True Crime: Hong Kong has been revived as Sleeping Dogs.

Square Enix has unveiled its plan to revive the popular open-world action game from United Front Games — who had been working on True Crime: Hong Kong for more than two years before Activision decided to cancel the game in 2011.

However, then in August, Square Enix picked up the rights to the game, but not the franchise; and Square needed to rebrand the game before it could be intentionally released. Thus, Sleeping Dogs was born.

Now being developed in conjunction with Square Enix London Studio, Sleeping Dogs is headed to the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC this August.

CD Projekt RED confirm today that The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is launching on April 17 in North America for the Xbox 360. The developer has added a raft of new features and insists it’s the “most polished and definitive version of the game.”

Netflix is not expanding into the video game retail business, marking the end of its potential dangerous Qwikster business experiment.

Netflix chief executive officer Reed Hastings confirmed to investors that his company no longer plans to rent games, a strategy that was first announced in September as apart of the planned Qwikster business spinoff.

Qwikster is a standalone business dedicated to discs but, when customers heaped criticism on the company, Netflix hastily scrapped the plan. “We expect DVD subscribers to decline steadily every quarter, forever,” said Hastings on the DVD based business in general.

Microsoft plans to upgrade its disc technology in its next console to Blu-Ray discs, according to industry sources.

Sony, its competitors, utilizes the disc technology in its PlayStation 3, which contains 25 or 50GB of data compared to only 9GB on DVD discs. However, the disc integration could be far less impactful to the next generation of game consoles.

“I’ve heard from one reliable industry source that Microsoft intends to incorporate some sort of anti-used game system as part of their so-called Xbox 720,” reports Kotaku editor Stephen Totilo. “My source wasn’t sure how Microsoft intended to implement any anti-used game system in the new machine.”

Totilo also reports that Microsoft is interested in making a smaller controller for its new console.

It’s official! Capcom has confirmed the next installment in its long-running horror franchise, Resident Evil 6, and the highly anticipated title already as has a release date.

Taking place some ten years after the infamous Raccoon City incident, Resident Evil 6 begins with the President of the United States about to reveal the truth behind the Raccoon City incident.

But, unfortunately, he’s instead transformed into a hideous mutated monster and its up to bodyguard Leon S. Kennedy to make sense of it all. Meanwhile, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance agent Chris Redfield arrives in China, but it itself is under a bioterrorist attack.

It looks like we might be getting a mix of both traditional Resident Evil survival horror elements and action oriented elements. However, no other details where made available. With that said, the globe outbreak is expected on November 20 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 — with the PC infection expect sometime after that.

The popular role-playing game is headed to consoles after all.

Blizzard Entertainment community manager Micah Whiple confirmed via his twitter feed that Diablo III is indeed headed to consoles. However, no specific platforms were mentioned for the console version, or a release date.

“Yup,” Whipple said. “Josh Mosqueira is lead designer for the Diablo console project.”

The complicated relationship between HBO and the video rental service Netflix just got alittle more complicated.

According to The New York Times, HBO is no-longer selling its DVDs at a discount price to Netflix as of the beginning of this year, continuing the battle between the two entertainment giants.

Though this isn’t a huge financial hit for Netflix, a Netflix spokesman said, “Netflix will continue to provide HBO titles on DVD and Blu-ray to our members.” Proving that Netflix will continue to push its DVD service, besides an increased emphasis on online streaming.

It’s that time of  the year, where we grather up the most enjoyable titles of past year to generate at list of the most notable ones. Including, the most coveted award, the Game of the Year award.

With that said, these awards where decide on by a group of three “strong-mined” people, with each category being built of four nominees. However, only two title will be shown, respectively the winners and runner-ups in each questionably decided category.

Most Underrated Game of the Year
Winner – Rayman Origins
Runner-up – Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Best Indie Title of the Year
Winner – Bastion
Runner-up – Minecraft

Best Shooter
Winner – Battlefield 3
Runner-up – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Best Action-Adventure Game
Winner – Batman: Arkham City
Runner-up – Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Best Sport Game
Winner – NBA 2K12
Runner-up – FIFA Soccer 12

Best Original Soundtrack
Winner – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Runner-up – Dark Souls

Best PC Game of the Year
Winner – The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings
Runner-up – Portal 2

PSP Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Monster Hunter Portable 3rd
Runner-up – Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy

DS/3DS Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version
Runner-up – Super Mario 3D Land

Multi-Platform Game of the Year
Winner – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Runner-up – Batman: Arkham City

XBOX 360 Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Gears of War 3
Runner-up – Forza Motorsport 4

PlayStation 3 Exclusive of the Year
Winner – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
Runner-up – LittleBIGPlanet 2

Nintendo Wii Exclusive of the Year
Winner – The Lengend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Runner-up – Kirby’s Return to Dreamland

Game of the Year
Winner – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Runner-up – The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

While expecting his award for “Best Performance by Human Male,” at the Spike Video Game Awards, a computer animated The Joker held up a script that read “Batman: Arkham World,” hinting at the possibility of another Batman game.

Before continuing with his acceptance speech, he tossed the script mischievously stating “whoops, spoilers.” Of course, this isn’t a formal announcement, and it is far from Rocksteady confirming another sequel.

High Moon Studios’ next transformers game, Fall of Cybertron, has been unveiled at the Spike Video Game Awards.

It’s been rough and challenging road for the Tony Hawk franchise as of recent, but now they’ve decided to take the franchise in an entry new “digital” direction.

Onstage at the VGA pre-show, Tony Hawk revealed Tony Hawk Pro-Skater HD, an high-definition combination of the first two games. It’s a download only title, and should be able “sometime before the summer.”

Its domination continues. As more than 6.5 million people have purchased Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 within its first 24 hours on the market, in both North America and the United Kingdom, with it pulling in more than $400 million in total revenue.

That number makes it one of the largest entertainment launches in history, with the record being held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at $483 million — but that was within two days, not one. Meaning that, Modern Warfare 3 could still obtain the record.

“We believe the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc.

“Other than Call of Duty, there has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records three years in a row. Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise exceed worldwide theatrical box office for “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings,” two of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time.”

Ubisoft Montreal have unveiled Rainbow 6 Patriots, the next installment in the highly acclaimed Tom Clancy franchise. Patriots details the tactics of Team Rainbow, a homegrown terrorist uprising and the many civilians caught in the crossfire.

The games terrorist threat, called the True Patriots, hopes to restore its interpretation of American values by beheading corporate America and overthrowing the government. In addition to the announcement, creative director David Sears showcased a technical prototype of Patriots; showcasing the developers vision for the title, which is a bit controversial.

“Terrorism has evolved, and so has Rainbow 6,” added Sears. “In Rainbow 6 Patriots, all the team play, tactics, and realism that fans of the series love have been coupled with an exciting new narrative direction. This adds an unprecedented level of humanity that will make Rainbow 6 Patriots an extremely tense and immersive experience.”

It’s here! The official trailer for Grand Theft Auto V. It’s alittle over a minute and 20 seconds, and shows a game set in Los Santos and perhaps even other parts of the fictional California.

Pirated copies of the highly anticipated title have been circling around the country, ahead of its release. According to VentureBeat, an employee at a shipment warehouse in California stole two copies of the PC retail version of Modern Warfare 3.

To prevent the spread of the pirated copies, Activision is chasing down those found to be playing the game, even turning up at their doors and asking them to delete pirated copies.

Next week, on November 2nd, Rockstar Games will be debuting trailer for the fifth major installment in the Grand Theft Auto series, according to the developer’s website. But, unfortunately, no details where revealed about the forthcoming project.

The Amazing Spider-Man is being made into a video game, and it’s coming from Activision and the Edge of Time developers Beenox . More importantly, it’s going to be it’s own game, besides coinciding with the movie.

At the Marvel development panel, Beenox creative director Gerard Lehiany discussed developing a game that will coincide with the movie. The Amazing Spider-Man, sharing the same name as the movie, will return to the open-world structure as some of its predecessors.

“We brought back the city into Spider-Man games,” said Lehinay. “For us it is important to be able to web-swing in the city. So that’s one of the major things that we’ve been working on.”

During the presentation, a brief discussion broke out about the game development process with Marvel, and how the universe’s characters rich and Beenox ability to transform these characters and still be close to the original character.

The online pass system seems to be everywhere, even in single-player games. According to Eurogamer, Warner Bros. Interactive have confirmed that an online pass will be needed to access the Catwomen content on the Batman: Arkham City disc.

“Further to your story, players who purchase previously owned copies of Batman: Arkham City can access the playable Catwoman content for £7.99/ 800 Microsoft Points,” said a Warner Bros representative. “Playing as Catwoman is not required to complete the game.”

However, without the code, Catwoman still appears in the game as part of the story, but her playable missions remain locked. In addition, it also unlocks Catwoman as a playable character in the challenge missions.

After an ocelot of speculation, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has confirmed the existence of Nightwing in Batman: Arkham City — the upcoming sequel to Arkham Asylum — in the announcement of the Nightwing Bundle Pack.

The character will release with moves and gadgets unique to him, as well as the “Wayne Manor” and “Main Hall” challenge missions. The Nightwing Bundle Pack will run for 560 Microsoft points/$6.99 on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on November 1st.

According to multiple reports, Team Bondi, the Australian studio known for L.A. Noire, owes its employees more than one million dollars, which is a fitting epitaphs to its already enormous amount of employment issues.

Following the reports of its shady employment practices, an insider is tipping that Team Bondi’s boss was something of an insufferable martinet. That insider, Brendan McNamara, has largest slate of that one million dollars in unpaid compensation. In addition, Depth Analysis, which created the game’s animation technology, is owed more than $140,000.

However, Team Bondi is currently being liquidated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and the proceeds will go to pay outstanding claims held by McNamara, employees and other creditors.

There’s going to be another Dead Space title — and reports have indicated that — it’s going to be a radical re-thinking of the horror series. No longer will there be dark corridors, the series is going into an entirely new direction.

According to Siliconera, the next Dead Space title will take place on a planet called Tau Volantis. The planet features “white-out blizzard conditions,” replacing the dark corridors with “pure white,” which will be a new method of hiding the series’ trademark creatures.

In addition, Siliconera’s inside source have revealed that the enemies will be “hive minded” in the sequel. However, though other rumors have pointed another sequel, this is not official information.

During its pre-TGS event, Team Ninja unmasked the competitive multiplayer mode for Ninja Gaiden III. The “World of Ninjas” mode will connect up to eight players in a sort of “ninja tournament,” the ultimate goal is to rank up and surpass master ninja Ryu Hayabusa.

Team Ninja producer Yosuke Hayashi also introduced two new play style systems; in addition to the normal and hard difficulty levels. “Ninja” mode follows a familiar style of gameplay, but “Hero” adds things like auto-block and auto-dodge, to let new players just “enjoy the story.” In conclusion, these system are also being added to the Vita release of Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

Personally, I’m not one for interfering in the marketing side of video games, even though I am a journalist, somewhat. But, something came to my attention — seeing that it’s the anniversary of the attacks on 9/11.

I was watching the Kill Bill marathon on Spike TV and a advertisement for Resistance 3 appeared. It’s not that the advertisement was bad, it’s just that the context of the advertisement was alittle untimely. The advertisement conveyed a last ditch effort message, but couldn’t there of been a better quote to use then “destroy the tower” on the anniversary of the attacks?

*The actually ad was shorten, and just showed the destroy the tower part.

Throughout history there have been a select characters that have represented a set console generation. Many of these iconic characters reside as console poster boys, however they’re much more then that. These characters are the reasons why gamers, and casual gamers, purchase a set console.

In my studies throughout this generation, I’ve personally composed a list of the characters that have shaped this generation of console; so far, of course. This list is a non-bias composition of characters that have single-handedly shaped this generation, all of the iconic characters that we already love, won’t be on this list – no discrimination was important when making this list.

The first character I’ll like to mention is Nathan Drake, the chromatic and adventurous, adventurer. I placed him as one of the more iconic characters of this generation because he has single-handedly transformed the way characters are portrayed in video games. His realistic mannerisms have changed the way developers craft characters — challenging developers and animators to really take on character development in a different form. Personally, I find his impact to the industry hard to describe. But, understand this; his influence has re-imagine the iconic Tomb Raider franchise.

The next character I’ll like to mention is Desmond Miles/Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad/Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who are all technically the same person. I didn’t pick these characters based off what they’ve done but, instead, because they matter so much to this generation of console. The Assassin’s Creed franchise represents something greater, it could indeed represent this generation as a whole because the titles have improved so much over each installment, in terms of plot and gameplay.

The next character I’ll like to mention is Commander Shepard, who’s an important addition to this list. He’s the main reason I decided to conduct this list of the today’s most iconic characters. Basically, Shepard has fitted to everyone’s portrait of him or her, giving the player an emotional attachment to the story, which is an incredible task within itself. But, more importantly, the addition of the “Decision Wheel,” which has transformed character interaction forever because of it has “simplified” the in-game decision process for consoles.

The next character I picked, the Big Daddy. Picking the Big Daddy was challenge for me because, well, I wanted to pick Jack, the character whom the player controls. But, I couldn’t; the Big Daddy character was prefect in representing BioShock, a game that has transformed story telling in video games forever. The game was so artfullily crafted and unique that, even though the main character couldn’t talk, the story was relayed throw the people around Jack and the location.

In conclusion, I’ll like to mention Marcus Fenix, the main character of Epic’s Gears of War series. As I’ve said, each generation their are characters the define a generation of console, and I believe that Fenix represents this generation of console for Microsoft. Master Chef wholehearted represent the original Xbox and the revolution of the first person shooter, and Gears of War represents the revolution of cover-based third-person shooters, it just makes sense that he would be one of this generations more iconic characters.

I’ll also like to mention these characters: Sackboy, Niko Bellic, John Marston, Issac Clarke and GlaDOS.

*These characters also represent the both assistant characters and main characters.

Halo 4 creative director Ryan Payton has denounced his position at Microsoft’s 343 Industries, stating that development had become a “crazed endeavor.” Payton leaves behind the development of Halo 4 and the entire Halo development team.

Payton, who had worked at Kojima Productions, was tasked with developing the game’s story and overseeing the creative team who where planning “The Reclaimer Trilogy” of Halo games.

“I had a great run at Microsoft,” Payton told Kotaku. “I don’t regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn’t creatively excited about the project anymore.”

However, his decision isn’t because the game is bad, it simply was because the project had lost line with his original vision. “The Halo I wanted to build was fundamentally different and I don’t think I had built enough credibility to see such a crazy endeavor through.”

“I think time is the most valuable thing we have,” said Payton, “and I’ve decided that I’m not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn’t speak to my values.”

While other companies have pushed themselves into the third-dimensional market, Microsoft has sat on the sidelines. But today at PAX, the company announced that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary will feature stereoscopic 3D support when it releases.

The publisher and console manufacture has stated that it’s using a “custom made top-and-bottom 3D technology” to allow the game to run in stereoscopic 3D — however, a 3D compatible television will still be needed to take advantage of the technology.

The anticipation towards DMC has been building, especially since no one knows exactly what to expect. But, at gamescom, developer Ninja Theory — in conjunction with Capcom Japan — detailed the new combat system and hinted into the upcoming “rebirth.”

When discussing the upcoming title, developer Tameem Antonisades said that the developer wanted to “preserve the combat dynamics of the [Devil May Cry] franchise.” He added that they wanted to import Ninja Theory’s “world building” and character development; keeping the franchise tradition and expanding on them. But, working “collaboratively” to expand on them with Capcom Japan.

Continuing the discussing, co-producer Alex Jones discussed the demo they showcased. “[The demo] touches on the guts of DMC, which is fluid character control, uber responsiveness; all the things that people want from a DMC game,” said Jones. “It’s where we’ve put most of our production resources in to this point in the game.”

“We’ve spent the bulk of our resources nailing that,” added Capcom Japan co-producer Motohide Eshiro. However, as for Dante, the game takes place in both the real world and limbo, a demonic dimension which runs parallel to real world. Dante will inhabit both sides of the spectrum, because he has some demonic heritage of his own. It’s kind of like the real world and the actual world situation.

But, for the character himself, the developers describe Dante as a disenfranchised youth that “has a lot of rage.” Thus of use of this “rebellious” style — in both character and overall design, pushing Dante to become the antihero that we know and love.

“We did want him to feel more contemporary, more Raging Bull than Rocky 3,” says Tameem. “Dante’s kind of like an outcast in this story, he lives on the periphery of society. We’ve found a good balance of a young Dante who is pissed off, but still retains that wit, that black humour. He’s not emo – he’s never been emo! – he’s just so disaffected and disassociated with society that he just doesn’t give a shit about it. He has no fear, and no respect for authority, particularly not the demonic authority that runs the world.”

The original Borderlands was crafted by a simple idea — mix first person-shooter and role-playing elements. However, the original severed as more of a beta test — a successful beta test in fact — to home in a more creative idea.

Indeed, the sequel looks to write the wrongs of the original, something Gearbox vice president Steve Gibson wants to make evident. “We had no weapons in Borderlands 2 for about six months while we gutted the weapon system and replaced the whole thing,” says Gibson. “But we felt like we could do a lot better. We thought the AI system could be a lot better. We felt like the quest system could be a lot better. We felt like the vehicle system could be a lot better.”

However, the most noticeable change is in the use of textures — adding more interesting and unique environments. “This time around we’ve actually put the writer of Borderlands in the same room as the lead designer of Borderlands. We’re connecting the world and the story and your quests all together now. We’re trying to weave a much more intricate tale.”

But, we can’t forget the weapons, the piece de resistance in the Borderlands universe, in the sequel each weapon will carry a specific property, for instance, Tediore weapons will basically be junk weapons — they can still fire, but they aren’t meant to be reused. So, you’ll just pull another one off your belt. But, if you pick up a Bandit weapon, they’ll always have extended clips — but are also disposable.

There are promises of a wholesale overhaul to the way enemies behave in combat. “Enemies are actually going to work together, call plays, and take more advantage of the environment,” added Gibson. “At least, the smart ones will do that. The psychos, everyone’s favorite raving lunatics from the first game, still operate with a mantra that Gibson describes as, “Wow that’s a gun! I want my face in front of it.”

Another interesting change, the change in vehicular physics. Gibson promises a more dynamic, realistic and “geographically correct” experience when traveling around in the sequel — no longer will vehicles over react when you hit areas around the environment and pin-pointing areas will be much easier.

Tecmo Koei have revealed that Ninja Gaiden III — the newest installment in it’s long running action franchise — will feature PlayStation Move support, allowing for real-life motion control.

In a statement, Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi said that the addition of Move functionality will “bring players closer to the game’s protagonist, Ryu Haybusa,” which falls in line with the studio’s attempts to deliver a more visceral overall action experience.

During the Electronic Arts press conference, EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson took the stage to announce they’re working on FIFA Street, the “most authentic” street soccer experience.

According to Wilson, a research team traveled across the world to see how people actually played soccer in the streets, even visiting places like Rio, Amsterdam and the United Kingdom.

In addition, Wilson also revealed that FIFA Street would also be apart of EA Sports Football Club — a new online social service that allows users to manage teams, create and download content, track leaderboards and more.

Confirming recent speculation, Gearbox Software confirmed the development of Borderlands 2, the sequel to the “extravasplosive” breakout sensation. Returning players to the planet of Pandora, Borderlands 2 is the “epic” sequel for the “ultimate” shooter loot fest.

According to Game Informer, the developer plans to introduce more diverse environments, with smarter and more powerful enemies and an improved mission system capable of delivering a better overall story in the sequel.

Now, that San Diego Comic-Con and EVO 2011 are over. SoulCalibur V director Daishi Odashima has unleashed a barrage of details surrounding the “Critical Edge” combat system, which will be featured in the upcoming fighting game.

“Critical Edge is a new attack system that delivers high damage to the opponent. [It] can be used in combos. Requires 1 Critical Gauge bar,” Odashima explained. “The Critical Gauge can be charged up to 2 bars. So some characters can connect 2 Critical Edges in a row.”

“A small portion of the Critical Gauge can be used to perform Brave Edge; a powered up [version] of standard attacks (character shines when used). The properties change depending on the move; increase damage, adds additional attacks, gives advantage on block, changes hit property etc,” he continued.

He then detailed some of the newer defensive maneuvers in SoulCablibur V. “There are 3 defensive systems. Quick Move can be performed by tapping the same direction twice. Kind of like a faster version of the [8-way Run] 8WR,” he explains. “[It's] similar to SC2′s evasion but doesn’t have invincible frames. It’s very easy to do and can be used by beginners too.”

Red Faction: Armageddon has decreased the publishers confidence in the franchise. During an investors call this evening, THQ CEO Brian Farrell described the Red Faction franchise’s reach as “niche,” and that consequently its no longer worth pursuing.

“Given that that title, now in two successive versions, has just found a niche, we do not intend to carry forward with that franchise in any meaningful way,” Farrell said. According to Farrell, the recently released Red Faction: Armageddon “did not resonate with a sufficiently broad console gaming audience,” despite its “passionate niche following.”

“In today’s hit-driven, core gaming business, even highly-polished titles with a reasonable following like Red Faction face a bar that continues to move higher and higher,” he said. “Moving forward, our core game titles must meet a very high quality standard with strong creative and product differentiation, appeal to a broad audience, and be marketed aggressively.”

In a recent interview with GameZone, DICE studio head Patrick Bach discussed transferring Battlefield 3 onto console. Bach said that the biggest difference between the PC and console versions are shown in the multiplayer, down from 64 on the PC to just 24 on consoles.

“The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console.”

“The biggest difference between the PC and console version of Battlefield 3 is that we have 64 players on PC and 24 players maximum on console,” Bach said. “The rest is more or less the same: we use the same engine, the same technology, the same animation system, the same lighting system. Our aim is to give the player the exact same experience and not try to dumb down the console version.”

“If you want the same quality of game, I would say it’s really, really hard. We tried to get more players in [to the console version] but then you need to scale down all the graphics, scale down all the destructibility, and sometimes you need to scale down all the map sizes. Everything is a compromise on: where do you cut?”

“You could argue that other games do [fewer] players as well. There are games that do less, and there are games that do more. We don’t see games that have more players as a better experience, so having more players per se doesn’t automatically give you a better experience.”

Bash then outlined the differences in the map sizes on consoles when compared to the PC — the leading platform for development. “[We've] tried to compact them slightly to keep the action up. If you compare it to Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the maps weren’t really small on console. We actually had huge maps even for console. We have the same kind of angle on it right now [in Battlefield 3].”

“We want to create the same experience for PC as for consoles,” he continued.

The publisher reaffirms its plans for a third major installment in the series. At the “Crafting a Universe” panel, writer Darby McDevitt explained his position on crafting a story that fits a certain location and the overall narrative structure of an Assassin’s Creed title.

McDevitt explains that after constructing a certain narrative him and his team go into “research mode” to learn as much as they can about a certain location. After the research, team uses what they’ve learnt and craft characters that compliment the overall setting.

McDevitt then took questions from the audience about the Assassin’s Creed universe and the upcoming Revelations. When asked if they had any plans to continue the series into the upcoming year, McDevitt replied stating that “there are plans.” Speaking on Revelations, he added that fans can expect better integration of the Brotherhood with more specific opportunities in controlling them. The way players meet and recruit the members will also be more varied.

Keeping the panel moving on, producer Louis-Pierre Pharand showcased Assassin’s Creed: Embers. In the clip shown at the panel, it showed an older version of Ezio with his family, as he fears that someone is trying to kill him. However, it was mention throughout the panel that Embers is a “narrative,” and that it uses environments and items from the game but is not playable.

At the Halo Universe panel, Karen Traviss, the writer who has authored the Halo novelizations, discussed the challenges of writing the origin story for the Halo universe. The author compares the pressure of writing the novels to “writing the origin story of Superman.”

It was because, at the beginning of the panel, 343 Industries Frank O’ Conner revealed that everything surrounding the Halo universe will be connected, including the novels and animated movie.

Continuing the panel, managing editor Kevin Grace demoed the much talked about Terminals, which will be featured throughout Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary campaign. Grace stated that these Terminals will offer links into Halo 4 and that, when it comes to developing Anniversary, it’s important that it “play exactly like it originally did.”

When questioned about the final version of the game, it was revealed that the Anniversary development team was “still” deep in its development. It was also revealed that Combat Evolved would be a budgeted title, meaning that it would retail for $39.99.

At the Batman: Arkham City Comic-Con panel, director Paul Crocker and team revealed Talia al Ghul, a love interest of Batman and the daughter of Ra al Ghul — Talia is being voiced by ABC Castle’s Stana Katic.

But, sadly, no other details where given about Katic’s character because “that would spoil a huge part of the game.” However, in the comics, Batman and Talia get married and, at some point, Talia gives birth to Batman’s son, Damian Wayne. Rather or not this subplot is featured in the sequel is unknow, but color me intrigued.

In addition, Crocker also revealed The Penguin, the black market racketeer of Arkham.

“The foul fiend brings his criminal and financial genius, hand-to-hand expertise, treacherous toys and his feathered friends into the walled streets of Arkham City, with the sole aspiration of ridding the world of the Dark Knight.”

Bane made his way across the internet all thanks in part to his role in the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises movie. But, more importantly, the titian-charged supervillain will be returning to the video game scene.

In issue #5 of the Batman: Arkham City comic book series, it was revealed that Bane will be returning for Batman: Arkham City, the sequel to the greatest comic book video game of all time. Here’s the summary:

“Inside Arkham City, entrapped criminals have to find new ways to keep themselves occupied. In Bane’s case, he’s binding his time by running an extreme fighting ring. The lack of serious competition leaves him frustrated, until an otherwise lackluster opponent produces a big surprise. The result may inspire Bane to take on deadlier hobbies.”

The rumors were true! Leading into this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Capcom has announced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, the updated version of the hit fighting game, which is target for a November release date for $40.

The title’s being updated of the with a “dozen” new fighters, eight new stages and some new modes. The new cast will include such characters as Ghost Rider and Hawkeye from Marvel, and Firebrand and Strider Hiryu from Capcom. Beyond these additions, Capcom is promising a number of adjustments to the fighting system and enhancements to its online portion.

With the original Darksiders, the development team was “searching around” trying to find the “soul” of the title. Vigil Games director Marvin Donald expresses that “[they] didn’t really know what Darksiders was until the end.” But, not with the sequel.

“This time you’re playing Death, another of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. You may remember in the first game that War was gone for a century for accidentally bringing about the apocalypse. In this game you have to restore mankind in order to rescue your brother.” Darksiders II is a game with less of a focus on Earth and more of a focus on a stylized demon underworld, the Abyssal Plane.

The director describes Death as a quicker, more “feral” character then the previous protagonist War — and it’s a trait that will carry on in multiple areas of the sequel. In the journey to rescue his brother, Death will travel across a number of twisted and varied landscapes, he’ll need to use a number of different acrobatic movements to traverse these environments. Death is very much his own man, he’s far less lumber of a character in comparison to War.

So much, that he’s a much more customizable. Because of an expanded collection of role-playing elements, which include a loot system. The game will allow you to customize your battle attributes, as well as your appearance. “We’re big RPG fans at Vigil, and we would have done this with Darksiders if we had the time and bandwidth.” But, it would have taken time to balance the experience. “That’s one of the biggest challenges ahead of us.”

In conclusion, it appears that the sequel has stepped up from the promising original, which was widely expected. But, hopefully, Vigil Games can resolve the technical problems that plagued the original title because Darksiders II seems to be its own game.

Crystal Dynamics decided to reboot the Tomb Raider franchise because Lara Croft was starting to “lose relevance.” In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun, director Karl Stewart augured that gamers were struggling to relate to the “invincible, infallible” old Lara.

“I think Lara’s a beloved character and Crystal has really enjoyed their time they’ve been able to spend with her,” explained Stewart with great discretion. “We felt she was losing some relevance in the gaming world, that she was a little too hard and removed. We wanted to make her more approachable and relatable.”

“I think she became an icon,” he added. “When you do, you remove yourself from relatability. We wanted to bring her to a place where she didn’t have all those skills, she wasn’t perfect. The modern gamer can relate to that, they want a complex hero.”

Stewart also added that the development team also ran out of stories to tell with the original Lara, stating that Lara was “all grown up.” “I think Lara had done all the growing she could. We’d taken her to a great place, to somewhere she had some closure. There weren’t really many more stories we could have told. So we feel like with this new place we have fertile ground and there’s a lot of places we can go.”

No, it won’t be rendering any big blue aliens. But, according to AMD, the people responsible for the Xbox 360′s graphical tech, the next Xbox will be able to render graphical details that’s on par with James Cameron’s big-screen aliens.

The company wouldn’t confirm if its working on the next console but, according to the Official Xbox Magazine, AMD’s Neal Robison said that the new Xbox will launch with that level of graphics, leaving a lot for gamers to be excited about.

Robison added that the upcoming A.I. and physics will lead for every pedestrian in a game, such as Grand Theft Auto, to react differently to a situation, giving them their own personalities.

Ubisoft creative director Tommy Jacob has admitted that the development teams have struggled when it comes to nailing down the “identity” of the Ghost Recon franchise, while simultaneously trying to grow the franchise’s user-base.

“It’s been a struggle to nail down and maintain an identity that stays true to Ghost Recon’s roots while allowing the franchise to grow and be competitive in the genre,” said Jacob to CVG. Much like the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the development of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier has been outsourced accross different development teams, which has also been a challenge within itself for development.

“It was always going to be a challenge,” added lead game designer Roland Campos Oriola. “It’s the drill when you’re working on a franchise with a quality track record and you want to innovate and offer a different game experience. It takes time and trials to get it right.”

343 Industries have explained the concepts behind “terminals” within Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, and how they’ll offer hints into the plot of Halo 4, the next major installment into the series.

In an interview with CVG, executive producer Dan Ayoub said that terminals will be placed throughout the game and that finding them will unlock short videos that explain some of the things that will happen in Halo 4.

“So you guys may remember Terminals from Halo 3, they were very much like Easter Eggs in the game. You went through, found them and got some story info. It was usually just text on the screen. But it’s not really that interesting to read text on a screen, so we’re doing some very cool things with it,” said Ayoub.

“You’ll hear Tim Dadabo, the actual voice actor for Guilty Spark from the original game [narrating these Terminals]. The Terminals are definitely setting the story for Halo 4 but we’ll talk about that more in the future.”

“We’re giving Terminals a much more visual treatment, where we’re telling each story in a graphical way. It’s a lot cooler than reading text on a screen and also allows us to convey a lot more emotion in our storytelling. We’ve got Terminals hidden throughout the game and if you find them all you’ll learn story about the Halo universe, the ring and also story elements of things you’re going to see in Halo 4.”

During an interview with Famitsu, director Tetsuya Nomura revealed a small amount of information surrounding the long awaited Kingdom Hearts III. According to Nomura, the third installment will mark the end to series antagonist Xehanort.

However, it won’t mark the end of the franchise. Apparently, the development team have already set in place the framework for future sequels, which will retain Sora as the main protagonist. Nomura has also promised that Kingdom Hearts III will answer the questions which will be left by Kingdom Hearts 3D on the 3DS, suggesting that this could be the final title before the third installment.

In addition, Nomura also stated that the development on KH3D is about forty to filthy percent complete.

Netflix has revealed its plans to “upgrade” its overall pricing structure, for both its mail-in and streaming services. These price changes won’t take affect for existing costumers until September 1st, but the change will be immediate for all incoming costumers.

According to the company’s official blog, the change will replace the existing plans, adding a $2 surplus charge for unlimited streaming, and from now on there will no longer be an unlimited discs and streaming as a single package. The new packages are as follows:

• $7.99 for 1 DVD out at a time
• $11.99 for 2 DVDs out at a time
• $7.99 for unlimited streaming (no DVDs or Blu-rays)
• $15.98 for 1 DVD and unlimited streaming

The Burnout series carries a certain amount of weigh within the racing community, because of it’s arcade racing style. However, never has the series deviated from its established style; each installment has always innovated on the previous.

Now, Criterion Games are ready to changed this with Burnout CRASH!, stripping the series down to its “roots” and changing its perspective for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. The main attraction behind CRASH! bring the “fan-favorite Crash mode to the forefront” with “a crazy mix of pinball and game shows.”

“Burnout CRASH! is a crazy mix of pinball and game shows,” said Richard Franke. “We’ve evolved the core gameplay which everyone loved about Crash Mode, and expanded the whole experience using music, style and Autolog to create what we feel is the most mindless fun you can have on any gaming platform.”

In the original BioShock, the unknown nature of the main protagonist was apart of the lasting mystique. However, the mystique is focused differently in BioShock Infinite. Now, thanks to the cover of the most recent issue of EGM, we now have a face to match the name.

It wouldn’t be a Batman game without villains, however incorporating them is a different story. As consumers “the more the merrier,” but for the developers, there are a plethora of problems when incorporating these villains and having them make sense.

“It’s something that games often have difficulty doing simply because a big character like Penguin or Joker or Riddler or whatever is usually treated as boss encounter,” said Eidos marketing games manager Dax Ginn. “And you don’t just walk up to a boss and floor them with one punch, but in actuality if Batman was going to throw a punch at the Riddler, he would knock him out.”

It’s because, when it’s all said and done, all the characters within the Batman universe are mortal, and it’s important that these encounters are believable and enjoyable — especially in Batman: Arkham City.

“They’re humans. They’re mortal. Batman’s a mortal guy, but he’s a total badass, so we’ve got to make sure that all of a sudden someone like Riddler doesn’t just develop superhuman strength because it makes gameplay sense. No. Riddler is a smart guy but he’s not a powerhouse, and so the combat between Batman and Riddler exists on the intellectual level.”

Speaking to global business giant Forbes, BioWare founders Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka talked about the possibility of continuing the series after the third installment, stating that the diverse alien races and planets have struck a chord with the series’ audience.

“We do have a desire to continue the Mass Effect franchise,” added Muzyka, “and we’re working on the details, figuring out what the fans want, figuring out the right way.” Judging the amount of backstory surrounding the Mass Effect universe, there’s no doubt that they’ll find someway to continue in the universe.

There’s been a ton of questions surrounding newly the redesigned Master Chief, which was shown at E3. Now, sources close to 343 Industries have revealed that the redesigns apart of “steps to incorporate” elements from Halo: Reach into the forth installment.

In Reach, the players used modifications — like jet packs, sprint and shields — to take on the many challenges throughout the game. However, in the original story-arch, these element weren’t present. According to these sources, in Halo 4, these elements will become apart of the original story-arch for the first time.

These sources have also revealed that the undisclosed ”lapse in time” will be used to explain the addition of these elements. With that said, it makes prefect sense that they would want to add these gameplay elements to the original story-arch. In other news, it was recently reported that the changes made to Master Chief would be “story-driven” changes.

They’ve have explained the concepts behind Elizabeth, an important companion throughout the course of the adventure. But, they haven’t explained the importance of “tears,” controllable rifts within space-time continuum.

In a series of exploration trailers, Ken Levine explained the fictional science behind tears; detailing Elizabeth’s ability to manipulate tears into other worlds. There’s also a snippet of the much talked about portal that opens into an alternate 1980′s reality.

Hitman: Absolution, the next installment in the series, won’t be easier than its predecessors, but it will be more “flexible,” taking a different approach in teaching the player the overall mechanics.

“Hitman has historically been a very hard game, and it still is in many ways, but we also focussed on… easing the player into the game,” IO Interactive’s Tore Blystad told games.on.net. “Making him understand the game and making him form choices, rather than just killing him off and having him restart.”

Warner Bros. Interactive today confirmed that Robin will be a playable character in Arkham City’s “new and improved” challenge mode — he’ll only be available in the Tim Drake Robin expansion pack available exclusively via pre-order from Best Buy.

Robin will come complete with his own unique gadgets and special moves, and will be playable in all challenge maps in the game, as well as two additional challenge maps that are included with the pack – Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape. The pack will also contain a bonus Red Robin character skin.

In an interview with Gamespot, Microsoft Game Studios’ Phil Spencer confirmed Kinect integration for Halo Anniversary, the re-imagining of the hit franchise. However, Spencer didn’t reveal any other details about the Kinect integration.

“As a first party we believe that Kinect will be important to all genres of games, be it racing games with Forza, combat games like Ryse — even games like Halo Anniversary has Kinect integration,” he said, when being questioned about the future of Kinect.

In a brief trailer that played during its press conference, Microsoft unveiled Ryse, an motion-controlled title base on the Roman Empire.

Microsoft have unveiled the brand new dashboard experience, incorporating the Kinect into the dashboard. The device can be used to control entire dashboard using voice commands, motion — accessing games and music with the simplest of commands.

In addition, new content will be added t0 the dashboard, including support for YouTube and Bing, both of which allow search via voice commands. The dashboard update is scheduled to launch this fall.

The software giant has continued its support for it’s motion device — something that was apparent during it’s press conference. In an interview, Phil Spencer said that he believes that all first-party games will move forward incorporating Kinect.

“It’s not a mandate that everything we do in first-party has to support Kinect right now,” said Spencer. “But I will say, specifically with voice, that there are some things that just seem to make navigating and playing games so much easier, that I would guess the answer will be yes in the end, that you’ll see all first-party games using some form of Kinect functionality.

“Whether it’s voice in Forza or head-tracking in Forza, which you wouldn’t say is somehow turning the Forza gameplay experience on it’s head,” he continued. “Rather, it’s just using the advantages of what Kinect brings to make the experience better. So I think there’s some specific examples where Kinect makes everything better.”

It’s been almost five years, but finally our mysterious assassin returns. The hunter has becomes the hunted in Hitman Absolution, as Agent 47  is caught in the middle of a “citywide manhunt.”

The upcoming title retains the series’ “penchant” for stealth, as our protagonist uses darkness to his advantage. However, the silent assassin is surprisingly more acrobatic; he’ll be climbing around the environment to perform more “stylish” assassinations. He also has an advantage; “instinct mode,” a detective mode which outlines enemies locations.

It’s more cinematic, more stylish, and runs on technologies that play with light and shadows. Hitman has changed, but the developers seem to have on innovated on — not destroyed – the franchise.

The definition of insanity; someone doing something over and over again, but somehow expecting different results. In Far Cry 3, the characters are fighting to come to grips with their sanity, something that has completely allured them.

In the third installment of the franchise, players are placed in the shoes of a reporter — on a tropical island — investigating stuff as usual. However, it turns out that militiamen are murdering the inhabitants of the island, and it’s up to player to survive and escape.

“Whether you’re already a fan of the Far Cry series or jumping into the franchise for the very first time, you’re going to be blown away by the gritty story and epic adventure we’re going to deliver,” said exclusive producer Dan Hay.

At Electronic Arts’ press conference, Ted Price took the stage to unveil his next project Overstrike, an action-based title that features a group of cheeky, highly-powered super commandos.

Microsoft made the news official at its media briefing this morning: “Halo 4 is coming and it’s the start of a new trilogy.”

Peter Molyneux took to the stage this morning to announce the newest Fable game, Fable: The Journey. The premise of the motion-controlled title, put down the controller and be “driven” into the Fable universe.

During the Microsoft press conference, Ray Muzyka stepped on stage to announced Kinect support for Mass Effect 3. However, Kinect isn’t planned as the primary input of the game; it’s used to “augment” the experience.

When the game releases, players will be able to command their team on the battlefield using the motion device — in addition to verbally using the dialog three, the main conversation feature from past installments of the series.

Two mystical blades clash in an ultimate battle of both souls and swords.

The original had nothing to do with bounties, but Prey 2 seems to be a completely different beast. The sequel seems to utilize alot more parkour elements — adding in some conspiracy, bounty-hunter aspects into the mixture.

In Arkham Asylum, the Riddler didn’t convey much of a threat; he was more of a “casual distraction” from the mission at hand. However, in Arkham City, he’s going to be quite the formidable opponent.

According to IGN, when previewing the title, they experienced an elaborate “death trap” placed by the Riddler. The trap involved a hostage suspended to the ceiling above an electrified floor, which would kill Batman in an instant.

Rocksteady Studios even stated that in the first game, the Riddler’s job was basically “verbally abuse.” But, this time around, he is a bit harder to beat and he had hidden around 400 Trophies around the city.

The developer refers to Metro 2033 as a “flawed masterpiece;” a titled that was acclaimed, but was criticized for it’s broken mechanics. However, with Metro Last Light, the newest installment into the survival horror series, they’re aiming to realize its full potential.

“The author of the original book actually wrote a pseudo-followup called 2034 which is a very different style of book entirely. He kind of describes it as an art-house thriller where the first one was perfect material for a video game,” explained Huw Beynon. Instead of changing setting in the sequel, we’re returning to Moscow as Artyom, the unassuming protagonist from the original.

In the original, apocalyptic events scorched the earth and left the surface a barren and uninhabitable, leaving the surviving citizens to live underground in metro stations. But, in the sequel, extreme factions have taken control of these stations, which had represented cities.

Beynon also stated that they’ve added “more sophisticated destruction and dynamic physics” to the engine, adding to the realism of the experience. In addition, multiplayer has been added to the Metro world; Beynon added that they had wanted to include it in the first game, but did not have the sufficient resources to do the mode “justice.”

Premiering moments ago, the pulse-pounding trailer promises an explosive and emotional end to critically acclaimed series.

The next installment into the groundbreaking franchise is a globetrotting tale of destruction — taking the fight to places across the globe — bringing with it huge amount of destruction.

Besides the lack of downloadable content for the critically acclaimed sequel, Senior Director of Creative Development Alistair McNally spilled the beans on the third installment into the Dragon Age franchises.

In an unexpected tweet, McNally confirmed that Bioware is looking for new talent to work on the third installment into the franchise. And, in other news, Christina Norman of the Mass Effect development team re-tweeted it.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with pulling some emotional strings. However, the trailer attempts to tug at those same heartstrings as the “anticipation-building” teaser trailer, matching in some in-game footage.

The sequel has been cancelled. According to Siliconera, a statement on a former Behaviour Interactive developer’s LinkedIn profile listed the WET sequel, which was revealed last November, as canceled.

The statement also noted that several employees who worked on the sequel left for other companies. In addition, another programmer, who currently develops under Behaviour Interactive, listed the title as a “past project”.

There’s been a breach and it’s humongous. According to Kotaku, undisclosed sources have outed a huge amount of information surrounding , Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the highly anticipated sequel in the blockbuster franchise.

According to the undisclosed sources, the sequel continues shortly after the second one ended, as the surprise Russian invasion has taken full affect. The games campaign will be divided among several characters, including to two new Delta Force members; named “Frost” and “Sandman,” sources believe that these characters to be “future” protagonists.

In terms of multiplayer, the game will apparently have a variety of maps in addition to two special operations modes, Survival, which is speculated to rival Zombie Mode, and Mission, which is speculated to be the traditional special ops modes.

According to IGN, an Electronic Arts representative has confirmed the development of Need for Speed: The Run, the next installment into the beloved racing franchise. The rep also revealed that we can expect the title this November.

Dropped on a mysterious, ice-covered Siberian island, Call of the Dead has players controlling a “dream-team” of zombie hunters as they fight to survive the marching undead onslaught. It also stars George Romero.

The Escalation map pack will harbor the Call of the Dead zombie mode, which features playable versions of famed actors from popular horror movies. In addition, the king of zombie movie directors, George Romero, will be making a “undead” cameo in the expansion. According to Kotaku, Call of the Dead will begin with players stranded on a shipload of the undead in Siberia.

“Our latest zombie creation, Call of the Dead, is unreal,” said Treyarch head Mark Lamia, who revealed the developers expectations. “We set out to create an exciting new zombie experience for fans of the genre that takes Zombies to an insane new level.”

They’re like peanut butter and chocolate; they’re great on their own but combine them, and there’s something special. The combination of Street Fighter and Tekken is as big as fighting games will ever be, but the collaboration drew some mechanical concerns.

However, project lead Yoshi Ono said that fans shouldn’t be worried. In Street Fighter X Tekken, characters are grouped as tag team partners. Players can choose from whomever, but the teams are automatically put together with their own backstories. Between the two universes there are alot of characters which should be difficult to combine, but there’s a method to the madness.

“Because of our criteria, we’re trying to find ones that will be the hardest, the most difficult, and require the most work to get them up and running because it not only makes it more fun for us, but it will make it a more compelling game in the end,” explained the project lead.

“Out of the characters we revealed here, one of the more surprising might be Marduk. I mean, we’ve got some Street Fighter characters that have grappling techniques like him, but none who moves like he does using those kind of moves.”

The mythological Asura’s Wrath may be the wildest game on the planet. The game features an eccentric mix of Asian mythology, science fiction and “intense” drama. However, more importantly, it’s about a man who has to fight the giant finger of a god.

The most recognizable aspect from the Mass Effect universe, other than Commander Shepperd, is the Normandy, the series’ main form of transportation. However, according to Game Informer, the Normandy has been “taken apart, studied and rebuilt” in the sequel.

“You’re a Spectre, but you’re still an Alliance marine,” said exclusive producer Casey Hudson. “It’s like if someone commandeered an aircraft carrier in [WWII], they’re not going to say ‘Lucky for you! You have your own aircraft carrier!’ They want to take it and analyze it… It’s still the Normandy, but its different again and it’s got some different parts and rooms to explore.”

According to a WinRumors source, Microsoft engineers have been hard at work “for some months” developing a Silverlight application which will allow Windows Phone developers to bring their applications to its home console.

Developers have already been coding Windows Phone applications using Silverlight tools. The software programmer had originally planned to bring the service to consoles, however it failed to attach a specific timescale to an update.

According to another source, Microsoft maybe planning to launch its own application Marketplace adding the potential for writing apps for both phones and consoles. In addition, Microsoft is expected to make an announcement at its MIX 11 developer conference.

There’s been absolutely nothing mentioned about the upcoming project — it’s been delayed a couple of times, then it stopped showing on release calenders. However, Rockstar Games has gone on the offensive; tweeting a simple, definitive message: “he’s coming.”

The third installment into comical sandbox series, Saints Row: The Third doesn’t seem to be taking itself that seriously — in the first batch of screenshots there’s even a masked assailant at the business end of a “huge purple phallus.”

The mysterious rumor mill has tamed another one. In the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, publisher Capcom announced that developer Slant Six Games are taking the Resident Evil into an entirely new direction — a squad-based title.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, as its entitled, takes players to “opposite sides of the spectrum,” as members of the Umbrella Security Services Squad in a third-person, team-based shooter that explores the events leading to the zombie outbreak.

The game will have players taking on zombies, Bio-Organic Weapons and opposing squads, the publisher describes. In addition, the title will also include “a number” of competitive online multiplayer modes.

[Video Game Design Colleges]

The highly anticipated zombie game Dead Island has gotten the attention of the ESRB. But, for its logo of all things. According to IGN, the Dead Island boxart logo has been “censored” removing the hanging corpse. However, the in-game logo will remain uncensored.

The censored logo features a walking zombie on the ground instead of the hanging corpse, confirmed a Deep Silver representative. In addition, the representative also mentioned that the changes will pertain to the North American version of the game.

What do you do when pinned down by sniper fire? Grab a rocket launcher, of course. However, everything must be measured, must be deliberate and must be well-paced.

During a discussion panel, Irrational Games demonstrated the early design concepts behind BioShock Infinite, its upcoming project. The discussion ultimately led to a concept image — a dark and ominous skyborne utopia — an inspiration behind the upcoming project.

However, the team describe the image as “too claustrophobic.” The project will be a brighter, more open, one that builds on the spirit of “exceptionalism” that once characterized America. “[The image] was a step in the right direction, but not far enough,” said Ken Levine. The original plan the team constructed was to take BioShock and push it airborne, but Rapture was “dank, dark, and sinister.”

In addition, Levine also discussed Skylines, a rail-based system and the primary method of transportation in the sequel. “[It's] like being on a roller coaster while hanging in the air, and you have a fucking gun,” said Levine, when describing Infinite’s transportation system.

It’s terrifying! No, it’s condescendingly intriguing. In other words, I wouldn’t want to be “manhandled” in such a demeaning fashion.

Dragon Age: Origins was an epic action RPG. It set new standards of quality both in combat and for its exquisite use of conversation trees. However, as good as the original was, it also had some serious flaws; combat felt unresponsive at best and downright broken at its worst, and the conversation trees often contained “un-translucent” responses. Based on the demo, it appears that Dragon Age II has taken significant steps to leverage from the mistakes of its predecessor with the biggest changes being made to the combat system.

In the first game, the player’s actions felt very detached. But, with the new combat system, the combat feels more responsive. That said, on consoles, the action button yields a standard attack as combat doesn’t revolve around a single button. The other face buttons pertain to a skill move, or special attack. In all, the control scheme hasn’t differed from what was used in the original, but the differences here are that when you press a button, you’re rewarded an with instant action. In fact, if you’re not near to your opponent, your character will do whatever necessary to reach them, whether that be leaping through the air or charging directly at them.

However, the combat system isn’t the only part of Dragon Age that has shown significant improvement; the conversation system has also been overhauled. The most noticeable among those improvements, the addition of icons to indicate the nature of your choices. A sarcastic remark, for example, will show a laughing mask icon, while positive and negative remarks will show icons indicating their nature. During the demo, there was also an opportunity to consult members of your party for their opinions on a situation.

In Dragon Age: Origins, your party members would chime in from time to time, but you didn’t get to solicit opinions from them. The addition of this mechanic makes the conversation system feel more robust, and it makes your relationship with your party members feel more substantial. In conclusion, though the demo is substantial, it’s hard to get an idea of how these new mechanics will evolve the overall experience. Still, if the demo experience is any indication, the future is looking bright.

The revolutionary blockbuster franchise returns! In the latest issue of the popular magazine, which will be hitting the market tomorrow, DICE details the next installment into the Battlefield franchise.

In addition, Game Informers mentions that Battlefield 3 features new technical advances, including advance animation techniques borrowed from EA Sports and an “exponential leap” in destruction.

It’s a blatant fact; that if mother “hates” it, it’s cool! Electronic Arts have launched a new marketing campaign, marketing the highly anticipated Dead Space sequel. The campaign is a mixture of studies — comparing mothers reaction to the game — presenting an original outlook on the upcoming title.

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm Studios released a stylized new video giving fans a deeper look at Mileena and why she entered the Mortal Kombat tournament. This abominable clone is the ruthless and unstable creation of Tsang Sung modeled after Kitana under Shao Kahn’s direction.

Microsoft, computer software manufacture, have announced Avatar Kinect, social networking application for its console. The application uses facial recognition software to track users emotions, allowing for a more “connected” experience.

The service will be available via a software update in the spring — along with more navigation for Kinect users. In addition, the service will be available exclusively for Gold Members at no extra charge.

Microsoft, the industries leading software manufacture, have announced a spring software upgrade allowing for the use of Kinect, the control-free motion device, to navigate application menus.

Ron Forbes, who works for the companies entertainment division, demoed the motion controlled versions of the applications, including Netflix, Hulu Plus and Zune Marketplace. “There you have it — all of your entertainment. Movies, Music, TV, and Sports. It’s all happening right now,” added Forbes. The navigation will include both motion and vocal control.

Microsoft, the multinational software manufacture, plans to emphasize on its Windows operating system for the Consumer Electronic Show. However, there will be a small portion of its presentation dedicated to its console.

Now, multiple sources have reported of a upcoming software update which will allow Kinect users to interact with one another using their avatars. The update — called “Avatar Kinect” — is said to harbor a “separate area” where users can interact; in layman’s terms, it’s a social networking system for the console.

[Microsoft preparing 'Avatar Kinect' game for CES Announcement? via Glimpse Dog]

In an unexpected turn of events, on Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb’s podcast, Treyarch online director Dan Bunting announced the first in a batch of downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops, the latest installment into the blockbuster franchise.

As announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the downloadable episode — entitled “First Strike” — will be a timed exclusive on Xbox Live Marketplace and it will also include four original multiplayer maps and one zombie map for 1200 Microsoft Points.

“We learned a lot of lessons in the development and design of the maps on the shipped game,” said Bunting, when revealing the downloadable episode. “For DLC we really wanted to go bigger with some of the things we learned that people liked.”

[Update: First Strike is expected to hit retail Feb. 1, 2011.]

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Using state-of-art motion capturing technologies, L.A. Noire, the much-anticipated detective drama, relates a story of “deception” and “investigation” in a plot to uncover a series of gruesome murders.

Though its announcement was “breathtaking”, the best news came at the end of the weekend. Bethesda’s Nick Breckon confirmed that the fifth installment into the fabled role-playing series won’t be, as expected, using id’s Tech 5 engine. However, he did confirm that the sequel uses an “all-new” engine, one built internally at the studio — instead of the outdated engine used in the original.

Lara Croft returns in Tomb Raider, an origin tale detailing her untold roots. Square Enix, who will be publishing the title, released this piece of artwork, showcasing a battle damaged, younger and much more ragged version of the famed protagonist.

Tomb Raider will entangle the first adventure for a young and inexperienced Lara Croft, which “charts the journey of an ordinary woman who finds out just how far she must go in order to stay alive.”

“Forget everything you knew about Tomb Raider, we are exploring things that have never been done before in this game,” added Crystal Dynamics’ Darrell Gallagher. “This is an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character defining journey like no other.”