Publisher: Sega
Developer: Double Fine
Genre: Adventure/Platformer
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

The Cave sees a return to Ron Gilbert’s stable of adventure gaming after some sidestepping into the realm of the action-RPG genre with the great DeathSpank series. My initial reaction when I was asked to review The Cave was, how shall I say, restrained. An apt description, as it would be the same response I’d give if someone asked me to go caving. The Cave is somewhat of a gaming nemesis for me, it being a hybrid platformer/puzzle/adventure, a combination that doesn’t usually inspire many outbursts of excitement from the gaming couch in my household. So, with my jaw set in grim determination, I donned my hardhat, checked my clamps, turned on my torch and descended into the depths of Ron Gilbert’s mind.

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Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Genre: Fighter
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Not being an experienced fighter, I felt rather awkward donning my “gi.” As a gamer, I haven’t tested my hand-to-hand combat skills much (unless you generously allow me to count wielding my Blade of Scorching in Skyrim). So it was with slight hesitancy that I downloaded Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown on my trusty Xbox.

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Developer Stainless have successfully crowd-funded a remake of the 1997 classic Carmageddon via Kickstarter. This means Max Damage will be making his high-octane, bullet-spewing return to a gaming screen near you in February 2013 on PC, with Mac, PSN, XBLA and potentially even Linux conversions to appear later. Carmageddon: Reincarnation burst through its $400,000 target with more than a week to spare. “After years of negotiation, the original founders of Stainless recently bought back all the rights to Carmageddon,” reads Stainless Games’ Kickstarter page. “So now it’s back in its rightful home, we’ve embarked on the journey that will reboot the brand.”

Need something to do while you await Doom 4? Worry no more. Bethesda is releasing the BFG Edition of Doom 3, which will include the 2004 shooter sequel; the following year’s expansion pack, Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil; and a new seven-level single-player campaign titled The Lost Mission. The revamped package features playable versions of the original Doom and Doom II. In addition, Bethesda has confirmed that the game will have enhanced visuals, 5.1 surround sound, stereoscopic 3D support and head-mounted displays. All of this on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. The BFG version will also tweak gameplay, with the flashlight now “armor-mounted,” so players won’t have to sacrifice firepower to get a good look at their surroundings. The new Doom 3 will also feature a new checkpoint save system, allowing for smoother progression through the game.

Disney and the Warren Spector-led studio Junction Point have revealed they’re working on a sequel to the 2010 platformer Epic Mickey. The game, unlike the original Wii-exclusive, will debut across all three major consoles. Titled Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Two, it will add voice-overs and co-op to the series, and will feature songs written by Jim Dooley and Mike Himelstein, the composer and lyricist for the upcoming animated film Dorothy of Oz. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Mickey’s long-lost predecessor who co-starred in Epic Mickey, will speak (and sing!) for the first time ever in The Power of Two. There’s no target release window as yet.

The Walking Dead game will be set in the same environment as Robert Kirkman’s graphic novels. However, it will follow a new group of survivors as they attempt to flee Atlanta in the beginning days of the walker outbreak. “Collaborating with Telltale on The Walking Dead continues to be a fantastic process,” said Kirkman. “They understand the world and the characters that I created and what it takes to make a game out of them. What’s really exciting is that they’re telling a new story with new characters, so you’ll get to see the same world Rick Grimes did, but now from a different point of view.” Telltale’s undead adventure game will be released in five parts starting this April.

The new Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim version 1.5 update has been released by Bethesda on Steam. It includes new kill moves for melee and a kill cam for ranged and magic deaths. Other new features include improved distance transition for snowy landscapes, shadows on grass, alterations of an item’s value after smithing skill increases, and improved visual transition when going underwater. You can check out the full list of features and bug fixes on the official Skyrim website.

2K have just announced that a new expansion is incoming for Civilization V. There’ll be a new focus on religious activities, nine new civilisations, new spies and a score of fresh units. You’ll also get to sample one of nine new leaders, including Prince of Orange and Boudicca. Civ V producer Dennis Shirk describes the new content: “We wanted to take the experience to a deeper level. We’re giving you new challenges to face.” You’ll also be able to interact with two new city-state types: Mercantile and Religious.

Are you a wanton megalomaniac? Then you’ll be wanting to keep an eye on Eugen Systems’ upcoming military RTS, Wargame: European Escalation. The game promises to deliver ridiculously massive battlefields (up to 150 square-kilometers in size), created with eye-popping detail. Eugen’s latest press release proudly boasts that some of the game’s maps will feature “over 100 million partially destructible and flammable objects.”

The latest trailer from Eugen Systems explains how multiplayer games will work. It looks like matches will be set up using a Battle Log-style social network, which will also keep tabs on players’ statistics and unlocked units.

Many fans of Diablo III were angered recently when Blizzard community manager Bashiok (aka Micah Whipple) tweeted that the upcoming game wouldn’t have public chat channels. However, in a shock twist, Bashiok was actually wrong. Public chat channels will be in Diablo III. Not only that, but they will also be included in an “upcoming beta patch.” Bashiok has since taken to the game’s official forums, apologizing for his original misinformation and setting the record straight.

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The latest Skyrim update, version 1.4, is now live on Xbox 360, but PS3 owners will have to wait a bit. “Sony tells us the PlayStation 3 patch will be hitting later today [9 Feb.],” Bethesda said in a blog post, “so stay tuned for more updates.” The developer says the patch, which became available for the PC last week, provides a heap of bug and quest fixes, including “…long term play optimisations for memory and performance,” meaning it should eliminate the game-crippling lag on the PS3.

Developer THQ has announced its list of upcoming releases. Sneaking out first on February 17 is UFC Undisputed 3. Then comes the company’s fiscal 2013 slate, which includes Darksiders II in June, South Park: The Game and a new WWE title in Q3, and Metro: Last Light and The Devil’s Third in Q4. In 2014 and beyond, THQ plans to release an unnamed game from Turtle Rock, inSANE from Volition, Homefront 2 (Crytek), the new game from Patrice Désilets’ THQ Montreal, and Dark Millennium Online, which will be completed with the aid of a “partner,” company boss Brian Farrell has revealed. On top of these, THQ has four unannounced core games in development for release in fiscal 2014.

Earlier this week, executive producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi characterized Resident Evil 6 as being the largest project undertaken by Capcom so far. “Between the 150 staff members in Japan and everyone around the world, we have more than 600 people involved. A lot of work has gone into this game,” Kobayashi said. “Resident Evil 6 is by far and away the most ambitious game in the series.” Also, producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi indicated that the game will be a blend of action and survival horror, which the team is calling “dramatic horror.” The latest instalment will feature a split plotline, with one thread focusing on Leon S. Kennedy in the US, and the other following Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance member Chris Redfield in China. The game is expected to arrive for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 20.

Gearbox has decided to make you wait even longer to see if anyone can hear you scream in space, announcing that Aliens: Colonial Marines has been delayed from a spring release to a tentative autumn 2012 one. According to an official statement from the developer, “Aliens: Colonial Marines is a process of creativity and invention, and those don’t necessarily follow the structure of an assembly line. While setting clear goals, deadlines and predictions is helpful, they are often subjective. We don’t want to sacrifice the creative process just for the sake of following a blueprint. We prefer to have the creative discovery shape that blueprint, because our goal is to make a great game.”

Aeria Games has just launched the website for its upcoming free-play science fiction FPS Repulse. The game, which is still in development, aims to build its own brand of playing style. The sci-fi shooter will have an air of familiarity to fans of developer Queen’s Soft. Repulse began as the open beta for a Queen’s Soft shooter by the name of Genesis AD. Having incorporated Genesis AD‘s best-recieved features into Repulse, Queen’s Soft is working with Aeria on bringing the game to completion. The publisher boasts the new game will feature quick-change character classes, Havok physics, and 16-player battles across nine different gameplay modes. The game is now taking applications for next year’s closed beta.