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Looking back at some of the most classic video games of the ’90s, titles including Mario Kart, the original Need For Speed, Twisted Metal, etc. all pop into mind. All of these games however, are strictly focused on gameplay where a player controls only a vehicle. With the growing popularity of sandbox titles (see: Grand Theft Auto V) and the industry-leading genre of shooters, among others, all giving players more freedom and choice when it comes to exploration, vehicles are becoming what they should be - a method of transportation players can opt to use or not....

In keeping with the marketing generally seen from the series, momentum is starting to build for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Thrusting players into the Golden Age of Pirates and a search for gold, gore and glory, the game’s new protagonist Edward Kenway will be making a big splash in the Caribbean this November. Ubisoft has made somewhat of a habit out of cinematic trailers that get even casual onlookers interested, and the same is true for Black Flag....

In past years, dedicated servers have been a major selling point for Call of Duty on the PC, as they promise parity between multiplayer gamers (a.k.a. no host advantage). While Xbox 360 gamers have enjoyed first dibs on DLC map packs and special exclusives, PC players have experienced COD’s multiplayer in the most optimum way possible. With this year’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, however, developer Infinity Ward is taking dedicated servers out from under the PC umbrella and bringing it to the masses....

While much of the attention in the genre of early access zombie survival titles has been on Sony Online Entertainment’s H1Z1, that game’s controversial free-to-play features have done little to boost player interest. Yes, there may be morbid curiosity, but endless forum posts do their best to warn players that the game’s pay-t0-win philosophy is more devious than we earlier thought. Strangely, though, while H1Z1’s struggles have made more players appreciate the other Early Access zombie survival title on the market, like DayZ....

The wait for Dead Space 3 is now over, and protagonist Isaac Clarke no longer has to go it alone. But if you’ve missed out on the previous two games (and expanded universe), and still want to try your hand at slicing Necromorphs, EA and Visceral have produced a new video series detailing the “Journey Through Darkness” that should get you up to speed. Previous trailers have established that the forces at work in Dead Space 3 have a history predating the games themselves - in other words, a lot of fiction to digest....

Capcom’s Devil May Cry had its time to shine over the past decade, first cropping up for the PlayStation 2 back in 2001, shocking players with deep combat mechanics, gritty storylines, and “devilish” anti-hero Dante. Times have changed and with four DmC iterations under Dante’s belt (not to mention a few rounds in the fighting ring), Capcom has given the franchise a chance to reboot, as on display during E3 this year....

I cry foul on the creators of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon - some arcane, other-worldly, black magic must have driven the Vicious Cycle development team. How it is possible for a game to be so thrilling and audaciously enjoyable - while blatantly baring all of its numerous inadequacies for everyone to see, is a complete mystery. Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (aka EDF:IA) is the sequel to the 2006 cult-hit Earth Defense Force 2017....

The wait for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is unfortunately a long one. Three more months until players can assume control of perhaps the most elite military squad in all of fictional military branches (Team Rainbow is more of a counter terrorism group, not a military branch). To make the wait a little less hurtful, Ubisoft is releasing all kinds of promotional videos to showcase gameplay and explain more of the Ghost squad’s backstory....

Reports of an imminent Gran Turismo 6 reveal are revving up online, ahead of an official Sony event at Silverstone racetrack later today. Bumbling PR reps from Sony’s South African branch outed the long-awaited sequel in a press release doled out to members of the nation’s gaming press, before hurriedly announcing an embargo to quash the mistake. It didn’t help that a product page on the official site appeared online last night....

Disney has become one of the most powerful entertainment companies in the world, going from ’the house of mouse’ into an empire of magical characters, superheroes and jedis. That growth is due largely to Disney’s purchase of powerhouse businesses like Marvel and Lucasfilm, spreading established properties into new markets. Disney has worked tirelessly to promote these new intellectual properties among fans, with Marvel characters quickly integrated into Disney Infinity, and most recently, Minecraft receiving a Star Wars character skin pack....

While the mod community typically is taken to task with finding clever ways to improve a game’s user interface or all around functionality, there are a select few who use PC mods to improve the look of a game. It’s something that we’ve seen in everything from Grand Theft Auto IV to Skyrim, and now it’s making the jump to Mass Effect. Though Mass Effect, for all of its console hindrances, isn’t a bad looking game, the high res texture pack created by JeanLuc761 makes the game look down right stunning....

The Silent Hill series is a bit of an odd case because, on one hand, it has some of the most dedicated and diehard fans of all time. Some are even keeping Pyramid Head relevant as recently as this week. On the other hand, it’s been so poorly represented in the modern gaming age outside of homages such as The Medium. The latest game in the franchise was Silent Hill: Book of Memories and that came out on the Vita way back in 2012 to a lukewarm reception....

Fans of the upcoming South Park game will be in for more of a wait than expected, with THQ announcing in their fiscal reports that the release date of the game is now resting in the fourth quarter 2013. Granted, in the eyes of investors this is a very good Holiday window to be in, but not everyone will enjoy the extra year’s worth of wait to get their hands the product of such a much beloved - and infamous - franchise....

The Star Wars universe is rife with exotic planets and locations that often magnify temporal features akin to those found here on Earth. For instance, the dense forestry of the Sanctuary Moon of Endor is reminiscent of North American woodlands, the sand dune populated planet of Tatooine recalls the deserts of Northern Africa—obviously, since A New Hope was filmed in Tunisia—and, of course, there’s the ice planet of Hoth that is evocative of Antarctica....

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been on store shelves for five days now, and is already more popular with Steam users than Modern Warfare 3. No wonder. Skyrim is a beautiful game with a solid story and a world that feels “alive” in every sense of the word. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is already a contender for Game of the Year; Game Rant loves the game (read our Skyrim review) despite it’s graphical glitches, and we look forward to the hours upon hours the title still has in store....

Where Mass Effect 3 failed, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt hopes to deliver. Specifically, CD Projekt Red’s forthcoming sequel hopes to deliver an ending influenced by the decisions players make over the course of the game. To that end, CD Projekt Red reveals that there will be up to 300 different variations on the game’s 36 “endings.” There actually may be more than 300 variations, but The Witcher 3 developer lost count after that....

It hasn’t been smooth sailing recently for L.A. Noire developer Team Bondi, but it appears that the studio’s next game has washed ashore in a fascinating new land. Having been liquidated and purchased last October by the multimedia production company Kennedy Miller Mitchell, Team Bondi has finally released the first screenshot and details for its nebulous project, Whore of the Orient. Not only is the game being developed as a brand new IP for next-generation consoles and published by Warner Bros....

Warner Bros. has given the green-light to Wonka, an origin story centered around the titular chocolatiers’ early adventures. It will come out on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2023. Wonka is a prequel to Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A popular movie based on the book came out in 1971, and Warner Bros. produced a Tim Burton remake in 2005. The studio has been planning a spin-off since they bought the rights to the Willy Wonka character back in 2016....

While hardcore gamers may have immediately looked at the release of the Microsoft Kinect as a chance to expand interactivity, several developers have looked at the full-body interaction as a chance to get players everywhere into shape. After Ubisoft’s first attempt to get gamers off their couches and into shape, with last year’s Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, the studio has come back with a bigger and better experience. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012 has arrived, but does it manage to set a new height for the series, or continue to suffer from the same lack of polish and intuitive exercise programming?...

Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to run their very own dinosaur theme park? Well… anyone who’s seen a Jurassic Park or Jurassic World film. Still, for those with the determination and can-do attitude required to ignore all the warnings littered throughout popular culture, Jurassic World Evolution, the park simulation game made by Frontier Developments, awaits! The game is set in the same universe as the movies, with BD Wong, Bryce Dallas Howard and the wonderful Jeff Goldblum taking up the voice acting roles of their characters, adding a great sense of place and world-building to the game....