Says Mathew Everett, the Pandemic Community Manager, in a message on Saturday afternoon:

I am very proud to communicate today that The Saboteur has officially gone “GOLD” on all 3 planned platforms (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 & PC). This has been a very difficult week for Pandemic Studios, but does not change the fact that a team of amazing people worked very hard to make The Saboteur a great game that fans will be able to enjoy this holiday season. As planned, The Saboteur will be available across Europe starting December 4 and throughout North America on December 8. Vive La Resistance!

But marketing it is, the latest in Electronic Arts’ attempts to drum up interest in Visceral Games’ Dante’s Inferno, due early next year. We’ll just have to wager a guess that the spot, the website, the cross controller and kneeler accessory were the work of ad firm Wieden + Kennedy, responsible for some of EA’s previous viral and non-traditional ads, like the Tiger Woods “Jesus Shot” and Spore campaign.

Mass: We Pray ties into the Heresy circle of Hell, but also lets Facebook users “damn” their friends and acquaintances.

It appears that this largely reviled, totally not final version of Mass Effect 2’s cover was nothing more than a passing high-resolution fancy. The stars of Mass Effect 2’s box, who will defend the universe against whatever menace is to the right of the game’s case, are Commander Shepard, Thane the Assassin, Miranda and the planet Tuchanka.

Those unsatisfied with either box art option still have the collector’s edition to consider.

The ex-Visceral duo, who recently jumped ship from EA to Activision, are reportedly working on an existing Activision franchise at their new Sledgehammer home. Activision will only officially say that Schofield, Condrey and crew are developing an “as-yet-unannounced new videogame”.

EA, as you may recall, was officially not overly concerned about the loss of the ex-Visceral Games execs, who helped re-brand the studio formerly known as EA Redwood Shores.

Last week, we reported that the core Command & Conquer team would be let go following the release of Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. While Earl didn’t touch on those rumoured changes, he confirms that Jon Van Caneghem, formerly of Trion World Network “has recently joined EA to transform Command and Conquer with a new digital model that is going to re-ignite the fan base for this franchise.”

Earl also calls EA’s planned revitalisation of the Medal of honour franchise “simply stunning”, writing that “Sean Decker and Greg Goodrich have been leading a re-invention of the first-person shooter series,

“We couldn’t be happier with the focus and progress these teams have shown,” Earl writes.

In the internal communication obtained by Kotaku, Earl assured employees that the “new team at EALA has turned this studio into a showcase for the ‘fewer things better’ initiative”. If that sounds familiar, EA Games label president Frank Gibeau said something similar in an investor call, saying that EA plans to focus on more of its “core IP” and proven “blockbusters”.

An internal Electronic Arts memo confirms that Pandemic Studios was shut down today with a “core IP team” being moved to Electronic Arts’ Los Angeles office. Among those let go were the studio’s top three employees: Andrew Goldman, formerly the studio’s CEO; Josh Resnick, formerly the studios president; and Greg Borrud, vice president of product development

“I want to make it clear that the Pandemic brand and franchises will live on,” Nick Earl, EA Games Label Senior Vice President, wrote in the memo. “In the months ahead, we will announce plans for new games based on Pandemic franchises.

“This type of change can be difficult. But the situation calls for us to act decisively, to take control of our destiny and to run a stronger, more focused development operation. That’s how we will continue to make great games in our LA studios.”

Earl said that the move was made to “improve our cost structure, ensure quality and build schedule integrity for this studio.”

We have been unable to confirm how many people were impacted, though rumour had it at nearly 200.

Pandemic was formed in 1998. Following on the success of Full Spectrum Warrior, Mercenaries and Star Wars: Battlefront, they were purchased in 2007 by Electronic Arts.

After the purchase Pandemic released a succession of lacklustre sequels culminating in the cancellation of the costly Dark Knight game, which resulted in the closure of Pandemic’s Brisbane studio.

These cuts appear to be part of EA’s latest cost-cutting measures which includes the elimination of 1500 jobs, cutting a dozen in-development games and closing “several facilities.” According to multiple sources, those cutbacks include studios like Pandemic, Maxis and nearly the entire Command & Conquer team.

Sources tell Kotaku that the team working on Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight was warned of its fate last week, with almost the entire team expected to be let go after the real-time strategy game ships some time in 2010.

Also said to be affected heavily are Spore and former-Sims studio EA Maxis, social network gaming acquisition Rupture Studios, and Mercenaries and The Saboteur creators Pandemic Studios LA. Those development studios are said to be hit with substantial layoffs, according to a source, with remaining employees relocated to EA headquarters in Los Angeles and Redwood Shores.

EA is rumoured to have already laid off staff at Tiburon, Mythic Entertainment and Black Box, reports which the company has yet to confirm.

The closing of Pandemic Studios is the latest in a long line of acquisitions and then closures or “integrations” in the company’s long history. Over the years EA has acquired and later closed or absorbed employees from Origin Systems, Bullfrog Productions, Black Box Games, Maxis, Westwood Studios and Pandemic’s Brisbane, Australia and Los Angeles locations.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard this – far from it – but we had previously been unaware of the timing of the move.

Though still unconfirmed, according to our sources almost all of the studio’s staff (around 200 people) in Los Angeles are to be laid off today, with those few remaining to be incorporated into other Electronic Arts development teams. The move is expected to be announced to Pandemic staff at 11 a.m. PT.

Pandemic were first formed in 1998, and for a while there, seemed to be on the verge of becoming one of the world’s premier development houses. Following on from the success of Full Spectrum Warrior, Mercenaries and Star Wars: Battlefront, they were purchased in 2007 by Electronic Arts, where things should have been on the up and up.

Instead, the company released a succession of lacklustre sequels, and took a body-blow when Pandemic’s Australian experiment failed following the cancellation of the costly – and doomed – Dark Knight game, which resulted in the closure of Pandemic’s Brisbane studio.

It’s believed Pandemic’s remaining IP (including The Saboteur) will be passed onto EA’s Montreal studio (Army of Two).

Remember, as of yet, this is all unconfirmed; we’d expect an official announcement on the closure later today.

Despite being streamlined and stripped-down for portable play, Command & Conquer: Red Alert for the iPhone still manages to pack in much of the series’ signature style and addictive strategy-driven gameplay.

Loved
Style to Spare:From its live action cutscenes to its crazy-ass battle units, the C&C series is famed for its intentionally cheesy excess. And while the silly cinematics didn’t make it into the iPhone version, the title still retains much of the franchise’s wacky trademark charm. Screen-swallowing Russian zeppelins rain death from the skies, armoured war bears charge enemy strongholds, and the sexy-accented Natasha quips “You like my scope?” and “The pleasure’s all mine.” while laying waste to never-had-a-chance infantry. Impressive explosions also engulf the tiny display, and all units, despite their shrunken presentation, are drenched in eye-pleasing detail. Furthermore, a crunchy guitar score keeps the action-and your adrenaline-appropriately amped.

Tactile Warfare:While the RTS genre still struggles to find its sweet spot in terms of control schemes that match traditional mouse-and-keyboard set-ups, there’s no question the iPhone’s touch screen is a good fit. Like a general positioning pawns on a war map, you’ll delight in the tactile satisfaction of fighting with your fingertips; simply touch units, then their target or destination, and watch them go to work. You can also draw a small box around multiple units to move them together, and save specific groups to tabs to easily access them again. Additionally, a swipe of your finger on a mini-map swings the camera to any desired location. Everything, from commanding and training units, to constructing buildings and navigating the map, is a simple intuitive touch away.

Hated
Minus the Multiplayer:Given the platform’s limitations we can totally forgive the omission of some units and even the Empire of the Rising Sun faction (only Russians and Allies are available.) However, the absence of multi-player is sorely missed considering the competitive nature of the genre. I generally think of any RTS’s solo campaign as a warm-up to the online action, so, while C&C’s handful of solo play chapters and two skirmish maps are a blast, they only feel like half the total package. Thankfully, EA is reporting that a future download will remedy this, adding the much-missed multi-player mode. Despite the shrunken presentation, Command and Conquer: Red Alert retains much of the series signature style and charm. Additionally, the touch controls make for a satisfying tactile RTS experience. Give us some multi-player, and we’ll happily jump back into this fight.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert was developed and published by EA Mobile for iPhone on November 1. Retails for $US9.99/$AU12.99. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the game’s campaign and played skirmish modes.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

A tipster to Joystiq pointed out the advertisement for a “Senior Online Level Designer,” and it’s set off alarms all over that you’ll be doing some strategic dismemberin’ with and/or of your friends in Dead Space 2.

The person hired for this job must “own the level design for the online game [and] be able to work collaboratively with Creative Director and Online Producer to create extremely fun, satisfying and polished multiplayer levels,” according to the ad.

For those of you not qualified for this job (like me), the rest of the listing gives up some details on where the game stands as of now.

The game is in the later stages of pre-production, ready for production in the next few months, with many of the navigational and combat mechanics in place. We have complete autonomy and creative control over our own decisions. The Games Label at EA is 100% committed to this IP, and has already worked on IP extensions such as comic, animated features, and action figures.

EA Job Listing Hints at Online Multiplayer for Dead Space 2 [Joystiq via VG247]

IGN reports that Electronic Arts announced its five-on-five Madden NFL Arcade will release Thanksgiving week, a time of the year in the US that already blends pigskin with parking one’s self on the couch for extraordinarily long stretches in front of the tube.

Madden NFL Arcade will release Nov. 24 (Tuesday) on the PlayStation Network and Nov. 25 on Xbox Live. It will cost $US14.99/1200 Microsoft Points.

The above trailer shows some of the reality-defying gameplay you can expect, such as throwing three passes at once, freezing defenders in place and the Washington Redskins scoring two touchdowns on offence. For a closer look at what this game’s all about, Totilo wrote up his impressions a couple of weeks ago.

Madden NFL Arcade Drops The Week of Thanksgiving [IGN via Pasta Padre, video via Padre]