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Surely the cosmos are in perfect alignment for the indie game developer this year.Cave StoryandLa Mulanaare making their way to WiiWare, and now Derek Yu’s cave exploring masterpiece,Spelunky, has been revealed as a 2010 XBLA release. Someone pinch me! I must be dreaming! Theofficial websitefor the XBLA version went up yesterday to deliver the awesome news. Like bothCave StoryandLa Mulanabefore it, the release won’t be just a straight port of the free-to-play PC version....

What happens when you take two popular Japanese franchises and crudely smash them together until you get a videogame? Ask Namco Bandai and Koei, who pooled together to createDynasty Warriors Gundam, a perfectly shameless corporate crossover that melds the battlefield button mashery ofDynasty Warriorswith the jabbering anime bullcrap ofGundam. It doesn’t even have anything to do with theDynasty Warriors games, so stickingDynastyin the title is pointless. It could have been calledGundam Warriorsbut that wouldn’t have been as marketable....

Remember when we told you about aleaked Wal-Mart memothat essentially confirmed exclusiveRock BandAC/DC songs for the retail chain? Now we’ve got proof, courtesy of aNew YorkTimesarticledetailing the promotion. In case you hadn’t heard, AC/DC is releasing a new album,Black Ice— their first one in eight years — on October 20th (October 18th in Australia), and in America, the record will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, and on theirWebsites....

When people pump themselves up for a videogame this much, excitement can sometimes overwhelm rational thought, causing panic to ensue. As such, DICE has preemptivelyanswered a bunch of questionspertaining to next week’s cross-platformBattlefield 3open beta. Instructions on how early access will work are particularly touched upon, so worry not, those who pre-ordered or boughtMedal of Honor. More general information about the beta iscovered here.

SouthPeak Games has announced that it will be publishing the Topware developedDream Pinball 3Dfor the PC, Wii, and Nintendo DS. Shockingly,Dream Pinball 3Dis a pinball simulator, one that will “capitalize on the unique qualities of each platform.” That translates to using a mouse on the PC, using the touch screen on the Nintendo DS, and waving your arms around when playing the game on the Wii. The game will feature six table themes, each with its own ball options, visuals, and power-ups....

Koei has revealed, by way ofFamitsu, thatDynasty Warriors 7will not only be bringing back split-screen co-op, it will also boast online co-operative play. This marks the first time a main entry (not a spin-off) into theDynasty Warriorsseries gets a proper online mode. Koei, welcome to the current generation of games! Co-op will be supported in the game’s “Chronicle Mode” which feature one-off levels based around an individual warriors as opposed to a kingdom....

Cool fact of the day: I was in the first group to get some time withMetal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriotsthis morning, the opening day of E for All. Even cooler fact: I am officially now the firstpersonto ever play the English demo of the game in theworld(well, besides the people that work for Konami, but … whatever). The Konami guy (not his real name) who was running the presentation before the demo told us that we were the first group in the world to get hands-on time with this build of the demo....

Just likePatapon 2,LocoRoco 2had a little trailer presented for the PSP portion of the Sony press conference. Luckily, we have been given some new screenshots. These should tide us over until we get some real validation on the sequel to the greatest game on Earth,LocoRoco. Last week, when we reported onLocoRoco 2, we learned that the Japanese version was 75 percent complete and LocoRoco can now swim underwater and bite more stuff....

Hollie Bennett and I just got some time in withLegend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. After seeing Miyamoto basically face-plant in his attempts to get the game’s controls to work at the Nintendo press conference, I was sort of scared the game’s controls would be broken. Thankfully, that was not the case. The game controlled perfectly. I absolutely adore playing it. That said, I hear Hollie’s complaints about the forced motion control....

A surprise announcement from Ubisoft’s E3 2011 press conference started with a serious man coming out on stage, talking about an island full of crazy people. What the…? Then, we saw a lush jungle appear on screen. Oh yes.Far Cry 3. The presentation kicked off with the player surveying the land, taking notice of far off militants. The main character, Jason Brody, was captured, and forced to listen to the ranting of a lunatic while tied at the wrists....

Electronic Arts’ next-gen “sci-fival horror” titleDead Spacenot only will have a pause feature, but will also be getting the animated film treatment. The film will act as a prequel to the forthcoming game, and will pick up right where theDead Spacecomic book seriesleft off. The film will be brought to life by Starz Media’s animation unit Film Roman. The press release makes a note to mention that Film Roman are the same company behind The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and the pre-school hitWow!...

A while back,we talkedabout Activision CEO Bobby Kotick sending a somewhat ironic jibe EA’s way, claiming it “sucked the souls” out of its acquired studios. Well, I am sure you will ALL be glad to read that Electronic Artsdoesn’t really carewhat Activision thinks. That’s a relief for all of us. “The truth is, everyone laughed,” says EA’s Jeff Brown when talking about Kotick’s remark. “In the past year EA has made radical changes to decentralize the company and put creative control back in the hands of development teams....

The new Electronic Arts — an EA that releases polished games and new intellectual properties — took a financial hit for their creative efforts.Dead Spacemay have rocked the charts and resonated with a new audience, but DICE’sMirror’s Edgedid neither. It’s a pity and problematic for EA. But Frank Gibeau, president of EA Games, has the solution. He believes EA launched too many new IPs in a short span of time and will have the monolithic company space the release of new titles in the future....