Sega has released a gameplay trailer for Renegade Ops, its vehicular combat shooter game developed by Avalanche (the Just Cause 2 people). The game is coming out this summer for XBLA, PSN, and Steam.

It’s basically about blowing stuff up with your buddies online, which this trailer is rather good at getting across.

Really looking forward to this one. Paradox has some info on how to get into the closed beta for Sengoku, it’s feudal Japan strategy game. We’ll also get a look at this at E3. Yeah E3!

If you missed my Q&A on the game you can catch it over at The Mothership.

PR Ahead:

Paradox Interactive has announced details on how to sign up for the closed beta of their upcoming strategy RPG title Sengoku.
The game is created by the Paradox Interactive internal development team that has previously created Hearts of Iron series, the Europa Universalis series and the grand strategy game Victoria II.

In this deep character driven strategy game, you play as the head of an illustrious Samurai family. Civil war has broken out and it is every man for himself in the provinces. Sengoku is set to release on PC on September 13, 2011.

Sign up for the Sengoku Closed Beta now at:

http://tr2.anp.se/track?t=c&mid=1487189&uid=47312650&&&http://beta.paradoxplaza.com/

Applicants can request beta access until midday May 23th, 2011.

If you are selected for a place in the Closed Beta, you will receive a confirmation e-mail the 25th of May.

A while back, Rocksteady claimed that the main campaign for the new Batman game would last around 10 hours. Those numbers are meaningless to me because we all play at different speeds.

Well now, according to an article at The Guardian, that number has ballooned to 25 hours. That’s a different kettle of fish*.

The entire interview is worth a read but here’s the quote:

It takes over 25 hours to complete the main stories in Batman: Arkham City. To keep players engaged for this length of time, not only do the characters and the story need to progress, but the core mechanics of the game they are playing need to change and adapt as well.

I guess now the question is what does main stories really mean? Regardless that’s a lot of Batman.

We’ll get a closer look at the game at E3. In fact Danielle and Sr. Editor Brian Rowe are seeing this the first appointment of the show. Woo.

*I have never actually seen a kettle of fish in my life. A Bill fun fact for you.

This is a few days old but I just stumbled upon it this morning. It’s a behind the scenes video for Sony and Lightbox’s upcoming PS3 exclusive Starhawk. Now, keep in mind, this video has nothing to do with the game. It comes off more like a Mastercard commercial for Sony and Lightbox. It’s marketing.

I suppose the point is that Sony and Lightbox are making Starhawk, which is a sequel to the third person online shooter Warhawk, which was released four years ago to pretty solid critical reviews, only Starhawk will have a full single player campaign as well so it’s not just an online game.

You…really don’t need to watch that video.

If you are into post apocalyptic nanosuit technology then hoo boy this is your week!

Bethesda has released the latest Fallout: New Vegas DLC, Honest Hearts, and EA has pumped out the first mini-DLC for Crysis 2 called Retaliation, which is basically a four map pack for the recently release shooter.

Here’s some details on the four new maps for Crysis 2 via a PR from EA:

TRANSIT — The Tidal wave that swept across the city brutally exposed the subway system when a giant sinkhole opened up. This large battlefield is a sniper’s dream with encircling high ground surrounding the flooded landscape below. The subway tunnels provide opportunities for more brutal close range fighting and a welcome respite from the high powered scopes.

SHIPYARD — With the battle against the Ceph still raging, the Navy hastily put this ship in for repairs in this derelict shipyard, until the evacuation took away all the labor. With the area now abandoned, Marines and CELL now fight for the ships powerful weapons systems. The ship itself provides an advantageous view point, use its sheers size to get the drop on your enemies. Snipers have excellent lines of sight, but the hull of the ship provides plenty of cover.

PARK AVENUE — Park Avenue saw fighting and the scars are still all too evident. This once bustling area was eerily quiet until now. Controlling the central bridge gives command over this battlefield but leaves you vulnerable to attack from all sides. Stealthy players can lurk at street level ready to ambush the unwary.

COMPOUND — After the infection spread the last remaining survivors were evacuated to the mainland, leaving this CryNet outpost unmanned. On this large leafy night-time map be careful not to be exposed by searchlights. The control tower offers a great view of the surrounding area but the nano-glass walls prevent players from shooting in or out. Descend below the surface and follow the sewers to gain ground and assault enemies occupying fortified positions in the compound.

As for the New Vegas DLC:

Honest Hearts takes the player on an expedition into the unspoiled wilderness of Utah’s Zion National Park. Things go horribly wrong when your caravan is ambushed by a tribal raiding band. As you try to find a way back to the Mojave Wasteland, you become embroiled in a war between tribes and a conflict between a New Canaan missionary and the mysterious Burned Man. The decisions you make will determine the fate of Zion.

Microsoft’s most recent update to the Xbox 360 included the ability to play fancy, new discs capable of holding more data. Unfortunately, some folks are finding that their current, old discs currently don’t work. Some users are receiving unreadable disc errors when attempting to play games, a result of the new firmware. Don’t worry though, as Microsoft has you covered. If your console is one of the affected ones, Microsoft will replace it with as shiny Xbox 360 Slim, complete with 250 GB hard drive. I would imagine that most of the hardware that would be affected by this problem died long ago due to the overheating problems, but that’s just speculation on my part. If you are one of the affected, contact Microsoft’s support page and they’ll take care of you. I have never been so hopeful for a hardware failure in my life as I’d love a bigger hard drive. Come on unreadable discs!

Believe me when I say that Minerva’s Den is, by far, one of the best pieces of downloadable content I have ever played for any game. Period. Yes, I loved it that much. When it originally was released, 2K said that it would never appear on the PC, but by the grace of the gaming gods, they changed their mind. Better late than never, I always say and now PC owners will be able to make one final trip to Rapture on May 31st. It’s a shame it couldn’t come out a little early so that you could spend Memorial Day tromping around as a Big Daddy but hey, work won’t mind one more day off, right? Right?

The marketing for this one is…interesting.

Well how about that. After announcing the Gears of War board game something like three years ago, Fantasy Flight Games has finally come forth with pictures, a description, and an $80 price tag for yet another co-op, scenario-based dungeoncrawler where a card draw determines what the bad guys do. I think it’s pretty telling that the game lets players relive classic moments from Gears and Gears 2…but nothing from 3, which is the current game that may very well beat this tabletop edition to market. Its one ace in the hole is designer Corey Koniesczka (Battlestar Galactica, Mansions of Madness). He’s capable of doing great work when he’s inspired, maybe Gears will be one of his good ones. Press follows.

Gears of War™: The Board Game, designed by Corey Konieczka, is based on the wildly popular third-person shooter by Epic Games. One to four players take on the roles of COG soldiers cooperating to destroy the Locust horde, and must work together to complete missions against an ingeniously challenging and varied game system. In Gears of War: The Board Game, you’ll relive classic moments from Gears of War™ and Gears of War 2™. Roadie Run into cover, spray your enemy with blind fire, or rip him in half with your Lancer’s chainsaw!

Gears of War: The Board Game includes –

Over 30 plastic figures
Over 200 cards
35 Locust AI Cards
17 Double-sided Map Tiles
Nearly 75 tokens and markers
1 Mission Reference Sheet
5 Attack Dice and 4 Defense Dice
1 Line-of-Sight Ruler

Retail- $79.95

Yes, twenty bucks more than Gears 3 will be at retail. Ouch. Oh, and as the product page points out, you’ll want FFG Supply card sleeves in sizes four and one for this game.

Yesterday another PSN-related updated went up at the US PlayStation Blog, this one putting out more details on Sony’s “Customer Appreciation Program,” which is meant to compensate for the month long PSN outtage and data leak. You can read the full details at the link, but here are the core bits…

All PlayStation Network customers can select two PS3 games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.

• Dead Nation
• inFAMOUS
• LittleBigPlanet
• Super Stardust HD
• Wipeout HD + Fury

For PSP owners, you will be eligible to download two PSP games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.

• LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
• ModNation Racers
• Pursuit Force
• Killzone Liberation

A selection of “On Us” rental movie titles will be available to PlayStation Network customers over one weekend, where Video Service is available. Those titles will be announced soon.

30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive an additional 60 days of free subscription.

Existing Music Unlimited Premium Trial subscription members will receive an additional 30 days of free premium subscription.

Additional 30 days + time lost for existing members of Music Unlimited Premium/Basic subscription free of charge for existing Premium/Basic members.

To welcome users Home, PlayStation Home will be offering 100 free virtual items. Additional free content will be released soon, including the next addition to the Home Mansion personal space, and Ooblag’s Alien Casino, an exclusive game.

Expect to get your goodies at some point after full PSN service has been restored. There were no extended details on the identity theft protection services Sony has sad they will be offering. If it interests you, Kotaku has a look at how to maximize your value in choosing which games you want to get for free.