Well, it's about that time of year. After Blizzard's press release yesterday I kind of figured they were getting ready to announce Blizzcon. The event will run Oct. 22-23 at the Anaheim Convention center again despite the rumors floating around about Vegas as a possible location.

Of course, the announcement of Blizzcon is only the beginning. Expect lots of hype for the upcoming Cataclysm expansion as well as Starcraft II and Diablo III. Don't forget that tickets will be going on sale within the coming months and be prepared! It looks as if Blizzard plans on implementing the same queue system from last year. This means tickets will sell out incredibly fast and they will only be available for online purchase.

More information about the convention can be found at the official website for the event.

Personally, what I find most exciting about Blizzcon's date is that it gives us a good window for the Cataclysm expansion's release date. Blizzard has never released a major patch, let alone an expansion before the convention. Instead, the try to push them out the week after the convention, slightly before Christmas. So, look for Cataclysm to hit shelves early November!

As a former student of Michigan State University, I feel obligated to post this. It might be a little bit out of the ordinary from the other gaming news I post, but I feel as if it's pretty cool and deserves a post.

Taken from: http://kotaku.com/5494790/in-this-life+saving-minesweeper-game-the-mines-are-real

Every year upwards of 20,000 lives are lost in war-torn countries due to unexploded ordinance such as land mines. Can a video game educate children about land mine avoidance where traditional methods have failed?

That's the hope of Corey Bohil, a visiting assistant professor at Michigan State University's Department of Telecommunication and project lead on Undercover UXO. Undercover UXO is a simple computer game that sees players navigating a pet through a maze in order to find food. Throughout the maze are the telltale warning signs of unexploded ordinance - dead cattle, disturbed ground, and the shells of burnt-out vehicles - which the player must report to a local inspector lest they risk losing their pet.

"The goal of the project is to teach children in Cambodia and other at-risk areas to recognize and avoid unexploded ordnance," said Corey Bohil. "If the player recognizes the indicators and avoids them, then the pet finds the food and everyone is happy."

The project began life as a student project in a class taught by Bohil called "Collaborative Game Design." The motivation behind the game's development were shocking statistics from the United Nations Mine Action Service, which estimates annual unexploded ordinance related deaths at around 20,000, along with the failure of traditional teaching methods.

"For years the local communities would try to teach people how to avoid landmines," Bohil said. "They would have presentations made to community elders, publish booklets, and nothing would work."

As a long time hardcore WoW player and gamer I can’t possibly explain how excited I am for the new Final Fantasy MMO. I’ve been involved in the WoW raiding community for about four years now, but before that I was a hardcore FFXI player. I had to say that I was a little worried about this new release, but with Square releasing new screens like this I’m incredibly pumped.

More Screens available at the link below:

http://www.thelostgamer.com/2010/03/11/final-fantasy-xiv-receives-a-ton-of-new-screens-artwork/?nggpage=2

Taken from: http://kotaku.com/5486758/portal-2-adds-multiplayer-co+op-new--familiar-characters

Officially released details on Valve's sequel to Portal were scant. Fortunately, retailer GameStop comes through with some major details, including the addition of a two-player cooperative campaign mode and all-new characters.

Gametops's description of the PC and Xbox 360 game indicates that Portal 2 is due later this year—the online retailer lists an October 26 release date—bringing with a cast of "dynamic new characters" and "never-before-seen areas of the Aperture Science Labs." And yes, as hinted at earlier, players will be reunited with GLaDOS.

The only details on Portal 2's multiplayer mode from GameStop are that it will feature its own unique story-driven campaign. The "new mode forces players to reconsider everything they thought they knew about portals," requiring players "to not just act cooperatively, but to think cooperatively."

Here's the full product description.

Coming this holiday. Portal 2 is the sequel to 2007's Game of the Year and draws from the award-winning formula of innovative game play, story, and music that earned the original over 70 industry accolades. Features single and multiplayer co-op modes. The single-player portion of Portal 2 introduces a cast of dynamic new characters, a host of fresh puzzle elements, and a much larger set of devious test chambers. Players will explore never-before-seen areas of the Aperture Science Labs and be reunited with GLaDOS, the occasionally murderous computer companion who guided them through the original game. The game's two-player cooperative mode features its own entirely separate campaign with a unique story, test chambers, and two new player characters. This new mode forces players to reconsider everything they thought they knew about portals. Success will require them to not just act cooperatively, but to think cooperatively.