It's no secret that 2K Games acquired the X-COM license from Atari in June of 2005 and there's been speculation ever since that the publisher was looking for a studio to work on a sequel. After a few more rumors surfaced this week, we decided to do a little more digging of our own to find out if the rumors were true. Our inside source told us, "There's not much to tell, actually, other than that it's real." Now we still don't have official confirmation that the game is being developed by the former Irrational team or to what extent, if any, Ken Levine is connected. There was apparently, at some time, discussion of assigning the project to 2K Marin but since it is hard at work on BioShock 2, that doesn't seem likely.

So what would we like to see from this new sequel? Well, first and foremost, this is we're going to have to say we'd like to see another realistically modeled tactical strategy game. But even if the developers depart from that basic format, there are some key aspects of the design that we fell are necessary to maintain continuity with the franchise. First, the overall atmosphere of an alien invasion as an imminent global threat has to be maintained. While the original game definitely rode a wave of ET paranoia in the 1990s (thanks, Chris Carter), games where aliens invade the earth seem even more popular today than they were 15 years ago.

An inside source tells IGN that a new X-Com game is underway. Rumors of a new game have existed for quite some time due to the fact that 2K acquired the X-COM license from Infogrames back in 2007. (actually, it was acquired by Take 2 in 2005, as per USPTO; Gimli)

The latest Official Xbox Mag is running a rumour that's been quietly - oh so quietly - doing the rounds for a few months now. That rumour concerns just what, exactly, 2K Boston (and I presume 2K Australia as well) are up to these days. With 2K Marin confirmed as the team behind BioShock 2, what could Ken Levine and the rest of the guys behind BioShock 1 be working on? Maybe a new X-Com game. Yes, X-Com. 2K quietly bought the rights to the series in 2007, so the rumour's at least got a solid footing, though we're still going to recommend you increase your daily intake of salt. If only because the thought of a new, official X-Com game is too awesome to mess around with.

We would also like to start an open discussion session each sunday between 11.00 GMT and 15.00 GMT on our IRC channel.

It will start by the team discussing all sorts of things and non-members of Nightbird Games are of course allowed to join the IRC to see what we are talking about. But, you are not allowed to interrupt our discussion before I (FreeLanZer) determines that we have discussed the matters we want to discuss on the team. After that you can ask questions to the team about all sorts of things, and of course people from news sites and our forum members gets first priority.

Anyone who disobeys these really fair rules or spams will be immediately removed from the channel without question so behave nicely, however after the discussion and questions you can relax and chill out as the rules wont exist then.

* Removed civilian death limit. Instead you will lose if you make too many nations unhappy.
* Added UFO Theory to Tech Tree.
* Improved in-game IRC client (personal messages, custom motd)

X-COM is a dense game. I have become used to firing up games without ever looking at the manual. In fact, I consider it a measure of a good game if I can find my way around the interface simply through playing the game. If, like Wind Waker or Portal, the game trains me how to play gradually, without resorting to lengthy and dull tutorial levels, it receives high marks in my books. But the tutorial for X-COM is the manual. Launching the game and expecting to successfully navigate every aspect of the gameplay without reading the manual simply isn’t reasonable. Today, this might spell the game’s doom. But in 1993, it was more the norm than the exception.

ALTAR Games is busy working on their next project and plan no further updates for UFO: Afterlight. They wish for the game to expand however, and have therefore given the source-code to a few dedicated fans. Petteri “PetteriB” Bamberg will maintain the UFO: Afterlight source-code in the time to come with help from Jason "Kret" Rodrigo and Stuart “Stucuk” Carey.

As his first contribution to the community, Petteri has completed patch 1.6 for UFO: Afterlight. This patch includes lots of bug-fixes that fans of the game wished for, and removes the copy-protection! That’s right; developer ALTAR and publisher 1C Company has agreed to remove the DVD check from the retail version of the game! You can read more about the updates to the game in the official forum.

New York, USA (April 18, 2008) – Globally renowned publisher Paradox Interactive, is proud to announce that, having acquired the license for the much loved Majesty brand, will be releasing a long hoped for sequel in 2009.

Majesty 2 – The Fantasy Kingdom Sim will focus on reinventing many aspects of the original game, updating the franchise for the 21st Century. A key element that will permeate the game is the charm and humor of the original Majesty.

"This is by far the biggest release from Paradox to date and it is sure to become one of the most anticipated titles of 2009", said Fredrik Wester, Executive Vice President for Paradox Interactive. "Our aim is to release a fantastic game that not only encourages existing fans to renew their passion for the series, but also to reach out to the broader gaming community that has grown so much since the original was released", he continued.

"It's the height of any developers dream to work with such a cherished Triple A franchise with so many fans worldwide and such a unique position in the gaming industry", said Alexey Kozyrev, CEO 1C:Ino-Co. "As a team we have reached the level of skills and acknowledgement in the international arena to be worthy of such a task."

So, while far from a perfect expansion pack, Kane's Wrath offers breadth. It does what's expected. It does stuff that's not expected. And it offers a lot for the GBP 20 it harvests. While most will be more interested to see where EA LA takes the ideas they've played with here next, there's much more for a C&C fan to get excited about than imagining Natasha Henstridge is talking to them. Although that is pretty exciting. For me, anyway. In fact, if she's out there, feel free to call, Natasha. I'm in. Waiting. Just waiting.

April 11, 2008 - Bigger isn't always better, a lesson that we've painfully learned from pre-World War I ocean liners and hydrogen-filled zeppelins. You might as well throw turn-based strategy games on the list with Lost Empire: Immortals, a sprawling title similar to Master of Orion that blows away most games when it comes to scale. Unfortunately, that works to its detriment, as it comes off as more than a bit soulless, and it's such a huge game that it feels a bit like you're managing a spreadsheet than an interstellar empire at times.