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Red Faction Armageddon, the latest game in the sci-fi action-shooter series, has been delayed yet again but this delay is a small one. Publisher THQ sent over word that the Volition-developed game, last scheduled for a May 31 release, will now be coming out on June 7.

No reason for this new delay was revealed but we are betting part of the reason has to do with Red Faction Origins. The TV movie/pilot, which is a prequel to the game's story, is due to be shown on the Syfy cable channel on June 4. Having the movie come out before the game instead of after is certainly a better marketing move.

The founder of Campaign, Illinois developer Volition, Mike Kulas, has announced that he will depart the company this coming Monday. The local newspaper-based web site News-Gazette.com states that Kulas is leaving the developer voluntarily and his decision to go was not based on any particular event.

Kulas co-founded Volition's predecessor Parallax Software in 1993 which first gained fame with the release of the first two Descent games for Interplay. The company later re-branded itself as Volition and went onto make a sizable number of games, including the Freespace, Red Faction and Saints Row series of titles. THQ acquired the company in 2000. Kulas said he has no immediate plans for what he will do next in his career. His role at Volition will be taken over by Dan Cermak, who has been a vice-president at the developer since 2003.

[Via Gamasutra]

Survival-style gameplay modes seem to be getting more and more popular and it looks like Red Faction Armageddon will be no exception. The upcoming sci-fi third person action game will have what the team at developer Volition is called an Infestation gameplay mode when the game comes out on May 31.

The gameplay is shown off in the newest trailer where players face off against waves of the aliens that are the center of the new game's threats. In addition to the more conventional weapons player will be able to use more advanced "nano attacks" to try to hold off the aliens.

Game Informer's preview coverage of Saints Row The Third included video interviews with team members at Volition. As it turned out the video coverage went well over just covering the open world action game to talk about the entire history of the developer's 18 year history.

The result is a multi-part video documentary that totals nearly an hour of footage where Volition team members talk about forming the company (as Parallax Software) to make the first two Descent first person shooter games for Interplay. Those games were huge hits (as you can see above, Will Smith was a fan) and it resulted in Parallax splitting in two with one of the teams being renamed Volition. That team created the cult hit Freespace space combat games. The videos also reveal plans for canceled games such as Tube Racer, a title that looked like a Speed Racer-inspired title. Another game that got canceled was Underground, a game about being a thief that was set in London. The entire documentary is worth a look.

In this trailer, somebody gets punched in the balls. Truly we have reached the pinnacle of ball-punching technology.

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There's unfortunately more word about layoffs at game developers today, this time at two of THQ's internal development studios. Gamasutra reports via a THQ rep that New York City based Kaos Studios let go of 17 people out of its 100 team members today. Kaos just shipped the first person shooter Homefront a couple of weeks ago. There's no word yet on what the team is working on next although if Homefront sells well enough a sequel is likely.

Gamasutra also reports via a THQ rep that 16 team members at Illinois-based Volition have also been laid off. That studio has over 200 team members and currently has three announced games in the works. The shooter Red Faction Armageddon is due out on May 31 while Saints Row The Third is due for release sometime this fall. The horror-themed game Insane is due for release in 2013.

With Red Faction Armageddon now set for release on May 31, the sci-fi shooter's publisher THQ has sent out word on some pre-order bonuses that are being given out by various retailers. Ordering the game ahead of time at GameStop will net the player the Commando Pack that adds the exclusive Commando uniform and two unique weapons, the Plasma Thrower and dual Laser Pistols.

Over at Best Buy, pre-orders for the game get the Recon Pack (you can see it after the jump) with the Recon uniform and two more exclusive weapons; the Arc Welder and the "XNG-5000, which launches devastating Nanite-filled projectiles that seek out targets and dissolve them." Finally Walmart gives pre-orders a Red Faction comic book and a mini-strategy guide for their money.

[Via email press release]

The last games in the Red Faction and Saints Row series of action games from developer Volition were released for the PC several months after their console counterparts. Part of the reason is that the PC ports were handled by other development studios. Using those studios caused some quality issues with both games. That won't be the case for the next games in these series, Red Faction Armageddon (due out in May) and Saints Row 3 (due out this fall).

According to a Eurogamer report, Volition studio manager Eric Barker confirms that the PC ports of those titles will now be handled internally by Volition. Barker states, " ... I'm really happy with how Red Faction: Armageddon looks on PC. It's beautiful." And what about the threat of piracy for these PC games? Barker states, "First and foremost, we want to make sure we're making a game people would want to pirate. Let's make a game that's worth stealing, and then we'll worry about making sure they don't."

Red Faction Armageddon is slated for release on May 31 (and likely preceded by the Syfy Channel produced prequel movie Red Faction Origins) but players of the sci-fi action shooter from developer Volition and publisher THQ will get to play a new game mode when the final version is released.

A new trailer that was released this week shows off the new Ruin Mode. Basically its a single player mode where players can blow stuff up with the game's GeoMod Engine and rack up as many points as possible. It certainly looks like it will be a fun little side mode, especially if you can compare your rankings with others.

Download the Red Faction Armageddon Ruin Mode trailer at Big Download

THQ's Saints Row open world crime action game franchise is officially getting a third installment. Indeed the title of the Volition-developed game is Saints Row The Third. The game will be released for the PC and other platforms "this holiday season."

Game Informer's print magazine will have the first concrete details on the game in its latest print issue which should show up on newstands later this month. Details are scarce at the moment but we do know that Saints Row The Third takes place in an all new city where the Third Street Saints gang have to deal with a new global criminal organization called The Syndicate (we know; not that original of a name).