"This week Midway has revealed that a number of staff working out of its Austin studio are to be laid off - in what the company refers to as a strictly routine and minor action based on the completion of a project at the Texan studio.

The staff losses follow hot on the heels of Midway parting company with a pair of senior players, namely executive vice president and CFO Thomas Powell, who is moving on to another company, and also senior vice president Steve Allison, who will be stepping dow..."

"Videogames developer and publisher Midway has this week announced that Harvey Smith, the creative director of recent release BlackSite: Area 51, has left the Austin-based company by mutual consent.


It remains to be seen whether Smith’s somewhat overt criticism of the BlackSite project during the Montral International Games Summit in Quebec, Canada, has anything to do with his dismissal."

"The 360-degree rotating action can be a little disorienting for the first-time user, but once you start getting in shots on your competition, it's hard to put the controller down.

Battle scenes inside the palaces are thrillingly claustrophobic as players are forced to find cover and react quickly to gunfire from opposing combatants and alien soldiers.

Players can spit cannon fire while zipping through low and high aerial assault sequences. There's even a hovering surfboard. The outdoor ..."

"The floodgates are well and truly opening on the release avalanche that will carry us through to the New Year. There's going to be a veritable treasure trove of gaming on offer over the next few months. We've already got BioShock and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (in the States), but it's not long until the likes of Skate, Super Paper Mario (in AU), World in Conflict and Halo 3. Then after that we slide neatly into Guitar Hero III, Rock Band (in the States - did I mention curse you?), Need for ..."

"In a conference call Thursday, Midway announced that its delaying upcoming FPS Blacksite: Area 51 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. Originally scheduled for release in September, the game will now release on October 26th in Europe, and November 5th in the US.

No reason was given for the delay, but Midway representatives had previously stated that the company was unafraid of putting its premiere FPS up against Halo 3 in September on Xbox 360. Perhaps Midway finally came to its senses, or..."

"Our 2007 E3 lineup truly reflects our product strategy to develop top quality titles in a wide range of genres across all major platforms," said David F. Zucker, president and CEO, Midway. "With exciting next generation games such as Stranglehold and proven brands like Mortal Kombat, along with games for the younger market and handhelds, this is Midway's most diverse and strongest line up yet"

"Welsh warbling legend, the mighty Dame Shirley Bassey offered the best E3-related advice when she recently covered Pink’s insipid pop anthem and duly commanded that we: Get this party started! Check in with GamerSquad for official all-action E3 trailers for Frontlines: Fuel of War on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, TimeShift for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, BlackSite: Area 51 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, and Godzilla: Unleashed on the Nintendo Wii."

Midway's released screenshots and the box cover art for the highly-anticipated game BlackSite: Area 51. The game centers on an Iraq War veteran who leads a Special Forces Unit against a strange enemy that's emerged from the concrete tombs of Area 51.

The screens are pretty awesome, showing some pretty amazing enemies to be fought. In the meantime, while waiting for the full release of the game, you can go to XBox Live Marketplace and download the demo, which should get you prepared for kil...