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The LEGO games are beloved by fans of all ages, translating our favorite franchises into block form to give us hours of fun and enjoyment with a healthy dose of humor added in. With more LEGO games heading our way, such as LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, last showcased in December, we have decided to look at other franchises that deserve to get digitally bricked. As the LEGO games are aimed at families, the franchises have to be age-appropriate....

If there is one frequent trope that has been the subject of video games in the last decade, its a zombie or post-apocalyptic game where a chunk of the population was wiped out or turned evil by some sort of deadly virus. Not that this is a bad thing. In fact, some of the biggest hits in video games fall into that category There are some longtime developers that inspired the genre years after their classic game was released....

Housemarque’s Returnal is one of the first big exclusives to release on PlayStation’s newest console, and it has seen substantial buzz because of its unique and challenging design. Horror and fast-paced action are several of the main draws in this roguelike. With tense encounters and horrifying enemies, players are sure to shudder at this otherworldly experience. While the narrative takes a backseat in roguelikes, there are still some moments where the game doesn’t make much sense....

Few series have been more resilient than Castlevania. The first few games in the franchise were fairly standard 8-bit platformers (albeit with a unique horror vibe), but over time, entries in this series became less linear and more about exploration, eventually helping to inspire a whole new subgenre: “Metroidvania.” While the 3D Castlevania games never quite reached the same heights as those earlier titles, they’re still excellent (maybe even underrated) experiences in their own right....

2,000 NPC’s filling out a single sequence. Over 1,000 animations tailored specifically for Connor, our new Native American protagonist. The latest trailer for Assassin’s Creed III imparts some scintillating details about Ubisoft’s AnvilNext technology - the proprietary game engine for the series’ next installment. The engine’s goal, as the voiceover smoothly notes: “transporting you deep inside America… before it was ‘America.’ " Originally developed for Assassin’s Creed in 2007 under the moniker ‘Scimitar,’ and referred to simply as ‘Anvil’ for 2009’s radically improved Assassin’s Creed II, the overhauled AnvilNext engine is making its debut in Assassin’s Creed III....

After much speculation and more surprises than many would have ever expected, it looks like the final character that players will be able to embody in Batman: Arkham City has been revealed. Fans of the comic books can breathe a sigh of relief, as the latest achievements for Arkham City have confirmed that Nightwing will be a playable character in the game’s Challenge Mode. Former Robin Dick Grayson is all grown up, and will join Catwoman and Tim Drake’s Robin as playable fighters in the extensive Challenge Mode of the upcoming game....

As if Borderlands 2 didn’t have enough things for gamers to keep track of — from its bazillion guns to its dozens of eclectic characters — the team at Gearbox Software decided to implement a new feature called the ‘Badass Rank.’ While not a revolutionary feature, the ‘Badass Rank’ was a measurement of how many in-game challenges a player had completed whilst exploring Pandora. Some of those challenges include killing 50 psychos or saving $10,000 while shopping, and are tracked with a handy progress bar....

Love it or hate it, Call of Duty remains one of the most popular shooters available. This financial and commercial juggernaut is set to make a return later this year with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, as the franchise continues to tap into a sci-fi future setting complete with augmentation, robots, and civil unrest over technology. With Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 multiplayer, players are able to select from a series of specialist classes before jumping into a multiplayer match....

Long before the game was ready to release, there was rampant speculation over just how successful (or not successful) Destiny may be. Some felt that Bungie’s clout among gamers was high enough to make the game an instant hit, while others felt the confusing, MMO-esque concept might turn gamers off. Now that Destiny has finally released it seems gamers’ concerns about the game flopping were unfounded, as the title has already eclipsed its production and marketing budget within the first 24 hours....

While the premise for Destiny has thus far centred around the last human city on Earth, Bungie has expanded the universe just a little by taking gameplay to the Moon in a new trailer. Confirming Destiny isn’t going to be earthbound and that it will feature a little space travel, even if it is just to our closest neighbor, should be exciting for those who thought one city might have struggled to keep environments fresh....

In terms of a freshman effort, Disney Infinity did almost everything it was supposed to do. The game introduced a concept that, while familiar and a little too similar to Skylanders, was bolstered by one of the biggest brands in the world, and is almost perfect for the family atmosphere. However, as we cited in our review, the game is quite limited both in terms of its scope and what it asks players to do....

Thanks to Larian Studios’ Divinity: Original Sin, RPG fans can experience a refreshing take on expansive RPG stories. Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin 2 offer players vast narrative freedom. In fact, almost every action and choice can affect the way the main story, side quests, and personal storylines play out. Original Sin 2 shows this narrative prowess by offering players two options: playing a pre-made character or making their own....

Compare DriveClub’s problems to other launch travesties, and the PS4 exclusive racer is right up there with SimCity and Battlefield 4. Meant to be a shining example of the PS4’s horsepower (the game was originally a launch title), its delayed release a year later has made it anything but. DriveClub’s developers, Evolution Studios, have chalked the problems up to the coding of their servers. Mostly affecting online multiplayer, the issues also temporarily stripped the game of its key features (including challenges and social updates) and, most critically, it means that the PlayStation Plus version of DriveClub has yet to be released for those looking to take it for a test drive before buying....

Although they were two of the main COGs – literally and figuratively – in the Marcus Fenix-led Delta Squad between Gears of War 1 and 3, the games’ campaigns were never bashful about separating Damon Baird and Augustus Cole (aka “The Cole Train”) from the center of the action. Case in point: During the final hours of Gear of War 3 (don’t worry; we won’t spoil the details), the pair went gallivanting to gather reinforcements for a COG assault on Azura as Marcus, joined by the game’s narrative lens, steamrolled his way towards the finale: a face-off with the Locust Queen....

As if Gears of War 3 players didn’t already have enough on their hands, what with the ‘Twelve Days of Gearsmas’ and the recently released Raam’s Shadow DLC, Microsoft Game Studios and Epic Games are launching the third DLC pack for Gears of War 3, this one titled Fenix Rising. Featuring five new multiplayer maps inspired by significant locales in the Gears of War 3 campaign, Fenix Rising also introduces four new character skins and a new experience system that allows players to rank up through level 100 multiple times to unlock exclusive emblems and additional weapon skins....

It was clear to everyone when 343 Industries used its acquisition of the Halo franchise to release Halo: Anniversary - an upgraded, remastered and expanded re-release of the original Halo: Combat Evolved - that a similar treatment could be expected for Halo 2. But with the arrival of the Xbox One, Microsoft revealed their plans for much, much more. Players wouldn’t be offered Halo 2: Anniversary to commemorate the game’s tenth birthday, but all four numbered entries as part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection....

If there’s one criticism that can be aimed at the Kingdom Hearts series, it’s that it takes forever for a game in the main series to be released. Consider this: the first Kingdom Hearts game was released on March 28, 2002, close to the beginning of the PlayStation 2’s run. The second official game, Kingdom Hearts II, was released on March 28, 2006, four years later and close to what many believed to be the end of the PS2’s lifetime....

The Mad Max franchise has been pretty hot lately with Mad Max: Fury Road hitting a home run with movie critics and movie-goers alike. While fans are eager for more chaos and destruction set in this universe, Avalanche Studios is looking to make good on that franchise with their upcoming apocalyptic open world transmedia title that’s set in the same universe. Looking to capitalize on the recent success of the current blockbuster hit, Mad Max: Fury Road, Avalanche Studios has released a brand new trailer for the upcoming Mad Max title in advance of E3 in June....

Nothing says fan service like a good franchise fistfight. Whether it’s Tekken taking on Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat squaring off against DC Comics characters or the might of the Marvel universe matching up to Capcom’s own characters, the modern day player just can’t get enough of these seriously mixed up melees. In Marvel Vs. Capcom, the licensed fighting title may well have produced its magnum opus, a team-based brawler brimming with color, character and outrageous Hyper Combos....

There are several big games scheduled to launch in 2014, and one of the biggest is the next iteration of the treasured Metal Gear Solid franchise. Acting as a prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will be hitting a medley of platforms when it releases this March, but according to franchise director/creator Hideo Kojima the follow-up’s open-world will literally be “hundreds of times larger....