Disciples III: Renaissance delivers dark, brutal, and sexy turn-based strategy (Disciples III: Renaissance)

Coming out nearly a decade after 2002’s Disciples II, which was old-school even then, Disciples III: Renaissance is obviously a niche offering. The grim, war-torn landscape of Nevandaar, filled with warring gods, demonic hordes, and rampant death, makes a great stomping ground for your battle ready armies but grid-based fantasy strategy games simply aren’t in vogue these days. But our inner geeks would sign up to pass kidney stones the size of 20-sided dice to get to this game when it ships next week... ...

Peeling back the final layer of StarCraft II (StarCraft II)

Expectations. In some ways StarCraft II can never hope to live up to them. After 10 years we’re expecting several moons on several sticks, and for the multiplayer to be more than simply a refined and classier StarCraft, with shinier explosions and prettier Zerglings. But that’s exactly what Blizzard is delivering. It’s the biggest case of “if it ain’t broke& in recent memory, and we’re thankful for it... ...

First look at Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)

Is it getting to the point that “primarily first person& is a highlight of a preview? Not really, but with so many third-person Unreal Engine games coming along, it’s a shock to see something different. Deus Ex: Human Revolution isn’t being spewed from the Unreal clone factory. You’ll be looking through the protagonist’s eyes for the vast majority of the game and that allows everyone worried about some huge departure to breathe a sigh of relief... ...

Heroes of the Three Kingdoms - hands-on (Heroes of the Three Kingdoms)

When speaking with publisher Perfect World, one gets the impression the company is actually a bit bashful about using ancient Chinese history for the plot of its new MMO, Heroes of the Three Kingdoms. This subject is as common in the Chinese markets as World War II in the US, but here in the US, the only other titles based on Chinese history are the Dynasty Warriors games, and does anybody actually play those anymore?

It’s bad enough Heroes of the Three Kingdoms is trying to overcome the “Free To Play = Fugly, Tween-y Primitive& stigma that most hardcore gamers carry. The last thing it needs is a worn-out setting. Luckily, though the inspiration for Heroes of the Three Kingdoms is centuries old, the gameplay itself blends a surprising number of unique and interesting elements into the traditional MMO gameplay... ...

Updated impressions of Brink (Brink)

Yes, they’ve got big, funny faces. Get over it. There was a guy in the long-awaited recent demonstration of Splash Damage’s first game since Enemy Territory: Quake Wars who couldn’t get over the distorted body shapes. “Is there a narrative reason,& he inquired, “why everyone’s got chimp-like arms and faces like Droopy Dawg?&... ...

Homefront brings the reality of war to our doorstep (Homefront)

Surely, it can only be a good thing when a game demo leaves you wanting more. We’re sitting in a private theater in New York, having just seen two new levels of Homefront the game that sees you fighting in a nightmarish future world where a unified Korea has invaded and occupied the US and what the developer has just shown us was good. Damn good. But there are so many aspects of the game yet to be revealed: features that could potentially turn this striking FPS from being ‘potentially amazing’ to just plain ‘amazing’... ...

First look at LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars)

So guys, LEGO, right? We're culturally obsessed with the snappy yellow blocks and their licensed kits and games, and they're somehow adorable enough to quell any cynicism over their ubiquity. We even type their moniker in the trademark-required all caps without thinking twice. And here they are again, being all adorable and stuff in Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars... ...

Nexon’s Vindictus shows why free-to-play matters (Vindictus)

 

Free-to-play games tend to get the short end of the stick. You’ll almost never see one featured on the cover of a magazine, they rarely receive proper reviews, and preview coverage is sparse, at best. That’s why we wanted to make sure to highlight Nexon’s Vindictus, one of the most overlooked games on show at E3 2010... ...

Dead Space 2 developer interview - full of meaty details! [VIDEO] (Dead Space 2)

Following up a sleeper hit like Dead Space is a hell of a task. Now that we know what to expect, Dead Space 2's got to be new enough to warrant our attention, but also has to retain the original's slimy, face-eating anticharm. Back at E3, Ian Milham, art director for both Dead Space and Dead Space 2, described the development team's plan of attack: upgraded controls, new weapons, a fleshed-out character, and more... ...

Medal of Honor multiplayer beta impressions (Medal of Honor)

There's a gunfight raging in our heads. One side of the battle is certain that the Medal of Honor beta shows off an FPS multiplayer achievement as important as the Battlefield series, or the first Modern Warfare, or the great Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. The other side is shooting wildly into the air, confused and uncertain. We just don't know what to think yet... ...

E3 2010: APB's character customization is insane (APB)

There's a lot to say about the giant multiplayer shooter APB, but what caught our eyes was the character creation - the completely insane character creation. Realtime Worlds has gone totally over the top. Here's a short (and by no means complete) rundown... ...

E3 2010: Gorgeous Crysis 2 gameplay gives you both strength and stealth [VIDEO] (Crysis 2)

Wow. We just got an extended hands on with the sci-fi first-person shooter Crysis 2 and it’s actually tough to isolate just what the best thing about it is. We’ve got a full producer interview below, but here’s our take on it... ...

E3 2010: Dead Space 2 gameplay adds guns, better anti-grav, bigger everything (Dead Space 2)

The original Dead Space was surprisingly awesome for the player, but main character Isaac really got screwed if we were stranded in a space station full of terrifying flesh-ripping undead horrors, we’d really want something more than a nail gun to defend ourselves. Luckily, the developers of Dead Space 2 agree, and they’ve outfitted Mr Unlucky Spaceman with one of the coolest weapons we’ve seen in ages: the javelin gun... ...

E3 2010: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit)

A blast from the past with a glorious glimpse at the future of online racing... ...

E3 2010: XCOM's new weapons and research system is BioShock-y (XCOM)

We used to love dissecting dead aliens to develop new technologies in the old X-COM games. So we were excited to get a closer look at how weapon research and other fundamental features from the original series will be handled in the upcoming series reboot developed by 2K Marin. It looks like there will be a hint of BioShock-y gameplay mixed in. Find out more... ...

E3 2010: How Call of Duty: Black Ops improves on Modern Warfare (Call of Duty: Black Ops)

General gamer consensus seems to be that developer Infinity Ward makes the "real" Call of Duty games, having originated the series to begin with, while developer Treyarch makes the "other" Call of Duty games. Based on what I just witnessed at publisher Activision's E3 booth, however, that rule might be changing. A half-hour and two levels of Call of Duty: Black Ops were enough to convince me that the benchwarmer is now fully capable of outshining the superstar. At least in these four ways… ...

E3 2010 games to watch: Bulletstorm preview (Bulletstorm)

E3 is here! Almost. There is a crapload of games both confirmed and rumored to be at the show this year, and if you're looking for a definitive list, well here it is. We know for sure Bulletstorm will be there, but you may be asking, what is this game? Have you not heard of it? Does a storm of bullets sound appealing? Let's break this puppy apart (sorry, cute little puppy)... ...

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is no 2.5 (Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood)

A new Assassin’s Creed game? Really? So soon after AC II? Yes, we were as surprised as you and probably just as skeptical about its quality. Turning out such a huge, rich game as AC II was a monumental effort on Ubisoft’s behalf, requiring the input of three internal studios (Montreal, Annecy and Singapore), so when we first heard a new adventure was due and releasing this year we were instantly worried about the quality. Spin-off, Assassin’s Creed 2.5, cash-in: these were all phrases clouding our minds. And then, to compound our fears, Ubisoft invited us to play the multiplayer… ...

Dead Space 2 dev interview (Dead Space 2)

We’ve seen how Dead Space 2 plans to give the dark universe infested with Necromorphs a more epic-action-movie feel (only in certain moments, we’re promised), but we haven’t seen too much detail on the location, known as The Sprawl. One area we did see recently was a level set in a mine on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. The mine is crumbly, creepy, and of course teeming with Necromorphs, including two varieties we hadn’t seen before: the Stalkers and the Crawlers... ...

Singularity's multiplayer aims to be different (Singularity)

As everybody knows how Singularity’s single-player is going to work (turn enemies into dust, fix collapsed staircases, send busted crates back in time and break them open for ammo) we’re not going to recap everything we’ve said in previews past. Multiplayer, however, is an entirely different beast, and one that up until now has been a complete mystery. Wondering how Raven intends to set their game apart from bandwidth-guzzling Activision stablemate Call of Duty? Step forward Lead Game Designer Dan Vondrak... ...