Jul. 15th 2009: “Remedy has a deep heritage in PC gaming and would love to see a PC version available to its PC followers, ultimately however this decision lies with our publisher.”

Feb. 12th 2010: “Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience “Alan Wake” was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive.”

What a heap of bovine excrement. By what logic is it not preferable to have a more “intimate” experience with the game Remedy is billing as a “psychological action thriller”?

Hooray. Take a cue, Redlynx, and give us a PC version of Trials HD.

I’m not sure that the first Bioshock had color blind accommodation, but it definitely had gamepad support and (after a patch) proper widescreen scaling. How and why do you remove such functionality in a sequel built on the same technology?

This is a fascinating feature about the best character in Mass Effect 2. For some nice shots (and potential wallpapers) of Thane, check out my Mass Effect 2 screenshot collection.

Still bracing for disaster.

I’ve liked and used SteelSeries mice and mousepads for the last few years because of their quality and customer service; now their chief marketing officer is publicly decrying one of the most effective marketing terms in his industry? SteelSeries, be my Valentine.

Have $5 worth of fun for $0.

I wish Ubisoft would just use Steam or Impulse for authentication, though there’s many reasons for them not to. Chief among them, I think, is that using their own log-in system sets the basis for their own distribution platform — if not for full games, then for DLC, and they wouldn’t be forced to share revenue with anyone else. But besides syncing some data (which Steam does already), almost nothing about this looks as though it will benefit consumers.

What’s worse is Ubisoft charging $60 for the PC version of Assassin’s Creed II. But we can’t blame Ubisoft alone; they’re only following the precedent set by Activison. Instead, we can thank everyone who bought Modern Warfare 2 for $60.

Still, this could backfire. Assassin’s Creed is popular, but not like Call of Duty, especially among PC players. Plus it’s a singleplayer game — many people view that alone as a license to pirate.

While I’m on the subject of games without multiplayer: Bioshock 2 probably should be one.

Noble, but I’m concerned the group is unintentionally implying that Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Source aren’t still immensely popular. A lot of people won’t know better.

It’s not Lost Odyssey 2, but that’s all right. I’m one of the four people who liked Blue Dragon, so Mistwalker is 2-2 by my count. I only hope they’re using discretion in designing controls, as it’s a Wii game. I’ve been playing Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, and I think it’s a good example of how to use motion controls in an RPG (not for combat).

Also, is the title “The Last Story” a wry parody of the title “Final Fantasy” (they’re both Hironobu Sakaguchi games)?

Terry Cavanagh is asked about his origins and his influences. He’s also asked about Vx6′s $15 price. It felt high to me at first, but that was a habitual response. I know $15 isn’t too much for a good game of decent length. But I still haven’t bought it; I’ve been waiting to see about a Steamworks edition. And I’ve only just finished Braid — I need a respite before I tax myself with another such platformer.

I found this amusing at first, but Joystiq had a follow-up interview with Greg Zeschuk who revealed not all DLC will be restricted to the Cerberus Network. Anything that’s non-free will be sold through the Xbox Marketplace. For a moment I thought someone had finally taken a serious stab at GameStop, but it now seems to be a minor poke at best.

Also, Joystiq missed a headline opportunity: Cerberus Network’s Bark Worse Than Its Bite.

Not only is the game’s premise appealing, but it looks as though spells are cast using mouse gestures, as in Black & White.

All right; done.

It really does look rough. See as Ryan Davis struggles with the controls in Giant Bomb’s Quick Look:

I don’t know about the last twenty years — I haven’t been paying attention to console releases that long — but I agree that Fall 2009, while still exciting, has felt less stressful than at least the last four Falls.

This is the saddest story that I read all week. I just wonder if the moment was really as sombre as the writer conveyed it.

I forgot all about New Super Mario Bros. when I wrote my plans for Fall ’09. It looks amazing; add it to the list.

Assuming they aren’t just glorified advergames, Flash games made by a major developer could something great.

Moments later, zombies burst through the window.

If you ever wanted to know how to completely kill the sales potential of the PC version of your game in an entire region by encouraging piracy… well, this is how. Thanks for the lesson, Sony.

It’s still pretty cool to see that people are paying attention to Broken Sword again. I get sad when I hear people older than me say the Wii and DS Director’s Cuts of The Shadow of the Templars is the first time they’ve heard of the series. Just cast Tim Robbins as George Stobbart and Audrey Tautou (shh! no, that similarly themed movie that she was just in… yeah, that didn’t really happen) as Nico Collard and I’m on board.

Overgrowth’s dev tools are pretty impressive and all (seriously, go watch some of their other videos on GameTrailers), but this video in particular is great because it brings the funny. This video’s worth a look whether you’re interested in the tools or not. Bonus, if you are!

That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!

Alpha Protocol (Obsidian Entertainment): What I know about this game is that it’s a third-person action role-playing game where you play as a CIA agent, presumably in the future. I know that it’s coming out for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Other than that, and the fact that Alpha Protocol is a tragically generic name, I know that it is being developed by Obsidian Entertainment. I do not know much else, but Obsidian is the same developer that made Star Wars: Knight of The Old Republic 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2. That’s all I really needed to know, why are we still talking? Done. Sign me up.

Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor (Relic Entertainment): Though I have been too timid to jump into any CoH multiplayer, I’ve enjoyed the single-player immensely. There’s little room for World War II games in my life anymore unless they’re outstanding, and Company of Heroes has fit the bill. The campaigns give a feeling reminiscent of the original Call of Duty, but translated to an RTS. They were a big deal for me when I played them last year. In fact, you may have detected a bit of CoH influence in our Team Fortress 2 unlocks comic series.

As CoH was an evolution of Dawn of War, so was Dawn of War II an evolution of CoH. Now the cycle has begun anew. Tales of Valor promises to move CoH a bit in the direction of where Relic has taken the recently released Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. Relic’s ever-refining formula would have players focus more on using small groups of units effectively and less on getting caught up with base-building, teching up, and mass-producing units.

Rage (id Software): When he’s not trying to build rockets or oversee development of the browser-based-gaming revolution with Quake Live, John Carmack also writes game engines. Rage, id Software’s first new in-house developed game since Doom 3, will also be the first game utilizing id Tech 5. The engine’s code has been written from the ground-up and is being optimized for cross-platform development with the inclusion of the MegaTexture technology Carmack engineered for Splash Damage’s Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

Rage (you know, the “game” part) is set in a near-future, post-apocalyptic world. Gameplay will include first-person shootering as well as a strong driving component which is said to be influenced by games like Burnout and MotorStorm. Rage is set to release on Windows, OS X, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Dragon Age: Origins (BioWare): This game may be the one I’m looking forward to most of all this year. Dragon Age: Origins has been touted as the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate. Now, I’m sure most of you understand what kind of implications a statement like this has. With Baldur’s Gate being what is probably my most beloved game series ever, that’s a lot of weight to be throwing around. I would not have the doubts that I do were it not for the fact that Dragon Age is being developed not just for PC, but for consoles as well. We’ve seen in the past what kind of effect that can have on games that have traditionally been on PC. In a recent interview with GiantBomb.com (embedded below), Dan Tudge (best name ever?), executive producer for Dragon Age: Origins told Ryan Davis that the game wasn’t always planned to be on consoles, but as they got into development for the PC, they saw how it could work out on other platforms. I don’t know how much of that I’m willing to believe, but honestly, BioWare hasn’t let me down yet.

Though originally to be released in early 2009 with its console counterparts following later on, Electronic Arts and BioWare have decided to release all versions of Dragon Age: Origins simultaneously, sometime in the “last half of 2009″. BioWare stated that although the PC version was shaping up well, they’ll use the extra development time for additional quality assurance. They’ve also dropped hints that the PC version will include a little something extra for players being patient.

I’m very glad that Quake Live’s launch has gone relatively smoothly. Having a queue system in place from the get-go showed great foresight and probably prevented any major crashing. I’ve also been impressed with the frequent updates id has been giving on their status via Twitter, news posts and interviews like this one.

A few months ago I voiced my concern for De Blob’s retail success, despite glowing reviews, due to third party Wii games’ tendency to tank. It looks like De Blob is in the clear!

I’m always interested to read about the process of game design, especially when it relates to a game series that I love. The Myst III puzzle discussed within happens to be a favorite of mine.