Another “accidental” fire at the uDraw factory...

THQ has endured a wretched run in recent times, with a string of underperforming releases such as de Blob 2 and Red Faction: Armageddon culminating in the disastrous flop of the uDraw peripheral for 360 and PS3. Worse yet, according to IGN, the plummeting value of its shares may yet see the company delisted from the NASDAQ stock exchange.

THQ is taking several measures to bolster the confidence of both the NASDAQ and investors, slashing 240 jobs (including 14 in Australia) and trimming CEO Brian Farrell’s base salary by 50% for the next 12 months. As reported by Develop, the publisher also claims to have no fewer than 17 games in the works, including six unannounced ‘core titles’.

In addition to the unannounced games, work will continue on Devil’s Third, from Tomonobu Itagaki’s Valhala Studios and Insane, from film maker Guillermo del Toro. Also confirmed as still in the pipeline are untitled projects from Assassin’s Creed creative director Patrice Désilets and Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock Studio. Gamers can also look forward to a raft of sequels and licensed titles.

MICROSOFT Xbox 360 The Darkness II * Fallout: New Vegas – Ultimate Edition * Grand Slam Tennis 2 * Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning * Metal Gear Solid HD Collection * Victorious: Time to Shine

NINTENDO Wii Nothing 3DS Crush3D * Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games * Pac-man Party 3D DS Nothing

SONY PS3 The Darkness II * Fallout: New Vegas – Ultimate Edition * Grand Slam Tennis 2 * Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning * Metal Gear Solid HD Collection PSP Nothing

VARIOUS PC Fallout: New Vegas – Ultimate Edition * Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

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

MICROSOFT XBLA Double Fine Happy Action Theater * Rhythm Party Games on Demand Section 8

NINTENDO WiiWare TNT Racers Wii VC Nothing 3DS eShop Nothing 3DS VC Nothing DSiWare Castle Conqueror: Against * Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon

SONY PSN Nothing Minis Prehistoric Isle Full Games Kane & Lynch: Dead Men * Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days * Mini Ninjas PS1 Classics Nothing

VALVE Steam Fortune Summoners * Law & Order: Legacies * Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection * Pineapple Smash Crew * PixelJunk Eden * Serious Sam 2 * Star Trek Online

Looking for more New Media? View previous instalments here.

MONDAY PODCAST Episode 42 > In this latest instalment of Australia’s grooviest gaming podcast, the team talk Resident Evil 6, The Last of Us, Fortnite, Skullgirls, A Game of Dwarves, Dream Heights, Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3 and much more! READ MORE

TUESDAY JUST ANNOUNCED XCOM: Enemy Unknown > Fans of the XCOM strategy games will rejoice at the news that developer Firaxis Games has made official its intention to deliver a new title in the series, XCOM: Enemy Unknown. For those who have not experienced previous games, XCOM sees the player take control of a secret anti-alien force. Humanity is undergoing an attack on a global scale and it is up to the player to command the resistance. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS nanoBITES 69 > Following the release of Resistance 3, Insomniac has informed VG247 that it has no further plans for the franchise. Even as Insomniac shifts its focus to Overstrike, series publisher Sony will continue the saga on Vita with Resistance: Burning Skies. This is just one of the stories in the latest edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

THURSDAY NEW TRAILER Hybrid > Scribblenauts developer 5^th Cell has issued fresh gameplay footage of Hybrid. If you’re struggling to recall exactly what Hybrid is, you can probably be forgiven. Following its announcement in October 2010, the futuristic multiplayer shooter has maintained a remarkably low profile. READ MORE

FRIDAY TEST TUBE Move Fitness > Sony has entered the lucrative fitness genre a little too late to make any kind of impact with Move Fitness. Utilising the Move controller and PlayStation Eye to track your goals will send you to boiling point with constant recalibration of the controls. It is also important to note that you have to have two Move controllers to play this game. READ MORE

Looking for more of The Black List? View previous instalments here.

Welcome to Test Tube. Not to be confused with our full reviews, these ‘two hour test’ articles see us tackle remakes, ports, party games and other titles of interest.

Sony has entered the lucrative fitness genre a little too late to make any kind of impact with Move Fitness. Utilising the Move controller and PlayStation Eye to track your goals will send you to boiling point with constant recalibration of the controls. It is also important to note that you have to have two Move controllers to play this game.

Fitness games are meant to entertain you as you work up a sweat. This title is so clunky and confusing, it does neither and the only sweating comes from sheer frustration. Other fitness games take you through 10-15 minutes of stretches before allowing you to do the full work out. In this game it is entirely optional and you can skip the whole thing if you want to. This is extremely bad for you if you’ve never exercised before, encouraging you to get straight into the workout without preparing your body.

There are a few options you can choose from. You can do a pre-made workout ranging from cardio, fat burning, light workout, full body workout and boxing, or you can design your own custom program. You’ll want to go with this option as the preset workouts have you doing the same three or four activity types over and over again. If you add this in to the aggravation of constant recalibration, it makes for a very irritating gaming experience.

One of the few good features of the game is that you can work out to your own music through the PlayStation Music feature on your PS3. So while you are recalibrating your controller and camera for the 50th time, at least you can do it to the music of your liking. Rihanna’s SOS (“please someone helped me”) really came in at the right time playing this game.

During the workouts there is a trainer to show you what to do, not in time with your movements, mind you, but on an annoying loop, chiming in whenever you stop or the sensors don’t pick up that you have actually done something. A calorie and score counter are there for motivation as well as a heart rate monitor and countdown timer, all of which attempt to track your progress.

After a couple of hours of play, it becomes obvious that this belated entry into the fitness genre is too little, too late. The clunky controls, lack of activities and (de)motivating trackers make this a half-hearted effort. Do yourself a favour and go for a jog around the block three times, do some sit-ups and save your money for another game.

Scribblenauts developer 5^th Cell has issued fresh gameplay footage of Hybrid. If you’re struggling to recall exactly what Hybrid is, you can probably be forgiven. Following its announcement in October 2010, the futuristic multiplayer shooter has maintained a remarkably low profile.

During its time away from the public eye, the game has apparently undergone something of a metamorphoses. The grim and realistic characters presented in the pre-rendered 2010 announcement trailer are seemingly no more. In the latest vision, the combatants appear to be far more vibrant, if not a mite cartoonish. Hopefully the decision was driven by artistic (rather than economic) concerns.

The new 90 second clip hints at the semi-automated traversal and cover system that promises to set the game apart from its many contemporaries.

The developer is yet to specify a release date for Hybrid beyond the ‘2012’ noted in the trailer. The game will be an XBLA exclusive.

ITEM! Following the release of Resistance 3, Insomniac has informed VG247 that it has no further plans for the franchise. Even as Insomniac shifts its focus to Overstrike, series publisher Sony will continue the saga on Vita with Resistance: Burning Skies.

ITEM! After a dozen years of chasing subscribers, the creators of pioneering MMO EverQuest are finally preparing to roll out a free-to-play option. This strikes us as a sound decision. After all, if players haven’t ponied up by now, they probably never will.

ITEM! Final Fantasy XIII-2 is only just making its way onto store shelves, but Square Enix is already hyping the first wave of DLC. Lightning and Master Sergeant Amodar will see players battling enemies from previous Final Fantasy titles.

ITEM! It appears that downloading games for the Vita will be less expensive than buying them at retail. Shacknews is reporting that consumers will save 10% when buying direct from the PlayStation Network.

ITEM! In what can only be described as the continuation of a depressing trend for PC gamers, another high profile release has been delayed. As revealed by Joystiq, Prototype 2 is now set to arrive on PC in July, three months after the console versions hit.

Looking for more nanoBITES? View previous instalments here.

Walk with me: The West Wing goes high tech.

Fans of the XCOM strategy games will rejoice at the news that developer Firaxis Games has made official its intention to deliver a new title in the series, XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

For those who have not experienced previous games, XCOM sees the player take control of a secret anti-alien force. Humanity is undergoing an attack on a global scale and it is up to the player to command the resistance. The most acclaimed games in the franchise are turn based and heavily tactical. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is being touted as a return to the series’ roots.

The series has been hailed as revolutionary for the strategy genre and fans can rest assured that the project is in good hands, with lead developer Jake Solomon telling Game Informer that the original XCOM is his “favourite game of all time”. Firaxis is best known for its work on the Civilization series.

The announcement of Enemy Unknown may appease fans dismayed that the long awaited series reboot (simply titled XCOM) is abandoning the isometric tactics of the original in favour of first person gunplay.

Enemy Unknown is being developed for PS3, 360 and PC. At the time of writing there has been no official date set for release.

Image credits: Game Informer

In this episode: Resident Evil 6, The Last of Us, Fortnite, Skullgirls, A Game of Dwarves, Dream Heights, Skyrim, Modern Warfare 3 and much more!

Subscribe via iTunes l Direct Download l Podcast Specific RSS l Previous Episodes

Send your QUESTION OF THE DECADE to feedback@blackpanel.com.au

The Panellists: Erin Marcon (@ErinMarcon), Karen Jacobson (@KarenMJacobson), Peter Nickless and Joel Guttenberg

Twitter: @BlackPanelDaily l Facebook: Black Panel Readers’ League

Question: How can I support Australia’s grooviest gaming podcast?

Answer: Visit iTunes and rate the show!

RUNNING SHEET

Special

2:10   New Horizons: 50 Original Games for 2012

Release the Press

16:31   Resident Evil 6

20:33   Apple exploitation concerns

22:54   The Last of Us

25:13   Fortnite

27:02   Dream Heights copycat claims

30:03   A Game of Dwarves

Post Mortem

32:08   The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

54:09   Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Reviews Roundup

1:05:40   Amy

1:06:13   Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Reaction Time

1:06:57   Skullgirls sexism controversy

Purse Panic

1:10:59   February release schedule

MICROSOFT Xbox 360 Final Fantasy XIII-2 * Metal Gear Solid HD Collection * Soulcalibur V

NINTENDO Wii Nothing 3DS Resident Evil: Revelations DS Nothing

SONY PS3 Final Fantasy XIII-2 * Metal Gear Solid HD Collection * Soulcalibur V PSP Nothing

VARIOUS PC Nothing

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

MICROSOFT XBLA Puddle * Quarrel Games on Demand Nothing

NINTENDO WiiWare The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s ABC’s  Wii VC Nothing 3DS eShop Nothing 3DS VC Balloon Kid (GB) DSiWare Nothing

SONY PSN Puddle Minis Mecho Wars Full Games Duke Nukem Forever PS1 Classics Nothing

VALVE Steam Insane 2 * King Arthur II: Dead Legions * King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame * Oil Rush * Sol: Exodus

Looking for more New Media? View previous instalments here.

MONDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Deadlight > Do you know what the world needs? More zombie video games, that’s what. No, I am serious. The more of the undead we take out in a virtual setting, the better prepared the human race will be when the inevitable zombie apocalypse happens. Luckily new studio Tequila Works realises this and are providing us with another brain eater survival training simulator called Deadlight. READ MORE

TUESDAY NEWS Apple addressing exploitation concerns… slowly > The company that blacklisted Phone Story has conceded that many of its suppliers are still not meeting their obligations to their employees. As reported by The Age, the tech giant has confirmed that one third of its partners are failing to provide a safe workplace, while almost two thirds are demanding excessive hours from their workers. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS nanoBITES 68 > Certain Affinity’s pirate themed (and criminally underappreciated) Age of Booty is coming to iOS and Android devices. This excellent little real time strategy title is already available on XBLA, PSN and PC. This is just one of the stories in the latest edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

THURSDAY JUST ANNOUNCED Dwarf stars > Swedish developer Zeal Game Studio is working on A Game of Dwarves. The new title is certain to spark comparisons with enduring indie darling Dwarf Fortress. Both games challenge you to oversee a team of diminutive adventurers as they explore, mine and customise randomly generated subterranean environments. READ MORE

FRIDAY NEWS Towers of trouble > An ugly spat has erupted following the announcement of Zynga published tower building sim Dream Heights. As reported by Touch Arcade, indie developer Niblebit has issued an open letter implying that the game is little more than a clone of its popular iOS release Tiny Tower. Niblebit’s Ian Marsh has also suggested that Zynga attempted to purchase his studio before pressing ahead with Dream Heights. READ MORE

Looking for more of The Black List? View previous instalments here.