• Initial party size limit is extended by 20
  
• Shield blocking is updated: Fixed bug where shields didn't protect against missiles shot from above
  
• AI pathfinding is updated, and lots of weird behaviors are fixed
  
• AI troops that seldomly spawn with shields bug is fixed
  
• Retreat simulation in battles now damages the enemy even if player is knocked down
  
• Models and lengths are updated for some of the weapons
  
• Characters who have been killed now soak up attacks for a short while
  
• Incorrect coloring of heraldic mails is fixed
  
• Fixed a bug where throwing weapons couldn't be used as melee weapons on horseback
  
• Some of the multiplayer maps' glitches are fixed
  
• Mount&Blade; Warband directory is added under My Documents folder. Some of the editable files are moved to there for ease of access
  
• Rendering performance is increased slightly
  
• Removed memory leaks from dedicated servers
  
• Many other bug-fixes
  

Purchase here.

We’ve recently banned over 320,000 Warcraft III and Diablo II accounts that were found to be violating the Battle.net Terms of Use. If this is a first offense, the CD key associated with the banned account will be suspended for 30 days, while repeat offenders will see their keys banned permanently. All account ban decisions are final.

We would like all players to remember that abuse of unintended mechanics and/or use of third party programs is a violation of the agreement made when signing on to Battle.net, and can subject your account to disciplinary action up to and including a permanent ban of its access to the service. These types of activities can severely impact the stability of our servers, and we’ll continue to aggressively monitor Battle.net in order to protect the service and its players from the harmful effects of cheating.

Many account closures come as the direct result of tips emailed to our hacks team by legitimate Battle.net users. If you come across a hack, find a site responsible for distributing hacks, or have a replay of a newly available hack, please report this to our hacks team at hacks@blizzard.com or through our Hacks Report Form.

As always, thank you for your continued support, and we'll see you on Battle.net!

Today we're shipping some significant changes to the item drop system.

Previously, we rolled randomly at intervals to see if you got an item drop. Now we roll to determine when your next item drop will occur. So you're guaranteed to find items at fairly regular intervals. The bulk of drop complaints we've received in the past have been from players having unlucky streaks, where they didn't find any items for weeks. That won't be possible now.

We've significantly increased the rate at which item drops occur, compared to the previous average interval.

There's now a maximum amount of playtime per week in which you get item drops. Playing beyond that amount won't find any more items. The amount varies, but if you play an hour or so a day you're good. Some of your unused time will rollover to the following week, so if you're an intermittent player you'll also be fine.

What are the net effects of these changes? Here's the quick summary:

If you're an idler, you're going to find fewer items than you were prior to this change. Sorry. On the bright side, there's less reason to idle, because it won't earn more than players who are playing regularly.

Everyone else will find items more frequently, and with greater regularity.

We're still thinking about how to allow you to influence your drops. When we see discussions on the forums, people often ask why we don't tie it to some in-game performance (like your scoreboard position, or number of kills, etc). Many players understand that if we did this, idle servers would simply change into servers running plugins that generate those in-game events frequently (as we saw in the Soldier & Demoman WAR!).

There's another side of it that we care about just as much, which is the message it would send to all the players who don't want to idle. Any in-game performance metric we chose would result in there being specific maps, classes, tactics, and so on that resulted in more drops. We really don't want that to happen. When it's simply playtime, you're free to play the game however you like. If you love Payload, you can play Payload maps without worrying about whether you're earning less drops than the guys playing Arena maps. Community mapmakers don't have to worry about whether their maps earn item drops fast enough. Similarly, server operators can configure their servers however they like, without worrying about reducing the rate at which their players are earning drops. In short, while it's far from perfect, not tying to in-game performance is a lot less poisonous to your minute-to-minute game experience.

Priced $5/€5/£3, the Deus Ex Collection will save you $15/€15/£9 compared to the normal asking price.

What's the best movie you've seen this year?

Fictoids

• 4.5 pounds of sunlight strike the Earth each day.
• According to studies, men change their minds two to three times more often than women.
• A single cup of gasoline, when ignited, has the same explosive power as five sticks of dynamite.
• German chemists made a replica of a trophy the size of one molecule.
• One gallon of used motor oil can ruin approximately one million gallons of fresh water.

Taking place many months after the events of Ôkami, Ôkamiden follows the adventures of Chibiterasu – a young sun god who is summoned to protect and restore the land. Armed with a majestic celestial brush and a vibrant cast of partners with unique powers and abilities, this little god is ready to make its mark on the world. Ôkamiden is headed to the Nintendo DS in 2011.

Expanding on the 16-player multiplayer of Lost Planet 2, Map Pack #1 includes new maps available for download from Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. Due out to coincide with the May 11th launch, Helix and Back to the Island bring the explosive multiplayer versus combat to new environments from an underwater mining facility to an island with wide open spaces and compact interiors.

Capcom unveils the next evolution in 3D side-scrolling action with Bionic Commando Rearmed 2. Nathan Spencer returns as the daring elite soldier equipped with special bionic abilities. Spencer will have to face his greatest challenge yet as General Sabio, a new technologically sophisticated foe, is on the brink of launching a deadly missile attack.

Nathan Spencer will make use of his trademark tool – his bionic grappling hook – to grab, swing and leap through series of lush new environments. He’ll be met by plenty of gun-toting soldiers and mechanized threats ready to give him a hostile greeting. Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 improves upon the visual achievements of its predecessor with the addition of more detailed character models, textures, and vibrant colors. New player mechanics will add another strategic layer of platforming to the overall experience and the famous bionic arm will be getting a major makeover delivering a more dynamic bionic experience to the player.

Key Features:

Sequel to the popular downloadable title on PSN and Xbox LIVE, Bionic Commando Rearmed.

New Weapons, attacks and enhancements for the the all-purpose Bionic Arm.

New platforming mechanics provides more freedom and challenges. Now the impossible is within your “leap!”

New physics-based puzzles will take the platforming experience to another level.

2-player co-op is back and better than ever.

Enhanced graphics and better camera functionality.

All new musical score inspired by NES-era sound effects, produced by the same creative mind behind the original Bionic Commando Rearmed soundtrack.

Cut-scene art designed by cutting-edge art studio Massive Black, whose previously worked on Infamous, Bioshock 2 and, God of War III.

Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the first game add-on for its co-operative zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead 2 The Passing, is due for release Thursday, April 22 exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the PC.

The first game add-on for Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) brings the original Left 4 Dead (L4D1) Survivors down south for a meeting with the L4D2 cast, while delivering new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay for the PC and Xbox 360.

The Passing also introduces a series of weekly game mode events dubbed "Mutations." These week-long runs of new gameplay modes range from "Realism Versus" mode to "Chainsaw Massacre," which gives all players chainsaws with an unlimited supply of gasoline. There are over 20 Mutations planned, each playable on all L4D2 Campaigns. Mutations are exclusively available to owners of "The Passing" DLC.

In addition, "The Passing" offers a new co-operative challenge mode of play, support for infected bot play in Versus, a new "uncommon common" zombie class (the fallen survivor), melee weapon (golf club), and firearm (M-60).

Available for 560 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360 and free on the PC, "The Passing" takes place just after the Dead Center campaign of L4D2. Set in a small town in rural Georgia, players assume the role of the L4D2 Survivors as they meet with the L4D1 characters.

Exclusively available for Xbox 360 and the PC, L4D2 sets a new benchmark for co-operative action games. The title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaws, frying pans, axes, baseball bats, and more.

With the AI Director 2.0, L4D's dynamic gameplay is taken to the next level by giving the Director the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance. The result is a unique game session custom fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Finally, with new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original, featuring more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, new Survival maps, and the new competitive game mode, Scavenge.

Priced $5.99 each, the titles are compatible with Windows Vista and 7, and come with a number of bonus extras.

Story:

The sequel to the million-plus selling Dead Rising, Dead Rising 2 sees the player take on the role of forner Motocross champion Chuck Greene, who has come to Fortune City, America's newest gambling paradise, to compete in “Terror is Reality,” a gruesome game show that dares contestants to survive zombie-filled environments for the delight of TV audiences around the globe. Chuck’s motivation for taking part and risking life and limb is his daughter Katey who has been bitten by a zombie. She requires a daily dose of Zombrex to prevent her from turning into a zombie. There’s no denying that Zombrex works, but since its the only drug of its kind on the market, its price is high. During his time in Fortune City a zombie outbreak occurs and Chuck must survive the onslaught of the undead for 72 hours. Pitted against two fearsome threats – tens of thousands of zombies and the constant countdown of the clock – while potentially rescuing other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, players must also unravel the greater conspiracy behind the outbreak and as importantly find the Zombrex necessary to stop Katey from joining the ever growing zombie horde. Players will shoot, stab, carve and drive their way through enemies in order to beat the clock and survive 72hours in the darkly comedic, no holds-barred confines of Fortune City.

Gameplay:

Dead Rising 2 will deliver more of the signature gameplay that the series is known for plus a number of new features.

Players who might need some help or simply want to share the zombie bashing fun with a friend will now be able to play in online 2-player co-op. Simply use the in-game transceiver to call for assistance at any time and once your partner has accepted, they will arrive by the player’s side for double the action.

With hundreds of zombies on screen at any one time, the original Dead Rising forced gamers to take everyday objects they found in the Mall and use them as weapons. But now, in Dead Rising 2 with thousands of zombies filling every square inch of Fortune City, Chuck is going to need to be even more resourceful and inventive by combining weapons in order to save the day.

Players will be able to take two objects, a roll of tape and with a little inventiveness create an advanced zombie-killing combo weapon - a piece of wood and a lawnmower become Portamower, the handheld mower that cuts zombies down to size in an instant, while a garden rake and car battery combine to create an electrified zombie prod. The more combo weapons a player uses, the more Prestige Points (PPs) they will gain along the way in order to level up Chuck.

Ahead of the full game, Capcom will release original downloadable content exclusively on Xbox Live with Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO. This Prologue consists of unique content not available in the full retail release of Dead Rising 2 will introduce new protagonist Chuck Greene as he and his daughter find themselves caught in the desert town of Still Creek thathas been overrun with zombies. Set two years after the Willamette incident and three before the action of Dead Rising 2, Dead Rising 2: CASE ZERO will help bridge the gap between the two titles and give players a taste of the new gameplay they will experience in Dead Rising 2 as they create combo weapons, rescue survivors and take on a ruthless Psychos before making their escape.

Dead Rising 2 is being developed by Canadian developer Blue Castle Games in close collaboration with Capcom. A number of members from the original Dead Rising team will be working alongside Blue Castle Games throughout the development process, including Capcom’s global head of research and development, Keiji Inafune, who as the game’s Producer, is playing an active role in the project.

Features:

Thousands of Zombies On Screen: The undead are everywhere creating a dynamic and challenging zombie-killing experience for the player as weapons will be created to kill massive amounts of zombies at one time!

New Storyline and Characters: A new protagonist, Chuck Greene, is just the beginning in a long list of new characters, new survivors and new more vicious psychos that will be introduced to fans in the new world of Dead Rising

2-Player Co-Op: Co-op play is introduced to the Dead Rising universe for the first time as players can invite their friends to partner up with them at any time to take on the zombie massacre- tag-team style! Play with a friend and have even more fun as you lure zombies in using strategic items like a toy helicopter or a firecracker. Once the zombies have gathered, your friend can rain bullets from above or shoot at a strategically-placed gas tank to create a deadly explosion that will take out masses of the enemy. Killing zombies with a friend is always more fun!

Terror is Reality: Allows 4 players to compete in a gladiator type show that pits zombies against a group of players in the ultimate Vs. multiplayer blood bath

Combo Weapons; Players can combine two everyday items using duct tape to create the ultimate zombie killing creations such as the Portamower and Paddlesaw. Unlocking combo cards along the way will give players the advantage as the helpful cards will show you what items are best for combining . The more zombies you destroy using your creative combo’s, the more Prestige Points you can earn which levels up Chuck along the way.

Prologue: Compelling new content that will be released ahead of the game launch, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero will give fans a taste of the experience while introducing you to the new characters and story that will unfold in Dead Rising 2

Dead Rising 2 will launch simultaneously on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 August 31st.