Publisher: Sony
Developer: Sucker Punch
Genre: Action
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: June 7, 2011

Though they all suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous origin tales, once a superhero gets his powers, he usually gets to keep them. That’s one of the perks of getting bit by a radioactive Chihuahua in the funny pages. Until some evil-doer ups the ante and kidnaps his Auntie, these guys are free to wield that great power with no responsibility. But in video games, it’s one and done. Too often, gamers spend an entire title building their abilities, only to see them stripped by some plot inconvenience in the inevitable sequel. And then it’s back to square one. Having built their own powerhouse in the lightning bug Cole McGrath, the question remains, will Sucker Punch let this guy fly high once again in his long-awaited return, inFamous 2?

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Publisher: Sony Consumer Entertainment
Developer: Zipper Interactive
Genre: Tactical Shooter
Rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

These days, modern warfare is all about the set-piece and those scripted pieces of Michael Bayhem where all hell breaks loose and things blow up real good. The world may be toppling all around the player but with the advent of rechargeable shields that come standard with most contemporary shooters, players can afford to stop for a moment and soak in the blitzkrieg (and a few thousand bullets) before getting going again. Most shooters have become the equivalent of the summer blockbuster and as far removed from the grounded reality of real war as a Governator flick. SOCOM 4: US Navy Seals is finally hitting the ground on the PS3, but it remains to be seen whether this series sticks to its strategic roots or heeds the current Call of Duty.

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When I want to escape from reality, I like to drop down one dimension. See, I live in a very real 3D world, where every object within my grasp can be reached, grabbed or poked. Hell, even that slap that I usually get in return comes at me in all its three-dimensional glory. Four if you count the stinging sensation it leaves behind.

Despite this, the gaming industry is determined to follow Hollywood’s lead and try to get consumers to cough up more coin for yet more hardware. We’ve already seen a number of games given updates to allow them to run on the new 3D TVs, and Nintendo has recently launched its latest handheld unit, the 3DS, which provides the effect without the need for those gangly goggles.

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Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Canada
Genre: Sports
ESRB rating: Mature
Release date: Available now

In all the wide world of sports, boxing is arguably the most cinematic. Its punchy pugilists, our modern-day gladiators, battle in the ring before screaming masses, shedding their blood and working their opponents to the bone, all for our entertainment. In the end, there can be only one, and it’s that sentiment that provides a compelling narrative hook each time out. From Rocky to Raging Bull and the recent Mickey Ward tale, The Fighter, Hollywood has continually served up a series of Cinderella men ready for their close-ups on the canvas. It’s this same approach that EA uses with Fight Night Champion.

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True confession time.

I applauded loudly the day Nintendo made a million Zelda fans bawl with their cel-shaded Wind Waker announcement.

When I discovered that Solid Snake’s mission in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty was merely prologue to Raiden’s revelation, I tipped my cap to Kojima.

And in Halo 2, when Master Chief was kicked to the curb as we followed the Arbiter down some tricky, twisty paths, I saw the series in a whole new light.

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Tim Schafer is a gaming God.

Bow down to him. And while you’re at it, make sure you say 12 Hail Miyamotos, too.

We’re living in a pivotal time in our hobby’s existence. Video games have never been more popular. Much as the hardcore would hate to admit it, you have your Wiis and Kinect and Farmville to thank for that. The casual crowd has fully embraced gaming as a legitimate pastime, and that’s win-win for everybody. The more money tossed around out there, and the greater demand for gaming, the more we see niche genres getting some love, too. Digital distribution helps towards that end; a thought I’ll get to in a moment.

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Publisher: Broken Rules
Developer: Broken Rules
Genre: Puzzle-Platformer
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now

Nintendo’s WiiWare service has been a strange experiment. Sure, many people have taken swipes at Nintendo’s “two GameCubes wrapped in duct tape” approach to the online experience that nowadays even the most vanilla of mainstream consumers expect. But when they launched this digital distribution service shortly after the Virtual Console, expectations were high that this would be a venue on par with Xbox Live’s Arcade; granting smaller, independently financed titles a showcase in which to peddle their wares. And while there have been a handful of console exclusives that made a splash and really leveraged the unique control mechanics intrinsic to the Wii, such as World of Goo, too many weeks go by with middling shovelware pushed our way. With the release of the platform-puzzler And Yet it Moves hopes are high that this title will make its mark and compel publishers to push for further exposure on WiiWare.

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Publisher: Disney Interactive
Developer: Page 44 Studios
Genre: Party
Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now

Four years into the Nintendo Wii’s life cycle, it’s amazing how many mini-game compilations are still released on a fairly frequent basis. In the early days, it was somewhat understandable, as mainstream consumers were wowed by the novelty inherent to wildly swinging your arms and shaking your groove thang. These pick-up and play collections offered an easy point of entry for the casual crowd – allowing titles such as Carnival Games to emerge as surprise smash hits. Years later, the novelty has worn thin, but the shear number of mini-game compilations has yet to wane. It’s a tactic that many licensed properties have chosen to pursue, hoping that gamers will yearn to start a party with the backing of some of their favorite characters. And as a brand, Disney and the Disney Channel has a huge fan base eager to snap up anything with Hannah Montana’s mug splashed across it, so it was inevitable that we would get Miss Cyrus and the rest of her comrades from the House of the Mouse over for a little Disney Channel All Star Party.

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I never buy protection.

Now, before you go fleeing for the exits thinking you’ve wandered into a Very Special Episode of The Ed Zone – relax; this is purely gaming related.

I’ll leave the pharmacy chat for Dr. Oz. No, I’m speaking specifically about that Game Disc Protection Plan that every counter jockey at your friendly big-box game store has been coerced to offer you each and every time you look to purchase another game. I guess $3 is not that steep a charge to save you from yourself. But if you have even the tiniest bit of self-control and can be counted on to refrain from using that new copy of Dead Space 2 for skeet practice, that’s three more bones that you can place as down payment on the next round of DLC that should have been on the disc in the first place.

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Publisher: EA
Developer: Visceral Games
Genre: Survival Horror
Rating: Mature
Release Date: Available now

Two years ago, I charted my review through Dead Space by calling out the various gaming archetypes that the developers pulled from in building a better deathtrap. That game borrowed from the best, drawing inspiration from genre giants like Resident Evil 4 and BioShock. Then, like a great musician steeped in the movements of those who came before him, they churned out a killer symphony that immediately made Visceral Games a developer to watch. As I slowly made my trek through that game’s nightmare, I stopped taking stock of its influences and found myself swept up in the ride. Dead Space was a big, brawny adventure that made its mark on my psyche and left me wanting to know where fate would fling Isaac Clarke next. In Dead Space 2, we catch up with our intrepid engineer and find that his journey through the doomed Ishimura was merely one ring in a rapidly spiraling Hell.

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Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Feel Plus
Genre: Third-person shooter
ESRB rating: Mature
Release Date: Available now

If they’re not working on the next Halo or Call of Duty, why are game developers focusing their valuable time and attention on building a multiplayer suite? That’s the question I’ve asked myself for years as I’ve played through “Me Too” iterations of online frag-fest appetizers that might catch gamers’ attention spans for a moment or two before the masses return to their beloved comfort food. If you can’t innovate, then it makes no sense to toss in multiplayer simply to etch one more bullet point on the back of the box, unless you can bring something new to the table. It’s to this end that developer Feel Plus chases in developing their innovative third-person shooter, Mindjack.

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Publisher: Cosmonaut Games
Developer: Cosmonaut Games
Genre: Strategy
Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now

Like the rushing hordes that dominate their play fields, tower defense titles seemingly spring up endlessly. That’s the world we live in – where services like WiiWare, XBOX Live Arcade, PSN and the mobile phone app environment cater to “a second to understand, a lifetime to master” games that tickle that itch for entertainment the casual masses seem to have all contracted in unison. And while the genre has seen some amazing addictions rise, with titles such as Plants vs. Zombies enjoying a flourishing life cycle, developers continue to plug away and feed that jones to defend one more tower. That’s the space Cosmonaut Games aims to explore in their new tower defense title, Inkub.

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Publisher: Disney Interactive
Developer: Junction Point
Genre: Adventure/Platformer
Rating: Everyone
Release Date: Available now

People may misplace the past, but they never seem to forget promises. Too many game developers have learned that hard lesson – especially the more outspoken gurus, such as Lionhead’s Peter Molyneux who through three Fable titles has still neglected to deliver on his prideful boast that players could imprint their green thumb on the title and watch as a tiny seed transformed over time into a mighty elm. Past indiscretions and broken promises make for a compelling backdrop surrounding Disney’s Epic Mickey – a title that when teased awhile back seemed pregnant with such possibility, as gamers chewed on the dreamy concept art that foretold a dark fairy tale for the beloved Mickey and promised a well-deserved resurrection for this regal rodent. The question looms – has Warren Spector learned from others’ past mistakes?

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Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Genre: Party Game
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

If you are looking for a way to mark each anniversary of the Nintendo Wii, paying close attention to each successive Raving Rabbids release would make for a nice string around your finger. Those schizophrenic rabbits, the bane of Rayman, first burst onto the scene alongside the Wii back in the Fall of 2006, and made for a nice companion to show adopters just what fun they could have when introducing the Wii at their holiday party. A year later, a sequel to that game hit and offered up a host of additional manic party modes. And while they spent the following years starring in their own twisted take on the type of 3rd person platformer that Nintendo fans crave; the Rabbids have returned to their roots in this latest release; Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time.

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Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: Disney Interactive Studios
Genre: Action-Platformer
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available Now

Movie-based games have made major strides of late. While they were once an industry joke—quick cash-ins aimed at robbing whatever loot kids had left after scoffing down their licensed Happy Meal counterparts—recent games such as this past summer’s Toy Story 3 have provided some compelling gameplay experiences aimed at expanding on their source material. With the holidays approaching, you just know that retail shelves will feature the latest tie-in to this season’s blockbuster family hit. So the question looms: should you gobble up that copy of Disney’s Tangled as you brave the post-Black Friday crowds?

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