Yacht Club's Mega Man-esque Shovel Knight is getting an infusion of genuine Capcom-style music. Manami Matsumae, who composed for the original Mega Man (and Magic Sword, U.N. Squadron, and more) will write two songs for Yacht Club's Kickstarted action game, the developer revealed.

"She even made the original sound effects. The sound of Mega Man dying? The sound of the boss doors opening and closing? The sounds that have permanent residence in your brain and ours? Manami Matsumae is responsible," Yacht Club said. "And now, she is going to be writing two songs for Shovel Knight. We are beyond excited."

The rest of the soundtrack is being done by Jake "Virt" Kaufman, frequent WayForward contributor, Contra 4 composer, and chiptune musician. So expect more than two excellent tracks.

You'd better make a saving throw for your wallet, because it's in serious danger of its cash points being depleted by this weekend's GOG deal. The digital distributor is rolling out ten classic D&D-based PC RPGs, including Planescape: Torment and entries from Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights, for just $21.10. That's down a whopping 80 percent from $105.90.

The deal is a stacking one, which means for every game you choose to purchase, the price on each one goes down; in other words, you're getting the best value for money if you get the lot. The ten games on offer are Icewind Dale 1 & 2 (both Complete versions), Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga and Baldur's Gate 2 Complete, Neverwinter Nights: Diamond Edition and Neverwinter Nights 2: Complete, Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and Planescape: Torment.

You've got time to rustle up a few more gold pieces if needed, because the deal's good until 9PM PT on Monday, April 8.

[Thanks Shawn]

If you're confident enough in Company of Heroes 2's continued existence after the death of its publisher THQ, you can pre-order the game now, and get some incentives for your trouble.

Pre-ordering from "participating retailers" worldwide will offer postlaunch access to a single-player "Theatre of War" episode, along with multiplayer vehicle skin packs, and two additional commanders for each multiplayer army.

"The German army will receive the Joint Operations Doctrine, specializing in precise artillery strikes and the Offensive Spearhead Doctrine for players who want to use heavy armor and airstrikes to crush their opponent," Sega reveals. "The Soviets will unlock the devastating Anti-Infantry Tactics Doctrine, enabling units like flamethrower tanks and the Conscript Support Tactics Doctrine which allows for rapid reinforcement in the heat of battle."

Company of Heroes 2 really does appear to be happening. Sega has a June 25 release date on it, and it's in beta now.

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Adam Orth, creative director at Microsoft's video game division, doesn't "get the drama around having an 'always on' console." Orth took to Twitter yesterday to publicly dismiss criticisms of always-online consoles, likely in response to Kotaku sources recently saying the next-generation Xbox will require an online connection to play games.

While Orth has since protected his account, his tweets were screencapped on Reddit and NeoGAF. Orth, who's been with Microsoft for 15 months having previously worked at LucasArts and PopCap, kicked off heated discussion by tweeting, "Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always on' console. Every device now is 'always on.' That's the world we live in. #dealwithit" Orth went on to say he wants every device to be 'always on.'

Orth's comment caught the attention of BioWare's Manveer Heir, who tweeted back, "Did you learn nothing from Diablo III or SimCity? You know some people's internet goes out right? Deal with it is a shitty reason."

Orth responded, "Electricity goes out too." He later reiterated his 'deal with it' comment.

While Orth made it clear he was expressing his personal opinion, his comments drew a sizable backlash from online communities; his conversation with Heir made it to Reddit's front page. It all follows continued speculation the as-yet-unannounced next Xbox, believed to be codenamed Durango, will feature an always-online Internet connection as a barrier to second-hand games. In contrast, Sony Worldwide Studios chief Shuhei Yoshida said the PS4, expected this year, doesn't need to be always online.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Restructuring firm Hilco announced its procurement of UK high street retailer HMV from administrators Deloitte. Following protracted negotiations across the last few months, Hilco finalized the acquisition this morning, and in doing so ensured 25 stores previously earmarked for closure are to remain open.

HMV, one of the UK's most prominent high street sellers of games, effectively declared itself bankrupt by entering administration earlier this year. Hilco took on the retailer's debt, while Deloitte announced closures for almost half its outlets, with nearly 1,500 people laid off as a result. Today's news means HMV retains 141 stores and some 2,500 employees.

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Zynga will implement new executive pay schemes in 2013, effectively doubling the salaries of many key executives. Bonuses will now be tied to performance, increasing maximum payout potential for the top brass.

In addition to this, Zynga co-founder and head honcho Mark Pincus has lowered his annual salary to $1, Inside Social Games reports. Pincus, we should note, is also ineligible for these new executive bonuses.

It's been a rough year and change for Zynga, which posted massive losses in 2012. Zynga has bled key talent lately, the most recent being Dan Porter, CEO of Draw Something developer OMGPOP. His departure was preceded by game designer Brian Reynolds in January and CFO Dave Wehner back in November.

God of War: Ascension's 1.04 multiplayer update, outlined by Sony Santa Monica designer Vincent Napoli in a new PlayStation Blog post, will bump up the level cap over 30 and through the "Elite Levels," up to 40. These new levels will enable a new item, two relics, and a new ultimate magic spell for the game's four allegiances.

The update will also include a multiplayer stats screen and a number of bug fixes. Audio issues are the biggest priority there, but problems with matchmaking and certain weapon unlocks are also due to be fixed in this update. There's no official release date for the patch yet, but Napoli says it's on the way.

Eric Chahi's Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition is available now on Steam for $9.99, with Steam Play functionality across Windows and Mac.

Another World, considered to be one of the medium's best breakouts, is available on iOS, Android and Blackberry 10 in the mobile space. If you'd rather be sitting in front of the computer, you'll also find Eric Chahi's memorable work on the Mac App store and GOG.

Little Inferno, Tomorrow Corporation's darling (burning) fireplace game that made its debut late last year on PC and Wii U, has reached 250,000 in sales, Destructoid reports. Tomorrow Corporation's Kyle Gabler confirmed the figure with Joystiq in an email. "We're no EA or Zynga, but for a weird game that's impossible to talk about, we're proud of it!"

Little Inferno is out now on iPad and iPhone, available separately on the App store for $4.99 and $2.99, respectively.

Indie 2D fighting game Yatagarasu, developed by ex-SNK alumni Circle Edge, is now available on PC through its British publisher, Rice Digital. Having first launched in Japan back in the stone ages of 2011, this is the first time Yatagarasu has been directly available to an English-speaking audience.

Oh, but the game itself has not been localized for western consumption and is still entirely in Japanese. It's also only £7.99, or about 12 bucks.

The last time Yatagarasu showed up on our radar, Nicalis was preparing to display the still-unreleased, localized 3DS version to the crowd at PAX Prime. We've reached out to Nicalis for an update on the status of its port, but for now the bravest of you can venture deep into the heart of independent Japanese fighting game design from the safety of your own desks.

Borderlands 2 secured a hefty update on Mac today, adding leaderboards, achievements and multiplayer co-op, Mac-to-Mac style. Let's keep it in the family, guys.

The update brings five DLC packs available via in-app purchases, including Sir Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt, Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty, Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage and the Mechromancer, a fifth playable vault hunter. PC and Xbox 360 players got the Mechromancer in October 2012, with PS3 not far behind.

Borderlands 2 is on sale for half off, at $30, for a limited time on the Mac App Store.

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Raven, the studio behind beloved PC games Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy, has released the source code for both games – partly in tribute to yesterday's closure of LucasArts and partly to thank fans for playing.

"We loved and appreciated the experience of getting to make Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy for LucasArts," Raven told Kotaku Australia. "As a gift to the persistently loyal fanbase for our Jedi games and in memory of LucasArts, we are releasing the source code for both games for people to enjoy and play with." The source code for each game can be found on Source Forge through the source links below, opening the game up to anxious modders across the galaxy.

Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast launched on the PC in 2002, with ports to Mac OSX, the original Xbox and Nintendo GameCube coming the following year. It's the sequel to 1998's Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, developed by LucasArts for the PC, and revolves around the New Republic that forms after the collapse of the Empire. (Spoiler?)

Microsoft and Fox have worked out their dispute over the Killer Instinct trademark, and basically promised not to sue each other. NeoGAF hosts a copy of the "trademark coexistence agreement" signed in late March, which lets both sides use the trademark as long as they don't get into each other's territory.

Microsoft will stay away from making a short-lived television show, while Fox will do its best not to make a new game in a franchise that hasn't seen a new installment since 1996.

This odd speed bump came up in September 2012 when Microsoft announced its intention to renew the trademark. Two months later, it became known that the trademark renewal was rejected due to Fox's trademark on the TV show. And no, it still doesn't mean a new Killer Instinct game is happening.

Several purported screenshots for Ubisoft's mysterious, potentially standalone Far Cry 3 continuation Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon have surfaced on All Games Beta, and they seem to mesh with the game's over-the-top, post-apocalyptic plot.

Three first-person perspective shots show what appears to be gameplay from the perspective of the Blood Dragon's protagonist, Mark IV Cyber Commando Sergeant Rex Power Colt. We've reached out to Ubisoft for more information.

A screenshot of the full Injustice: Gods Among Us character selection screen has been tweeted by Warner Bros. employee Brandon Alexander, showing the inclusion of DC supervillains Killer Frost and Ares as part of the playable roster.

The screenshot (full size here) shows a segregated selection of heroes on the left and ne'er-do-wells on the right, in what appears to be a Russian build for the game. Killer Frost and Ares first showed up on the radar two days ago, when Xbox Live Marketplace Avatar items hinted at their inclusion.

Minecraft (PC) has hit 10M! As promised, a subtle hint on the main 1.6 feature (thanks @ebbakier): imgur.com/qAuCLex :D

- Jens Bergensten (@jeb_) April 4, 2013

Minecraft has sold 10 million copies on PC, Mac and Linux. That puts the world-builder's total sales across PC, XBLA and mobile well over 24 million, and makes it the seventh best-selling PC game ever, says Mojang Customer Support Manager Marc Watson.

To celebrate, developer Jens Bergensten teased a major update coming to version 1.6.
(Spoilers: it's a horse.) Minecraft's Redstone Update, 1.5, hit on March 13, and now it seems Mojang has version 1.6 champing at the bit.