In the weeks following the fateful Activision Blizzard merger, a great deal of concern arose from the gaming community as a number of anticipated titles effectively lost their publisher. However, while most fretting was focused on Ghostbusters and Brütal Legend, the suddenly jeopardized low-brow antics of Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust went undiscussed, and largely uneulogized.

Don't feel too guilty, you neglectful so-and-so -- Codemasters' casual games branch Funsta has apparently picked publishing rights for the title. According to the company's site, the adult content-rich adventure title is due out in April for the PC, PS3 and 360, and has been granted a totally shocking Mature rating by the ESRB. Ever the survivor, it seems the Leisure Suit Larry franchise will live to sleaze another day.

[Via Big Download]

Sony released this new God of War III trailer today, to go alongside our brand new preview. It's an extended version of the one shown during the VGAs in December and features some of Kratos' new abilities and the game's god-sized scale -- the ending camera shot turns Kratos into a flea! The video was rendered in-game, so cross your blades that it keeps on looking this good -- and angry -- as development continues. Okay, we'll stop writing now, so you can get to watching the darned thing already!

Your weekly, Good Old Games-sponsored tour through the classics of PC gaming continues this week with a new addition, In Cold Blood, available now for $5.99. If you're unfamiliar with this stealthy adventure all the way from 2001, we've put a trailer for you just after the break.

The service has also added two JoWooD titles for $9.99: demonic FPS Painkiller Black Edition and tank sim Panzer Elite: Special Edition. Hmm, shooting Hell beasts with giant stakes or a historical strategy game? We hope the right choice is clear.

My dearest followers,

It's me, Ubisoft's forthcoming first-person survival game. You know, I Am Alive. We met at E3, remember? I briefly exposed myself in front of you and left you somewhat confused ... but curious. You've been wondering about me, haven't you? We'll get to know each other in due time, it's just that ... well, I lied. I know I said I'd meet up with you in March. And I know that neither of us believed it, you with your "skepticism" and me with my nebulous features and infrequent public appearances.

So, I'm going to be running late. Rest assured -- I Am Alive -- but I won't be leaving the office until Ubi's 2009-2010 fiscal year, which runs from April 2009 through March 2010. I know it's hard for you to understand, but it's for the best. I just ... I just can't let people see me covered in so many bugs. Despite my most fervent wishes, I can't make an exception for you -- it would be a fatal exception.

Yours truly,
I Am Alive

P.S. PDF – Ubisoft Q308 earnings report

The mammoth adventure of Syberia concludes in the sequel, now available to GameTap gold subscribers. Syberia II finds Kate Walker giving up on her former life, instead accompanying an eccentric inventor as he seeks out the world's last hairy elephants (hint: they're in Syberia). Don't worry if you missed out on the first enchanting (and sad) adventure -- the sequel includes a handy plot recap.

• Syberia II (Windows) - Hans has been found, but now Kate needs to help him fulfill his dream.
  
• Paws and Claws Pet Vet (Windows) - Pet Vet Sim Tycoon. That about sum it up?
  

It's worth noting that GameTap axed 97 titles this week from its free-to-play service. A list of the 48 survivors can be found after the break.

Haven't we heard this story before? A relatively small developer touts its desire to make a good-looking mature game on Wii, only to have the project shot down by the major publishers. Then, the developer releases tons of media of the in-development game to the public, and hardcore Nintendo fans rally the troops demanding the game's release. If this sounds familiar, it's because you've been following The Conduit.

n-Space (developer of Geist on Gamecube) looks to be repeating history yet again by revealing its in-limbo Wii game, Winter. The survival horror game reminds us a little bit of Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy): an inexplicable snowstorm shuts in a Midwest town, and the main character must figure out the dark secret behind the situation. The developers wanted to create a HUD-less world, where the Wii Remote and Nunchuck became extensions of the player's hands.

Speaking to IGN, n-Space president Dan O'Leary explained that publishers simply couldn't get behind marketing a mature game on the Wii. "In almost every case we got hung up with the sales and marketing groups. They simply could not get behind a survival horror title on the Wii ... The idea of an 'adult' game on what they perceived to be a 'kids' console was simply too big a leap for them."

If given the opportunity to finish development of the game, one of the goals would be to drastically improve the visuals, "making the best looking Wii game possible." See video footage after the break.

Worried about how The End is Nigh will fit into the Watchmen universe? A lot of assurances are already well known: Watchmen illustrator Gibbons is consulting on the art style and original editor Len Wein is the writer of the episodic game series. However, what is most comforting is the inadvertent involvement of reclusive creator Alan Moore. According to Gibbons, in an interview with EuroGamer, the two did a Watchmen module for Mayfair Games' DC Heroes tabletop roleplaying series. Moore helped write bits of it, which details the backstory from 1966, and has in the past endorsed it as canon.

The second page of the interview is quite spoilerific, with Gibbons talking about the film's (and subsequently the book's) ending, so consider yourself warned. The first episode of End is Nigh is expected this March, which we're hoping is still near the film's release.

Finally, some Tomb Raider news that's about, you know, tombs. Specifically, the downloadable kind meant to extend Lara Croft's latest -- and commercially disappointing -- adventure, Tomb Raider Underworld. Eidos had promised two Xbox 360-exclusive episodes, with the first initially scheduled to arrive by Christmas. Sadly, the only things to be released by developer Crystal Dynamics thus far are thirty employees.

Though an official post-delay date has yet to be confirmed by Eidos, retailer GameStop currently lists a Tomb Raider Underworld "Expansion Token Pack," which is said to contain two Xbox Live Marketplace Token cards. According to the product page, the pack will cost $19.99 and ship on Wednesday, January 21st. If we were prone to bouts of speculation, we'd say that the presence of two cards indicates that both DLC packs ("Beneath the Ashes" and "Lara's Shadow") will be released simultaneously on Xbox Live at a combined cost of 1600.

If we were prone to such silly things -- we'll let you know what Eidos has to say as soon as possible.

A Eurogamer source claims that Traveller's Tales isn't making a Lego Harry Potter game this year. This follows rumors that a brickitized Potter title was in the works, courtesy of the folks behind Lego Star Wars and Lego Indy. Said rumor has been floating around ever since Warner Bros., which holds the wizard's movie rights, bought TT in 2007.

The Eurogamer source also claims a new installment of Lego Indiana Jones is likely to arrive this year. At this point, we're willing to believe almost any franchise can be turned into a TT Lego game. Well, that Lego Rock Band rumor is still a bit weird.

Seek and ye shall find a casual squint-a-thon on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday. Interpol: The Trail of Dr. Chaos wraps investigative, per-pixel peering around a globetrotting chase, with "elaborate crime scenes" and "hundreds of mysterious hidden objects" to eke and serenade with a celebratory "Aha!"

You need not be alone in your hunt for Dr. Waldo Chaos, as Interpol supports four-player co-op (both online and on couch). Perhaps you can split the 800 ($10) cost with the other agents.

Capcom Europe revealed today -- and reiterated in a few cases -- the release schedule for its titles in the first quarter of 2009.

• February TBA - Flock (XBLA/PSN)
  
• February 20 - Street Fighter IV (X360/PS3)
• February 27- Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop (Wii)
  
• February 27- Neopets Puzzle Adventure (Wii/DS/PC)
  
• March 13 - Resident Evil 5 (X360/PS3)
  
• March TBA - MotoGP (Wii)
  
• Q1-2 TBA - Bionic Commando (X360/PS3)
  

All these dates are believed to be official European release dates. We're currently awaiting Capcom US to release its own list of dates (if it even plans to do so). We'll update if anything changes.

Update: Added Capcom's North American information after the break.
Update 2: Bionic Commando will not be hitting Europe in March. The timetable is the same as the US: in the first half of '09.

Many of us found our hearts eviscerated by Electronic Arts' welcome, if financially maddening, newfound appreciation for original property. And while survival horror is hardly an unexplored genre, it's rare that any company, even a juggernaut like EA, gets everything right the first time. Dead Space nails it, and whether it's an eerie trek through the bowels of a derelict space ship, or surviving being cut to ribbons by aliens, cultists or former co-workers, staying alive has seldom felt as satisfying as it does aboard the USG Ishimura.

BigDownload has been butting together an extensive preview of all the titles they hope will release in 2009. Granted, a fair chunk might get hit with the delay stick and be knocked out until 2010, but we're not about to get in the way of their PC gaming dreams (they hack stuff when they're angry).

The previews have been broken up into several sections below. This'll give you a great jump on your pirating holiday wish list for next year.

Source - Action-FPS Titles Part 1
Source - Action-FPS Titles Part 2
Source - Strategy-RTS Games
Source - RPG-MMO Games
Source - 2009 PC Game Preview: Other Games

Nathan Drake's disheveled mug has decided to grace yet another magazine cover, this time the latest issue of Edge. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the cover story, and to be honest, there isn't much here that we didn't already hear about from Game Informer or see from the leaked photos. Still, have at a few new pull quotes: According to Naughty Dog's Bruce Straley, the sneaking mechanic is "something more in the toolbox" that won't be required. "It's not Splinter Cell," he said. "It's choosing when and from where to enter combat."

Adding to the previously reported claim of "maxing out" the PlayStation 3's capabilities, the devs tease that the technology is strong enough to "allow an entire building to collapse while you're in it - and we can throw enemies in at the same time while that's happening." That better be in the final game a few times. This issue of Edge should be on newsstands now.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]