Comes now George to pass word from Microsoft PR that the text issue will in fact be patched. Here is the statement, posted on the Banjo Blog.

“It has come to our attention that people are experiencing subtitle [dialogue text] readability issues with Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts on Standard Definition TVs. We would like to assure you that contrary to earlier reports, we are aware of the issue and currently working on a title update to be released within the next 30 days that will fix it for those with Standard Definition TVs. We’re committed to ensuring all fans of the franchise are able to have the best experience possible with Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts.”

No word on when the patch is available, but it sounds like it's a priority if Microsoft PR is taking charge.

GOOD NEWS: Fix for Small Text on SD TVs Issue in the Works! [Banjo Blog via RareWitchProject and thanks to gamer4250 for the tip]

We’re keeping a close eye on our forums, while a lot of the issues reported are not issues with the game necessarily, some of them are (like the two examples mentioned in my blog) however and so we’re looking at those, plus some (like the Abbot Quest) have been fixed already. The biggest issue is when people report a show stopping issue on our forums without enough information for us to reproduce it. Regarding the ETA for said patch, there is no news yet.

And that's the bad news. There is a fix, yet no word yet on when the patch will hit. Still, Sam did present us with more good news...

The issue with missing DLC codes from the LCE will be resolved tomorrow (28th October).

As a person who bought the Fable II Collector's Edition without the code included, I am overjoyed at the fact that I can finally replace my character's pink and black assassin's outfit with medieval Master Chief Armor. And just in case that isn't good enough news, the Fable II Development Blog is also going to be posting codes throughout the week that players can snag in order to download the Fable II Pub Games for free! They've already posted the first five codes, which have no doubt all been redeemed by now. Seems a bit of a backwards way to distribute them, but free is free.

Other than that, a few quick fixes to address hangs and such. Hit the link for the full skinny on the newly polished GTA IV experience.

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV PATCH [Rockstar Games Social Club]

360 Bogart is online now! [Criterion]

A little history here. If you make it past board No. 255 (I forget which key this is). a subroutine error crashes the game, splitting its screen into one-half playable and the other garbled. Its algorithm is looking to draw a fruit that doesn't exist. This creates a perhaps unintentionally finite gameplay experience. It probably was a good thing. Every pattern has a hiding space where Pac-Man can pause, untouched, while the gamer takes a pee (or, snicker, a dump), eats, or does whatever. That's been a part of Pac-Marathons since day one. A truly infinite Pac-Man could lead to world records limited only by hardware integrity, probably going nonstop for months at a time.

Hodges fixes that, and offers proof of his work. Assuming you know how to go in and apply the patch yourself, voila, unlimited Pac-Man. (I guess he didn't include the ROM to avoid the copyright hassle). Of course, to get there you either have to use a MAME warp cheat — or know the patterns up to the 9th Key, memorably invoked in Buckner & Garcia's hit "Pac-Man Fever" and included with the liner notes.

Pac-Man's Split Screen Level Analyzed and Fixed

The Witcher Enhanced Edition Announced

New, Improved and Enhanced Version of 2007 PC RPG of the Year Coming in Late Spring

Warsaw - February 18, 2008. CD Projekt RED is pleased to announce that in May of this year, a new and improved version of The Witcher will appear in stores, a game already considered by many players and media to be the best PC RPG of 2007!

Michał Kiciński, CEO of CD Projekt described the idea behind The Witcher Enhanced Edition: "The leading idea during the development of The Witcher Enhanced Edition is to create a game that is devoid of all of the major criticisms levied at the original release. The Witcher was received very warmly by both players and the media, but we are well aware that it is not a product without its faults. There was just not enough time to perfect certain elements, while we learned that some things needed to be changed from the players themselves. Now we have the opportunity to introduce changes that will allow The Witcher to provide even more enjoyment. I hope that, as a result, the game will come even closer to the ideal RPG."

Maciej Szcześnik, Project Manager at CD Projekt RED, spoke about the content provided in the new edition: "The Witcher Enhanced Edition will be a completely polished product, something rarely found on the PC market. Of course, it would have been best if the original edition could look that way. There were a few ways the original game didn't quite live up to our high expectations, but now we're trying to make up for it. Work is being done on two levels: one concerns the removal of technical obstacles that hinder the player from properly using the game and thus gaining enjoyment from it. Some of those elements include the loading times, which will be reduced by 80%, the stability of the game on different PC configurations, as well as an array of smaller fixes that will increase interactivity and precision in combat. The other level consists of very important changes that are not usually found in patches. First and foremost, the English-language version will, for the most part, be completely re-done. The amount of text in that version was reduced compared to other language versions and that was said to cause a significant decrease in immersion and atmosphere. Now the English version will be as polished and atmospheric as the other language versions. Speaking of other language versions, most of them will be improved in some way. Significant changes will also be made in the German version, where we are planning to re-record the voices for many of the characters. The most important improvements concern those elements of the game that players criticized the most. For example, over 50 new supporting character models will be added, so that the player won't run into the same person too often. The inventory panel will be re-designed and improved, and some elements of the main game screen will be polished. However, one of the biggest changes that will greatly increase the player's immersion in the game world will be improvements concerning dialogue scenes. Both Geralt and non-player characters will get over 100 new animated gestures which will make their body language during conversations much more natural. Additionally, the facial animation and lip-sync system will be re-created, making the faces of the speakers now even more natural, as well. Of course, I've mentioned only the most important changes, and that's still a lot. There will be many smaller changes that will make the game more fun. I'm convinced that, thanks to those changes, The Witcher will almost be the ideal game for fans of PC role-playing."

Adam Kiciński, head of CD Projekt RED spoke about publishing and the availability of The Witcher Enhanced Edition in different parts of the world: "Our goal is to make the Enhanced Edition available to all players all over the world. We are currently negotiating with our publishing partners to confirm availability dates. Our release date in Eastern Europe is May 16, and thanks to the great support from fans, we're confident that we will be able to bring the game to stores around the world on that date, as well. The retail release will be quite important for us, as we're not just improving the game itself, but want to improve how the title is packaged. For example, aside from the game DVD, we are planning to include a DVD with the D'jinii Mod Editor, as well as two additional adventures, a video DVD with extended material detailing the making of the game, a music CD with 29 tracks from the game, a music CD with 15 tracks of music inspired by the game, an 80-page instruction booklet, a 112-page official guide written by the game's developers, and a 50-page short story written by Andrzej Sapkowski. There will also be a map of the game world. As you can see it is quite an elaborate release and it is important to us that fans all over the world be able to buy this version of the game. Especially considering it will not be more expensive than the standard edition of the game! Fans that have already bought the game need not worry, however, because the new content and improvements will be available to them in the form of a downloadable update."

The Witcher Enhanced Edition not only means changes in the game's mechanics or better graphics, however. There's also an included mod editor called D'jinni that allows players to create or modify their own adventures in the world of The Witcher, as well as two completely new adventures created by CD Projekt RED. The first adventure, entitled "The Price of Neutrality," tells the story of Geralt coming back to Kaer Morhen and finding a mysterious camp near the stronghold (3 new quests), while the second one focuses on Geralt's close friend, Dandelion, and his troubles in Vizima City (5 quests).

The Witcher is an RPG about the adventures of Geralt, a professional monster slayer, and was developed by Warsaw, Poland-based CD Projekt RED. The game is based on a new version of the BioWare Aurora Engine, titled Aurora 2007. The story is set in a world created in the books of Andrzej Sapkowski and sold all over the world. The game has already managed to garner worldwide success, having sold over 600,000 copies. It has received more than 45 awards and distinctions, including the prestigious "Best PC RPG of 2007" from IGN.com, Gamespy.com and PC Gamer (see the entire list of awards: http://www.thewitcher.com/community/pl/awards/). The game has also received very high ratings from players from all over the world, which is reflected in the average player-review scores at such sites as Metacritic (9.4/10), GameTrailers (9.1/10) and Gamespot (8.8/10).

"We recently discovered a bug on the US version of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction that some of you may encounter the first time you boot the game," Insomniac community manager James Stevenson told Shacknews. "With specific amounts of free space on your drive, you may see a screen that tells you have insufficient space to create game data even though there is plenty of free space on your drive."

Minor Glitch Halts Ratchet & Clank PS3, Simple Workaround Solves Issue [Shacknews]

Epic Games' Mark Rein dropped a little piece of good news over on the company's forums. A new title update (read: patch) will soon be available for Xbox 360 juggernaut, Gears of War. The update will include glitch fixes, 720p support for VGA users running at 1280x1024, and a new multiplayer mode called Annex. According to Mark, test players really enjoyed the new additions.

Some folks who got to play it a few weeks ago said they think it is our best multiplayer gametype yet but I'll leave it for you fans to decide what you think for yourself when it shows up soon on Xbox Live.

Keep an eye out next week for more details! Flynn De Marco

Next title update almost here [Epic Games Forum]