During Electronic Arts E3 2011 press conference two of its hottest upcoming titles’ release dates were announced. Battlefield 3 will be hitting shelves on October 25 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. We’ll be taking a look at the game in the upcoming days and will have a full preview of Battlefield 3′s E3 demo within the week.

Mass Effect 3 will be landing on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on March 6 of next year. Additionally, the N7 collectors edition of the game will feature a hardcover Mass Effect book, a comic book, in-game appearance packs, an extended soundtrack, lithograph, N7 patch and instant access to the N7 Arsenal Pack, which includes four additional weapons, for a measly $79.99. You know you want it.

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We received our first look at the next “leap forward” in the Fable series during Microsoft’s E3 keynote today. Peter Molyneux wants to make you feel “100 times more involved”. You just have to love that classic Molyneux hyperbole. Once he decided to shut his gob and let us see the game, the press conference demo featured a man waving his arms around to cast spells and defeat goblins.

Fans of the series may be disappointed to hear that Fable: The Journey looks like its shaping up to be an on rails shooter, rather than a full fledged installment in the series. Then again, if the prospect of using your Kinect for something other than a dance or sports game excites you, Fable: The Journey may be up your alley.

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The final reveal of Microsoft’s press conference was a teaser for Halo 4. Cortana is desperately trying to wake up Master Chief from cryosleep as the ship from the closing moments of Halo 3 is explodes. Master Chief finally awakens and makes a daring escape from the burning vessel, only to come face to face with a giant alien ship before the footage fades out.

Halo 4 will be hitting store shelves Holiday 2012. Oh, and in case you were worried there was going to be a less John-177 in your life, this is the start of a new trilogy in the series. We’ll be seeing plenty of Halo in the years ahead.

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Have you been clamoring for a remake of Combat Evolved? Do you long to see the Pillar of Autumn crash land on the “Halo” in glorious HD? Well, if so your prayers have been answered. Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary was announced earlier today during their E3 2011 press conference.

Look for it on November 15th and hit the jump for a full interview of the game.

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While it has been rumored for a couple of weeks now, it is finally confirmed that Mass Effect 3 will support the Kinect. I know, I know, the idea made me cringe at first too. The thought of using the Kinect to do things like throw grenades or use abilities through stupid hand motions was unbearable. Rest assured though, this Kinect support seems pretty limited to certain actions and is tied to voice recognition.

From what was shown in the demo, this voice recognition seems most utilized when making dialogue decisions. Notice I said utilized and not useful. Let’s be honest, why would you say verbatim the dialogue choice displayed on screen when you can just press a button and choose the option with your controller? The more useful part of the voice recognition in Mass Effect 3 seemed to be during combat as you will be able to direct your team to use certain skills. Ultimately, it all feels quite gimmicky. But then again, isn’t that the motto for Kinect? Read more… »

Ever since the Tomb Raider reboot was announced in Game Informer, I was convinced that it would be exactly what the franchise needed. While the game looks absolutely beautiful and emits a dark, gritty feel, the demo shown at Microsoft’s press conference has me concerned. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than the overuse of QTEs (quick time events) in games – a la God of War.

Despite my distaste for this outdated gameplay mechanic, I remain convinced that Crystal Dynamics will stay true to Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider franchise. The presentation is there, the set pieces seem to be there, and hopefully the gameplay proves to be more than what was shown. If it isn’t, the future of Tomb Raider will be more grim than ever. Judge for yourself though with a video of the demonstration after the break. Read more… »

Controversy! It isn’t an E3 without it. From what I saw during the demo of Modern Warfare 3 during Microsoft’s press conference at E3 2011, I truly question whether this demo was played live. While it isn’t really a huge deal, it is real fishy as you can see in the video after the break that the controller disconnects, pauses, and then what looks like a video input switch occurs.

Nonetheless, this demo of Modern Warfare 3 was full of some fantastic looking set pieces as it opens up with forcing a submarine to surface, infiltrating it, launching some missiles, and eventually escaping as battleships blow up around you and the skyline of Chicago in the distance is falling to shambles. What else can you expect from a Call of Duty title though? Be sure to hit the break for a little bit of extra news regarding Modern Warfare 3 and of course the aforementioned video.

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Yesterday, Sony released the Welcome Back program. Because the PlayStation Network was down for so long, Sony would like to apologize and offer users free games and additional content. Sony is offering PlayStation Network users the opportunity to download two titles for their PSP and/or PS3 (for a total of free 4 games).

Additionally, Sony is offering a free 30 day subscription to the PlayStation Network Plus service, while current PSN Plus members will receive a 60 day extension of their membership. For the full list of free games you can nab with the Welcome Back package hit the jump.

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UTV Ignition Games, the publisher behind titles like Muramasa: the Demon Blade and Deadly Premonition, has just announced the release date for upcoming action-adventure title El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. The title will be landing on American Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles on July 26th.  Europeans will be able to get their hands on the title on September 9th.

El Shaddai is inspired by the Book of Enoch – an ancient piece of Jewish religious literature that is not considered apart of the Judeo-Christian canon by most affiliations.  The game looks absolutely beautiful, which is unsurprising as the team is headed up by a team led by Okami and Devil May Cry character designer Takeyasu Sawaki. Be on the lookout for this beauty in a store near you later this summer.

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Duke Nukem Forever demo was made available today for those that pre-ordered the game or had purchased the Game of the Year edition of Borderlands. Above you can find the first of what I hope to be many Limited Looks at games – be it demos, retail, open betas, etc. This 30 minute demo is, well, Duke Nukem. It is honestly exactly what one would expect going into the game – outdated gameplay mechanics but mindless fun nonetheless. Despite taking 12 years of development, Duke Nukem Forever will be released on June 14th for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

L.A. Noire’s tale is a pretty lengthy one: in fact, it dates back nearly seven years, when it was announced in 2004. The game has been delayed more often than The Ocarina of Time, and has gone through many aesthetic changes to get to where it is today. L.A. Noire’s biggest draw is the new facial motion capture technology, that boasts near perfect representations of actor’s performances, down to the smallest lip quiver.

So, does the technology deliver? Or more importantly, does the game itself justify the wait? Read on to find out. Read more… »