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Having completed Syndicate before EA ships it next week, Swedish developer Starbreeze has let several employees go. The company employed 93 individuals while working on the FPS reboot, 25 of which have been dismissed, according to GamesIndustry.biz (registration required). Starbreeze chairman Peter Tornquist has also reportedly resigned.

"It is sad that we are forced to make staff cutbacks affecting employees. But we have to reduce staff after the final delivery of the Syndicate," CEO Mikael Nermark told GI.biz. Layoffs at development studios on the cusp of shipping a title has quickly become the norm for the industry. We don't like to see anyone lose their job and hope the individuals in Sweden affected by our least favorite tag find new work as soon as possible.

The next in a line of classy, reputable DLC packs for Saints Row: The Third is Gangstas in Space, and it's lifting off from Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on Tuesday, February 21 for $6.99.

Gangstas in Space is the second of three downloadable add-ons included in THQ's Season Pass, which snags users 15 percent off the total price of the DLC packs when bought separately.

Gangstas in Space sees the Boss and new character Jenny Jaros attempt to make a movie... in space. A series of new missions (that may or may not include blow-up dolls) will feature an alien invasion, which shouldn't be too different from the Earthbound missions. The aliens will probably be wearing less outrageous clothing than any of the people you've fought previously.

The premise behind Warp is as easy to remember as its name. Captured by a group of scientists and their dimwitted security squadron, an adorable alien named Zero breaks free from his shackles to run amok throughout an underwater installation. How does he move about? He warps, of course, from one spot to the next and even into solid objects.

Warp borrows heavily from multiple sources to craft its world. It may be immediately compared to the puzzle propensity of Portal, the stealthy progression of Metal Gear Solid, and the chaotic tone of 'Splosion Man, but the game follows the longstanding blueprint we've all come to regard as Metroidvania. Zero uses his warp ability to get around, first through walls and then into objects.

It all looks innocent -- especially when Zero cutely chirps and animates his emotions -- but it's all a ruse. Zero eventually earns the ability to warp into humans, where a few liberal shakes of the left stick causes them to explode. Like the remnants of a popped water balloon, Zero's victims are splattered all over the laboratory's pristine interior. It goes from cute to horrifying very quickly -- in a good way.

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German site VideoGamesZone.de has five minutes of gameplay footage featuring Ubisoft's upcoming Far Cry 3. The chatter and sound effects are in English (yes, the sound effects, too!), but we had to do some translation work on our two German voiceover hosts for some extra details.

One of them went to Montreal to play the game (on an 80 inch screen). He mentions that the game runs on an improved version of the Far Cry 2 engine (dubbed "Dunia"). The version shown in the video is for Xbox 360, though the PC version is said to have nicer visuals, as you'd expect.

Improvements to the game from the previous sequel include more intelligent AI, a fast travel system and the removal of constantly respawning enemies.

Later in the video we meet Dr. Earnhardt, who sends protagonist Jason Brody on a quest for special mushrooms. The mushrooms are poisonous and what follows is a tripped out, explosive fantasy island sequence where you can almost taste the purples. Head on over to VideoGamesZone.de to watch the whole thing.

Do you want to play Mass Effect 1 or 2, or Modern Warfare 2, but don't have them yet? Or -- a more likely scenario -- do you want to play them, but don't feel like getting them off the shelf and putting the discs into a console? Such effort. Such drudgery.

Amazon has the PC download versions of these games on sale today for $5 each. The Deal of the Day also includes the Digital Deluxe Edition of Mass Effect 2 for $7.49, or Dungeon Defenders for $2.99. And you don't have to get up at all, unless you don't have your credit card handy.

Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion invite you to participate in their joyous union on April 3 in North America. Bethesda's double pack will feature the standard edition of both games, at $29.99 for Xbox 360 or $19.99 for PC.

Bethesda isn't allowed to release the double pack on PS3, Pete Hines told Joystiq. "We will continue to work to try to change that, but at present it is still not approved," he said. "We would like to release a PS3 version a well."

Seeing as Fallout 3 launched in 2008 and Oblivion in 2006, it's about time they settled down, found a partner and relinquished their previous $60 lifestyle. Of course the age gap may upset a few people since two years is, like, 80 years in video game time, but they'll get over it. While they're buying the double pack, probably.

During a brief period of fiscal insanity, EA decided to offer a free copy of Battlefield 3 to Origin pre-ordere of Mass Effect 3. That period has now ended, unfortunately, according to a tweet from EA's Origin account. Moreover, pre-orders won't receive a code to download BF3 immediately, but rather "by March 8th." So, just in time to play Battlefield instead of Mass Effect 3, then? That seems ... unfortunate.

EA originally claimed the deal would extend until March 5, though it seems that the publisher decided to cut it early. Regardless, Origin's tweet went up about 18 hours ago (around 2PM ET yesterday), so it stands to reason that the window of time for a free copy of BF3 was somewhere between Valentine's Day and yesterday afternoon. EA says "all pre-orders made during the deal" will snag a free code, so, uh, hopefully that's you!

[ http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q30Tjr4nCgA ]

Counter-Strike co-creator Minh Le's Tactical Intervention is a free-to-play online multiplayer shooter. Since its 2010 announcement, there have been a few closed betas -- another is set to launch next month -- and, according to Neowin, a launch is on the horizon. It'll be in Spring 2012, courtesy of publisher Online Gaming Planet, to be exact.

Tactical Intervention isn't about strategically persuading drug addicts they need to go into rehab; it's a lot like Counter-Strike. Teams of terrorists and counter-terrorists shoot each other a bunch. Simple.

The official site has gone live, so check it out if you want to sign up for next month's closed beta.

Here's a secret about your beloved Joystiq: we're easily frightened. This Prototype 2 trailer is super scary to our meek, ever-fearful eyes. At least the screens past the break aren't so b -- OH GOD WHAT IS THAT?!

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