With the holidays just around the corner – or passing for those who celebrate Chanukah – everyone is trying to find that perfect gift. However, if that perfect gift is a video game, it may be a little difficult to determine just which game from 2012 or 2011 to choose. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 and Assassin’s Creed III are great choices, but also rather expensive. Instead, here are some games in the $30 to $50 range that are definitely worth having.

Sleeping Dogs is a game that is available for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. In this gritty drama the player is Wei Shen, an undercover cop in Hong Kong, who is trying to take down a gang known as the Triads from the inside. However, in order to gain trust and climb his way up the Triad ranks, Wei Shen must take part in their criminal activities. Throughout the game the player is able to explore the city of Hong Kong both on foot and through driving vehicles. Sleeping Dogs got an average 9.2 rating out of 10 on Gamestop’s website.

Resident Evil 6 is the latest incarnation of the zombie-ridden video game series and can be purchased for PC, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. Several things have been changed since the previous games. There are several new characters, four new ones in total, with two recurring characters: Leon S. Kennedy and Chris Redfield. Additionally, the location and scale of the game has changed. Now, instead of being limited to one location the gameplay is global, taking the players to North America, Europe, and China.

Resident Evil 6 has great co-op opportunities – just as Resident Evil 5 did – so that two players can play together both online and offline. This feature is a definite benefit since the zombies are now more agile and able to use weapons, making them even more of a threat. Additionally, mutant creatures will be formed by the outbreak of the C-virus, creating more unpredictability. Ultimately, the game has gotten bad reviews but there are many new features and it is the next part of the franchise.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is also the most recent game in its franchise, but it has gotten excellent reviews ever since its release in 2011. This incarnation is set 200 years after Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and much has changed in the world of Tamriel, both in the story and in game play. Skyrim has a new combat system, new graphics, and a whole open world to explore. The player can also affect the direction of the story; if the player kills an important character that character’s family will try to hunt him or her down, giving the world a very realistic spin. Playing Skyrim is like having another life in a magical world. Skyrim can be purchased from Gamestop, pre-owned for the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.

Another fantastic game that some players may have regrettably missed is Batman: Arkham City. This game is available on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 and has gotten incredible reviews. Similar to Skyrim, this latest Batman video game allows the player to explore an entire city while also fighting several different enemies such as the Joker, the Riddler, and Harley Quinn. The gaming world in Arkham city is five times the size of the previous gaming world in Batman: Arkham Asylum. With a 10 out of 10 from ‘Game Informer’ and a 9.4 out of 10 from GameStop customers, this game is a can’t miss for any gamer.

The last game that was particularly noteworthy for the 2011 to 2012 year is Rayman Origins. This game is a great platformer for kids and adults with incredible graphics and sound integrated into the game play. For example, for some of the levels the characters jump off of musical instruments, creating their own music as they jump their way through the world. The game is available for almost every system including Playstation 3, the PS Vita, PC, and Nintendo 3DS.

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New York, U.S.A. — There are more guns, more mayhem and more gamers on Pandora than ever before, and they’ve brought friends. 2K and Gearbox Software announced on November 5 that, to date, more than 5 million units of Borderlands 2 have been sold-in to retailers worldwide, making it one of the most popular video games of the year.

With the recent release of the all-new Mechromancer character class, the Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty add-on campaign, and three new add-on campaigns scheduled to release throughout the coming months, the shooting and looting mayhem continues to gain momentum.

A sequel to the 2009 breakout hit, Borderlands 2 released on September 18  to critical acclaim across the globe and currently has an average Metacritic score of 90 as of October 30, 2012

G4TV scored it a perfect 5 out of 5 and said “This is the grand, loot-filled adventure you’ve been waiting for.” Game Informer and IGNawarded it a 9.75 out of 10 and 9 out of 10 respectively with IGN declaring, “This is an excellent shooter no one even remotely curious should overlook.”

“We’re thrilled with the momentum of Borderlands 2 and it’s really a testament to all the hard work that the team at 2K and Gearbox put in to make this a must play game,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “TheBorderlands series has never been more popular, and with continued support through substantial add-on campaigns, Borderlands 2 has cemented itself as one of the industry’s mega franchises.”

A fifth playable character class, Gaige, the Mechromancer, was released earlier this month and is free for members of the Premiere Club who pre-ordered Borderlands 2 from participating retailers. For those who are not members of the Premiere Club, Gaige is available for purchase separately for $9.99 (800 Microsoft points). Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty, the first add-on campaign content for Borderlands 2, was also released earlier this month and can be downloaded now by anyone who has purchased a Season Pass, or can be purchased individually for $9.99 (800 Microsoft points).

The Borderlands 2 Season Pass includes $39.96 of add-on content and is available for $29.99 (PlayStationNetwork) / 2400 Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE) / $29.99 (PC). Once purchased, the Borderlands 2 Season Passenables gamers to download all of the announced add-on content campaigns for free as they become commercially available on the PlayStationNetwork, Xbox LIVE and PC. All four add-on content campaigns are scheduled to be available by June 2013.

“The overwhelmingly positive response to Borderlands 2 from our fans has been incredible,” said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. “Players have embraced Borderlands 2 as their next hobby with over 50 million interactions with Claptrap in the central town of Sanctuary and 12,000 real world years’ worth of time spent shooting and looting their way through Pandora! We are just getting started and have incredible momentum to improve and add to the game all the way through the holiday season and beyond. We can’t wait to show everyone what more we have in store forBorderlands 2.”

“The Borderlands franchise has redefined cooperative online gaming and the original game’s ability to engage users years after its 2009 launch has been a guiding light for the rest of the industry,” said Jesse Divnich, VP of Insights & Analysis at research firm EEDAR. “Borderlands, has been able to achieve attach rates north of 25% when the industry average is 14% and we anticipate that downloadable expansion packs for Borderlands 2 will generate similar attachment rates.”

Borderlands Legends, a new mobile gaming experience, extends the critically acclaimed and award-winning Borderlands universe and is available via the iTunes App Store for $4.99 on iPhone and iPod touch, and $6.99 on iPad. Borderlands Legends is designed specifically for mobile devices and combines two popular genres, action-RPG and strategy, to create addictive, top down tactical gameplay.

Borderlands 2 is rated M for Mature by the ESRB and is available now on Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC. For the latest Borderlands 2 news and information, please visit the game’s official website. Also check out Borderlands 2 on Facebook.

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London, U.K. — On October 12, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Eurocom announced the UK release of Harry Potter for Kinect. Available exclusively on Kinect for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft , the game allows players to join Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger on an extraordinary and magical adventure through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and beyond.

Harry Potter for Kinect gives players the opportunity to play as some of their favorite characters from the Harry Potter series – and, utilizing the face scanning technology available only through Kinect for Xbox 360, the ability to create a wizard or witch character in their likeness, allowing players themselves to become active participants in the game.

Using Kinect controller-free and voice recognition technology, players can cast spells at opponents, repel Dementors, battle Death Eaters, duck to avoid the wild branches of the Whomping Willow, swim alongside Grindylows in the lake, and dodge dangerous Bludgers during a Quidditch match.

Harry Potter for Kinect, which is based on all eight Harry Potter films, gives players the opportunity to relive some of the movies’ most memorable moments, from being Sorted at Hogwarts to confronting He Who Must Not Be Named in a climactic final battle. Additionally, players can take on their opponents in competitive mini-games, or join forces with family and friends in co-op gameplay.

Harry Potter for Kinect is now available for the suggested retail price of £39.99. The game is rated PEGI 12, appropriate for everyone 12 years and older. For more information about Harry Potter for Kinect, visit harrypotterforkinect.com.

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San Mateo, U.S.A. — Capcom, a developer and publisher of video games, is pleased to confirm that the Resident Evil 6 experience will be further enhanced with the release of new modes and additional content following the launch of this highly anticipated title on home consoles this October 2.

Available as downloadable content, three new gameplay modes will expand on the multiplayer elements available in the retail version and deliver new and exciting ways to enjoy the world of Resident Evil 6.

Survivors Mode takes the classic solo- and team-based versus mode and adds a twist. Get killed and you respawn as an enemy character with the ability to attack the human characters. Take down two human characters to resurrect in human form. Last man or team standing wins.

In Predator Mode, one player takes on the role of the Ustanak, the fearsome B.O.W. that stalks Jake Muller throughout his campaign, and tries to eliminate the human players. The humans’ task: stop the deadly B.O.W. in its tracks, or at least survive until the end of the session.

Choosing the human side in Siege Mode will see players protecting a single NPC, while as a member of the enemy team, players will need to eliminate that same NPC. If the NPC is still alive at the end of the time period, the human team wins.

Survivors, Predator and Siege modes will all support up to six players online and be played using maps from Mercenaries Mode.

Players will be able to track their accomplishments in these three modes alongside their main campaign statistics and compare their performance with others by registering on ResidentEvil.Net, the free online service that launches alongside Resident Evil 6.

Further post-launch downloadable content for Resident Evil 6 will include additional maps for Mercenaries, which can in turn then be used as maps for Survivors, Predator and Siege modes, plus other items yet to be announced.

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Milton Keynes, U.K. — International publisher of video games, 505 Games, has announced it will be bringing the independent block-building blockbuster Terraria to Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation Network.

Originally released in 2011 on PC by creator-developer Andrew Spinks’ Re-logic studio; Terraria is a side-scrolling, action-adventure sandbox game, with an emphasis on crafting and exploration set in vast and vibrant worlds. It has received universal acclaim from media and fans alike — 1.6 million “Terrarians” have struck out on their own adventures since release.

With a vast array of materials and items to collect, Terraria is far more than a mere block building game, gamers experience is limited only by their own imaginations; the world really is yours to shape and explore.

“The block-building genre has taken the world by storm and Terraria has garnered a massive following through its increased focus on adventure and discovery.” said Tim Woodley, Head of Global Brand for 505 Games. “We’re looking forward to bringing an already hugely successful experience to a brand new console audience and we can’t wait for the existing Terraria fan base to experience all-new content”.

Andrew Spinks, creator of Terraria added “I can’t say how excited I am to finally have Terraria come to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. To see it come so far is a complete shock, especially after such humble beginnings. It’s always been my dream to have as many people as possible know and enjoy Terraria as much as I have, and this is another big step in that direction. It’s been awesome working with 505 Games, and I can’t wait for everyone to see the additional features that they’ve been able to bring to this new edition of the game.”

Developed by Engine Software, Terraria will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade and Playstation Network early 2013.

Follow us on facebook.com/terrariaofficial and twitter.com/terraria_logic or log on to www.terraria.org

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Microsoft Xbox 360 was named TV Innovator of the Year at the prestigious 2012 TV Innovation Awards ceremony on 9 January,presided over by IMS Research. Microsoft won the On Demand Category for upgrades to its Xbox 360 console including partnerships with over 40 new TV and entertainment providers, as well as delivering entertainment voice search functionality with Bing on Xbox.

Microsoft beat 13 other category winners to take the ultimate ‘winner of winners’ accolade in the third annual ceremony, at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.The award was presented to Jose Pinero, Xbox LIVE senior director of PR for Microsoft IEBby IMS Research president Ian Weightman.

The 2012 TV Innovation Awards are one of the premier endorsements of innovation in television and recognize the most forward- thinking companies creating products and services that are changing the way people watch television. This year, thereare 14 TV Innovation Awards presented, and each award category was judged by a completely independent expert panel, and the winners of each category are then judged against each other to decide the overall TV Innovator of the Year.

Category winners are:

- 3DTV. Samsung Electronics America -Plasma D8000 Series Smart TV

- Advanced User Interface.NDS -Snowflake

- Audio Experience.THAT Corporation/dbx-tv – Total Sonics + Total Cal

- Content Protection.Verimatrix – Verimatrix MultiRights

- Home Networking.Quantenna Communications, Inc. – Quantenna QHS710 802.11n 4×4

Four-Stream MIMO Chipset

- Immersive TV.LG Electronics -LG Electronics BH9420PW CINEMA 3D Sound Blu-ray

Home Theater

- Interactive TV.Hillcrest Labs – Scoop Pointer

- Mobile TV.MobiTV – Television at your fingertips: TV on-the-go

- On Demand.Microsoft – Xbox 360 Teams Up With Entertainment Leaders to

Transform TV

- Semiconductors.Quantenna, Inc. – Quantenna QHS710 802.11n 4×4 Four-Stream MIMO

Chipset

- Set Top Box.Ocean Blue Software – Talk@TV

- TV Design.Samsung Electronics America – LED D8000 Series Smart TV

- TV Performance.Samsung Electronics America – Plasma D8000 Series Smart TV

- Content Storage. thePlatform – mpx

“This year’s Award entrants really showed us that the pace of innovation and change in the TV industry has never been greater,” says Ian Weightman, president IMS Research. “The quality and depth of submissions was extremely evident, with a lot of truly game-changing solutions being presented. Congratulations to Microsoft in winning the TV Innovator of the Year against some very strong competition”.

Barone Firenze / Shutterstock.com

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As First-Person Shooters go, this monster of a game is the king of the hill. There are few competitors who can match this level of focused development on a game with so many gameplay options. Infinity Ward has a long history for developing Call of Duty games, each iteration getting bigger and better as the years progress.

Players from Modern Warfare 2 will recognize the feel and gameplay mechanics of Modern Warfare 3; there is something that is unique to the Modern Warfare series that competitors can’t quite duplicate. What this creates is a game that is at once familiar and yet also features new elements for players to experience.

With Modern Warfare 3, the storyline is straight and to the point. Some fans commented in Modern Warfare 2 that the plot was just a touch past the point of confused head scratching, and so that has been tweaked to a degree, focusing more on the seamlessness between missions with noticeable highs intermixed with low points of the campaign. You won’t be bored here.

The visuals of the game are more streamlined and that really appears to be the name of the game this time. Previous Modern Warfare games have felt rushed or chaotic, and while there is no shortage of either in this game, the visuals certainly draw you into the game world. Developers have focused more on realism and less on quick and fast gameplay.

The campaign itself is indeed more fluid, with events planned out to prevent any and all confusion from setting into the players’ minds. You have options in weapons and in gameplay direction, but the flow is overall more cognizant of the players’ choices. You won’t have to worry about ammo or weapons, as there will be plenty of them to be found in the environment.

The Survival mode in Spec Ops is particularly organic, mixing different types of enemies after each successive wave of opponents that are trying to batter you down. Warning, the helicopter will make you cower in fear, if you make it to a good hiding spot at all. Here you’ll either play smart or die fast, and the player must choose their reloads.

Do you want more grenades or more ammo? You won’t have time to get both. This mode puts to shame any comparisons to Zombie Mode from Call of Duty: Black Ops; it’s just leagues apart.

The real draw for most players of Modern Warfare 3 will be the online multiplayer. Beyond the campaign and the reasonably predictable AI, the need to play against a living breathing person is the real advantage of the game. With new weapons and map packs likely to come online, players can expect to have a very customized multiplayer journey.

Experience points are gained for every kill and are also gained for every flag or dog tag collected in new multiplayer modes. The Kill Confirmed mode is one of the new modes available that should lead to a lot of creative strategies to avoid walking into an ambush. This mode will require the player to retrieve the dog tags from opponents that they’ve eliminated.

It means that, yes, you can be fast with a gun, but now you’ll also have to be strategic and not babysit the high ground with a big gun. Happily, all is not lost as you can actually deny the opposing team their points by picking up your teammates’ dog tags before they do. The Team Defender mode is a hybrid combination of Capture the Flag and King of the Hill.

The team that keeps the flag for the longest amount of time will accumulate the most amount of points as most would expect, except that the flag is mobile the entire match and it’s a race to see who can hide or run the furthest without dying. Flag generation will likely lead to no shortage of online trash talking since the first player to be killed is the one who generates the one flag for the whole match.

This should lead to some otherwise hilarious kill footage. The snag in an otherwise seamless game begins in a familiar area that fans are all too frustrated with experiencing. The re-spawning part of the online multiplayer is again an issue that Infinity Ward seems unwilling to address. Players just don’t like getting killed immediately after re-spawning; it just isn’t exciting.

The interactive button press cut scenes in campaign can be an annoyance on the second or third round of play through but are otherwise fine. Modern Warfare 3 is an excellent addition to the Call of Duty series. Its crisp visuals, combined with the better plotted storyline and continually evolving gameplay, make for an exceptionally focused game.

Players will be able to tell, versus Modern Warfare 2′s scattered jumble, that this iteration of Modern Warfare felt like it was developed along a very specific set of guidelines. As a result, the replay value on this game is particularly high, so it is unlikely that there will be many used copies available in the immediate future.

The overall game retains that great First-Person Shooter feel from past versions, and the new multiplayer options create an even greater range of death and destruction than ever before. This is a solid game that for any shooting fan is a must have for their collection.
Image Courtesy of   http://www.callofduty.com

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