NewsSpots: Gears, City of Heroes, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., ESRB

Gears of War gets new achievements
In April, Epic Games updated its phenomenally successful sci-fi shooter Gears of War for the second time to include a new multiplayer gametype called Annex. Today, the company announced it would be adding 250 achievement points to the mode, spread over eight different achievements, this Thursday, June 14.

Aliens reinvading NCsoft's City of Heroes and Villains
NCsoft announced the latest update to its massively multiplayer online superhero games City of Heroes and City of Villains today, and it continues to blur the lines between the two. The latest update focuses on an invasion of Paragon City by the alien race known as the Rikti. To ward off the invaders, heroes and villains above level 45 can now join forces against their common foe. Also added in the update will be new inventions, missions, and enemy types, as well as a new Rikti-focused combat zone for players above level 35. A date has not yet been set for the latest issue.

"Big update" headed to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Last month, GSC Game World announced it would be augmenting the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe with several new projects, with a promise of further details to come at this year's E3 Media and Business Summit. However, the company doesn't seem to be done with its original title. In an interview with UK-based CVG, the company revealed a "big update" was on the way for its postapocalyptic shooter that would include a new multiplayer gametype named freeplay. Talking to CVG, Anton Bolshakov, project leader for S.T.A.L.K.E.R., says of the new mode that there will be "no story tasks, including only the A-life driven ones, where the goal is to gain ranks, climb up in rankings, so as to become the best S.T.A.L.K.E.R. in the Zone." GameSpot has confirmed with THQ that a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. update is indeed on the way, but representatives were unable to comment on its specifics.

ESRB rates unannounced Air Zonk, Tak
As it is wont to do, the Entertainment Software Rating Board slipped hints at two unannounced games today. Hudson's side-scrolling shoot-'em-up Air Zonk is the first of these, and it received an E for Everyone rating. The game was initially released for the TurboGrafx-16 in 1992, and it appeared on the Japanese Virtual Console last May. Also appearing on the ESRB's chart is THQ's Tak and the Power of Juju: Mojo Mistake, which also received an E for Everyone rating. Though prior Tak iterations have seen multiplatform releases, the newest Tak received a rating only for the Nintendo DS.