MSI now has a full range of Intel P45 chipset motherboards available for sale, ranging from affordable mainstream solutions to the latest Crossfire-ready Platinum and Diamond series products designed for overclockers and enthusiasts. Whilst the P45 isn’t a huge upgrade over existing chipsets, if the pre-release samples we have looked at thus far are anything to go by, they should be capable of very high FSB clock speeds and run considerably cooler than previous offerings.
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Blizzard has announced that its long anticipated third episode to the classic RPG series, Diablo, is in development. It’s the first Diablo game since 2001 and it sees Deckard Cain return to a full 3D Sanctuary, a much-improved Battle.net platform and new character classes such as the Witch Doctor. No official word on a release date yet, but we’re not expecting to see it this side of Christmas.

The official website can be found here.

Konami has recently confirmed that a PC-DVD version of its latest football title Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 should come to a games store near you in Autumn 2008. An all-new graphics engine should make PES 2009 the best looking soccer game available, though EA’s titanic grip on the official FIFA licence means you will still be playing as West London White against Merseyside Blue rather than as officially licensed teams. Or you could just download the inevitable 3rd party ‘fix’ of course. More details and the first screen shots coming soon, but for now you can read more here.

The Novint Falcon is a novel user interface that functions as a mouse, but with the added bonus of 3D functionality and force feedback. Using three motorized arms connected to a ball held in player’s hands, the Falcon has been fighting players for the last year in the States, picking up gusto as a viable gaming peripheral. Things are picking up steam too, since Valve will now support the Falcon with a healthy selection of its games, including The Orange Box, Counter-Strike: Source, the Half-Life 2 series, Team Fortress 2, Portal and Left 4 Dead.

It must be because of how similar the Falcon’s look to something Aperture Science would make. The resemblance is uncanny…perhaps it was fate.

Valve’s ‘head paunch-o’ Gabe Newell said, “Recently we’ve seen how new interfaces have changed gaming. The Falcon adds a new level of interaction for PC gaming, adding compelling force feedback while maintaining controls as accurate as a mouse, and now the millions of Steam gamers will have the chance to play, feeling this new type of experience.”

In an unexpected move towards action against videogames, the UK government published a plan to make videogames safer for children: reclassify games over a four month period to better help children and their parents properly understand what games they can and cannot play. You can find Gameindustry.biz’s angle here.
As some of you may be aware this plan was recommended by Dr. Byron in the Byron Review, but according to EA’s VP and General Manager for the UK, Ireland and Nordic regions, this will make delays in games reaching store shelves. Will citizens and game developers/publishers step up and denounce this plan? Should they? Let us know what you think…

Players will be thrown deep into the South Pacific and European theatres in Call of Duty; World at War in a title that goes back to the series’ WW2 roots. The swanky COD4: Modern Warfare engine will again be put to full use so expect great physics, AI and visual effects to die for.
“With Call of Duty: World at War, we’re re-defining what it means to play a WWII game,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head for developer Treyarch.

Whilst exact details remain sketchy at present, you can expect new goodies like co-op gameplay and the always-entertaining flamethrower to make their debuts in the series. Read more at http://www.callofduty.com/ or in issue 9 of Total PC gaming which goes on sale 10/07.

Last week saw the release of the monolithic GeForce GTX 280, which at well over £400 will only be an option for the richest of PC gamers. Fortunately, benchmark numbers for ATi’s latest card have also started trickling onto the internet, and it’s very good news for mainstream PC buyers. Performance generally seems to be higher than the already-speedy GeForce 9800 GTX, but as the new card is available from just £135, it’s currently a lot cheaper. Performance has also been greatly improved in games such as Crysis where nVIDIA previously had a stranglehold.

Ultraviolet Machines will be showing off their wares at this year’s M Festival in Stoneleight Park, 8-11 August. Among their latest Xodus gaming laptop hardware will be a real monster of a desktop PC: the Genesis XXX. Sound a bit sexy, does it? Cop a load of these specs:

• Intel’s uber-powerful D5400XS Skull Trail motherboard
• Dual Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9775 CPU’s (overclocked!)
• 8 GB RAM
• Twin Velociraptor RAID system
• EVGA GTX 280 Black Pearl graphics - in triple-SLI
• Liquid Cooling

Lara’s at it again with developer Eidos citing a November release date for the PC version of Tomb Raider Underworld. Whilst gamers familiar with the series might be feeling more than a little déjà vu from the plot and gameplay description on the newly released microsite, this latest outing could be well worth a look if the screen shots are anything to go by. The fabulously realised environments and Lara’s considerable assets have never looked better.

JoWood has released screenshots of the first expansion for its RPG, Gothic 3. Forsaken Gods will be released late this year and has been designed to provide a smooth storyline transition into Gothic 4: Arcania. The developer of Forsaken Gods is still undisclosed by JoWood, since the publisher parted ways from Piranha Bytes after the bug-ridden Gothic 3 was released nearly two years ago. Incidentally, Gothic 4 is being developed by Spellbound Entertainment, so it wouldn’t surprise us if it had a hand in the expansion too.