In a maneuver which is bound to surprise some people, Bethesda has decided to no longer pursue an appeal in their case against Interplay over claimed breaches of contract in regards to licensing theFalloutfranchise. The appeal was for an injunction to prevent Interplay from continuing to use the license which Bethesda bought back in 2007, which would effectively kill the former’s development on aFalloutMMO, rumored to be codenamed “Project V13.”...

This story can only bespuriouslyrelated to videogames by putting aLeft 4 Deadspin on it, but it’sjust too awesomenot to write about. A shortTwitterexchange between a concerned citizen and the Boston Police Department revealed just how dedicated the boys in blue can be, as they pledged to inform the world of any zombie attacks they come across. Boston_Police:INJURED OFFICER: Officer from district 4 transported to Beth Israel Hospital, human bite to arm, suspect in custody....

The grim spectacle of people kneejerking overMedal of Honorcontinues, this time with a British politician who is “shocked” at the idea of the game existing, and wants UK retailers to boycott the game. “I am disgusted and angry,” says defense secretary Liam Fox. “It’s hard to believe any citizen of our country would wish to buy such a thoroughly un-British game. I would urge retailers to show their support for our armed forces and ban this tasteless product....

“Annihilation,” the third downloadable content pack forCall of Duty: Black Opsis hitting PlayStation 3 and PC on July 28. Actually, Activision’s press release said it’s “13 days away,” so I had to pull out a calendar and count days with my finger. Because math is hard. And then I was like “Are they countingtodayas a day? Because like, there’s afullday ahead of us.” But no, it’s definitely launching on July 28....

Every Street Fighter knows that a strong defense is every bit as important as a strong offense (“scoops! Häagen-Dazs!”) is. It doesn’t matter what kind of moves you have up your sleeve if you’re not ready to defend. Capcom is ready to defend. The publisher plans to set into motion a system that would protect them from any takeover or outside acquisition activities. This is all pendingapproval at the company’s 29th Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, but they’re looking to block any actions deemed unacceptable to Capcom’s value....

Aerox— using his pseudonym prevents me from making a clever reference to this game’s duality allowing for aDallasparadox in whichJ.R. shoots J.R.— sent in a tip a wee bit ago revealingCubed3‘s coverageof a little known DS platformer under the generic name ofChronos Twin. Reading his tip I was immediately bored to tears by not just the game’s title, but also his scant description of the thing. Aerox, in the future if you’re going to send in tips about games destined to be cult classics on the level ofDrill Dozer, at least include some poetry or a naked picture of Vanessa Hudgens....

Once again, the Japan-only Club Nintendohas updatedthe prizes that they’re offering. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, with every Nintendo product you buy in Japan, there comes a slip of paper with a serial code that you may enter on the Club Nintendo website and garner points towards winning one of these prizes. The top prize,Game and Watch Collection #2, includes the Game and Watch titles ofParachuteandOctopus, along with a new title,Parachute x Octopus....

Apparently, NIS America has heard that people don’t understand the gameplay behind its upcoming PSP title,Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman!, and thought it wise to offer a little bit of demonstration. I can understand that because I didn’t really have any clue at all how the game worked before I tooled around with it on the E3 show floor earlier this month. It’s pretty intuitive once you have your hands on it but that aspect is probably not going to help sell copies....

While hopping around and collecting orbs inCrackdown 2, you’ll be treated to the dulcet tones of Kevin Riepl’s original score. But as Microsoft points out today, the game also features a handful of licensed tracks. The soundtrack features over 40 songs, with music from Public Enemy, Bob Dylan, The Damned, Deltron 3030, Whodini, and more. Some of the tracks are even remixes — producer Mistabishi cuts up Blue Oyster Cult’s “Godzilla” for instance....

[Update: We had originally reportedDance Central 2would be launching on October 21, and while that’s true for Asia and Europe, folks in North America will have to wait until October 25. Sorry for the confusion.] The headline says it all. The news from gamescom is that you can expect to seeDance Central 2hit on October 25. There will be 40 or so new tracks in this Kinect dancing title from Harmonix, and you’ll also be able to import the tracks from the first game....

If you’ve read our review ofDarksiders, you’ll know I’m a big fan, so I’m very pleased indeed to learn that THQ will be producing some tat for the game! A range of statues from SOTA Toys, along with an art book featuring work from creative director and comic book lord Joe Madureira. The first art book will debut at the San Diego Comic Con, where Joe Mad will also be signing it....

Oh Germany, you so censorship! The German release ofDead Space 2has been delayed due to the country’s ever-vigilant social nannies getting upset again. The inclusion of a “friendly fire” multiplayer option has caused the stink, since German officials get their panties in a bunch over human characters harming other humans in games. German gamers now must wait until February for the title. The single-player campaign and the actual multiplayer content remains uncensored (apparently you may shoot humans so long as they’ve been mutated into clawed, slobbering nightmare fuel first) but the potential to accidentally shoot another human being in a battle situation is simply unacceptable and has never actually happened in reality....

I like that all the major retailers are now contacting us directly to let us know about game deals. Of course, I enjoy passing along the good news, but most of my enjoyment comes always knowing where to get stuff for cheap. Now, I don’t need another Xbox 360 (yet!), but I know someone out there does, and this deal will be right up their alley. Starting on June 13, Walmart will let you take home a $50 gift card with the purchase of a $199 Xbox 360 Arcade unit....