Developer Valve Corporation
Publisher Valve Corporation
Distributor Steam (online)
Designer “IceFrog”
Platform Mac OS X, Windows
Release date Q4 2011
Genre Action RTS

Dota 2 is an upcoming action fantasy real-time strategy video game, developed by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the highly-popular Defense of the Ancients mod independently developed for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The title was formally announced on October 13, 2010, in an article on the Game Informer website. The game’s lead designer is the longest-serving and current developer of Defense of the Ancients, known as “IceFrog”, who continues to maintain his public anonymity, while leading a development team at Valve. The game will be released by Valve, through both retail and Steam, for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Dota 2 marks Valve’s first fantasy video game and first Action RTS game.

Gameplay

Much like the original Defense of the Ancients title, Dota 2 combines the real-time strategy element of traditional top-down perspective, while also incorporating the leveling and itemization system of a role playing game. Players assume the role of a unit categorized as a “hero”, who through hostile interactions, may progress to a maximum level of 25. The basic setup of Dota 2 places two strongholds with “ancients” at opposing ends of an evenly-balanced map with multiple connecting regions identified as “lanes”, in which enemy units primarily traverse, while also combating powerful defensive towers along the way. Players are split into two teams, ideally in a five-on-five format, to compete as the primary defenders for each ancient.

The overall objective of each match is to battle through the opposing force’s defenses, in order to arrive at and destroy the opponents’ ancient. The towers and stronghold defenses are invulnerable to attacks so long as the farther distanced towers still stand. Periodically, groups of weaker infantry units commonly called “creeps” are spawned, which move along their lane until they reach an enemy unit or structure, which they will then attack.

Defeating enemy forces grants a distributed amount of currency of gold to the offending team, with the greater portion being retained by the player who made the final blow. While also gaining gold, the players will gain experience as well, which accumulates to gain higher levels. The greatest proportion of gold and experience comes from destroying higher priority forces, such as enemy heroes and towers.

Dota 2 will utilize Valve’s Steam software in order to provide social and community functionality for the game. Steam accounts will save personal files and settings on the online accounts using the Steam Cloud. Dota 2 will also feature free-camera live spectating, in tradition of competitive Valve titles. The game host has the option to fill open slots with AI bots. Another option allows the host to determine if AI bots or other human players will be used to fill the vacated slot of a disconnected player. Valve is introducing a coaching system to allow for more experienced players to tutor newer players. The game will also feature tutorial sessions for further assisting players to mount the steep learning curve before competitive play.

Dota 2 will remain completely based around instant action multiplayer activity, excluding a single-player campaign, but retaining a strong lore tied into the gameplay, including individual hero back-stories and vocal interactions in-game.

Developer Team Ico
Publisher Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer Fumito Ueda
Platform PlayStation 3
Release date INT Q4 2011
Genre Action-adventure, Puzzle

The Last Guardian, known in Japan as Hitokui no Ōwashi Trico​ (人喰いの大鷲トリコ Hitokui no Ōwashi Toriko,? lit. “Trico, the man-eating eagle”) and previously referred to by the working title Project Trico, is an upcoming video game developed by Team Ico, to be published exclusively for the PlayStation 3.The title is made by the small Sony team led by Fumito Ueda, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, have a powerful air of mystery about them. Their hazy, bleached visuals, sorrowful air and vague stories make them seem like half-remembered children’s books – the kind that had some secret, solemn, adult meaning that was always just beyond your understanding, but that affected you powerfully anyway.

Story

The Last Guardian’s story follows that of a yet-named boy that is trying to escape from a setting resembling the ruins of a large expansive castle. The game will revolve around the developing friendship between the boy and a giant, feathered creature resembling a griffin named Trico (トリコ Toriko?). The name of the creature can be taken to mean “prisoner” (虜 toriko?), “baby bird” (鳥の子 tori no ko?), or a portmanteau of “bird” (鳥 tori?) and “cat” (猫 neko?). Trico has spears and arrows stuck in its back, and is initially bound to a chain. Later, it is freed and is shown attacking an armored soldier. Screenshots, as well as the E3 trailer, show the boy attempting to sneak past and attack other soldiers. Trico will initially be hostile to the boy, but during the course of the game, the two will develop an emotional attachment to each other. Ueda suggested there may be similar creatures like Trico in the game, but could not confirm this.

Some speculated, based on the tone of the 2009 E3 trailer and of Team Ico’s past games, that The Last Guardian will end sadly; the webcomic “Penny Arcade” postulated that the ending of the game would involve the death of either the boy or Trico. In response to these theories, creator Fumito Ueda addressed them by stating that the story is “open-ended, and for you guys to figure out”

Gameplay

The player controls the boy, who must care for and work with the large creature, Trico, using its animal instincts to solve puzzles.

The Last Guardian is a third-person perspective game that combines action-adventure and puzzle elements. The player controls the unarmed boy who can run, jump, climb, and perform other actions similar to the gameplay in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The player may also need to use the environment to silently move around or defeat shadow-being guards, though initially the boy is weaponless. The guards, though slow-moving, can capture the boy, and if the player is unable to free the character in time, the game will be over.

The player’s movements are augmented by interaction with Trico which the boy can climb upon and ride. As stated by Ueda, Trico is driven by animal instincts, and it is up to the player to guide the creature, “taking advantage of his natural behavior”, in order to complete puzzles.

The PS3′s graphical effects allow Ueda to express Trico’s behaviour or feelings without the creature being able to speak, he says.

Ueda has no secluded office that you can peer into to divine his soul. Turns out he just works there, like everybody else. There’s a very nice view of the Imperial park. That’s all.

I don’t really expect to get the answers I’m looking for from Ueda himself, either. The game designer and director is a notoriously unwilling and evasive interviewee, although pleasant and polite. With his long hair, neat button-down shirt and boyish features, he looks an awful lot younger than his 40 years. Still, he seems in fairly relaxed and receptive mood, so I probe gently. What does The Last Guardian have in common with his previous games?

“In the very first game there was the interaction between the player’s character and the AI character, the girl,” he says. “In the second game, it was the action of climbing on these giant monsters. In the third game, there’s a bit of each of those in there. You’ve got an AI character this time, but this time it’s kind of a really giant AI character rather than the small helpless character of the first game.”

And in this simple answer, The Last Guardian’s secret is laid bare. It is, quite simply, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus rolled into one.

That much is also revealed by the 15-minute gameplay demonstration, a “vertical slice” of puzzle-solving, platforming, light stealth and creature-wrangling. As in Ico, the boy must use his vigorous, ungainly child’s agility to scramble through rooms in a labyrinthine, Gormenghast-style ruin. He must also face sinister enemies and guide his companion to follow him.

Developer(s) BioWare
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Director(s) Casey Hudson
Composer(s) Clint Mansell
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Release date(s) “Holiday 2011″ (Q4)
Genre(s) Action RPG
Mode(s) Single-player

Mass Effect 3 is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.It is scheduled for a Q4 2011 release and will mark the third and final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy of video games.

When Mass Effect 2 finally surfaced last month, fans around the world where treated to a phenomenal experience crafted exclusively by the infamous RPG studio, BioWare. Now that you have had a chance to playthrough the story in its entirety, I decided to point out some key story plots that may be explored in the final chapter of the trilogy. Feel free to express your thoughts on the matter and let us know if your team survived the suicide mission.

Gameplay

Decisions will be imported from Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 as to keep continuity within the series. It will pull over 1,000 variables from those previous titles to shape how players experience the final chapter.

One of the most questionable characters in the game comes in the form of the controversial Illusive Man. While actor Martin Sheen provided an excellent soundtrack as the advisor, his motives are unconventional and sinister at best. If you recall the mission where you investigate an abandoned Collector Ship base, the whole scenario plays out to be nothing more then a cleverly planned ambush attack. This could have been used as a measuring stick to determine if Shepard and his team are truly up to par for the battle that’s ahead of them. Once you beat the game though, further suspicions are cast upon this significant character. If you chose to save the Collector technology to aid you in defeating the Reapers, then the last shot you’ll see is of the Illusive Man sporting a sadistic grin on his face shortly after dismissing you from the mission debriefing. At the same time you also have an option to detach yourself from working with him by simply telling him to screw off. Regardless of which decision you choose, it’s clear that this will greatly affect you in Mass Effect 3. BioWare succeeds in keeping the suspense going within their stories which is why I wouldn’t be surprised if Illusive Man ends up becoming a villain down the road.

Story
Earth is burning. Striking from beyond known space, a race of terrifying machines have begun their destruction of the human race. As Commander Shepard, an Alliance Marine, your only hope for saving mankind is to rally the civilizations of the galaxy and launch one final mission to take back the Earth.

The dramatic scale of Mass Effect 2’s story is a classic that will be remembered for several years to come. The idea of the bar being raised in the next chapter is one I’m highly confident BioWare can surpass. The final encounter with the Reapers needs to be heavily defined and far more superior then the Collectors. If you recall, the end of the game delivers a message that Harbinger is coming and there is a focus on a partnership between the Collectors and The Reapers. The final encounter with The Human Reaper (A Terminator Clone) isn’t challenging enough and I fully anticipate new adversaries the next time around. When you decide to destroy the Collector Base there are hints that you may not be prepared for what’s ahead as a result. The effects of your choices were beautifully illustrated in how you choose to give orders during the final mission. Mass Effect 3 should exceed this and make you feel like the experience really is a life or death type of situation.

Developer(s) THQ San Diego
Publisher(s) THQ
Producer(s) Sal Divita
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360
Release date(s) NA March 29, 2011
EU April 1, 2011
Genre(s) Professional wrestling Fighting
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer, multiplayer online
Media/distribution Blu-ray Disc, DVD, DVD DL, UMD

WWE All Stars is an upcoming professional wrestling video game published by THQ and developed by THQ San Diego for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Xbox 360 systems.

Gameplay

Unlike other simulation based WWE SmackDown vs. Raw series, WWE All Stars features arcade-style gameplay along with over-the-top animation and wrestlers bearing a more exaggerated look. The game is expected to be a combination of a fighting game and a wrestling game, with combos as a major factor in gameplay, both on the ground and mid-air. Some gameplay videos show the wrestlers doing exaggerated moves, such as John Cena’s Attitude Adjustment, in which he dives high into the air. The game will feature present and past WWE wrestlers, as well as commentary from Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler.

This is definitely one of the best things to hear and see in WWE All Stars. Wrestling games – especially ones aimed at a more general audience – live and die by diversity. People want characters to feel different, look different and have different moves. WWE All Stars seems to have that. Each Superstar has their own moves and attack styles pulled from their careers. Talking to the developers about the obscure moves they found for Andre the Giant really showed me the care they put into making this game feel right.

I’m excited about WWE All Stars. It reminds me of an old WWE arcade game except is looks a lot better and seems deeper. I want to play as the Macho Man, and I want to get the reversal system down. That’s not surprising, but what is a bit shocking is that the game actually makes me want to invite over my friends who fell out of wrestling and have them play as the classic Superstars they remember.

Trailer

Release Date: TBA
Platforms: Pc, PS3, XBOX360, Nintendo Wii.
Publisher: Activision
Developer: High Moon Studio
Genres: Action, Adventure, Shooter
ESRB: NA

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a video game adaptation of the third and final film in the Transformers film series, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. The game developed by the creator of War For Cybertron.

Developer(s) Atlus Persona Team
Publisher(s) Atlus
Producer(s) Katsura Hashino
Designer(s) Shigenori Soejima (Character Designer)
Composer(s) Shoji Meguro
Platform(s) PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s) JP February 17, 2011
NA July 26, 2011
Genre(s) Action-adventure Puzzle-platformer Survival horror
Mode(s) Single-player Multiplayer
Rating(s) CERO: C
Media/distribution Blu-ray Disc DVD-ROM

Catherine (キャサリン Kyasarin?) is a puzzle-platformer action-adventure video game developed and published by Atlus for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is Atlus’ first internally-developed game for seventh-generation consoles in high definition, described as an ‘adult’ title by the game’s character designer, Shigenori Soejima. The game is handled by Studio 4°C. The game was released in Japan on February 17, 2011.

Gamplay

Plot

In the neighbourhood Vincent lives in, there have recently been a number of bizarre incidents in which people die in their sleep, with a look of anguish upon their faces. Strangely enough, all of the victims are young men. The story quickly spreads throughout the media, attracting widespread attention and theories as to the cause of death. A strange rumour begins to spread that if a person dreams of falling, if they don’t wake up they will soon become unable to wake at all, and die.

Vincent is at a bar contemplating marriage to Katherine, his lover of five years, who is pressuring him to get married, when he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman named Catherine. Although there are many vacant seats she sits next to Vincent and, well-proportioned and pretty, she is exactly his type. The two end up spending the night together at Vincent’s house.

After meeting the woman, Vincent begins to have nightmares every single night, which he believes may be related to the rumours. In these dreams, he, and several other men who appear to him as sheep, must escape from various horrors trying to kill him, for if he dies in his dream, he will die in reality. As dreams and reality begin to blend together, Vincent must not only fight to survive, but he must choose between Katherine and Catherine.

Developer(s) Naughty Dog
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s) Amy Hennig (Creative director)
Series Uncharted
Platform(s) PlayStation 3
Release date(s) NA November 1, 2011
UK November 4, 2011[2]
Genre(s) Action-adventure, platformer, third-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, online multiplayer, online co-op
Media/distribution Blu-ray Disc

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception is the third game in the Uncharted series, created by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3. Officially it was announced at the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards with a debut trailer, which was on December 11, 2010. The worldwide demo of the game was premiered on the American late-night talk show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on December 14, 2010.

Uncharted 3 will see protagonist Nathan Drake returns in his search for the Atlantis of the Sands, a legendary city hidden somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula.

Trailer

Gears of war is a thrid-person shooter game developed by Epic Games and publish by Microsoft Games studio. Gears of War will be release exclusively for Xbox 360. It was planed to be release in April 2011, the game was delayed and will now be release on September 20 2011. It will be the third installment of the Gears of war series and the final game in the current story arc.

Gears of war 3 will feature for the first time a four player co-op mode and performing new three female characters, they were will be Samantha Byrne, Anya Stroud and Bernadette Mataki (a character taken from the novels by Karen Traviss). And another new playable character is Jace Startton, a battle-hardened soldier who mentioned in the second game.

The game will feature new weapon Retro Lancer, The Sawedgun shotgun, The Oneshot, The Incendiary Grenade, The Digger Launcher. Another new heavy weapon, the One Shot, can take down any enemy with a single round. The Gorgon pistol is now a fully automatic weapon, and is known as the Gorgon SMG. Also, a new turret has been revealed that allows up to four of any weapon to be mounted on it.

Synopsis

Eighteen months after the fall of Jacinto, the Gears have moved to the island of Vectes and are living aboard a converted aircraft carrier called the Raven’s Nest. The Cog has disbanded and the imulsion that powered Sera’s cities has infected and mutated members of the Locust, causing them to become Lambent. The Lambent are evolving into a new enemy that threatens both the Locust and humanity. The Stranded also live on the island along with other survivors from E-Day.

Gamplay and interview

Developer(s) EA Digital Illusions CE
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Series Battlefield
Engine Frostbite 2.0
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s) Q4 2011
Genre(s) First-person shooter
Mode(s) Single-player, cooperative, multiplayer
Rating(s) PEGI: 18

Battlefield 3 is a first-person shooter videogame being developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and to be published by Electronic Arts. In the more than fife years since Battlefield 2 has been released, the first person-shooter lanscape has come to be dominated by one franchise alone – Call of Duty: Black Ops “>Activision`s Call of Duty behemoth. EA and DICE are hopping to steal the “Thunder” away from Call of Duty with their brand new Battlefield 3 release.

The game will be released during the fourth quarter of 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 320GB System with PlayStation Move Bundle “>Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 250GB Console with Kinect “>Xbox 360. Its the twelfth installment in the Battlefield series, a direct sequel to Battlefield 2 released in 2005.

Gameplay

According to the demo,Battlefield 3 gameplay will feature the maximalist combined arms battles that made the series popular across single-player, co-operative and multiplayer modes. It will reintroduce several elements absent from the Bad Company games, including fighter jets, the prone position and 64-player battles on PC, while the consoles will support 24 players. A new animation system will allow players to “drag fallen comrades into safety and mount weapons on almost any part of the terrain.”The destructible environments of DICE’s Frostbite engine will also be in use.

Battlefield 3 uses a new type of character animation technology called ANT. ANT technology is used in EA Sports games such as FIFA, but will now be used to create a more realistic soldier. Player models will appear more real with the ability to transition into cover, and turn their head before their body.

Maps set in Paris, Tehran, Sulaymaniyah and New York have been confirmed. As a whole the game will cover urban streets, metropolitan downtown areas, and open landscapes suited to vehicle combat. The single player campaign takes place in the year 2014.

Darksiders 2 is an upcoming action adventure video game published by THQ. It is the sequel to Darksiders and is expected to be released for Xbox360 and Playstation 3 in 2012.

THQ creative director Luis Gigliotti revealed in an interview that Darksiders will be a franchise and that THQ is contemplating a sequel. The sequel may include a multiplayer component, as the other three horsemen will join War in this series.

No other information was disclosed on things like story, but anyone who’s finished the first game (or has seen Michael Bay’s Transformers movies) will have a fair idea of what’s about to happen.