My Game Center

Friday, October 28th, 2011 at 8:04 am Category: Batman, News, PlayStation 3, Video Games

Happy Halloween everyone. This is one of my favorite times of year. unfortunately, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t been able to really enjoy the build up to my favorite holiday. It seems the gaming industry have all been pretty busy too, since there’s not a whole lot of news coming out this week. I’m going to assume that’s because the developers and PR people are all too busy playing Batman: Arkham City, which has shipped over 4.6 million copies so far. That’s more than double the number for Arkham Asylum in the same time frame. “Copies shipped” and “copies sold” aren’t exactly the same thing, but they are connected and it’s still damn impressive. Congratulations to Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. of course, first person shooters still dominate the market, and Battlefield 3 reportedly pre-sold over 3 million copies before it launched in the US on Tuesday (and in Europe today). I’ve no doubt we’ll easily see another 2 million in the next few weeks.

On to the rest of the news:

I’m really hesitant to mention this, but it’s about Grand Theft Auto V and my excitement overwhelms my good sense. With the first official trailer coming next week, rumors are building already about what we can expect to see. And that’s why I was hesitant to mention it. first, they’re rumors. Second, I don’t want to build hype (or even get hyped myself) for something that may turn out not to be true. the biggest rumors I’m hearing are that the game will take place in L.A., or at least the GTA version of it (be that Los Santos, San Andreas, or something else), and that it will feature multiple playable characters. I’m not sure how much, if any, of this to believe. another game in California does make sense. San Andreas was a huge hit for Rockstar and a return to that environment makes good monetary sense. furthermore, some of the early casting call notices I saw for voice talent described characters that fit their sarcastic stereotypes for Hollywood producers and other California weirdos. as for multiple playable characters? we saw that with Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, in a way. We’ve also seen in it in the expansions for GTA IV. But those two expansions also had new stories that butted up against Niko’s tale. It wouldn’t shock me if they changed things up a little by having the player control a limited number of characters, say four, for about ten hours of story each. Ultimately their individual stories would mesh together for some kind of big event. maybe something like the Reservoir Dogs heist. From there, control could shift from character to character in the final mission. Combining their previous multiplayer efforts with some of the non-traditional co-op schemes we’ve seen in the last few years, there may even be an option to team up with three other players, each taking one character through the finale cooperatively. But again, this is all speculation. That’s just my imagination running wild with petty rumor. Now do you see why I didn’t want to get into it?

As expected, the Exterminatus co-op pack has been added to WarHammer 40k: Space Marine. the update adds two scenarios for up to four players. Three character classes were added: Assault, Devastator, and Tactical. the update should be automatic, so just load up the game to play.

While I’ve yet to see anything indicating a change in the United States, it looks like Metal Gear Solid HD Collection has been delayed in Europe. the set was pushed from November to February with little in the way of explanation. My sources still indicate a November 8th release stateside, but it’s possible that will change as well.

As most fervent gamers understand, the enjoyment of a game isn’t always just the gameplay. sometimes a good story can make up for shoddy camera work and vice versa. Oftentimes, in both games and movies, the score can change good experience into a great experience. One of the best gaming soundtracks in recent releases has been Deus ex: Human Revolution. to celebrate that accomplishment, the soundtrack is going to be released separately. Coming November 15th, Michael McCann’s “cyber-noir” soundtrack will be available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and on physical disc (look it up young’uns) from most major retailers.

How excited are you for the PSVita? if the February 22nd release date seems too far away, you may like the recently announced first Edition Bundle. that one is only available at select retailers but you can preorder it now for release on February 15th. in addition to getting the 3G version (in the US, wi-fi only in Canada) a week early, the $350 bundle will also set you up with a 4GB memory card, limited edition case, and the Little Deviants game. good enough deal, I guess. if they offer a US version with the wi-fi only version, the game, and a 16GB memory card they might have me sold.

Ubisoft held their second annual Digital Day this week to showcase some of their top-tier titles coming to the downloadable space. It looks like a nice catch-all, as there appears to be something for every type of gamer:

I Am Alive: A new take on the survival horror genre. the protagonist returns to his hometown a year after “the Event.” Post-apocalyptic combat is short on bullets, so you may find intimidation a better tool. Entering combat situations by shoving a gun in someone’s face can still be a good tactic as long as they don’t know you’re out of bullets. Coming soon (winter release).

Shoot Many Robots: Pretty much exactly as it sounds. Shoot lots of robots, score lots of loot. Two player offline co-op, four player online. P. Walter Tugnut wages war on the robots of the world. I’m sure I speak for all of the contributing writers here at big Shiny Robot! when I denounce the very concept of a game devoted to a robot holocaust. Robots are people too, and we won’t stand for this glorification of genocide by the anti-droidists. But if you disagree, watch for this one in early 2012.

Babel Rising: What a concept! While it is clearly a tower-defense style game, it’s really the exact opposite since you’re destroying a tower. the player is God. not a god. God. as in the God of the old Testament. And those pesky Babylonians have the gall to think they can build a tower tall enough to carry them to Heaven. do what any good and just God would do. Smite their creativity and enthusiasm by hitting them with lightning, earthquakes, and floods. You’ll teach them not to want to reach the kingdom of heaven you promised them. 2012.

Project Haste (working title): Developed by Techland (Nail’d), this is ATV racing as it should be: speed, wild locations, insane tricks, customization, and competitive multiplayer. 2012.

Kind of a strange week for news. not much of anything solid, but there are a few kernels that could really develop into gems. I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween weekend. if you’re in the Salt Lake City area, come meet the big Shiny Robot! crew at Brewvies (677 S 200 W) on Sunday. Geek show Podcast will be will be showing Creepshow at five o’clock, followed by a costume contest. if you haven’t done one of these Halloween shows before, you really need to check them out. I have seen some fantastic costumes in the last few years. Following the contest, big Shiny Robot! presents AMC’s the Walking Dead on the big screen. best part, it’s all free. good beer and great food are also available.

Friday, November 11th, 2011 at 9:23 am Category: Batman, News, PlayStation 3, Video Games

Lots to cover this week, so let’s jump straight to the news:

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon has more DLC on the way. this time they’re teaming up with a top fighting franchise to make your fighter jet look more like a bareknuckle fighter. Coming November 15th for $4.99 will be two skins, Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima of Tekken. Seems like an awful price for two skins, but maybe they’ll include some sort of stat boost?

Also coming next week is a patch for Dead Island. the game tried to be very groundbreaking in its use of online co-op in a single player campaign. and, for the most part, it worked. unfortunately they still had plenty of bugs at launch and Techland has been committed to fixing them. I doubt this patch will handle all of the problems everyone is having, but it certainly seems to address some major issues. In addition to general stability and freezing glitches being repaired, here’s a partial list of tweaks you’ll see with the patch:

• Level cap raised to 60
• new blueprints for weapon mods
• Infected being nerfed
• 50% increase to Purna’s ammo capacity
• skill level required for picking a lock is now clearly indicated
• respawn point selection is now smarter
• and plenty more

Take Two Interactive got a double dose of bad news this week. first, their second (fiscal) quarter report shows a net loss of $47.3 million for the period. this is opposed to an $8 million profit for the same period last year. Mostly this appears to be the lack of a major release. Last year’s second quarter saw both Mafia II and Civilization V hit shelves. the second piece of bad news is that X-COM will apparently not be making its planned release in March. the title has been delayed to next fiscal year (April 1, 2012 thru March 31, 2013). this means Take Two is now relying heavily on their already released games from top franchises, including L.a. Noire, Borderlands, Red Dead Redemption, and Grand Theft Auto. think this puts much pressure on the recently announced GTA V? Damn right it does.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is hitting shelves next week, and we’ve already got a scoop on some upcoming multiplayer DLC. Much like we saw with Arkham City, the announcement of trophies/achievements has exposed four additional playable characters and six extra maps. I imagine, like Arkham City, that some of these are related to preorder incentives. the four characters (Brigand, Corsair, Gladiator, and Privateer) each have a special trophy unique to their skills. Dyers, Firenze, Imperial District, Jerusalem, San Donato, and Siena will be taking you through Italy and the Middle East with the map pack add-on. if you’re curious, here are the relevant trophies:

In further news for Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft has already announced that the next game is under way and it is a “major” release. According to Yves Guillemot (CEO), “there will be another great, full-fledged Assassin’s Creed title next year. it will be another major release and we will be communicating more about it in the coming months.” It’s probably safe to assume that this will be Assassin’s Creed III and will release about this time next year. Early rumors suggest it will be related to a December 2012 end of the world scenario. does this mean a whole new historical assassin, possibly connected to the Mayan calendar? or are we finally getting our Desmond game? Exciting prospects. I’m looking forward to the “coming months” to learn more.

Ubisoft isn’t the only company looking to the future of a franchise whose latest game is still unreleased. Saints’ Row the Third from THQ is also coming next week, but that isn’t stopping them from talking about Saints’ Row 4. In an interview with G4 TV, Danny Bilson (Executive VP) said the next game is underway and will be “much wilder.” Whoa. the third entry has zombies, dildo bats, Professor Genki, giant Hulk fists that disintegrate pedestrians, and a myriad of other crazy shit. Going “much wilder” doesn’t even compute as a possibility.

While I’m on the subject of announcing next year’s sequels, EA and Activision have surprised absolutely no one by announcing another Battlefield and another Call of Duty, respectively, for 2012. What I do find interesting about these announcements is something EA’s Patrick Bach said about using Frostbite 2 on the next title: “”There’s nothing we know about now that the new consoles would do differently, rather do more. more processors. Bigger memory pools. Everything we have and more.” Wait, what? new consoles? I’d be surprised if we see release of the rumored XBox Project Ten or a PlayStation 4 next year, but this comment makes me thinks it’s more likely than I’d thought.

I wouldn’t normally put this in my news category just because it’s about something that’s already happened, but it’s just too cool to ignore. with the Playstation Store’s update on Tuesday came a new outfit for your Little Big Planet 2 Sackboy, and he’s strange. Stranger, actually. Stranger than what? No, no, you misunderstood. the skin is Stranger. As in Stranger from OddWorld. How freaking cool is that? Take a look:

Then again, this is supposed to be a news column, so how about something related? According to Stewart Gilray of just add Water (CEO), “Stranger’s Wrath HD is being submitted to final Sony QA in the next few days, with a launch as soon as we can get it to you.” Assuming QA approves this, and with JAW’s reputation for quality I am sure it will, we should be getting some Hi-Def Stranger very soon. get your live ammo ready….

SEGA’s upcoming Binary Domain had a special multiplayer character announced this week. seeing as the game is being developed by Yakuza Studio, it should come as no suprise that Kazuo Kiriyama, of the Yakuza franchise, will be shooting around in a near future Tokyo this February. while fighting for the government, Kazuo will be sporting his signature white suit. Fighting for the resistance, he’ll be showing off his dragon tattoos with no shirt. Special characters are always a fun fan service treat, and this one just seems appropriate considering the setting and developer.

We’ve got a potential game announcement gaming from the Australian ratings board. these ratings pop up occasionally before the developers and publishers have announced the game and I’ve rarely seen them when the game doesn’t get officially announced within a week or two. this time, it’s The Simpsons Arcade Game for multiple platforms. seeing as its being developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Konami, this looks like a repeat of the quality action we saw when those two companies teamed up to release the X-Men Arcade Game to PSN and XBLA. I wasted a lot of quarters in the arcades on this one. I think my brother and I spent so much one day that we actually beat the damn thing. and I plan on doing it again when this hits the download queue.

I love ratings board leaks. this one comes from Germany and its an HD remake of another classic trilogy from the PS2. We’ve had God of War, Sly Cooper, and Team ICO collections. What’s left? Don’t even ask. the two obvious franchises are Ratchet & Clank and Jak. and the German rating leak seems to confirm that Jak & Daxter: the Precursor Legacy, Jak II: Renegade, and Jak 3 are coming soon as the Jak & Daxter Trilogy HD Collection. if you somehow missed these games in their first generation, you owe it to yourself to play the HD remakes. these were developed by Naughty Dog, the same people whose success on PS3 is so great it’s Uncharted! [Oww. I'm officially fired from puns.] No word yet on release date as we don’t even have an official announcement, but this looks like a spring/summer title to me.

About a month ago we got our first look at two European special editions of Final Fantasy XIII-2. so what do the North Americans get? Well, our Collector’s Edition will contain a 20 page artbook and a four disc soundtrack. all of it will be bundled in a nice, limited edition, hardcover case with art by Yoshitaka Amano. it looks very nice, and the soundtrack for this series has always been top notch. this would be a great deal for a $10 premium. unfortunately, this package will run $79.99, which I’m just not convinced is worth it. Take a look, and then decide which version you’re preodering for January 31st.

I reported on Tuesday that the servers for NBA 2K11 would shutting down later this month. 2K Games has heard the fan reaction and will be extending the servers to April 2012. with the My Crew and Online Leagues available on this version, but not 2K12‘s, as well as the continued instability of 2K12‘s online connections led to the fans’ reactions. Strangely, NBA 2K5 is also listed as having its servers shut down in April. Why does that one last so long, when 2K11 was originally slated for only 13 months?

We’ll close today’s VGQH with a public service announcement. buy Rayman Origins! Why? is it a great game? does it break new ground? Hell if I know. it is getting good ratings from reviewers, mostly in the 7.0-9.5 range and has an 87/100 on Metacritic. but, frankly that’s of secondary importance. Mostly it’s because Tony Key, Sales Executive at Ubisoft, has stated that supporting Michael Ancel by buying this game will enable the creator to better proceed with Beyond good and Evil 2. I realize that’s the corporate mindset, but do you really need to just throw it out to the public like that? Oh well, if that’s the only way to get a sequel to one of the best sleeper hits of the last generation, I guess I’ll be buying my first Rayman game. At least it looks like a good one.

BROOK PARK, Ohio (AP) – a northern Ohio suburb is hosting a LEGO festival this weekend with more than 40 life-size models made of the small plastic bricks, including Batman, Darth Vader and Indiana Jones.

WTAM-AM reports (bit.ly/tbeS0O ) that some of the models take from 15,000 to 20,000 LEGO bricks to make.

Master Builder Chris Steininger tells the radio station that his life-size model of Toy story star Buzz Lightyear took 240 hours to construct.

The event in the Cleveland suburb of Brook Park is meant to encourage creative thinking, engineering and science skills in children.

In addition to the models, the event has group builds, classes for kids and interactive games.

The radio station reports that 25,000 to 30,000 people are expected to attend the festival over the weekend.

Information from: WTAM-AM, wtam.com

Copyright 2011 the associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

It’s Batman: Arkham City day today and by now, most of you know by now that locally, the release has become pretty controversial as the PS3 collector’s editions have been delayed to next week only, leaving some of the biggest fans completely disappointed.

What’s the point of pre-ordering again? Putting down your order and/or money well ahead of time to ensure that, come release day, you will not be disappointed. But… that’s exactly what you’re setting yourself up for because once it goes south, there’s nothing you can do about it.

You sit at home like an emo panda, twiddling your bat-thumbs while all of the common folk of the world simply walk into a store and pick up a copy off of the shelf while you wait, or even worse, are already playing because some store broke the release date again.

The fans, the one’s most excited, are the ones who are left hanging, but not literally.

A while back, Eurogamer ran a report revealing that full-resolution stereoscopic 3D using the HDMI 1.4 standard was coming to the Xbox 360. five months on, Batman: Arkham City is the first shipping game to utilise it.

Previously there has been some confusion as to whether the Xbox 360 hardware is physically capable of carrying the HDMI 1.4 stereoscopic 3D signal. there was some concern that the older HDMI 1.2 standard supported by the Xbox 360 couldn’t be extended in the same way that the HDMI 1.3 controller in the PlayStation 3 was repurposed to support the new standard.

However, the release of Batman: Arkham City confirms that from a hardware perspective, any Xbox 360 with an HDMI port can offer the same level of support as the PlayStation 3. our analysis of the game confirms that the two consoles are both outputting the same 1280×1470 60Hz signal. This comprises of two native 720p images, with 30 lines of blanking information between them.

So how is HDMI 1.4 output possible on older consoles? It turns out that the new standard is rather conservative. a 1280×1470 framebuffer actually requires less bandwidth than native 1080p – and both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have supported that for ages. even 3D Blu-Ray movies only run at with the equivalent bandwidth of 1080p at 48 frames per second – well below the 1920×1200/60Hz max of the interface. So HDMI 1.4 support on an HDMI 1.2 console boils down to making the hardware output a custom resolution and nothing more.

In terms of Arkham City itself, the game uses the same TriOviz technology as Gears of War 3 – though the Epic title was restricted to the half-res side-by-side functionality we’ve seen on other 360 stereo 3D games. Curiously though, while both games seem to be operating at native 720p on both platforms – as we would expect – the Xbox 360 version seems to have a one pixel wide blur across the whole image.

While TriOviz still uses the reprojection technology to extrapolate two images from one main render, the algorithm has advanced significantly since its debut in the GOTY edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum, and has far fewer reprojection artifacts than what we saw in the Enslaved Pigsy’s Perfect ten DLC, which featured an earlier version of the TriOviz tech for 3DTVs. We’ll be talking to the creators of TriOviz in more depth shortly, and discussing the 3D effect in our upcoming Batman: Arkham City Face-Off.

Only the other week I heard that they were putting a new game together for Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe I am an ardent fan of Mortal Kombat and have been playing it for years this is such an awesome idea for a computer game It has been so long since the people at Midway released a new instalment of the Mortal Kombat series but I really think this will truly be amazing.

I was always Scorpion or Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat as they were clearly the best characters and it will be awesome to see how they fair up against the DC universe the front cover alone looks so cool, Batman and Scorpion look terrifying It will be interesting to see how this game will react and play on a next generation console like the Playstation 3 or xbox 360. I bet the graphics and playability will be amazing. I have seen a couple of reviews and have discovered that you can play the game in 2D classic mode and 3D next generation mode. this is what was missing on the latest instalments of the game as I always enjoyed playing the original format so that is something to definitely look forward to.

The only issue I have with the game is the fact that it is hard to believe the cast of Mortal Kombat could actually defeat the mutants of the DC Universe. For example, Superman is suppose to be the strongest mutants in comic history so how would this adapt into a game against someone like Liu Kang who only uses his knowledge of Kung Fu to defeat his opponents?

Warner Brothers has signed a licensing deal with Lego to produce a Lego Batman videogame, according to Variety.

The deal comes after the huge success of the LucasArts Lego Star Wars titles, which feature the characters and settings of the Star Wars universe in Lego form. Lego Star Wars and it’s sequel sold several million units in the United States alone.

[Read the Geeks of Doom review of Lego Star Wars II.]

TT Games, developer of the Lego Star Wars games, will also follow a similar template to create Lego Batman, which Warner Brothers will release on multiple consoles in 2008.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will fully finance and publish the game itself, as well as handle all distribution in North America.

The videogame won’t be Batman’s first Lego appearance. Lego already has a full line of building block sets that feature the caped crusader in his high-profile Bat vehicles chasing down Gotham City’s most feared villains.

If you’re curious about which games your children will be playing this Christmas, the Lego Batman game is still popular. Children love Lego and the fact they can combine their favorite toy with their number one superhero is really a recipe for success. This Lego game comes in numerous editions appropriate for a Nintendo Wii, DS or Playstation so you need to order the right one depending on the console you already have.

So what’s the Batman Lego game all about? regardless of the medium used i.e. Wii, DS or Playstation, the fundamentals are the same. the game is set in Gotham City where Batman and Robin are struggling to return the villains to the asylum. They struggle through the ocean, land and air in various Batmobiles such as the stealthy Batwing. You must build some things and solve a variety of puzzles to unlock special powers and so on. There’s no need to be knowledgeable on the Batman story either. This particular game, unlike Lego Star Wars or Lego Indiana Jones doesn’t keep to the movie script.

Each and every level is required to be played two times, once in story mode and again in free play. In story mode, you’re able to unlock a variety of personas which you then use to play during the free play mode. Once you are in free play you’re able to work out puzzles and release bonuses. It’s also possible to construct vehicles and weaponry to use to fight your foes.

The characters have unique actions and there’s a variety of elements to the game so you and your kids wouldn’t become bored playing. Young kids could have difficulties a little using the techniques although with a little help they will be fine. Many will appreciate that compared with other Wii games you won’t start again if you ever die but merely drop coins.

Whilst we like to believe children love the goodies, it is fair to say that they’ll love being the baddies equally as much or even more. with this video game you are able to play from either side i.e. they might be Batman or Robin or they may choose to be one of the many villains such as Joker, Catwoman or Penguin.

The Lego Batman game can be played either by yourself or with other people for added fun. If you are stuck on a level and just can’t find your way out there are movies online with answers. It is enjoyable trying to work out the puzzles by yourself but often it gets a little frustrating. Obviously if you would like cheat your way through the Lego Batman game you can get plenty of clues to help you do this but that actually spoils the pleasure of this great game.

Traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for major game releases, this fall game makers seem to be focusing on an increasingly loud mantra: quality over quantity.

There will still be plenty for gamers to do in the lengthening nights and colder days, but perhaps not as much to pick from. Here’s a rundown of some of the biggest games to hit from late September to late December.

Fall doesn’t really start until this Friday, but gaming got an early start on the season Monday with the release of Xbox 360 exclusive “Gears of War 3.”

The final chapter in a future shooter trilogy set on a devastated planet, “Gears of War” culminates in a game with plenty of new tweaks and twists including a much meatier multiplayer, the ability to shoot your way through the entire game with three friends, and perhaps the most surprising development, playable female soldiers.

October gives gamers a chance to return to Gotham City as Batman, explore the first completely new creation from the creators of “Doom” in more than a decade and check out a contender to the “call of Duty: Modern Warfare” shooter throne.

Oct. 4 is when gamers get their hands on “Rage,” the first entirely new computer game from the makers of “Doom” and “Quake” in 15 years. In “Rage,” players awaken in a cryo-pod after a world-killing meteorite nearly wipes the planet clean. While still relying heavily on first-person shooter gameplay, “Rage” also features lots of armed driving, a strong role-playing element and fascinating stories to unravel, all in a world created with brand new, breath-taking game technology.

If “Rage” isn’t your cup of post-apocalyptic tea, you might find solace — teeth-gnashing, hair-pulling solace — in “Dark Souls,” the fantasy action follow-up to 2009’s uniquely difficult “Demon’s Souls.” In this sequel of sorts, players will try to survive a dark fantasy setting with spells and medieval weapons.

Oct. 18 brings us a follow-up to one of the best superhero games ever made. “Batman: Arkham City” drops players in the cape and cowl of the dark knight as he explores, fights and investigates in the open world of Arkham City, the slums of Gotham City turned into a walled prison. Batman’s free-form fighting, wonderful toys and menagerie of enemies can’t help but come together to deliver a memorable experience.

“Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One” also hits Oct. 18, the PS3 exclusive has players teaming up with up to three other buddies to play though the wacky weapons world of Ratchet and his robot sidekick Clank.

The month wraps up with Electronic Arts’ most recent attempt to topple “call of Duty” from the top of the first-person shooter throne. “Battlefield 3” hits on Oct. 25 delivering an impressively gritty look at war in the near future’s Middle East. The game’s over-the-top graphics and amazingly realistic audio have been wowing fans of the genre for the months leading up to this launch. The game’s single player campaign is augmented by a chunky multiplayer experience meant to compete toe-to-toe with “call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3,” due out just two weeks later.

November kicks off with the release of Playstation 3 exclusive “Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception,” sequel to what many considered to be the best game released in 2009. In this action adventure sequel, Nathan Drake, video games’ own Indiana Jones, and mentor Victor Sullivan find themselves pulled into a global conspiracy while on the hunt for 16th century treasure. as with its predecessors, the game promises to deliver one of gaming’s best stories backed by fun gameplay and evolving multiplayer.

Another early November game to look forward to is “LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7.” despite the clunky name, this latest title promises to deliver one of the best LEGO video game experiences to date as it wraps up the Harry Potter storyline with impressive graphics and an always tongue-in-cheek take on the plot.

Nov. 8 delivers “call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” to gamers. Last year’s “call of Duty” broke all of the records in terms of game sales. While this year’s launch comes up against some direct and indirect competition, it’s still likely to be another record breaker. This year’s “call of Duty” has a globe-hopping single player campaign and a continued evolution of the already massively popular multiplayer play.

Just three days later players will get a chance to sink into the enormous, immersive world of “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.” The role-playing sequel from Bethesda Game Studios takes place two hundred years after the events of the last “Elder Scrolls.” In it, players will have to take on a god Dragon as they explore a vast world on foot or horseback, learn magic, fight, join factions, complete quests and get lost in the sheer volume of things a player can do in the game.

On Nov. 13 the relatively publisher-neglected 3DS gets a much needed major release in “Super Mario 3D Land.” Nintendo’s Mario returns to a land of princess saving, coin collecting and head stomping, as he jumps his way though a 3-D world that is this time, thanks to the 3DS, viewable in true 3-D. This is shaping up to be a reason to buy the portable.

Two days later, “Saints Row the Third” takes its already zany world of street gangs and senseless violence a step further with a game that sees the titular gang turned into superstars bent on not just crime-sprees, but autographs and thrill seeking.

The major release of the day, though, is “Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.” The latest in the popular free-running game that lets you play as an acrobatic assassin in various moments in history, wraps up the tale of Italian killer Ezio. The game will also have you playing as game mainstays Altair and Desmond. This time around the game takes place in 16th century Constantine. The game will also feature expanded multiplayer.

Nov. 20 brings a reason for Wii gamers to get very excited. “The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword” has been in the works since 2008 and the team behind is known to make massive hits. In this latest Zelda game, players will use the Wii remote to wield the game’s Skyward Sword and shoot a slingshot and bow. The game’s story revolves around a sky world and its separation from the lands below.

While no firm date has been set, indie darling “Minecraft” is meant to officially release in November. The computer game, built by a small team in Sweden, entices players to dig and build in a pixilated world during the day and survive the nights of creepers, spiders and zombies. (You can also play in a threat-free “creative” version of the game.)

Nintendo fans get another treat on Dec. 4 with the release of the seventh “Mario Kart,” this one for the 3DS. This time around players can take to the skies, or go underwater, as they race around Nintendo-themed tracks and toss turtle shells. The game also includes a first-person driving mode that has players moving the 3DS to steer.

Other games I didn’t touch on coming out this fall include a slew of annualized sports titles, destined to be massive hits. that includes “Forza 4,” “FIFA 12” and “NBA 2K12.” there are also a number of HD remakes hitting this fall including ones for “Metal Gear Solid” titles, the original “Halo,” “Shadow of the Colossus” and “Ico.”

It’s going to be, if not a busy fall, a fun one.

———

Brian Crecente is managing editor of Kotaku.com, a video-game website owned by Gawker Media. Join in the discussion at kotaku.com/tag/well-played.

Its commonplace now to see the latest big blockbuster film get a video game tie-in, but its a practice that seems to have been around forever. Long before we were cringing at the thought of yet another lacklustre piece of digital merchandising, we were having our childhood scarred in 8 and 16 bit formats, and even then Nintendo and Sega were making enough cash off of the sales to fill a swimming pool up to the brim.

But every now and then, despite their best efforts, publishers would let slip a movie based game that was actually fun to play, had something going for it, and made great use of its source material. Here’s a look at five such games.

Batman Forever

The Dark Knight may be getting ready to shine his brand of fist-flavoured justice in November, but before then, he was cranking out all manner of games that encompassed his darker,grittier films, as well as his award-winning animated series.

Batman forever, was clearly the result of a one night stand between the Mortal Kombat franchise and a prostitute with a bat-fetish. the end result was a bastard child with moves and combat inspired by the bloody brawler, sans the blood, and allowed for players to take on the worst that Gotham city had to offer, in either solo or co-op mode, while dispensing justice with a variety of gadgets and familiar combat moves.

Besides the fact that Batman forever had a terrible control scheme that it never bothered to mention to its owners, it was still a unique and addictive take on the myths, and it stands tall as one of the more odd moments in Batman history.

Stargate

Back when Kurt Russell was still one of the go to guys for action films, along came this gem of a movie. And with it, the inevitable tie-in. Hard as nails, frustrating and strange were just some of the words used to describe this game, but look past that, and you’d find a deep side-scroller action game that required some tactical thinking in order to survive.

The visuals were realistic,the environments captured the spirit of the film perfectly, and the local threats were varied and required some quick thinking to get past, while hidden stages and caves kept the title going for many an hour.

Add in some options as aerial dogfights and upgradeable weapons, and you had a game that was ahead of its time, while also sporting the official Kurt Russell seal of approval.

Robocop 2

Chances are, if you grew up with a Golden China TV game console, then you most likely played this game. another side-scrolling platformer, like 90% of the games released in that time period, Robocop was about more than just violently murdering traffic offenders and jaywalkers.

This was an anti-drug game, and it was up to players to get the titanium plated still body of Robocop into those hard to reach areas, so that he could destroy the canisters. Fail to destroy a certain percentage of the vile drug containers, and the game shipped your shiny metal ass back to the Police Academy for some target practice on the range.

While not the greatest game to ever be based on a movie franchise, Robocop 2 will still be remembered for its polished gameplay and adherence to its source material, and the bloody fights that would break out whenever it was someone else’s turn to play.

Demolition Man

It wouldn’t be a proper list of action film games if Sly Stallone wasn’t included. While the character of John Spartan may have had the catchphrase of “send a maniac to catch a maniac”, the game developers obviously had one of their own, namely “use some maniacs to design a maniac game”.

Demolition was a run and gun game, but a title that had obviously had some crystal crack sprinkled on its processors. the action was ridiculously fast, and players would easily find themselves racing to the end of a stage in no time flat, while certain action sequences had to tackle certain top down sequnces that upped the gunplay ante to ludicrous heights.

Having ditched most of the comedic elements from the film, a few dry quotes and in-game references managed to survive intact, while new scenes were added for the game that made full use of the futuristic content that had inspired it.

Terminator 2: the Arcade Game

There were very few first person games back in the nineties, but among them, the arcade version for Terminator 2 was a shining example of what the genre could accomplish. An on-rails shooter, players were thrown neck deep into the war between mankind and the robotic legions of Skynet, working to fight through and protect the remnants of humanity.

The visuals were amazing for its time, no matter which platform you were playing it on, and featured destructible environments, hidden power-ups, a variety of enemies and enough hectic gameplay to awaken a coma patient, making this the only game to ever be rated “R” for “Righteous”, true story.

Do you remember a game from this time period that captured the above spirit, and was left out? let us know below in the comments which game made your childhood.