GameSpot has word that a Delaware bankruptcy court judge approved the proposed sale of Midway Games to Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for $33 million. Additionally, the judge has waived the usual 10-day waiting period for such a sale, so "[it] should close in short order".

The acquisition will give Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment most of Midway's assets, including the Mortal Kombat and Wheelman franchises. The offer does not include Midway's Newcastle (UK) and San Diego studios, nor the TNA Impact wrestling license. Earlier this month, Midway's Newcastle studio revealed its all-new IP, Necessary Force, in an effort to attract a buyer.

FragBU and July 4th, what can go wrong?

We invite you to join BU staff members and your fellow BuF'ers for two nights of intense fragging through DM, TDM, CTF, vCTF, WAR, Greed, and Betrayal. If you've never been to a FragBU event before, don't worry, it's open to anyone who wants to join us for some good old fashioned gaming mayhem.

Before you start, check out the FragBU thread in the UT3 forums for the latest news, download links to the custom content, and to leave comments. All of the content is still available through the servers fast redirect, but it is still recommended to download the files before you jump on the server if you want to jump in on the action right away. There are quite a few large map packs like the excellent and often played HOLP1 and HOLP2 that would take a while even on a fast redirect.

To check on the status of the server without opening the game, you can either check the FragBU thread or log on to the official FragBU IRC channel at #fragbu on EnterTheGame where there's always plenty of people to help you out if you need any assistance. You can also get a play by play of the matches by checking out #fragbu.reporter on ETG.

If you are patiently waiting on the server and it's currently empty don't fret, it may take a while but people will eventually join. Most players do not start joining until 10pm EST but people will join earlier if they see activity on the server. So just fire up the game and join up! If idling on the server isn't working and you do not want to wait any longer, bugging people in irc to join usually works!

We hope to see you there!

The deadline for Wave 1 of the "Killing Floor Grindhouse" custom map making competition is nearing. Big bucks and prizes are on the line, so get cracking!

An update is currently available for Killing Floor via Steam. You'll find that a number of tweaks and bug fixes have been implemented, along with some really good perk and gameplay tweaks that I'll be trying out ASAP.

• Fixes
• Fixed a memory leak causing performance to degrade the longer you played when in multiplayer (resulting in very low framerate sometimes in the final waves)
• Improved texture and file precaching to reduce issues with hitching
• Voice Over IP is now usable in the Lobby Menu while waiting for everyone to ready up
• Cash amount in the Trader Menu updates when someone gives you money while trading
• Improved the readability of chat fonts
• All melee weapons now have an alt-fire, which is a "power strike"
• Fixed the timing for when damage occurs from melee weapons
• Added a Map White List which will now only allow perks to be earned on official and approved custom maps (Makes maps such as KF-Leveling worthless)
• Fixed "Connection Failed" endless loop when failing to connect to a server and clicking the Back button in the Server Browser
• Fixed Zeds sliding instead of animating online at particular times
• Fixed blowing off the limbs of live Zeds, such as the Bloat's legs
• Added random moving attacks for specimens that would always just stop and attack before (Bloat, Gorefast, Scrake). This makes the attacks less predictable, and players can no longer just backpedel to escape any attack from these Zeds
• New Scrake behavior - the Scrake will now rage sooner, and will now keep moving toward its target when attacking. Additionally, it will randomly charge at its target when attacking, making the Scrake more effective
• Added improved behavior for FleshPound to prevent "kiting". The Fleshpound will now get frustrated and charge players regardless of if it is shot if players keep moving away from it
• Fixed Joining as Spectator not allowing you to View players
• Fixed Spectators needing to "Ready" before game will start
• Improved some of the fonts for in-game messages and interface text
• Interface tweaks

• Perk Tweaks
• Decreased Shotgun Penetration power of the Support Perk
• Increased Ammo Capacity of Bullpup for Commando Perk
• Increased the Reload speed bonus of the Commando Perk
• Decreased the Stalker Kills requirement of the Commando Perk
• Decreased Lever Action Rifle cocking time for the Sharpshooter Perk
• Assigned 9mm to Sharpshooter Perk(9mm headshots count toward Perk and all bonuses now apply to 9mm as well)
• Reduced movement speed for Medic Perk to deter "kiting"
• Increased Reload Speed for Firebug Perk
• Increased Ammo Capacity of FlameThrower for Firebug Perk

FilePlanet is where you'll find beta keys for Section 8, the first-person-shooter from TimeGate Studios that promises, among other things, dynamic missions for up to 32 players.

This event is a staggered beta with keys distributed first come, first served with limited access. Beta keys will be distributed on a regular schedule.

Can't get enough Greed? Diesalot and Odedge have converted the 14 DM maps that shipped with UT3 to the Greed gametype. They're also PS3 friendly. Pop into the the release thread for pics and download links to each.

Greed works fine with CTF maps, but the game mode is not limited to a linear layout, which is the motivation behind this conversion. The flag bases (conduits) are placed in the same spot in a central location in each map. We tried 2 sets in certain maps, but the bots would only recognize the first set. Certain pickups have either been moved, changed, or deleted.

Game development is seldom a trouble-free prospect, but it seems Damnation developer Blue Omega has had more than its fair share of troubles. In addition to news of the team being let go, ShackNews has details of the lawsuits that are now underway.

ShackNews has posted a Demoman review of America's Army 3.

Frankly, the best shot I made all day was after swiveling around and putting a round into my drill instructor's dome, which the Army did not look upon favorably. After leaving my jail cell, I spent some more time on the range with the M320 Grenade Launcher and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, which has a reload animation so long you could spend a week in Morocco and be home in time to see it finish. I attempted to take the Combat Lifesaving class, too, but it stubbornly refused to run without freezing. But hey, how often do injuries really come up during battle, anyway?

The latest GEARS OF WAR title JACINTO’S REMNANT BY Karen Traviss hits the shelves (and Amazon) on July 28.

NEW YORK (June 30, 2009) – Blockbuster video game franchise Gears of War burst onto the book scene last year with its first official novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss. ASPHO FIELDS — spanning the story between Gears of War and Gears of War 2 — was an instant bestseller. Now the sequel, GEARS OF WAR: JACINTO’S REMNANT (Del Rey Trade Paperback, on sale July 28, 2009, $15.00) picks up from the harrowing end of the second game and follows humanity’s struggle to survive after the destruction of its last bastion on the planet Sera.

After a brutal fifteen-year war for survival, the Coalition of Ordered Governments is forced to destroy Jacinto – mankind’s last city – in a final bid to stop the Locust Horde. As the survivors flee, they're caught between the last of the Locust, bent on vengeance, and a primitive struggle to stay alive in an icy wilderness. It’s up to Marcus Fenix, Dom Santiago, and their fellow Gears to fight to get Jacinto’s refugees to a safe haven. But what they find is a new world; lawless, treacherous, with an all too familiar enemy – humans, as desperate and dangerous as any Locust grub.

“Karen Traviss has outdone herself once again,” said Rod Fergusson, executive producer, Epic Games. "JACINTO'S REMNANT not only answers the question of what happens after the events of Gears 2, it also provides greater insight into the Gears of War universe and a deeper understanding of its characters. We hope players of the games and discerning readers alike will enjoy this ongoing tale of humanity's fight for survival."

GEARS OF WAR: JACINTO’S REMNANT was written in partnership with Epic Games, Inc., developers of the 11 million-selling Gears of War video game franchise. GEARS OF WAR: JACINTO’S REMNANT will be released day and date with the latest Game Add-on for Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360). Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection includes all previously released downloadable content for the game to date in addition to Dark Corners, a substantial Add-on featuring seven new multiplayer maps and the new Road to Ruin campaign chapter. In total, the All Fronts Collection contains nineteen maps and a new campaign experience, available for 1600 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE starting at 12:00 a.m. GMT on July 28.

Karen Traviss is the author of four Star Wars: Republic Commando novels: Hard Contact, Triple Zero, True Colors, and Order 66; three Star Wars: Legacy of the Force novels: Bloodlines, Revelation, and Sacrifice; two Star Wars: The Clone Wars novels: The Clone Wars movie novelization and No Prisoners; as well as City of Pearl, Crossing the Line, The World Before, Matriarch, and Judge. A former defense correspondent and TV and newspaper journalist, Traviss lives in Wiltshire, England.

Frogster has announced its Korean subsidiary will be teaming with Spellborn NV to send The Chronicles of Spellborn into "re-development" until 2010, at which time it will become free to play, supported by microtransactions. Those with subscriptions will be allowed to continue to play normally (P2P) until that time.

Oddly, this comes on the heels of news that a portion of Spellborn has dipped into bankruptcy (thanks MelvinB). As the site is in Dutch, details are still sparing. Perhaps someone would be nice enough to translate?

If you've been watching our Hosted News on the right sidebar then you'll have noticed a flurry of updates over the last few weeks for these two sites. If you haven't, then pay attention now because there's lots of good new stuff.

• SkinCity - EvilEngine and AgentX have teamed up to release the Skaarj-Pack for UT3. If you're a Skaarj fan, this is a must-have. In addition, you'll find a female model called "Tarja" and a "Polar and Dumon Soldier" model pack for UT3.
  
  
• UT Unlimited - Firefly has turned UT Unlimited into the Swiss-Army Knife of Unreal review sites with the addition of UT, UT2004, and UT3 map reviews, as well as models and links to other happening sites around the web. Highlights include a review of the Community Bonus Pack 3 v3 and a review of DM-GodComplex for UT2004.

Hazel H. has converted her great DM-Chizra and DM-Subterrane maps from the UT3 HOLP packs to Unreal Tournament. If you're a die-hard UT'er and haven't picked up UT3, you'd do well to treat yourself to these two fine maps... and they look fantastic!

Both levels are converted versions of my HOLP maps for UT3, scaled down to 75% of their original size to accommodate the UT1 movement. The ripper has also been added to both and the weapon placement altered.

Unreal Tactics v 2.1 has been released for Unreal Tournament 3. If you're looking for something a bit different, this one might fit the bill:

Unreal Tactics is a turn based tactics modification for Unreal Tournament 3 in which you take control of the forces of the Liandri, Axon, or Izanagi forces while they attempt to gain sole control of mining operations on a valuable ice planet.