Battlefield 3 for Console Getting Some Multiplayer Cutbacks

I'm pretty sure we saw this coming. Even after being told that Battlefield 3's PC version would run at 60FPS, while the console version would run at 30FPS, we could've assumed that some sacrifices had to be made to get the console versions of the game on par. Well, looking at the very first Fault Line trailers, I don't think a console could've had that much power to get a game to play like that - after all, those trailers were from the PC version of the game.

Although, that's one thing. What was announced by DICE, the developers behind the big franchise, was that multiplayer will be getting some cutbacks for consoles. The most unique thing about Battielfied is the number of players on one- er-...battlfield, heh! On the PC version of the game, which is obviously the lead platform, will contain 64 players all at once, while console will support only up to 24.

Here's what Patrick Bach, executive producer at DICE had to say:

If you want the same quality of game, I would say it's really, really hard. We tried to get more players in [to the console version] but then you need to scale down all the graphics, scale down all the destructibility, and sometimes you need to scale down all the map sizes. Everything is a compromise on: where do you cut?

Everything is a compromise. It's not that we're evil or stupid. We didn't choose not to have more players - we would love to do 64 players on console but then we would have to cut away so much; people would get very upset that it looked worse, played worse and wasn't as fun as the PC version. We would never do that because the fun is always more important."

Another thing that has been confirmed by Bach was that maps will be more "compact" - just a bit smaller. From the sound of how he puts it, he is promising that it won't be anything major.

When we say they are smaller, it's not that we have cut them in half. But we tried to compact them slightly to keep the action up. If you compare it to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the maps weren't really small on console. We actually had huge maps even for console. We have the same kind of angle on it right now [in Battlefield 3]. We want to create the same experience for PC as for consoles

As October is just a few mere months away, expect to hear way more about Battlefield soon. Not to mention that the multiplayer beta starts not long before the release date.

Original American McGee's Alice to be Included with Alice: Madness Returns

EA and American McGee has recently just announced that the original American McGee's Alice is said to be included with the long-awaited sequel, Alice: Madness Returns. The original game, which was released on PC years ago, will be playable to those who've never played it or just want to replay the classic, but the surprising thing is that it's coming to consoles!

"There's also going to be pretty significant release which is the original Alice brought over to the consoles so that a person who's purchased Madness Returns gets a download code and is able to bring Alice 1 onto their console and play through the entire original game alongside playing Madness Returns," says McGee in an early announcement.

Now the thing is that it'll be part of EA's "Project Ten Dollars." American McGee's Alice will only be playable to those who purchase the game new on Day One, which is on June 14th. Although, you will have to buy EA's Online Pass if you buy it off-hand in order to even get your hands on the original Alice, it's pretty damn exciting for me since I always wanted to give the game a spin!

New Nintendo HD Console to be Unveiled at E3 2011?

Well, well, well, Nintendo. Seems like you have something up your sleeve, eh? Today, Game Informer reported that many sources have been confirming that Nintendo may be unveiling a new console at the "Superbowl of Videogames," otherwise known as E3 2011 in June. Many of the anonymous sources that Game Informer has spoken to said that this new HD console maybe even more powerful than the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, or at least up there in terms of graphics.

Another source has been confirming that Nintendo has been showcasing the new console to developers already to get some appeal and possibly development kits for developers.

"[It's] not a gimmick like the Wii," says another source, which also leads to more speculation if whether or not developers will definitely take advantage of this new system.

With E3 just 2 months away, it's hard to not think about this when small leaks like this happen, I mean look at how the Nintendo 3DS info started spreading and then came along E3; it was real!