Epic staff react to the news.

Try to picture yourself toiling away for years on what you sincerely hope will be a great game. Now, imagine how you would feel if your work was stolen months prior to its release date and made available free of charge. As reported by GameSpot, this is the unpalatable scenario currently facing Epic Games.

An unfinished version of the studio’s rabidly anticipated Gears of War 3 has been published on torrent sites. Though some multiplayer components are absent from the build, it reportedly contains the single player campaign in its entirety. The one saving grace is that the pirated software will only run on certain modified Xbox 360 consoles.

Epic Games has issued an official statement acknowledging that it is aware of the leak, noting that an investigation is underway and emphasising that the product currently available is “not representative of what fans will enjoy when the game launches worldwide on September 20, 2011.”

“Ugh. I’m getting too old for bachelor parties.”

Parisian independent Darkworks has commenced work on its latest project. Black Death is a survival horror game set in a city overrun by a mysterious black smoke. While this alone sounds like a major public health concern, the authorities will have more to worry about than a few cases of smoke inhalation. Those unfortunate enough to be effected by the noxious cloud tend to mutate into barbarous monstrosities hell bent on being gunned down by the protagonist wreaking havoc at every opportunity.

Players will be tasked not only with shooting and bludgeoning their adversaries, but also with crafting makeshift chemical weapons. It will also be possible to cure rather than kill at least some of the mutants.

Black Death looks to be an ambitious project, especially in light of the fact that Darkworks hasn’t released a game since 2006. At one stage, the studio was attached to Ubisoft’s long delayed action title I Am Alive, but has since departed that project. Darkworks is yet to announce a publisher or release date for its latest game.

According to IGN, Black Death will be coming to 360, PS3 and PC.

Presented in glorious alphabetical order, New Media: Retail Roundup is your indispensible checklist of the home console and handheld titles arriving in stores this week. What will you be playing?

MICROSOFT Xbox 360 Nothing

NINTENDO Wii Nothing 3DS Nothing DS Nothing

SONY PS3 UFC Personal Trainer PSP Nothing

VARIOUS PC Nothing

New Media: Downloadable Digest is your handy reminder of the new downloadable titles released during the past week.

MICROSOFT XBLA Backbreaker: Vengeance * Galaga Legions DX * Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax

NINTENDO WiiWare Nothing 3DS eShop Airport Mania: First Flight * Delbo * A Fairy Tale DSiWare A Fairy Tale

SONY PSN Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp  * Gatling Gears * Puzzle Dimension * Star Raiders Minis Nothing

VALVE Steam Killing Floor: Complete Pack * F.E.A.R. 3 * Puzzle Agent 2

Recent instalments of New Media: 26.06.11 l 19.06.11 l 12.06.11 l 05.06.11 l 29.05.11

Welcome to The Black List, your one stop shop for the stories published on the site this week.

MONDAY PODCAST Episode 35 > In this double sized instalment of The Black Panel Podcast, the team talk E3 Announcements, L.A. Noire, Brink, Portal 2 and much more!  READ MORE

TUESDAY REVIEW Brink > This objective based shooter encourages genuinely cooperative team play. Strong level design, silky smooth movement and extensive character customisation are among the highlights. The art style is also appealing but the graphics aren’t always as smooth as you would like. A frustrating lack of save points detracts a little from the single player mode, but the excellent multiplayer component marks this as a franchise to watch. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY REVIEW Red Faction: Armageddon > Blowing stuff up is fun. There I said it. It appeals to the Cro-Magnon inside of me, cutting through thousands of years of evolution in the process. So where do I turn to meet this primal need that wells up inside of me? Well to Red Faction of course. The Red Faction series has always been about knocking stuff down. While other games list environmental destructibility as a feature, Red Faction has it as a focus. So with this franchise’s wonderfully explosive history in my mind I grabbed my oversized sledge hammer and delved into the latest entry, Red Faction: Armageddon. READ MORE

THURSDAY NEWS nanoBITES 46 > Over the top shooter Bodycount has a release date. According to local distributor Namco Bandai, the latest offering from Codemasters will be available for 360 and PS3 on Thursday 1 September. This is just one of the stories in this week’s edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

FRIDAY REVIEW Portal 2 > Portal 2 makes testing fun. With science. Graphical upgrades, new puzzle elements, increased length and a strong cooperative campaign, ensure that this first person brain teaser is a worthy successor to the celebrated original. Lengthy loading screens between each test chamber prevent it from being a seamless experience, but Portal 2 is otherwise very hard to fault. READ MORE

Recent instalments of The Black List: 25.06.11 l 18.06.11 l 11.06.11 l 04.06.11 l 28.05.11