Ubisoft’s series of My Coach games has thus far offered gamers lessons on a wide variety of things, including Spanish and dog communication. Now the publisher has announced that it is going to teach gamers self-defense. Ubisoft’s My Coach Self Defense is due out exclusively for Microsoft’s Kinect on November 8 in North America (November 11 in Europe) under the name Self-Defense Training Camp. It aims to teach players how to react safely to “troublesome” situations and protect themselves from “various forms of physical assault.” Ubisoft says it will achieve this through a series of fitness and martial arts workouts, which are focused on four core areas: technique, stamina, composure, and reflexes. Ubisoft says these techniques will be taught to players by a real-life in-game coach. Personally, I might skip this one and wait for Ubisoft’s X-man Training Camp.

Epic Games and ChAIR have officially announced Infinity Blade 2, the sequel to the popular hack-and-slash game available on iOS devices. The second game is scheduled to launch on December 1, 2011. The Unreal Engine 3-powered game will come with dozens of new locations set across an expansive 3D environment. According to the game’s official website, Infinity Blade 2 aims to challenge players to journey further into the world of the Deathless tyrants and their legion of Titans, building skills and upgrading characters in new ways.

Given the toughness of some of the enemies in Dark Souls, you may not have had time to appreciate the artwork that went into their creation. The PlayStation Blog has brought together the concept artwork of several different monster designs, and accompanying them is commentary from Dark Souls’ director Hidetaka Miyazaki. Hop on over if you want a sneak peek of what you’ll be up against!

The Insider section of the newest Xbox World hints that Remedy, the people behind the Alan Wake franchise, may be working on the latest installment for the Xbox 720. The section states: “We hear a number of Microsoft-friendly developers are hard at work on prepping next-gen games as we speak. Could this be the reason why Remedy are so quiet about Alan Wake 2? (Yes.)” According to Xbox World, Remedy is not the only team to dabble in the future console. “Rare, Lionhead and Turn 10 all have teams in place too.” It’s also rumored that THQ is planning Saints Row 4 for the 720.

Activision has just released a trailer for Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure. It’s a game that allows players to transport real-world toys into virtual worlds of adventure through the so-called “Portal of Power.” These “toys with brains” come to life inside the game, and keep their achievements and stats across any platform. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure will be available on October 16 for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS and mobile devices.

The creator of Minecraft has revealed in a recent tweet that the game is getting dragons! Markus “Notch” Persson mentions that while they’re far from finished, they are in development. Players got wind of a new development in the game and bombarded the Minecraft creator with tweets asking for more information. He obliged and confirmed the impending arrival of the winged beasts.

With a game out, a game coming soon, and a game/TV show in development, Trion Worlds sounds a busy place. Despite all this, the studio has announced a new project entitled “Red Door,” a gaming hub for players that doubles as a full-scale publishing and development platform. “Media and entertainment are transforming into connected services that evolve around the user,” Trion CEO Dr. Lars Buttler said in a statement. “Our goal is to revolutionize premium games and help the industry realize its potential in the connected era. Our first title, Rift, is just the tip of the iceberg; with Red Door we intend to catalyze significant change for the industry and unleash new creative possibilities. We want to hear from those with big bold ideas and dreams.” There was no launch date given, so watch this space for more information.

EA has confirmed that they are already developing the next Dead Space game, and they’ll be taking the gamer back down to the ground. In Dead Space 3, Isaac crash lands on a new planet and will need to survive alone on this frozen world. It’s also reported that he will find survivors, and Ellie will be among them. New character Jennifer rounds out the threesome, as they trek across the ice and snow struggling for survival. One of the great things about Dead Space was the claustrophobic ship settings. Will EA be able to transfer this experience to an outdoor environment?

Edmund McMillen (co-developer of Super Meat Boy), released another game today – The binding of Isaac. Although Super Meat Boy may have had some cheeky, dark elements, Isaac comes from a more nightmarish place. It’s been described as part Legend of Zelda, part horrific trip to Hell, and it’s currently exclusive to the PC. It costs the very reasonable price of $5.00, which is a pretty heavenly deal for a game that promises loads of randomly created dungeons and a different experience every time.

Rockstar Games has announced that the PC debut of L.A. Noire: The Complete Edition has been set for November 8 in North America, with a European launch to follow on November 11. This PC edition of L.A. Noire comes with a code which you can use to grab all of the previously released downloadable content from the console versions. The game is being ported over by Rockstar Leeds and supports both keyboard remapping and gamepads. The PC edition will also support Nvidia 3D Vision, something not found on the console editions of the game.

Atlus today announced that King of Fighters XIII will now launch for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 22 (not in October as originally scheduled). The title sets out to expand the fighter roster from the 22 characters previously available to more than 30. Among the additions will be Mai, as well as King, Vice, K, Yuri, Maxima, and Billy Kane. In addition to including faster fights and new Neomax super moves, Atlus boasts they are “completely revamping” the game’s online mode, which accrued a significant amount of gamer flak its last time out. King of Fighters XIII will also feature new modes and stages not seen in the arcade release, and will retail for around the $50 price point.

A heavy workload coupled with a teething 8 month old son has resulted in my gaming time being squeezed of late, but fear not because I have made offerings at the caffeine alter to counterbalance these minor gaming distractions! For some game experiences, the iPad has struggled to provide quality content, including RPGs. This week I have been role playing on my iPad, and by role playing I mean playing several RPGs on it, not standing on it dressed as an orc. So without further delay here are my iPad game musings for this week.

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The Rise of Isengard expansion will add three new zones to Lord of the Rings Online, including the rugged highlands of Dunland, the Gap of Rohan, and Isengard itself. The game’s level cap will rise to 75, new gear will be added and there will be a new raid to take down the ancient evil of Draigoch (one of the last great dragons of Middle Earth).

Rise of Isengard arrives September 27. Check out the new screenshots below.

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World Of Warcraft players will be familiar with the skill calculator system Blizzard announced for its classes in Diablo III.

The Demon Hunter uses a combination of agile attacks and shadow-infused abilities in Offense, Discipline and Utility. Interestingly Utility only has one ability, which instantly restores all Discipline for the Demon Hunter and has a cool-down time of two minutes. The Barbarian’s abilities fall under three categories: Fury Generator, Fury Spender and Situational. The Barbarian will function in much the same manner WoW’s warriors do, building rage in a plethora of ways while expending it in unrelenting attacks. The Monk’s more spiritual abilities are detailed in his three categories: Spirit Generator, Spirit Spender and Mantras. Playing the Monk will require a player to find a balance between building spirit before expelling it into attacks. His Mantras, however, act like buffs for the party – not unlike the Paladin’s Auras. The Witch Doctor’s abilities, are Physical Realm, Spirit Realm and Support. These skills seem effective in both offense and defense for the party (they even send forth exploding dogs). Lastly, Wizards are the fire and ice sort of class, as proven by their skill trees. They have a collection of four abilities. Their offensive skill tree includes plenty of elemental spells, from huge tornadoes to every wizard’s staple: the fireball. Then there’s Utility, which enables a variety of buffs and abilities.

The skill calculator even has all the available Runestones for each character as well as class-specific passive abilities that can be equipped. There’s an encyclopedia’s wealth of info available, so pop over to Blizzard’s skill calculator and see what all the fuss is about!

Developer Dreamatrix has revealed its latest project to be Legends of Dawn. The title is a fantasy action, RPG set in the “brutal, northerly reaches of Narr,” with third person combat, nine schools of magic and a myriad of treasure laden ruins to lose a giant in. You can also pop over to Dreamatrix’s official site and find a few screenshots that hint at how the game will look.

One interesting tidbit of intel we unearthed suggests that both player and enemy will have individual body parts, each of which can be damaged and injured separate from the overriding pool of health. Enemy tactics will shift and alter depending on these situations, and some are even affected by the time of day. A mass of crafting options, a sack of spells to cast and a world spanning two continents is promised as well.