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

MONDAY REVIEW Journey > Over the past few weeks, I have slowly been getting acquainted with the semi-closed beta for Path of Exile, the debut action RPG from New Zealand based developer Grinding Gear Games. I say semi-closed, because Grinding Gear has taken a rather strange approach for what is a free to play game by selling beta keys to the general public. READ MORE

TUESDAY REVIEW Fez > When I first received Fez, I have to say I wasn’t excited, mainly because 2D puzzle platformers have never quite hit the mark for me. Braid, Cave Story and Limbo didn’t excite me the way I wanted them to. Something seemed off and while others were praising their originality I simply found them annoying. So it was with some trepidation that I began my journey into the world of Fez. Was I going to once again fail to see what the fuss was about or was this the game to convince me that there is a lot of fun to be had with this format? READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS Stealthjam > A new collaborative game event is in the works for budding developers of a devious disposition. It may sound like a surprise follow up to Michael Jordan’s Space Jam, but Stealthjam will actually see participants come together to “design, prototype and explore new avenues of stealth gameplay.” READ MORE

THURSDAY INTERVIEW Frank Simon on Resistance: Burning Skies > The PlayStation Vita has arrived, and with it, the full potential of dual analogue sticks. As the first game to take advantage of the new control scheme, Resistance: Burning Skies is something of a trailblazer. We’re fortunate enough to have the chance to speak with Frank Simon, Senior Managing Producer with Sony America and all round alien enthusiast. We discuss not only the game’s “uncompromised” controls but also the human drama at the centre of Sony’s ongoing invasion saga. READ MORE

FRIDAY NEWS nanoBITES 80 > Blizzard has apologised for the rocky launch of Diablo III. Server congestion has prevented countless players from accessing the game and thanks to ‘always on’ DRM, many frustrated fans can’t even start a single player game. 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

NanoBITES captures those small but important morsels of gaming information that otherwise might slip between the cracks.

ITEM! The team responsible for fantasy RPG Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is in trouble. According to WPRI (via Joystiq), 38 Studios has defaulted on a $1.125m loan repayment and is also failing to meet its commitments to its employees.

ITEM! Blizzard has apologised for the rocky launch of Diablo III. Server congestion has prevented countless players from accessing the game and thanks to ‘always on’ DRM, many frustrated fans can’t even start a single player game.

ITEM! The future of Tomonobu Itagaki’s over the top action game Devil’s Third is in doubt. As reported by Gamasutra, the project has been stymied by cost overruns and struggling publisher THQ is now looking to pass the game onto another company.

ITEM! Lara Croft has been keeping a relatively low profile of late and unfortunately for her fans, this looks set to continue. Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that its Tomb Raider reboot has been bumped to the first quarter of 2013.

ITEM! The battle for control of DOTA has ended in an out of court settlement. Valve retains its trademark and publishes DOTA 2, Blizzard DOTA becomes Blizzard All-Stars and Blizzard communities continue to use the term for non-commercial pursuits.

The PlayStation Vita has arrived, and with it, the full potential of dual analogue sticks. As the first game to take advantage of the new control scheme, Resistance: Burning Skies is something of a trailblazer. We’re fortunate enough to have the chance to speak with Frank Simon, Senior Managing Producer with Sony America and all round alien enthusiast. We discuss not only the game’s “uncompromised” controls but also the human drama at the centre of Sony’s ongoing invasion saga. Read the rest of this entry »

By the time you realise the logo is a diversion, it’s already too late.

A new collaborative game event is in the works for budding developers of a devious disposition. It may sound like a surprise follow up to Michael Jordan’s Space Jam, but Stealthjam will actually see participants come together to “design, prototype and explore new avenues of stealth gameplay.”

The two day program is the brainchild of Sneaky Bastards, the Australian blog devoted to the resurgent stealth genre. The Academy of Interactive Entertainment and The Independent Games Festival are also backing the show.

A range of industry figures have agreed to speak, including Mark of the Ninja developer Nels Anderson of Klei Entertainment. Further contributors, including “some of the biggest names in stealth gaming” will be announced in the coming days.

Stealthjam is due to kick off in Sydney on Friday 22 June. According to Sneaky Bastards, the concept has already spread to other parts of Australia and even overseas. Full details can be found at the official site.