This is part one of a four part, in-depth study of what makes a great game. Reader be forewarned, there be spoilers afoot.

If you’ve read the reviews for Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, you already have a sense for how fantastic the game is. Boot up the app on your iPhone or iPad (the iPad version is definitely recommended), and you arguably get one of the best games to have come out of this generation. I say this regardless of the platform.

However, few know how complete and transcendental the gaming experience S:S&S EP delivers. We aim to lay it all out. For those of you who have never heard of this game, and those of you who don’t own an iOS device, we also aim to let you know why you should still take note.

Read more… »

The iOS marketplace is highly known for their plentiful free app days, and today is no exception. Fire up your favorite iOS device to pick up the highly popular Spirits for zero bucks. Spirits tasks you with blowing the cousins of the little critters from Princess Mononoke to and fro in a whimsical fashion throughout beautiful hand-drawn landscapes. If you’re on the fence, think “Artsy Lemmings”, and just go download it right now.

As usual, this sale probably won’t last often, so at the very least, get on iTunes and pick this one up immediately so it’s locked to your account forever.

[Standard/iPad]

Today publisher Square Enix announced that the Agent 47 will be making he return in the fifth installment of the Hitman series, Hitman: Absolution.

Slated to arrive on the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3, Hitman: Absolution will be developed by franchise creator IO Interactive. The big selling point of Absolution is that it will allow gamers to explore the Hitman universe, something that has been teasing fans of the series for a long time. Read more… »

For a little more than two months, Smithsonian gave the world a chance to vote on the video games that would be placed in its special exhibition, The Art of Video Games. The exhibition is estimated to be visited by 252,000 people between March 16 and September 30, 2012.

From a list of 240 games that span from the late 1970′s to today, across all platforms, voting pared that number down to 80. Released in conjunction with a private streaming event Thursday, the final list breaks them down by “era”, platform and genre. Barring a rekindling of the exhausted “video games as art” argument, the list seems to focus more on consoles than it does on PC or arcade. Care to see the list?

Read more… »

Activision is at it again, with another $15 five-map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. This time, Treyarch is offering four dynamic outdoor heavy maps, and one very special zombie mission that involves an all-star Hollywood cast.

With Call of Duty’s tremendous success, it’s easy to think that Treyarch would take the easy way out, and pump out a map pack for some quick cash. Thankfully, like the pack before it, this collection delivers. Read more… »

I’ll wait until you’ve all calmed down. I know I needed a minute to collect myself after I read this. BioWare’s Mass Effect 3 has been pushed back to Q1 2012.

Hit the jump for a statement from the series’ executive producer. Read more… »

Rotastic swings  its way into Xbox LIVE Arcade, Playstation Network and PC Tuesday. The latest from developer Dancing Dots and Focus Home Interactive, the game promises high flying puzzle action on a foundation of simple controls and acrobatics. You play as powerful viking Fraghar, come to loot a medieval kingdom of its riches. Naturally, the game focuses on collecting gems, but there’s a twist — it’s all done while swinging through the air as for some reason or another, Fraghar cannot walk. That means falling off the screen means certain death.

Sound like fun?

Read more… »

Join me tonight on Gamer Limit Live as I get back to some Dragon Age 2. At only an hour in, there will be few spoilers and lots of role playing to be had. Having gone the “good guy” route in the first Dragon Age, Dragon Age 2 will be all about being as much of a jerk as I can possibly be. So follow the break and join us in chat.

Update: Haven’t quite decided yet if I like Dragon Age 2. It feels quite lifeless compared to Dragon Age: Origins. Anyhow, enjoy the recording of Gamer Limit Live above. If I get a chance to stop at Gamestop tomorrow I’ll pre-order Gears of War 3 and play some of the beta at 8pm EST tomorrow. We shall see.

A few days ago I posted a news story about how Sony royally screwed up and allowed a bunch of hackers access to PSN users’ personal information. Today, Sony finally made some announcements regarding how they plan on making this up to their customers.

First things first, sometime this week Sony plans on restarting some on its online services. Gamers will so be able to log onto their PSN accounts allowing them to changed their passwords, chat with friends, play games online and even use PlayStation Home. Sony has also stated that they have added several layers of data protection and encryption including more firewalls and software monitoring which detects intrusions. Read more… »