The Ultima series has been around for three decades – it was literally one of the earliest role-playing videogame franchises. But outside of updates for the series’ colossally dated MMO entry, Ultima Online, we haven’t seen a new release in over 10 years. Strangely, publisher EA has decided that the best way to revisit the franchise is by releasing the free-to-play browser game, Lord of Ultima. We were willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, but after actually spending time with it, we have to ask: Why exactly does it bear the Ultima name? For one thing, it’s not even an RPG. Eschewing the series’ role-playing roots, Lord of Ultima is a city

How many hours have you spent playing Tetris over the course of your life? The Russian-made puzzler is one of the few videogame classics that feels just as playable today as it did when it first released, which is one reason why we still find ourselves drawn to remakes over two decades after the game first released in 1984. Today, Tetris Online, Inc., the creators of Tetris Friends Online Games recently announced that it has surpassed 1 million users. The community-based online version of the game brings lots of clever tweaks to the table without ruining what made the original puzzle game so much fun, adding lots of extra singleplayer tweaks and multiplayer modes. Trust

We’re going to start off the first community event nice and simple. For this event, we’re going  be racing on two different sprint tracks.  If you are below driver level six please race the ‘Spade Street‘ Sprint. If you are driver level six or higher, please race on ‘Heritage and Campus‘ sprint. But here’s the cool part…we’re going to make this a little bit more interesting.  During this community event we’re going to hold a contest to see who can get the best time on one of two sprint tracks. To enter the contest, you need to race on one of the tracks (depending on your driver level) listed above.  At the end of the

Recent months have seen a glut of AAA-level videogames hit stores. But no matter how many new levels and extra modes the developers include in their games, eventually all good things must end. What is a hungry gamer to do when the final level ends and the credits start to roll? How do they fill that void? That’s where our If You Like feature comes in. Each week, we select one popular videogame and select a handful of Blu-ray movies that are similar in one way or another. Sometimes, the best way to find more of the thrills you love is to pop in a good movie. This week is uncharacteristically light on new releases.

Microsoft released the much-talked about Xbox 360 firmware update today allowing players to use USB storage media for gamertags, XBLA titles, game installs and more. It’s surprisingly effortless to format a USB device for the Xbox 360, once you know how to do so anyway. After inserting a USB device, I simply navigated to the system settings area and selected “Memory”. From there, your USB drive should appear as an unformatted memory unit. After selecting it, you’re given the option to format it for the 360 or configure it, which allows you to adjust the amount of space the 360 will reserve on the drive. And that’s pretty much it, actually. It’s a painless process.

Electronic Arts has officially launched Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, its free-to-play version of the popular golf game. Players can sign in with an EA persona and play a limited number of featured courses for free (St. Andrews and Sheshan are the two currently available), while earning XP and money for the in-game Pro Shop. Alternatively, for you fat cats out there, packages of points are also available for $10, $20, and $40 that can be spent on in-game items or rounds of golf at locked courses. The game also offers group tournaments and friend-to-friend messaging — essentially, it’s very much EA’s attempt to bring the successful Battlefield Heroes model to a new audience. In

Peter Molyneux has been talking big about his next game again, stating his belief that Fable III will boast “the greatest cast that any computer game has ever had.” Ex-Python John Cleese has been confirmed among the cast, taking up the role of the player’s butler, while Stephen Fry returns as Reaver. Jonathan Ross is also playing an as yet undefined part, having inadvertently revealed the existence of the game last year and subsequently confirming that he’s onboard through his Twitter account. Molyneux hinted that it’s not just the cast themselves that are the reason to be excited, but rather how their performances have been integrated into the game. “How we’re using these characters is

After a hectic March filled with many excellent and diverse games, April will inevitably be a bit of a letdown in terms of new releases. Even so, this month still provides plenty of great titles to look forward to. Here are the top five games coming out in April that you should be anticipating. 5. Nier (Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) Although not as highly anticipated as Square Enix’s other role-playing game that was released in March (Final Fantasy XIII), Nier does sport a few intriguing features. For one, it is set in a Mature-rated dark fantasy world. Nier also has plenty of depth, with upgradeable weapons and magic, to go along with the real-time

Microsoft has a special treat in store for those of us who suffered through the launch day issues that accompanied Modern Warfare 2′s “Stimulus Package” DLC. Kotaku reports that a number of Xbox Live users have received notice that, as day-one purchasers of the DLC, they’ll soon receive seven additional days of Xbox Live Gold on their accounts. According to Microsoft, the complimentary Xbox Live time is to thank players for being loyal to the service, and for making the Modern Warfare 2 map pack a day-one success. Subscribers who bought the map pack at launch should see the additional time reflected on their accounts by Saturday, May 1. Of course, seven free days amounts

An Australian “lads mag”, has been sacked after making public an email from Rockstar, developers of the Grand Theft Auto series, demanding more “favourable coverage” from the writer. Toby McCasker, who used to be deputy entertainment editor for the magazine, says that Rockstar haven’t been too keen on his coverage of upcoming Western title Red Dead Redemption, and posted an email his magazine received from Rockstar Australia on his Facebook page (which has since been removed), in which it’s alleged the publisher wrote: This is the biggest game we’ve done since GTA IV, and is already receiving Game of the Year 2010 nominations from specialists all around the world. Can you please ensure Toby’s article