Tribes: Ascend hands-on preview (Tribes: Ascend)

When was the last time you went skiing in a multiplayer shooter? Sadly the answer is either never or seven years ago, because that’s the last time anyone saw the Tribes franchise. Skiing the Tribes way is so much more fun than how it’s done in the real world. First, a quick (interesting, I swear) history lesson: in the original Starsiege: Tribes, players figured out an exploit where if you tapped the jump key while running downhill, it broke a loophole in the physics engine and allowed you to... ...

Rage interview reveals mind-controlling crossbow (RAGE)

I got a chance recently to not only play Rage for over two hours, but also interview president of id Software, Todd Hollenshead. It was interesting to hear the thoughts of a guy who’s seen and been a part of the evolution of the first-person shooter, especially right after I played Rage, which clearly has learned from the very developers who id originally inspired with its own work. The difference between id’s last game, Doom 3, and Rage, shows a developer not afraid... ...

Dishonored preview - looking for a unique game? (Dishonored)

We didn’t have any reason to be excited about Dishonored since we knew nothing about it going into our recent demo, but now that we’ve seen the game, we can tell you that you need to be excited, because we sure damn are. Dishonored is a first-person action/adventure game, or perhaps a first-person stealth/assassination game. It’s difficult to pin to a category, which is fine by us. It also takes place in its own unique universe that is fully realized down to the tiniest details. After watching it played for an hour... ...

Madden NFL 12: Keeping an eye on Eli (Madden NFL 12)

If you're a Madden fan, you'll no doubt already have the demo that up now on Xbox Live and PSN. You'll already have noticed the details like 3D blades of grass (woot!) and the improved real-time collision physics between players. But a demo is a demo and isn't going to let you see much of the Franchise mode. But we've seen it so let's all stand in a line and shout "HUT" a bit until everyone agrees it's time to read this preview.

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim hands-on preview (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)

Thank the gods we weren’t killing rats. The first thing we encountered during our hands-on with the can’t-be-more-hyped The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was a pair of wolves. Not quite a dragon, but hey, the game has to build up to something, right? We got nearly an hour to play the game, and we weren’t guided: we simply created a character and were free to do whatever we wanted... ...

Bodycount: Co-op and single-player hands-on will explode excitement all over your mind (Bodycount)

Apparently, Asia is full of buildings that explode lots - at least if the latest area of Bodycount is anything to go by. But if you've been following our coverage up until now, you know all about the explosions, the exploding barrels and the fragile buildings standing next to the exploding barrels. What you don't know about is the co-op mode, or the single-player's most important feature - which is why I'm here. So step right this way. Oh, and watch out for the proximity mines on the floor. Good man. ...

The Witness hands-on preview: Braid creator's new game is Myst, Mensa and a whole lot of Meta (The Witness)

“You’re the first person to play this.&

Those are intimidating words to hear from the man who single-handedly designed Braid, a game famous for its time-twisting and mind-manipulating puzzles, but also notorious for its enigmatic and elusive narrative. I am sitting in Jonathan Blow’s apartment, on Jonathan Blow’s couch, about to begin Jonathan Blow’s first game in three years, The Witness. What if I can’t solve the obstacles about to be thrown in my path? Worse, what if I don’t understand them, or the entire point of this most likely metaphorical experience?

Honestly, at first I don’t… but keep reading... ...

Renegade Ops hands-on preview forgettable title, memorable action (Renegade Ops)

Unlike its bland, should-have-been-a-subtitle moniker, Renegade Ops is not a game that you'll easily forget after spending a little time with it. We took it for a quick spin just before E3, but now after playing a few complete missions and testing out the local co-op play, it's quite clear that this vehicle-based shooter is one of the more intriguing downloadable games on the horizon past Microsoft's current Summer of Arcade slate... ...

Cabela's Big Game Hunter and Survival: Shadows of Katmai trailer targets both seasoned and new hunters (Cabela's Survival: Shadows of Katmai)

Cabela’s, the retail chain specializing in hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor activities that gamers are too busy pushing buttons to participate in, has been releasing their Big Game Hunter series since the late-90s. Armed with a trailer decked out in the finest of faux hunting parephenalia and foliage, they came by GamesRadar headquarters today to show off their latest installment in this popular series as well as the new title under the Cabela’s umbrella, Survival: Shadows of Katmai... ...

RAGE: Five very important things we've learned from the opening two hours (RAGE)

There are certain things that everybody probably now knows about Rage. It's the first 'proper' game in seven years from Doom creator id Software. It's a post-apocalyptic shooter. It looks a lot like Borderlands. It's one of the most beautiful games ever to exist thus far. All that, you probably know. I knew it, going into my lengthy hands-on session the other day, but one simple piece of knowledge eluded me. I had one simple, but very important question. What the hell does Rage actually feel like to play?

You see up to this point it's remained a bit unclear as to exactly what Rage is. Is it an FPS? Is it an RPG? Is it an open-world game? Is it all of the above, and if so, why should we care if it's just a more brightly-coloured Fallout 3? Fortunately, this particular session comprised of me being given a near-finished copy of the game, two hours, and being allowed to play through unrestricted, from the very start, until the time ran out. I know all about Rage now. I know how it looks, I know how it feels, I know exactly how it plays. Hell, I could almost tell you how it smells. And I'd like to communicate all of that information to you right now, barring perhaps the last bit.

Here are the five big things you need to know. ...

Assassin's Creed Revelations hands-on multiplayer preview (Assassin's Creed Revelations)

When Assassin’s Creed finally dipped its toes into multiplayer with last year’s release of Brotherhood, the unique new mode created by Ubisoft’s studio in Annecy, France, best known for their work on Splinter Cell’s spies-vs-mercenaries multiplayer quickly distinguished itself as one of Brotherhood’s standout features. Favoring a stealth-based approach in which everyone was not-so-secretly hunting everyone else, it was a tense, intimate experience that put crowds, hidden abilities and plenty of climbable Renaissance architecture at players’ disposal... ...

This time, even Assassin’s Creed Revelations’ multiplayer has a story to unravel (Assassin's Creed Revelations)

Story is something that’s become increasingly important to the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and if nothing else, it’s certainly given us a lot of stories to follow. So far, we’ve had the dueling central narratives about Altair, Ezio and Desmond; the strange hints about the mythical First Civilization; and the idea that history has quietly been manipulated by two warring secret societies, the Templars and the Assassins, for centuries. When it releases this November, however, Assassin’s Creed Revelations will give us have one more story to chase down, and this time it’s tied to the multiplayer... ...

Dead Island hands-on preview (Dead Island)

Talk about rotteny-meaty crunches and thuds. We just brained our fiftieth zombie and somehow the enjoyment of it has come back. See, after the initial thrill of such physical, solid melee smackings of all things undead, beating corpses to re-death became mundane. We were worried that the combat in Dead Island would get routine and boring quickly, but then out of the blue, as we were curb-stomping a gray-skinned woman in a bikini and then following up our foot-to-cranium with clawhammer-to-cranium, the sheer bass sound of the impact and the... ...

Air Conflicts: Secret Wars hands-on preview (Air Conflicts: Secret Wars)

Aside from the sharp IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 don't really boast a long and proud legacy of historical combat flight simulations and it's been a couple of years since the last notable release. Games like Heroes of Europe and the Blazing Angels entries have surely provided some entertainment to genre fans, plus the Battlestations series includes solid flight segments, but it's otherwise been very slim pickings of late compared to the richer PC flight scene...
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Need for Speed: The Run hands-on preview (Need for Speed The Run)

After its big reveal at this year’s E3, long time Need for Speed fans were a little baffled by The Run’s E3 trailer. After only a brief taste of the racing, the main character Jack Rourke leapt from his vehicle and took off on foot. The ensuing QTE segment violently divided early opinion, but rest assured, this is still a NFS game, and the racing comes first. Our recent demo was 100% in-car, and we’re glad to report it feels just as good as Hot Pursuit. ...

Mercury Hg hands-on preview (Mercury Hg)

We have to admit that we’re suckers for clean, geometric worlds like those found in Marble Madness, Super Monkey Ball, and even Snake Rattle Roll, so we find the aesthetic of Mercury Hg rather appealing. An update of a PSP (and PS2, and Wii) game, Mercury Hg puts the world in the player’s hands you tilt the entire play field as in Monkey Ball, except instead of a ball, you’re directing a blob of mercury. This might not seem like an important difference, but it actually makes the game unique thanks to... ...

Battleblock Theater hands-on preview (Battleblock Theater)

Not only do I have nothing but good things to say about The Behemoth’s games so far, I can as go as far to say that if you don’t like Alien Hominid or Castle Crashers, I probably wouldn’t like you. Gamers my age have always looked forward to the day when we’d be able to play living cartoons, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they’d be as charming, fun and adorably violent as those aforementioned titles. ...

F1 2011 played on 360, 3DS and PlayStation Vita. It's the only preview you need (F1 2011)

Formula One in real life is finally exciting again. Sure, Vettel is winning everything in sight, but the new rules and overtaking systems have, if nothing else, at least made the races exciting to watch. That's worked out very nicely for Codemasters, who rode the crest of the wave last year with F1 2010 and are now sitting pretty to deliver a super-sequel. They were showing off the game on Xbox 360, 3DS and PlayStation Vita in London, and we played them all so there's a page about each right here. Engines on? OK, let's go.  ...

FIFA 12: Behind-the-scenes videos of the new commentary team in action, may include Spaceballs reference (FIFA 12)

It's out with the old super sexist and in with the new as FIFA 12 turfs out Andy Gray and bring in ex-Arsenal player, Alan Smith to provide the commentary with FIFA stalwart, Martin Tyler. We managed to capture the dynamic duo spitting some brand-spanking new commentary that will eventually be featured in FIFA 12, which is out in September.

Listen out for colourful chatter about upcoming transfers that will be threaded through the new career mode (more on this very soon) and quite an off-kilter rant about the movie Spaceballs. Check out the exclusive footage after the jump - also includes bloopers from both Tyler and Smith. ...

Call of Juarez: The Cartel hands-on multiplayer preview dealers vs cops (Call of Juarez: The Cartel)

Drugs are a violent business, and not just for those actively doing the crimes. Sure, drug dealers have to deal with a not-so-ideal customer base, but that's not all they have to deal with. Sometimes, the authorities get involved, and that's when things start to really get ugly. It becomes a desperate struggle to hold on to as much contraband as possible while still holding onto their lives. And that bad situation is exactly where Call of Juarez: The Cartel's objective mode drops you... ...