My Fourth of July was spent taking it easy (this is a chic phrase for slacking). I’ve been on a horror kick lately, and I haven’t seen aNightmare on Elm Streetfilm for at least 5 years, so I borrowed a few from a friend and settled down for some bloody camp and bad dreams. Maybe they were scary in the eighties and nineties, but as ahardcore horror fan, I was only enjoying them because I was remembering them as I watched....

In a game with a population the size of many large cities, it’s inevitable that you’re going to get a healthy portion of the userbase who simply aren’t that smart. Whether they happen to be illiterate, Confederate sympathizers, or a writer for a major gaming site, these people are a constant in any population of a large enough size, and since the beginning of time people have been preying on these lesser members of the human race....

Nintendo’s 3DS will beat 3D TV to the mass market? I don’t doubt that at all. Look, I’m the textbook early adopter. My electronics purchasing habits border on insanity. Usually if you need to know something about consumer electronics, find me. I already bought it. But not 3D TV. I’ve been looking at them for a long time, and I feel like they have a very long way to go before the mass market is going to use them....

A new video of the Xbox 360’s Japan preorder seller-outer,Blue Dragon, has emerged, displaying a montage of different battle sequences that the main character undergoes. Sure, the character models look pretty good, but the environments are boring and lame; many times they’re just a solid color. With the power of the 360, it seems like the environments should be better detailed and more interactive. In addition, the gameplay looks bland and tasteless; a bunch of the attacks that you see going on are faintly reminiscent ofQuest 64(Yes, THAT piece of crap)....

While approving and proofreading last month’s exclusive interview with Pandemic’s Tom French about their upcomingThe Saboteur, I ran into a problem. Wasn’t the game just calledSaboteur? Where did this “the” come from? And why does the official Web site still call it simplySaboteur? Want to know more about the game? Check out thataforementioned interview; it’s all education and stuff.

To; TophcenteFrom: Bradcraft I’ve finally packed up the car and I’m on my way to Baltimore. Are you ready for the weekend of anime announcements, barely-dressed girls in cosplay, and someTrigger Heart Exelica? This weekend is going to be so awesome. I’ll be picking up Dale and the others around 4:30, so we’ll see if we can’t pick up your press pass as well while you’re at work. It’s been a year since I got to hold you in my arms, Tophcente....

After the completion ofHalo Wars, Ensemble Studiosis closing. Yesterday, we learned that Microsoft will gather up the majority of employees and hug them closely to its bosomin the aftermath. Questions still remain about the closure, but thanks to the comments of Kevin Unangst (director, Games for Windows) we now know thatAge of Empireswill survive. Unangst told readers atGamerScoreBlogto “stay tuned” and not worry about the fate ofAge of Empiresafter the Ensemble closing:...

Okay, okay, we get it: Akuma is going to make an appearance inMarvel vs. Capcom 3! Following a series of rumors and leaks, retailer Shopto.net has added a piece of artwork featuring the little devil to its listing for the game. The fighter appears alongside other confirmed characters, and has aMvC3-style appearance, lending credibility to the image. The image is apparently taken from theMarvel vs. Capcom 3comic book that folks will receive with the pre-order of the game....

Destructoid was very lucky to get a chance to speak to D.C Douglas, best known to gamers for his sinister Albert Wesker performance inResident Evil 5. We discussed a variety of topics, including his reaction to the game’s campy script and how he views performing for videogames versus other mediums. We asked Douglas whether he feels videogames have the same prestige as television and movies, and if he feels the medium needs to catch up with these established art forms....

Rebellion promised us dedicated servers for the PC version ofAliens vs. Predator, and here they finally are. While we would have liked to see this functionality from the get-go, hey, these things tend to happen from time to time. Everybody gets one, including game companies. The patch that adds support for dedicated servers does other stuff too, honest! A full list of said things can be found after the break. It’s worth noting — for those of you who are serious about this server business — that you’ll need to hit up the “Tools” section of Steam for the necessary download....

Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford has been bigging upAliens: Colonial MarinesinPC Gamer, detailing the way in which the action will unfold. Gearbox is working hard to create two intense experiences, which he has labeled as “Last Stand” and “Gauntlet” sections. “We’ve come up with language to define some of the tools we use for pacing,” he said. “Gauntlet Run: this is about getting from point A to point B and everthing’s going to be thrown in your way around you....

A bit ofrecent number crunchingsuggests that Sony’s first party exclusives are coming up short in the sales department, despite receiving critical acclaim. When compared to the AAA titles of other systems, Sony’s big-name games just aren’t performing how big-name games should. According to the figures, onlyonePS3 game has ever managed to sell over a million copies (when we discount console bundles), and that was the originalResistance: Fall of Man, way back at the system’s launch....

At ComicCon, Ubisoft hosted a panel on Assassin’s Creed. For those of us who were not fortunate enough to attend, they’ve put together a video showing some of the highlights from the panel. The first half has bits of gameplay demonstration featuring some new assassinations edited together with some of the panel discussion regarding the live-action videos intended to provide more of the game’s story. The second half is an interview with Pierre Raymond of Hybride Technology, the company working on said film series....