, director, and more. To gain entrance into the most elite clubs in town, players need to keep their attitude in check otherwise they’ll be given the cold shoulder by tough bouncers or find another way onto the list. If chilling is the player’s forte, their Sims can lounge at a chic club or dive bar or if they like to live on the edge, they can discover the secret of becoming a vampire. Whether embarking on a new career, painting the town red, or throwing a party on the rooftop of a penthouse, it’s always up to the player to tell their unique stories with The Sims 3. What will happen when the lights go out and Sims get all access?

For more information about The Sims 3 Late Night or The Sims 3, please visit www.TheSims3.com. Developed by The Sims Studio, The Sims 3 Late Night for PC/Mac has not yet been rated by PEGI. Join more than one million The Sims fans on Facebook by visiting the official fansite page for The Sims 3 athttp://www.facebook.com/TheSims3.

*Requires The Sims 3 for PC/MAC to play.
**In North America and Europe according to NPD data, Chart-track UK, Gfk France, Gfk Spain, Gfk-MCC Germany and EA internal estimate.

The Sims players will soon have a reason to stay out late on the town! The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts will release this fall The Sims™ 3 Late Night Expansion pack*, the newest expansion to The Sims 3, the best-selling PC game of 2009**.

The Sims 3 Late Night gives players all-access and lets them loose on a vibrant, active downtown scene where they’ll rub elbows with celebrities at the hottest parties, hit the local bar after work, tour the scene with their Sims’ band, kick back in a plush hot tub, and discover what’s lurking as the lights go out and adventure begins after dark.

Players will be able to take their Sims into the bustling urban setting where they’ll be able to become a local celebrity, member of a music band, mixologist, director, and more. To gain entrance into the most elite clubs in town, players need to keep their attitude in check otherwise they’ll be given the cold shoulder by tough bouncers or find another way onto the list. If chilling is the player’s forte, their Sims can lounge at a chic club or dive bar or if they like to live on the edge, they can discover the secret of becoming a vampire.

Whether embarking on a new career, painting the town red, or throwing a party on the rooftop of a penthouse, it’s always up to the player to tell their unique stories with The Sims 3. What will happen when the lights go out and Sims get all access?

*Requires The Sims 3 for PC/MAC to play.
**In North America and Europe according to NPD data, Chart-track UK, Gfk France, Gfk Spain, Gfk-MCC Germany and EA internal estimate.

• Unleash your Sims in more interesting and unpredictable social situations! Schmooze with celebrities on the rooftop of a skyscraper, woo the crowd with your Sims’s band, or be the best bartender in town at the hottest new lounge.
• Hang out at the hippest spots in town, from dive bars to dance clubs to chic lounges, complete with bouncers.
• Gain fame and fortune as a member of a music band, mixologist, director, or local celebrity.
• Wander into a certain part of town and your Sims just might uncover the secret to becoming a vampire.
• Gain excess to exclusive areas and enjoy celebrity perks like penthouse living, luxury hot tubs and cars.

The report stated the $100 million was purely development price and made no mention of marketing expenditures. That lofty figure well exceeds Gran Turismo 5’s $60 million development cost, one of the most expensive video games to date.

Starcraft II is one of seven core games in Activision’s stable, or what CEO Bobby Kotick labels “pillars of opportunity”; these “pillar” each has a potential to earn $500M to $1B of operating profit according to Kotick. The other “pillars” include Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Diablo, the new unnamed Blizzard MMOG, and Bungie’s new unnamed intellectual property; interestingly, Warcraft is not included as a pillar.

Let us know if you’ll be picking up Starcraft II.

(Thanks, GameSpot.)

Part VI of the E3 ‘10 Portal 2 E3 presentation featured Repulsion Gel – Part VII shows off Propulsion Gel, which is sort of like a Slip ‘N’ Slide of orange goo.

The video closes with GlaDOS informing you: “Do you know the biggest lesson I learned from what you did? We’re a lot alike, you and I. You tested me. I tested you. You killed me. I… oh, no, wait. I haven’t killed you yet. Hm. Food for thought.”

Puzzle Agent is an adventure game which can best be described as an unholy mix of Professor Layton and David Lynch by way of Fargo. The game manages to mix whimsy with disturbing imagery skillfully, even with its minimalist, Flash-style animation.

The game is based on and created by Graham Annable, best known for the Grickle Youtube channel. The Grickle channel revels in turning everyday objects and well-known figures into mysterious entitles, as best exemplified by “Santa’s“. The work is similar to Courage the Cowardly Dog’s odd pathos, and that same vibe permeates Puzzle Agent.

Nelson’s visit to Scoggins is filled with the same air of disquiet, even as it lulls you into a false sense of security – simple acts of violence like cocking a gun are louder than most Hollywood explosions. The game is a slow burn in that when something happens, its punctuated. Nelson is a mild man, despite being sort of a kook with a passion for puzzles and bubblegum. When things happen, you feel his distress. The slow burn of oddness and threatened violence finally explodes at the end, which will stay with many players a few hours after the game is over. It’s not a cliffhanger, but rather a non-ending that leaves you at once confused, trying to figure out just what happened, and wanting more.

It’s fortunate that the story, dialog and voice acting is so strong, because its core gameplay mechanic – puzzles – is weak. There are too many easy puzzles; at best, some puzzles will only require a lot of time and patience, while others practically solve themselves for you. The game desperately needs puzzles that the Professor Layton games will hurl at you, that require some real brainpower to solve. Hopefully, if new episodes are produced, there will be harder, more devious puzzles to solve.

Note the “if” in the last statement. Puzzle Agent is something Telltale Games calls a “pilot” episode. Basically, there’s no commitment to making new episodes – new ones will be produced if the game proves to be popular. For $10, Puzzle Agent, despite its minor flaws, is an experience that must be had, with a witty, disturbing unique story. It’s far more worth the money than going to see The Last Airbender, for example.

Check it out at the official site here. The game is currently available for PC and Mac OS, and will be hitting iPhone, iPad and WiiWare in the near future.

Part VI of the Portal 2 E3 presentation gets sticky, as Repulsion Gel turns into Flubber and catapults you in the air.

We’re almost at the end of the line. Tomorrow will be Part VII.

The Portal 2 presentation from E3 ‘10 continues with Part V, showing off the Pneumatic Diversity Vent, which sucks. No, it really, really sucks – in a big way!

Let us know what you think.

Enjoy playing with laser beams? The Thermal Discouragement Beam is the focus of part IV of the E3 ‘10 Portal 2 presentation.

“Oh, it burns!”

Let us know what you think.

In Part III of the Portal 2 E3 presentation, we’re introduced to trampolines “Aerial Faith Plates”. Boing, boing, boing.

In the next part of the Portal 2 E3 ‘10 presentation, we’re introduced to Excursion Funnels. Unfortunately, there’s no Wheatley here. Let us know what you think.

Bluesnews has posted the first part of the Portal 2 presentation from E3. Be warned, there are MAJOR SPOILERS in the video. However, if you don’t care and want to watch anyway, the game’s humor is still spot on.

“You know her?!”

Let us know what you think.

Now that you’ve checked the older reviews out, here are the improvements over the previous game, currently at 11.1.8:

• The biggest, most obvious improvement is the interface, which is probably the most user-friendly in the series. In particular, the Manager Page is the most helpful; a lot of what the manager needs to know and do will be on this page. First off, the page will let a manager know what players are currently on the waiver wire, which is a big help, since plucking players off the wire is one of the most important GM duties. The page also highlights the more important players on the trading block. A player can also will be informed of staff openings as well. While the interface is still a little clunky, the manager screen will send a player to need screens as soon as possible.

• Another obvious change is the drafting mechanic. Players now have to give signing bonuses to draftees, and budget must be able to accommodate them. Players will be ranked as easy to nearly impossible to sign, so while some stellar high school players may be available by the late rounds, they might be unsignable anyway.
• Player’s personalities play more of a role, and the numerical value of their desires are now hidden. Rather than be given numbers, a player will be described as selfish, or in it for the money, or a leader, and so forth. Owners now have personalities as well.

The game also features the usual upgrades to artificial intelligence, career progression algorithms, and new stats (wOBA, OPS+, FIP, ERA+, for example). One feature that is desperately needed, however, is real-time online league management – such as live online drafts and live GM interaction. The current FTP upload/download system is at best functional, and at worst, gives a player a sense of disconnect from other owners, since trades must be communicated to the commissioner to be manually transacted.

[One issue with OOTP11 that this particular player has is that the 11.1.8 update disrupted his online league play, no longer able to upload files to his league. According to developers, this bug was an artifact from an old OOTP10 issue. It isn't a widespread bug, so many players will not encounter it, but it does exist.]

Out of the Park Baseball 11 continues the tradition of being the best baseball management sim out there. You can buy it for PC, Mac and Linux here at the official site.