It’s more or less an accepted fact that nobody gives a damn about FMV scenes anymore, but that hasn’t stopped EA from including dozens of cutscenes using live actors to introduce the missions inCommand and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. While the use of live actors isn’t particularly surprising — FMV cutscenes have been a mainstay in everyC&Cgame save forGenerals— whatissurprising is how…well…attractivethe cast is. Including Grace Park and Tricia Helfer fromBattlestar Galactica, Jennifer Morrison fromHouse MD(I have dibs on her, by the way), Josh Holloway fromLost, Billy Dee Williams fromHow Can They Be Jamming Us If They Don’t Know We’re Coming, and Michael Ironside from everySplinter Cellgame, the newC&Ccast proves something we’ve all known for a very, very long time: EA has more money than God....

Patrick Soderlund, Senior VP of EA Games Europe, seems to think that Microsoft walked away from E3 a winner, while Sony fell short of the mark. Claiming that Xbox 360 is “maxed out,” the Electronic Arts man was more than satisfied with the hot announcements made for the system. “I like the Natal,”he explains. “That’s cool. It’s an interesting device, so I’m truly impressed by Xbox. It’s my personal favourite console … I think Microsoft is on a roll right now....

Fanboy Friday had to take a short hiatus over the holidays, but we’re back and ready to go for the new year. To help ring in the start of a new decade of idiocy, this week I want to look at a few of the upcoming titles for 2010 and see what the fanboys have to say about them, even though none of them are out yet. Based on comments, it looks like 2010 is shaping up to be the worst year of gaming we’ve ever had....

[Editor’s note: SurplusGamer writes about how much he hates random battles for hisMonthly Musing. — CTZ] You’ve just found out that the king is secretly using his own citizens as test subjects in some terrible experiment. A complex web of intrigue has led you here but you are finally ready to confront him in his own throne room and find out what he has to say for himself. Is he truly evil?...

All it took for people to pay attention toDynasty Warriorswas to replaceeverythingabout it with a 1983 Manga featuring exploding human flesh. Why didn’t Koei Tecmo think of it sooner, eh? Yes, people are genuinely excited forFist of the North Star Musou, including yours truly. The post-apocalyptic brawler should be one of Omega Force’s finest games, and as someone who already counts himself a fan of the studio, I’m very much looking forward to seeing what this game has to offer....

Ina movesure to bring the industry in line with the rest of the developed world, Free Radical has pledged to begin paying overtime to developers who work long, late hours on their upcoming FPSHaze. Previously it was industry standard to ask devs to work late for standard pay and a theoretical bonus at the end, but after realizing this practice is tantamount to enslaving natives and chopping their feet off when they get ‘uppity’ Free Radical has departed from the long-standing tradition....

Who would’ve guessed it — theMetal Gear Onlinebeta went live just in time for Friday Night Fights. Talk about timing! I’m excited about it and I don’t even own a freakin’ PlayStation 3. For those of you whodoown a PS3 (and have access to theMGObeta), however, we’ve got big plans for you tonight. To fully prepare yourselves, I suggest y’all hit up thegame ID threadin the forums, then make sure to read the instructions for joining the Dtoid match after the break....

It’s early in the morning, so maybe LucasArts and BioWare thought they’d be able to send out a press release that says next to nothing, but we’re not having it. The two have announced a partnership that will yield a “ground-breaking interactive entertainment product.” No product details have been announced, but the game will be co-developed and co-published by both BioWare and LucasArts, and if we’re to believe the press release, it’s going to be really good....

The Entertainment Software Association’s newest report, Video Games in the 21st Century: Economic Contributions of the U.S. Entertainment Software Industry, lays out the details of how the videogame business has become one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. “Computer and video game companies play an ever increasing role in our nation’s growing economy,” said Michael Gallagher, ESA’s chief executive officer. “These companies and their colleagues across the nation are making entertainment software one of the fastest growing industries in the United States....

Another day, another videogame related Kickstarter.This oneis a little different than you might expect. It’s for a movie calledYour Friends Closeabout a married designer couple that is making an MMO that wants players to question their relationship with reality and personality, and how well you can really know another person — à la the Turing Test. During a going away party for the two, who are moving to fulfill their dreams, it becomes apparant that one of them may not be going after all....

Mark your calendars, folks. Today,GameTapadds two more titles to its already staggering amount of games to finally hit the magic number of 1,000. This makes GameTap easily the largest on-demand gaming service ever created. If you haven’t chekced them out in awhile, I suggest that you do so. So, what game had the privledge of being the milestone, you ask?Sid Meier’s Civilization IVcaps the list, and is a mighty fine addition to boot....

Out of pure principal alone, I didn’t even want to spend a minute of my time looking at Ubisoft/Eugen Systems’ new real-time strategy game,R.U.S.E.It’s nothing personal — it’s just that a person can only take so much of the whole “Lets make our game’s title an acronym! It’ll be rad!” trend. Well, sorry to break it to you, but rad it is not. However, Nick Chester cracked the whip and demanded that I inform you all aboutR....

Epic Games today revealed the lifesize replica Retro Lancer, created by the fine folks at NECA in anticipation ofGears of War 3‘s release. These pre-chainsaw Lancer rifles are stabby good, and the replicas look damn hot. The beastly weapon is to scale at over 3.5 feet in length, and will play sounds when the trigger is pulled. You can run at children with it and scare the crap out of them....