Even as a huge fan of Twisted Pixel’s‘Splosion Man, I had my doubts when itannouncedMs. Splosion Manas a follow up late last year. “So what? It’s‘Splosion Manwith a pink bow,” I thought to myself. “Well, that’s just great! Twisted Pixel are lazy jerkfaces and I hate their jerkfaces for being so lazy.” Okay, so that’s not entirely accurate — even if that were the case, I enjoyed‘Splosion Manso much that a pink bow and some new levels instantly had me sold....

Stepping into the multiplayer mode of any game is no laughing matter when you’re a newbie to the franchise. Experienced players can and will mop the floors with novices, and this creates a tiresome, unfun environment for those newbies. Gears of War 3aims to remedy this by offering an all new ‘casual’ mode. This mode can only be accessed if you are new to the series. If you have any achievements from the first 2 titles, or if you’ve participated in the beta, then you cannot access the mode....

The release date ofGuitar Hero World Tour, October 26th, is fast approaching. Just as withGuitar Hero III, Activision is doing a Sunday launch — but unlike that game,GH WTwill have a strong lineup of downloadable content from the outset, and Activision announced the songs today. That has been one of the most important advantages that theRock Bandgames have had over theGuitar Heroseries — regular, high-quality DLC — so this is a good start forWorld Tour....

For those of you who have not yet heard of Zombie Cow Studios’Privates, this trailer is a pretty great introduction to the game. The first line really sets the mood. I still can’t believe they’re going through with this concept, but I’m actually quite glad they are. We’re always saying how there aren’t enough original videogames being made —Privatesis exactly that, at least in terms of subject matter. So long as it plays decently, consider me interested....

Given the choice, would you choose to tear of Helios head inGod of War III(pictured above) by shaking your controller? According to the game’s director, Stig Asmussen, that’s something you justmightget to do when the game ships for PlayStation 3 next March. “We’re not currently using it,” he toldGameProabout the PS3 controller’s SIXAXIS support, “but that doesn’t mean we won’t get something in there by the time it ships. I can see a lot of different uses for it....

Things have not been great for fans of football videogames, and that is the American kind I’m talking about. Throwing the ol’ digital pigskin around hasn’t been bad, per se, for EA has done a fine job of recreating the American sport in theMaddenfranchise, but sometimes the same-old, same-old can be just that. Since no one else is making licensed football games, it’s easy to think that something might be missing from such a monopolized genre....

According to research done by Newzoo, half of the adult population of Germany plays videogames on a regular basis. The same applies to France and the United Kingdom, as all three countries combined have a total market of 153 million people who play on PCs, consoles, mobile platforms and on social websites like Facebook. Germany is the most important market of the EU with a volume of €4.6 billion ($6.5 billion) and 24 million gamers, followed by the U....

Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax(why yes, that is its real name) allows you to optionally use a new high-definition art style, or you can simply go with standard pixel graphics from the PSP version. The former is shown in this latest trailer for the offbeat game. I’m going to buy the eff out of this one, myself. When it hits Xbox Live Arcade on June 29 for $10 (!!!),expect to findthe online versus mode Super Hero Wars, plus it looks as if the Evil Lord, Princess, and Knight modes have been reworked to play like Hero 30 mode....

Phil Harrison is full of wacky ideas. Like the idea to jump ship from Sony to Atari. Nevertheless, the aerodynamic Brit has madethe bold claimthat the next generation of children will refuse to buy discs. “There’s a generation of kids being born today and probably already alive who I’m pretty confident will never buy a physical media product,” claims the Infogrames president. “They will never buy a DVD, they will never buy a CD, and they will never buy a game in a box....

A new animated short giving more backround story on Sony/Ninja Theory’s upcoming PS3 titleHeavenly Swordhas just hit the web.The video, titledHeavenly Sword Part I- The Legend of the Sword, gives us a little more background on why the sword is called the Heavenly Sword. Does that make sense? This is a very slick looking (and sounding) animation, but the problem is that it does not last nearly long enough. They’ve got teaser timing down to a tee!...

In case anybody was wondering, Flagship Studios hasn’t let up on thoseswift kicks in the balls. We’veknown for a whilethat there were going to be two tiers inHellgate: London, depending on whether or not players paid the monthly subscription. Well, it seems thatGames for Windowsmagazine has the scoop: the montly fee will be a comparatively meager $9.95, and those who buckle down will be given the sexy moniker of “Elite.” Want to know what the Haves get that the Have Nots don’t?...

Homefront’ssetting is pretty damn dark. Korea invades America in the year 2027 and citizens are dealing with the occupation. Of course the people are going to fight back and that’s just what you’ll be doing in the game once it’s released comeMarch 2011. Seriously can’t wait for this game. Not too many games do the America getting invaded story. Not too many games do itwellthat is. Check out oursingle-playerandmultiplayerpreview of THQ’sHomefront....

According to the latest issue ofFamitsu, the game known in Japanese arcades asInitial-D Arcade Stage 4will soon be making its way to PS3 in the form ofInitial-D: Extreme Stage. Tearing through mountain roads with J-pop blasting in the background on PS3? Yes, please. The game is set to receive a visual upgrade, updated single-player mode with more than 20 rivals, and drumroll competitive online play. It will not, however, include the full-size Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex AE86 that I was hoping would stay intact from the arcade port....