Darksiders II is going to be one hell of game! We covered the first look of Darksiders II last July. Playing as Death, one of the other Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, you’re on a quest to free your brother War from imprisonment and restore his good name.

Check out the trailer breakdown and the man behind the mask.

Watch the video after the break.

It’s official! Resident Evil 6 is on it’s way!!

Little bit about the story:

It has been ten years since the incident at Raccoon City and the President of the United States has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place. Raccoon City survivor and personal friend of the President, Leon S. Kennedy, arrives to find the President transformed beyond recognition by a bioterrorist attack. Leon is forced to make the hardest decision he has ever made.

At the same, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance Member, Chris Redfield arrives in China, itself under threat of a bioterrorist attack.

Watch the trailer and then head over here to see the trailer disected by the folks at computerandvideogames.com

Welcome to 2012 dear readers and what better way to kick it off than checking out whats in store for the coming year! In case you haven’t done so already you can check out our re-cap of 2011 for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

With 2011 gone, it’s time to get deep into 2012. Today we’re going to give you a sneek peek of what to expect in 2012 and our favorite picks! Let’s get started!

Soul Calibur V

Get ready for the  sixth installment in Namco’s Soul series of fighting games, and will be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 . he game will take place 17 years after the events of Soulcalibur IV.^[2] The main protagonist is Patroklos, the son of Soul series veteran Sophitia, while her daughter, Pyrrha is the deuteragonist. The only revealed guest character so far is Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the Assassin’s Creed series. Do you need any more reasons to be excited?

The Darkness II

If you haven’t played the first Darkness then I suggest you get to it right away, because from what we’ve seen of the Darkness II – it’s going to blow your mind away! Don’t miss a moment of this awesome trailer!

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

RPG fans look no further – a super awesome, fluid and deep action RPG is coming your way. Massive worlds, excellent voice action and at the helm of it is L.A. Salvatorie himself! So this is one game you’ll want to pick up when it’s out!

Mass Effect 3

RPG fans can now go into a frenzy with Mass Effect 3 just months away from release! The game is scheduled for a March 6, 2012 releaseand will mark the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games, completing the story of Commander Shepard.

Max Payne 3

oh I’m sorry, did you actually need some bit of text here to describe “Max Payne”?

Silent Hill: Downpour

Silent Hill returns for an 8th installment of the series and by the looks of it; it’s getting creepier and creepier. Silent Hill Downpour was to release for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on October 25, 2011; but obviously it didn’t happen otherwise it wouldn’t be here now would it? So it’s gonna happen in 2012. Watch the trailer and keep those screams down.

Street Fighter X Tekken

Kuzuya has big plans for Ryu and his abilities in this official cinematic story trailer for new fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken.

Ninja Gaiden III

Ryu returns and descends into hell in the 3rd installment of the Ninja Gaiden series! Check out the trailer and don’t tell me you didn’t get any goose bumps!!

BioShock Infinite

If you’re not kicked about it then you’re a few marbles short up there.

Tomb Raider

Square Enix is rebooting the series and we got a first look in at E3. All I can say is that you’re going to fall in love with the franchise all over again…and yeah, she’s tough as nails in this one!

Diablo III

it’s not just us…it’s the whole wide world that’s waiting on Diablo III and this for me has to be the most anticipated game of 2012!

Grand Theft Auto V

You know you want to steal cars and beat people up. GTA V is going to let you do that like no other. Can’t wait!

The Last of Us

Watch out for the PS3 exclusive from the makers of Uncharted 3. It’s an epic saga you’ll not want to miss! oh and the footage below is from an actual PS3.

It’s that time of the year again when we take a look back at what was in 2011. The first of the 3 part series where we’ll cover the PS3, Xbox 360 and. We kick off this series with the PS3.

The PS3 had a less than stellar year with a couple of exclusives and a few big names that didn’t exactly translate to the best experience on the platform. However, you want to know it and we’ll give you just that. Here are the top games for the PS3 in 2011.

Best PS3 Action Game

Infamous 2

There were a lot to go with and some stunning titles that battled it for the ‘best’ title, but Infamous 2, being a PS3 exclusive really stood out in terms of graphics, gameplay and the overall storyline to take the crown of the BEST PS3 Action Game.

Honorable Mentions:

• Batman Arkham City
• Dead Space 2
• Portal 2
• Uncharted 3

Best PS3 Fighting Game

Mortal Kombat

I’m going to go with MK here because this game felt like it really re-invented itself this year after a 11 year long hiatus. It’s not a game with the greatest technical skills, but the re-birth of the franchise with blood, gore and fatalities like you’ve never imagined before – yeah, that’s enough for me.

Honorable Mentions:

• Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
• Marvel vs. Capcom 3
• Street Fighter III: Third Strike
• Tekken Hybrid

Best PS3 Racing Game

Dirt 3

Dirt 3 had some stiff competition this year; but it successfully throttled ahead as being the numero uno racer for the PS3. Stunning graphics, accurate physics and a brilliant single player and online experience really brought this game together to take the checkered flag.

Honorable Mentions:

• F1 2011
• Shift 2 Unleashead
• Motorstorm Apocalypse

Best PS3 Role Playing Game

Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect 2 came late to the PlayStation 3, but when it did, gamers finally got a taste of one of the finest RPG series of all-time. Mass Effect 2 is a role-playing dynamo, with deep, fleshed-out characters, an incredibly well thought-out story, deep gameplay and myriad choices and options that give the game inherent replay value. Quite honestly I wanted to go with Skyrim here, but given the PS3 experience for it, Mass Effect was the clear winner.

Honorable Mentions:

• Dark Souls
• Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Best PS3 Shooter

Resistance 3

The Resistance series has been with the PlayStation 3 for as long as the PlayStation 3 has been on the market. As a launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man told the beginning of a tale chronicling an alien takeover of the planet Earth, a situation that got progressively worse for the human survivors the further along the series went. By Resistance 3, 90 percent of humanity has been killed and the alien Chimera have all but won. Playing as Joe Capelli (who murdered the main character of the first two games at the end of Resistance 2), players are thrown back into this alternate history universe, complete with its smooth gameplay, beautiful graphics and compelling narrative. Resistance 3 is one of the most criminally underappreciated exclusives on PlayStation 3, so if you haven’t played it yet, rectify that mistake posthaste.

Honorable Mentions:

• Rage
• Crysis 2
• Modern Warfare 3
• Battlefield 3

Best PS3 Sports Game

FIFA Soccer 12

No true contender for this this title. FIFA Soccer 12 adds tactical defending and precision dribbling to make a virtual soccer game that mimics the tempo of the real thing — hell, the breathtaking stadiums and player likenesses ensure that FIFA Soccer 12 looks like the real thing. There are contracts to worry about, modes to dive into, and a gameplay that’s so satisfying to soccer strategists. FIFA Soccer 12 is an easy pick for the PlayStation 3′s best sports game this year.

Honorable Mentions:

• WWE ’12
• Virtua Tennis 4
• NBA Jam

Best PS3 Multiplayer Game

Tied: Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3

I’m sorry I couldn’t make a choice here – but Battlefield 3 and MW 3 for me had to be the best!!!

Honorable Mentions:

None.

There you have folks, those were our favorite games this year and the ones we think deserved to get top honors. Let’s hear your thoughts as well!

The WWE Franchise returns after dropping the ‘Smackdown vs. Raw’ monicker; with a brand new Predator engine. There’s been a lot and I mean a ‘LOT’ of buzz around it with the millions (and millions) of fans chanting the new name…WWE 12, WWE 12…um..yeah, I get carried away. So does it live up to it? Read on to find out.

WWE ‘12 is in my view an overall improvement over last year’s game, but I have to be honest. It’s more like Smackdown vs Raw 2011 & One Half than a brand new game. And it is worse off for the fact that for all its marginal improvements and ostensible “newness” it still suffers from so many overlookable but ultimately annoying detracting factors.

Is WWE ‘12 the best WWE game Yukes and THQ have put out yet? Yes, arguably. But is it a great game outside of that? Not in my opinion, no. It merely succeeds at being “very good” – like its predecessor – instead. Which is more than sufficient of course, and which makes it just as much fun as last year’s game, with a few added and much needed conveniences. So don’t get me wrong: this is a good game.

Wrestling isn’t about any one move or moment in time. It’s about a story, one that is woven in a ring over 20 minutes, escalating in intensity until a victor is revealed. If a game can’t find a way to bring that theatricality to players, it might as well not be made.

Brock Lesner is delivering some real pain

WWE ’12 finds that pacing. The changes start with the controls, allowing players to grapple and chain into light moves and execute more powerful attacks as opponents get weaker. More dynamic systems for submissions and pins escalate in tension, creating narrow windows of opportunity to escape while visually highlighting that struggle on the screen. The animated transitions between offense and defense are more fluid, eliminating many of the jarring, awkward moments that previous games so repeatedly featured. Occasionally wrestlers revert to a stunned state a bit too easily, and the animation and hit detection for objects like ladders and chairs feels a little off, but the impact of these inconsistencies is minimal.

The game’s designers have clearly spent a lot of time making sure matches have a natural progression, one that subtly incorporates all of the above ideas into something that simply feels right. It tells the story of wrestling in a brilliant way while never losing itself in the process. Remarkably, the developers WWE ’12 seem to understand wrestling better than the writers creating the television product do. As revered as WWE No Mercy is, that game never managed to naturally tell an in-ring story like this game can.

The Divas get it on - 1x1 style!

The most immediately noticeable change from previous years is the new (or old, if you’ve been playing the series long enough) control interface. You can still do all of the things you could before (and not much else,) but how you do those things has changed.

To initiate a grapple, you now press the A button and push the left thumbstick in one of four directions. From one of these four grapple types, you press A and push the thumbstick in a direction again to execute one of four moves, or push the stick without A to change grapple types. You hold down A when facing an opponent or already in a grapple (without a stick press) to execute a submission hold. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. This is the same basic mechanic used in last year’s game, but remapped to the left stick, and bringing the A button back into the mix.

When an opponent has become groggy, the same steps execute different moves. Striking is still done with the X button. Irish whips are performed with the B button. Holding RB while in a grapple (or facing a groggy opponent) allows you to enter the new limb targeting mechanic. Like the new controls, this throws a fresh coat of paint on things you could already do last year, but it does admittedly feel like a more obvious and satisfying way to wear down an opponent for subsequent submission attempts. In limb targeting mode, you see the four face buttons assigned to the head (Y,) body (X and B,) and legs (A) and can perform moves designed to damage those body parts. Nothing too fancy, but it works.

CM Punk with a stunning bulldog on Rey Mysterio

When you do finally slap on a submission hold, you’ll find that the struggle submission has been replaced by the “breaking point” system. This too is more of a return to an older standard than a new system, but it’s an improvement over having to move a thumbstick around and feeling for the correct position nonetheless. Instead of doing that, you now simply wail on the face buttons and a meter in the form of the words… you guessed it… “Breaking Point” either fills (in your favor) or empties (they’re getting closer to powering out of the hold.) The trick is to release the hold (LB) before that happens, or to succeed in making them tap by filling the meter. Opponents (and you) can also wiggle toward the ropes and escape that way, which is a great addition and much more accurately reflects real matches.

Taken together, limb targeting and the new submission system make submissions feel like they matter more. (Now if only there were more submission holds in the game. But moving on…)

Getting in and out of the ring is done with LB, as is picking up objects. Running is done with the left trigger. Tapping B while pushing toward the turnbuckle allows you to remove the buckle pad, but gone are the ultimate control moves like the ability to bash your opponent’s head into the exposed steel. They have been replaced by actual moves, which means you now have to get your opponent into the corner, turn them so that they’re facing it, and then execute that move. You then press the strike button (X) which bashes them into it. It’s a little more involved, but it also means you can drag them into the corner now without whipping them into it, which is also a little but more reflective of real in-ring performances.

Manual targeting works much better this year than last year. When it’s enabled, you can simply click in the left stick to instantly switch focus to another opponent (or the ref, for those times when you want to take him out in order to inject some illegal foreign objects into your match.) This is a huge improvement over last year, but, once again, the joy of the improvement is detracted from by the frustration that comes along with it. Despite setting (and saving… repeatedly) the option for targeting to be manual, you for some reason must switch from manual to auto and back during every match in order for manual to be enabled. Why? The most probable answer is that it’s a bug. But it’s still annoying.

This year’s biggest addition was supposed to be a new engine, incorporating so-called “Predator Technology” (named for Randy Orton, nicknamed WWE’s “apex predator.”) Supposedly this was to allow us to break up moves and holds in a more action-oriented and free flowing manner, akin to the early Smackdown games. While this is technically true, in practice matches really don’t feel particularly different from last year’s. You can break up a move by striking or grappling (when you connect, which you inexplicably won’t always do) at any point during the actual move being performed, but not right as the animation is being initiated. You can do things like hit multiple opponents during strikes again as well, but this doesn’t usually happen despite my best efforts to the contrary. The most I’ve managed is to hit someone with my feet as I’m falling for an elbow drop on a downed opponent. It’s cool, but not game-changing. (I anticipate more extensive implementation next year, as usual.)

Hit detection is just as floaty as before, and possibly more so when it comes to doing a running strike in the corner. I can’t count the number of times I’ve tried to do a running strike only to have nothing happen at all (of course, I have this grouse with almost all WWE games, except WWE All Stars) as my opponent simply stays in the corner not getting hit. This lack of precision extends to a few other specific parts of the game (but not enough to really hurt it.) You can still whip your opponent into the ring post when you’re outside the ring. But you can press A repeatedly and never manage to grab them to bash their head into it. It will eventually work, but you have to be standing in precisely the right spot. The same goes for picking up downed opponents into a standing state. Unless you’re literally right on top of them and in the right spot, nothing happens. This isn’t a big deal, as you quickly learn to close the gap between you and them before doing anything. But it is annoying regardless, because that isn’t something the game demands of you the rest of the time and it feels unintuitive as a result.

You can now have more chairs in a match at a time, and the announce table will break when performing moves on them even if you haven’t yet removed their tops. The game is replete with these kinds of minor improvements that may not be massive, but will entertain you and make you smile when you see them.

And that pretty much remains the case with WWE ‘12 as well.

Other elements like the Road to Wrestlemania, Create Modes are all there and they have been massively revamped to provide hours of entertainment, especially with the Universe mode. For starters, you can now create title matches whenever you want, in any kind of match you want, with any participants you want. They aren’t limited to pay per views either. You are no longer reliant on the CPU to book itself. This removes one of last year’s most harsh and frustrating limitations.

Because the mode is centered around rivalries and alliances, interference during matches in Universe still quite frequent. However, it seems to happen with greater consistency and conveyed purpose than it did before. Universe’s ability to create, change, and end relationships and rivalries does still mean that it can and will frequently alter or completely disband teams you spend a lot of time creating entrances for. But the ways in which these moments are presented seem more acceptable and believable than last year. The best part of the mode this year is your ability to mold it to your liking. There are 20+ title belts in the game from WWE, WWF, WCW, and ECW history, and you can edit Raw and Smackdown to use any of those as their official Major, Minor, Tag, and Divas championships. For example: I eliminated the brand split by giving the World Heavyweight Championship to both shows as their major belt, gave the classic IC strap to Raw as its minor title, gave the Unified Tag titles to both shows, and used only the Women’s title for both as well. (No “Divas” title on my shows!) I put the rest of the belts on people I didn’t want on my shows (you can assign an unlimited number of belts to anyone you want) and put them on a brand none of the shows in the mode draw from.

Yes, you can now create your own shows and brands… sort of. You can use any created arena and logo (more on user created content later in the review) on any show, permanently associating them with Raw, Smackdown, or Superstars which then (again, sort of) “become” those shows. You can save brands you create, and assign people to those brands’ rosters, and best of all, dictate which of those rosters the three shows in Universe draw their wrestlers from. That’s right. You can now eliminate anyone you want from the mode (for the most part) as well as any titles you don’t want. Needless to say, this is an awesome addition to Universe mode, and something we all wished we could do in last year’s game.

Overall

WWE ‘12 is the best WWE branded wrestling game I’ve played in years. Just like last year’s game was for its time. It makes incremental but important improvements over its predecessor, and the result is a more robust, satisfying game than last year’s. At the same time though, it also introduces a bevy is frustrations of its own – things that seem like they should and could have been addressed with just a bit more polish. In a larger, more content-packed game, these might be overlooked. But in what is essentially a yearly sports game that seems to repeat this pattern every year, they’re harder to look passed.

I’d give it a 4 stars!

Source:

IGN, Gamespot and Game FAQs

Buy the Game

Nathan Drake returns for a 3^rd installment of Uncharted and it promises to be one hell of a ride!

What’s Hot:

• Stunning visuals
• Excellent level design
• Well-paced

What’s Not:

• Slight AI issues

The Review:

There are games that make you cringe and then there are games that make you want to be a gamer. This is one of the latter…and thanks heavens for that!! Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is a masterpiece and there’s very little to choose between this and the sequel. While most consider it at par or maybe slightly under par; either way this is one treasure that you’ll want to grab on to and not let go.

While Uncharted 1 set the stage for a visual standard rivaled only by uncharted 2; Uncharted 3 has gone on to slightly better that. It’s no surprise that the 3^rd installment of the game would look best visually. The large environments, stunning visuals and intriguing level designs make this one of the best looking games for the PS3.

The gameplay hasn’t changed much from Uncharted 2. You still have the same depth to combat and the exploring uncharted areas, no pun intended, but what has changed is the larger than life action sequences have given way to a more bar room brawl format. While you may think this is a step back; it doesn’t detract from the fun in anyway. In fact the new animations for the fist fights give it a little more depth than most fighting systems. There are certain animations that make the gameplay very satisfying from the typical run and gun formats and this is a huge step forward for the Uncharted series. Gameplay is relatively easy in the ‘’Easy’’ mode; our recommendation is to play it on “Hard’’ to experience the way it was meant to be.

But if you do become lonely, there’s a chaotic cooperative mode. There are three different options, but the best of these is Adventure. Here, you team up with one or two friends and take part in five reconstructed levels from the campaigns of Drake’s Deception and Among Thieves. Puzzle and platforming sections have been removed, so the focus is placed entirely on combat. And it’s incredible. Enemies are more susceptible to your fists than in the single-player campaign (two punches should finish them off), and it’s a hoot to sprint around the battlefield cracking necks and punching groins until you fall to a barrage of gunfire. Just hope your friends resurrect you because you have a limited number of shared lives and the difficulty can get steep. There are sections where you can’t rely on your fists to come out ahead, and these require you to carefully coordinate to stay alive. One friend may unleash suppressive fire with an assault rifle while you move in with a shotgun or just snap someone’s neck when he’s distracted, and there are so many ways to play that going through these levels multiple times is still fun.

The other two cooperative modes aren’t quite as good, but they have their charms. Arena is a series of co-op challenges against an onslaught of enemies. You may have to reach a certain kill count or steal a treasure, and it’s fun teaming up with some friends to take on the unrelenting horde. The other mode mixes competitive play with cooperative strategizing. Hunters is a two-versus-two assault where one team tries to steal treasures while the other tries to stop them. The defenders also have AI teammates, which makes it pretty tricky when you’re trying to nab their goods. Although both of these modes are good fun, they get tiresome more quickly than Adventure. Things enter a predictable rhythm after a few rounds, and though the core mechanics are satisfying enough to overcome this, they have limited appeal.

The real draw of the online offerings is the competitive mode. Uncharted 2 introduced multiplayer competition, and Drake’s Deception builds on that strong blueprint. The versatility of the single-player combat is well realized here, so a wide variety of tactics can be employed to kill those who challenge you. Hand-to-hand fighting, long-range sniping, grenade tosses, shotgun blasts, and all of the other great maneuvers from the campaign are here, and the well-designed levels give you plenty of different options. One big difference is the speed. Playing online is much faster than offline, so hunkering behind cover isn’t nearly as effective. The sprint button is far more useful, and you better use it frequently or you’ll be run down by someone who knows what he’s doing. Sprinting to a safe place, firing a few choice shots, and then moving on delivers a satisfying rhythm, and the fear that someone may be sneaking up behind you keeps you from becoming lax. Experience points give you money to buy new weapons and perks, which changes things as you sink more time into it. And if you want to start on the same page, a hardcore mode strips out those bonuses so skill, and skill alone, is what determines a winner.

All of these different modes and gameplay types look phenomenal, thanks to impressive technology and strong artistic design. A stirring soundtrack beautifully complements your journey, drifting between hard-edged riffs and delicate acoustics, depending on the situation. Everything that Drake’s Deception attempts, it pulls off with flying colors. This is a beautiful, cohesive, and, most importantly, fun adventure that cements the Uncharted franchise as one of the best around. More of a good thing is welcome here. You’ll laugh with joy, yelp with excitement, and, above all else, be thankful that you’re playing something as expertly crafted as Drake’s Deception.

The most awaited Batman game after Arkham Asylum; Batman: Arkham City rises to new heights and makes for an amazing story of the Dark Knight!

What’s Hot:

Electronic Arts today confirmed that the Bio-Ware-developed MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic will launch December 20 in North America, and December 22 in Europe. Since June, the publisher has been proclaiming a general 2011 release window for the game. Don’t for get to check out the video!

We love Gamespot because they get exclusive access to shyte you won’t find anywhere else. Their team headed down to Rocksteady Studios for a hands on with Batman: Arkham City. Joined by Marketing Manager Dax Ginn, he got to grips with Catwoman and the Caped Crusader himself in this developer walkthrough.

Watch the video after the break. You don’t want to miss this!

Bethesda released a few new videos of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Gamespot has most of these covered. If you haven’t checked out our preview yet; do so now!

Check out the 3rd video after the break