Source: Former GameSpotters' game-review start-up Giant Bomb.

What we heard: One of the highlights of Assassin's Creed was its medieval setting. After starting with a futuristic flourish, the well-reviewed and wildly popular platformer transported players to the Holy Land in the 12th century. As the hooded killer Altair, players leaped from rooftops in Jerusalem, strolled through souks in Damascus, and slit throats in Acre.

All of Assassin's Creed's locations were re-created via detailed graphics based on an all-new engine crafted at Ubisoft Montreal. Thanks to the aforementioned sci-fi twist, the game's recently revealed sequel could be set in virtually any time period, opening near-limitless possibilities for an all-new locale.

But while such places as ancient China and feudal Japan would seem likely suspects for Assassin's Creed 2's setting, a dark horse candidate appears to have merged. While taping an upcoming episode of Gametrailers' show Bonus Round, Giant Bomb cofounder (and ex-GameSpot editor) Ryan Davis chatted with fellow guest and analyst par excellence Michael Pachter.

During the course of the show, the Wedbush Morgan game-industry soothsayer said that Assassin's Creed would be set "several hundred years" after the original game, "sometime in the 1700s." Not content with a time frame, Pachter went on to "speculate that the French Revolution could be a potential setting." Said revolt, which began in 1789 with the storming of the Parisian fort-cum-prison the Bastille, was among the bloodiest changes of government in history. During the subsequent Great Terror, led by proto-Stalinist strongman Maximilien Robespierre, thousands of nobles and political opponents were sent to the guillotine en masse. Eventually, the ranks of the beheaded included Robespierre himself, who got the chop in 1794.

The official story: When asked to elaborate, Pachter politely declined to comment. Ubisoft had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Too little to go on. With so much bloodletting and urban chaos, the French Revolution would be an interesting setting for Assassin's Creed 2. The subject is also close to Ubisoft's collective heart, given that the cash-flush francophonic publisher is itself based in Paris.

That said, keep in mind that even by Davis' account, Pachter was "speculating" about a "potential setting." Also, the breeches-and-powdered-wig era would likely be much less appealing to 21st-century gamers than the original's medieval environs.

Source: Popular gaming-information destination Shacknews.

What we heard: In late 2006, Sega announced that Gearbox Software was developing a first-person shooter based on the 1986 film Aliens. The reception among gamers was understandably ecstatic. First, there was the fact that one of the most influential sci-fi films of all time--the stamp of which can been most noticeably seen on Halo's USNC Marines--was getting a direct game adaptation. Secondly, said adaptation was being done by the well-regarded developer of the Brothers in Arms series, not Fox Interactive, the now-defunct developer of the stillborn turn-of-the-century PlayStation 2 project of the same name.

Unfortunately, little has been heard or seen of Aliens: Colonial Marines since it was first revealed. This mystery added credence to this morning's report that the game had been canceled as part of a restructuring at Gearbox that led to as many as 26 layoffs. The reason? Poor performance of the long-in-development Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, which finally went on sale in September after being delayed for more than a year. Despite solid reviews, the game sold a little more than 124,000 copies as of the end of September, according to the NPD Group--a weak debut given the amount of publicity that publisher Ubisoft threw behind it. Samba de Amigo, Gearbox's relaunch of the classic Sega rhythm franchise, performed even more poorly, selling less than 9,000 units in the week after its September 23rd launch.

The official story: "Aliens isn't canned," said Gearbox president Randy Pitchford in a forum post quoted by Shacknews. "We've made some transformative changes and yes, that's meant some talent changes, but that's not the real story. The true relevance of the story will actually be irrelevant until we release our next game, at which time I hope there will be a lot of interest in what we've done that can produce such results." The "next game" in question is Borderlands, the Road Warrior-esque open-world action role-playing game that 2K Games will publish next year.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus that the project has been officially canceled. Not bogus that the well-regarded Gearbox is undergoing some tough times--just like the rest of the planet.

Whatever happens with Aliens: Colonial Marines, it should be noted that its status is not tied to that of the Aliens role-playing game currently in development at Obsidian Entertainment. Reps for the Southern California-based studio, founded by members of original Fallout developers Black Isle Entertainment, said that work on that game was still in full swing.

Source: An anonymous source told Eurogamer that Capcom has tapped Vancouver-based Blue Castle to produce a sequel to the 2006 hit Xbox 360 game Dead Rising.

The official story: Representatives of Capcom and Blue Castle did not return GameSpot's requests for comment.

What we heard: Murmurs of a Dead Rising sequel have been around since about the time of the original game's release. And given its critical and commercial success, it would be a bigger surprise if sequel wasn't in Capcom's plans.

While the game is a no-brainer, the choice of studio would certainly be unusual. Founded in 2005 by a handful of Electronic Arts and Disney Interactive veterans, Blue Castle has to date specialized in baseball games for 2K Sports, including last year's arcade-style The BIGS and the upcoming stat sim MLB Front Office Manager.

The BIGS was generally well received, but it would seem to be a risky choice entrusting Dead Rising's distinct marriage of violent gameplay and satirical narrative to a fledgling studio that has shipped only a single sports game. To give a promising franchise like Dead Rising to Blue Castle would show an almost irrational amount of faith in the studio on the part of Capcom.

Then again, Dead Rising was always intended to appeal to Western audiences. A Western studio might have a better idea of what Western gamers want out of a sequel. And when it came time for a new entry in another of the Japanese publisher's foreign-focused franchises--Bionic Commando--Capcom sought out the help of Swedish outfit GRIN. At the time, GRIN's only claims to fame were PC ports of the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series, but the upcoming Bionic Commando seems to be in good hands.

The unique structure of Dead Rising--players are trapped in a zombie-infested mall with three days to uncover the conspiracy behind the events--doesn't lend itself to a "more of the same" sequel. As a result, whoever handles the follow-up will have to come into the series with fresh eyes and a few tweaks to the blueprint. Maybe Blue Castle is just the team to provide that.

Bogus or not bogus?: Tentatively not bogus.

Source: Muscle-obsessed monthly Men's Fitness, of all places.

What we heard: Last week, gamers perusing newsstands were flummoxed to find the Take-Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick plastered on the cover of Men's Fitness. Typically the domain of ultimate fighters, professional athletes, and the occasional buffed-out rapper, the magazine decided to highlight Zelnick's cyclist and fitness enthusiasm as a way to segue into an article on games. Ironically, though, the executive isn't even mentioned in the piece, titled "Virtual Fitness: Tomorrow's Reality."

Instead, Men's Fitness correspondent David Kushner examines how two publishers are blending exercise and gameplay. The first, Nintendo, is fairly obvious, thanks to the triple-platinum sensation that is Wii Fit. Second up is Electronic Arts, which has been emphasizing the Wii with its family-friendly--and fairly controversial--line of All-Play sports games.

That said, the All-Play series' intent is to level the playing field between casual and hardcore gamers, not burn calories. That's where EA Sports executive producer Dave McCarthy comes in. Four months after first revealing that EA was pondering affordable, bundled peripherals for its sports games, the industry veteran elaborated on his employer's plans.

"We [at EA] think we can take a more Western approach to fitness, something a little more active that gets you moving," he said. McCarthy then described how EA is planning a new peripheral for an unnamed fitness game which will fasten Wii Remotes to players' bodies. Besides position, the add-on will help the Wii Remote "measure intensity, how strong your thrusts are, [and] how high you jump."

Currently, the Wii Fit board does not let players jump into the air but does let players squat and stand up quickly for its ski jump event. And while Wii Fit does let players hold the Wii Remote or stick it in their pockets to run in place, EA's peripheral will apparently be suited to a wider range of exercises. Players will use the device to "strap the remotes to their arms or legs to facilitate more athletic movements, from running to jumping jacks." As a consequence, the remotes will measure a "more authentic, full range of motions."

The official story: EA Sports reps had not returned requests for comment as of press time.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus. According to many critics, Wii Fit is an ambitious but flawed attempt to get gamers off their posteriors. Given its gangbusters sales, EA likely figures it has nothing to lose--and millions to gain--by working up its own workout game.

Source: Reuters.

What we heard: It's been all of 10 years since Interplay and Black Isle Studio's Fallout 2 arrived to rapt critical reception for the PC. And if executive producer Todd Howard has his way, fans of the franchise shouldn't have to wait another decade after Fallout 3 for another postapocalyptic role-playing fix.

Speaking to Reuters, Howard addressed the franchise's long absence from the gaming scene, saying the latest installment has been too long in coming. "I think it's good for people to miss things," he said. "Ten years between Fallout is a bit long, but I think there's this nostalgia factor."

And then things get a little screwy. Seemingly unaware of the average gamers' excitability factor, Reuters then floated mention of "Fallout 4," and paraphrased the game's executive producer as saying, "he believes three years is a good time frame between games." Not unexpectedly, this one-two combo exploded with its own atomic ferocity across many a gaming Web site, with the common consensus being that Howard had confirmed Fallout 3's successor as being a mere three years off.

The official story: "He wasn't trying to say anything about how long it will be between the Fallout 3 and the next one," said a Bethesda Softworks representative. "Rather, it was a comment about the fact that 10 years was too long between the last Fallout games and Fallout 3. We aren't setting any kind of timeframe or timetable for the next Fallout. We haven't even released this one yet, though at least we're now very, very close."

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus...that a date is officially confirmed. However, given the massive hype, decade-long anticipation, and amount of critical praise Fallout 3 has already received, a sequel looks likely. Keep in mind, though, there was a four-year gap between Elder Scrolls III and IV.

Source: See below.

What we heard: Though the original Ghostbusters was a lighthearted comedy, the story behind its latest game adaptation has the makings of an epic saga. Videos leaked in early 2007 revealed that Slovenian studio Zootfly was developing a slick-looking Xbox 360 adaptation of the game, despite not having yet obtained the license. The following month, Canadian-born comedian Dan Akyroyd told the Edmonton Sun he would reprise his role from the film in a Universal Pictures-backed project.

After nine months of silence, Vivendi Games label Sierra Entertainment officially announced that a Ghostbusters game was indeed in the works, although by an entirely different studio. BloodRayne-spiller Terminal Reality would develop the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC editions of the game, while Mushroom Men-grower Red Fly Studios would craft the PlayStation 2, Wii, and DS iterations.

Besides Akyroyd, film cast members Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Brian Doyle Murray, William Atherton, and Bill Murray would all reprise their roles from the 1984 film. Also returning would be Ghostbusters star and co-screenwriter Harold Ramis, who would co-write (with Akyroyd) the story for the new game--billed as the "third movie" in the series.

For the better part of a year, the hype for Ghostbusters: The Game steadily built, with a series of previews and high-profile media coverage. Then, two weeks after an appearance in playable form at E3 2008 in July, the game got into a situation stickier than the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Activision, which subsumed Sierra after the game maker merged with Vivendi Games, dropped the project from its publishing lineup, along with Brutal Legend, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, and others.

Now, shortly following reports of Blood on the Sand's being adopted by THQ, reports have surfaced that Ghostbusters may have also found a home. According to a tip sent into gaming blog Kotaku, Akyroyd appeared on Dallas radio station 105.3 KLLI Tuesday morning and dropped some details about Ghostbusters: The Game: The Status Of. According to the tipster, the Saturday Night Live alumnus and former Doctor Detroit confirmed rumors that Atari had picked up the game, which was "more than a year away."

The official story: Representatives for the recently Infogrames-assimilated Atari declined to comment.

Bogus or not bogus?: Likely not bogus. The evidence chain is thin since the interview is not archived on the station's site. However, since Akyroyd revealed the official Ghostbusters game in the first place, his record for jumping the PR gun has been established. Besides, why would the development-adverse Atari pass up the opportunity to pick up a nearly done, high-profile game?

Source: An interview with Blizzard's Jeffrey Kaplan for MTV's gaming blog, Multiplayer.

What we heard: That Blizzard is working on a massively multiplayer online game outside the realm of World of Warcraft isn't what's at question. The developer confirmed that fact back in December, when a Blizzard community representative said on WOW's official forums that a spate of "Next-Gen MMO" job requisitions weren't for an expansion to the massively successful online game.

While the focus of last weekend's BlizzCon was the Starcraft II trilogy, Diablo III, and the WOW expansion Wrath of the Lich King, Blizzard also dropped a few clues concerning this aforementioned MMOG. In an interview with MTV, World of Warcraft game director Jeffrey Kaplan confirmed he was involved in the unannounced project and addressed the possibility that the MMOG will arrive for consoles.

"We definitely aren't adapting World of Warcraft to the console at this time," Kaplan began. "But that's not to say that other MMOs couldn't [work well on consoles]. And we have a pretty savvy group of console developers--a lot of the guys we inherited from [Starcraft: Ghost developer] Swingin' Ape really know what they're doing on next-gen consoles. So we might have a few tricks up our sleeves in that regard."

For a developer who hasn't made a game for consoles this century, controversy over Blizzard's non-PC plans has been abundant. Dating back as far as Diablo II and churning up a maelstrom through the now indefinitely postponed Starcraft: Ghost, speculation has swirled, often for naught, over the developer's plans.

Still, it's worth noting that Blizzard has emitted a number of strong indicators that its unannounced MMOG will arrive for consoles. Most notably, the aforementioned job listings for Blizzard's new online game prominently count experience shipping "console titles" as a plus.

Furthermore, while Blizzard has maintained its reputation of being notoriously autonomous as the subsidiary of a variety of larger corporations, it may be that Activision will pressure the developer into going multiplatform, especially in light of the current piracy crisis afflicting PC gaming. Indeed, the upcoming Diablo III, which Blizzard's Jay Wilson recently indicated is still "years" off, currently boasts a work-in-progress user interface that would naturally lend itself to a gamepad.

One final note: Regardless of Blizzard's plans, don't expect the new MMOG to arrive for this generation of next-generation consoles. According to Kaplan, it's "going to be a while" before the game makes it to market, and many industry watchers believe the next wave of consoles will arrive in 2011 or 2012. Therefore, it wouldn't make much sense to launch a multimillion-dollar MMOG--which have in some cases proven to have life spans of 10 years and counting--at this stage in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or, yes, even the Wii's, life cycle.

The official story: "As we've mentioned many times before, Blizzard has not made any announcements regarding console projects, and we have no current plans on console," a Blizzard representative told GameSpot. "With three major games currently in development on the PC, our focus is squarely on making those PC games the best they can be."

Bogus or not bogus?: Eventually not bogus. It isn't so much a question of "if" there will be a Blizzard console MMORPG, but rather "when."

Source: Parent-oriented gaming site What They Play.

What we heard: Though Sony touts its consoles as having a 10-year life cycle, traditionally a new generation of machines is introduced every five or six years. With the launch of the Xbox 360 in 2005 and the PlayStation 3 and Wii a year later, it only seems logical that the next console wave should arrive sometime around 2011 or 2012.

Given that precedent, What They Play's prediction that Nintendo's next console will arrive "by 2011" isn't exactly Earth-shattering. Nor is the site's citing of unnamed sources that the console will be a "true 'next generation'" machine with high-definition graphics and a built-in high-storage capacity to accommodate "greater emphasis on digitally distributed and backwardly compatible content."

The article correctly points out that Nintendo has downplayed the importance of the Wii's lack of hi-def and high-storage this generation, but the company has reversed itself before. While Nintendo similarly dismissed the role of online connectivity during the GameCube era, now the Wii's online capabilities are key to its business strategy. Besides offering online multiplayer, the company profits from digitally distributed WiiWare and Virtual Console releases, updates the console's firmware remotely, uses the console's blue light as a consumer alert, and provides news, weather, and Mii sharing over the Internet. The Wii even has its own browser, courtesy of Opera Software, and the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection joins DSes worldwide.

More shocking perhaps is What They Play's report that Nintendo is already showing off a prototype of its next console. Unlike the leak-prone Microsoft, Nintendo is known for its secrecy--present rumors of a new DS excluded--and kept a tight lid on the Wii back when it was known as the Revolution. At E3 2005, the company merely had a nonfunctional mockup of the console itself, and didn't even tout its innovative controller until the Tokyo Game Show one year before the Wii's launch.

The official story: "Nintendo doesn't comment on rumors in general."--Nintendo rep.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus. Normally, it's easy to dismiss a random story on a random blog. Not this time. The article's author is John Davidson, a veteran game journalist and former staffer at Ziff Davis Media, publisher of the respected magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly and proprietor of widely read game site 1up.

If anyone were to have access to those in the know, it'd likely be Davidson. However, not content to merely cite unnamed sources, he backs up by running down how Nintendo's massive research and development budget tripled in 2007, the year after the Wii launched. In 2007, the Kyoto-based company spent a staggering $370 million on R+D, over 10 times what it did in 2003. If that money's not going to a new console, then where is it going?