Game News Round Up

• The Sims 3: Barnacle Bay Announced - The Sims 3 Website announces The Sims 3: Barnacle Bay, another expansion for EA's lifestyle simulation sequel. Word is: 'A Whole New World for your Sims to Explore! An island nestled in the Simuyan Sea, Barnacle Bay is a vibrant vacation getaway with stunning beaches, campgrounds, parks, and a curiously modern downtown. First settled by pirates, fisherman, and artists - the world’s inhabitants now enjoy relaxing at Smuggler's Beach and letting loose at The Wanderer's Watering Hole. Will your trip be a vacation or a staycation?'
• Supreme Commander 2 Patch v1.2 - This update includes a host of new features, gameplay improvements and balancing changes, AI tweaks and even a new building: the Cybran Mass Convertor. In addition, this patch also offers all five of the Supreme Commander 2 Exclusive Pre-Order Maps: Emerald Crater, Iskellian Coast, QAI Prototype Facility, Seraphim VII Site and Weddell Isle which are now available for all players.
• Kane and Lynch 2 paid DLC now available on Steam - The PC version of the game has no less than three new paid DLC options which can now be downloaded via Steam. The biggest one is the Doggie Bag Pack which has two new multiplayer maps (Dockyard and High Rise) plus the Radio Tower map that was included as a pre-order bonus for GameStop purchase. It also has five new weapons and can be purchased for $5.99.
• Final Fantasy XIV open beta to start later tonight - One day after postponing the open beta for Square Enix's upcoming MMO, the game's official web site has now announced that it will now begin at 10 pm Eastern time for North American players (that's 7 pm Pacific time). There's no word yet on how long the open beta will last but the full version of Square Enix's next MMO title is scheduled to being on September 22 for owners of the game's collector's edition and September 30 for owners of the standard edition of the MMO.
• Brink Developer Diary #4 - The developers talk about the realistic-versus-vibrant cartoon art style in Brink. If you've missed the first three viddocs, head to IGN to watch them
• Diablo III's development status - IGN got an actual status update on the game's progress from game director Jay Wilson. He states, "We're still adding monsters, we're still working on bosses, we have some that aren't made yet, we're working on every Act but we've got some areas that haven't been built yet. We're still building, but we're building very fast. We're not in discovery mode anymore." Even with his positive spin, Wilson's statements seem to suggest that the game is still a long way from even a beta stage, much less a full game release.
• Champions Online, A Week Of Free Play Time - Champions Online is celebrating its first anniversary, and to turn the celebration into a proper party Cryptic and Atari have announced that September 1 (10 AM PDT) to September 7 (10 AM PDT) will be a freebie.
• Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Ep. 5 Available - Telltale Games announces the release of The City That Dares Not Sleep, the fifth and final episode in Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, the latest series of Sam & Max adventures
• The Crucible Goes Commercial - The RuneStorm team have decided to take the big step into retail with their Unreal Tournament 3 modification The Crucible. Anyone familiar with their previous work will understand that polishing it to a professional level won't be much of a stretch. The team is also hinting at a second project in the works and we're definitely looking forward to hearing more about it!
• Battle Vs. Chess Shipping In September - SouthPeak Games has announced that Battle vs. Chess will ship to retailers on September 28, 2010
• StarCraft 2 Sells 3 Million Copies in First Month - Half of the three million sales were made in StarCraft II's first 48 hours of sale alone, which Blizzard says set "the record for fastest-selling strategy game of all time." StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty was released for PC and Mac on July 27.