April is the month where the North American audience finally get their hands on the critically acclaimed Wii exclusive, Xenoblade Chronicles. This open-world JRPG may not break any conventions in the genre, but what it does, it does really well. With tons of exploration, side quests and a robust fighting system to back things up, Xenoblade Chronicles will get you plenty of hours of enjoyment. If you own a Nintendo Wii, it might just be time to dust it off again.

The PC audience also got reasons to be excited. The release of the fast paced skillbased shooter, Tribes: Ascend , is seeing the light of day. With its free-to-play model, it is sure to have a solid online community. The game has been in beta for quite some time now,  so you don’t really need to wait until the official release to get your hands on it. Just head over to their official site and start playing today. If that was not enough, upcoming Legend of Grimrock is said to revive the old-school dungeon crawler genre. With a great visual aesthetic along with gameplay compared to the likes of Dungeon Master, Eye of the Beholder and Ultima Underworld, this is a game you might want to check out.

Also worth mentioning, is the long awaited indie title, Fez, making its debut on the Xbox Live Marketplace. It offers a distinct pixelated artstyle, chiptune music and some rotate bending gameplay, which ought to make a great recipe for a retro style title.

For an overview of this and more games that are releasing this month, check out the video summary below. And do share your thoughts about the games of April.  Is there anything you are planning on picking up?

With the arrival of March, we get a month packed with video game releases.                      Is your wallet ready?

Arguably, the biggest game of the month is the highly anticipated Mass Effect 3, the thrilling conclusion to this sci-fi trilogy. However, is this the last we will see of the Mass Effect universe? I have my doubts. With such a vast narrative universe, packed with lore and all that good stuff, chances are we will make a return to it in one form or the other.

Thatgamecompany’s latest title, Journey, is finally seeing the light of day this month. This PS3 exclusive holds true to the company’s prior achievements (flOw, Flower) of creating soothing ambient games, games in which the goal of winning becomes more or less nonexistent, and the focus is on the experience itself. Are you a owner of a Playstation 3, this is certainly a title worth having a look at. There’s nothing quite like it.

For a more in-depth look at all the various titles releasing this month, have a look at the video below, and don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on the games at hand.                What games are of interest to you, if any?

We have old franchises like Syndicate making a comeback, re-imagined as a first person shooters. The developers claim that they are trying remain faithful to the tactical aspects of its predecessor so it will be exciting to see how the final product will play out. A demo is out as we speak if you are craving for some futuristic showdowns. We also have the beloved PlayStation series Jak and Daxter making an appearance on the current-gen system, with the whole trilogy available as an HD Collection later this month.

SSX, another franchise making its comeback this month.

February is also the month where America and Europe finally get their hands on the Playstation Vita, Sony’s new powerful handheld. It has quite the impressive launch line-up so it will be interesting to see how the product will do.

What are your games of the month, if any?

For a complete overview of February, have a look at the video below:

We are entering a new year, and with that new gaming experiences are waiting us.
See what January has to offer of in terms of games.

Compared to the crazy release rush at the end of last year, the start of 2012 might seem lackluster to some. However, it all depends on who’s looking, as there are several popular franchises making an apperance. The latest iteration of Final Fantasy is now making its debut outside Japanese shores, with Final Fantasy XII-2 releasing at the end of the month.

It is strange seeing how the Final Fantasy series has evolved, where 10 years ago a new release could hold an entire month by itself and it would still be a solid month for gaming. Now it seems the Final Fantasy effect has worn out to a certain degree, and a new release does not make such big headlines as before. The franchise has had its ups and downs over the last years, with mixed emotions from reviewers and fans alike. Is this the game that will truly put the series back on the map?

For a complete overview of the major releases coming out this January, check out the video below.

Get ready for possibly the busiest month in video games this year!

If there are games you have been waiting for this year, chances are that you’ll find some of them in November’s game lineup. The upcoming month is packed with AAA titles and does seem to offer something for everyone. Both casual and dedicated gamers are sure to find something which seem appealing. To get an overview of the major releases for November, click the video below. And don’t hesitate to shout out in the comment section below. What is your game of the month?

Several Norwegian video game reviewers received a strange survey sent by EA, asking for their personal preferences concerning Battlefield and the franchise’s main competitor, Call of Duty.

Video game sites getting permission to publish early reviews is nothing new in this industry, and in 9 out of 10 cases, that review will probably praise the game. Only last week, we saw the first review of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception go public with a staggering 9.9 score out of 10. Developers and publishers want naturally to create a positive buzz around the game, and good reviews are probably one of the best ways of doing that. So giving high rated review the initial spotlight, often before the general  embargo falls, is quite common. However, where does the line go between releasing a positive review early, one of genuine praise, and a review that may be affected by the mindset of getting that first hands-on exclusive, that initial spotlight? May review sites be tempted to improve the final score of the game just for some early publicity? This is indeed a grey area of video game reviews and of journalism in general.

Today, news of video game publisher EA and their upcoming blockbuster title Battlefield 3  have been the centre of attention in gaming related news in Norway. In particular their market strategy concerning the selection of review outlets.

In regards to Battlefield 3, scheduled to release October 27, EA announced that three Norwegian news outlets would receive early review copies of the game. The sites in question is PressFire, Gamer.no and Gamereactor, arguably some of the most popular Norwegian sites when it comes to gaming news.

What has generated a lot of controversy is that these three sites have received a questionnaire from EA which looked like this:

(NRK)

A press release from Norsk Spillkritikerlaug (Norwegian game critics ‘guild’, an organisation consisting of several video game reviewers from different media outlets in Norway.) reads:

• We regard this as an attempt by the publisher to control the review of the product. We wish to remind our members that such an attempt to gain access and control of the media’s process of evaluation is an undermining of press ethics.

Jon Cato Lorentzen, a member of Spillkritikerlauget and reviewer for the newspaper Aftenposten had this to say:

• This is an obvious attempt to manipulate the media. The fact that EA want information regarding who reviews the game, could basically mean they can choose to withdraw the exclusivity if they are not satisfied with the choice of reviewer.

The review sites themselves have also reacted to this behaviour by EA, and have chosen to not fill in the form or sparingly where suitable. In an interview with PressFire , EA’s market manager in Norway, Ørjan Sveen, are questioned regarding the form.

From PressFire:

• Why did you choose to send out this ‘questionnaire’?
• The form at question has never been a part of our strategy. This has been sent out due to a human error. We have made a mistake and we are sorry. This has never happened before and it is not something we will continue with.
• But such a form does not appear out of nowhere. What was your intention behind the questions?
• It should not have been sent out. The sites that received these forms answered them sparingly or not at all. Before this topic went public, they had already got approved and delivered the game.

The EA representative continues to say that there will be no consequences for those who have refused to fill out the form.

This is a complex matter and difficult to conclude, if at all possible. Early access and exclusive reviews have always been a part of the video game industry, but questionnaires regarding the reviewers personal relationship with a game and a franchise is something we haven’t seen before. EA have apologised for this and calls it a human error. Still, it begs the question, how much power do the publishers have in the video game industry? Is this the first case of its kind or are there things happening behind closed doors similar to this? It is also an important reminder that media outlets in the end need to operate according to journalistic values, and it is their task and responsibility to be fair and balanced in their news coverage.

A lot of quality titles to look forward to this month. What will you be picking up? Shout out in the comment section below!

Have you recharged your wallet? Good, because you are going to need it!

The month of September marks the start of a video game extravaganza we rarely have experienced. The later parts of 2011 is so jam-packed with quality titles, both from indie developers and the big guns in the industry, that simply naming them all could make a man exhausted. Your wallet however, might look at it differently…

Now, where were we? September marks the end of two trilogies, both Resistance on the PS3 and Gears of War on the XBOX 360. However, if this is the last we will see from those two universes, is somewhat questionable.

For those craving for a Left 4 Dead experience spiced with some Dead Rising, RPG-elements and 4 player co-op, should keep an eye on the upcoming Dead Island.

September is also certain to please the many Warhammer fans out their, with the third person shooter Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, which I got to say looks extremely promising.

For the full list of what September has to offer in terms of gaming goodness, check out the video below. And please do not hesitate to speak out in the comment section below and tell us what YOU are looking forward to.

Summer is slowly beginning to fade away and we are left with a fall packed with quality video game titles. With the introduction of August, we can already see glimpses of greatness along with a confirmation that video game draught is now over. The big game of August 2011 is the highly anticipated Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The long awaited sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed PC titles is finally here, and will arrive August 23 on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Along with Deus Ex, August is packed with quality content. For a full overview of the upcoming month, check out the video below:

Get DRM free indie games whilst supporting charity

The successful project that is the Humble Indie Bundle is at it again, with a third bundle now available. The previous bundles have been a huge success collecting thousands of dollars to both charity causes and to independent video game developers.

The concept of this bundle as its predecessors, is both simple and brilliant. You pay what you want for the bundle and chose who should benefit of your money. Either give all to charity or all the video game developers, or something in the middle, it is all up to you!

The games are DRM free, which means you can download them infinite amount of times on any computer of your choice. All five games are available on Mac, Windows or Linux. Several of them can also be downloaded directly from Steam or Desura once you get a redeem code.

The games available in this bundle are:

• Crayon Physics Deluxe by Kloonigames
• Cogs by Lazy 8 Studios
• VVVVVV by Terry Cavanagh
• Hammerfight by Kranx Productions
• And Yet it Moves by Brokes Rules

To purchase the bundle, head over to humblebundle.com. For a quick overview of the games themselves, check out the video below: