Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montpellier
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

Rabbids Go Home marks the debut of the slightly deranged (but always comical) Rabbids in a console game without their usual anchor character, Rayman. The Rabbids have always been amusing creatures on their own, but are usually part of the backdrop or the antagonists. Now you can have some fun controlling the havoc that ensues whenever they’re around.

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Well I have to say, even though I’m a video-game reviewer, many of the big titles passed me by this year. I have these darn “professors” who expect me to “read” so I can get “grades.” Totally cut into my play time, if you ask me. So when I think of games, I really put them into two categories: those I can play with people, and those just for me to jump in solo-style have some fun.

The multiplayer one for me is easy: Left 4 Dead 2. One of the things I love about gaming is the interaction, the camaraderie. Well, no, the trash-talking. But really, I see gaming as a social experience, and L4D2 gives me everything I need from a game. I can jump in and play through the campaigns on a survivor team or bust some heads as the infected. It’s fast-paced and simply tons of fun if you’ve got friends to tackle it with. I can pop it into my machine over and over and continue to have fresh, new experiences. I applaud any game that has the ability to do that. I don’t think this really needs more explanation. If you’ve played it, you know what I’m talking about.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Valve Software
Genre: Shooter
Release date: Available now

Valve has already set a high bar when making video games. With such hits as the Half-Life series, Team Fortress, Portal and the first Left 4 Dead, people keep wondering when they will run out of creative steam. Well, I can assure you, they certainly haven’t yet. You might remember a growing voice in the gaming community calling for a boycott of Left 4 Dead 2 because of its being released so soon after the original and concerns that issues from the first game had not been resolved. That boycott call ceased this past October before L4D2‘s release, and if you play this game, you’ll see why – it’s fantastic.

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With more than 55 million units sold, Activision has recently announced that its Call of Duty franchise has hit over $3 billion in retail sales worldwide. The latest title in the franchise, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, recently shattered box office and video game records with a worldwide estimated five-day sale through of approximately $550 million, establishing the game as the biggest entertainment launch in history.

“Call Of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, Inc. “If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history.”

For comparison’s sake, the largest selling franchise of all time is Nintendo’s Mario, with an estimated 222 million units sold. Could he possibly lose his throne in the near future to…a shooter?

Team iPhone, together with the Xbox 360 folks, has developed an app which will allow users to interface remotely with Xbox Live. The app allows users to sign in and perform a variety of tasks related to pictures, avatars, achievements, status and even messaging.

There is supposedly a $1.99 charge for the application, but rumors are already circulating that the price will be removed due to a mandate Microsoft made earlier that all Xbox Live-related applications be available at no cost.

Source: Edge

For all Fallout 3 fanatics, starting later this week (presumably Thursday), gamers will be able to outfit their Xbox LIVE avatars in cool Fallout 3-themed gear. The looks incorporated some of the more memorable and fashionable ensembles from the game and will be available in both male and female versions (save the Vault Boy Suit, which for obvious reasons, is male only at present). The prices are pretty inexpensive too, so they won’t impact the holiday shopping budget.

Check out Xbox.com or use the Marketplace to gear on up!

Source: Planet Xbox 360

Dark Void currently has a release date of January 12, so it’s nearly a month and a half before the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC communities will be able to sink their teeth into it, but Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment Group thinks Capcom has a hit on their hands and already wants to make it into a blockbuster movie.

The game’s story will center on cargo pilot, William Augustus Grey, who crashes in the Bermuda Triangle. From there, he is teleported to a parallel universe where he encounters other humans, called Survivors. Together, Will and the survivors must battle an alien race known as the Watchers to return to Earth. The Watchers came from afar, making humans do their bidding, whilst being treated as gods. With the help of Nikola Tesla, they retrofit Watcher technology to fight the Watchers.

It does sound like if properly executed, the movie version could be pretty excellent, however, as we know, games rarely translate to the big screen all that well. At this point, Pitt is only going to be producing, but he could also potentially star in the feature if it gets off the ground.

Source: Coming Soon

Do you feel like you’re just not able to brag enough about your hard-earned gaming achievements? Well fear not! Starting this week, users on both the Xbox 360 and PS3 will have the ability to connect their online gamer accounts to the world of social networking. Partnering with such popular sites as Facebook and Twitter, gamers can update their status through the consoles and the linkages can be used to automatically post gamer achievements to the sites.

Both consoles have been trying to expand their systems to have greater functionality beyond their core video game capabilities. Xbox 360 users already enjoy streaming music via Live.FM and both Xbox 360 and PS3 users are able to watch videos directly from Netflix.

Source: AP

Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

When movies are made into games, they never seem to work out. They always feel too much like studio marketing department gimmicks designed to convince consumers to buy something that was churned out in a few hours of development. Of course, there are exceptions (Batman: Arkham Asylum, Chronicles of Riddick, Ghostbusters: The Video Game), but usually this is because the games’ storylines and adventures are completely separate from their movie counterparts. So how does the well-received “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” movie fare in its foray into videogame land? Pretty well, I’m surprised to say.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Game Arts
Genre: Action
Release date: Available now

It’s amazing to think that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have been around for 25 years. Throughout that time, the four now-iconic heroes have graced comics, television series, movies, a whole slew of merchandise (I think I had at least one lunchbox as a kid), and of course, games. After the enormous success of the Smash Bros. series from Nintendo, Game Arts and Ubisoft have seen an opportunity to pit these beloved characters against each other.

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Publisher: SMERC
Developer: SMERC
Minimum requirements: Internet connection and Facebook account
Genre: Multiplayer Mystery
Release date: Available now

The “Twilight” saga and “True Blood” have helped make vampires the latest fad in chic multimedia. As a result, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that many game developers think a natural progression would be to introduce the bloodsuckers into the world of modern gaming. Enter Fangs, an online experience directly linked to the popular social-networking site Facebook.

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Publisher: Natsume
Developer: Marvelous Entertainment
Genre: Sports/Fishing
Release date: Available now

It shouldn’t be surprising to find that whole cadres of fishing games have been developed for the Wii. Just one look at the Wiimote and you can picture the handle of a fishing rod as players battle a catch from the comfort of their living-room couches. Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream attempts to cash in on this niche.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sumo Digital
Genre: Sports
Release Date: Available Now 

With the advent of the Wii Motion Plus, gamers are going to find more and more games dedicated to the Wii console’s core strength: interactivity focused on simple body movement. As indicated by the whopping success of Wii Sports and its sequel, a market exists for well crafted and executed sports-themed games. Virtua Tennis 2009 is a perfect example of this, a game that entertains while capitalizing on all of the unique functionality the Wii has to offer.

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Publisher: Mommy’s Best Games
Developer: Mommy’s Best Games
Genre: Side Scrolling Shooter
Release date: Available now
Review by: Christopher J. Troilo

The age of home gaming was revolutionized by the NES, and most owners had a few staple titles in their collection. If the mood struck you to run-and-gun your way through endless bad guys and aliens, then most likely you were popping in the all-time classic, Contra. While the age of shoot-em-up 8-bit games is long gone, there are still some trying to improve upon their designs and introduce their brand of fun to a new generation of players, which is where Weapon of Choice comes in.

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: 7 Studios
Genre: Action
Release Date: Available Now
Reviewer: Christopher J. Troilo

It wouldn’t be a new month without a new minigame compilation being released for the Nintendo Wii. However, this new game has the distinction of being branded with a household name in its title. The Six Flags chain of amusement parks, known for their rides and carnival games, has been converted into a party title for the Wii, aptly named Six Flags Fun Park.

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