Coinciding with the twelfth anniversary of Counter-Strike Beta 1's release in 1999, Valve has announced it is working on a new title in the franchise, titled Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or CS: GO.

Expanding upon the original's wildly successful team-based action gameplay, CS: GO will be a downloadable title targeted for release in early 2012 on Steam for PC and Mac, on Xbox Live Arcade and on PlayStation Network. It is being developed by Valve in cooperation with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment.

CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, "and more". Classic maps such as "de_dust" will return.

 

Microsoft has announced a limited edition Rugby World Cup 2011 console bundle.

The bundle comes with a 4 GB Xbox 360 Slim and Rugby World Cup 2011. The bundle does not include the Kinect motion-sensing controller.

As a result, the Rugby World Cup 2011 Xbox 360 bundle comes at a recommended retail price of $399, meaning as long as you can take-or-leave Kinect, this is the cheapest 4 GB Xbox 360 available.

 

Dishonored’s QuakeCon preview was led by co-creative directors Raphael Colantonio – lead designer on Arx Fatalis – and Harvey Smith, lead designer on Deus Ex.

The pair were accompanied by Victor Antonov, art director on Half-Life 2, who reprises this crucial role for Dishonored. The heavyweight trio represent Arkane Studios; yet another collection of talent absorbed into the ever-increasing waistline of Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media.

Dishonored puts the player in the shoes of Corvo, a warrior charged with guarding the Empress of an industrial world occupying four islands in a vast ocean. In a coup, the Empress is murdered and Corvo is framed for her death. Imprisoned, and a victim of political machinations, Corvo plots his escape and eventual revenge.

 

The Sydney-based studio behind L.A. Noire, Team Bondi, has sold its assets and intellectual property to Mad Max creator Kennedy Miller Mitchell (KMM) Productions, reports Develop.

Team Bondi staff members have been offered positions at KMM, or a severance package.

The L.A. Noire intellectual property is owned by Rockstar Games. It is unclear whether there will be any more downloadable content packages for the game.

 

The director of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Todd Howard, paces around a hotel suite twenty floors above the QuakeCon show floor. He’s buzzing with energy, but is visibly nervous as well. Howard is a small man who bounces whether he is standing or walking, ensuring that he never quite stops moving. Once he begins to speak, it’s plain to see his creative personality and laser focus on the final product.

I first met Howard at the E3 presentation of Skyrim. As he guided us through that demo, he let loose, providing us with an exposition of the world. Understanding Howard’s passion for Skyrim is the key to understanding the game itself. He spoke then of the Elder Scrolls’ world as easily as we speak of our own. Two months later Howard is back. Today is the first time Skyrim will be put into the hands of the press.

The premise of the demo was simple. Attendant press were provided with pre-set skills, armour and weapons that could accommodate a variety of play styles within the limited time available. Although the skills and equipment were preordained, the player character was not.

 

Rugby has had an uneasy relationship with videogames. It’s certainly not for lack of compatibility. In many ways, rugby should make an easier transition to videogames than other sports that have seen much more success in the medium. At its most transcendent, rugby flows for phase after phase without interruption or input from the sidelines.

It’s tactical enough to be stimulating without losing its rhythm or becoming pedantic. It’s not a game about coaches or managers, or about whimpering after a tap on the shins. It’s not about protective padding; it’s not tiddlywinks. It’s about crushing physicality up front and blistering pace out wide. In short, rugby’s capacity for emergent gameplay means it should have made the comfortable adaptation to videogames many times over.

And yet it hasn’t. It’s not for lack of trying on the part of publishers. The biggest player in sports gaming, EA Sports, has made five attempts with – at best – middling success. When it comes down to it, only one title has truly captured the imagination of the rugby gaming public, Codemasters’ 1997 Jonah Lomu Rugby.