It’s been teased on and off but it’s always great when you finally get confirmation of something. Warner Bros. Interactive has announced Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes. In addition to Robin, Superman and Batman we’ll also get Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. Unforgettably, there’s no word yet about the inclusion of Flash or The Martian Man-Hunter.

The miniature guardians of Earth with painted-on expressions and 300-style abs will be teaming up to stop Lex Luthor and Joker from doing decidedly evil things to Gotham City.

The game will focus on the same co-op build & destroy gameplay that has characterised the series and made it so popular. The inclusion of all these characters could lend itself to a pretty interesting multiplayer component which developer Travelers’ Tales hasn’t implemented in any of their previous Lego games.

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes will be coming to PS3, PC, Xbox 360, DS, Wii, 3DS and PS Vita this winter which coincides with, you guessed it, the release of The Dark Knight Rises.

This reeks of a movie cash-in but I have faith in Travelers’ Tales although I’ve never been a fan of mixing Batman with the Justice League. It should still be good fun irrespective.

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything from Spider-Man: Edge of Time, which is strange considering it releases in about 3 weeks in the US. Nonetheless, the latest news is that the new Ultimate Spider-Man will be a playable skin in Edge of Time.

If you haven’t heard by now, the Ultimate universe killed off Peter Parker but it’s not the real Peter Parker because he’s still going in the Amazing universe with his do-overs and deals with the devils. So, Parker’s replacement (but not the real Parker) was revealed to be a half Black/half Hispanic kid named Miles Morales. You see what they did there with the last name? He’s not just a Black Spider-Man because we already technically have that. And he’s certainly not just a Hispanic Spider-Man because well then he’d be plain lazy and useless we already have that too. In fact he’s one of the main characters of Edge of Time.

Players won’t actually play as Morales because people are only now finding out who he really is after the release of Ultimate Comics All-New Spider-Man #01 yesterday. Instead, you’ll just get to swing around in his duds which is rather ironic when you consider that Morales is first seen fighting crime in an imitation of Parker’s Spidey outfit and told it’s in bad taste.

Anyway, the suit’s pretty cool although the black just seems to be in bad taste when you consider ethnicity of the guy underneath. Why couldn’t they have made it white or something?

There’s been some speculation as to what exactly the Wii U exclusive Assassin’s Creed game will be about and when it will be set with some believing that it could be an exclusive version of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Revelations designed to optimise the new Nintendo’s features and controls.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was quick to shoot that theory down in an interview with Swedish publication AftonBladet. When asked if Revelations was the AC title announced for Wii U

, Guillemot responded: “No, not “Revelations.” For the future.”

Thus it must be concluded that while Ezio’s journey may end with revelations, the Wii U title could be an inbetweener which may follow newly recruited assassin’s as they work to become master assassins. Or something else entirely.

The road ends for Ezio with Revelations on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in November while the Wii U game has yet to receive a release date.

Ubisoft UK brand manager Matt Benson told OXM that previous entries in the Ghost Recon franchise were a “bit too demanding, and a bit too dry”, and that upcoming Future Soldier will change things around somewhat.

Benson deliberately distanced Ubisoft’s next Ghost Recon from Activision Call of Duty and EA’s Battlefield, but suggested that Ghost Recon had previously been too “dry”, and that with Future Soldier it has learnt to be more “intuitive and fun”.

“I still play Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, it’s still a great online experience with your mates, and we still want that to translate through to Future Soldier. The team have worked really hard to balance that out,” said Benson.

“We’re not competing directly with Call of Duty and Battlefield, we’re not. Let’s let those guys duke it out this side of Christmas. For me, post-Christmas, Future Soldier is the kind of game that changes the tempo slightly. It’s not a twitch shooter,” he added.

“That’s probably why the various 11 and 12 year olds who play Call of Duty are so good at it, because they have lightning-fast reflexes an old git like me doesn’t have. Whereas Future Soldier is all about teamwork, and building innovations on the battlefield, like the suppression system.

“It’s finding the balance between demanding war simulation and Hollywood movie blockbuster,” Benson went on. “I’ve seen the Modern Warfare 3 trailer – it has Michael Bay written all over it, it’s great. Huge, cinematic… but with all respect to them, I’d play Call of Duty anyway. We all do! For some people Ghost Recon was just that bit too demanding, and a bit too dry.”

Personally, I hope this means the game won’t be dumped down on a tactical level to make room for more repetitive shoot outs.

Either way, you’ll all get to give it a try when the beta launches in January of 2012, with the full game due to arrive soon after in February on PC, PS3, Xbox360, Wii, DS and PSP.

Switch out a few letters, squint slightly and a new game called Unearthed looks very much like a well-known PS3-exclusive that may or may not be pretty much exactly the same in every way.

Yep, after a year of God of War clone’s/copycats in 2010, we have an Uncharted clone that really doesn’t seem to be hiding it’s source of inspiration whatsoever.

Unearthed: the Trail of Ibn Battuta is being developed by Saudi studio Semaphore for Xbox 360. The game was known to be in development for iOS, Android and PSN but has now been listed for XBLA as well as WiiWare.

Get ready for some ‘strong comparisons’ because I’m about to talk details here. Unearthed follows the story of ‘fortune hunter’ Faris Jawad ( a heroic name if ever I heard one) where he receives a call to journey to Morocco and traces the footsteps of famed Muslim explorer Ibn Battuta.

If you don’t know who Ibn Battuta was, just know that he was a bigger explorer than his contemporary comparison, Marco Polo. Is that another similarity?

The game differs from its inspiration in that it will be made in TV-style ‘episodes’ available in both Arabic and English, everything else is pretty much the same.

According to Semaphore, Jawad will have to “overcome an unholy alliance of a militia army leader, a weapons dealer and a wealthy antiquities smuggler who are after the same goal”.

Is this ringing any bells? Give the teaser and gameplay trailers a gander, see if it jogs your memory. Still not convinced? Pop on over to the latest trailer for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception and feel that eery sense of déja vu.

EA stepped up at their conference to talk about and showcase FIFA 12 and some of its new and exciting features. The game is being  labelled as the “most authentic FIFA ever”, and it’s looking pretty exciting.

To begin with we were shown the first part of a new trinity of gameplay features, namely the  “Tactical Defending” system, which is designed to make defending as skillful and meaningful as it is in the real world. Timing and tactics are key and positioning is now as important as the actual act of tackling.

This system goes hand in hand with the new “Precision Dribbling”, allowing players to “maintain control of the ball in close quarters”, and giving players a greater control of the ball and pace of the game, opening up new attacking possibilities.

However, the biggest gameplay innovation according to EA is the final part of the trinity, specifically their new “Player Impact Engine”, which has been in development for more than two years and allows the delivering of real world physicality to all interactions on the pitch. Players now take “dramatic falls, suffer true injuries, and maintain momentum to fight through tackles and challenges, and push and pull one another as they fight for the ball.”

A new social interaction system was also unveiled for FIFA 12, namely the EA Sports Football Club, which is about four big things and will be the heartbeat of FIFA. The first is a “Live Service”, which will be fresh and new all the time, and updated all year long, connecting players to the real world of football. Throughout the year the developers will be injecting challenges and story-lines that are taken right from the pitch’s biggest matches.

It will be a social service at its core, allowing fans to “Connect and Compete” with players around the world and allow players to have a deeper connection with their beloved clubs, creating “Persistence and Presence” across platforms. The system will be available at FIFA 12′s launch at no additional cost, and will connect you to your friends and show progression for all FIFA experiences in the future.

EA Sports Football Club works in that you choose your favourite team and are then instantly connected with millions of players around the world. Everything you do in the game will add to your experience points and level progression, and you will get to compete with your friends and track their progress via online leaderboards.

You’ll be able to take on challenges based on real world occurrences and match happenings. It was demonstrated by the EA spokesman, who chose Tottenham Hotspur as his club, that he could choose the challenge to change the result of Man City VS Tottenham which happened back on May 10, where Tottenham lost 1-0. By taking on this challenge and winning the match, he’d earn redemption and progress in his leaderboard. Furthermore, he’d be working together with other Spurs fans to push the team to the top of the virtual leaderboards through their triumphs.

Through the system you’ll be able to share your achievements and accomplishments and news, and keep track of friends and everything football.

That wrapped up FIFA 12′s demonstration, and more announcements, information and innovations will come throughout E3 and the year.

Konami has officially announced the next step in their popular Pro Evolution Soccer franchise, PES 2012.

As per usual, PES 2012 will release this Spring for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, PSP and PS2 with key improvements including a focus on “the instinctive way the game can be played and on teamwork in particular”.

The AI engine has apparently “undergone a major overhaul” which is welcome news since PES 2011 suffered from having not only ridiculously inhuman AI but at the same time AI that was as sluggish and dull as bread. PES 212 also promises an experience “akin to being part of a real team” which should be nice considering that although the current game plays well, it suffers the Japanese curse of being very good but feeling very mechanical and not really very exciting.

Below is the meat of the official press release from Konami or you can skip it and watch the trailer  which features an interview with PES 2012′s Creative Producer, Shingo ”Seabass” Takatsuka and tells you pretty much everything the press release says.

“For me, the ultimate aim in the ongoing PES series is to match what people see when they go to a match or watch a big game on TV with what they experience on their console,” explains Shingo ‘Seabass’ Takatsuka, the Creative Producer of the Pro Evolution Soccer series. “As such, in consultation with football fans across the globe, we have been working non-stop to isolate and determine how to make our game marry in with how real football is played. This is key to PES 2012, and key to providing the ultimate football experience within a console title.”

To this end, PES 2012 continues KONAMI’s determination to work with fans of both the PES series and football in general, to create a truly realistic, immersive and utterly playable take on the modern game. Thus, the focus in PES 2012 is the instinctive way the game can be played and on teamwork in particular. Seabass and his Tokyo team have worked to recreate the very essence of top-level football, ensuring the new game’s AI engine has undergone a major overhaul and provide an experience akin to being part of a real team.

Attacking play is a cornerstone of PES 2012, and the new game benefits from a more open approach that allows users to dictate the pace of movement, with all-new AI elements incorporated so team mates make runs and offer support in one-on-one situations. Players make useful dummy runs to draw defenders, and this offers users greater options to move the ball around when they are being closed down. Thus, the team works together a more cohesive unit, reacting to the movements of the player with the ball, and working to force the opposing team into mistakes.

Zonal marking and positional defending are also massively enhanced; ensuring players are forced to work harder to split the opposition defence. Meanwhile a new cursor switching system has been implemented using the right analogue stick to switch to any player on the field. This allows users to pick a team mate anywhere on the pitch, thereby allowing players to react to threats faster, and to shut down attacks more quickly. Hold up play is being tweaked to give even greater control. AI defenders are able to hold a much tighter defensive line, position themselves better and track opponents more efficiently. The off-the-ball switching also extends to key set pieces, such as goal kicks, corners, free kicks and throw-ins, and allows users to target a specific player and send them on runs or to drag defenders out of position, and allows for quick breaks and space to be exploited more easily.

“Team work is what separates the world’s greatest teams from their peers, and is the hub of everything within PES 2012,” added Takatsuka. “PES 2012 focuses on the core elements of top-level football: attacking play, freedom of movement, the creation of space, and working together as a unit both up field and in defence. These elements combine to create a game that flows and ebbs like a real match, with individual shows of brilliance changing a game, and more control over every aspect of play within a wide-ranging yet instinctive control system. PES 2012 will turn the heads of fans everywhere.”

EA claims that its newly announced Need for Speed: The Run will offer “an edgier experience” than its predecessors. While that has yet to be seen, what is clear is that the game will amazing. Why? Because it will be using DICE’s (frickin’ awesome) Frostbite 2 Engine which is currently being used for Battlefield 3 and looks incredible even though the game is hardly in beta phase yet.

It is however, a street racing game (pause for huge groan) and if anything street racing is getting a bit long in the tooth although NFS: Hot Pursuit and Burnout Paradise from a few years ago are actually pretty good fun. According to EA, On The Run will have players “weave through dense urban centers, rocket down icy mountain passes and navigate narrow canyons at breakneck speeds, all the while evading a relentless police force prepared – and willing – to use lethal force to take you down”.

EA Games Label director Frank Gibeau said of the game, “Our second blockbuster in Need for Speed The Run was announced last week with a trailer that revealed another spectacular game in this globally recognised franchise.
Developed by the Black Box team in Vancouver and built on a proprietary game engine, Frostbite 2, Need for Speed The Run offers an edgier experience that takes players on an action-packed high-stakes race from San Francisco to New York.”

Watch the aforementioned debut trailer below:

Need for Speed: The Run has been earmarked for a November 2011 release on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, 3DS and Wii. I don’t know about you but I have mixed feelings about this game, sure it’ll look ridiculously insane but will it be any good to play with Black Box, who usually do NFS and had no involvement in Hot Pursuit, at the helm?

EA Sports’ Madden series has a huge following, something I will, for the life of me, never understand.

The latest in the series, the upcoming Madden NFL 12, has got fans all giddy in anticipation, and what better to add to that hype than a fresh, new gameplay trailer. One with actual gameplay in it, this time, not more of that random cutscene stuff that nobody cares about.

Madden NFL 12 itself has had a dark moment or two, what with the upcoming NFL season threatened by strike action and the developer’s choice of putting onto the cover, a relatively unknown player, something that has confounded most internet users.

Not that it will matter much once the game releases on only every platform that isn’t a PC, ie. the PSP, PS2, PS3, Wii, 3DS and Xbox360.

While I may not be a fan of the series, it is my job to bring excitement and bliss to those who are. So enjoy the trailer…

This was a triumph! I’m making a note here, huge success…

Valve’s brand-shiny-new puzzly-based adventure Portal 2 has entered the UK Top 40 in top spot. As if that was ever in any doubt, once the game dropped. Aperture Science, they do what they must, because they can.

Mortal Kombat’s fatally grand and gory reboot was beaten into second, with the week’s other big new entry, Operation Flashpoint: Red River, coming it at a decent sixth.

Sony’s shooter (which has so many fanboys that I ever knew existed) SOCOM Special Forces was left well out of anything even remotely close to the top, ending up at a very meagre 28th place. Not even making the top 40, High Voltage’s Wii-exclusive FPS ended up at 26th on the Wii-specific chart, even further emphasizing the lack of care that housewives have, for anything that isn’t Wii Fit.

Zumba Fitness, twice a chart-topper, dropped down to fourth place as Call of Duty: Black Ops exploded (what, bad pun?) back up to third.

Pokemon Black seems to be edging out Pokemon White, having dropped down to eleventh and twelfth, respectively. And Dragon Age II aka my favourite game in the history of ever, is in at seventeenth, slowly and steadily rising to power.

Shift II: Unleashed seems to have taken it down a gear (loving these) dropping from tenth to nineteenth, with Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood succumbing to Borgia influence at twenty, down from fourteen.

LEGO Star Wars broke down a little, into fifth, with FIFA 11 and Crysis 2 filling out seventh and eighth, respectively. Maximum mediocrity…

The previously mentioned housewives’ favourite’s latest entry, Wii Fit Plus, stretched its way back up the charts and into ninth position, courtesy the massive new marketing campaign that Nintendo have undergone, some seventy eight weeks after its release.

THQ’s Homefront finishes up the top ten, battling off the horde of new releases and invading KPA.

Cake, for everyone!

Remember when Sonic the Hedgehog was the epochal archetype for all things “cool” and “awesome” and “fast and blue and stuff” in the gaming world?

Fast forward a bit and the advent of 3D gaming has all but ruined his image, but that might well be set to change with the coming “Lord Of The Rings: The Blue Hedgehog” “Sonic 20th Anniversary”. Or not. You know. Either or.

Today saw the release of a new trailer for the upcoming retro title that subscribes to the “If you can’t innovate, duplicate!” ethos, and as such shows our old favourite running through your typical Sonic level from the first game, showing all of the typical Sonic gameplay that you remember. Except it looks prettier. And probably plays smoother. We can hope.

Will it be enough to redeem the series from the fires of Mount Doom? Time will tell…

That’s not much of a shocker really, but the interesting part is whether both handhelds will be out and swinging by the time FIFA 12 is actually released.

Either way, the story here is that, if you can trust the Linkedin profile of an EA employee, then FIFA 12 may just be coming to Sony’s NGP and Nintendo’s 3DS in addition to all its other platforms.

EA software engineer José Galera Pérez recently posted in his Linkedin profile, under the experience section, that he is right now working on “FIFA12 (X360, PS3, PS2, PSP, PSP2, PC, Wii, NDS, N3DS), European and Asian SKU.”

There you have it.

Oh, and seeing as how EA Sports recently announced that they will be revealing FIFA 12 next month, we’ll just have to wait until then to see what’s cracking with the NGP and 3DS.

Beenox has outed the official debut teaser trailer for the newly announced Spider-Man: Edge of Time, as well as a bunch of new screenshots for the game.

For more information on the game, be sure to read up on the game announcement and first details as well as the recent developer story explanation.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time will be released in Q3 or Q4 of this year on PC, PS3, Xbox360, Wii, DS and 3Ds.

Check out the screens below and the teaser trailer above.

The FIFA Ultimate Team 11 DLC for FIFA 11 is now available for download. Anybody who has the 09 or 10 version of EA’s DLC trading game will receive 2 free gold packs.

The Ultimate Team game now features full auctioning functionality with bidding, selling and the all-new ability to post trades.

FIFA Ultimate Team 11 is out now on XBL and PSN and is going for the very reasonable price of R0.00.

Adam Creighton, producer of Epic Mickey at Junction Point Studios, has revealed that the game will feature multiple endings based on how you play it.

I must confess that Mickey Mouse has always freaked me out, and I’m firm in my belief that maybe one of those endings will be that a demon from hell takes over the world, leaving Mickey ripped in half, spewing his guts all over the floor.

Enough of my disturbed imagination then.

Creighton, speaking in a reader Q&A recently published by IGN, says that your decisions in the game will play a role in determining the ending you’ll get.

“As you play through Disney Epic Mickey, what you do affects you and the game world, and changes how the game plays out.

“This includes what Guardians you attract, how many, which quests you can finish (and which you can’t), and how you finish the quests you do choose to take on. Some of your actions will affect who is in a particular part of the world, and how they treat you, including whether they choose to even give you quests.

“And yes,” he said, “things you do affect the overall game, including its ending – and I will say there are “bunches and bunches” of variations on the ending, depending on the choices you make.”

Epic Mickey will release exclusively on the Nintendo Wii on November 25, 2010 in Europe and South Africa and on November 30 in North America.

Title: Tony Hawk Shred
Developer: Robomodo
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Extreme Sports
Platform: XBox360, PS3 And Wii
Expected Price: R820
Release Date: 26 October 2010 – 29 October 2010

Shred is Activision’s new installment to the Tony Hawk series, a game which takes skateboarding to a whole new level. For the asking price of about R820, Shred will come bundled with a skateboard/snowboard-looking motion sensing controller. The addition of the board allows for a more sensational feel to the usual arcade game.

Tony Hawk Shred offers a variety of new features, and this includes the option to play as a world famous skateboarder, a pro snowboarder or build up your own Career. While Activision has promised us a newer, wider selection of tricks, some argue that they have taken the realism out of the game by adding tricks and flips that are humanly impossible.

Another feature in Shred allows you to import your Wii Miis and Xbox360 Avatars into the Wii and Xbox 360 versions, so it really looks like you’re grinding the rails and shredding up the street.

Josh Tsui, head of Robomodo, has said that this game is all about “Big Air, Big Tricks and Big Landings”. Therefore, instead of skating in normal streets you will now be able to skate the roof tops of Morocco, and many more areas, where you can preform death-defying tricks, grinds and jumps.

For the Snowboard-side of things, you will be put up against the harsh frozen tundra of the Whistler Mountain in Vancouver, and the French Alps.

Some Of The Skateboard Pro’s Included:

• Tony Hawk
• Stevie Williams
• Lyn Z Adams Hawkins
• Chaz Ortiz

Some Of The Snowboard Pro’s Include:

• Torah Bright
• Travis Rice
• Louie Vito

Many more names for both skate and snow will be included.

These are only a few of Characters to play with, and we’ve mentioned them because they are most notable.

There’s a whole lot of content available over at the official site.

Ed note: From what I remember when playing the game with the board, it was really sensitive and easy to use. All you really needed to do was move your feet like a spaz and tricks would magically appear. We were, however, forced to play without shoes so it became slightly slippery. Here’s a video below to show you some of the tricks you can do with the board; it’s pretty easy and fun to play. Not too sure of the settings for the game we tested, however there’s a good chance it was on super easy.

Treyarch has stated with pride that upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops will be a “true PC title” – and it also said that it “never wavered” over the decision to include dedicated server support for the game.

It was a massively controversial and heated affair last year between PC gamers and Infinity Ward when the decision was made to give the boot to dedicated servers.

However, the noble and heroic [that's sarcasm] Treyarch told PC Gamer magazine that, because they hold the PC platform in such high regard,  the thought never entered its minds.

“We never went away from dedicated servers,” said Treyarch head of PC development Cesar Stastny. “We had dedicated servers in our last title, we had planned on dedicated servers for our subsequent title all along, so we haven’t actually wavered on that at all.

“We are a PC developer. I’ve been running a dedicated PC team since the beginning of this project. We had one last project. We are making a true PC title here and I think it’s a really important platform for our studio, and I’m also really thrilled that we can support the PC community as much as we can.”

I’m just a little bitter over the fact that South Africa won’t be getting dedicated servers with ease, and if we want it we’ll have to fight for it together, but that isn’t guaranteed. Perhaps something will work out in the end.

Elsewhere, Stastny confirmed once again that mod tools would be made available for Black Ops after it’s released, but Treyarch aren’t able to supply an exact release date for it just yet.

Call of Duty: Black Ops will be out on November 9, 2010 on PC, PS3, Xbox360 and Wii.

The first gameplay footage and screenshots for Sega and Next Level Games’ Captain America: Super Soldier have been released.

The game is based on the upcoming film Captain America: The First Avenger, and it will be a third person action game.

I’m game for another good super hero game, but it being a movie tie-in instantly gets me doubting.

Judging by the trailer and screenshots, the graphics look underpar and the combat reminds one of Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Either way, check out the gameplay trailer and screenshots below.

Captain America: Super Soldier will be released on PlayStation 3, Xbox360, Wii, DS and PSP in July 2011.

According to massive publisher EA, the newly released FIFA 11 has been recorded as the biggest opening week for a sports game in history.

From internal estimates, it was discovered that between September 28 and October 2, FIFA 11 sold over 2.6 million copies and generated $150 million – in excess – at retail.

The sell-through* rate is estimated to be up by 29 percent compared to FIFA 10′s launch. The game is currently enjoying a series best start in markets all over the world, including UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and North America.

Furthermore, it was reported that the busiest two-day period in EA Sports history for online gaming was the first two days after FIFA 11 released in Europe (October 1-2) and, to throw some figures your way, fans have registered over 18.6 million online sessions in total, with more than 11.3 million of those coming from FIFA 11.

“We’re thrilled at how fans embraced FIFA 11 last weekend, and we are excited to be able to offer one of our most popular game modes – FIFA 11 Ultimate Team – for free this November,” said EA Sports president Peter Moore.

“This is a landmark achievement for EA Sports – we’ve shattered sales records at retail, critics are praising FIFA 11 as being one of the most authentic and innovative titles ever, and fans are connecting and competing with other gamers around the world and have logged a record number of online connected game sessions.”

*Sell-Through: Basically, with regards to publishing, this refers to a percentage of units shipped that end up actually getting sold.

Sega has announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will be released in North America on October 12, 2010, and in Europe on October 13, just one day later.

The game will arrive on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live and WiiWare. Sonic 4 will cost 1500 Wii Points on WiiWare, 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Arcade, and $14.99 (roughly R105.22) on PlayStation Network.

Sega previously announced a delay for Sonic 4 so that they would have more development time.

Details on the iPhone version’s pricing are due later this week.

FIFA 11 is expected to be mind-blowingly astounding simply because of the pedigree that the series has garnered of late and if early reviews are anything to go by, EA has certainly delivered.

The game scored 95% from IGN UK which praised its refinement and polish. A 9.7 from CVG, 94% from GameMaster which called it “the best football game ever,” and saying that it’s “got the looks, the sounds, the depth and plays like a dream”. OPM gave it a perfect 10, calling it “footballing perfection” with “very few flaws.”

Check out the eGamer review of FIFA 11 which will be up next week.

PES 2010 was great but felt distractingly mechanical and stilted compared to FIFA 10. Those problems seem to have been addressed with PES 2011 which promises a far more involved, fluid and realistic and beautiful experience.

Here’s a list of the major changes that you can expect to see in PES 2011 over its predecessor. The contender from the East is certainly going to take the fight to FIFA 11 by the looks of things.

Total Control: PES Productions has enhanced the 360-degree passing ratio, offering unprecedented levels of control over every pass, shot, throw-in, through ball and lofted through balls. Users can pass the ball into space, and move their play with total freedom. Players must precisely weight their passes and second-guess the runs of their team-mates and exploit their movement. Players even can apply pressure on opponents to force them off the ball.

Shot & Stamina Gauge: In addition to the generic power gauge, the Shot & Stamina meter details the player’s exact level of fitness. Constantly sprinting will have an adverse affect on performance and statistics.

New Defender AI: Defenders now hold their positions naturally, instead of chasing balls that enter their area and work to close down the attacker to force mistakes.

Animation and Player Physics: PES Productions has totally reworked every element of in-game animation. These additions will become clear before even kick-off, with the players enjoying fluid, natural movements, with more realistic acceleration and inertia than ever before. The physicality between players is also improved, which was a priority requested in PES forums. Jostling and blocking now looks stunning, while there is a larger variety of convincing tackling styles. Ambient animation also adds immensely to the in-game atmosphere, as players behave realistically when off the ball, and walk and run with a variety of individual styles.

Speed of Play: The new level of control means that PES 2011 enjoys a more varied pace of play, which depends on the situation at hand. The game will burst into life as counter-attacks come into play, but players can dictate the pace via slow build up or exploiting available space to surge forward. It is harder to make long runs from midfield, and successful play will depend on making quick passes to create space.

Aesthetics: PES 2010 showcased the best likenesses in a football game, and PES 2011 ups the ante further. Facial animation has been enhanced, but the key advances are over 1000 all-new animations which have been recreated from the ground up using over 100 hours of motion captured footage yielding more organic runs, turns, throw-ins, tackles, and interaction.

Tactical and Strategy: The PES Productions team has implemented an all new ‘Drag and Drop’ mechanism that can be used in every aspect of team management. These settings are also animated to promote better understanding of the plays that have been altered.

Feint settings: PES has always offered a wide range of subtle skills, feints and turns, but PES 2011 allows users to map their favourite move sequences to the right stick, making them more accessible than ever before.

Master League Online: PES 2011 will mark the online debut for its much-loved Master League element, with players bidding against each other for the world’s best players, and attempting to build a squad that can compete with the best against online peers all over the globe.

Those of you who have watched X-Men Origins: Wolverine will have a decent idea of who Deadpool is and what he is capable of. For those who don’t, listen up.

Deadpool, also known as Wade Wilson, is a mercenary and essentially supposed to be the perfect soldier with the healing abilities of Wolverine, crazy strength and a cartoonish perosna. He is famed for his wisecracks and wit as well as an ardent hate for mutants.

He will be one of the 13 bosses in Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions and will be waiting for you at the end of a very special level in the Ultimate Universe. The level takes place on an oil rig that has been converted into the set of a reality TV game show with obstacles and Deadpool taunting Spidey over loudspeakers. This is supposed to create what the developers call “witty banter” between the two which is supposed to be more than the usual slew of corny one-liners that get thrown around.

“One of the most entertaining aspects of Spider-Man is his sense of humor. In asking ourselves what we could do to really bring out this key characteristic, we came up with the idea of recruiting Deadpool as one of the villains. This allowed us to create witty banter that went both ways, rather than always coming only from Spider-Man.

“We wanted the setting for the level to play into this as well, so to make sure Deadpool’s personality was always in the spotlight we made the entire level a reality TV game show. It takes place on an oil rig that has been converted into a deadly obstacle course covered with TV screens and loudspeakers that Deadpool uses to constantly taunt Spidey. By the end of the level, Spider-Man has really learned why he’s called ‘The Merc with a Mouth!’”

Unfortunately, the Merc with a Mouth 9as he is also known) will be voiced by none other than everybody’s most heard but least-loved voice actor, Nolan North. There seriously is no game that he can keep is lips off of ( I meant for that to sound that way) and while he may be a good choice with his experience as Nathan Drake from Uncharted, that literally is the only role he can fill. That of the smug white guy. He doesn’t fit in anywhere else.

[Source: IGN]

Short and sweet: THQ has confirmed that Smackdown Vs. Raw 2011 will be released in the UK and Europe on October 29, 2010. The game should arrive in South Africa at the same time. It will be on PS3, Xbox360, Wii, PS2 and PSP.

Konami has turned up the heat in announcing that Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 will be releasing on 30 September 2010 in the UK and Europe, only one day before its grueling rival FIFA 11 is due.

Konami certainly seem very confident about their next entry in the PES series. When it arrives, it will be on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox360, Wii, PSP and PS2. Except the game to be in South Africa the same day the UK and Europe get it.

LucasArts has stepped up to confirm that the PSP version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II has been cancelled.

Apparently, the studio spoke briefly with IGN and revealed this news, but didn’t give any further commentary on the matter. The Force Unleashed II is still on track for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox360, Nintendo DS and Wii.

It’s due to release in October of this year.

The month of July wasn’t an overly busy one, in terms of quantity, but we did see some really interesting games being released, and, of course, the monster that is Starcraft II. It’s now August and, well, it seems we’re in for a really quiet month this time. Still, you know what to do, check out the list of games for August, with the special discount prices included!

Remember the game discounts? Well, they’re still in full effect! For those who don’t know, we’ve setup discounts on various games where if you come to our site and click the supplied links in our game list (by the “Prices” section of the game’s page) you’ll receive a special price. This will only be available if you come through our site.

If you do not see the discount first time round, close your browser and come back to this article. Click on the link again and it should appear. You’ll also gain access to eGamer discounts if you click the “eDreams” picture on the right sidebar.

Note: The games listed here are not all games being released in August, but rather the more noticeable ones.

[Credit to IGN for the screenshots]

August 2010’s Game List

Index

• Madden NFL 11 – eGamer discount available!
• Mafia II (Reader’s MA title for August) – eGamer discount available!
• Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

Browse through the pages below to see all of the games and their information in detail, or simply click the name of the game above to be taken straight to that specific game’s page.

It’s always amazing when a well-known celebrity agrees to do some work in the gaming industry, whether it be marketing or voice-acting or just about anything, people make a big deal about it.

Now for those of you who don’t know him, Neil Patrick Harris (better known as Barney Stinson) has been famous since the age of about 12 when he starred in the show Doogie Howser M.D. He then went on to do a whole lot of other shows and even some films (hey, it’s a summary okay) and has  also been nominated for a raft of awards although he has only actually won a handful of those.

Now consider how epically huge it is for Harris, who is currently one of the most-liked TV characters, to be the voice behind one of the most-loved comic superheroes of all time. Yes, Harris will be playing the part of the original Amazing Spider-Man in the upcoming Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions. He will be working alongside the likes of Josh Keaton (Ultimate Spider-Man), Christopher Daniel Barnes (Noir Spider-Man) and Dan Gilvezan (Spider-Man 2099).

All of the above have actually already voiced the webslinger in animated TV series’, so they know what they’re doing. A guest appearance will also be made by Spider-Man creator Stan Lee who will be taking his usual narrative role.

There really is something poetic about Spider-Man being voiced by a homosexual individual, especially since the Amazing Spider-Man is one of the more high-pitched ones where voice is concerned.

Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions releases on September 7 for DS, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The way things are shaping up, this game is gonna be legen, wait for it…dary!

It appears as if everybody’s favourite bounty hunter, Boba Fett, will make a cameo appearance in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.

While Fett will not be a playable character in any way, shape or form, he will be quite integral to the plot of Force Unleashed II. According to CVG who recently attended a preview of the game in London, Fett’s role will be as follows.

Following the escape of a Starkiller clone , or what is rumoured to not actually be a Starkiller clone, Vader calls Boba Fett in and orders the bounty hunter to capture Juno, the protagonist’s love interest from the first game. Vader affectionately refers to her as “the women”.

Predictably, this will probably allow the game to be drawn out for at least 2 more hours than it otherwise would have but will give at least some sort of sub-plot to the whole revenge, fight for a cause thing that Starkiller seems to be on in Force Unleashed II.

[Source: CVG]

THQ revealed that they currently have a “very, very innovative” Wii title on their hands, all secret squirrel, that they believe will be a “significant step forward” for Nintendo’s console.

There are no details at the moment, but the company’s global executive, Curran, told CVG that the game might just be shown at GamesCom next month.

“There’s something else that we’re going to reveal later on in the year that wasn’t at E3, which is just very, very innovative,” he said. “There are very few people who know about it at the moment. It’s not another Kinect thing – it’s to do with the Wii.

“People are talking about Kinect and Move at the moment, understandably – but if we’d have had this at E3, people would have been talking about this as a significant step forward for the Wii as well. Maybe [we'll show it at] Gamescom.”

Wii, Wii, whatever could this title be?

Sorry, I had a bit of a high, nursery rhyme moment.

Ubisoft has revealed the European release date for upcoming Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X 2, and it’s pretty close. The game will be released on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox360 and Wii on September 3, 2010. We can expect the game to land in South Africa about the same time.

The first game was released back in March of 2009 and it received mixed reviews, and passed by without special attention. Let’s see if the sequel can up its game.

Sega has revealed that it will be developing and publishing a Thor video game to tie in with Marvel’s upcoming Thor movie.

“Thor: The Video Game!” said in a booming voice from above! Will be a third-person adventure game with a narrative written by comic book author Matt Fraction.

Players will be able to beat down enemies using Thor’s legendary hammer Mjolnir and command the powers of the storm: wind, thunder and lightning. We wonder if mead will be involved?

The game is scheduled for release on the PS3, 360, Wii, DS and PSP in summer 2011.

“Oh Dear” because the majority of movie-to-game, games and game-to-movie, movies end up failing…and badly.

Marvel’s movies have been of high quality recently – hopefully its licensed movie games are given the same treatment.

The box art for Call of Duty: Black Ops has been revealed and it’s quite interesting, but who is the guy on the front? It seems like Treyarch used a shadow-covered face to represent the player, opposed to an actual character in the game.

More CoD Black Ops here. The game will be released during the November month.

Like fishing, hate the lake? Well, Activision might have something just for you — Rapala Pro Bass Fishing. And yes, you guessed it — it’s a fishing title for 360, PS2/3, PSP, Wii, and DS.

For the first time ever, the PS3 and 360 versions will be available with a Rapala Rod & Reed controller. Naturally, Wii owners will be able to purchase a Rapala Rod & Reel peripheral as well. The controls will feature full motion control, where players will be able to cast, reel, and do other things which you need to do when fishing.

The game will be set up in a professional tournament structure, and it offers everything you’d find at a tournament. This means, you’ll be fishing in some of the top freshwater lakes in North America.

“Pro tournament action is all about the intensity and adrenaline of live fishing competition,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing. “Rapala Pro Bass Fishing captures every detail from the starting line to the championship trophy presentation.”

Game modes include simultaneous 2-player mode, challenge friend contests, solo-fishing and tournaments.

Not too sure about a local release, but it would be cool. Wouldn’t it?

What’s that? You want more Taylor Swift? Well then I’ve got bad news for you and of Taylor’s biggest fan dean0…

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is coming and this time there isn’t going to be any of the pop princess rubbish we’ve seen since Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero. Our friends from Activision (Read: Neversoft and RedOctane) have learnt their lesson from poor sales of the last few title releases and have gone back to their roots, that is this time it’s all shedding to Rock.

So you could almost say that GH: Warriors of Rock will be a sequel to GH: Legends of Rock. Most of the features from GH: 5 have been incorporated, but lets be honest, we only care about what we’ll be jamming to…

And here’s a little taste:

Fatbob Out!

EA has finally confirmed a release date for FIFA 11 after a number of rumors where going around the interwebz.

The EA title available for PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, PS2, DS, PSP and mobile on September 28 in North America and October 1 in Europe and Asia.

The Wii version will be available on October 1 in Europe and Asia and October 4 in North America.

I know the thumb has nothing to do with FIFA 11, but i just have to celebrate the Dutch victory! Hup Holland Hup!

[Source:CVG]

It has been one hell of a month with the holidays, world cup and, of course, the games. So, as per usual, here’s our list of games for July – fully equipped with all our special discount prices!

Remember the game discounts? Well, they’re still in full effect! For those who don’t know, we’ve setup discounts on various games where if you come to our site and click on the Buy Now link you’ll receive a special price. This will only be available if you come through our site.

If you do not see the discount first time round, close your browser and come back to this article. Click on the link again and it should appear.

Note: The games listed here are not all games being released in July, but rather the more noticeable ones.

[Credit to IGN for the screenshots]

June 2010’s Game List

Index

• BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
• Crackdown 2
• Disciples III: Renaissance
• Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge
• Need For Speed World
• StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (eGamer’s and Readers MA Title for July) – eGamer discount available!
• Other Discounted Games
  • Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 – All platforms
    
  • Shaun White Snowboarding for PSP
  • Surfs Up for PSP
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for PSP
  • Metal Gear Sold: Peace Walker for PSP
  • TNA Impact Cross The Line for PSP
  • Darksiders - All platforms
  • Everybody’s Tennis for PSP

Browse through the pages below to see all of the games and their information in detail, or simply click the name of the game above to be taken straight to that specific game’s page.

Even the most gravel-voiced chain-smoker will be able to hit the high notes with Rock Band 3′s newest bit of digital modulation. While you could get through singing in previous Rock Band games by simply being able to match the words or at the very least keep the general tune, everybody listening to you still heard that dreadfully off-key voice of yours. No more.

Harmonix has teamed up with audio signal processing company (they make stuff sound cool) iZotope to add real-time pitch correction to Rock Band 3′s singing component. So while you may sound like a strangled cat going in, a series of complex filters will transform your mangled strains into something that’s at least audible to be put out through the speakers.

Besides making us all sounds like rockstars, the new tech will also the game to pick-up on the pitch of your voice far more effectively and thus making the various difficulty levels in the game just a little bit more…well…difficult.

One thing that seems to have been neglected is that this would all work really well if you’re in a public place and the game is hooked up to a decent-sized sound-system but if you’re in the comfort of your own home with a bunch of friends, they can still hear how much you suck but hey, at least we’ll all be safe from public humiliation.

The word from Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma is “The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword won’t be easy.” This was said after Shigeru Miyamoto had previously spoken of the need to make Legend Of Zelda games more accessible.

“I do not want to make Zelda easier,” Aonuma told Game Informer. “Easy to me does not equal fun. I want puzzles where people have to think about it, and when they solve the puzzle, there’s that feeling of accomplishment. That’s something that’s really valuable, that concrete feeling that when you accomplish something [in the game], it feels like you’ve done something worth doing. If the game is too easy, the accomplishments aren’t valuable.”

“When Mr. Miyamoto says easy, he doesn’t mean simple. He means easily – this is the difficulty of the language here. It’s accessible, and you know how to do things, if not necessarily what to do. You may have a series of puzzles to figure out, and it may be difficult to decipher the meaning, but it’s not difficult to accomplish what you need to do.”

Finally some Wii news that doesn’t involve anything ‘bad’.

[Source:CVG]

This is peripheral manufacturer DreamGEAR’s contribution to the upcoming 007 GoldenEye Wii game. An awesomely shiny version of their standard SharpShot Wii gun attachment.  Officially called the Gold Edition (duh!), it should retail for about R250. Throw in some extra cash for a pair of shades. That thing’ll blind you.

Just something I noticed: look on the bottom-right corner of the box, it says “works great with shooter games.” What else are you going to use it for?

In case you’re wondering why I called Mickey Mouse “epic”, that’s because Epic Mickey is actually the title of the game – due to release exclusively on Wii later on this year.

The game was originally meant to be released on PC, PS3 and Xbox360, but then it made the switch to Wii. Warren Spector, game designer, told CVG a while back that any potential ports to PS3 or 360 from now would be “a decision that other people in the Disney organisation are going to make.”

Back to the present. A new direction and approach will be taken with Disney’s Mickey Mouse in Epic Mickey. The game will allow players to interact with and dynamically alter the game world – using paint.

Paint creates things, while paint thinner erases them. Examples of usage would be to use paint to turn an enemy into a friend, or to use thinner to defeat the enemy.

Epic Mickey will also feature lots of other famous Disney characters, such as Peter Pan, as well as special landmarks like the Robinson Tree House and the Tiki Room. Lots of levels and stages will draw from Disney’s vast history.

We’ll get that trailer to you when we can.

[Credit to Kotaku for the screenshots]