Focus Home Interactive and Compulsion Games have announced Contrast, a 2D/3D puzzle-flavored platform game that allows players to switch from a 3D fantasy themed world to a cool 2D shadowscape. Initially, the game was going to be released for PC only, but the developers are now bringing it to PSN and XBLA by the end of 2013.

“Contrast is a very special project with its atmosphere, artistic direction and innovative gameplay and we knew that from the moment we saw the game,” said Cédric Lagarrigue, CEO ofFocus Home Interactive. “We are delighted to be partnering with Compulsion Games and believe this project to be one of the biggest indie surprises of the year.”

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According to the devs, gamers will be able to experience and explore "a surreal 1920’s dreamscape, set in a vaudevillian-inspired, film-noir styled backdrop. In a world full of performance, magic, intrigue and deception, the player takes on the role of Dawn, the imaginary friend of a little girl, Didi. Every kid’s imaginary friend is special, and Dawn is no exception. She has the power to shift from the reality of the vibrant game stage into the shadowy parallel world. Gamers will be challenged to unravel the drama by leveraging light sources and manipulating real-world objects to affect the shadows placement, depth, height and overall weighting to solve mind-bending puzzles."

Check out the teaser trailer below:

Did we mention that Microsoft announced a brand new title from Remedy Entertainment and that it's Xbox One exclusive? Well, they are. And here's the trailer, which reveals fuck all:

Ya know, Call of Duty: Ghosts isn't the only game that was announced for Xbox One. Need for Speed Rivals, EA's new racing game, will also make its way to Microsoft's new console. Check out the trailer for NFS: Rivals:

Of course, the brand new racer is also in development for PS4, PS3 and PC.

First screenshots were sent to us, so have a look at those if you wish: 

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I've been doing a lot of thinking about Xbox One. There are so many things people are generally unhappy about when it comes to the recent announcement and the amount of platform-exclusives they revealed is, well, staggering. Still, I'm glad about one thing. The whole Xbox One event and the people's reaction to it, gave me something to ponder these days and, more importantly, it gave me several ideas for this week's comic, which is going up tomorrow. Be prepared for that one. 

After the self-destruction of Spore and SimCity, you'd think EA executives would think twice about the future of always-online DRM. Think again.

Speaking to Kotaku during an interview, former EA CEO John Riccitiello shared his belief that always-online is the future. He argued that being connected allows for a surplus of benefits which outweight the inconvenience of requiring a connection to play. 

Riccitiello even said:

The question of the always-on connection is one that causes some gamers’ blood to boil. Gamers will want, and learn to love, the good parts of consoles being more connected to our digital lives than was possible with the machines launched eight years ago.

The most ironic thing about this is Riccitiello recently stepped-down from the CEO position at EA due to financial "shortcomings". Winning the worst company of the year reward—which is debatable but understandable—twice in a row due to being a pioneer for anti-consumer concepts surely didn't help.

It's only been a few years since the concept of always-online DRM appeared, and now here we are with it infecting hardware; Microsoft's Xbox One will require a constant connection to validate game authenticity, killing used game sales in the process. Is this the kind of thing that's going to be standard going into the future? It'll really depend on how powerful backlash is from consumers. If people don't feed into it, it won't have a future. Ultimately, the fate of being able to share games with your friends and play games whenever you want, even during an internet outage, is in your hands.

Square Enix has been working tirelessly to revive Final Fantasy XIV. Closed beta has been underway for several months with many significant changes planned to build the game into what it always hoped to be. Today, Square Enix announces when the game will not only re-debut, but when PS3 owners can play from the comfort of their couch.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will release on August 27th. The PC and PS3 version will be available simultaneously, although their MSRP will differ: $29.99 and $39.99 respectively. In addition to purchasing the game itself, a monthly fee of $12.99 will be incurred beyond the initial free month.

However, one pre-order bonus allows those who purchase in advance to begin playing before the sticker date. It's presently unknown how long the headstart will be, although the original FFXIV release gave Collector's Edition owners an 8-day early start if that's any indication. Pre-orders will also receive a cait sith doll non-combat pet and a mog cap that makes players resemble a cute moogle.

The Collector's Edition has also been revealed, and it's a mighty package full of virtual and physical goodies, including the following (as described on the PlayStation Blog) for $79.99:

• A gorgeous box featuring artwork by famed FINAL FANTASY illustrator Yoshitaka Amano
• The Art of Eorzea: – A Realm Reimagined – A hardbound art book, featuring concept art and more from Art Director Akihiko Yoshida and his team of talented artists
• The Waning of the Sixth Sun – A Blu-Ray disc that features a cinematic look at the events that led up to the realm being reborn
• The Sounds of Eorzea – a collection of music from FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn by Sound Director Masayoshi Soken
• Five beautiful art cards created by the amazing CG artists at Square Enix Visual Works
• A FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn branded security token to secure your account
• Four In-game Bonus Items:
• - Helm of Light – Look like one of the fabled Warriors of Light when you equip this exclusive helmet
• - Baby Behemoth Minion – Summon this cute, but ferocious miniature version of Behemoth and watch him roar with excitement as you adventure through Eorzea
• - Coeurl Mount – Only the bravest of warriors are able to tame and ride the mighty coeurl. Show off your prowess with this exclusive mount
• - Behemoth Barding – Customize your Chocobo with the fearsome Behemoth Chocobo Armor and charge into battle

Phase 3 of closed beta is slated to resume in June and will include PS3 gamers for the first time ever. Stay tuned for more details!

Nintendo traditionally hosts their big E3 press conference on the first official day of E3, something they have opted to forgo this year. However, Nintendo will still have a presentation on the first day of E3 in the form of a Nintendo Direct streaming conference. The kicker? The conference has been scheduled for 7 a.m. PST that Tuesday morning. Media attendees will have to be quite the early risers that day, that's for certain.

If you aren't attending E3 and want to check out Nintendo's presentation yourself online, the conference has been scheduled for June 11th at 7 a.m. PST. I'm quite pleased I live in CST.

Need to kick off your day with a little sample of the insanity from Saints Row IV? Deep Silver and Volition have kicked off a new video series, the Hail to the Chief series, which features some of the President's new super powers as well as glimpses into the crazy world of Saints Row. This first video shows a bit of the President's telekinesis powers, that he has to use on an alien crashing his random dance party. Don't ask, just watch.

Saints Row IV releases August 20th.

Grand Theft Auto is a name that triggers almost instant respect the moment you utter those very words. Of course, now that GTA V is just around the corner (projected for a Sept. 2013 release), Rockstar seems to be eager to get our attention. Apart from the screens and trailers they've released thus far, they have now confirmed the content of the Special Edition and Collector’s Edition for their action adventure (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360).

Here's what gamers can expect from both editions:

The Grand Theft Auto V Special Edition includes:

• Full retail copy of Grand Theft Auto V;
• Collectible SteelBook with Exclusive Artwork - features custom color and metallic treatments to bring out the detail of the Michael, Trevor and Franklin artwork created exclusively for this SteelBook;
• Blueprint Map - exclusive, 21.5” x 26.75” map displays a blueprint view of Los Santos and Blaine County;
• Special Ability Boost - Michael, Franklin and Trevor each have a unique special ability. With this boost, the special ability bar will generate 25% faster;
• Stunt Plane Trials – single-player Stunt Plane Trials let players take on additional aerial challenges spread throughout Los Santos and Blaine County;
• Bonus Outfits, Tattoos and More - Michael, Franklin and Trevor get bonus outfits in their wardrobes, character specific tattoos at tattoo parlors, and special deals from shopkeepers across Los Santos and Blaine County;
• Additional Weapons - when visiting Ammunation stores in single-player, merchants will have special weapons in their inventory available for free: the Pistol .50, Bullpup Shotgun and melee Hammer.

Electronic Arts' CFO, Blake Jorgensen, said during a keynote address in New York recently that the powerful publisher will continue to support current generation consoles with games for the next four years.

So far, there are upcoming projects within the company that are being made for the Xbox 360 and PS3 (as well as next-gen systems). These titles include FIFA 14, Battlefield 4 and the next Need For Speed game.

Naturally, the idea behind this is to prolong the lifecycle of current generation systems to twelve years such as the aforementioned 360 and PS3. Jorgenses even specified that they will be making games for the Wii U, which contradicts some of the company's earlier statements.

Generally, the 'no backwards compatibility' strategy is starting to make more and more sense. Basically, they want next-gen systems to thrive as quickly as possible, so who the hell needs old games on new systems anyway. At the same time though, they want to sell as much of the old systems as they can, before they completely die out.

Source.

The thing that makes least sense to me is a liquorice allsort. Who wants one?

And here's an interesting little fact for ya: 

In the original story, Sleeping Beauty was raped by the Prince and gave birth to 2 children. She woke up when a kid sucked on her fingers.