Here's some good news to eager fans of Aliens: Colonial Marines. According to the UK's official Xbox Magazine, the game is definitely shaping up to be "bloody brilliant". This is because of how the game looks like - a faithful rendition of previous Aliens movies. Find out more in the full article.

After assigning top-level executives to different assignments, Chicago-based publisher Midway has confirmed what it calls "routine" layoffs in its Austin outpost. Are the two moves tied to each other, or is this part of the company's normal procedures? See details in the full article and decide for yourself.

It's official: Blacksite: Area 51 (Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC) creative director Harvey Smith, one of the developers behind Deus Ex, and parent company Midway Austin have parted ways after Smith's "public resignation". This ends the partnership that the two began in 2004 after Smith bolted his old team by dishing out strong words in a recent interview.

You can't blame the government for hiding all those dirty little secrets they have on Area 51. The aliens they keep there sure are scary - or at least that's what it looks like from the videos we have of Midway Games' Blacksite: Area 51 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3), a game with enough aliens and men in black (fatigues) to last you a lifetime.

Check out the multiplayer gameplay videos we have after the jump!

Midway Games game designer Josh Hamrick discussed multiple features in the multiplayer mode of BlackSite: Area 51 (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC) on the official developer's blog. He pointed out that this first person shooter will have four multiplayer gameplay modes and eight maps taken from the single-player game when it comes out this November 12.

Hamrick gives more details on the Capture the Flag (CTF) multiplayer mode as well as the design of the eight maps. If you want find out more, click the "read more" link below.

Midway Games released an official statement concerning its financial status and some of its most anticipated titles this holiday season. It seems that the delay for the PS3 build of Stranglehold (also on Xbox 360 and PC) is just the beginning as more titles are being pushed back.

First of all, Midway said that it is lowering the total expected sales for BlackSite: Area 51 because of "the adverse impact of the split shipment between the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 systems." There was no word, however, regarding the PC build of the next-gen FPS title.

Aside from that, the PlayStation 3 version of Unreal Entertainment III is also being pushed back to Q1 of 2008. The game was originally expected to ship to retail stores together with the PC build this November. Given these developments, we are uncertain if the timed PS3 exclusivity holds or both the PS3 and Xbox 360 build will ship together.

"While we regret that these delays will cause us to lose some valuable holiday sales in the near term as well as shift revenue for some of these titles out of 2007 and into 2008, we remain confident that our technology strategy and product plan position us to grow both revenue and market share," said Midway Games CEO and President David F. Zucker.

Midway Games originally anticipated a US$ 225 million full year revenue at the end of this year. However, the company has now lowered its expectations to just US$ 170 million.

 

BlackSite: Area 51 is a direct sequel of the PSOne's Area 51 released about a decade ago. Both are developed by Midway Austin and published by Midway Games. As the case was with its predecessor, BlackSite: Area 51 is a first-person shooter situated in the mysterious Area 51 facility operated by the American government. It's a sci-fi ride with strong storytelling, frenetic action, and not too shabby graphics, too.

Plating as special forces operative Aeran Pierce, BlackSite: Area 51 pits you against an entire alien horde crawling all over the place. Your task is to investigate what's going on and at the same time find a new home for your bullets in the chest cavities of the enemies. It's not an easy task, but someone has to do it.

These screens show some very nice images of the game's visuals. As you can see, effort has been put into generating them just for you. With the crowded FPS market populated by powerhouses, one has to wonder how this video game will stack up come November 5 when it launches. A demo of the Xbox 360 version has been available via Xbox Live since May of 2007, and demos for the Sony PlayStation 3 and PC are said to be underway. Let's hope this one gives us a bang when it hits.

  
 

Buy: [Blacksite: Area 51 (PC)]

Buy: [Blacksite: Area 51 (PS3)]

Buy: [Blacksite: Area 51 (Xbox 360)]

Midway executives have revealed during the company's Q2 earnings call that the upcoming next gen shooter BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) has been moved to a November 5 North American release date. European gamers will be able to get the game earlier on October 26.

BlackSite: Area 51 has previously been given a Summer 2007 release date. Various retail outlets have also pegged the game's release date for September 3 and 14 for the U.S. and Europe, respectively. This announcement places Stranglehold (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360) as Midway's only Q3 release for next gen video game consoles.

A demo for the game has been confirmed by the executives, however. This reaffirms producer Harvey Smith's statements that a BlackSite: Area 51 demo will be released in the next few months. The demo will reportedly showcase a more cinematic story scene.

For those who have been waiting for the release date announcement of BlackSite: Area 51, we have reports of a possible ETA. Our internet hamsters have found three sites with the same placeholder date for the upcoming video game from Midway Studios Austin.

GameStop and EBGames (naturally) agrees on one placeholder date for BlackSite: Area 51 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC; Wikipedia also shows that same date. They all show a September release, September 3 to be exact. Hmm... We couldn't find an announcement for the original release date, though ThreeSpeech has also taken a swing for the Europe release: September 14.

We'll keep an eye out for that official announcement, until we find one, we'll pigeonhole this article in the Rumor bin. Stay tuned.

With E3 just a couple of days from now, Midway Games, Inc. has revealed the list of titles it will be presenting at the event. The company's lineup covers a wide range of genres across all major video game platforms.

Thanks to a mix of new properties and proven brands, Midway president and CEO David F. Zucker has commented that this is the company's "most diverse and strongest line up yet". Here's a list of titles Midway has lined up for E3 along with their expected shipping dates.

• Stranglehold (PC, PS3, Xbox 360; August)
• BlackSite: Area 51 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360; September)
• Unreal Tournament 3 (PC; Fall)
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat (DS, November)
• Cruis'n (Wii, November)
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am (PS2, October)
• Game Party (Wii, November)
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders (DS, November)
• The Wheelman (PC, PS3, Xbox 360; Winter)
• TNA Impact! (PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360; Spring)
• The Bee Game (DS, GBA, November)
• The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (PC, Available Now)
• Hour of Victory (PC, Fall)