It's been a while since a state has proposed regulating sales of video and PC games (perhaps because all of the previous attempts have been deemed unconstitutional) but the state of Rhode Island now has a bill going through its state legislature that, if passed into law, would impose fines and perhaps even some jail time for retailers that sell games that are rated "M" or "AO" to minors.

As expected, GamePolitics reports that the Entertainment Software Association has already announced its opposition to the bill, saying, "This bill is the same as all the other legislative proposals found unconstitutional by numerous federal courts." What is unexpected is that the bill is also opposed by former Florida attorney and video game critic Jack Thompson. He's quoted as saying, "Since 1930, it has been unconstitutional to restrict the sale of entertainment products to anyone based upon a private sector standard, which the ESRB ratings are." However he hasn't made a big change in his attitude towards games. Thompson will be giving his advice to Rhode Island lawmakers in an attempt to make their bill pass muster.

Last month, Blizzard revealed that the new Battle.net 2.0 multiplayer service would not only serve as a way for StarCraft II to be updates but also a way for people to download and purchase a full copy of the sci-fi RTS sequel itself. Back in 2004, Valve launched their Steam PC game download service with Half-Life 2.

With Blizzard now owned by Activision Blizzard, some people have already speculated that the new Battle.net could be used by third party game developers and publishers in much the same way Steam has evolved to becoming the number one place to download and purchase major PC game titles. During GDC this week The Escapist chatted with Blizzard exec Rob Pardo about such a possibility. Pardo admitted, "It's something that we've definitely always talked about." However he added that it would be hard to support third party games as well as Blizzard's own titles. Their already announced plans to let StarCraft II map and mod makers a way to sell their efforts via Battle.net might represent their first steps towards the goal of becoming a Steam-like service.

It's certainly one of the more interesting game titles we have heard in a while. Battle Vs Chess? Seriously, we didn't know that "Battle" was some kind of noun. Yet that's the name that developer Zuxxez and publisher Topware are giving this mix of turn-based strategy and action.

Due out this May for the PC, Mac and other platforms, the game is supposed to use some kind of authentic chess algorithm as its basis. But as you can see from the screenshot above the game is also looking much different than your normal chess program. The press release announcing the game touts its many different playing environments along with some unnamed special gameplay modes and bonuses. We hope it's as least as fun as that cool Star Wars holographic chess board on board the Millennium Falcon.

If you though that the fired heads of Infinity Ward would be living in a van down by the river by now, think again. The Los Angeles Times web site reports that Vince Zampella and Jason West are now being represented by the big time Hollywood talent agency Creative Artists Agency.

You can bet that the folks that founded the development studio behind the powerhouse Call of Duty franchise will be getting some big offers for their next gig and CAA will likely be in a position to help them make that next big deal. Even with their current legal fight with their former publishers Activision over (allegedly) lack of bonus pay for their last game Modern Warfare 2, you can bet that West and Zampella will command a large sum of money for whomever hires them.

With the multiplayer beta for StarCraft II now well underway, the folks at Blizzard decided to hold a chat via their Twitter page to answer some of the fan's questions about their current and future plans for the upcoming sci-fi RTS sequel. The Battle.net forums have the full transcript of the chat.

The Blizzard team revealed that a major content update will be added to the beta sometime in mid-April. That update will add some Achievements to the game for the first time along with some improvements for voice chat and "a whole lot more." You can expect more maps to be added to the beta including some for 3v3 and 4v4 player matcches. In addition the Mac beta client should also be released in April and the team also hopes to release a beta version of the game's map editor around the end of April. The chat transcript has tons of other info about the beta and is pretty much a must read.

While we wait to see of the PC versions of the first Modern Warfare 2 DLC map pack will be free or if PC players will actually have to pay for the thing, at least some more info about what the map pack will contain has been leaked out. Our sister site Joystiq A page on the Xbox 360 web site is the source of the reveal (the Xbox 360 will get first crack at the map pack on March 30).

According to the page, the "Stimulus Package" DLC will have five multiplayer maps. Three will be all new; Bailout is set in a multi-level apartment complex, Storm is set in a more open industrial park and Salvage is located in a junkyard with snow. The other two maps, Crash and Overgrown, are remakes from Infinity Ward's previous first person shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. All in all it sounds like a pretty meaty map pack. Now if we can just get the developer to agree to release some mod tools and perhaps a dedicated server we would be all set.

[Via Joystiq]

This week's announcement at GDC 2010 of a June 17 launch date for the OnLive streaming game service hasn't stopped the skeptics from saying the service won't be a big hit. VG247.com reports that Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald feels the announcement of a $14.95 a month pricing plan for OnLive. plus the purchasing of each game, could keep many from trying OnLive out. He's quoted as saying, "If publishers try to sell digital-only new release games at a $40-50 ASP (average selling price), we don't think gamers will find the price points compelling."

However OnLive does have high powered supporters too. One of them is Epic Games VP Mark Rein who told Gamasutra that while "super hardcore" gamers might notice lag and graphics that are not quite up to their highest potential, "...if you're a gamer who doesn't want to go erect a big fancy pc like that... it's really fun."

We love dinosaurs. We would love to have a good first person shooter where we would have to shoot us some dinosaurs. So we were excited when we first learned about Lukewarm Media's plans for their upcoming first person shooter Primal Carnage, which has players shooting, you guessed it, dinosaurs.

This week the development team released a video on YouTube showing off the graphical goodness of the game. There's no actual gameplay in the video but if it plays as good as this video looks Primal Carnage should be in good shape. The development team is currently taking "donations" for the game. In this case, "donations" doesn't mean you get nothing for your money. If you decided to donate over $20 you will get the full game for free along with an invite to its closed beta. So it's basically a pre-order.

The Threat of Peace is at an end. That is, the web comic Star Wars The Old Republic: Threat of Peace has concluded on the upcoming MMO's official web site. However it looks like developer BioWare is teaming up once again with Dark Horse Comics to produce their second web comic series based on the game's timeline.

Their second web comic is titled Blood of the Empire and will be written by BioWare's own Senior Writer Alexander Freed. No artist has been named yet but you can check out a preview page from the comic on the site right now. The series will begin "soon" It's likely that Dark Horse will collect Blood of the Empire into a trade collection after it completes its web series run.

Blizzard continues to look toward a mid-2010 release date for their sci-fi RTS sequel StarCraft II. That date hinges on how well their current multiplayer beta test of the game proceeds. On Friday a new patch for the game was delivered to the beta testers that put in a number of play balance changes for many of the game's units.

Among the changes are a much longer time period to create the Protoss Warp Gate and quite a few changes for some of the Zerg units and buildings, particularly for the Infestor unit. You can expect Blizzard to continue to tweak the gameplay balance until, and perhaps even after, the game is released.

In an interesting move for a company that just a few months ago was laying off staff members and shutting down development studios, Electronic Arts has announced that it will take over the sales of the ads that are placed inside their game titles. Previously EA contracted with third party ad companies like IGA and Microsoft owned Massive to handle their in-game ads.

Gamasutra reports that EA held an event for advertisers and media buyers to pitch their games and how they might incorporate ads in their titles. Games such as the Need For Speed series have uses in-game billboards and other devices to showcase real world ads.

The development team at Cryptic Studios working on Star Trek Online gives viewers a glimpse of what's in store for the future. Things are looking pretty hot, including all-new playable races and powerful top tier ships. More conflicts with the Borg are in store, and best of all, an apparent encounter with The Q. This video packs in a lot, and there's still more to come.

Download HD Star Trek Online 'Expanding Universe' Part 1 Video (629 MB)
Check out all Star Trek Online downloads

The newest season of Sam & Max, called The Devil's Playhouse, will address the most frightening question yet: What kind of chaos will ensue if Max receives amazing psychic powers? Fans will have a chance to find out when the new adventure starts with the release of its first episode, The Penal Zone, on April 15th for the PlayStation Network, PC and Mac.

Download HD Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Teaser Trailer (37 MB)

April's only major PC game that's due to be released is Ubisoft's long awaited stealth action game Splinter Cell Conviction. The latest spy adventure for Sam Fisher is due for release on April 13. However if you are not sure the game is for you (or if you are wary of getting the game due to Ubisoft's DRM set up) there may be a way coming to help you make up your mind.

In a new YouTube video of answers to questions asked by fans about the game, its creative director Maxime Béland responded to a question asking for a demo with, "Yes, there will be one. I can't tell you what map or when it's going to be released yet. My lips are sealed." Our question: Will the demo be released for the PC and if so will it come out before the game is released? Ok, that is two questions but they are perfectly valid ones.

Castlevania is a classic console series whose main appeal lies in just how hair-pullingly frustrating and hard it is. There aren't very many of those on the PC, but there is a genre with the sort of entertaining, mind-numbing difficulty that is so prevalent on consoles. The genre is rogue-likes, and when you merge the two, you get the excellent CastlevaniaRL: Serenade of Chaos. A java-based game originally made for a rogue-like competition, it has expanded greatly. In a way, it's much like the (already covered) excellent DoomRL, except with Castlevania.