Aussie competitive gamers have cause to rejoice today with news that a new series of tournaments will be held across the country beginning this Saturday.

Red Carpet Gaming (RCG) will aim to bring together both amateur and professional competitive PC gamers to compete for up to A$20,000 cash and the chance to win a place in the World Cyber Games National Finals held at the EB Expo 2011 in October.

The first RCG qualifier in Sydney will be held at Chinatown, Chatswood, and Burwood CityHunter Internet Cafes this Saturday, June 25; titles will include StarCraft II 1v1 (WCG Title), League of Legends 5v5 (WCG Title), Counter-Strike 1.6 5v5 (WCG Title), FIFA 11 1v1 (WCG Title, Xbox 360), Counter-Strike: Source 5v5, Team Fortress 2 6v6, Heroes of Newerth 5v5, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 5v5.

The WCG National Final will be held at the Gold Coast Exhibition Centre on October 15, 2011.

To register, head over to the official RCG registration page. The first event will take place this Saturday, June 25 at 10 a.m. A registration fee of $40 is necessary to compete in the competitions, however spectators are welcome.

The other RCG national events are as follows:
AV Con (July 8-10)--Adelaide
Brisbane qualifier (August 6)--Brisbane
Melbourne qualifier (August 27)--Melbourne
Red Bull qualifiers (September)--Sydney
EB Expo National Finals (October 15-16)--Gold Coast, Queensland.

Get the full article at GameSpot

Gametech had its debut in Sydney today, with the game conference focused on exploring the major issues facing the Australian video game industry. Local and international speakers converged to discuss such issues as convergence, mobile gaming, retail, and developer challenges. Below you'll find all of GameSpot AU's coverage of the event, so keep it locked to this page for more updates later this week.

Aussie government on classification reform
Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor opens Sydney game industry conference; highlights the importance of a unified classification scheme to keep pace with technology.

Snack-sized gaming won't hurt portable space: SCEA
Sony Computer Entertainment Australia boss says bite-sized gaming growing quickly, but appetite for "immersive" experiences still large.

Redefining the interactive audience
EA Games senior vice president speaks on identifying key trends in the global gaming audience and adapting to new business models.

Increasing the gaming reach
Managing director of Ubisoft Australia Edward Fong looks at the impact of local environment and technology on the growth of the gaming industry.

MS confirms Kinect voice due Down Under in 2011
Aussie Xbox head chats connected consumers at Aussie trade event; reiterates pledge to introduce voice control for the Kinect before the end of the year.

State of the games industry
Industry roundtable sees EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Sony discuss the key challenges and opportunities for the gaming industry.

The state of Australian game development
Industry heads discuss building closer industry ties and redefining the Australian game development industry's role in the global market.

Govt needs to "evolve" on game ratings
Assistant secretary, classification operations branch, Australian Attorney-General's Department, says government response to games classification Down Under needs to evolve.

Retail trends and the Aussie consumer
Managing director of GAME Australia looks at the buying habits of Australian gamers, retail market trends, and the push for online.

Aussie mobile gamers on the grow
Roy Morgan Research finds growth in mobile gaming outstrips console and PC sectors.

Improving current retail models
A roundtable discussion identifying key challenges for the Australian games industry from a retailer perspective.

Smartphone Gaming--Apps and Beyond
A roundtable discussion with three major Australian telecommunications companies to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the mobile game and application space.

Get the full article at GameSpot

Aussie fighting game site Shadowloo is bringing its Shadowloo Showdown fighting game tournament back for 2011, taking over Melbourne on June 25 and 26.

The two-day tournament will take place at CQ Hotel in the Melbourne CBD and will feature titles like Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (main event), Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (the title's debut at a Shadowloo event), Tekken 6, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Arcade), and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II.

Things are bound to get a little hot during this year's Shadowloo Showdown in Melbourne.

The tournament will play host to international fighting game talent, like Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition reigning champion Gamerbee (Taiwan); former Sydneysider Humanbomb (Hong Kong); and Melbourne's very own Toxy, who matched it with legend Daigo in last year's EVO APAC tournament.

For those not in it to win it, the event will also feature casual tournaments for gamers of all skill levels. Shadowloo Showdown 2011 will be held on June 25 and 26 in the events room at the CQ Melbourne, 113 Queen St, Melbourne, Victoria.

The event will also be streamed live on this channel. For more information, visit the Shadowloo website.

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Retro fans with a 3DS in their pockets will be happy campers this week, with more exciting additions coming out on the 3DS Virtual Console. This week's treat is none other than good old Donkey Kong, which will have to suffice until the 3D version of the cult classic makes its debut on the console sometime in the future.

On the Xbox Live Arcade front, players can look forward to two titles: Magic 2012 and Adventures of Shuggy. The former is a must for Magic: The Gathering fans, with this version building on 2010's release with 10 decks, new challenges, and better graphics. There's also a new multiplayer format called Archenemy, where players can team up to take down a boss. The latter title is slightly less complex; Shuggy has just inherited a castle full of goblins, and players must help him clear them all out by performing a variety of puzzle-solving activities that may or may not involve flying, floating, swinging, and like. There are also 36 two-player levels in the offline co-op mode, with more to be found online.

White Knight Chronicles, now on PSP.

Finally, with the arrival of the White Knight Chronicles series on the PSP last week, PlayStation Network players in Australia and New Zealand are being treated to a special digital download of White Knight Chronicles: Origins this week.

Check out below for more!

3DS Virtual Console, DSiWare:
Donkey Kong
Airport Mania: First Flight

Xbox Live Arcade:
Magic: The Gathering--Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 (800 Microsoft points)
Adventures of Shuggy (800 Microsoft points)

PlayStation Network:
White Knight Chronicles: Origins

Get the full article at GameSpot

Today, Microsoft Australia confirmed the arrival of a limited edition Gears of War Xbox 360 console bundle announced at this year's E3 in Los Angeles, launching in Australia on September 20, 2011, for AU$549.

Partly designed by Gears of War studio Epic Games, the console bundle commemorates the conclusion of the Xbox 360-exclusive franchise, which will end with the release of Gears of War 3 on September 20, 2011. The bundle includes a 320GB red-and-black Xbox 360 console with two custom-designed Xbox 360 wireless controllers.

The $400 Gears of War Xbox 360 bundle.

The bundle also includes a standard copy Gears of War 3, a wired headset, and a download token for bonus game content, including the Infected Omen Weapon Pack and the Adam Fenix character for use in multiplayer. (The Infected Omen Weapon Pack includes the infected omen skin for use on the five starting weapons: lancer, retro lancer, hammerburst, gransher, and sawed-off shotgun.)

Aussie gamers will also have the chance to purchase the Gears of War 3 wireless controller separately for AU$89.95 starting August 11, 2011. The controller is designed with the Infected Omen symbol, and just like the bundle, it comes with five downloadable in-game weapon skins for the starting weapons. It also includes a new transforming D pad and a Gears of War 3 custom top case.

Gears of War 3 is out in Australia on September 20 this year and is available in three editions: Standard (AU$99.95); Limited (AU$129.95); and Epic (AU$199.95).

According to earlier reports, the Epic Edition of Gears of War 3 will contain a limited-run Marcus Fenix statue designed by Epic Games art director Chris Perna, as well as a behind-the-scenes book by Tom Bissell with 96 pages of interviews, photos, and concept art. The Limited Edition of the game will include the Octus Award Box with Octus Service Medal, a life-sized replica of the honor given to scientist Adam Fenix for his work on the Hammer of Dawn. The bundle also includes a code redeemable for the Adam Fenix skin in multiplayer, personal records of Marcus' father, and a fabric COG flag.

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One feature that most of the new Kinect titles are pushing was voice recognition, which as many Aussies will know was left out of the Australian launch. In a post-conference interview with GameSpot AU, Microsoft Australia's product marketing manager Steve Blackburn confirmed that voice recognition would be coming to Australian and New Zealand consoles "before December 31, [2011]." Blackburn declined to lock down a firm release for the update but was keen to highlight that any game that is released between now and the update is completely playable with a controller, regardless of whether it supports voice recognition.

One thing that Blackburn could confirm was Xbox 360 sales data for both Australia and New Zealand. The console is currently just shy of 1.3 million units sold in Australia and just over 200K machines have been snapped up across the Tasman.

The other big focus of Microsoft's press event was the integration of live TV streaming to Xbox 360s. In Australia, the hardware and software giant has teamed up with Foxtel to stream cable TV to consoles around the country but has only teamed up with Telstra to offer the stream unmetered. Blackburn refused to comment on any new partnerships but said that it is something the company is considering. As for the UFC service that was revealed during Microsoft's press conference, Blackburn confirmed that it will be coming to Australia and New Zealand but couldn't confirm a release date. The service currently has no launch date information for any region.

[UPDATE] Microsoft Australia have confirmed that Kinect voice recognition will be coming Down Under before the end of this year, but said they will not nominate a specific date at this time.

For more E3 2011 coverage, check out GameSpot's E3 hub.

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E3 2011 is just around the corner, and despite the awkward time differences, there's always a keen band of Aussies who wake up during the wee hours of the morning to watch the big press conferences.

As always, GameSpot will be streaming the press conferences live as they happen, and to save you the hassle, we've converted their start times to Australian Eastern Standard Time. If you're thinking about waking up early to watch the streams, be sure to check out the details below:

Tuesday morning:
Microsoft press conference - 2:30 a.m. AEST
EA press conference - 5:30 a.m. AEST
Ubisoft press conference - 7:30 a.m. AEST
Sony press conference - 10 a.m. AEST

Wednesday morning:
Nintendo press conference - 2 a.m. AEST

Watch all of the E3 press conferences and keep up to date on all of the E3 action over at our E3 hub.

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Ubisoft has dominated the Steam sales this week and is going out with a bang, closing out with Far Cry 2 for A$5--a bargain for anyone who doesn't own the game already. Remember that Steam is doing daily sales now, so keep checking the GS AU bargains thread to make sure you don't miss anything.

Remember: To be in the running to get your name in lights, you need to post your bargains over in the GameSpot AU bargains thread, and the GameSpot AU editorial team will pick the best one each week.

As usual on a Friday afternoon, we've compiled a short list of savings that have been spotted online by the GS AU community. Take a look below:

Play Asia:
3D Dot Game Heroes - A$17.65

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There's not a single multidirectional shooter in sight this week, which is a rare occurrence. In fact, it is slim pickings all round, with just a single game coming out across Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, Virtual Console, DSiWare, and the PlayStation Network Store; though perhaps the latter doesn't count because it's still down.

Xbox Live Arcade is the lucky recipient of the only update this week, with the release of Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale. Given that Daggerdale is based on one of the most popular fantasy franchises of all time, it's not too surprising to find that it's a hack-and-slash adventure. Like the pen-and-paper game it spawned from, there are four different classes to choose among, and it can be played solo or cooperatively via split-screen.

Xbox Live Arcade:
Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale - 1,200 Microsoft points

Get the full article at GameSpot

By now, you've probably devoured the rumours, pawed over the leaks, and explored the official teaser trailer frame by frame in search of juicy hidden tidbits. We were at the recent US Activision event where the company took the wraps off the game and showed it running for the first time. But, since this game continues the themes of occupied America by an opposing force, Americans are a little biased at having their turf trashed. So we present you with our Aussie view on MW3. Note: potential spoilers ahead.

The game picks up on the heels of Modern Warfare 2, where the escalating conflict between North America and Russia has tipped past flashpoint and spilled violently onto American soil. This third instalment in the series adds some new location stamps on the Call of Duty passport and will see the battle rage in Germany, England, France, and New York.

Our demo was split into two levels. The first took place on US ground, where Russian ultranationalists were looking to assert their authority on the Big Apple. Though the exact setup remains a mystery at this point, we joined the action when the helicopter we had been riding in had been shot out of the sky, forcing us to bail out after hitting the ground. The precarious balancing act of the bird and its final resting place meant that we needed to push the doors up and over at the fold to get them open as we clambered out. After some brief dialogue with new character Sandman, we were back on terra firma, taking cover and reaching for a magazine of ammo.

Enemy combatants lined the streets ahead, and we zigzagged our way through the rubble of burnt cars and collapsed roads, taking refuge and returning fire at anyone blocking our way. At a few points during the demo, enemy helicopters would slink down the narrow cement gauntlet formed by the buildings. In doing so, the frame gave us a look at tattered American flags billowing in the breeze, accompanied by point-of-view camera angles with eerie similarities to the September 11 terror attack footage that you've seen a million times before.

Bank steps turned to battlegrounds; burned buses became barricades to deflect the incoming rounds of our attackers; and we slowly inched our way along the path. Combat was a mixture of short- and long-range gunfire, so we were pleased to see that while the Call of Duty battle experience felt familiar, the toys in the field have improved to help make things easier. Our assault rifle was fitted with a new type of hinged scope. Once it was clicked into place, we looked through an ACOG, but with the flick of a wrist it could be rolled sideways, still attached to the Picatinny rail but giving us access to red-dot sights for closer targets. Flashbangs have long been a part of any good soldier's tactical insertion kit, but as anyone who has lobbed one into a room knows, one big boom isn't always the best approach. The new nine-bang grenade helps disperse the effect, splitting a single nonlethal grenade into multiple smaller explosions and bright lights, disorienting a room full of bad dudes in one fell swoop.

The other new piece of arsenal on display was MW3's version of the XM25: an airburst grenade weapon that looks and handles like a sniper rifle, but fires an explosive round. Rather than attempt to flank heavily dug-in enemies, the rounds can be used to hit foes hiding behind cover or to do splash damage to groups of huddled targets. This became particularly useful when we turned the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange into a killing floor. Not all rounds seemed to explode uniformly when fired, with some going up with a spark and others hitting the surface and fizzling out. That's experimental weapons for you…

With word coming that the Russians had deployed jamming towers on the top of key buildings in the area, we scrambled up scaffolding inside the Stock Exchange, stalked our way through back alleys and condemned war-ravaged buildings, and made our way to the rooftop. It was these more sedate moments, when the sound of gunfire was distant and the squad moved in unison, that little touches like loose paper swirling in an updraft and realistic lighting really impressed us.

Once on top of the building, standing in the shade of the looming jamming towers and their satellite dishes, we walked up, planted a C4 charge, and blew the sucker up. We called for evac, but the surrounding buildings were covered with adversaries, making the area far too dangerous to bug out straight away. With armed soldiers too far away to shoot at accurately with our assault rifle, we went to ground behind some crates, whipped out our ruggedised laptop, and called in predator drone strikes, guiding the missiles to ground and obliterating the faceless red icons. Backup arrived, and we jumped onboard to man a mounted minigun, playing cat and mouse with a pursuing Russian chopper before eventually destroying it with pot shots through a disintegrated building.

Call of Duty has built a reputation for close-quarters combat and big set pieces, but that doesn't mean that it has to be cranked to 11 all the time. Like a guy trying to chat up a woman in a pub by displaying his softer side (no, that's not a euphemism), the second mission of our demo brought the tone right down and relied on finesse. From the air above a London industrial estate, we watched as a truck was loaded with what our intel suggested were weapons. The only way to be sure was to see for ourselves, and our perspective dropped from the air to troops on the ground where we took the role of an SAS squad. We moved through the night, picking off patrolling guards in alleyways and dropping armed lookouts with our silenced weapons without detection.

Once we had secured the area, we made our approach to the truck, positive that opening it would either yield the weapons we thought were inside or put us in the middle of a cunning trap. Seems as though it was the latter, and after finding it empty, we were quickly set on, needing to ditch our hushed rifles and going loud with whatever type of guns we could get our hands on. After thinning their ranks in a heated firefight, we located one target that we wanted to take down alive. He had other ideas, and we gave chase, piling into the back of a truck and driving into a subway station and returning fire as they commandeered a commuter train. As we raced parallel to them, we weaved through tunnels, dodging pillars and oncoming railway vehicles. As anyone who has ever seen one of those late-night "World's Wildest Police Chases" TV shows should know, more often than not, they end violently. That was certainly the case here, and as the train lurched off the tracks, it launched into the air, tumbled, and forced us to try to outrun it as it barrelled through reinforced cement pylons. Cue fade to black.

Bear with us on this. We're definitely not saying that we're unimpressed with what we've seen of Modern Warfare 3 so far, but for a franchise that has become the poster child for the success of the games industry--and indeed for entertainment as a whole--MW3's first outing felt a little too safe for our tastes. The booming of the New York action sequences were frantic and typical of the franchise, but while well juxtaposed with the subtlety of London's covert infiltration, they both felt strangely reminiscent of the way Call of Duty: Black Ops was introduced with its Arctic incursion and Vietnam slaughterhouse demo just a year ago. Perhaps Activision believes that it has nailed the action formula, but if that's the case, our biggest concern then becomes battle fatigue by the audience.

Call of Duty has become a brand of two parts--single- and multiplayer--and while our first look gave us a taste of what's to come, we're also hoping to see a little more innovation in its subsequent outings. Stay tuned for more details ahead of the game's release on November 8 this year.

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Few traditional video game developers have embraced the mobile scene with such open arms as Electronic Arts. The megapublisher has been creating games for mobile devices for years now and recently added Aussie mobile developer Firemint to its portfolio.

It's a well-established fact that mobile games are already significantly cheaper than their retail counterparts, but that hasn't stopped EA from slashing the price on many of its iPhone and iPad titles this week. Games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and NBA Jam are reduced to A$1.19 on the iPhone, while Dead Space and Need for Speed Hot Pursuit are down to A$5.99 for the iPad.

To see the full list of games that are on sale, check out the list below:
iPhone:
Battlefield Bad Company 2 - $1.19
Dead Space - $3.99
FIFA 11 - $1.19
Fight Night Champion - $1.19
Heroes Lore - $1.19
Littlest Pet Shop - $1.19
Madden NFL 11 - $1.19
Mass Effect - $1.19
Mystery Mania -$1.19
NBA Jam - $1.19
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit - $1.19
Need for Speed Shift - $1.19
Need for Speed Undercover - $1.19
R-Type - $1.19
Scrabble - $1.19
The Sims 3 - $1.19
The Sims Ambitions - $1.19
The Sims World Adventure - $1.19
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 - $1.19
Zombies & Me - $1.19

iPad:
Coconut Dodge - $1.19
Dead Space - $5.99
FIFA 11 - $5.99
Madden NFL 11 - $1.19
Monopoly - $5.99
NBA Jam - $3.99
Need for Speed - Hot Pursuit - $5.99
Reckless Racing - $1.19
Risk - $3.99
Scrabble - $3.99
SimCity - $1.19
Snood - $1.19
Tetris - $1.19
The Game of Life - $3.99
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12 - $3.99
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 - $1.19
Yahtzee - $1.19

Get the full article at GameSpot

Planking is the latest craze to take pop culture by storm. It sees people taking pictures of themselves lying down flat on an object. Ironically, barely anyone knew what planking was until two weeks ago when reports of a planking-related death came out of Brisbane. Since then, hardly a day has gone by without some planking-related story.

N3V Games isn't content with just lying around, so it made a game about it.

Cashing in on this latest craze is the Brisbane-based games studio N3V Games, with its browser game Plank'd. Essentially, the game has players jumping up in the air and trying to land on objects horizontally. Probably the best way to describe it would be to say that it's like a 2D version of Pain.

Entertaining game or cheap cash-in? You decide.

The game is currently available to play only via Web browser, but it's also slated for release on mobile devices "shortly."

Get the full article at GameSpot

The Sega Rally franchise returns this week after a lengthy hiatus, drifting onto Xbox Live Arcade. While it may not be as complete as some of the previous entries in the series, Sega Rally Online Arcade offers players a pint-sized serving of what the franchise is all about. Champion Battle mode and Time Attack mode are included in the game, and the vehicle tally sits at 13 different cars to choose from. Online leaderboards are also included for those who like to brag about their track times. A PlayStation 3 version of Sega Rally Online Arcade is also coming out, but due to the PlayStation Network (PSN) outages, it won't be released until the PSN Store is back online.

If you're an old-school Japanese role-playing game fan, then be sure to check out the Virtual Console this week, as Chrono Trigger has just been released on the service. Originally released in 1995, Chrono Trigger is fondly remembered for its captivating story and original soundtrack. Unlike the enhanced release of Chrono Trigger for the Nintendo DS last year, the one that's available on the Virtual Console now is a straight port of the SNES game.

For the full list of games out this week, check out the list below:

Xbox Live Arcade:
Sega Rally Online Arcade - 800 Microsoft Points

Virtual Console:
Chrono Trigger - 900 Nintendo Points

DSiWare:
Calculator - 200 Nintendo Points

Get the full article at GameSpot

Jumping straight into the topic at hand, Chickan_117 spotted Homefront on the PS3 over at Play Asia for only A$22, but the bargain of the week goes to illmatic87, who spotted several low prices on software and hardware over at GAME's UK store. By purchasing from the UK, you can save about A$100 on a Nintendo 3DS console--roughly one-third off the Aussie price. GAME UK is also selling Crysis 2 on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 for under A$40.

Remember, to be in the running to get your name in lights, you need to post your bargains over in the GameSpot AU bargains thread, and the GameSpot AU editorial team will pick the best one each week.

As usual on a Friday afternoon, we've compiled a short list of savings that have been spotted online by the GS AU community. Take a look below:

Play Asia
Homefront (PS3) - A$22
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean - A$42.59
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings - A$35

GAME UK
Crysis 2 - A$40 (depends on which platform you go for)
Nintendo 3DS console - A$251
Killzone 3 - A$38

CD Wow
Mass Effect 2 (PC) - A$16.95
Shogun 2: Total War - A$34.95
L.A. Noire (Xbox 360) - A$66.95

Q2 Bargain Scoreboard:
Chickan_117 - 1
Nintendo_Man - 1
MJ Cowley - 1
illmatic87 - 1

Get the full article at GameSpot

Earlier this month, representatives from across Europe and Australia travelled to Bromley, England, to compete in the Brink European community challenge. In total there were eight teams, with the Australian team made up of three GameSpot AU community members and one GS AU staff member.

Team Australia was up against the British team from EuroGamer during the first game of the tournament, and it was a close call. Despite getting their VIP a few meters further than the Brits during the game, it unfortunately came down to points, and the Brits claimed that victory, sending Team Australia into the loser's bracket.

Down, but not out, the Aussies fought their way out of the rut by flogging France, smashing Sweden, smoking Spain, and belting the Benelux to earn themselves a spot in the finals again Britain. The final showdown was to be played on a map called Critical Reactor, which had two objectives: to hack the fan access panel and to plant a bomb on the controls to blow the reactor. Easy enough, right?

After a coin toss, it was determined that Team Australia would defend first, and for 20 long minutes it held off the Brits at the fan access panel. There were a few hairy moments when the Brits managed to break through the green and gold lines, but sadly for them they were always fended off. Then it was Australia's turn at attacking, and for the majority of the game it looked like a finals rematch was in the cards, as nobody was budging. After 16 long minutes of fighting, the Aussies eventually managed to penetrate the British defences and successfully hacked the fan control unit.

While the game wasn't over, hacking the fan control unit meant that the tournament had been won by the Aussies, so there was plenty of mid-battle high-fiving! Unfortunately the British put up a strong defence around the final objective, and the Aussies failed to complete the entire mission, but they needed to do only one objective to win the tournament, and that's exactly what they did.

So not only are Team Australia now European champions (despite not being from Europe), but the boys who waved the green and gold over in merry old England also beat the Brits at their own game…literally. Stay tuned to Crosshairs this week to see a video diary of how the tournament played out, but in the meantime, check out some photos below:

Team Australia proudly display their new attire, purchased from the finest knockoff souvenir store that Sydney's Chinatown had to offer.

Splash Damage's office building from the outside is quiet and unassuming, but inside it's filled with monitors and gaming gear.

After spending more than 24 hours on a plane, it's only fair that Team Australia member Leo Stevenson smashed a can full of energy drink so that he could go back to focusing on crushing the Europeans.

Before the tournament kicked off, Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgewood gave competitors a tour of the office: "Before we shipped our first game, we could only afford doors this high so it made moving around the office awkward."

The Brink concept art wall.

Splash Damage's Richard Jolly explains how the tournament is going to work.

This is what the original tournament ladder looked like. As you can see, the losers had to fight a lot harder to redeem themselves.

There ain't no time for smiling here! Tournament fighting is serious business, and Team Australia had their serious faces on…as well as their snazzy team jackets!

After a hard day's work of playing Brink, Team Australia managed to claw their way back to find themselves up against the British again…

After a hard-fought match, Team Australia pose for a victory photo with Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgewood.

Team Australia left their land of golden toil as mere mortals but returned as European champions. How many European champions do you know?

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Xbox Live Arcade users get a dose of space combat this week, thanks to Star Raiders. Based off of the original Atari game from '80s, Star Raiders brings the franchise into the 21st century by modernizing it with full 3D graphics and an episodic storyline while keeping many of the familiar elements of the original.

Also released on Xbox Live Arcade this week is Gatling Gears from EA. Like many other XBLA titles, Gatling Gears is a multidirectional shooter. While this one brandishes a storyline about destroying an evil empire, when the tag line for the game is "Blow $*!# Up", it kind of makes you think that perhaps plot development isn't the main focus here.

As for Nintendo's digital download services, Virtual Console players get a dose of the '90s courtesy of Hudson Soft's Super Island Adventures. While over on DSiWare this week, NoWay Studio gives a nod to the old Micro Machines games, with its miniature vehicles racer--Remote Racers.

For the full list of games out this week across the Xbox Live Arcade, the Virtual Console, and DSiWare, check out the list below:

Xbox Live Arcade:
Star Raiders - 800 Microsoft points
Gatling Gears - 1,200 Microsoft points

DSiWare:
Remote Racers - 500 Nintendo points

Virtual Console:
Super Adventure Island- 800 Nintendo points

Get the full article at GameSpot

Team Bondi's long-awaited adventure game L.A. Noire is just around the corner, and to celebrate, the guys and girls at the Mana Bar are throwing a party on May 19. Not only is the bar serving up special cocktails and encouraging punters to dress up in 1940's attire, but it will also have playable demo units of L.A. Noire on hand. The event kicks off at 5 p.m., and while it's only a seven-hour head start before the game's release, it's a good chance to check out whether you like it before handing over your cash for a copy.

L.A. Noire is set in the 1940s and follows World War II veteran Cole Phelps as he commences his career with the LAPD. Players start off working the beat as a patrol man but progress to other departments within the force, like vice and homicide as the game progresses.

For more information on how to attend the L.A. Noire preview session at the Mana Bar, check out the official Facebook page.

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GameSpot AU teamed up with the good folks at Sony over the weekend to hold a special preview event at the publisher's Sydney offices for the upcoming PlayStation 3 action adventure, Infamous 2.

On hand to chat to the GS AU community were Ken Schramm (communications manager) and Joe Ifhikura (lead game designer) from Sucker Punch studios, who showed off some new gameplay trailers and talked about the game's new features, including a revamped karma system and a handful of new powers for Cole.

Punters also got the chance to try the game out, with Sony's supply of bacon and egg rolls keeping everyone powered up throughout the morning. Check out our photos from the event below!

The Sony offices…nice and neat before the madness descended.

Punters start filing in; fingers itching to pick up the controllers…but not yet, guys!

Hmm…there sure seem to be a lot of cutscenes in this game…(the demo wasn't turned on until after the presentation).

Yay! The Sucker Punch presentation gets underway in the Sony boardroom.

Finally, people can actually start playing the game!

Sucker Punch's Joe Ifhikura gets friendly with the GS AU community.

There weren't enough consoles to cater to the 30-plus punters, but people didn't mind waiting their turn to have a hands-on experience.

GS AU community members pose for the camera.

Bacon and egg rolls, juices, and beer (for those who wanted it!) were on hand to keep punters happy throughout the morning.

Jess Hodgson trying out Cole's new ionic powers.

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I've been an iPhone user since day dot, starting with an imported North American 2G model in 2007. I upgraded to a 3G not long after the Australian release and recently picked up an iPhone 4 after being unable to locate an HTC Desire HD. So when Sony Ericsson approached me with the opportunity to trial its new Xperia Play (read: PlayStation Phone), I was eager to see how tough the transition would be to a new platform and its differing ways of doing things.

Rather than juggle two phones, I wanted to give the Play my full attention, making it my only handset for the full trial period. Android's user interface was easy enough to get to grips with, and I immediately began liking the subtle changes, like the window shades notification system that marks new activity and events with a drag-down banner at the top of the screen.

While Apple continues to shake its boob-free app iron fist of certification at consumers, Google appears far more lenient with giving its thumbs-up on Android. If you've ever lost your phone only to call it and find you've had it on silent, the existence of apps that can receive an SMS from another phone, turn off silent mode, and crank up your ringer volume to locate it are a godsend. Likewise, though sitting in a grey legal area, Android is littered with a multitude of classic game console emulator applications, all waiting to turn your mobile into a portable version of the experiences you own on home consoles.

Is it a phone? Is it a plane? No, it's hybrid technology!

Platform eccentricities aside, since the Xperia Play is being marketed primarily at gamers who recognise the Sony brand, I was eager to see if the Play could capture and then keep my attention. For a full overview on what the Xperia Play is, and some of its specs, watch our Crosshairs segment below.

So, how well does it work? Boiled down to its absolute core, the Xperia Play is at its most basic level the ill-fated PlayStation Portable Go with added touch-screen support bolted on to an Android phone. Like the Go, it won't take UMD games, instead relying on digital downloads--and because it's an Android device, it will support everything from simple Flash games on websites through to advanced downloadable mobile games, as well as specialty PlayStation titles. The handset comes bundled with a handful of familiar franchises, like a slimmed-down version of EA's FIFA series, a Virtua Fighter-style Bruce Lee Kung Fu fighting game, and a decent port of Sony's own Crash Bandicoot. Sony promises that new PS One titles will sell for around six Aussie dollars each, and the company has already announced plans to bring titles like MediEvil, Syphon Filter, and Destruction Derby to the device once it goes on sale.

The big draw card of the Play is that, because it opens longways, the lower sliding panel reveals the iconic four PlayStation face buttons--square, triangle, circle, and cross--a physical (and clicky) D pad, two virtual analog sticks, and a pair of shoulder buttons. Sony Ericsson has tapped the team responsible for designing the DualShock 3 controller, so the phone even has miniaturised versions of the Start and Select buttons. It's not uncomfortable to hold for short bursts, though we could see the potential for hand cramping during extended play sessions.

Sliding apart the two halves initiates the PlayStation menu system, which you can navigate by scrolling your finger across the simplified XMB-style menus or by using the D pad. Tabs separate Xperia Play games from the unwashed masses of regular downloadable games, and by selecting a search icon in the upper-right corner of the screen, games that have been specifically optimised for use with the phone appear in their own browsable list.

Unfortunately, while the interface is slick, things came a bit unstuck when we actually started playing some of the games. While we quite liked that we didn't have to share screen real estate with fingers that obscured the action, the digital analog touchpads left us cold. Sony Ericsson is making them mappable for developers, and if they choose not to, in some cases players can map them to suit their own custom layout. But--and this is a big but--it was clear that across the games that included support for the little flat nipples out of the box, they didn't behave uniformly across all games. When they do work, it's great, but some were far more responsive than others, some were sluggish, and others stopped working intermittently while playing.

As you'd hope, Crash was one of the better examples of gaming on the device, and it ran smoothly and responsively. It gave us a good indication (despite being a minor technical showcase) of what the phone can bring to the table, and we're hoping the Play has the technical nous to handle PlayStation 2 games into the future.

Since the handset hasn't yet gone on sale, we're forgiving it the limited amount of Play-specific content available to buy and play from third-party developers, though we were extremely disappointed with the gaping holes in the Android games channel for official touch-screen content. Aussie developer Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja was here, but when we went looking for other top-rated and downloaded iPhone games, like Firemint's Flight Control, Battleheart, or Tiny Wings, we were presented with either blatant knock-offs or failed search results. Despite Android clawing at Apple's market share--and boasting significantly more manufacturers making devices for the operating system--it's clear that with the exception of a handful of cross-platform developers, if you want to play the popular games that your iPhone friends are enjoying, iOS still leads the charge.

Most of the games we grabbed for the Play included a small installer app that would then link up to grab the rest of the game, usually between 200-500MB. Because of this, you'll want to load up on games over Wi-Fi at home before you go out. Large apps aren't exclusive to Android, but given both the lack of quality of small, cheap Flash apps, and the device itself being geared towards heftier, more graphically intensive content, it (ironically) makes this less of a device of convenience. That caveat aside, the games we did download and play looked and sounded good and were of the quality you'd expect from a dedicated gaming handheld. We have to give the Play props for its audio quality, and its unique speaker design and placement made game audio loud and crisp rather than the muffled garbage you normally get when held in landscape mode.

This is a phone-turned-gaming-device, but whether it's officially part of the family or just a distant cousin, there are bound to be expectations from PlayStation loyalists around content sharing. The elephant in the room is cross-platform support, and in February, Sony Ericsson big cheese Nathan Vautier confirmed that owners will be asked to stump up and repurchase content that they have already bought on the PlayStation Network for their phone. A bit of a kick in the teeth for Sony fans who, in all likelihood, probably already own a PSP and are interested in reducing the number of devices they currently carry.

So is it time to ditch iOS for Android, or make the move from Android to the Xperia Play?

Ultimately, the decision to make the switch will be driven by two key factors: handset features and the content available on the devices. If gaming is one of your primary motivators, Android is certainly more open than Apple's iOS, but frankly, we'd sooner settle for the middle ground between nanny state sanitisation and the digital Wild West. Even with Sony's announcement of more PS One titles coming down the line, and as much as we like the Xperia Play with its tactile gaming, buying in straightaway puts a lot of faith in Sony and third-party mobile devs to deliver on promises of more content at reasonable prices. It's a bold first step, and we're eager to see what Sony does with this handset, and potentially any of its successors, before we plonk down any of our own hard-earned cash. What could help make this more attractive to gamers? In an ideal world: a phone that interfaces with all of our existing and future PlayStation content such as Play TV segments, bought and rented films, and the ability to play games we've already purchased while we're on the move.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play goes on sale in May/early June in all major Australian carriers. Read the full handset review at CNET Australia.

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In the past week, both South Australia and the ACT proposed the same thing: a plan to introduce R18+ for games in their individual states if a nationwide consensus cannot be reached at the upcoming SCAG meeting in July, providing the federal government first introduces the adult rating by another method at a federal level.

South Australian Attorney-General John Rau further proposed that his state should abolish the MA15+ classification for video games at the same time it introduces R18+, a move spurred by Rau's opinion that there should be a clear gap between what is suitable for children and what is suitable for adults. His proposal to introduce R18+ and abolish MA15+ for games in SA was approved by the state's cabinet.

But are South Australia and the ACT's plans to go it alone possible under Australia's classification system? And what can the federal government feasibly do if a nationwide consensus on R18+ cannot be reached? GameSpot AU spoke to an industry legal expert, as well as the federal government to try to answer some of the most pressing questions in this increasingly confusing debate. [The answers below have been formulated with the guidance, comments, and help of a legal representative and the Federal Attorney-General's Office.]

Q: So can South Australia and the ACT go it alone? Can they change their own laws to allow R18+ or remove MA15+?

A: No. Classification in Australia is an intergovernmental issue. This means that individual states and territories cannot change classification laws in their own state until it has first been done so by the federal government and with the approval of other states and territories.

Classification laws are laid out in the National Classification Scheme, which states that the federal government is responsible for the classification of publications, films, and video games, and the states and territories are responsible for the enforcement of classification decisions.

Q: So the only way any classification can change right now is through SCAG?

A: Yes. The introduction of the R18+ classification for games requires an amendment to section 7 of the Classification (Publications, Films, and Computer Games) Act 1995, and substantial amendments to the Classification Code and the Classification Guidelines.

The Classification Act states that amendments to both the Classification Code and to the Classification Guidelines require the agreement of all federal, state, and territory ministers responsible for censorship matters. This is also consistent with the Intergovernmental Agreement relating to the National Classification Scheme.

Amendments to the National Classification Scheme are therefore progressed through SCAG. The R18+ for games has been on the SCAG agenda since 2002.

Q: If there is no unanimous agreement at the next SCAG, what can the federal government do to keep pushing the R18+ cause? Has the federal government ever ignored the states and just changed something in classification?

A: Yes. But first, let's go back to the two possible outcomes of the SCAG meeting in July. If all federal, state, and territory attorneys-general vote unanimously to introduce an R18+ classification for video games in Australia then the federal government can move ahead to make changes to the National Classification Code to allow for a new R18+ classification for video games.

However, if federal, state, and territory attorneys-general do not reach a unanimous agreement to introduce an R18+ classification for video games in Australia at the SCAG meeting in July, 2011, the federal government has declared it will look at other options. These options have not been made clear yet. However, there is one instance in the past when the federal government has changed classification laws without the unanimous agreement of all states and territories.

In 2007, then Federal Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock introduced a bill to make new provisions to the Classification Act. The bill--titled The Classification (Publications, Films, and Computer Games) Amendment (Terrorist Material) Bill 2007--required that any publications, films, or video games going forward that advocate the doing of a terrorist act must be immediately refused classification (RC).

Ruddock first proposed this change to classification laws in July 2006, when he put the matter to SCAG in order to secure a unanimous agreement and thus amend the National Classification Code. However, unanimous agreement could not be reached. This led Ruddock to introduce his bill and, since the National Classification Code could not be amended, make changes to the Classification Act instead, thus requiring the Classification Board of Australia from then on to refuse classification of material that advocated terrorist acts.

The below is an excerpt from a speech Ruddock gave on Thursday, June 21, 2007, in the House of Representatives, explaining the cause for his actions and the need to take matters into his own hands:

"I would prefer to see these provisions in the National Classification Code and guidelines, not in the Classification Act, but that requires the states' and territories' agreement. […] I first sought state and territory agreement to changes to classification laws in July 2006. To date, they have been reluctant to respond positively to my proposals. I am not prepared to wait indefinitely to address this problem. […] The provisions take into account submissions received following public consultation on the discussion paper. […] Let me make it very clear: I have been pressing the states and territories to deal with this issue for more than 12 months, and I think they have had more than enough time to come to an agreement."

To read more on how classification in Australia works, read GameSpot AU's Classification FAQ.

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Not everyone has access to the Gears of War 3 multiplayer beta, so we asked you, the GameSpot AU community, what you wanted to know about multiplayer in the game ahead of its launch.

Ryancamcam: In Gears 2, you could choose a few ways to kill people when they were downed, such as curb-stomp or meat-shield, etc. Has this been kept the same, expanded on, or dropped?

GameSpot AU: From our play, it looks like the downed executions have been amped up even further. Beyond the face punching and beatings you can deliver with a weapon butt, you will now be able to literally tear off a downed opponent's arm and beat him to death with it. We spied a couple of new Lancer finishing moves, and the unlockable Retro Lancer with its bayonet sees you running in and stabbing someone in the guts before raising him up and slamming him into the ground. Epic has confirmed that each weapon will have its own unique weapon execution when the game ships.

Petar Todorovic: What is unlockable from the beta to the retail release game? What will carry across?

GameSpot AU: Where normally you're given a handful of maps and modes and told to play it until you get bored or break it, Epic has been keen to reward players just for getting involved in the beta. There's a constant stream of prizes for taking part, and if leveling up isn't enough to keep you interested, you'll earn medals for each match, while playing on certain days will unlock weapons, character models, and different skins.

Not surprisingly, stats won't carry over once the retail multiplayer goes live, but you will get a couple of goodies for your troubles. A gold version of the Retro Lancer will only be available by playing the beta and will take around 90 matches to unlock. You'll then need 100 Retro Lancer kills before the beta ends to keep it. There's also an unlockable Thrashball Cole skin with him decked out in gridiron football gear. You'll earn this at 70 matches, but if you play enough games using him, you will get to keep the outfit.

A new and nasty kind of ventriloquism.

Campzor and Raghraghragh: Does it have offline bots? Can you tell us more about the changes and additions to Horde mode?

GameSpot AU: Unfortunately, this online multiplayer beta is limited to King of the Hill and Team Deathmatch at the moment, so we haven't been able to play anything else ourselves. Epic has confirmed that Horde mode will be back in Gears 3, as well as the new Beast mode that turns the tables and sees you killing COGs as various types of Locust. As for bots, they are in the Gears 3 multiplayer beta and help to balance teams when players quit matches early or there aren't enough people to start a wholly human game.

The bots aren't super intelligent, and we've seen cases where they have nicked weapons from human players and run out face-first into enemy gunfire. They do cycle out as new real players join the match, so while they're not the sharpest knives in the drawer, they do beat being booted back to a lobby screen until you've got the player numbers to begin.

There are four maps currently available in the beta, and each looks and handles differently:

Checkout is an abandoned supermarket littered with low counter tops and toppled shelves to hide behind. Line of sight is available through the middle of the zone, but the majority of the combat goes on at either end and in the enclosed side rooms. Bring a shotgun.

Thrashball is similar to Checkout but includes an open-plan grassy area underneath a giant hanging scoreboard that can be shot down to crush players lurking below. Tunnels on both sides and raised platforms provide excellent sniping spots with an elevated view of the battlefield.

Trenches is a sandy outdoor arena with perches and nooks to take shots from, but the biggest features are the bunker found up a hill and the sandstorms that rip through the level, reducing visibility for a period of time. Keep your Lancer running as you turn corners to help hack up the other team.

Old Town is the fourth and final map and has narrow cobblestoned streets with plenty of places to hide. With multiple points of entry, keep your back to the wall and hope your team is useful enough to guard the entrances.

Jay Ball: Is it awesome enough to make your day better or horrible enough to make you want to smash the console?

GameSpot AU: From the time we've spent with it, the multiplayer is looking fantastic. Lag-free games for Aussies have been a snap to find, and you're never more than a few seconds away from combat. You're constantly rewarded whether you're playing as a lone wolf or part of the team, and if the community supports this the way it has other Gears games online, we can see ourselves spending plenty of time stomping on other players' heads.

Oil up your Lancer because Gears of War 3 will be out exclusively on the Xbox 360 on September 20 this year. Stay tuned for more details during the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

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Sony's weeklong outage of the PlayStation Network went from bad to ballistic overnight, with the company confirming that the breach that caused it to shutter its online service for the PlayStation 3 and PSP may have also resulted in personal information being accessed by "an unauthorized person." Sony has confirmed that in addition to details such as name, address, country, e-mail address, birth date, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID, credit card details may have been compromised, possibly affecting the 75 million registered PSN users globally.

Unauthorised access to your credit card and, even worse, identity theft are a distinct possibility as part of this massive breach. But should you be worried? What's the worst that could happen to you and your finances? And what steps should you immediately take to protect yourself? GameSpot AU spoke to several security analysts to gauge their views, and the message is clear: to paraphrase an Australian government catchphrase, PSN users need to be alert but not alarmed.

GameSpot AU: So how scared should PSN users be about this breach?

James Turner (IBRS security industry analyst): People shouldn't be scared at all--but they should take two pieces of action: cancel your credit card and change your passwords, particularly if your PSN password is the same for other services.

Go change your passwords. Now!

Nick Ellsmore (Stratsec head of delivery): That's a tough question. The whole area of identity theft is quite challenging to work with. If all people needed to steal your identity was your name, date of birth, address, and PSN password, then I think we have much bigger problems as a whole compared to just this particular breach of data. The reality is the electoral roll is publicly available. You can go on Facebook and find out a lot of information about someone. The real issue here is this type of data has been breached in a very public way.

Chris Gatford (Hacklabs director): I wouldn't lose sleep, and I wouldn't rush out and cancel credit cards. I would be more disappointed with Sony. This occurs on almost a daily basis worldwide (large organisations being compromised), but most consumers will be protected by their banks against fraudulent transactions.

What's harder to quantify is the loss of personal information. Say you used your mother's maiden name as a security question, or used another question you use for other websites. This information can be used by attackers to access other services you use.

GS AU: So what's the worst that could happen to an individual?

JT: That depends on who you are. Credit card details being lost could lead to fraudulent transactions. In Australia, our banking code says that banks will cover the cost for fraudulent charges on a credit card, so the big issue there is the time it takes for the bank to do the investigation and refund the transaction.

NE: It's hard to say, because of the different levels of personal details people have on the network. If you get hit with a phishing attack and people access your accounts, then the banks will reimburse. Same with credit cards. It's more the inconvenience and any issues the timing causes.

CG: Clever attackers will take 12 or 18 months before they access your card, and often stagger purchases so it's harder to track down to an individual source. People could also use that information to, for example, try to take out loans in your name or get an extra credit card. It can be reversed, but it's a time-consuming process to go to a bank and reverse it.

GS AU: How likely is it that something will occur to a PSN user because of this?

JT: That's hard to say--it depends on who perpetrated the attack and what their motivation was for it.

NE: You would have to say very unlikely. Australia has a very well-regulated and controlled banking system and finance system, and we do not have high rates of fraud.

CG: I don't know how likely identity theft is to occur--if anything, it will be more likely petty theft.

GS AU: So what's the minimum concerned PSN users should do right now to protect themselves?

JT: Change their credit cards and their passwords, particularly if they use the same password across other accounts.

NE: Be alert of anything untoward happening on your accounts. And if the password on the PSN is the same as you use elsewhere, then just go ahead and change it. Should you cancel your credit card? Not really, but if you have any concerns, talk to your bank and have that discussion. Personally, if something happened to me, I would call the bank, get the fraud reversed, and then cancel the card from there.

CG: At the absolute worst, if you want to avoid the annoyance of having to handle credit card fraud, then change the number on your card. If you use the same username and password value on other services, then obviously change that, as well.

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Supporters of the R18+ classification for video games in Australia have always argued that the lack of an adult rating leads some games to be incorrectly classified into the MA15+ category. The Australian government backed this view today, releasing a comparison of recent video game classification decisions showing 11 MA15+ titles that are rated either 17+ or 18+ in other territories.

The table shows a comparison between Australia and other territories on titles such as Borderlands, Bulletstorm, Dead Space, Duke Nukem Forever, Fallout 3, FEAR 2: Project Origin, FEAR 3, Left 4 Dead 2, Mad World, Wet, and Wolfenstein. While all these games were rated MA15+ in Australia, they were restricted to adult-only ratings (17+ or 18+) in Europe, Germany, the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore. Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor says that his department compiled the table to demonstrate that Australia is pushing otherwise adult titles into the MA15+ category due to the current lack of an R18+ classification.

"There are dozens of games that are currently classified as MA15+ in Australia, but in other countries, these gaming titles are restricted to adults only," O'Connor said during a recent tour of EB Games stores in Adelaide. "If the new category is introduced, it could result in computer games that are currently classified MA15+ being reclassified R18+, providing a new level of protection for children. Games that are currently refused classification and do not meet the standard required for R18+ classification will remain in the refused classification category."

O'Connor called on South Australia to back the federal government's proposal to introduce an R18+ video game classification.

"This issue has been on the table for almost a decade, without the necessary progress to make a change. This is the right decision for Australian families and the right decision for parents who want to be able to make informed choices about the games their children play. The time has come for state and territory attorneys-general to represent their constituents' views at a national level and lay their cards on the table."

In the 2010 national Galaxy telephone survey, 80 percent of the 2,226 people contacted said they supported the introduction of an R18+ classification for games, and 81 percent of those surveyed in South Australia were also in favour of R18+.

"Children and teenagers shouldn't be exposed to the gratuitous sex, violence, and adult themes that are contained in some computer games," O'Connor said. With the next Standing Committee of Attorneys-General meeting in Adelaide on 21 and 22 July, South Australia has the chance to lead the way on this issue. I hope the [SA] state government will reflect the views of South Australian families by supporting this change in the interests of parents and their children."

GameSpot will be reporting live from the SCAG meeting in July. For more on classification, visit GameSpot AU's previous coverage.

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Nintendo Australia already has an impressive collection of sales records Down Under, and thanks to the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo can now add another trophy to its cabinet. After its first four days of sales, the 3DS has sold more than 31,000 units, making it Australia's fastest selling handheld console.

Unlike most industry data, this figure was provided by Nintendo…s retail partners, not industry trackers GfK Australia.

While the Nintendo 3DS holds the record for fastest selling handheld in Australia, it failed to claim the title of fastest selling console overall. That record belongs to the Wii, which is only slightly ahead at 32,000 units sold during its first week of sales.

The Nintendo 3DS launched in Australia on March 31 alongside 13 games. Since its initial launch, many retailers haven't had stock available, instead taking preorders. One retailer told GameSpot AU that it's not expecting in-store stock until late May.

Last month, it was reported that Nintendo's stereoscopic 3D console also broke sales records in the US, with the Japanese hardware manufacturer confirming that "US day-one sales numbers for Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo handheld system in our history."

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We all know that games aren't created overnight, but few titles have shot to stardom the way that Duke Nukem Forever has long before going on sale. The oft-delayed and seldom seen baby of the now defunct 3D Realms was given a second chance last year when Gearbox Software announced that it had picked up the project. We recently got our hands on a few hours of the single-player campaign, and rather than keep it to ourselves, we asked you for your questions about this decade-long development debacle.

illmatic87: Is the level design elaborate in "exploration" or is it linear?

GameSpot AU: Our demo started at the beginning of the game, and during the hours we played it remained largely corridor shooting with the odd outdoor section--not much in the way of branching paths. That's not to say that it might not be there further into the game, and we've been told to expect somewhere between 12 and 15 hours of campaign in the box, plus multiplayer.

Selbie: Randy [Pitchford] has previously talked about puzzle-solving in the game. What kinds of puzzles have you experienced so far? Are they challenging?

GameSpot AU: It really all depends on what you consider puzzle-solving. A few of the things we saw were building ego points and piloting a remote-controlled car to retrieve an item in a room we couldn't step foot in. Essentially performing Duke-like behaviour, such as microwaving rats, bench-pressing heavy weights, and admiring yourself in the mirror, increases your ego (read: health) bar. Ego boosters aren't always obvious, so you'll need to scout around the environments to find them. Beyond that, there was one section where we needed to use some piping like a seesaw to get up onto a platform, but don't expect to be getting Mensa membership requests in the post after playing this.

DeltaPhoenix08: Does Duke sound right? Is it the same voice actor from previous games?

GameSpot AU: If it's not Jon St. John, the guy who voiced Duke Nukem from 1995 onwards, then they've found themselves a dead-ringer impersonator. Expect to hear a mix of familiar, classic Duke one-liners and plenty of new material in the same crude vein that you've come to expect.

Paul_Maccas: Are there enough strippers?

GameSpot AU: Paul, it's hard to know exactly how high your stripping tolerance is, but we ask you, are there ever enough strippers in a Duke Nukem game? We didn't see any during our demo, but they have appeared in the trailers, so we'll have to wait and see.

Patrik Ikhardt: Does the brash nature and humour make up for the lacking graphics and (likely) gameplay? Is it fun enough to make up for its blatant technical shortcomings?

GameSpot AU: That, Patrik, is the $64,000 question. We're not going to sugarcoat it; if you're expecting the visual fidelity of Call of Duty or Crysis 2, you're setting yourself up for a fall. A game this long in development isn't all cutting-edge tech, and it shows in places. That said, if you're a Duke fan and you go in expecting the same rough and ready jokes, mature themes, and alien butchery you've come to expect from the franchise, you're probably not going to be disappointed. Does one balance out the other? We're going to have to wait until we've played the whole thing before we can make a call on that.

Deathjester: What platform was the game tested on? If PC, does it have Steamworks or GFWL support? Were any Easter eggs found during the play test?

GameSpot AU: We played the Xbox 360 version of the game, so we can…t comment on any potential Games for Windows Live or Steamworks support. There's plenty of fan service here in the form of recycled Duke Nukem 3D audio clips and artwork--even going back as far as the Duke Nukem side-scrolling games of the early '90s. We didn…t see them, but we wouldn't be surprised to find a few Easter eggs squirreled away in the level design.

EggVillain: Can I carry more than 2 weapons? Part of the fun of older games like Duke 3d was the whole one man army thing. Plus pockets like Mary Poppins' handbag.

GameSpot AU: Even from the outset, Duke is still a one-man wrecking ball. Interestingly, while Duke Nukem Forever keeps a lot of the familiar hallmarks of its predecessors, weapon handling wasn't one of them. You'll see a lot of familiar guns, but you'll only be able to carry two at a time, plus grenades, so expect to make some tough decisions about which torture device you want to use to carve up aliens.

Skywarp Greer: Will it be banned here?

GameSpot AU: We have some good news on that front, with the game already being rated MA15+ for strong violence, sexual references, crude humour, and drug references. Aussies will get to play this one.

It wouldn't be Duke Nukem Forever without a delay, even in the home stretch, but Gearbox says this time it's coming out on 10 June for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Keep an eye out for our full review soon.

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