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Twelve Achievements, 200 Gamerscore points, and, potentially, so much awesome that we'll all faint from the experience. That's what awaits in Sega's episodic Sonic the Hedgehog 4, whose first installment is due in July allegedly for 400 MS Points.

Sonic 4's entire list of goals leaked out this weekend, confirming the return of Chaos Emeralds, Super Sonic, leaderboard action, and our eventual defeat of Dr. Eggman. Can you sense the nostalgia? It's palpable.

More information on the game is due soon. Hit the jump for the Achievements.

Guybrush Threepwood looks to be making yet another appearance on Xbox LIVE Arcade, after last year's excellent high-def remake of The Secret of Monkey Island.

Kotaku claim to have heard from "sources" that the sequel, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, will be announced very soon by LucasArts -- quite possibly during GDC 2010 this week.

No details about the current-gen version of the old-school title were provided, but it's said we can unsurprisingly expect crisp HD visuals, re-mastered audio, and most likely full voice-over once again.

That right there is the newest bit of media for Eidos Montreal and Square-Enix's Deus Ex 3/Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Pretty, isn't it? As it should be.

A vague shot of a CGI lighter emerged last week, and it appears our assumptions about it being from a forthcoming trailer were correct; the scene has now shifted, seemingly revealing the game's protagonist, Adam Jensen, lighting up. Mysterious.

Speculation is that the CG teaser trailer for the game will debut next week during GDC 2010. Perhaps we'll get a few more snippets in the mean time.

Just how bloody a battle Corporate Warfare: Infinity Ward vs. Activision will be, and what its outcome means for the Call of Duty series, remains to be seen. The heads of Modern Warfare's development studio are no longer associated with the company, and are fighting back with their former overlords, suing for over $30 million and the "contractual rights Activision granted to control Modern Warfare-branded games." Activision asserted that the claims made in the suit are "meritless." The lawsuit claimed that Activision launched a "pre-textual investigation" against the execs in order to "create a basis to fire" them, ahead of the payment of the first MW2 royalties due later this month.

In an interview with Critical Gamer, analyst Michael Pachter says that it's "highly unlikely" the duo will win the franchise rights when all is said and done, but that any monetary settlement "won't cripple Activision." "It would be terrible for Activision if Zampella/West won the rights to the [Modern Warfare] brand, only mildly negative if they win the monetary portion," he says.

“I think it is highly unlikely that Zampella/West will win the rights to the brand. I have not seen their contracts (I am a lawyer), but my understanding from the news commentary about the suit is that they had the rights to supervise and control modern warfare versions of the game under their old contract. What was not reported is whether these rights were granted to them as employees (likely). If so, when they are no longer employees, they presumably lose those rights.”

Activision granted "creative authority over the development of any games under the Modern Warfare brand (or any Call of Duty game set in the post-Vietnam era, the near future or distant future) including complete control over the Infinity Ward studio," to the former execs as part of their post-Call of Duty 4 contract renewal deal, to entice them to move forward with a sequel. According to details, it's alleged that Activision insisted the studio begin work on MW3 right away, instead of giving them the freedom to create a new IP after MW2 -- also a contractual promise made.

Pachter went on to say, "I don’t think that they will win any rights over the brand, but they may win some money. With 1.3 billion shares, the amount sought is only around $0.02/share, so it won’t cripple Activision."

More after the jump...

I know what you're thinking: "An Activision game with tons of DLC already planned? Get out of here." The publisher isn't in the best light as of late, but all the seriousness is getting toned down soon with the new racer from PGR creators Bizarre Creations, Blur.

A public multiplayer beta goes live on Monday (we've still got keys to give away here), and now we can rest easy knowing that plenty of post-launch content is in the pipeline. If that's your sort of thing.

"We do have plans for DLC," says lead designer Ged Talbot, who spoke with MTV. "I don't have any dates for DLC, but what I can say is it's always been a massive part of the strategy to support the game with DLC. Again, no one has worked on it yet."

What sort of content is on tap remains unknown. It's probably safe to say additional cars and power-ups might make the list, along with bonus tracks. Maybe even some extra modes. As well, that pre-order loot is sure to make its way onto LIVE eventually for everyone else. Blur is slated to release on May 25th.

Last Updated on Saturday, 06 March 2010 01:47