Nintendo:
Jaws: Ultimate Predator (3DS, Wii)
Nano Assault (3DS)

Well, this is an exciting week. This would be boring even if we hadn’t just come out of the Fall madness releases. Might as well just preorder Mario Kart 7 for next week.

Sick of learning and adapting to different play styles in Arkham City that aren’t as good as Batman for those damn challenge rooms? Well, Holy DLC Character Trailer, Batman! Here’s another new character to play around with today when he releases for $7.00.

Press Release:

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced that the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham City will be available at retail for Games for Windows LIVE, Steam® from the 25^th November and available now via OnLive, Origin, GameStop via its ‘Impulse Driven’ download store and other digital platforms.

The game is also available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

In addition to the PC version of the game, the Robin Bundle Pack is now available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for 560 Microsoft Points, PlayStation®Network for £5.49 (7 dollars), as well as all supported digital platforms.

In the Robin Bundle Pack, 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 two alternative Robin character skins.

In case you don’t already have the Robin trailer and render, we have provided a link where you can download the assets:  http://games.premierpr.com?p=1&i=746

Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring into Arkham City – five times larger than the game world in Batman: Arkham Asylum – and the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, this highly anticipated sequel introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new, all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.

Batman: Arkham City is based on DC Comics’ core Batman license. Fans canvisit www.batmanarkhamcity.com to sign up to receive updates regarding the game.

Before I get to the news, I feel I should point out that there likely won’t be a VGQH on Friday. I’m not a Black Friday shopper, but I do plan to take full advantage of my long weekend and probably won’t even bother to open my computer (unless I’m looking up an FAQ for a game that stumps me). I’ll actually be spending Black Friday at Rice-Eccles Stadium watching the Utes do their part in securing a PAC-12 playoff berth. However, if you’re planning some Black Friday shopping, there are some crazy deals you should attack while you can. Lots of stores are offering a $50 discount on the 160GB PlayStation 3 that also includes several extras. Discounts on 4GB XBox 360s also seem bountiful, but that’s way too small of a hard drive to do anyone any good. Best Buy is offering Battlefield 3, Rage, and Batman: Arkham City, at a doorbuster price of $30. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations will be $35 all day long. If any of these are games you are considering (and why wouldn’t you be), it will be months before you see them at a similar price. But that’s enough of deals. If you plan to go out on Black Friday, you already know what you’re planning to get. Let’s get to some news.

Two weeks ago Arse-bot wrote up a story about the disparity between critic reviews and user reviews for Modern Warfare 3. That led to a pretty extensive conversation in the comments about who was actually leaving the user reviews on Metacritc. While sales figures do not always equate to quality (Twilight movies, anyone), it’s a safe bet that a legitimate ranking of three or less on Metacritic won’t do this well. The game had 6.5 million first day sales – about $400 million. That’s just first day. In the first five days it set a new world record for any entertainment property – over $775 million. Harry Potter doesn’t put up those kinds of numbers in movies or books, not in the first five days anyway. And we’re just talking about one game here. Last year, Black Ops set the five day record with $650 million. In 2009, Modern Warfare 2 did it with $550 million. As a franchise, Call of Duty is now worth over $6 billion. And, if you can somehow ignore those dollars, the game also set a record for PSN, the most simultaneous players online since its inception. Frankly, if I’m Bobby Kotick, I’m saying you can leave me all the negative reviews you please. If an average user rating of 3.1 means my franchise makes more than Star Wars, I want to see what happens if it gets to 1.3.

If you want to hear the latest from Kojima-san on his biggest franchise, try to find a way to get the Christmas issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine UK. It hits stores November 29th. Detailed in that issue are the latest updates for Metal Gear Rising and Metal Gear Solid 5. But don’t get too excited. Hideo Kojima doesn’t say much about the potential fifth game, other than “[w]e’ll probably have to make [it]” and that he wouldn’t be as involved with it as he was for MGS1. Then again, he’s been saying he was backing out of the series for the last three entries. You should definitely pick up a copy if you can as he explains why he continually gets drawn back into the development.

Despite the rush of top shelf games this holiday season, I still can’t get over my excitement for March 6th. Thanks to a ” target=”_blank”>recent video detailing the Collector’s Edition of Mass Effect 3, I’m now even more excited. That’s because some enterprising fan patiently went through the video frame by frame, finding a glimpse of an accidental character reveal. As the video flips through the pages of the art book, the ex-convict turned possible love interest from Mass Effect 2 is quite apparent. Jack has apparently let at least some of her hair grow and has covered up her tattooed flesh just a little more. Jack was my romance option with my male Shepard, and even had a slight, unconsummated flirtation with my raging bitch Shepard – though she didn’t survive. Even if she’s not available as a party member, I’m looking forward to seeing how she gets used in these two scenarios. I’m not sure what her fate will be in my next play. I’m currently planning to run that one as a suicide ending, then reload to finish it a little cleaner.

The latest issue of Edge magazine reached subscribers last week with an announcement that work on “the next Killzone installment” is already underway at Guerilla Games. Steven Ter Heide, the Senior Producer on Killzone 2 and 3 is now the “Game Director on the current Killzone project.” Could this be related to Edge’s rumor that a major Sony-owned studio has moved all development from PS3 to the next generation?

What is it with so many properties announcing sequels when the current game is either pending release, or barely on shelves? The latest franchise I’m hearing about with another new entry on the table is Hitman from Square Enix. Hitman: Absolution is scheduled for release next year. But the recent expansion announcement from Square Enix also included a hint that a new studio planned to open in Montreal (with 150 new jobs, yay) could be working on the next Hitman game. This also coincides with an expansion of IO Interactive (with 100 new jobs), the developer currently working on Thief 4, the next Deus Ex entry, and an unannounced third title. This is good news for lots of folks. Square Enix is obviously doing well to be expanding so heavily. But it’s also good news for gamers who love these IPs and for the good people of Montreal – especially the 250 that fill those jobs.

The special edition release of Max Payne 3 has been announced by Rockstar. The plan is for limited quantities so you’ll want to get your pre-order in before January 15th. The game releases in March. This bonus version will run $100. For that price you’ll get a copy of the game, 10″ Max Payne statue from TriForce, original Still Life art prints inspired by Max’s inner demons, copper and brass bullet shaped keychain with a screw off back, Classic Multiplayer Character Pack (eight characters from past games – including Max, Mona Sax, and Vladimir Lem), Disorderly Conduct Multiplayer Weapons Pack (G9 Grenade Launcher, Hammerhead Auto Shotgun, and Molotov Cocktail), and the official soundtrack. I like the idea of exchanging the standard concept art book for still life pritns inspired by the game. Considering I have no use for a Max Payne statue I’ll be skipping this set, but I do like the way they’ve changed up the standard just a little bit.

Really quick one to finish up: I mentioned a possibility for the Jak & Daxter HD Collection recently. That has been officially confirmed. All three PS2 games will be coming to PS3 in February 2012 in 720p and stereoscopic 3D, with crisper visuals, smoother animations, and full trophy support.

That’s it for the week. I’ll be back next Tuesday with another edition. Please safely enjoy your holiday weekend. Eat a lot, drink some more, go see the new Muppets movie, and cheer on our Utes. Even after we beat Colorado on Friday, we still need UCLA and Arizona State to lose. So feel free to cheer on USC and Cal, respectively.

It’s a matter of fact that Zelda II: The Adventure of Link sold over 1 zillion copies, a zillion! A fictional number that is thought to be very high. What’s strange about this title selling so many copies is that most people don’t think it’s a good game… and on multiple occasions I’ve found that I’ve had to defend it. Which is the subject of this post.

I am sick or tired (I can be frustrated by just one of these things.) Okay, I’ll start again… I am sick or tired of idiots telling me why they don’t like the second installment of The Legend of Zelda franchise. It’s the same dumb excuse every time.

“It’s not like the rest of the series,” they say, but if you ask me, a retarded water balloon could think of something more profound.

People are so desperate to have an opinion about anything that they see one thing that’s easily identifiable as different from the sacred original article and they hold onto it as if they’ve actually got a point. Sure, it’s a side-scroller, and sure they incorporated a kick-ass level system, but what is inherently wrong with these things? I didn’t hear anyone bitching when they switched to 3-D, which, believe it or not is a much larger shift. So, I’m sorry that you have to kill goblins at a different angle, but that is a tired fucking excuse and you have no business inhabiting this planet let alone consuming valuable electricity to play precious video games.

Zelda II was released on the NES, and what that system did best was side-scrolling video games, putting Zelda II among the upper echelon of Nintendo games like Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Castlevania, Contra, Mega Man, and Double Dragon. Compare that to the crowd of video games that the original Legend of Zelda is forced to hang around with, bird’s eye view catastrophes like LoLo, Smash T.V. and Railroad Tycoon. What’s really frustrating is that even Zelda II’s Wikipedia page stands in opposition to me, stating that it “bears little resemblance to the first game in the series or later games in the series.” Really, Wikipedia, what about the fact that your playable character is a damn elf wearing a green costume? Is that just a coincidence? The fact is, Zelda II brought many things to the series. Imagine future Zelda games without cities, or a magic system. I think you could also argue that it helped solidify Zelda’s role as an RPG series.

The complaint about Zelda II that I hear probably the second most often, is that it’s too tedious and difficult, which doesn’t make you quite as stupid a cretin as the first, but if I did hear you say that, then I probably wouldn’t leap to the conclusion that you knew how to read either. I would go so far as to say that anyone who thinks that Zelda II is “too difficult” has never actually really played the original Legend of Zelda. The original game’s master quest makes the original Legend of Zelda one of the most difficult video games by far. (that is actually still worth playing.)

On top of everything else, Zelda II was really one of the first games of its kind; the creators managed to make a really unique game while weaving in as many elements of the original as possible. What’s amazing is that anyone finds anything to complain about at all. Basically, all you’re doing in Zelda II is running around killing various monsters. To reiterate, you’re jumping around and killing monsters with a sword to rouse a sleeping princess. That’s it. It’s not claiming to be anything more than that. It doesn’t proclaim itself to be the first game at all… and  so am I saying that hating Zelda II is like saying that you hate fun? Yes, and you’re an idiot moron if you do.

Multiplatform:
Get Up and Dance (Move, Wii)
Karaoke Revolution Glee: Volume 3 (360, Wii)
King of Fighters XIII (360, PS3)
National Geographic Challenge (360, PS3, Wii)
WWE ’12 (360, PS3, Wii)

Microsoft:
Hole in the Wall (Kinect)

Nintendo:
Carnival Games: Wild West (3DS)
Face Racers Photo Finish (3DS)
Fishing Resort (Wii)
Jimmie Johnson’s Anything With An Engine (Wii)
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Power Rangers Samurai (DS, Wii)
Sonic Generations (3DS)
WWE All-Stars (3DS)

Sony:
Tekken Hybrid (PS3)

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the reason you haven’t boxed up your Wii. Charge your controllers and get playing.

I’ve got a pretty extensive editorial at the end today, so let’s jump straight in to the news:

Bethesda has announced a title update coming for Brink. It sounds like it’s offering a lot, but it doesn’t answer the most pertinent question. Why? The update brings clans and tournament structure to the online play. Which would be cool if not for a few obviously glaring flaws. One, this game was released in May. If this was something the game needed, is six months later really the best time to release it? Two, this game was released in May. No one plays it online anymore – mostly because it wasn’t that great from the beginning. Third, this was released in May! I actually saw this on a used bargain bin for $5.00 on Tuesday. Maybe that is the right time to release extra content, when you’re no longer making money on the title because it’s selling used for less than the price of a Happy Meal. Sorry, Bethesda, you’ve got better things to be doing.

Speaking of better things Bethesda could be doing, they’re also working on a patch for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. In response to an angry gamer, Pete Hines (PR and Marketing Boss) stated “Patches/updates take a little time. We can’t turn it around quite that fast. It’s been three days. Calm down, we’re working on it. “We are continuing to work on an update for all platforms to address… any bugs and perf[ormance] issues we can.” It appears there are very few players experiencing real game breaking bugs. At least nothing on the scale of what PS3 users suffered on Bethesda’s Fallout titles. The bugs most people seem to have are some texture issues and framerate lag. Which, while annoying, are pretty much par for the course on a game this size. Then again, if it’s something that can be patched smoothly, maybe they should have just hired Splash Damage to fix it pre-launch instead of having them waste time on a patch for Brink.

Oh yeah, I’m back to harping on Splash Damage. I was actually all set to change my tone and be a lot nicer to them because of a rumor about the developer working with Disney on a Marvel-themed title. That game could have been good, but Paul Wedgewood has been quick to squash this rumor. “We’re not working with Disney. We’re not building a pop culture IP. We’re only using BRINK tech for BRINK updates,” Wedgewood said. Kind of a shame. Brink isn’t that great, but if you skinned it with The Avengers it could have been something special.

But, rather than speculate about a Marvel game that may never be, let’s talk facts about DC Universe Online. The game switched to a free to play model on November 1st, and they’re now announcing the next expansion, “Lightning Strikes.” Following the successful introduction of Green Lantern and his powers in “Fight for the Light,” DC now wants to give lightning powers as they introduce The Flash. The expansion, planned for later this year has several additions. You’ll get a Central City map, The Flash Museum Duo (which lets you time travel to see Barry Allen’s origin), electricity powers, new gear inspired by Black Lightning and Professor Zoom, and a slew of new characters (including The Top, The Trickster, and others). If you currently have Legendary subscriber status this will be a free upgrade. Free or premium members will need to pay $9.99 (which will make you premium if you’re not already).

With Assassin’s Creed: Revelations releasing this week to thunderous applause, it’s now time to officially hear about its upcoming DLC. As mentioned last week, the trophy list exposed plans for at least four additional multiplayer characters and some additional maps. While Ubisoft has yet to comment on the maps, the four character DLC pack is planned for December 13th at $3.99.

If you’re more interested in DLC that’s already released, check the PSN Store for Uncharted 3‘s Killzone Pack. This pack includes Helghast Capture Trooper armor and a couple of extra helmets. Not bad for $1.49. Incidentally, if you’ve already opted for the Fortune Hunter’s Club (still available for $24.99) you’ll get this gear for free, despite it not being part of the planned package. In addition, you’ll get the rest of the planned DLC at a 45% discount. My real question is, how do you expect to blend in to these desert environments with such strange gear?

Sanzaru Games has a had a busy year, releasing the Sly Cooper HD Collection and announcing the fourth game in the series, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Now they’re finally ready to start sharing some details. The fourth game picks up immediately after the events of the third game. Not only will Sly and the gang be traipsing around the timeline, they’ll be doing it alongside Sly’s ancestors. Many of these characters were introduced when Sly learned some of their abilities from the Thievius Raccoonus in the first game. In each episode Sly will meet with one of those venerable ancestors. As a player, not only will you learn more of the family history, you’ll also learn more of their abilities as you are able to play as each ancestor. The only reveal so far is Rioichi Cooper. Sly learned his Spire Jump from this Cooper, but that’s not the only trick he has up his sleeve. Not only did this raccoon invent sushi, he also invented a long distance Spire Jump variant known as the Leaping Dragon Technique. Sanzaru has promised more details in December’s issue of Game Informer. Oh yeah, did I mention this is in 3D?

On a very related note, Sanzaru Games President Glen Egan has also announced the Sly Cooper HD Collection is coming to PSN. The retail version is already available, and has been for some time. But if you’d rather just load these games up on your hard drive, you can do it on November 29th. The full collection will be $29.99, but you’ll also now have the option to purchase each game individually for $9.99 each. All three games will be in HD, 3D, and 60 frames per second with full trophy support.

As a die hard fan, I picked up the Fallout: New Vegas Collector’s Edition when it launched back in October 2010. That special edition came with a 48 page graphic novel, All Roads, introducing a few of the game’s key characters and served as a kind of prequel to the story. I’ve read better graphic novels, but that one wasn’t bad. Finally, more than a year later, this graphic novel is seeing a wider release. Dark Horse has released it digitally ($2.99 from their online store and iTunes) which will preserve the value of the limited run of print versions. If you’ve wanted to read the novel, or if you’d like a teaser as you hold out on the game to await the Ultimate Edition with all of the DLC to be released on February 7th, this is a good time to pick it up. Three bucks is pretty good for a 48 page comic written by Chris Avellone (the game’s creative director) with art by Jean Diaz and Wellington Alves.

If the online passes popping up everywhere have been bugging you, or preventing you from playing as Catwoman, take a look at the way THQ has done it mostly right. If you use that online pass that came with your PS3 version of Saints’ Row: The Third, you’ll get a free copy of Saints’ Row II. Why do I say this is doing it right? First, they aren’t charging you $10 for something that actually changes the narrative of the game (Batman: Arkham City). Second, they aren’t actually taking anything away from you at all just because you bought it used. Instead, they want to give you a gift worth about $20 just for buying their game new. The real beauty of this is that it might actually make your used copy more valuable if you decide to sell it. If you don’t want or need the bonus game, don’t activate your code. If you sell it to a third party before February, you might get a little extra incentive from them if they know the code is still good. Why only until February? That’s why I said “mostly right.” Much like the bonus digital copy of films you get when buying on blu-ray, the code is only good for a limited time. It also loses points for only being available in North America. I realize there’s a whole different set of laws to contend with around the world, but Europeans have as much option to choose new or used as I do, and this incentive should be there for them as well.

If you love 2D fighting, Capcom has a happy announcement for you. The PlayStation One version of a Capcom’s arcade classic is making its way to PSN. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors is tentatively scheduled for November 29th. This is one of the greats from the mid-1990s, right alongside Super Street Fighter II Turbo. I have a lot of love for these characters, but mainly from their inclusion in Super Puzzle Fighter. The only better news we could get about this franchise is that a new one is coming in HD. Maybe if this re-release sells well….

Namco Bandai has announced four more characters for Soul Calibur V. Cervantes, Lizard Man, and Yoshimitsu are all returning favorites. New to the series is Xiba, a 16 year old with a white tiger tail. While he is a new addition, he certainly appears to be filling Kilik’s role.

In addition to the free, pre-order costume packs mentioned on Tuesday, there’s a whole pile of new skins coming for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Each pack will run $3.99, but you can score them all on March 6th with a $20 value pack. There are some great additions for Marvel nerds, including the Scarlet Spider and Planet Hulk. The Mega Man skin for Zero shown in the strategy guide is also included. I’ve got pictures of all of them, but I’m going to skip the three I already posted on Tuesday for the sake of brevity.

Rising Dead Pack (11/22/11)

Evil Twin Pack (12/6/11)

Ancient Warriors Pack (12/20/11)

Brawler Pack (1/10/12)

Femme Fatales, Villains, and New Age of Heroes Packs (1/17/12)
Animal Pack (1/24/12)

Weapon Expert Pack (2/7/12)

Viewtiful Strange Pack (2/21/12)

That’s the end of the week’s news, but allow me to editorialize a moment.

With the rumor mill flying, and several studios being named as working on dev kits, it’s really starting to look like the next generation of video game consoles will be announced very soon. Ubisoft and EA have basically confirmed that they are working with the next generation of XBox (be that 720, Project Ten, or something else entirely). Avalanche Studios recently announced a game they’re calling Project Mamba to be released in 2014 and is widely believed to be next gen. So, when can we expect them? We know the WiiU is hitting next year. PS Vita is coming in February. The industry prediction is that Microsoft’s next console will be released in 2012. Seeing as no official announcement has been made, I’d expect that to be near the end of the year, likely in the prime holiday shopping season. But what about PlayStation 4? Sony has been very tight-lipped, but the announcement of Gran Turismo 6 is a pretty big tell. After recently acquiring Sucker Punch, formalizing their already exclusive relationship, I would expect they’ve got something big up their sleeve with them. After all, Sly and inFAMOUS were both huge successes for the last two generations. Should we expect Sony to release in 2012 as well? Coming out a bit later seemed to hurt their early success this generation. But maybe Microsoft is seeing the PS3 install base growing and they’re now trying to head that off by releasing their new console before they had planned. Either way, we’ve hit the five year mark, the traditional life span of a console. Sony had planned a ten year life cycle for PS3, but no one seriously expected it to be the flagship device for that long. We’re also seeing enough advancements in PC gaming that a new console will be needed to keep pace sooner rather than later. This is definitely a story for us to watch. I foresee an announcement coming from Microsoft soon after Christmas, probably early January. I have lots of speculation, but I’m keeping it to myself for now. Feel free to ask me in person and I’ll probably share. I just don’t want to document anything yet.

See you next week.

This landed in my inbox earlier this week. If you love Halo, and LEGOS, you’re in luck! Here is an entire Red vs. Blue capture the flag match in LEGO format. It’s about 30 minutes, but pretty fun if you’ve got that time to burn.

Last Friday I had several leads on new entries in existing franchises, and none of them were a surprise. The odd part was that most of them either just recently released the current iteration, or were actually still several days from doing so. In a similar vein, I found this week that Polyphony Digital is working on Gran Turismo 6. Now GT5 has been out for a year, so it seems about right to announce the sequel. What I find odd, however, is that I heard about GT5 several years before the end of the PS2’s life cycle – back when it was planned for that console. Now, with rumors that XBox Project Ten could be releasing in 2012, is it out of line to expect another prolonged development cycle that pushes the latest Gran Turismo onto the PlayStation4? According to Kazunori Yamauchi, “What really will be the separating factor [from GT5] is something that we can’t update through a DLC is something that obviously has to be saved for GT6.” What gameplay elements are so huge they can’t update the already robust GT5 system? Maybe it’s not gameplay at all. Maybe it’s hardware….

Rumors continue to build regarding the Grand Theft Auto V trailer. While we now know that the game takes place in Los Santos, San Andreas, there’s plenty more to speculate. First, rumors that Tommy Vercetti may be the main protagonist seem to be false. In fact, Ned Luke of Law & Order has been identified as the voice of the narrator – who is probably the protagonist as well. Over on the imdb page, Luke is listed as playing Albert de Silva. Then again, that same page also has Young Maylay rumored to be reprising his role as Carl “C.J.” Johnson. Frankly, that just seems out of Rockstar’s style. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear Maylay’s voice in the game, but I wouldn’t expect a return of C.J.

If you’ve been waiting patiently with your redeem code in hand for the Bloodbath Arena DLC on Dead Island, we have good news. The wait is nearly over. The game has received generally good reviews, but the rampant glitches and bizarre online issues have been a plague, keeping the dev team busy with patches instead of finalizing the promised pre-order incentive. The add-on, which seems to be essentially a “hoard” mode, will be adding four new arenas and the “brain wave bomb” on November 22nd. If you didn’t get your pre-order code, you can still pick up the DLC for $9.99.

In other DLC and pre-order news, incentives for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 have been announced. Kind of a late announcement, considering the game launched today. Regardless, getting this from GameStop scores the Femme Fatales Costume Pack (Morrigan, Chun-Li, X-23, Storm); Amazon has the New Age of Heroes Costume Pack (Strider Hiryu, Doctor Doom, Cyber Akuma, Sentinel); and Best Buy will carry the Villains Costume Pack (Super Skrull, MODOK, Crimson Viper, Wesker). Also revealed in the official strategy guide is a tease for a new costume for Zero. It appears you’ll be able to dress him as Mega Man. Why Capcom thinks this is an acceptable substitute for the blue bomber himself is beyond me.

In one of the more bizarre pre-order incentives I’ve seen in some time, Asura’s Wrath could actually be made easier depending on where you get the game. Amazon is offering the Devastator pack that gives you two extra in-game gauges. One will reduce damage taken by Asura, while the other fills his Unlimited Rage faster. Similarly, Best Buy is giving you the Infinity pack. This pack offers Extinguisher and Zealot modes, which accelerate cooling after overheat from heavy attacks and prolong Unlimited Rage, respectively. GameStop’s incentive is the only one that doesn’t seem to affect how the game plays. They’re giving you the concept art book that flips over to feature a Penny Arcade comic exploring how Asura would handle everyday situations. Frankly, I’m not a huge fan of overly hard games so the Amazon and Best Buy boosters look interesting. But, if you don’t want to nerf your game with add-ons, that comic book looks great. The game is out in February.

It’s becoming the norm for big online shooters to suffer from cheating. The teams behind Halo took pretty drastic measures earlier this year. Now DICE and EA are coming down hard for Battlefield 3 cheaters. According to the official Battlefield Twitter, “This week we’ve banned hundreds of offending accounts and have stats-wiped accounts for exploiting (such as boosting).” DICE is also working a patch to reduce the blinding caused by the tactical flashlight and possibly using the EMP drone to counter mortar spam. In the meantime, if you’ve been cheating by boosting or glitching, you just got served. Although, I do have to question, if you release a game with glitches that let players rack up kills, points, or whatever, is it really fair to punish them for exploiting that glitch? Especially when you offer rewards for doing more of them? Wouldn’t it be more proper to just remove the glitch?

And that seems to be the end of the news for this week’s early edition. Check back on Friday for more updates.

Multiplatform:
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (360, DS, Wii)
Assassin’s Creed Revelations (360, PS3)
Bejeweled 3 (360, DS, PS3)
Cartoon Network Punch Time Explosion (360, PS3, Wii)
Heavy Fire: Afghanistan (PS3, Wii)
Need for Speed: The Run (360, 3DS, PC, PS3, Wii)
Pictionary: Ultimate Edition (360, PS3)
Rayman Origins (360, PS3, Wii)
Saint’s Row: The Third (360, PC, PS3)
Udraw Marvel Super Hero Squad: Comic Combat (360, PS3, Wii)
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (360, PS3)

Microsoft:
Disneyland Adventures (Kinect)
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (360)
Jurassic Park: The Game (360)
Kung Fu High Impact (Kinect)
The Price is Right Decades (360)
Victorious: Time to Shine (Kinect)

Nintendo:
ABBA You Can Dance (Wii)
Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy (3DS)
Beyblade Metal Masters (DS)
Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic (3DS)
Fossil Fighters Champions (DS)
Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 (Wii)
Super Mario 3D Land (3DS)
Victorious: Hollywood Arts Debut (DS)
Zumba Fitness 2 (Wii)

Sony:
Carnival Island (Move)
Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends (PS3)
EyePet and Friends (Move)
Get Up and Dance (Move)
Medieval Moves: Deadmund’s Quest (Move)
Plants Vs. Zombies (PS3)

For over the top, crazy, open world action, you’ve got to love Saint’s Row: The Third. The series started as a heavy competitor to Grand Theft Auto, especially San Andreas. But as Rockstar has moved their franchise into a more serious role, THQ has gone completely the other way. Now you’ll be base jumping onto jets, then surfing on the roof of it, Teen Wolf style. After diving off the jet in your weird Japanese cat creature outfit you’ll start pummeling pedestrians with a large, purple dildo bat and steal someone’s motorcycle only to jump it through a billboard. And that’s all before the zombie apocalypse starts.

If you’re liking the HD remakes of last gen games, XBox’s biggest to date is Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. This is, arguably, the game that put Microsoft’s console efforts on the map. It’s also, arguably, responsible for the modern generation of first person shooters.

With all respect to those other games, how can you seriously be excited for anything besides Assassin’s Creed Revelations. There are some very top shelf games out this season, but this one is in my top three, right alongside Arkham City and Uncharted 3. I’ve loved every game in this series – including the slow and repetitive first title and that bizarre PSP entry – and I’m so stoked to see how Ezio’s story ends.

Modern Warfare 3 has been out now for four days and Activision is claiming that 6.5 Million copies of the game were sold in the US and UK alone in the first 24 hours – making it the biggest launch of anything entertainment-related, ever [IGN]. Coinciding with those ridiculous sales numbers came loads of critical praise for the title from many of the video game-reviewing outlets giving the game a current score of “89 out of 100” (on Xbox 360) based on 49 critic’s reviews. But the news isn’t all good…

Modern Warfare 3 for Xbox 360 currently holds a User score on Metacritic of “3.1 out of 10” based on nearly 4600 user-submitted reviews to the site.

It’s very sad, that people give a developer credit for lazy work. Half of the sounds, equipment, perks, guns, and only one new attachment are in the game. 80% of the killstreaks are the same. And you always the get the felling “I have done this before”. – “WhitefireWF” 0/10

Welcome to the Madden of fps! Every year they release essentially the same game with a few tweaks and a bit more graphics and tell you that you gotta have it. And just like the Madden series, no matter how few new features there are people will still snap it up. Rent before you buy, make sure you actually want this game! – “The14th” 0/10

The much anticipated Modern Warfare 3 game can only be described as an epic fail to provide its gaming community with anything new. The graphics are brilliant but the mechanics are terrible. The game plays to the gamer who just wants to log on and die 40 times and kill someone 40 times. After the release of BF3 this year you would have thought CoD MW3 would have been inventive… Save your money or buy BF3.… – “Muird418” 3/10

These are just a taste of the type of user reviews being left for MW3 on Metacritic. So what’s the deal? Is the game really that bad? Are these Battlefield 3 fanboys trying to squash the CoD franshise? Or are people finally realizing that Activision has been pushing out essentially the same game for years now?

I’m a fan of the Call of Duty franshise, just jumping into it with the first Modern Warfare and then each subsequent game following it. While I have enjoyed each title and that handfull of new features they bring it hasn’t been hard to see that the game has been running on the same engine for years and with each title you are essentially getting the same multiplayer experience. Sure, they might change up how the leveling-up system works, throw in some new weapons and killstreak perks, and of course new maps, but it’s essentially the same game repackaged and perhaps the CoD fanbase are finally realizing this and refusing to just be happy with the same game sold to them year after year at $60 a pop.

I do believe the release of Battlefield 3 has hurt Call of Duty as well. While both games have their pros and cons I can say personally it’s nice to play a game where the entire point isn’t to rack up a 36-2 kill/death ratio and where spawn camping and camping in general aren’t encouraged just by sheer game play mechanics. Battlefield asks you play a role to support your team and you can earn just as many points distributing ammo, healing teammates, and repairing and piloting vehicles as you can racking up a bunch of kills. You actually feel like part of a team as opposed to just playing a supporting role to the one guy on your team running around like a mad man racking up ridiculous amounts of kills. To put it simply, it’s a nice change of pace to the “run around and shoot everyone” gametype.

Now I’m not saying that Battlefield 3 is the sole reason for MW3’s user review woes, nor that that it should be everyone’s preferred game of the two. Everyone has different tastes and they should play the game that they get the most enjoyment out of, because remember: Video games are supposed to be fun! But perhaps with some pressure from the fan base, Activision will take a hard look at how they rush a CoD title out every single year just because they can know a certain degree they will make bucket-loads of money off it and maybe pump the breaks a little and take some time to inject some innovation and change into a strong franchise that could possibly be seeing their first signs of slipping. Possibly.

Obviously Modern Warfare 3 has sold a ridiculous amount of copies and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there perfectly pleased with the title as this Metacritic score is based off a very small population of people in comparison to how many copies of the game were sold. What do you think the reasons for the low score could be? Are these folks just the vocal minority nit-picking a great game? Or perhaps has the tide turned on Activision and they may no longer be able to get away with releasing “cookie-cutter” titles year after year? Sound off in the comments below!