L.A. Noirelead programmer Dave Heironymus has addressed the controversy surrounding his studio’s working conditions, firmly taking the side of his employers. Addressing the former staff memberswho have accusedTeam Bondi of awful working conditions, Heironymous paints the situation as an orchestrated effort to “destroy” the company. “What is the motivation behind these attacks on Team Bondi? If the motivation were to see improvement in the working conditions at Team Bondi, then I’m all for it,” he wrote....

Brad N. talks to UGO about EGM, we pick some of our most anticipated PS3 games of 2009, the CES team bring us more CES stuff, Jack Thompson is still running his mouth, and plenty more happened on 01/12/09. Destructoid Originals:Podtoid tonight, guest starring Brad Nicholson’s pecsUGO talks, we listen: EGM left out of the Ziff Davis asset acquisitionNew releases this week: Mirror’s Edge, LotR: Conquest, Moon, and moreDestructoid interview: UGO’s Michael McCracken and 1UP’s Sam KennedyThe most anticipated PS3 games of 2009The Destructoid Comic: The beginningMonday Mind Teasers: En passantScraps...

Earlier tonight, I felt the urge to play me someOregon Trail. Boy, the hilarity of naming your characters after beloved family members and then watching them suffer the consequences of poor planning sure doesn’t get old. Heck, I almost missed doing this post because of how wrapped up I was. Today, we poured one out for Blast Processing, found out that theSplinter CellHD collection andDuke Nukem Foreverhave both been pushed back, got the skinny on a couple more 3DS launch titles, and more on 03/24/11....

I’m not exactly sure why we haven’t posted this video yet, but either way, there’s probably a chance some of you haven’t seen this look into the upcoming Xbox 360 RPGMass Effect. This X06 demo footage will give you a good idea of what to expect as the 360 continues to pile up a stronger and stronger game library well into next year.

I am really looking forward to the newNeed For Speedfor two reasons. One, Criterion is making it — enough said. Two, I loved theHot Pursuitgames back in the PlayStation 1 days and what I’ve played so far of the newHot Pursuithas been nothing short of spectacular. Funny, as much as I’m looking forward to this, I just want to know what’s next on Criterion’s plate already. They’ve yet to disappoint me and I already want news of whatever the hell they’re working on next....

Electronic Arts has announced a new expansion pack for the popularThe Sims 3, calledThe Sims 3 Ambitions Expansionpack. As the name might imply, the expansion adds a slew of new career paths, including a ghost hunter, inventor, sculptor, and private investigator. Best of all, players will be able to follow their Sims to their jobs, giving them direct control over what they do (or don’t do) at work. Some of the career additions will actually impact your entire neighborhood, as well....

I’m going on a much needed vacation starting tonight. I’ll be back on March 16, the day Destructoid and Niero celebrate their birthdays. I’m heading down to Tampa Bay and then Miami this week to relax at the new Destructoid offices and during that time, the Internet will not exist for me. Well, exceptTwitter. Most of the regular features will still be going up as scheduled thanks to the various editors that are covering my weekly features....

Go on and do it. I don’t think anybody would blame you.Pac-Man Partyis, conceptually, something that should be somewhat painful to consider. Another collection of mini-games for the Wii — a market which inexplicably manages to keep enough demand to justify its continued existence — starring one of the most over-commercialized characters in gaming history. Of the three videos Namco Bandai sent us, the one above is the best. In this game, players throw rods through three rows of ingredients to make kabobs for grilling....

Followingrecent hints, TimeGate has confirmed that its sci-fi first-person shooterSection 8will be coming to PlayStation 3 this Spring. Interesting, the game (which was released to retail for Xbox 360 last year) will be coming as a download by way of the PlayStation Network download. The game will feature a single-player campaign along with 11 multiplayer maps, there of which were only available via DLC for the Xbox 360. The PS3 version ofSection 8will also be the first game to support TimeGate’s TGNServer tech, which will allow players to host 32-player games from their PC....

Last year we loved and laughed at Tokyo Game Show’s slogan: “Game, it’s so energetic!” But this year? This year beats them all. Rather than a silly slogan, they’ve gone with an even more bold visual concept that features an ugly idol with too many mechanical limbs (one seemingly coming from the crotch area!) holding various controllers, one of which has sprouted from her right leg. The slogan is something like “Game is going into a new chapter....

[Our mysterious part-time Japanese correspondent 50ft. Samuraionce againbrings us a look at how Western developed games are doing in the Land of the Rising Sun.] Those wacky anime/Nazis-looking Helghast are at it again! For the third straight week,Killzone 2is the number one gaijin game! I want Sony to know this. I want them to know that they are number one somewhere. The only somewhere that matters: in the hearts of Japanese gamers who like killing stuff....

Sure, the physics-based racing gameTrials Second Editionhas been up on Steam since March of last year, but the appropriately-titledTrials HDfor Xbox LIVE Arcade is still on track for aSummer of Arcaderelease, so let’s forget about that for a moment. A new trailer for the game is making the rounds, and if it weren’t for its fantastic use of slow-mo violence set to soothing, relaxed music, you most likely wouldn’t be reading this....

Remember that hotTitan PackforUnreal Tournament 3we told you about? Well, it’s good to go for PC gamers today (sorry, PS3 people), but you’ll need a copyUnreal Tournament 3first. If you have the game, great. Go get Titan. If you don’t have the game, you might want to get into the free weekend forUnreal Tournament 3 Black, which is the game, the 2.0 patch, and the Titan Pack.All you need is a Steam account, and you’ll be able to access and play it for free this weekend....