Created by an all-new development team from the awarding-winning studio that brought gamers The Chronicles of Riddick and The Darkness, Starbreeze Studios delivers a unique and brutal sci-fi first-person shooter experience set in a not too distant future, where business is war. Players take on the role of Miles Kilo, Eurocorp’s latest prototype agent, and embark on an epic action adventure full of corruption and revenge.

“We are excited to finally reveal what we’ve been working on the past couple years,” says Mikael Nermark, CEO of Starbreeze Studios. “It’s been a great experience working with EA, and an amazing opportunity for us to use our expertise in the first person shooter and action genres to bring back, and reignite, the signature action/espionage gameplay of Syndicate.”

Set in 2069, Syndicate takes players into a dark, Machiavellian world run without government oversight with many syndicates vying for total dominance of their local market place. With no one to question their intentions or actions, three mega corporations – Eurocorp, Cayman Global, and Aspari – are at the forefront of this brutal war for control of the pivotal American market. In the world of Syndicate, everything is digitally connected, including the people. Players aren’t limited to the weapons in their hands. Through DART 6 bio-chip technology implanted in their head, players can slow down time and breach the digital world around them to take down their foes using a variety of upgradable hacking mechanics. Syndicate’s blend of fast-paced, futuristic, action shooter settings and story combined with innovative chip breach gameplay instantly immerses players in a unique digital world.

“Our goal with Syndicate is to provide a challenging action shooter for today’s gamers as well as fans of the original. I’m sure they will enjoy and recognize the legacy that made it such a classic,” says Jeff Gamon, EA Partners Executive Producer. “Fans of the franchise will recognize many weapons and environments in the game, but in a whole new way. The game also provides a separate and deep 4-player co-op mode featuring missions from the original cult classic, which adds another layer of depth to the overall experience.”

Syndicate will be available in early 2012 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and the PC.

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No solid date for Crysis 2 has been announced yet but EA have stated in a report to investors that you should expect to see it released by March 2011.

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Asked if this was the case by GameZone, project director Casey Hudon stated: “That was always the intention.

“The Xbox 360 obviously is the one that’s going to run out of time at some point but you create your character and play through an entire trilogy on that platform.”

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“For the past half-century, millions of RISK fans have been consumed with ruling the world, underscoring the board game’s enduring appeal,” said Chip Lange, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA’s Hasbro Division. “We’re now going bring that masterpiece experience to life and add other amazing layers of XBLA-style gameplay that will take conquests to a new level, including the ability to battle players from around the globe for the first time, truly giving new meaning to the phrase ‘world domination’.”

Developed by Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers studio Stainless Games and featuring cinematics from veteran animation studio Power House Animation, RISK: Factions will offer innovative ways of experiencing the timeless turn-based board game in both objective-based and world conquest modes. Players will be able to engage as one of five playable factions, each with different strengths, as they wage war on new maps with dynamic terrain in their quest for missile silos in order to strategically dominate the game. Additionally, as rivals go head-to-head during unique, animated combat missions, enemies will be able to trigger “Overkill” moments, based on the roll of the dice, and unlock avatar awards while attempting global supremacy. With a new animated art style, kooky humor and a choice of five oddball factions, RISK: Factions is sure to offer something for veteran RISK strategists and newcomers alike.

“Just as the original RISK board game broke new ground 50 years ago by being the first game to offer non-linear movement, EA is re-inventing this long-time favorite for today’s digital consumer,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media and Gaming at Hasbro. “We expect RISK: Factions to be well received on XBLA among the strategy and simulation community.”

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Fran Gibeau, speaking at EA’s quarterly earnings call last night announced that the next Need For Speed has been in  development for a while now and will be released next year.

“Next year’s Need for Speed has been under development now for some time at our award-winning Criterion Studio,” he said.

“In recent years, we failed to put adequate resources behind the franchise and, as a result, quality suffered.”

So how will this next version of the franchise play.  Will it keep on with the fresh approach to sim racing or will Criterion go to its core root and create something more in Burnout tradition?

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