Further hurdles for $68 billion dollar deal New roadblocks will reportedly be placed in the path of Microsoft in its bid topurchase publisherActivision Blizzard —According to a report by Reuters, the European Commission (EU) is preparing to state its objection to the deal in the coming weeks, adding further strife to Microsoft’s acquisition plans. As those who have been following our reporting will know, Microsoft requires the favor of several global regulatory bodies in order to complete the purchase, andis already mired in a lawsuitwith the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which itself is against the sale taking place....

The public playtest forFellowshiphas arrived, giving dungeon crawler and MMORPG fans the opportunity toskip the grind and jump into dungeon running. We’ve created a classes and characters tier list to highlight the best characters in the playtest which you should be sure to try out. Fellowship Character Tier List At the time of the Public Playtest that started during Steam Next Fest, there 6 playable characters. This includes 2 characters in the tank role, 2 in the healer role, and 2 in the DPS role....

Channel your inner frustrated Japanese salaryman Who says you can’t combine charitable giving with righteous anger? During next month’s MAGFest at the Gaylord National Hotel in Maryland, you’re able to take part in avery special fundraising activity. By donating a few bucks, you can set up a table with plates, cups, utensils, and whatever else, then you get toflip the table over!That’s right! Do your best Miyamoto impression and “upend the tea table“!...

The games industry has looked to NPD game sales data for their reports and analysis, but we could never put too much stock into the numbers as they did not include the data from the world’s largest retailer, Walmart. That changed later last year when Walmart said that they would publish some sales data. Today NPD confirms that they’ve reached an agreement with the retailer to receive point-of-sale info for both their stores and website....

An encouraging look behind the scenes Horizon Forbidden Westis already one of the most anticipated games of next year, and a recent post on thePlayStation Blogis giving us yet another reason to look forward to it. Apparently, Guerrilla Games has a team of developers whose sole task is to make sure that the open world inHorizon Forbidden Westfeels alive, realistic, and responsive, and their official in-studio title is the Living World team....

Lord of the Rings MOBA title released this week If you’ve been eagerly awaiting Monolith’s upcoming MOBA-inspiredGuardians of Middle-earth, then you’ll be happy to know the game will be available on PSN on Tuesday this week, with its XBLA debut on Wednesday. The matching ofLeague of Legends/DOTA 2style gameplay with the rich catalog of heroes from JRR Tolkien’s books does seem interesting. I’ll be curious to see how a licensed MOBA title sells, especially one that’s released purely for consoles....

If the starting difficulty inHelldivers 2is no longer challenging for you, then maybe it’s time to kick things up a notch (bam!). As you progress through the war campaign ofHelldivers 2, it’s suggested that you change the difficulty to match your skill level. Turning up the difficulty inHelldivers 2is generally a good idea. Not only do the battles get more exciting, but so too do the rewards.To change the difficulty inHelldivers 2, you need to open up your Galactic War screen on your ship’s Bridge and press L1 or R1 on PlayStation 5 or the Q Key or E Key on PC to scroll through a wheel....

The Mythological clock wheel puzzle can be a tricky test to solve inFisch, but doing so will help you get some really valuable rewards. A key part of the Atlantis update is the presence of different clock wheels present in different locations. These clocks, on their own, will look meaningless, but they are all connected. If you manage to solve the puzzle, you’ll end up finding a brand-new rod. All Clock Wheel Puzzle solutions in Fisch The Atlantis area has five different clock puzzles to solve....

One year later, and I’m still excited to play this A year after reaching its Kickstarter goal, I’d nearly forgotten all aboutStasis.You remember that one, right? It’s a lovely-looking isometric sci-fi/horror point-and-click that drew inspiration from films likeAlienandEvent Horizon. Well, just in case you’ve lost track of it like I did, here’s a brief recap: InStasis, you’ll take on the role of John Maracheck. You awaken on board the seemingly derelict Groomlake, a repurposed mining vessel in a decaying orbit around the gas giant, Neptune, positioned outside of Earth’s legal jurisdiction....

Pocket Gamerhas gotten its hands on a confidential approval document for Sony’s new PSP Minis service. According to the document, PSP Minis will have no quality assurance, meaning any game can get approved for sale so long as it works. This is quite different than Apple’s App Store, where games are expected to meet certain standards before being allowed. The document says that there is “no requirement for content approval” and that the process for getting a game on the PSP is “transparent, trackable and predictable....

Get to know the people that make great videogames A week and a half ago on Sup Holmes (now oniTunes) we were graced with the company of Ms. Holly Pickering, former artist on the bulk of Traveller’s Tale’sLEGOgames, currently working onEther Onefrom White Paper Games. Holly has an ability to talk about incredibly personal, difficult stuff with a total stranger in front of thousands of people, all without ever seeming self-centered or melodramatic....

Lodsys is one of those companies that exist solely to claim rights to ideas and then make money off of companies that actually do things by selling patents or suing over infringements. Now it has the videogame industry in its sights, as it aims to tackleelevencompanies at once. Electronic Arts, Square Enix, Take-Two and even Rovio have been roped into the fight, with Lodsys accusing them all of infractions. Various other mobile developers are all embroiled in separate battles with company, and in the past six months alone, Lodsys has taken Best Buy, Canon Sam’s Club, Samsung, Best Western, CVS, and Adidas to court....

Warboy pale in comparison Oh, man. Look, I trust in Avalanche’s (Just Cause) ability to make crazy, fun, open action games, even if I’m leery about the studio putting out two in one year (Mad MaxandJust Cause 3). But! And this is a honking ‘ol, head turning, “dayum”-inducing but… The idea ofMad Max anythingsans Imperator Furiosa no longer makes sense to me for my eyes hath been opened, I have gazed upon theFury Roadand this dulled, drab,Furiosa-less trailer leaves me feeling thirsting like the desert sands....