You can check out a summary of Atkinson’s chokehold on videogaming in Australia here.

It’s not just Australian gamers who should be celebrating – some games like Fallout 3 were altered worldwide to enjoy an Australian release.

Now, gamers will have to turn their attention to Switzerland, which is moving to ban “violent video games” which will not only prevent games that are violent against humans but humanoids. So turning the baddies into zombies won’t help. No word if the Swiss will ban violent movies, TV shows or books.

(Thanks, Joystiq.)

The Achievements for the upcoming Game Room for Xbox Live Arcade have been posted by MyGamerCard, and unlike most XBLA titles, Game Room has 56 Achievements for 1000 Gamerscore, which is more like a retail title than an XBLA title. In addition, the games are available on Xbox 360 and PC, with crossplatform leaderboards .

Of course, the catch is that each of the 30 games in the Game Room have their own individual costs. To buy a game for both 360 and PC costs 400 MSP. Just for one platform, 240 MSP. Or, you can just plunk down two quarters (40 MSP) to have a one-time play.

Click “Read more…” for the full Achievement list. Click here to see a list of the 30 Game Room titles.

(Thanks, Xboxic.)

	My First Theme Place a Theme in your arcade	5
	Theme Filler Place 5 unique Themes in your arcade	20
	Fancy Arcade Theme an entire arcade with unique Themes	20
	My First Mascot Activate a Mascot in your arcade	5
	My First Decoration Place a Decoration in your arcade	5

	Proptastic Place 5 arcade Decorations in your arcade	20
	My First Game Place a Game Cabinet in your arcade	5
	The Visitor Visit a Friend’s arcade	5
	Show Me! Visit the Showcase Arcade	5
	The Player Play a Friend’s Game Cabinet	5
	Room Filler Fill an entire room	20
	My First Win Win a Challenge	5
	My First Challenge Send a Challenge	5
	Challenge Chief Win 10 Challenges	5
	Challenge Master Win 20 Challenges	20
	Too Cool for my Score Beat your own High Score in a game	20
	My Blisters have Blisters! Play a game for 1 hour continuously	5
	Arcade Junkie Spend 4 hours total playing games in your arcade	20
	Retro Addict Spend 8 hours total playing games in your arcade	20
	Go to Sleep Spend 16 hours total playing games in your arcade	20
	Machine not Man Spend 24 hours total playing games in your arcade	20
	Matchstick Eyes Spend 36 hours total playing games in your arcade	20
	My First Medal Win your first Medal	5
	Medal Variety Win a Medal of each Type (Point Buster, Survivalist, Time Spender)	5
	Double Trouble Win 2 Medals of each type (2x Point Buster, 2x Survivalist, 2x Time Spender)	20
	Medal Collector Win 3 Medals	20
	80s Skilled Win 6 Medals	20
	Game Beater Win 9 Medals	20
	Arcade Hustler Win 12 Medals	20
	Retro Expert Win 15 Medals	20
	The New Old Schooler Win 18 Medals	20
	Medal Enthusiast Win 21 Medals	20
	Arcade Shark Win 24 Medals	20
	Can’t Touch This! Win 27 Medals	20
	Retro Master Win 30 Medals	20
	Check My Skillz Win 33 Medals	20
	Minted Win 36 Medals	20
	Medaltastic Win 39 Medals	20
	Fly Skillz Win 42 Medals	20
	Medal Masher Win 45 Medals	20
	I Like Shiny Things Win 48 Medals	35
	Level Up! Reach Level 2	20
	Level 5! Reach Level 5	20
	Level 8! Reach Level 8	20
	Level 11! Reach Level 11	20
	Level 14! Reach Level 14	20
	Level 17! Reach Level 17	20
	Level 20! Reach Level 20	50
	Medal Smasher Win 10 Medals of each type	20
	Medal Mad Win 20 Medals of each type	50
	Point Buster Win 5 Point Buster Medals	20
	Point Slammer Win 10 Point Buster Medals	20
	Survivalist Win 5 Survivalist Medals	20
	Survival of the Fittest Win 10 Survivalist Medals	20
	Time Spender Win 5 Time Spender Medals	20
	Time Crazy Win 10 Time Spender Medals	20

Check out one of Crackdown 2’s multiplayer modes, “Rocket Tag”.

You play tag. With Rockets. What more need be said?

The classic NBA Jam is making its way to WiiWare – check out some of the retro b-ball goodness in its launch trailer.

Xboxic is reporting that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days has been given a release date: August 24. The original, relentlessly grim and downbeat third person shooter was at the center of the Gerstmann/GameSpot fiasco back in the Winter of 2007, where its 6.0 score might or might not have led to a reviewer’s firing.

Introducing a new visual experience inspired by documentary filmmakers and the user-generated era. Players are pulled into the game world, with every move and shift of the camera capturing the mayhem, in an unscripted style. Beyond the stylized look and violent story, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days delivers all-new multiplayer modes as the highly celebrated Fragile Alliance returns, along with new Undercover Cop, Cops & Robbers and Arcade modes, with each mode raising the stakes of greed, betrayal, and revenge.

The game will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Let us know what game you’ve been playing lately.

member 

Valve may be killing off a survivor” in the upcoming “The Passing” campaign for Left 4 Dead 2. The Passing is best known for the pairing of the four survivors from the original game with the survivors from the sequel.

The news sheds some light on the name of the DLC, The Passing, and comes with the chapters tagline, Nobody Survives Forever. While Chet doesn’t allude to which member of the team will not be making further appearances, he does state that the content coming to L4D2 will be followed by DLC for the original Left 4 Dead, that will fill in the blanks. There’s also reportedly a comic that will play out the story, further filling in the back-story to the events.

The smart money is on Bill dying. The crusty Vietnam vet looks like a heroic sacrifice waiting to happen.

Fans of the game will be able to engage in some offline games with the developer Infinite Interactive.

Fans that come to Booth #605 during the show will have the opportunity to participate in a match-3 scavenger hunt with other show attendees to earn special prizes (while supplies last).

Are you excited for Puzzle Quest 2? GameStooge will have a full hands-on preview of the game.

Check out the Facebook page, and click “Read more…” for the full presser.

D3Publisher to Showcase the Highly Anticipated

PUZZLE QUEST™ 2 at PAX East 2010

Puzzle Quest 2 Booth To Feature Hands-on Demos, Producer Interviews,

and Special Giveaways for Attendees

LOS ANGELES – March 19, 2010 – The mysteries of the gems are hidden no more as D3Publisher reveals the secrets of the upcoming match-3 Puzzle Quest™ 2 video game at Penny Arcade Expo East (PAX East) taking place at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts, March 26-28, 2010.  Fans that come to Booth #605 during the show will have the opportunity to participate in a match-3 scavenger hunt with other show attendees to earn special prizes (while supplies last).

Puzzle Quest 2 is a brand new adventure from Infinite Interactive, the award winning developer of the supreme puzzle-rpg experience.  Featuring a hallmark blend of match-3 gem matching and fantasy, Puzzle Quest 2 offers a captivating, rewarding, and accessible journey for players of all skill levels using all new weapons, spells, shields and more as players make their way to reclaim the once peaceful village of Verloren from the evil clutch of the demon Gorgon.

Along with the standard bragging, EA released some interesting numbers about the game’s usage:

• 81B points have been earned in online multiplayer sessions
• 43M weapons and gadgets have been unlocked in online multiplayer
• Over 6M video views on YouTube
• 2.9M hours have been spent playing online in the last 24 hours alone
• 230K peak-concurrent-users (PCUs)
• Over 44k Twitter fans (most out of any EA title)

EA did not release the breakdowns per platform, so one will have to wait for the NPDs in a month to learn what they were. Bad Company 2 was released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

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

EA’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Tops March Sales Charts

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced that Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2 is on pace to be the top selling title for March 2010. With over 2.3M units sold-through*, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has become the best-selling March release on record in North America and Europe. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is winning accolades from fans and critics for outstanding visuals and action-packed gameplay with no less than 46 outlets having awarded the game a score of 90 or above. GameSpot.com commented that, “whether or not you’re looking for a new shooter in your life, you owe it to yourself to play Battlefield: Bad Company 2.”

“whether or not you’re looking for a new shooter in your life, you owe it to yourself to play Battlefield: Bad Company 2.”

The momentum of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 can also be seen across social media networks and in the game’s statistics:

• 81B points have been earned in online multiplayer sessions
• 43M weapons and gadgets have been unlocked in online multiplayer
• Over 6M video views on YouTube
• 2.9M hours have been spent playing online in the last 24 hours alone
• 230K peak-concurrent-users (PCUs)
• Over 44k Twitter fans (most out of any EA title)

“We are so thrilled with the success of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sales and fan response. In the first 48 hours we had such a tremendous rush to multiplayer gameplay that our servers experienced overwhelming demand. This is a testament to the massive response players have had worldwide for the extraordinary action experienced in the Battlefield sandbox,” says Karl Magnus Troedsson, Executive Producer, Battlefield Franchise. “DICE and EA have brought more servers online. We now have enough capacity to handle all BFBC2 connections seamlessly and we continue to monitor online play daily.”

Defined by its exceedingly intense vehicular warfare, destruction, variety of weapons and huge sandbox environments, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is one of the finest online FPS games of 2010. Developed using state-of-the-art graphics technology, the PC version of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is the first title in the Battlefield franchise to be 3-D-ready, playable in DirectX® 11, and support multiple monitors for properly equipped PCs.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is available in North America and Europe for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC. Two all-new multiplayer maps for the game are coming on March 30 at no extra charge**. These two maps can be unlocked by inputting a VIP code***.

For more information on DICE, please visit www.dice.se. For more information on Battlefield: Bad Company 2 please visit: www.battlefield.com. Or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/OfficialBFBC2.

* According to internal data.

** Internet connection required.

*** VIP codes included with original retail purchase. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 players that do not have a code can purchase one via the in-game store for $15. PC players will get the content as a game update. Internet connection required.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA^TM, EA SPORTS^TM, EA Mobile^TM and POGO^TM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile and POGO are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. Battlefield: Bad Company is a trademark of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

RealTime Worlds has sent out a press release inviting gamers to beta test their upcoming cops-and-robbers open world MMO A.P.B., which is basically an MMO version of Grand Theft Auto.

Incorporating frantic third-person action into a persistent online multiplayer world, APB will offer a whole new perspective on MMO gaming: this is ‘Mass Mayhem Online’. Those fortunate enough to gain access to the closed beta will be able to experience the near limitless customisation and brutal urban combat APB has to offer.

Prospective gangbangers can apply here.

Click “Read more…” for part 2 of the video and the full presser.

Putting out an APB for all potential Beta Testers!

Realtime Worlds Ramps Up Closed Beta Signups

DUNDEE, Scotland — March 19th, 2010 –; Realtime Worlds, the leading British independent video game developer behind APB: All Points Bulletin, have today laid down the law to all wannabe Criminals and Enforcers looking to get hands-on with APB during the 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 vibrancy and violence of gangland San Paro.

Incorporating frantic third-person action into a persistent online multiplayer world, APB will offer a whole new perspective on MMO gaming: this is ‘Mass Mayhem Online’. Those fortunate enough to gain access to the closed beta will be able to experience the near limitless customisation and brutal urban combat APB has to offer.

“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. For more information about APB and to sign up to the beta, log on to www.apb.com.

Someone complaining that doing a hotey to alt-F4 seems to crash World of Warcraft resulted in an epic face palm from a mod. Now, while Kwakmeister may just be making a joke, it’s still hilarious.

Now hold on a minute there, before you get all excited and go off going “WHO NEEDS the 250 GB hard drive?” there’s a big catch you need to know about:

It doesn’t matter how big the USB drive is that you connect, the system will only see the first 16 GB of it.

What this appears to be is an attempt to get rid of memory cards, not proprietary hard drives. Although, granted, 16 GB is still better than what you’re left with after the system partition chews up 7 GB worth of the stock 20 GB hard drive, it’s still an insult to artificially limit what a user can access.

In the end this is an incredibly stupid move from Microsoft. Yes, yes, I realize that it would kill the sales of their ridiculously priced hard drive attachments, but really, that’s the whole point isn’t it? “We’re sorry, we realized our hard drive prices are out of line with reality, here, use whatever you want…” In an era when 1 TB USB drives are less than $100 there’s no excuse to artificially limit them to 16 GB… except for profit and anti-piracy.

The 2K Sports Website now offers a patch to update the PC edition of NBA 2K10 to version 1.1. There are no patch notes or details available for the new version, but this is apparently for the US edition of the basketball simulation, and a patch for the European edition is to follow. The download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, The Patches Scrolls, and WorthPlaying.

No word on a patch for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions; has anyone had a new update on the console version? Let us know.

Among the updates include Active Rosters, which allow gamers to see in-game the friends currently playing Halo: Reach, obviating the need to use the Xbox button to check their friends list, and Queue Joining will allow players to automatically join friends’ games once a slot opens up.

The matchmaking is also smarter. Players can first rank their preferences and gameplay type in the areas of Teamwork (Team Player vs. Lone Wolf), Motivation (Winning vs. Having Fun), Chattiness (Chatty vs. Quiet), and Tone (Polite vs. Rowdy). From there, the game will use that info and the group you’re with to find matches best for you. Players who enjoyed their pickup games with some strangers can maintain the roster for subsequent games.

The Halo hardcore will have Arena matches as well, intended for the serious gamer who knows how to play, which is aided by a new Rating System that will factor in both kill assists and the kill/death ratio; players that kill the most but also die the most won’t be as highly rated. The Arena will be treated as a sports league complete with “seasons” and divisions, labeled Onyx, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Steel.

Let us know how hot you are for May 3, 2010 now, the date that the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta begins.

Those of you waiting to purchase Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City for the PC and PlayStation 3 will have to wait, as the release, which had been scheduled for March 10, has been delayed to April 13 in North America and April 16 everywhere else.

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,” the developer explained, via its website.

Subsequently, Rockstar Social Club multiplayer sessions on PSN and Games for Windows Live and other events will also be held back until April 16 and 17.