Capcom announced the long awaited and anticipated follow up to their hit RPG from last generation, Dragon’s Dogma, recently, but in true Capcom fashion, they messed it up by announcing it would be a) an MMORPG b) a free to play MMORPG at that, and c) releasing only in Japan.

Talk about raising hopes, then dashing them, running them over with a tank, and then atomizing them with a sledgehammer for good measure.

If, for some reason, however, you still had any interest in the game left at all, well, the good news is we have some gameplay to show you, which you can watch above. It looks… well, it could look worse, and it doesn’t look like a complete bastardization of the game which many feared it would be (though, of course, the true litmus test will be when the game launches, and the balance of monetization versus game design can be weighed against one another).

World of Speed, the upcoming massively mutiplayer online racing game, just got a new trailer at E3, which shows off the sheer extent of customization that is possible within the game. It’s coming to us courtesy of Slightly Mad Studios as well, so you just know it’s going to be good.

In addition to the new trailer, we also got twenty new screenshots, and… wow, just wow. The game looks stunningly gorgeous (DriveClub and Forza Horizon 2 who?), which is to be expected considering its PC exclusivity status, and considering that it seems to be backing that pretty face up with some deep compelling gameplay as well, it looks like it will be worth giving a whirl when it finally launches.

As to that, that will be later this year some time. It will be launching only on PC, as a free to play game. So the fact that they have been able to make a game this impressive and still have it be F2P is… great, just, great.

Sony focused on all sorts of games for its E3 press conference- full AAA retail games from third party partners, first party retail exclusives, DLC, indie games, digital games, and free to play titles.

For the latter specifically they had a sizzle reel which showed off more than 24 free to play games that are coming to PlayStation systems this year. This included games such as H1Z1, Planetside 2, and Kingdom Under Fire 2 for the PlayStation 4, and Destiny of Spirits for the PS Vita.

Sony also took this opportunity to take a jab at Microsoft and point out that free to play games on its platforms were actually free to play, with no hidden fees being imposed on Sony’s part, a clear allusion to the fact that Microsoft still requires an Xbox Live Gold subscription for free to play titles, unlike Sony, who do not.

Which of these games, if any, are you excited for? Let us know in the comments section.

Spec Ops: The Line was one of the most critically acclaimed games of last generation, praised for its storytelling, and for how it handled some extremely mature themes. It wasn’t the greatest game in the world, and it will never be a money spinner, but it revived the IP, which until then had only seen a mediocre shooter back in the PlayStation days.

Now, it seems like the studio that gave us Spec Ops, Yager, will be revealing something new at E3 this year, and that it will be a new IP. They didn’t reveal any details on this project, but we know from some previously leaked job listings that it is an ‘F2P AAA game,’ which probably breaks everyone’s heart.

Of course, F2P games aren’t inherently bad, and there are more good ones now than bad ones, but this automatically means that there is no scope for any epic, thought provoking storytelling in their next game (since F2P games can’t allow that by definition), which takes away the chief attraction of a Yager game. Well, not unless they decide to make it a meta commentary on microtransactions and the state of the gaming industry, anyway.

E3 is next week- stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage of the event.

Powerstar Golf, the stylized golf sim on Xbox One, is now a free to play game. The free to play version is basically a skeleton however, and it needs users to buy courses separately to actually have any content; the original game’s content has been split into four packs, each of which cost £4.79/$5.99: City Park, Emperor’s Garden, Burning Sands and Rocky Ridge.

This means that you will actually spend more buying courses now than you did buying the game straight up originally ($20), although you can choose to buy all courses at once for $20 if you want to.

Powerstar Golf was an Xbox One launch title; its conversion to a free to play game is representative of a larger push towards F2P gaming on the console by Microsoft. Xbox consoles have lagged behind their PlayStation and even Nintendo counterparts when it comes to free to play titles, with Microsoft making it difficult for both consumers and developers traditionally. Powerstar Golf should hopefully represent just one of many F2P games that hit the Xbox One.

It’s sad that this needs to be said at all, but that was one of the first thing Digital Extremes and Zombie Games said when talking about free to play games on the PlayStation 4- that the most necessary element to success is having a fun game at its core.

It’s perhaps indicative of the state of the free to play industry, and the abusive practices that it employs that reduce games to little more than cynical carrot on a stick scams, that this was one of the insights that came from the developers’ panel on free to play titles on consoles in general, but the PlayStation 4 in particular, at GDC.

“There’s always the criticism about free-to-play that it’s so analytics and data-driven,” Digital Extremes’ James Schmalz said. “That you don’t need a fun game, you just need to look at the analytics. One thing that strikes me about consoles free-to-play is it’s definitely much more fun-driven. You have to have a fun game that keeps the player in and have just enough coaxing to get some money.

“We have 80 percent of our players who never pay, but we want them there. We want that community. They’re part of the community and we want to keep them happy.”

“It’s frustrating when you hear the stigma attached to free-to-play because I think it can be done very right,” said Sony Online Entertainment’s SVP of global marketing and sales Lauren Naviaux. “We look at virtual items as what enhances the game’s experience, what’s going to add tangible value instead of friction points.”

“I feel like there will be a point where games will come our premium and turn free-to-play or turn on microtransactions,” Zombie Studios’ Jared Gerritzen said. “And it can be a very bad thing. Free-to-play is great, but it can go down a very dark road.”

These three would know what they are talking about- they have released some of the best, most well balanced free to play titles on the PlayStation 4- Warframe, Blacklight Retribution, and Planetside 2.

[Polygon]

Sega’s classic arcade driving franchise, Crazy Taxi, will be getting a new game this year, and from the series creator no less. While that may be cause for celebration for fans of the cult hit games, you might want to hold out on popping the champagne just yet- you see, this game will be releasing for tablets and smartphones, and it will be free to play. Talk about a mood killer.

In any case, series creator Kenji Kanno seems to be excited about this new project. “I’m very excited to finally be able to share with you the first news of Crazy Taxi: City Rush. We are delivering a truly fun game that captures everything our fans love about the original and infusing it with several new features to create an even more fantastic and memorable experience,” he said.

Crazy Taxi will be releasing for iOS and Android phones and tablets later this year. Meanwhile, Sega is celebrating by offering the original Crazy Taxi on iOS and Android for free for a limited time.

The classic Panzer General series has been reborn as Panzer General Online, the web browser based free to play tactical strategy game. Rejoice.

Panzer General Online entered closed beta for English speaking players today- the new title, developed by Ubisoft Blue Byte in close collaboration with Funatics Software, returns players to the WWII battlefield, allowing them to take control of armies with units as varied and devastating as the Tiger Tank or Nebelwerfer rocket Launcher. The single player campaign allows players to relive historically accurate scenarios such as Monte Casino or the Battles of the Bulge. Meanwhile, the multiplayer mode will allow players to pit their skills against each other.

Panzer General Online is a reboot and reimagining of the classic franchise, due out sometime later this year for all PCs. It utilizes the same free to play model that Ubisoft utilized to such great effect in another one of their classic franchises, Anno, with Anno Online.

“Based on the PS4 hardware, we are targeting visuals that are on par with a high end PC gaming setup. PlanetSide 2 already looks amazing and being able to use all of the PS4 tech to crank up the details will really impress our players.”

Will there be any new content on the PS4 version to motivate PC players to pick it up? “One of the core decisions we made up front was to have the PS4 and the PC versions be as close as possible so that all players receive the same experience. That means that new content, balance changes and bug fixes will be addressed on both platforms. We do plan to take advantage of the features that come with the PS4 to enhance the experience, such as the DualShock 4 peripheral.”

He also explained the motivation behind bringing PlanetSide 2 to the PS4: “As players have been asking for PlanetSide 2 to be playable on the console, we wanted to open the door and invite them into the PlanetSide 2 universe. With the PS4 hardware, we can offer amazing graphics that rival a high end gaming PC without compromising the gameplay or social structures that are critical to PlanetSide 2; it is the ideal platform to showcase the game’s beauty and massive open world combat,” he added.

PlanetSide 2 is expected to arrive on the PS4 later this year however there has been no confirmation yet. Do you plan to pick up the PS4 version of PlanetSide 2? Let us know in the comments section below.

Victory Games took the stage at EA’s Gamescom 2013 press conference to showcase the upcoming free to play Command & Conquer, developed using the Frostbite 3 engine.

Taking place 2023, C&C sees China challenged by the European Union and the Global Liberation Army in a battle for power. Some new details for the game include the ability to blind enemies using smoke, and employing nitro boosts to quickly traverse distances. There will also be episodic story missions that you can play by yourself or in co-op with a friend.

We also got a look at Railgun Tanks and some of the helicopters, with the overall action being significantly quicker than previous C&C. Victory Games will also be featuring new content, such as generals, maps and more, over time and will even take the opinions of fans into account.

Command & Conquer will be heading to PC, with a release date still to be announced.