A new live-action trailer for The Bureau: XCOM Declassified partakes in an incongruous mixture of top-secret government information and large-scale social network marketing. Still, it will be interesting to see which way the public goes on the fate of Special Agent Meriadoc Brandybook, or Ennis Cole to give him his XCOM codename.

In the aftermath of a classified incident which left him without his wife and child, the vid asks users to tweet hashtagged votes for what Cole should do next. Votes can be registered until Wednesday, July 24, when the video revealing his determined fate will be released.

That's all well and good, but the date to remember is August 20; that's when The Bureau opens its doors to Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Telltale Games CEO Dan Connors told San Diego Comic-Con panel attendees that The Walking Dead darling Clementine "will definitely be a part of" the game's second season. Likewise, the fate of another character, Kenny, "will be explored."

Further details concerning Season 2 were not offered. The Walking Dead: 400 Days was released this month and served as a short bridge into the next season.

A sizable update to Namco Bandai's free-to-play PlayStation 3-exclusive fighter Tekken Revolution hits Europe on Wednesday, July 24 and North America by the "end of the month," so says the patch's massive breakdown on the game's official site.

After the update, players will be able to customize their characters with new costumes and "Premium Effects," though how either of these new features fit into the game's monetization model remains to be seen. Hwoarang and Dragunov will both be added as playable characters, bringing with them an increased level cap, new top rank and various gameplay balance changes.

New modes are also being added, including a Practice mode that doesn't require in-game currency, as well as two new difficulty levels for Arcade mode. Players will also have the ability to reassign their Character Enhancement Points, which up until now had been permanent modifications. Everyone gets one free do-over with their points, but further resets have to be purchased.

We're honestly a little disappointed that the debut trailer for SoulCalibur 2 HD Online doesn't welcome us back to anything, like say, a historical stage of some sort, but we are pretty jazzed about how good these updated character models and arenas look. We're also still looking for confirmation as to whether any souls still burn.

When the game launches on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime this fall, its fresh online mode will be powered by "brand new netcode overseen by the Project Soul development team," according to the press release tucked away after the break. The game will also feature every mode from the original version, including the epic single-player "Weapon Master" mode and its dozens of hours of infuriatingly difficult content.

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Far Cry 3 is on sale for $20 on GameStop's site. The offer only applies to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, as the physical PC version is not available online through GameStop, though a downloadable version is being offered for $40. It's currently discounted to $23.99 on Steam as part of the wallet-crushing Summer Sale.

Given that Far Cry 4 will "clearly" happen, we're pretty sure that now would be a good time to catch up on the series.

Borderlands 2 will get a new DLC pack this fall, Gearbox announced at PAX Australia. The Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 2 will include the Digistruct Peak Challenge map and 11 levels. It also comes with a bumped level cap of 72, all for about $5.

According to OXM, studio head Randy Pitchford said "two or three" additional "Headhunter Packs" for Borderlands 2 are also on the way, starting with T.K. Baha's Bloody Harvest, which sees the return of Borderlands character T.K. Baha, if the title didn't indicate as much. None of said DLC is included in the Season Pass, but is expected to launch by Halloween.

Michael Angeli, who co-executive produced 40 episodes of SciFi's Battlestar Galactica (in addition to having written seven of those episodes) is working on a new something-or-other with Sony Santa Monica, Polygon reports. The announcement was made by Angeli during yesterday's Battlestar Galactica panel at San Diego Comic-Con.

Angeli told Polygon that he has been writing on the project for over two years, and that the game is a new property unrelated to Sony Santa Monica's God of War series. He also said that Battestar Galactica's presence on his resume was a factor in his being hired for the project. Whether that is indicative of the game having a sci-fi slant remains to be seen; we'd hire a Battlestar Galactica writer to helm pretty much anything.

Namco Bandai has just announced Soul Calibur 2 HD Online at San Diego Comic Con, Shoryuken reports. The fighter is headed to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall, and as the name suggests is a high-definition, presumably online-enabled remake of the 2003 PlayStation 2 version of the game. As such, it will include the PS2 version's console-specific character, Heihachi of Tekken infamy. [Technically, the original Xbox version came close to HD, outputting at a maximum of 720p in a 4:3 aspect - Ed.]

No word on whether Spawn (the Xbox version's exclusive character) will ever be available, though we feel safe in assuming that Link won't be repeating his cameo from the GameCube port. We're keeping an eye out for the inevitable trailer and screenshots, but for now let's re-enter the stage of history with the game's original cinematic intro sequence.

If you're unwilling to wade into the calm, inviting waters of the Day 1 console launch pool this year, the Sony Store is offering refurbished 320 GB PS3 Slims for $200.

Cheap Ass Gamer user timro33 posted about the sale on the site's message boards this afternoon. The deal is for the second-generation PS3, a model that doesn't offer the original build's compatibility with PS2 discs. It does, however, play physical PS1 and PS3 games, a technical feat that its imminent successor will not be capable of.

Refurbished PS3s carry the same warranty as their untroubled, factory-fresh counterparts, so you'll have the same luck avoiding the console's pigmented take on the white flag as anyone else should you decide to buy one.

Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman, the law firm alleging that NCAA and EA illegally used college athletes' names and likenesses in its NCAA Football series, said "the NCAA's decision to end its long and hugely profitable relationship with EA is tied directly to the pressure our litigation is bringing [to] bear," in a statement to the media.

"This announcement makes plain that the NCAA is attempting to mitigate the damage by ducking its responsibilities," Berman said. The lawsuit in question is one of two from Hagens Berman against EA, the other having been settled in July 2012 by EA for $27 million with the requirement that EA not renew its exclusive license with NCAA for five years.

NCAA's announcement this week that NCAA Football 14 would be the last game in the series to use the NCAA branding included a note that "given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA," pointing to the ongoing legal battle as reasoning for its departure from the partnership.

"Our suit illustrates how the cabal between the NCAA and EA has exploited student athletes for years, using their images in video games without compensation," Berman said. "While we are heartened they've stopped the practice, we believe they owe those student athletes a great deal more than their implied promise to stop stealing their images."

EA announced that it will continue development on next-gen college football games without the use of NCAA branding. It will do so under a non-exclusive, three-year agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company beginning on July 1, 2014.

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Speaking at San Diego Comic Con this week, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone revealed that they had no knowledge of former South Park: The Stick of Truth's publisher THQ's bankruptcy and sale until the news broke publicly.

"We really just read about it in the news," Parker said, "that they were going bankrupt, that someone else bought [the rights to] the game." Facing potential cancellation, the pair joked, "Oh, good, it's over!"

The duo's enthusiasm for the project picked up once Ubisoft acquired publishing rights for The Stick of Truth. "Once we heard who had bought it, we got really excited," Parker said. "We flew up to [Ubisoft] and all that momentum picked up and we got really excited again."

South Park: The Stick of Truth will launch for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC platforms on November 19.

Namco Bandai announced the next Ace Combat entry, dubbed Infinity, for the PS3 today. The air-sim's reveal came via a teaser that whooshed by like a concorde - remember them? - before rushing away into the distance, leaving little of substance in its trail.

When asked, a Namco Bandai Europe spokesperson told us Ace Combat: Infinity is set to be released via PSN on September 25 - that could indicate a North American arrival the day before, going by PSN traditions. He added there'll be more updates to follow in the coming weeks, so we'll keep our eyes on the skies for info as it comes.

Drop in on this footage-filled discussion of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified and learn how classy vests and buff-granting backpacks can save the Earth from extraterrestrial peril.

If you'd like to venture beyond the brief chat above, have a look at our impressions of The Bureau's on-foot tactical combat, and see how its Cold War setting strives for authenticity within reason.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is due on August 20 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Reptilian DC villain Copperhead was unveiled for Batman: Arkham Origins at San Diego Comic Con, but not as you may remember him ... because he's a she now. Origins features the character's new womanly guise, as per DC Comics' New 52 revamp.

As Newsarama reports, DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns told panel attendees the lady Copperhead is coming to "mainstream" New 52 books shortly after Origins hits shelves.

What you're seeing in the trailer, according to Warner Bros. Montreal Creative Director Eric Holmes, is the culmination of a stunt woman, a Cirque du Soleil performer, and a martial artist, combining efforts to capture Copperheads's slithering, venomous motions.

Copperhead joins a host of other baddies out to get the young caped crusader in Arkham Origins, which is set to swoop onto PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and Wii U on October 25.

Earlier this week, the NCAA announced it would no longer provide its name to EA's college sports series of games, but the publisher will continue to work with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), the entity that handles trademark licensing and marketing services for universities. A source familiar with the agreement tells Joystiq that EA's current licensing extension with the CLC is for three years starting on July 1, 2014, and is for a non-exclusive college football game.

The source says EA was not going to renew its exclusive contract with the NCAA for at least five years, as stipulated by EA's proposed $27 million lawsuit settlement from July 2012. The lawsuit alleged that EA "violated antitrust and consumer protection laws and overcharged consumers" for its football games due to its use of exclusive licenses with the NFL, NCAA and AFL.

NCAA announced this week that it will not renew its contract with EA, and that NCAA Football 14 "will be the last to include the NCAA's name and logo." EA's statement on the matter revealed plans to continue development on a next-gen college football game using licensing provided by CLC. The continued agreement with CLC enables EA to develop games using the branding of college programs across the nation as it did in the NCAA Football series, without the NCAA mark.

Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational drops onto PS3 in next week's PSN update in North America, a treat for those awaiting the console port of the Vita game. Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment quietly mentioned a while ago the PS3 version, released in Japan last year, was in the works for the west. Similarly quietly, this week's PlayStation Blogcast spills the beanies on the arcade golfer's PSN arrival - there's no news of a physical version.

In Japan the PS3 port, which supports cross-platform play, features additions including two new characters, two new courses, and two new modes, including one completely devoted to those short-but-sweet Par 3 holes. We'll keep our ears to the fairways for further details on the western version.

Update: World Invitational PS3 will cost $19.99, a PlayStation Blog post reveals. It also notes the PS3 version offers local multiplayer for up to four, features PlayStation Move support, and downloadable content is cross-buy between the two versions. As per the Japanese version, cross-platform online play is available too. Finally, Europe is getting the PS3 version next week too, where it'll be priced €14.99/£11.99.

Conversation with the various denizens of Oddworld has been a staple of the series since it began back in 1997, when Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee's GameSpeak engine made farting in a video game easier than ever. There were also important gameplay uses for the system, and it served as a vital cornerstone in establishing the charm and character of the game's universe by giving voice and personality to its NPCs.

Now, developer Just Add Water wants to give your voice and personality to the Mudokons in its forthcoming remake, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee New 'n' Tasty. Throwing your voice into the ring is relatively easy, provided you've got the right gear: A "decent microphone," an audio capture device capable of recording at 24bit/96kHz, some noiseless/feedback-free cables and a Soundcloud account.

A short script of required phrases has been posted on Just Add Water's official blog – once your takes been recorded, they are to be uploaded to your Soundcloud account as .wav files (remember those?) and shared with the official Oddworld account. The deadline for submissions is next Friday, July 26.

Ubisoft announced that it will release a special edition version of its stealth-action game Watch Dogs bundled with a collection of bonus goodies for aspiring planet hackers.

The package includes a nine-inch statue of starring character Aiden Pearce, along with a replica of Pearce's vigilante mask. Also included are a soundtrack CD, an 80-page hardcover art book, and a copy of Watch Dogs wrapped in an exclusive SteelBook case. (Large image here.)

The Watch Dogs Limited Edition Pack will be priced at $129.99 when it launches on November 19 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC platforms. It'll be available for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on each system's respective debut date. And though Watch Dogs is also scheduled for a Wii U release, Ubisoft did not announce a Limited Edition Pack for Nintendo's console.

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