Remember when wearing a cowboy hat and stirrups marked you as a badass drifter instead of a low rent sex worker? Don’t let that stop you from saddling up for RockStar San Diego’s latest creation, Red Dead Redemption. Pack your six-shooters and pick a fast horse. As dangerous rogue John Marston, you’ll walk the fine line between hero and outlaw in a desperate attempt to ensure your family’s safety.

Though branded as a sequel to 2005’s Red Dead Revolver, the new game features an open world environment and a new cast of characters.

The latest trailer for the game introduces us to the tough as nails Marshal Leigh Johnson and his deputies, a pair of sadistic halfwits. Also, keep an eye out for Federal Agent Edgar Ross. There’s something not quite right going on behind his eyes, other than the uncanny valley, I mean.

RockStar Games has confirmed Red Dead Redemption for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 on Friday 30 April 2010.

Pimp my horse...

Gas Powered Games has announced its latest project. An epic real time strategy title, Kings and Castles depicts the struggle to control an “all new” and “original” fantasy setting. We’ll hold them to that claim, particularly given the derivative nature of Dungeon Siege, the studio’s previous fantasy outing.

Gas Powered Games has confirmed that King and Castles will employ the same internally developed technology used in its earlier strategy titles. It was a creative confirmation, however, using phrases such as “eye-popping” and “state of the art”, which sound a lot more enticing than “yeah, we’re using the Supreme Commander engine again.”

The full title of the game is actually Chris Taylor’s Kings and Castles. So, when you purchase it, be aware that Mr. Taylor technically retains full ownership of ‘your’ copy of the game and can retrieve it from your home at any time. Copywrite law can be complicated.

Target platforms and release dates are yet to be confirmed.

Dungeon Siege

Supreme Commander

Kratos is back in a savage new trailer for God of War III, the feverishly anticipated PS3 exclusive from Sony’s Santa Monica Studio. Director Stig Asmussen has been at pains to emphasise the in-game nature of the footage, declaring it free from what he labels visual “trickery”, not that we’ve heard anyone suggest otherwise.

Perhaps his statement is designed to temper the impossibly high expectations of series veterans. The first two God of War outings were considered among the most visually sophisticated titles of the PS2 era. Asmussen now faces intense pressure to deliver a game that sets the graphical benchmark for the current generation of consoles.

If the trailer is any guide, the famously ill tempered warrior will clash with some truly gargantuan creatures, including a mystical crustacean the size of a block of flats. The camera then pulls back to reveal that this seemingly epic clash is actually taking place on the forearm of a much larger foe. Don’t you just hate it when that happens?

God of War III is due for release in March 2010.

Update: We’ve received word from Microsoft that Alan Wake will be released in Australia on Thursday 20 May 2010.

A new trailer has been issued for Alan Wake, the promising action horror title from Microsoft and Remedy Games. This is the eighth official clip to emerge for the long delayed Xbox 360 exclusive. This leads me to one conclusion. If the development team were as prolific as the marketing team, Alan Wake would have been on the shelves years ago.

The new clip provides a snapshot of the game’s setting, a rustic township nestled between tree-covered mountains and calm waters. In short, Bright Falls is just inviting enough to become the nexus of all evil that small American towns often turn out to be.

The trailer also contains a possible allusion to one of Alan Wake’s more obvious influences, Silent Hill. It’s funny how many car accidents seem to take place on the outskirts of creepy towns. Somebody ought to erect a sign…

Alan Wake is due for release in autumn 2010.

PC HORROR

PC gamers probably bristled at our reference to Alan Wake as an Xbox 360 exclusive. Sadly, this wasn’t an oversight on our part. Strategy Informer recently confirmed that that PC version has been shelved. If the creators of Windows won’t support PC gaming, who will?