Have you ever sucked at a game? And whatever you did, or do, you continued to suck? (Yeah, me too.) But, there’s a theory behind the madness. In a study published in The Journal of the Cerebral Cortex, it revealed that the size of your brain can actually have an affect on your gaming skills.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have studied specific parts of the Striatum, a collection of tissues deep inside your cerebral cortex, and it revealed that brain size can influence a gamers ability to “refine his or her motor skills, learn new procedures, develop useful strategies and adapt to a quickly changing environments,” or in other words, playing games.

“This is the first time that we’ve been able to take a real world task like a video game and show that the size of specific brain regions is predictive of performance and learning rates on this video game,” said Kirk Erickson, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and the author on the study.

“Playing a game which requires very fast deployment of visual attention and motor movement could prime a strategy of speed over accuracy,” explained Nelson, “while playing a game which emphasizes a slower, more thoughtful pace could prime the opposite pattern. The main point is that different kinds of video games engage different cognitive and perceptual skills, and there are measurable differences in their effects, even in the short term.”

However, it does not work in reverse; you can’t play a bunch of video games and grow those structures in your brain — you’re stuck with the equipment you’re given from birth.

Afghanistan is at the center of the media’s attention when it comes to politics. However, today, it seems that the topic has shifted from politics onto video games. Today, Electronic Arts announced a newly revamped Medal of Honor – simply entitled Medal of Honor – taking place within the present-day war-torn setting.

Inspired by real events, Medal of Honor reveals “the mission[s] of today’s most elite soldier” – his will, his mindset and his uncompromising professionalism. You see, the development team, composed of both EA Los Angeles and DICE, have been working closely with Tier 1 Operators from the US Special Operations Community to create the most authentic modern war experience, ever.

“EA has always been an advocate for telling the soldiers’ story. The new Medal of Honor follows that tradition. We felt it was important to tell the story of today’s war and today’s elite soldiers via today’s most relevant medium – videogames,” said Sean Decker, VP and General Manager of EALA. With that said, tune in to Video Game Awards on December 12  for a world-premier first-look at the new Medal of Honor, which is expected to release in fall of 2010.

Last week, Rockstar narrowed the release target of Red Dead Redemption to April and teased at a new trailer. That said, today, Rockstar San Diego released the new trailer entitled “My Name Is John Marston” for Red Dead Redemption, giving a more pacific release target then April, “April 27, 2010″.

Red Dead Redemption is a Western epic set at the turn of the 20th century when the lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age. At the center of all of this maddest is John Marston, a former outlaw caught up in the uncertain times.

Forget about Resistance 3, it’s about Killzone 3. According to E4G (Everything for Gamers), in the December ’09 issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine, a source close to the mag reveals that Killzone 3 is “deep in development” over at Guerilla Games.

Along with that, the magazine also hints at a Call of Duty: World at War sequel, much like what Infinity Ward did with Modern Warfare 2.

“Insider slips reveal three big names you can already pencil for the next year. Killzone 3 is reportedly deep in development, Insomniac’s Full Moon Show podcast hints at a project we can only conclude is Resistance 3,and a Treyarch employee’s online mentions a Call of Duty: World at World sequel,” reads the magazine.

If Killzone 3 is actually “deep in development”, this would mean that we could expect an announcement of somekind within 2010. Let the speculation begin.

The world as we know it is coming to a end! You don’t believe me? Then check out the multiplayer trailer (entitled “Terror is Reality”) for Capcom‘s Dead Rising 2, and witness that this terror is actually a reality.

Dead Rising 2 is set several years after the infamous zombie invasion of Willamette. Unfortunately, the zombie virus was not contained at the conclusion of Dead Rising, spreading unchecked throughout the United States and Dead Rising 2 depicts a country where zombie outbreaks continue to strike.

If you can’t remember, some time during this year Sony released a survey asking the fans what they would like to see in a God of War III collectors edition, and, in the survey, an overwhelming amount of the community members wished for the previous God of War titles to be available on the PlayStation 3.

With that said, Sony has announced that the critically acclaimed God of War franchise will be headed to the PlayStation 3 in a collaboration of all the previous God of War titles. The collaboration is entitled God of War Collection.

Scheduled for release this holiday season, God of War Collection will feature reworked versions of both God of War and God of War II on a single Blu-ray Disc at full 1280 x 720 resolution. Both critically acclaimed games, which were originally developed for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, have been remastered with anti-aliased graphics running at 60 frames per second for a smooth gameplay experience on the PS3 system. Additionally, the Blu-ray Disc compilation will bring PlayStation Network (PSN) trophy support to the franchise for the first time (included for both games).

“We are excited today to announce God of War Collection,” said Scott Rohde, vice president, Worldwide Studios America. “Our fans spoke and we listened; thanks to our partnership with Bluepoint Games, fans and newcomers to the series can experience the epic God of War and God of War II saga in stunning 720p on PS3. This Blu-ray Disc compilation brings Kratos to PS3 even earlier than expected.”

The game will go on sale this holiday for $39.99.

Forever. Sadly, that’s how long THQ and Jakks Pacific have been fighting over the net rate sales associated their WWE video game series, more pacifically back in 2006 when the net rate increased. Today, that conflict has been settled, declaring THQ the winner.

“As we expected, we have prevailed in this matter,” said James M. Kennedy, THQ’s executive VP of business and legal affairs, in a statement. “We are gratified the arbitrator agreed the preferred return rate to Jakks Pacific on WWE video games will be significantly lower.”

With the net rate now set at 6 percent, THQ will pay Jakks Pacific $34 million for the period between July 1, 2006 and March 31, 2009, which is 23 million less than what it would have owed if it was settled in Jakks favor. Now, at least they can find means on something.

Meet with some mixed emotions from Modern Warfare fanboys alike, it seems that World at War is a huge success, ranking over 11 Million copies sold since its debut in November of last year.

Just to recap, during its pre-Christmas debut, it sold more than 1.88 million units in its first month on retail shelves. Sales then went on to be very solid with an average of about 1.2 million copies each month.

Last week at a event in Tokyo, it was revealed that one of Namco Bandai’s team were busy working on the sequel to Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, which released back in 2005 for the PS2.

The game simple entitled Magna Carta 2 follows the original story set in the world of the war-torn Lanzheim Continent and involves a male character named Juto – who, apparently, can’t recollect his past.  The game will contain character designs by Korean artist Hyung-Tae Kim, and will include fully-voiced CGI cutscenes to deliver parts of its narrative. 

For a battle system,  the game will mix strategic turn-based and real-time elements. Also there’ll be no loading screen when headed into said battle - everything will happen in the same environment, bits of which can be used by players in battle. However, its developers, Namco Bandai, are promising 40 hours of gameplay in which players can explore the world of the war-torn Lanzheim Continent. 

Players will earn Kamonds by beating up monsters that can be applied to power up weapons and generate new items. With each weapon comes a different style of fighting, which, according to Namco Bandai, will offer a set of special abilities tailored to the weapon. 

However,  some of the special abilities will require timed button presses, and once a powerful over-drive mode is initiated, players can smack around foes with their most formidable skills. The current release window is the third quarter of 2009 for the U.S..

[Magna Carta 2 Revealed via IGN]

Time is an aspect that passes throughout our minds even when we aren’t supposed to watch it. Speaking of time, I can’t remember how many video games I have played featuring ‘time travelling’, though I can tell you that seven times out of ten they seem to disappoint. But when we sat down with Aaron Schurman – CEO of Phantom EFX, the publishers of Darkest of Days, set for release on the PC and 360 – he gave us a new reason to believe.

GCO: Your game has recently gained some hype within the industry. Can you tell us about the setting for Darkest of Days and how it was originally conceived?

Aaron Schurman: Darkest of Days has been a dream in my head for about ten years now. Being such a huge gamer, I dreamt of a game that would allow me to visit different battles all within the same title. The game really started that simple. I wanted to visit various fantastic places, such as WWI, WWII, Little Big Horn etc. all in the same experience. Not only did I want to go to various places, I wanted to be in impossible situations: some of humanity’s darkest days in history. The places that immediately entered my mind were events like Little Big Horn, where no U.S. Cavalrymen survived the battle; places like Tannenburg where 80,000 Russians were lost; places like Antietam, the bloodiest day in American History. As I began to think of events like this, I realized there are hundreds of them from all over the world, in every culture, time, and place. Time travel was the evident way to make it happen, but knew it had to be pulled off 100% accurately. It had to make sense, it had to be engrossing, and it had to be realistic.

The exciting notion of Darkest of Days and the type of game it could become made it impossible to accomplish at that time. First of all, there was a severe lack of capital. The next biggest problem was that I envisioned a game where the events were incredibly realistic. If you are going to go back in time, I want the American Civil War to be chaotic, bloody, and terrible – not some vision where there were ten guys on the screen at once. For realism’s sake, there had to be hundreds and hundreds. This, again, made it impossible to even attempt at that time from a tech standpoint. Most importantly, I wanted to make the game myself and not sell the idea.

Years later, after we had established a working game company with great titles and a working knowledge of the development process, we set out to make our own engine, one that could support the lush, varying, detailed environments as well as the hundreds of soldiers. The engine also had to support both long-distance terrains as well as narrow cityscapes (to accurately pull off environments like Pompeii). After the amazingly talented folks at 8monkey Labs created the Marmoset engine, it was finally time to work on the most difficult era, the U.S. Civil War. We picked this area first since it was going to be the most complex to pull off; we wanted it as realistic as possible with so many men doing so many different things at the same time. Once we built it and pulled and pruned it to perfection, it was so harrowing that every time we played it everyone got goose bumps. There was no problem raising capital at that point.

GCO: With a story this interesting, who is the “bad” guy or guys within your title? Or is that a slowly uncovering fact of the game?

Schurman: You have picked up on one of the things readers of the story have been amazed by – the story itself! I have never played a game that has this engrossing or detailed a story. So many folks tout stories in their games, but in reality there is little there. This game will really get you thinking, and that’s what we set out to do.

Time travel is such an amazing thing, with so many possibilities. It’s really a fantasy place our minds like to go to. It’s been so poorly done so many times – it seemed that folks just begged for a story that was believable and “could come true,” as a lot of testers say.

The player gets a chance to “choose where they want to go” as they begin to save folks from history that were never meant to die. As they save these people, and begin to save history, the folks who screwed it up in the first place begin to take notice, and the fight is really on. Not only will people have to deal with being dropped into a fierce environment with death all around them, they will have to deal with other time travellers trying to fit in. It’s pretty wild! It’s awesome to watch how folks have to play that next level to see what happens. I honestly have not seen testers respond like this to a game, where they literally /had/ to get that next part done, or travel to that new time frame to see what happens. It really brings back the fantasy in games. It has been incredible to watch people’s reactions as the perceived “good” and “evil” forces battle.

GCO: I have played many games that have dealt with the time aspect. Can you tell me, since you play as a time traveller, if there are any powers within the game?

Schurman: One of the biggest “powers” a player can have is to possess a weapon in a time frame that does not belong there. You are quite powerful in 1865 with a fully automatic weapon. The tricky thing in developing the game was to give the player a roller-coaster ride of situations, and face them with different weapons. You fight with all the period weapons in all of the six times you travel to – however, in each era, you get your hands on things you shouldn’t.

There is also a matter of “clean up.” As you progress through the game and you begin to accomplish your objectives, there are always repercussions of your actions. As hard as you may try, you may accidentally kill someone that was supposed to have survived the battle, triggering some events. Or, you may be too accurate with your shoulder-mounted rocket launcher in an ancient battle, single-handedly changing the entire tide of the battle. You will need to correct some mistakes, and that always calls for heavy equipment.

GCO: How long have you guys been working Darkest of Days?

Schurman: We have been on the project for just about three years. The first half of that time was spent on building the Marmoset Engine while we wrote story, invented characters, and produced concepts of locations.

GCO: At what stage of development is the game now?

Schurman: The game is in the final stages of testing and is all but complete. NVIDIA has taken great appreciation of the PC version and has been working hard with us to add some pretty incredible special effects that will benefit users. The console version is in the final stages as well.

Along with addressing most of the problems players had with the title, and four more multiplayer maps – which aren’t planned to release simultaneously. Gears of War 2′s newest updated experience ‘Snowblind’ features new achievements for the title. The achievements add up to a total of 250 achievement points. The update will of course be free.

The achievements are as follows:

Rookie Gear (10)
Seasoned Gear (20)
Battle-Tested Gear (30)
Battle-Hardened Gear (50)
Veteran Gear (75)
Never Eat Red Snow (20)
Icy Dead People (25)
Frigid Body Dynamics (5)
The Weather Outside Is Lethal (15)

In what wouldn’t be a shocking turn of events, on the official Metroid Japanese website it reveals what looks like an ad for another Metroid Prime title.

The ad showcases a space pirate, which is a recurring protagonist in the game, reading ‘another side story – coming soon’. When translated the text at the bottom of the ad reads, ‘Live the history Metroid Prime on the side of the Pirates.’ But, before you go off let the speculation.

Jigsaw’s, the guy that we just love to hate, will finally be getting a release date after some, foolish, talk that the game would never see the light of day.

Konami today revealed that it has come to the table with a deal with, Lions Gate Entertainment is to continue the work of  Brash Entertainment, after the the studio closed it’s doors late last year. The deal would entail the movie game so that it will release around the the same time with Saw 6, which is Fall 09.

Here’s a quick question. Are you guys into the Saw franchise? If so, are you looking forward to the game? And we all know that ”The Sicko can’t be let down. Let’s play a game.”

In 2007, we had the chance to play one of the best western video games in along time, but it wasn’t a remediable experience because of the games many tempering uses. Hopefully, this time it will be a bit different because UbiSoft is looking to change that with the next installment into the series, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood.

Today, UbiSoft announced  Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, the game will be a prequel to the wild west shooter Call of Juarez, which, sadly, was met by some very so-so reviews when released.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood transports players from a ravaged Civil War-era Georgia to the Aztec ruins of Mexico. In the wildest West ever depicted, players can embody both McCall brothers in an intense Wild West storyline full of greed, lust and lawlessness that takes place during a legendary period of American history.

“Call of Juarez was well received by gamers and critics,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. “We’re confident this new collaboration with Techland will bring an even bigger and better adventure to fans of shooters and the lawless Wild West.”

I don’t know about you but I setting down right now watching the VGA’s and thankfully I’m really happy with the show, so far. But, earlier on in the show today, I really don’t know the name of the lady that announced it, the God of War III trailer was shown. I’m not going to say that I’m completely happy with the trailer, but man was it a great showing.

By now we aready know that Gears of War 2 is one of the must have games of the holiday season and we’re all pretty excited to see what Epic has cooked up for us.

GameStop has just revealed the limited edition box-art for Gears of War 2, the limited edition of Gears of War 2 will feature a collectible SteelBook™ DVD case (which is viewable in the picure), a Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2 and a 48-page hardbound book. Along with the hardbound book it will feature a:

• Bonus DVD including exclusive making-of-the-game video footage, design galleries with audio commentary by Epic Games, and promotional videos including the E3 2008 trailer.
• “Rendezvous.” An exclusive gold-plated Lancer Assault Rifle available during online play.

Rumors, rumors, rumors. They all fly around at will until someone gives you a straight answer….. and sometimes when we want the rumor to be true, they don’t turn out true. But, lets just hope this ones true. According to PlayStation Beyond , Gamestop has posted God Of War III for a March 2, 2009 release date, while the retailer release dates are not usually a reliable source of information. God Of War I and II released in March of 2005 and 2007 respectively, and Chains Of Olympus for the PSP came out this past March. 3 God Of War titles all in March. And so you get the point…….

Update:

Had a little typo just now, I must be smoking something……

The game maybe all about Marcus but, have you ever wonder who was that strong female voice in all those trailers for gears of war? Well, looks like Cliff Bleszinski wants you to stop wondering because in an interview revealed by Danish gaming website, Game Reactor, that the wonderful female voice would be finally revealed.

Here’s what he had to say "Several Boomers scream “For the Queen!” in the game, while General RAAM encourages to “Serve the Queen!” This led to believe that this female voice is The Locust Queen, but her identity has yet to be revealed. Now we know it will be revealed this November." Could this mean that The Locust Queen is set to make an appears in gears 2? Well, i hope so. Just as was state in the quote you will be able to play as Marcus once again in gears of war 2 this "November."

Announced for November 2008 by Microsoft, today we can assure you that Gears of War 2 leaves precisely to Europe on 17 of November. Also if you can’t wait to get your hands on Microsoft Games Too Human in Europe, you’ll be getting your hands on the game in current August, August 2008.

As of now there is no official North American release date for Gears of War 2  but it’s rumored for a November 16 release window .

Kotaku has received an email from CEO Dick Fontaine, informing them that President Steve Morgan would be resigning from the company.

Email:

After 7 productive years with GameStop, Steve Morgan has made the decision to reapply his energy and drive outside out GameStop Steve will officially be leaving the company on May 2nd 2008. Steve has stated from the very first day we discussed his position with our merged company that his goal was to head up a company as a CEO. After two and half very successful years as our President he now feels that the time is right to pursue his objective.

Great news, the cover story Game Informer is Gears of War 2 and we have some new details from the game thanks to a member of the NeoGaF Forums.

New characters:

Chairman Prescott : Lots of gamers found themselves wondering if Marcus’ domineering superior officer was the head of the human government. It turns out that Hoffman is only second in command. Above him stands the Chairman, an almost dictatorial military leader who nonetheless has made the hard choices necessary to keep humanity alive through decades of warfare. As Gears 2 opens, this leader of the COG forces will deliver a speech to the troops before sending them reeling into the suicidal mission ahead.

Dizzy : In the seemingly unending struggle with the Locust Horde, the military forces of the COG have taken massive casualties. Somewhere along the way, Operation Lifeboat was enacted to bring in some fresh blood. Under this new act, the Coalition government will rescue a Stranded family and bring them into the relative story of a COG-protected zone. In return, the able-bodied men of that family join up and contribute their skills to the war effort. Such is the case with hardened soldier Dizzy, a new character who drives the massive Derrick on which Delta Squad ascends into the mountains. With a trademark drawl and an insistence on calling his truck “Betty”, he’s a colorful new addition to the cast.

Maria Santiago : When Emergence Day struck, Dom’s wife Maria became a victim as surely as if she had died in that first attack. On that day, her children were killed. Unable to deal with the shock and loss, Maria lost herself in the ruins of civilization. For Dominic, who joined the COG to protect his family, no priority is higher than to retrieve his lost love – his very personal quest to find her is a major part of the story that unfolds in Gears 2.

Gears of War 2 begins six months after the deployment of the Lightmass bomb at the end of part one.

Lots of talk about the new Unreal tech. GI says the story and gameplay are a pretty major leap forward from the original game, but an equally large step is being made in the behind-the-scenes tech. Gears 2 is set to impress just like Gears 1 did. New character lighting, it’s a step away from realistic lighting and towards cinematic lighting. New version of Unreal 3 constantly shifts the lighting technique in order to make a character stand out in the environment. Ambient occlusion is another tech being used. Unreal’s new ability to render huge numbers of individual creatures at the same time… hundereds of Locust troops, each moving independently and as unique individuals. Awesome water effects, soft body physics.

Most multiplayer details are under wraps. There is a remake of Gridlock. Step up in technology is obvious. “We hear hints of all sorts of new multiplayer features, from dramatically expanded co-op modes to multiplayer content that takes advantage of Unreal’s new ability to deliver huge numbers of the Locust horde at one time, but confirmed details will have to wait until a later date.”

“Gameplay of Gears 2 will appear mostly familiar to fans, with a few small variations. The core cover/shoot mechanics remain largely intact, but the use of cover has been carefully retouched so it will be harder to get hit while protected, as the character will rest a little further back from the corners. Active reloads won’t be dramatically altered, particularly with the returning weapons. However, some of the new arsenal may vary the way in whihc active reloads are used. New chainsaw duels expand that gruesome combat mechanic to deliver even more excitement. Boss battles return, but a big push is geared towards refining them, making them more fun and epic in scale.

1. “We have creatures that make the Brumak look like a baby panda bear.” -Cliff Bleszinski
2. Drop in and drop out co-op.
3. Multiple save files to maintain the integrity of each playthrough without abandoning your other attempts.
4. Gears 2 will have different difficulty settings for each player in co-op. One person can play on Hardcore, one on Casual, for instance. When you are together, the game will understand what that means, and when you split up, you will have individual experiences. Details on how this works exactly are under wraps.
5. A fourth difficulty is being added for the most casual gamers. Harder difficulty settings will remain “truly devastating.” They say Casual in the first game wasn’t casual enough. This way everyone who wants to pick up the controller will be embraced.
6. COG Centaur tank. Takes the best parts of a monster truck and a military tank and combines them. There’s a dedicated level where you’ll pilot one.

“We were shown a vast underground cave level wherin Marcus and his companions will take the fight to the Locust. Unlike the sometimes cramped and and linear subterranean paths from the first game, the cavern complex is vast and breathtaking. Branching levels and open spaces give players true tactical choices as they decide which way to tackle an assault. Whatever path you choose, bio-luminescent plants light light the faces of the new Locust Kantus enemies. These monk-like devils hum low and droning chants that can be focused into sonic attacks against you. They wield weapons like the new Gorgon burst pistol and poison grenades, both of which can become part of your arsenal if you play your cards right. However, the Kantus’ true danger lies in their ability to revive their fallen bretheren from afar. Where before you could rest easy after taking down an enemy soldier, now there is the constant danger of them rising back up to continue to fight. The only alternative is to brave the hail of gunfire to break through enemy ranks and kill the Kantus sulking in the rear. Along the way, you may not have access to stable cover anymore, so you’ll have to make do with the moving kind. Massive Locust rock worms will emerge from the cavern walls during battle, guided by the Kantus’ chanting. Luckily, the creatures are so large you can hide behind them as they sliter about, and you too will be able to guide them to an advantageous firing position.”

1. The team at Epic is well aware that many players out there hunger for a deeper and more involved storytelling experience. Lots of emotion this time. Joshua Ortega has been brought on, he is a novelist / comic writer. Really sounds like they are working a lot on the story. Sense of depth with the characters. A “darker and more heartfelt narrative.” “THE STAKES ARE RAISED. THIS IS HUMANITY’S LAST STAND. EVERYTHING IS AT RISK. NOTHING IS SAFE.” -Joshua Ortega
2. Voice actors returning include John DiMaggio as Marcus Fenix, and Carlos Ferro as Dominic Santiago. They will be recording the dialogue side by side, more authentic this way.
3. Forced walking scenes that masked loading time have been replaced with a dynamic conversation camera system – focused facial close ups, shifting dramatic angles, but the player is still in control. There is a “SHUT UP” button that will let you have Marcus end the conversation early and get back to the action.
4. “There’s a certain percentage of the audience that wants to skip all that, and they just want to shoot some s—, and we’re more than willing to cater to that.” -Cliff Bleszinski
5. There are collectibles that are relevant to the story. COG tags can be examined to learn about who owned them. War Journal from the pause screen shows your collectibles and what you’re missing, and the locations to search for them.
6. Many Achievements will be able to be earned in Single or Multiplayer. You can check for instance, if you need 1,000 headshots, you can look at your progress in the journal.
7. Your floating robot has a video screen now, so Anya can give you mission updates face to face.