Electronic Arts closing Facebook and Google Plus game's servers on June 18, says social spin-off didn't make enough revenue to sustain itself.

Electronic Arts will shut down Facebook and Google Plus game Dragon Age Legends on June 18, the company revealed on the project's official website recently. EA said the "unfortunate reality" of the situation is that Dragon Age Legends does not generate enough revenue to justify keeping the servers online.

Dragon Age Legends is going dark next month.

As detailed on the game's website, players are no longer able to purchase additional Dragon Age Legends in-game currency, called crowns. Users with crowns left over can spend them on a "massive fire sale" EA is holding on all items in the game's store, though any remaining balance after June 18 will not be transferable to future BioWare social products.

Though Dragon Age Legends will be removed from Facebook and Google Plus on June 18, BioWare will offer a free, downloadable version of the game at www.DragonAgeLegends.com. This version of the game will allow users to continue to play Dragon Age Legends in a single-player, offline mode.

Dragon Age Legends was developed by EA2D, which recently became a part of the BioWare label, with the studio being renamed BioWare San Francisco. The game launched in March 2011, is part of EA's Play4Free label, and helped push the division to 25 million total users.

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Free post-launch characters for Namco Bandai's fighting game respects customers even as they discourage second-hand game sales.

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The former id Software designer joins Wizardry designer Brenda Brathwaite to talk about the Facebook incarnation of Ubisoft's popular shooter series.

Ghost Recon Commander is an isometric turn-based shooter from Loot Drop, the new studio from industry veterans John Romero (yes, that John Romero) and Brenda Garno Brathwaite. What makes Commander different from titles in the franchise is that it lives on Facebook and is meant to be played as a companion to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Ghost Recon Online.

What's sort of companionship is this, exactly? Think of a quick game you play on your lunch hour, or whenever you’re away from your console and PC. In addition to the possibility of mustard on your shirt, that lunch hour will also earn you characters, skins, and weapons for other hard core Ghost Recon titles.

When we got our hands on Commander we were able to play two of 10 levels, each being broken down into three objectives. Players start out at their base camp which John Romero describes as ’WoW armor,’ where structures act to buff your character before missions. From base camp players can recruit their friends or up to three AI squad mates and go out on missions. The game gives an as-yet-unspecified reward to high level players for being recruited by low level players and vice versa in order to help facilitate a sense of community.

Once we dropped into the first mission, taking place at a South American market run by drug lords, we immediately took notice of the games hybrid turn-based/real-time design. This mechanic works by keeping the overarching world constantly active, including bad guys moving around the map, but when combat is initiated, the enemy will only move and respond while the player is performing actions. Loot Drop built this mechanic in order to give players time to strategize and also allow them to leave mid game (presumably because their boss just walked by) without their character ending up a pile of dead pixels.

Besides recruiting and going on missions with your friends, other social aspects come into play in the form of a grenade gifting. As players down enemies, occasional messages appear letting them send the pint-sized explosives to their buddies.

The currency system of Commander takes the form of both skulls and dollars. Dollars are the currency earned in game that allows players to purchase gear, health, and base camp items. Skulls are real world cash that allow players with less time to dedicate to headshots, a method for catching up. Cross game unlocks, are only earned through the dollars system, which equates to in game play.

Ghost Recon Commander has an ambitious target by trying to sell itself to the hardcore gamer market. The companion gaming aspects should at least entice players to give it a shot in order to unlock goodies for their characters in Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Ghost Recon Online. Commander is headed for Facebook in Q2 2012 so keep an eye out if you’re interested.

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Quantic Dream's David Cage says he has yet to face a PS3 hardware limitation, believes industry lacks creativity; games too focused on violence.

The next generation of consoles won't be needed until 2017, according to Heavy Rain studio Quantic Dream founder David Cage. Speaking to Develop recently, Cage said existing platforms, like the PlayStation 3 (for which Quantic Dream develops exclusively), are powerful enough to remain relevant and capable for another half-decade.

Cage isn't interested in next-generation technology just yet.

"I'm not that interested in technology or the next generation of consoles," he said. "If we could continue with PlayStation 3 for another five years it would be fine with me."

Cage went on to explain that the main limitation is not in hardware (he says he's not yet found something the PS3 can't power), but rather a lack of creativity on the part of developers.

"As an industry we have pretty much have been building the same games for 50 years, despite the platforms changing," he said.

When the next generation of consoles do arrive Cage expects them to have typical trappings of updated technology.

"What do I expect from the next generation of hardware? You know, the usual," he said. "More polys, and higher resolution texture maps, and, horsepower, and, stuff. Wow. It's so cool and exciting."

Cage also sounded off on the present market. He said the industry is oversupplied with first-person shooters and role-playing games, and is too tilted towards violence.

"The industry is too far balanced towards kids and teenagers. It's too focused on violence," he said. "There should be games for all ages, all tastes. Whatever is possible with interactive entertainment should be explored, and I don't think we're seeing that right now."

The most recent title Cage and Quantic Dream put out was 2010's well-received adventure game Heavy Rain. Cage showed a tech demo--titled Kara--during the 2012 Game Developers Conference in March, but the developer said this has nothing to do with the company's next project.

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Square Enix scoops up the rights to a variety of sites for fourth title in the open-world action series before it's even confirmed the third game.

Just Cause 3 hasn't even been announced yet, but Square Enix is already laying the foundation for a fourth game in Avalanche Studios' open-world action franchise. As reported by Fusible, Square Enix last week registered a handful of domains for Just Cause 4, including JustCause4.com and JustCause4.co.uk.

No parachute? No problem.

While it hasn't talked about the future of its flagship franchise, Avalanche has teased a number of projects in the pipe. In February, the Stockholm, Sweden-based developer said that it had a trio of big-budget titles in development. The first of those projects has been promised for unveiling prior to July, which suggests Avalanche might have some news for next month's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

The original Just Cause debuted on the PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Xbox, and PC in 2006. The game followed protagonist Rico Rodriguez, who sowed sedition on the fictitious island nation of San Esperito in a bid to overthrow a corrupt dictator. The game was primarily noted for its outlandish stunts, in which Rodriguez could hitch rides on the wings of in-flight planes, BASE-jump from cliffs, and parasail from moving vehicles. The 2010 sequel retained the original's open-world gameplay, complete with over-the-top parachute jumps and grappling-hook antics.

For more on the series, check out GameSpot's review of Just Cause 2.

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Brenda and John tell us about their drive to get hardcore shooter fans gunning on Facebook.

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New trailer for 007 Legends reveals new superspy shooter to arrive one month ahead of film Skyfall; Moonraker mission shown in video.

James Bond will return to consoles this October. The latest trailer for 007 Legends (embedded below) reveals the Eurocom-developed superspy shooter will arrive for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on October 16, one month before the 23rd Bond film Skyfall hits theaters.

007 Legends will debut a month before Skyfall. Spoilers!?

As revealed last month, the game will feature missions from November's Skyfall, as well as five other Bond flicks. The new trailer for the game reveals one of these new missions, a sequence set during 1979's Roger Moore-fronted Moonraker. The video shows Bond fighting through a space station and offers a glimpse at the nefarious assassin Jaws. The remaining missions will be revealed at a later date.

On top of its campaign, 007 Legends features the single-player Mi6 Ops Missions mode, which made its debut in last year's GoldenEye 007: Reloaded. Additionally, the new game sports a local four-player split-screen multiplayer mode, as well as a traditional online competitive option.

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Overkill Software confirms studio working with Valve on a mystery "in-depth collaboration" for robbery title and zombie shooter.

Payday: The Heist and Left 4 Dead are coming together. Overkill Software announced today on its blog that it is presently at work on an "in-depth collaboration" between Payday: The Heist and Valve Software's Left 4 Dead shooter franchise.

Some sort of Payday: The Heist / Left 4 Dead crossover project is in the works, according to Overkill.

"We are working on a very cool blend of Payday and Left 4 Dead," reads a statement from Overkill Software game director Ulf Andersson. "I am sure it is so exciting that it will have some players check into the hospital before we are done."

No further details are available, and as of press time, neither Valve nor Overkill Software had responded to GameSpot's requests for comment.

Payday: The Heist released last October for the PlayStation 3 and PC. A squad-based first-person shooter, the game lets player don clown masks and engage in bank robberies, jail breaks, and carjackings.

As for the Left 4 Dead franchise, the latest in Valve's zombie-killing shooter series was Left 4 Dead 2, which shipped in 2009 to a warm critical reception.

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On this weeks show we shoot a bunch of dinosaurs, have sex with a Japanese teenager, find life on Mars and save the universe with a Russian monkey wearing a jet-pack.

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Gearbox Software's upcoming action shooter now scheduled for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC release on February 12, 2013; Wii U date coming later.

Gamers won't get their hands on Aliens: Colonial Marines this fall as developer Gearbox Software had previously announced. Today, the studio announced the new science-fiction action shooter will arrive worldwide on February 12, 2013 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. A release date for the Wii U version of the game will be announced at a later date.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is staying grounded until next year.

Writing on the Gearboxity blog, Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford did not directly attribute anything specific to the delay. He explained that Aliens: Colonial Marines must feel "authentic," and appeal to longtime fans of the Alien film franchise, as well as those who have never seen any of the movies.

Pitchford also explained why some may have felt Aliens: Colonial Marines has boasted a longer-than-average development cycle. He said though the game was "announced" in 2008, at that time, the studio had only just finished prototypes, and was just beginning earnest production of the title. In the end, Pitchford said development time for Aliens: Colonial Marines will be roughly equivalent to the original Borderlands or the first Brothers in Arms title.

This is not the first time Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed. Last June, a spring 2012 release date was slapped on the game, but that changed in January, when Sega and Gearbox Software revealed the game had been pushed to a fall 2012 release.

Speaking to GameSpot in a video interview (embedded below), Pitchford explained that the Wii U version of Aliens: Colonial Marines will be the best-looking iteration of the game. He also said it will make use of Nintendo's tablet controller, which will operate as a motion tracker, among other things.

The story of Aliens: Colonial Marines picks up shortly after the events of the 1986 sci-fi film Aliens. Players will join a squad of the titular space soldiers who board the USS Sulaco, the spaceship from the film, after it is apparently abandoned. From there the action will spread to the surface of the planet LV-426 and its main settlement, Hadley's Hope. The first-person shooter will also feature environments and weapons inspired by the film.

For more on Aliens: Colonial Marines, check out GameSpot's latest preview.

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Check out the launch trailer for Sorcery, developed exclusively for the PlayStation Move.

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New controller to boast actual analog sticks, Wii U branding, and various button location changes, according to image leaked by Lego developer.

Nintendo may be changing up its design plans for the Wii U tablet controller. As reported by GamesRadar, a Traveller's Tales (Lego series) quality assurance tester tweeted a picture of a Wii U tablet controller this weekend, revealing Nintendo has made some notable changes to the device since gamers first saw it at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Is Nintendo changing up its Wii U controller?

Most significantly, the image (at right) displays a Wii U controller with new analog sticks as opposed to the 3DS-style circle pads seen on the E3 prototype. Other alterations to the original design include a change in location of the Start and Select buttons. These buttons now are located on the right-hand side of the Wii U tablet controller. Additionally, the controller includes a small square on the left-hand side, which did not appear in the original version. Lastly, the new controller design contains Wii U branding.

As GamesRadar points out, it's possible some of these changes are specific to developer's console units. Whatever the case, Nintendo will offer answers soon. The company has previously stated it will have final Wii U hardware on-hand for the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo, which kicks off early next month.

The official picture has since been yanked, and the user's Twitter account has been deleted entirely. A Nintendo representative told GameSpot, "We do not comment on rumors or speculation."

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Rockstar's latest bests Blizzard's technically troubled dungeon crawler by 8,000 physical sales; outperforms Max Payne 2's first week 10:1.

Max Payne 3 outdid its predecessor by a factor of 10:1 in its first week on sale, pipping Diablo III to the UK All-Formats number one. It was the second-biggest launch of the year so far--just behind Mass Effect 3, and Take 2's first number one since LA Noire hit the top spot in 2011.

Rockstar is back on top of the charts.

The official sales charts only include physical sales, however, as digital downloads are not tracked as part of the main chart. In stores and from traditional online retailers, 11 percent of Diablo III's sales were of the limited collector's edition, compared to two percent for Max Payne 3.

FIFA Street kept up its strong performance, slotting in at three, refusing to budge from the top five despite a 17 percent drop in sales. Last week's number one, Sniper Elite V2, saw a 68 percent drop in sales as it found itself in fourth place.

FIFA 12 rounded out the top five following an eight percent drop in sales, while Prototype 2 dropped to six after a 15 percent decline in sales. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 bucked the trend to post a 21 percent rise in sales and re-enter the top 10 at seven, sneaking ahead of Battlefield 3, which saw sales slip two percent.

The top 10 was rounded off by Assassin's Creed: Revelations and Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics.

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This gameplay video for Tekken Tag Tournament 2 features the first four characters featured in the free DLC pack: Michelle, Angel, Ancient Ogre, and Kunimitsu.

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