2K Games

2K Marin's FPS reboot of the revered XCOM has been delayed until next year, according to reports. The claim comes from the latest issue of Game Informer, reported by IGN. It appears that 2K has decided that the Firaxis-developed strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown, announced earlier this month and set for a 2012 release, is a better way to reintroduce the series. More >

The Swiss Christian Police Association wants the upcoming 2K Games sequel banned because it shows police being shot and killed. Felix Ceccato, president of the group, said: "When police in England are the target of mobs running amok, it is important that police are not portrayed as the enemy." The fuss was swiftly nipped in the bud by 2K, whose statement reads: "Reported stories regarding police officers in The Darkness II were erroneous. There are no police officers in the game."

Originally set for release this October, Digital Extremes' sequel will now be released on February 7 2012 in North America and three days later in Europe, publisher 2K Games has confirmed. In a sensible move given its source material, The Darkness II will have quite a presence at this week's Comic-Con, with a playable demo and a panel featuring developers, the comic book's co-creator Marc Silvestri, and Faith No More's Mike Patton, who voices the titular Darkness.

Speaking to MCV, 2K president Christoph Hartmann defended the company's decision to reboot the beloved strategy series as an FPS. "The 90s generation of gamers all love XCOM and we own the IP, so we thought, okay, what do we do with it? Every studio we had wanted to do it and each one had its own spin on it," he said. "The problem was that turn-based strategy games were no longer the hottest thing on planet Earth. But this is not just a commercial thing - strategy games are just not contemporary. It's not a case of cashing in on the name. We just need to renew it because times are changing."

E3 may technically be over, but no-one told 2K Games, who released the below screenshots overnight. 2K Marin's tactical shooter, the series' first instalment since 2001's X-COM: Enforcer, will be released for Xbox 360, PC and PS3 next March.

Irrational Games has created a finely choreographed blend of drama, action, and spectacle. And the technology it has harnessed for that falling sequence is quite fantastic.