BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America announces Tales of Symphonia (or more typically, TALES OF SYMPHONIA) is coming to Windows via Steam, offering a chance to play the remake of the 2003 installment in the RPG series. They add that customers who pre-purchase Tales of Zestiria (aka TALES OF ZESTIRIA) on Steam will have an opportunity to get a free copy of Tales of Symphonia as a scaling preorder bonus. We're just going to pretend we knew a Windows version of Tales of Zestiria was coming, since it's presented like we should have. They don't offer a release date for Tales of Symphonia, but say Tales of Zestiria is due on October 23rd. Here's word:

Leading electronic entertainment developer and publisher BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announced TALES OF SYMPHONIA™ for PC via STEAM for the Americas in order to better serve fans in the West who have adopted the PC as their preferred gaming platform.

Follow Lloyd Irving as he embarks on a grand adventure with his friends to restore mana back to the world of Sylvarant, a source of energy necessary for the survival of their world. Along the way they learn of the parallel world of Tethe’alla, whose survival rests on the same source of mana Sylvarant needs to sustain life. How will Lloyd and his friends find a way to ensure the survival of both worlds? TALES OF SYMPHONIA takes the signature real-time battle system of the TALES OF role-playing games, allowing for direct control of the character through fast-paced tactical battles.

As a special bonus, fans who pre-order the STEAM version of TALES OF ZESTIRIA will have a chance to receive a free copy of TALES OF SYMPHONIA. Multiple pre-order rewards will unlock for everyone who pre-orders the title once certain pre-order milestones are reached. Every fan who pre-orders TALES OF ZESTIRIA will receive the game, classic TALES OF Mystic Artes and weapon attachment sets. The first tier of bonus pre-order content will include four classic TALES OF male costumes, the second tier includes four classic TALES OF female costumes, and the final tier is a free STEAM copy of TALES OF SYMPHONIA.

A thread on reddit offers replays and videos of gameplay from Heroes of the Storm that are being taken by many as proof that some sort of map hack cheat is available in Blizzard's MOBA to give unscrupulous players an advantage. This clip offers a few examples of someone playing Nova making several improbable skill shots, hitting players hidden in fog or through gates which would require knowing where the target was, which is hard to explain from what's shown. Many of the comments take it for granted that there are map hacks being used, as it is widely assumed that the game uses the same engine as StarCraft II, which over the years has had multiple rounds of bans and even a threatened lawsuit over hacking.

WBIE and DC Entertainment announce the Batgirl: A Matter of Family DLC will be released on July 14th for the console editions of Batman: Arkham Knight, the latest installment in the action/adventure series. There is no mention of this coming to the Windows version of the game, which they ceased offering for sale last week amid complaints about performance. Impatience has surfaced on the WB Games Community forum about lack of progress reports on PC fixes. Here's word on the DLC:

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced the first story driven add-on for Batman™: Arkham Knight – Batgirl: A Matter of Family. Set prior to the events of Batman™: Arkham Asylum, Batgirl: A Matter of Family will allow players to take on the role of Batgirl for the first time in the Batman: Arkham franchise. This exciting story add-on features an all-new location with multiple missions, side quests and secrets; a new hacking feature to progress through the world and solve puzzles; and Dual Play functionality with Robin for dynamic take-down manoeuvres. Batgirl: A Matter of Family will be available 14th July for fans who have purchased the Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass and are connected to the Internet, or it can be purchased separately on 21st July for £5.79 on the PlayStation® Network and Xbox LIVE online entertainment network from Microsoft.

Iceberg Interactive announces the release of Vector Thrust on Steam, as the aerial combat game is lifting off out of early access. Here's word on how the process helped refine the game: "Developer TimeSymmetry has listened to its community and has implemented many new features, including an uncanny tally of 260 aircraft, 170 challenges, 13 story-based missions, single and multiplayer modes, and modding tools. Vector Thrust is a refreshing blast from the past for gamers fond of the popular ‘90s console combat flight games." You can take a look at the game in the launch trailer, and there are more details in this announcement:

Vector Thrust is a fast-paced action-arcade combat flight simulator with a unique cel-shaded art style for PC. With an extensive variety of game modes like the unpredictable and vicious Quick Action, a customizable Skirmish Mode, and multiple immersive story-based campaigns, Vector Thrust aims to please both players wanting to get straight into the sky and those that love a flexible diverse and customizable gaming experience. Featuring an advanced tactical AI that actively analyzes and responds to a dynamic battlefield, as well as more than 260 fully playable aircraft (through various iterations of more than 45 models) and even more naval and ground units that all work to complete their objectives in different ways, Vector Thrust offers missions that are never played the same way twice.

Two new videos are available from yesterday's livestream of Sword Coast Legends, n-Space's upcoming RPG. They offer a Campaign Creation Extended E3 Edition video, described like so: "An exclusive first ever reveal of the game's Campaign Creation mode by Dan Tudge and Tim Schwalk." The other one is an E3 Dungeon Runthrough, with the following description: "Tim Schwalk, Ash Sevilla and members of the n-Space dev team play through the campaign created above with Tim acting as the Dungeon Master." Continue here to read the full story.

Orphic Software announces a July 15th release date for AntharioN, their old school, turn-based, party-based CRPG. Here's the appealing elevator pitch: "Ever wonder what the frankenbaby of Baldur’s Gate, The Elder Scrolls, Ultima VII and Pool of Radiance might look like? Wonder no more because on 7/15/15 Orphic Software will give birth to a new kind of old-school RPG: AntharioN!" This trailer offers a look at what this is all about. Continue here to read the full story.

NotGTAV is now available on Steam for 75% off its already low price, making it under a buck. This is a parody title with hand-drawn graphics, and it has been net with a very positive response from players. As the name implies, this is not Grand Theft Auto V, and they explain the nuanced approach to the title that allows them to use the title they are:

This game is a parody.

It is definitely, positively and (hopefully) legally, not the game Grand Theft Auto Five.

Sure, it's called NotGTAV, but those letters stand for Great Traffic Adventure and the V is silent. Like the one in "lawsuit" (which, you'll notice, is also invisible).

This short tour of the glories of the UK’s M4 corridor is easy to play, hard to master, addictive, very funny, and cheap.

100% of the profits from this game go to young people’s charity Peer Productions. Without Peer Productions the NotGames team would never have met. By buying this game you can help us pay something back.

NotGames: Sticking it to the virtual man since about ten minutes ago.

• Gratuitous Space Battles 2 gets its campaign…
• Heroes of the Storm Hotfix Patch Notes -- July 2, 2015.
• Infinite Space III- Sea of Stars Early Access update - 7/3/2015.
• Team Fortress 2 Update Released.

• Megasphere gets the Steam Greenlight. More details on this procedural action platformer on this page. Thanks Chris.

• Dota 2 International Compendium Music & Announcer Packs.
• Havok Congratulates All of the Award-Nominated Developers at E3 2015.

• Star Trek Online - New Armada System to Benefit Large & Small Fleets - MMORPG. Thanks Perrin42.

• Supply chain players gear up for new Nintendo console. Includes a rumor: "official launch may take place around July (2016)." Thanks nin via Shacknews.
• Mad Catz Reports Debt Warning And Secures Additional Credit To Ship Rock Band. Ruh-roh.
• Xbox is Coming to San Diego-Comic Con 2015.
• Bungie brought in comedians to write jokes for Destiny, used none of them.

• How to Stop Verizon from Screwing New York City. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• Massive Reddit protest locks down major subs, including Reddit Gaming.

• Windows 10 Editions Compared.
• University of Phoenix lays off 900 staff as enrollment plunges. Thanks Slashdot via Ant.
• Ford recalls 432K cars because of software problem. Thanks HARDOCP.

Thanks (ant).

• Hacktivist group may have compromised hundreds of websites.
• Harvard- Psst, Mr Future President. We just got PWNED by hackers.
• 8 backup and security tips for frequent fliers.

• The FBI is offering $4.2 million for info on the creator of the world’s most infamous malware. Thanks Joshag.
• Student claims Wassenaar Arrangement prevents him from publishing dissertation.

• Batman: Arkham Knight on ActionTrip.
• Child of Light on RPGWatch.
• Killing Floor on Heavy Metal Gamer. Thanks Ant.

• Akitio Thunder2 Quad Mini External Storage Enclosure on TweakTown.
• AMD Radeon R9 Fury X on AnandTech, Legion Hardware, ocaholic, and TweakTown.
• Bitfenix Aegis Case on Modders-Inc.
• CHERRY MX Board 6.0 Keyboard on Techgage.
• Corsair HG10 A1 Bracket + H80i GT Cooler on Mad Shrimps.
• Eachine Slim X3 6000mAh External Battery Power Bank on Technogog.
• EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Superclocked+ Graphics Card on Techgage.
• Intel Core i7-5775C 3.3GHz Broadwell LGA-1150 CPU on TweakTown.
• Kingston HyperX Savage SSD 240GB on Neoseeker.
• Netgear ReadyNAS 202 on techPowerUp.
• Ozone Strike Pro Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard on Overclockers Club.
• Patriot Ignite 480GB SSD on Dragon Blogger.
• Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX Mid Tower Chassis on HARDOCP.
• PNY GTX 960OC XLR8 Video card on Dragon Blogger.
• Samsung EVO+ and PRO+ Micro SD on Pure Overclock.
• Samsung SM951 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD on Custom PC Review.
• SteelSeries Apex M800 Gaming Keyboard on pcGameware.
• XFX R9 390X Double Dissipation on Vortez.
• XFX Radeon R9 Fury X on Hardware Slave.

Thanks Ant.

• The Infinite Space III: Sea of Stars original soundtrack now Bandcamp and Steam. Will be delivered for free to Kickstarter backers at the $18.00 level or higher…
• Wasteland 2 playing cards…
• Good Game Spawn Point - Series 6 Episode 20
• The Complete History of Donkey Kong…
• Microsoft Sees Minecraft As Learning Tool For Schools. Thanks Slashdot…

As I mentioned yesterday, today is the official celebration of Independence Day here in the U.S., since tomorrow is a Saturday. I think Independence Day is a great excuse for a floating holiday to always fall on a Monday since the date is actually somewhat arbitrary. The U.S. formally declared independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, and founding father John Adams thought that would end up being the holiday. The Declaration of Independence was printed on the 4th, first publicly read on the 8th, and most of the signatures on it came in August, so there was definitely some wiggle room for when to celebrate this. Of course it's too late to address this now, as more people call the occasion the Fourth of July. So there, happy Third of July! Have fun, and please don't get yourself blown up.

Independent Links:	Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play:	Crazycle. Fire & Frost. Ricochet Kills Space.
Link:	How To Make A DIY Air Conditioner At Home.
Stories:	US sees its first measles death in a dozen years. Thanks to scientists like Jim Carrey. Revamped Bubble Wrap no longer pop-able. A sad day.
Science:	Fourth of July Downer- Fireworks Cause Spike in Air Pollution.
Media:	Two identical cards show up in high stakes poker game. I declare shenanigans. Life hacking - How to park 2 cars in one garage. Most errors in one baseball play I've ever seen. #littleleague.
Follow-up:	BP to pay $18.7 billion in Deepwater Horizon legal settlement.