Pulling off what many saw as a spectacular double-punch coup with the capture of industry mavens Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey from EA, speculation was rife regarding what “existing properties” Activision’s new studio, Sledgehammer Games, would turn their hand to.

Though not concrete confirmation toward the identity of the mysterious franchise, Sledgehammer’s new website and job listings do go a long way in providing something of an insight as to what it might be.

Have you been playing Assassin’s Creed II and can’t stand the glitches? Ubisoft’s first patch hopes to alleviate many of your issues.

How far our passion has come.

Once the playground of kids and the socially inept, the gaming industry continues to expand and mature – enticing new demographics into its fold at an almost alarming rate.

Speaking to the Nightly Business Report, EA CEO John Riccitiello, though admittedly factoring in pretty much every single facet of the gaming spectrum known to man, claims that there are now one billion people gaming worldwide.

PixelJunk titles have become synonymous with ‘quality and eccentricity’.

This time your mission is to fly a spacecraft into a series of challenging cave and canyons blasting enemies and solving puzzles along the way. Armed to the teeth with lasers and missiles, you can also find ways to use the indigenous lava and water to your destructive purpose.

The question on all our lips; is this the best PixelJunk game yet?

What did we do when games shipped as fixed, unalterable entities, warts and all? Oh yeah, we just got on with it (while usually exploiting every known glitch as much as possible.)

Two recent games that have gone down well with the masses have just received updates. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is now actually Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (1.06) while BioWare’s seminal fantasy RPG Dragon Age: Origins is now up to a mighty version 1.02.

Arguably one of the biggest “flops” this year in terms of games is Tony Hawk: Ride.

Well Tony Hawk has now gone on the defensive for his game on his Twitter and attacks reviewers for being “snarky”…

It’s official! Yakuza 3 has been localised and will be releasing in Europe and North America!

Lance Henriksen, the actor who is most known for his role as the android Bishop in the Alien series, will be lending his likeness and voice to the upcoming Aliens vs. Predator video game.

His character in the game will be Karl Bishop Weyland, a descendant of Charles Bishop Weyland.

The highly anticipated PixelJunk Shooter will be released across North America and Europe on December 10th.

To celebrate the launch, fans can join together and share their excitement on the new PixelJunk forums or check out the official Shooter website filled with details, screenshots and tips.

The team have saved the mother of all announcements for last though. The PixelJunk Shooter Mother Ship Hanger Deck will be accessible from the comfort of Home this month as well.

It seems like only yesterday when we were updating to firmware 3.10 (well, for some of us, it actually was) but it looks like Sony have more *ahem* wares for us with James Thorpe popping up on the official EU blog with news of a 3.15 system update.

First things first: it’s optional.

Second things second: it adds the following to your PS3.

It’s that time again. The official Super Street Fighter IV blog has updated and more details about the game have surfaced. If you’re a fan of Cody, this is a must read.

There’s some new BioShock 2 footage, and though it might be short, it sure delivers.

Check out the below video where the Electro Bolt plasmid is put through its paces.

Those of you out there who played the first BioShock will know all too well just how much fun can be had electrocuting people in a sub-aquatic environment.

We’ve debated about it in the past, but it seems the perennial All Games Need Multiplayer hokum just won’t die. Next up to the online plate would appear to be the recently announced Dead Space 2.

Found lurking in the darkest corners of LinkedIn, EA have advertised an open position at Redwood City, CA – the location of Visceral Studios – for the new Dead Space game. The publisher are quoted as “Seeking a highly motivated Senior Online Level Designer for the Dead Space franchise on Xbox360 and PS3. This is a major opportunity to contribute creatively to an exciting new franchise.”

We love patents.

Not only do they give us an early look into what a company may (or may not) be planning for us consumers in the near future, they’re also the source of some of the biggest WTF moments in gaming history.

Filing a whole slew of papers in relation to its upcoming Motion Controller, Sony have proffered a glimpse into a bizarre world of add-ons, interchangeable doohickeys, and some interesting possibilities when it comes to how they may proceed when it comes to using the new controller with other devices.

Splash Damage’s futuristic and dystopian FPS Brink has surfaced recently with new and exciting footage showing off the game’s unique SMART system.

Blending a free-running element akin to Mirror’s Edge with the usual ferocity associated with a First Person Shooter – as opposed to a First Person Runner – Brink is looking like a hot prospect for the end of next year.

Some eyebrows were raised, however, regarding just what hardware was actually running the current build on display in these aforementioned videos. Reported over at PS3 University – after confirmation from Splash Damage on their official forums – the footage shown is in fact from the PC version.

But don’t fret. The console versions will be on par. Apparently.

Those of you who have been eagerly waiting for the Play, Create, Share of racers won’t have to wait much longer as the beta for ModNation Racers will begin on December 18th in North America. Europeans will have to wait a little bit longer till early 2010.

How do you get into the illustrious beta you ask?

Tecmo has just released some new screenshots and concept art of Quantum Theory for your viewing pleasure. There’s also some news that may cause fanboys to explode…

Europe and North American may be two countries divided by a common language, but it’s the differences in box art which is where the real fracture can be seen.

Case in point, check out the following box art for next year’s Heavy Rain.

Though both contain the key imagery associated with The Origami Killer, there are a few noticable differences between the covers – namely the lack of rain on one and the presence of newspaper clippings on the other.

And the fonts differ. Can’t forget about the font.

Which one do you prefer?

Can you believe that Final Fantasy XIII is just ten days away from being released in Japan? Here’s a commercial that will make you scream like a little school girl in excitement.