Thor will have to face various ancient enemies inspired by Norse mythology using his legendary hammer, Mjolnir. Sega has revealed a new superhero game that will be coming to the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP in 2011.

“We are proud to be bringing Thor to his first solo video game adventure,” said Gary Knight, senior vice president of marketing at Sega. “Thor: The Video Game will finally bring the immense power of this iconic hero to lifelong fans, and introduce the God of Thunder to a whole new audience as a true Marvel Super Hero.”

In the game, Thor fights his way through the numerous worlds of Norse mythology to save Asgard, the capital city of the gods. These realms range from primal worlds of fire and ice to extraordinary planets inhabited by Frost Giants and Trolls, and Thor must overcome well known enemies like Ulik, Ymir, and Surtur. Additionally, the Wii version intends to take full advantage of the motion controls available, and will have a different art style, suited to the technological limitations of the console.

The creative team behind the life bringing Spore has set its sights on destroying life this time around in Darkspore. The new game bears little resemblance to the original, however, as this one is an action RPG set in a gritty sci-fi universe.

“The game was inspired in part by the award-winning creature editor tech of Spore, but also in large part from the team’s own passion for gaming and prior experience,” said Lucy Bradshaw, General Manager of Maxis Studio. “The team has combined these inspirations to produce a unique take on the action RPG genre.”

Darkspore will feature dynamic, fast-paced action as players battle across alien worlds to save the galaxy from the mutated forces of Darkspore in either a four-player co-operative, full single-player campaign, or multiplayer battles. In order to defeat them, players will need to collect an arsenal of living weapons (genetic heroes with different combat abilities), and upgrade them with tens of thousands of collectible body parts and armor.

EA is scheduled to launch Darkspore in February.

The Open Beta launch of Perfect World’s free-to-play MMORPG, Heroes of Three Kingdoms, is slated for Tuesday, July 27. Based on one of the most turbulent eras in history, the title a multiplayer experience that enables gamers to reshape pivotal moments from China’s past.

Set during the Three Kingdoms period in China, Heroes of Three Kingdoms incorporates various character options, a title system, historical instances and community features into its gameplay. Its Kingdom War system allows players to choose one of the Three Kingdoms (Wei, Shu or Wu) and enables them to create guilds, and wage war against one another for territorial gain. The Player versus Player (PvP) system and Battleground features present challenges to users as they hone their polished combat abilities against others in their move for power.

Shank will officially embark on his campaign of bloody revenge on August 24 for the PlayStation Network and August 25 for the Xbox Live Arcade. To whet your appetite for the classic, 2D brawling action, EA and Klei Entertainment have released a co-op trailer showcasing how Shank and his deadly sidekick Falcone ply their particular brand of retribution in the local multiplayer campaign.

Shank tells a story of gangland betrayal through a pulp-fiction lens. Gamers will play as Shank as they uncover the secrets behind his past and the reasons why he is hell-bent on revenge.

Tor Books has announced that Karen Traviss, who has penned number one bestsellers in the Star Wars universe, will be writing the successor novel to Halo: Ghosts of Onyx in the first part of a multi-book deal to explore the Halo Universe in the wake of the final events of Halo 3.

How does Ms. Traviss feel about her new adventure into the Halo universe?

“When I was invited to write Halo fiction I already knew it’d be right up my street; not just because military fiction is my specialty, but because there’s also huge unexplored depth, gray areas, and really uncomfortable moral dilemmas that underpin the Halo story, and that’s like catnip to a writer like me. I write what’s known as tight third person that is, I get right inside each character’s head and see the world as they see experience it and Halo offers some terrific chances to explore some fascinating psyches caught in complex situations.”

Although it may be a while before we can see where she takes the story, the Xbox 360 video game “Halo: Reach is scheduled to release September 14.

EA Sports has announced the development of EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp, a football-based training program that put users right into the football drills and conditioning workouts of an NFL training camp, for the Wii. Developed in collaboration with NFL strength and conditioning coaches, users will experience the thrill of competition while challenging friends and family in authentic NFL football drills. In addition, the Total Body Tracking feature uses the included heart rate monitor and wireless motion tracking to provide a challenging workout and help deliver measurable results. It will link to an online hub where users can share training results and challenge others to beat their personal best, as well as track progress toward specific fitness goals.

EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp will be available November 16 for $99.95.

Electronic Arts announced today that their EA SPORTS arm is developing the latest iteration of the long-running Fight Night franchise, Fight Night Champion.

Fight Night Champion will feature a refined physics-based animation system that incorporates improved locomotion, punching and stamina mechanics, that will enable users to move, attack and dodge with the simulated speed and power of the best champions, contenders and pretenders in the world of boxing. In addition, an all-new control scheme, dubbed Full Spectrum Punch Control, intends to deliver the most realistic punching system ever seen in a simulation fighting game, while still delivering an accessible experience for everyone.

Fight Night Champion will be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011.

Industry veterans Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch and Kirsten Forbes have formed Silicon Sisters Interactive, a Canadian video game company that will create games for a predominantly female audience.

According to the Entertainment Software Association, female gamers are one of the industry’s fastest growing demographic, with women accounting for 40% of the overall gaming audience. Silicon Sisters plans to capture and grow this market by tailoring games to these players’ daily lives and personal interests.

“We’re not interested in ‘pinkifying’ games, which is how girl games are typically designed,” says Brenda Bailey Gershkovitch, Silicon Sisters’ CEO. “It’s no coincidence that the games I and many other female gamers are most drawn to have had women involved in their development. Girls and women game differently than boys and men. Silicon Sisters has studied these differences so we can make games that truly appeal to and resonate with the female audience.”

Paradox Interactive announced today that development on its upcoming naval strategy title, Commander: Conquest of the Americas, has completed and pre-order has started at digital distribution outlets. Those who do pre-order will receive three extra ships, three new resources, seven new historical Commanders (one for each nation) and three new historical naval battles.

Developed by Nitro Games, Commander: Conquest of the Americas features elements from both trading and strategy games. Choosing from 7 different European factions, take charge of a European power aiming to conquer the New World. Found new colonies and manage their resources, production, military, and much more as they develop into a full blown empire. Choose to command ships in RTS fashion or take direct control as your fleet engages ships of an enemy nation or blood thirsty pirates.

Commander: Conquest of the Americas will be available for purchase at Rochester area retailers July 30.

Online publisher GamesCampus just announced that their upcoming free-to-play, MMORPG, Legend of Edda, will go into beta later this fall.

Based on the Greek mythological conflict between the Gods of Olympus and the Titans, Legend of Edda takes players through a storyline divided into five chapters based on the conflict of the two opposing factions. Players must pledge their allegiance to either Olympus or the Titans prior to character creation, and this allegiance plays a large role in subsequent battles. PVP battles are the cornerstone of the game and will personal battles, guild battles and player-killing where opposing factions can attack each other at any time.

Legend of Edda‘s class system options include Warrior, Swordsman, Assassin, Archer, Cleric and Wizard. Players will be able to choose their character’s first class during initial creation and upgrade to subclasses by completing promotion quests and eventually upgrading to different classes while obtaining greater and more powerful skills. A portal transportation system will keep the gameplay flowing, and players can also look forward to instanced dungeons, a special pet system, and four varieties of quests.

Zen Studios just announced that MARS, the latest expansion table for ZEN Pinball, is coming soon exclusively to the PlayStation Network. The new table joins Earth Defense, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 and Street Fighter as the fourth PSN expansion, with several more slated for release in the coming months.

Zen’s MARS table will take you into space to experience and explore life on the red planet, and it is your job as mission commander to lead the effort in unlocking the planet’s secrets. This table will offer several different game modes, ball slicing effects, electrically charged ramps and, of course, different combos for ultimate pinball play.

According to RedLynx, gamers demanded it, so they intend to deliver. Trials HD – Big Thrills will be the next expansion pack for their award-winning Xbox LIVE Arcade game.

With forty new professional tracks crafted by RedLynx’s level designers, the expansion is designed to bring a whole new world of challenges and bone-crushing gameplay to the game’s fan base. Unique with this release, RedLynx will also include ten user-created tracks, fully credited and featured right alongside the professional levels. In addition, everyone whose track is included will receive either cash or prizes. Aspiring track designers can visit the Big Thrills contest site to view the rules, the prizes, and the process for submitting a track for inclusion in the expansion pack.

Trials HD – Big Thrills is scheduled for release this fall.

The cloud-based game streaming service Gaikai just announced Intel Capital and Limelight Networks as investors in the company. This follows in the wake of the recent announcement of a partnership deal with Electronic Arts, which will see a number of EA’s top franchises including The Sims, Mass Effect and Medal of Honor streamed over Gaikai.

Gaikai offers the ability to play any game instantly inside the web browser with just one click, no big game download, no game install, and no patching. This server-based, cloud-gaming technology is designed to dramatically increase both reach, and audience participation, while bringing down acquisition costs dramatically. By playing games remotely from Gaikai servers around the world, players simply play wherever they are browsing, removing the need to pay for advertising clicks to move gamers around on the Internet. This freedom to play anywhere opens up new business models as you can play on any video game retailer site, any news site, publisher sites, or even inside Facebook.

Gaikai will launch later this summer with servers powered by Intel’s Six-Core processors and Intel Solid State Drives, running through the key nodes of the Limelight network.

Dallas-based Advergaming company Blockdot has released their 2010 survey, revealing that online versions of First-Person Shooter Games have dropped in popularity, while traditional Board and Puzzle Games continue to remain strong.

The goal of the survey was to gain insight about the lifestyle and behaviors of both male and female online gamers. The results indicate that the old stereotype of a teenage boy glued to a game console has been replaced by the casual online game player. These online players are engrossed in quick-play engagements that can last from 5 to 45 minutes per user session. The most dramatic shift in gaming trends, however, was regarding the FPS. These titles, once a very strong male favorite, are losing appeal and have shown a 20% decline in popularity since 2008.

For gamigo, the launch of the English-language version of Martial Empires was its most popular game launch ever – even before its commercial launch today! Never before have so many players registered to participate in open beta testing.

To ring in the grand opening properly, a competition will be held. Players will be challenged to level up their newly created characters (created after today) as fast as they can. The first 100 players to reach level 25 will receive an extra special reward: an exclusive insignia proclaiming them Master of Martial Empires.

In time for the official launch of Martial Empires, new regions will be opened for play. West Mikan and a new dungeon offer fresh loot and new challenges. Redcliff Cave and the Ice Cavern have also been redesigned. More unexplored regions will follow shortly.