One of the biggest questions in the last year has been what Bungie, the studio behind the Halo franchise would do for their next game, the first since leaving Microsoft and the mega franchise they created behind for a new deal with Electronic Arts.  Now, it looks like we’re getting our first look at concrete details for the title, from the most unlikely of sources — court documents spotted by the L.A. Times.

Recently released documents from the upcoming Zampella/West VS Activision trial that resulted in the founders of Infinity Ward splitting from the publishing giant have emerged and confirmed that Bungie is currently developing four  “sci-fantasy, action shooter games” code-named “Destiny.” The first of these games is scheduled to come out in the fall of 2013, with subsequent releases in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

Here’s the interesting part, the contract says that the first Destiny game will be released on the Xbox 360 and the “next successor console released by Microsoft” (referred to as the Xbox 720 in the documents), but will release on the PlayStation 3 in the fall of 2014 after a “joint technical feasibility analysis” that will determine whether the game “is able to be developed for the PS3 at quality and feature parity to the Xbox 360 version.”

The documents also refer to downloadable content, known as “comet,” which will release in the  fall of 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020.

Reading through the documents, there are also a few interesting bits not about the Destiny project; like how Bungie stands to make a hefty $2.5 million bonus if the first Destiny game  receives an aggregate score of 90 or better on GameRankings.com. It also says that Bungie will use no more than 5% of its staff to create an updated version of their classic Marathon for E.A.

If the documents are to be believed, and the first game is due out in the fall of next year, an E3 reveal is looking likely. Blast will be bring you all of the up to date information from the Show of Shows as it hits next month.

EA Sports has announced that Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson has won the year’s Madden cover contest, beating Carolina Panthers Quarterback and last year’s rookie of the year Cam Newton in the finals 52%-48%.  The announcement came earlier today on ESPN’s Sports Nation.

Johnson’s selection is no doubt a result of the Lion’s best season in decades, whcih the WR was a major part of. With 96 receptions, 1,681 yards and  16 touchdowns, the Lions made their return to the playoffs this year, after starting the season 6-0 and taking second place in the NFC North.

New details have also come out regarding the actual content of this year’s game. The big news? Gus Johnson is of course gone following his departure from CBS last year, but this year brings the addition of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS’ premier commentary duo. Though the game will retain Madden’s signature production style, EA Sports looks to have the commentary from Nantz and Sims to be more free-flowing and context sensitive, meaning that the duo will comment on everything from how your season is going to news from around the league.

The team at EA promises that this year, the commentary will feel much more natural, and there won’t be as much dead air since unlike the duo of Chris Collinsworth and Gus Johnson, who never got in a booth together, Nantz and Sims not only did, but they’re old pros at it, and it’s a chemistry that EA hopes will make this year’s Madden a much more realistic one.

Madden NFL 2013 hits stores later this year.

EA’s hit free-to-play online shooter is getting some new content today that will let players feel like astronauts. Battlefield Heroes players can access a new map called Lunar Landing that will let them defy gravity and leap over the heads of their enemies. New plasma weapons and spacesuits are now also available, a first in series history.

Battlefield Heroes features cartoon-inspired graphics and gameplay for players of all skill levels. The online game offers robust customization options and simply requires you to sign up on their website to start playing.

Following the negative response to Mass Effect 3′s ending, BioWare co-founder Casey Muzyka promised that his team was working on initiatives that would provide more clarity and give its fans better closure.

Their “initiatives” remained vague until today when EA announced their plans to release a free DLC pack titled “Extended Cut” that would expand the game’s ending events with key additional cinematics and cut-scenes.

“We are all incredibly proud of Mass Effect 3 and the work done by Casey Hudson and team,” said Ray Muzyka. “Since launch, we have had time to listen to the feedback from our most passionate fans and we are responding. With the Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut we think we have struck a good balance in delivering the answers players are looking for while maintaining the team’s artistic vision for the end of this story arc in the Mass Effect universe.”

Casey Hudson also added, “We have reprioritized our post-launch development efforts to provide the fans who want more closure with even more context and clarity to the ending of the game, in a way that will feel more personalized for each player.”

Now, this doesn’t mean BioWare is making additional endings or changing anything. “BioWare strongly believes in the team’s artistic vision for the end of this arc of the Mass Effect franchise,” states BioWare’s blog. “The extended cut DLC will expand on the existing endings, but no further ending DLC is planned.”

The DLC is expected to release in the Summer with no specific date. Hudson’s statement also indicates that there is definitely other DLC in the works, but that priority was given to address its fans’ disappointment and feedback.

EA Sports should take it as nothing short of divine intervention that mere hours before the release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, the game’s much embattled cover boy won his first tournament in years; guaranteeing that  he, and thus the game will be on every news cast, sports show and gossip monger’s lips for weeks to come. Truth be told though, the game didn’t need the extra stroke of publicity luck; unlike Woods himself, his golf series has been a long standing benchmark not just in golf games (slim pickings there), but in sports games in general. Sure, if you’re an every year player, the changes may not seem that revolutionary, but the amount of detail and depth found in this year’s Tiger title makes this a must play — for most people.

The biggest addition to this year’s game is the new Total Swing Control system, which adds an incredible amount of depth to the game. You’ll still tee off with the right thumbstick, but now, speed, tempo and control are all taken into account, and actual talent comes into play. It took me quite a few times to adjust to the new control scheme, but after while, it becomes very natural and fluent. Total Swing allows for a lot of strategy, and perfecting is means dropping shots just where you want them, while struggling with it means hooking shots and bending a ton of clubs.

PGA Tour 13 also gives players freedom over just where they hit the ball, adding even more depth to an already stellar experience. Need some height? Aim your shot for the bottom of the ball. Need a line drive for distance? Aim for the middle. This combined with the Total Swing Control System makes for an incredibly deep, system that’s still fun to learn. One could make the case that it’s almost too deep, that it requires an abnormal amount of skill, that its akin to actually being skilled at the game, but PGA 13 does a great job easing you in to its more depth features in a way that it never seems like it’s too much at one time. Everything you’re doing feels like the next logical progression of what you did before it. Does that mean I was any good at it? As in my real golf game — god no.

On top of that, PGA Tour 13 does a great job taking control for players who aren’t quite catching on. Using the caddy system, you’re able have the game line up your shots, select your clubs and do just about everything from take the shot for you. The team at EA Sports has done a remarkable job taking a deep gameplay system and making it accessible for all types of gamers. Is this Hot Shots Golf accessible? No, but it’s still a big step and it will make the game playable by a lot more people.

The game also features full motion support for both platforms, and while Move support has been around for the last few years, this is the first time Kinect is fully supported by the title. It’s functional enough, and the first few times, it’s really cool to swing in real life, but it gets old, especially when you take into account how twitchy it can be. The voice control works well, I was able to change clubs on the fly and was able to ask my caddie for assistance — and it was very responsive. Just take one piece of advice for me — don’t try to use Kinect to navigate the game’s menu system. Tiger Woods always seemed like one of the most natural fits for the peripheral, and it’s good to see it implemented, even if it doesn’t always work as it should.

PGA Tour 13 is easily the best looking of the series thus far as everything looks phenomenal. As a yearly Madden player (go ahead — flame), I found myself getting jealous at how good some of the players looked in the game. How come Tiger Looks so much like Tiger, but we get an Aaron Rodgers that looks like a whacked out freak? That doesn’t compare to the courses though, which are filled with sweeping vistas and remarkable lighting effects.

Unfortunately, the new modes available in PGA tour 13 are less than stellar. There’s the Legacy Mode, which finds you recreating the career milestones of the game’s coverboy, and is very underwhelming and oddly uneven. Why am I sinking a putt on national TV before I even practice in my dad’s backyard? There aren’t any real “money moments” that are worth writing about, and my guess is that the legacy mode will be a last ditch effort for most of the game’s core players. The online suite also allows players to create their own country clubs, which will appeal to those who really enjoy the experience, but it will be lost on those who don’t. Plus, you can’t create Bushwood authentically — I tried.

The Blast Factor: Like any good golfer, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 capitalizes on its errors and accounts for them to create a complete game. It’s deep, yet accessible. It takes skill, but never loses it’s fun.  Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is easily the best of a remarkable series. It may not be a hole in one, but its a solid birdey.

EA’s John Riccitiello has announced that Mass Effect 3 has sold an amazing 890,000 copies in it’s launch in the first 24 hours. It’s also shipped a staggering 3.5 million units to retail so far.

“We anticipated it doing well, so we’re happy,” Riccitiello said in a conference call earlier today. He also mentioned that 40% of users who purchased the game also purchased the day once DLC.

In case you missed it, here’s our Mass Effect 3 review. To say we liked it would be an understatement.

It may have been rumored and pretty much outed on the internet last week, but EA has confirmed that a new SimCity game is currently in development — but it’s not SimCity 5 as previously believed.

Currently being called simply SimCity, and scheduled for a 2013 release, SimCity is expected to be the most robust game in the history of the franchise. Oh, and it’ll have curvy roads. CURVY ROADS!

Developed by: Bioware
Published by: EA
Genre: Action/Roleplaying
Platform: Pc, Xbox 360, PS3
Play it if: You have a heartbeat
Skip it if: Don’t
4 out of 4 stars

There was a point early on in my play through of Mass Effect 3 — it couldn’t be more than an hour and a half in — that took my breath away. When it was over, I set the controller down, turned off the system and walked away. I needed time to come to grips with what just happened. That’s the first time I’ve ever been that emotionally moved by a game, and that’s when I knew that Mass Effect 3 would be even more special than I thought.

Bioware’s finale for Commander Sheppard is, in a word – -stunning. In even more words, it’s gripping, engaging, emotionally charged and painstakingly well done. The entire Mass Effect series has felt like a symphony leading up to this, the crashing crescendo that outdoes everything before it. Most importantly, Mass Effect 3 is a fitting tribute to a universe we’ve spent the last half decade caring about and will leave you thinking about it long after you’ve finished it.

Mass Effect 3 tells the final chapter in the story of Earth’s struggle for survival against the menacing Reapers — an ancient robot species that looks to eradicate all life from it’s chosen target planet. At the end of Mass Effect 2, Commander Sheppard learned of the impending invasion and thus tried to warn everyone, only to be brushed off like the town crazy. Guess what happened? ME3 opens with an amazing scene featuring the entire Alliance attempting to mobilize against the Reapers, only to fail tragically.

I’ll admit that at this point I was a bit worried — the story seems awfully familiar. The only man who warns the people of their impending doom is locked away just before it happens — it’s the plot of nearly every 50s sci-fi movie. Luckily though, Mass Effect 3’s story only gets better from there. You’re of course quickly released, and it’s off to rally any allies you can find in a frantic effort to save mankind. (note: be sure to read our interview with Mass Effect 3′s lead writer Mac Walters)

Much like earlier installments of the franchise, Mass Effect 3 is a game that believes that getting there is half the fun, and while you’ll still have the epic Buck Rodgers style planet hopping moments that the series is known for, but the real attraction here is the amount of choice you’ll have over just how you battle for the fate of the universe.  The story of ME3 is dotted with poignant, touching and sometimes even heartbreaking moments that define how strong a relationship with a series of video game characters can be. This is undoubtedly one of, if not the greatest storied ever told.

Player choice in Mass Effect 3 spreads beyond the game’s narrative, and into very structure of how the game plays, which will open up the series to a an incredibly large new audience (believe it or not, there are still people who don’t play Mass Effect). At the beginning of each game, you’ll have the choice of just what type of game you want you want, between action, which gets you straight to the robot shootin’ without any of the conversational mechanic, story; which does the exact opposite and role playing — which is a mix of the two, much like your traditional Mass Effect game.

Regardless of what you choose, Mass Effect 3 features brilliant pacing that not only pulls you through the game, but always leaves you wondering what’s going to happen next. I’ll confess that in the two previous games, there were sections, specifically some of the combat sections that seemed to go on forever, but thankfully I never felt that way throughout my time with Mass Effect 3.  The game is filled with thrilling set pieces and locations like Mars in a sandstorm that you’re going to want to explore again and again. It all culminates in a fiery conclusion that puts the entire trilogy in perspective.

What truly impressed me about these set pieces are the scale of some of the battles. I’m an admitted scale-whore, I love sections of games where I’m up against enemies that dwarf me in size, the feeling is incredibly rewarding, and it often takes a bit more strategy to bring these enemies down, and Mass Effect brings that in droves. One battle towards the later half of the game comes to mind especially, and without giving much away, it was easily one of my favorite moments in the entire series.

The truth is that the combat and AI have been greatly improved from Mass Effect 2 to 3.  Battles don’t have that ongoing feeling, and you’re going to need to have adaptable strategies to get past some of the enemies, especially at the later stages. Enemies will flank you, they’ll use grenades to get you out of cover and they’ll do pretty much anything in their power to stop you. Luckily, your squad’s AI has also been beefed up, and you rarely feel like you have to completely carry the load in a battle. In fact, there were a few times when my squadmates quickly killed off enemies I was carefully targeting with my sniper riffle.

There’s a fairly more robust strategy element to Mass Effect 3 than there were in the previous games. Leveling your character and your weapons (one of the coolest features in the game is the ability to customize every weapon in the game) up is now much more RPG-centric in a manner similar to that of the original Mass Effect. There’s also a new mode that tracks how ready you are to fight the reapers, and adds an interesting mix to just how you go about completing the game’s tasks as you’ll have to plot your course using the game’s map to see where you’re needed against the Reapers.

Mass Effect 3 marks the first time multiplayer has been introduced into the series, and it’s a surprisingly welcome addition. Galaxy at War is a Horde-esque survival type mode where you’ll start as a human character (other races open up as you play) and attempt to get through wave after wave of enemies to improve your military readiness rating. I’ll admit that I was worried that the multiplayer modes would feel tacked on, but the compliment the main campaign very well.

The Blast Factor: When you’re in the gaming industry for a bit you realize one thing very quickly; don’t believe the hype. Mass effect 3 is the exception to that rule as it doesn’t only meet it’s expectations — it blows them away. It’s an emotionally charged, and often touching tale that doesn’t skip out on the action one bit. Most importantly, it’s a fitting ending to a world and characters we’ve spent the last five years getting attached to.

This review is based on a PS3 retail copy of Mass Effect 3 provided by the publisher.

Mac Walters is a busy man. Though he prides himself as being an avid gamer, the Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada native has a stack of more than fourteen of last year’s biggest titles including Uncharted 3, Batman: Arkham City, all sitting on his desk, unopened. Oh don’t worry; Walters has a good reason — he’s been hard at work as the lead writer of one of this year’s most anticipated titles, Bioware’s epic sci-fi trilogy bookend, Mass effect 3.

Releasing this Tuesday, March 6, Mass Effect 3 tales the tale of the grand finale of Commander Sheppard’s battle to save Earth from the Reapers — but this is no ordinary game. Almost everything in the Mass Effect series plays out as the result of player choices — think of it as an interactive choose your own adventure book…with robots. Choice plays a role in plenty of games, but the Mass Effect series is defined by it. In Mass Effect, missions can be failed, resources can be lost and even major characters can die, as in for good.  What’s more, players can take their saved files from the first two Mass Effect games and use them as a starting point for the third game. With all of the possible options this creates, Walters tells Blast of the massive amounts of prep work that needed to be done.

Mass Effect 3's lead writer Mac Walters

“For Mass Effect 3, there was a lot of choice that we were dealing with from Mass Effect 1 and 2. Different options that people could play, plus they could come in as a new player — we had to look how that was going to work out,” said Walters.  ”As a writing team, we spent close to six months just working out the logistics of how this game was going to work — what kind of paths we could take, what kind of story we wanted. I had worked out what I like to call sort of a backbone with series producer Casey Hudson so we had something to go on, and then of course you have to flesh out the details, which is really just pages and pages about the emotional beats of the game. Then we start getting into the nitty gritty of it. You know, how does this choice impact this or how does that choice impact that one? It’s a lot of planning but it’s also willingness to be flexible; I can tell you that even after those six months, when we thought we had a plan, it continued to change throughout the project. We ran into a situations where we found that things don’t work like we thought or we’d come up with a better way to tie two events together or something like that.”

Walters points to a single mission in Mass Effect 2, as an example of how those player choices can make writing a continuation all the more difficult, but again gives the credit to his team and their planning as to how they got past it.

“All of the choices add complications to the process for sure. I often kind of laugh because I think we knew what it was going to do, but we sort of put blinders on with Mass effect 2 and the concept of a suicide mission with twelve of your favorite characters. It was one of those moments where we were really like ‘Oh, this is going to cost us,” Walters told Blast. “It all goes back to that planning and decision making. For Mass Effect 3 we said ‘Well, how are we going to handle this? Are we going to try to bring those people back and then we realized that these are major characters, in fact they’re now beloved characters and we have to find a way to weave them back into the story. That was one of the bigger hurdles, it was a major challenge.”

A major challenge that Walters, and his team were ready for. Waters praised the team first aspect of Bioware, and how hands on series producer Casey Hudson was with the project.

“We’re really lucky to have the management team and leadership structure that we have on Mass Effect. Casey has a very keen understanding and eye for narrative so I pretty much trust his instincts. I also like the fact that we sort of compliment each other very well so often only get uncomfortable when we both like an idea. It’s like ‘Wait, if we’re both agreeing on this, that worries me, there’s got to be some push back. So it’s one of those things where I’ll bring something to him and he’ll make some points on it — it goes back and forth until it’s sort of honed.”

In Mass Effect everything from your player's gender to the fate of your squadmates is determined by your actions

Even with all of that work, Walters tells of the sacrifices needed to develop and finish a game as massive as Mass Effect 3. “The first game was about 26,000 lines, but I’d wager a guess that we wrote about 40,000 — and that’s a lot that was cut, but you know that’s part of the process, some of it doesn’t make it or doesn’t fit. There were whole planets that got cut from the first game, and some of that comes down to it not fitting the story or the simple fact that we know we’ll never finish it if we don’t cut something. The key is quality here, and more often than not, cutting something to make sure that everything is better is the choice we’ll make. It’s a hard lesson to learn as a young designer, but after while you get better about it and you realize that you are actually making a better game because of it.” Interestingly enough, Walters says that Mass effect 3 features over 40,000 lines of recorded dialogue (including squad banter).

So just what does Walters hope that players get from this massive project? His answer was surprisingly simple. “You know, someone asked me the other day what the best stories in gaming history were, and I realized that to me, a lot of what I think about when I think about a story that truly stands out was just how memorable the experience was and there are a lot of factors that go into that. Playing through Mass Effect 3 myself, and some seeing the repercussions of the choices I made and they always revolve around the characters, and that’s the key — even these galaxy wide decisions, we find a way to make them personal.  We really hope that people are going to remember those moments in five years, ten years..maybe even longer. They’ll remember playing this game and the impact that it had. It’s interesting because though we are very story based; we’re interactive as well. You’re making these decisions and I think it feels differently when you’re playing it rather than watching it, when you’re experiencing it first hand. I hope it has that resonance, that people remember it fondly.”

So what’s next for Walters? Though he admits that after seven plus years of working on the Mass Effect franchise, he is “fairly tired and has to fit in some vacation time, he’s already looking for his next project. Walters commented that he’s looking for some time to really drill down what a story is, and what it can mean in the interactive medium. “I’m really looking for some ideation time; where I can play games, read books, watch TV and just focus on what the future of story in games is all about. I really think that’s where we’re headed next, not just what’s the next story, but just how can we tell it?”

Look for Blast’s review of Mass Effect 3 this Tuesday.

I’m staring out the helicopter’s door, the wind is whistling and the snow blisters my face. The pilot gives me the heads up and I push off, free-falling in whirlwind. before I can even collect myself, my board hits the ground,as other racers begin to whizz past me and it’s on again.

This is the world of SSX, and it’s a fun world to be in. By passionately retooling a much loved franchise, EA Canada has been able to tow the line between arcade and sim, between deep and accessible and between fanboy fodder and new experience. It may have been originally announced as SSX: Deadly Descents, but it will come to be known as the SSX experience.

In the new game, Team SSX is uniting to try to take down the nine deadly descents,or the nine largest mountain ranges in the world. Then your ex-team member and all around douche bag Griff tells the world that he’ll be the first one to do it and thus your job — of course,  is to beat him to it.It’s a simple plot device (SSX never really needed a major story anyways), but it serves it’s purpose of getting you to the mountains, and that’s where SSX begins to shine.

In a word, your first few runs will be exhilarating. You’re hurtling down these gigantic courses and there’s so many obstacles and things to trick off of that you’re unlikely to even remember that more often than not you’re in a race. You’ll often wipeout, but half the fun is turning these failures into amazing tricks, like landing on your head after a huge jump, somersaulting down a bit of the slope and then somehow turning it into a sick grind on a downed tree-trunk. The best part? The game moves so fast that it’s tough to memorize each of the different paths on each course, so you’ll have a ton of fun replaying different sections of the game.

The trick system is undoubtedly at the heart of the new SSX, and it’s surprisingly deep. On consoles, you have the choice to use the traditional button layout controls of previous SSX games or the cool thumbstick controls reminiscent of EA’s own NHL series which finds you flicking each thumbstick in certain directions to pull of specific tricks. Your best bet is using a combination of the two as it’s the easiest way to string together long combos and get the most points. Get enough air on a jump and SSX even allows you to trick off the helicopter you jumped out of — and no, it never gets old.

If there was one complaint about the game’s trick system, it would be just how light your character feels at all times. The game does a decent job at straddling the line between sim and arcade, but when you’re mid-run, your character almost feels wieghtless and bouncy sometimes, causing you to mis-judge some of your distances and biff more than your fair share or jumps. Admittedly though, this is a problem that pops it’s head up mostly in the beginning of the game, and once you get the hang of each level’s pacing, you rarely run into it.

As you play through SSX, you’ll unlock new equipment, from the badass wingsuit that allows you to glide down big jumps ala batman to the less cool items like headlamps and different colored suits. The best items will help you in one of the franchise’s newest and coolest modes — the Survive it maps. Here, you’ll have a number of new obstacles, like the amount of breathable air around you and truly epic events like avalanches to block your path.

Though SSX features no real dedicated traditional multiplayer component, the game does feature Ridernet, a mode that will be familiar to anyone who has used the Autolog features of the latest Need for Speed games that lets you keep track of everything your friends are doing in the game at any given time. It’s also the center for events held by EA, which are open to the entire world — or you can set it up to be just you and your pals, so you’ll get the traditional experience anyways.
The Blast Factor: SSX being so well done is a testament the old school design choices, to not having to put out a game every year to keep an audience satisfy. Deceptively deep, yet incredibly accessible, this isn’t just a welcome back for the franchise — it’s a complete reboot of it. Grab your board and go, the slopes are waiting.

EA has announced that Baylor Quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and projected first or second overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, Robert Griffin III will grace the cover of NCAA 13. He’ll share this year’s spotlight with a previous Heisman winner, selected by the fans on Facebook.

Voting will take place on the official NCAA 13 Facebook page beginning March 12, and players will have the choice between the following college greats:

-Marcus Allen of University of Southern California
-Doug Flutie of Boston College
-Eddie George of Ohio State University
-Desmond Howard of University of Michigan
-Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State University
-Herschel Walker of University of Georgia
-Charlie Ward of Florida State University
-Andre Ware University of Houston

NCAA Football 13 hits Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii on July 10.

In a way, you’ve got to feel sorry for Starbreeze Studios. With Syndicate, the shooter-centric re-imagining of the 1993 strategy game of the same name — there’s absolutely no way to please everyone. Fans of the original are going to scoff at how the new developer turned it into a shooter, but fans of shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield are unlikely to give it a shot. It’s a shame too, because when Syndicate works, it works very well, it’s an intelligent shooter that dares to break from the norm, but when it doesn’t work, it’s a mess. One of the most disappointing messes of recent memory.

In the world of Syndicate, Corporations rule the world, and are willing to kill for turf and resources. Each private citizen also has a chip implanted into their brain, which these corporations can access at will for advertising or even worse. Your protagonist, MIles Kilo works for Eurocorp, a company that has developed a chip so powerful it lets users slow down time and even access the data from other chips. Syndicate finds Miles struggling with his choices, and figuring out why he works for who he works for. As you probably already expected, throughout the events of the game, Milo uncovers a conspiracy..yadda…yadda..yadda..

It may not be the most original story, but it would have done Seabreeze well not to abandon it as early in the game as they did. The game takes obvious inspiration from titles like Deus Ex and Bioshock (going as far as to ripoff a few of those game’s best moments), which did their best to craft a compelling narrative, but in this aspect, Syndicate often comes off as lazy and forgetable. There comes a point early in the game where integral pieces of info are dumped into optional info boxes and the story is kicked into the background. Though Syndicate often hints at the importance of player choice, it’s incredibly linear, with one ending, no matter what you do.

It’s a shame that Syndicate’s campaign is so forgettable and lackluster, as generally speaking, the mechanics are sound, tight and fun. The guns, which range from the more traditional firepower to the more out there, all feel like appropriately weighted and its often compelling to switch them out to see just what each can do. What really sets Breach apart from other shooters though is the Breach system, which allows players to access an enemy’s dart chip for some pretty cool results. Using the breach system, you’re able to slow down an enemies response time, make him fall to the ground stunned, commit suicide, or even turn the gun on his own squad-mates.

Using the breach abilities quickly becomes a strategic element in a very trigger happy shooter. There are plenty of times where you’re going to come upon a room full of heavily armed shooters, and the decent enough AI combined with the game’s refusal to adhere to its own set of rules regarding cover makes it nearly impossible to go in guns blazing (at times), so you’ll have to strategically use your abilities to take them out. My personal favorite is causing one enemy to fall to ground, making the others go to check on him, then making one of them turn against the others, and making my work easier for me. It’s just a shame that midway through the game, Starbreeze took the easy way out and rids you of a majority of these powers.

If Syndicate has a saving grace it’s just how fun the game becomes when teaming up with another human user. Up to four players can join together in a series of standalone co-op missions that require actual communication and cooperation, leading to some impressively cool and chaotic moments. The mix of careful planning and satisfying kills often reminded me of the co-op missions of the Splinter Cell games, a favorite of mine for years. With how well done this portion of the game is, I often wondered why Starbreeze didn’t base more of the game on it.

If you’re going to play through Syndicate, you better be a fan of the color blue, as the game continually insists the future will be a blue society, and assaults your eyes with blue hue after blue hue. Besides the overuse, Syndicate looks impressive, and performs well even when the action get really hectic. I was incredibly impressed with just how well the game animated, especially when using the breach abilities.

The Blast Factor: There are moments where you’ll swear that Syndicate is one of the greatest first shooters in recent years — it’s beautiful, fun and mechanically sound, but playing deeper into the game will reveal it’s darker side. In short — Syndicate is a mess, a beautiful mess that somehow works. It may not be the shooter it could have been, but Syndicate is definitely worth a look.

EA and Bioware have announced that a brand new CG trailer for Mass Effect 3 will debut during this Sunday’s Episode of the Walking Dead on AMC. So yes, you’re going to have another reason to watch Zombies this weekend.

The trailer, titled “Take Earth Back” takes an artsy look at the conflict in the epic sci fi series’ final chapter. Check out the trailer above.

The demo for Mass Effect 3 is now available on Xbox Live, PSN and PC.

So you’ve got a bit of a dilemma, the Mass Effect 3 demo comes out this coming Tuesday, but that also happens to be Valentines Day, and you’re sweetie may not be too keen on you skipping your scheduled dinner and viewing of The Vow to get a taste of the crew of The Normandy’s finale. What do you do?

If you’re a card carrying member of Facebook (and let’s be honest, who isn’t these days), you can head over to the Mass Effect 3 Facebook page and take part in a flash game — the result, early access to the Mass Effect 3 demo, like instant access.

So boom — you get your first taste of Mass Effect 3, and your girlfriend doesn’t miss out on her Channing Tatum flick. You’re welcome.

Former Infinity Ward members Jason West and Vince Zampella formed Respawn Entertainment back in 2010 after a nasty and very public split from Activision. Now, nearly two years later, all we’ve seen from the new company’s first game was a set of blurry images, and an announcement that the game would in fact be multiplatform, but we may finally be getting a possible release window.

According to a reportedly leaked  marketing EA calendar and posted by French site Hardgamers, the publisher expects the company’s first game to hit sometime in the year 2013.  EA hasn’t commented on the rumor, we’ve reached out them and Respawn, but don’t expect comment.

AbleGamers, the advocacy publication for disabled video game enthusiasts has named Star Wars: The Old Republic as its mainstream Game of the Year, meaning that it’s the most widely released title that is also widely accessible and accommodating for gamers with different needs to experience full gameplay.

The publication cited The Old Republic for ”many accessibility options such as full subtitles, queue-able actions, multiple action bars, area looting, auto looting, and built-in mouse sensitivity.”  The color-blind friendly mini map, and full keyboard and mouse functionality also received mentions.  Perhaps most interesting is what the publication calls the unintentional accessibility by the NPCs. ”These NPC characters which accompany the player through most of the game provide support to those who need it without forcing them to request help from other players,” AbleGamers wrote

Past honorees for the award include Forza Motorsport 3 and Dragon Age.

Hey, remember Freddy Prinze Jr.? He was that guy in that thing once. You know, that 90s teen movie.

Bioware and EA have announced that actor and screenwriter Freddy Prinze Jr. will be lending his voice to the newly announced James Vega in the upcoming Mass Effect 3.

The studio also announced that for the first time in the series, players will venture to Mars. It’s rumored that when players get to the red planet, they’ll be reunited with returning character Liara.

“Maybe there’s something there,” said Bioware lead writer Mac Walters when referring to Mars and the Prothean Archive. “The Protheans came very close to defeating the Reapers…unfortunately the Illusive Man [and] Cerberus are there ahead of you.”

It was also earlier in the week that a playable multiplayer and single player demo will hit Xbox Live and the Playstation Network on Valentines day, ahead of the game’s March 6 release date.

EA’s stock prices appear to be in a bit of trouble, and it’s reportedly due in large part to the performance of EA’s long anticipated MMORPG Star Wars: The Old republic.

The company’s shares fell almost 3% to $17.75 after stock analyst Todd Mitchell, working with  Brean Murray Carret & Co, released a briefing on the company’s performance, citing an unimpressive December 20 launch of the mega MMO. ”Initial sales appear to be below expectations, and casual observation of early play is causing us to rethink our assumptions,” Murray said in a note to his clients.

EA has announced that Klei’s Shank 2, the sequel to the highly acclaimed and stylish 2D side scrolling beat-em-up will release on PC and the PlayStation Network February 7 and will hit Xbox Live the next day.

Of course, we’ll have the full review for you here at Blast.

My dad loves football, but he finds football video games too complicated. I can’t really blame him either; I’ve tried to get him into Madden, but when you really break the 800 LB gorilla of a gaming franchise down, it’s tough to explain; even if it is second nature when playing. That’s exactly why NFL Blitz works so well — it’s America’s favorite game (Yeah, that’s right, I said it baseball) boiled down to its most basic elements.

Now, after years of being absent, the arcade style footballer returns; in all of its glory — well, sort of. It’s still just as frantic and fun as you remember, but it also comes during a turbulent time in the NFL, once that changes the very landscape and identity of what NFL Blitz is. Still, if you have even the slightest love for NFL Football, Blitz is a blast, especially played with friends.

If you’ve never played NFL Blitz, it’s basically a suped up version of Madden. The players are bigger and ripped with muscles and the plays more explosive. The game nixes strategy and philosophy for over-the-top action and adrenaline. In Blitz, there are no penalties, teams can catch on fire and it takes 30 yards for a first down rather than the standard ten yards.

The action in Blitz is fast, fun and in-your-face. It’s not uncommon to have score upwards of 30 points in the first quarter, and you’re bound to jump off your feet at least a few times. This is where Blitz excels, there’s never really a dull moment, and it gets even better when you’re playing against friends. This is the type of game that friendships are tested on, as it’s extremely fun to play against your friends in Blitz. Think throwing the game winning hail mary in Madden is fun? Imagine the thrill of doing it in Blitz, complete with players on fire and jumping clean over their opponents.

The most impressive aspect of Blitz is how much it retains the original arcade feel. Games are quick and easy for anyone to jump in and pick up and play. Perhaps more impressive, they’re also just as easy for anyone to win. It’s this accessibility that seems to be missing from most other current gen sports games. Blitz even features the old school Midway style codes to be entered at the versus screen for effects like different stadiums, characters and effects.

This isn’t however, the NFL Blitz of old, not completely anyways. The NFL is a much different league than we saw when the last entry in the series was released and that’s something that Blitz both falls victim to and benefits from at the same time. This season, the NFL has been tougher on late hits, and as a result, you won’t be able to stop your opponent’s touchdown celebration with a late, bone jarring hit. Sure, the hits in Blitz are ferocious enough, (come on, I delivered a piledriver to a Quarterback during a sack) but the late hits were a big part of the original games.

Aside from the Play Now option, you’re bound to get the majority of playtime from the game’s Blitz Gauntlet mode. Similar to modes found in games like NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat, you’ll face off with teams in a ladder format, with bosses mixed in. These bosses range from fictional characters (zombies) to team inspired creations (my Packers for instance had to face off with guys in overalls, Packer Jerseys and cheeseheads). These boss battles also feature powerups spread throughout the field, which makes them feel different than your standard games. There’s also a trading card game similar to that found in Madden, but I didn’t like it there and I don’t here either.

Tim Kitzrow from the original Blitz and NBA Jam games makes his return, and is just as entertaining as ever. Him and his announcing partner openly mock pop culture, including games, which includes Blitz. My favorite was when the two said that next year they’re going to audition for Madden because it pays more. Visually, NFL Blitz is on par with what you’d expect, though I was a bit disappointed at the lack of detail in some of the player’s faces. Sure, sometimes Aaron Rodgers looks like himself in the game, but others he just looks like another nameless, faceless NFL Quarterback.

The Blast Factor:NFL Blitz proves that arcade style sports gaming still has a place in modern gaming. It’s a blast to play, especially with other human players, and its accessibility makes it easy for just about anyone to jump in and play. . If you’ve got even the most slightest affinity for the sport or multiplayer gaming — you owe it to yourself to check out this modern day revival.

Earlier this year, a flame war raged over just which game was better, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3. Still haven’t made up your mind? Well now you don’t have to, as Battle Duty: Modern Field 3, a satirical look at Modern Day Shooters is now available on the App Store and Android Marketplace. Just what do you do? You…tap…to kill soldiers. Just watch the trailer above.  The game costs $1 and is worth a laugh or two.

A new report by the Associated Press claims that EA’s AAA shooter Battlefield 3 has been banned in Iran, where a portion of the game takes place.

Citing fears that the game will spark further fear and retaliation against the region, stores have been prohibited from selling the game, and there are reports of police raiding establishments rumored of selling it.

“We understand that the story of a videogame is hypothetical,” an online petition filed by an Iranian youth group read. “We believe the game is purposely released at a time when the US is pushing the international community into fearing Iran.”

It’s interesting to note that the game was never readily available in Iran, and not many shops were said to have been carrying it in the first place.

In the months of hype leading up to Battlefield 3′s release, EA announced that the those who buy the PS3 version of the game will receive a free copy of early franchise entry Battlefield 1943. Then, when the game was released, the extra game was missing, and people weren’t happy.

Facing a number of lawsuits, EA has announced that they will be providing vouchers for those that bought the PS3 version of the game. Those looking to secure a copy of the game are required to go to EA’s portal; 1943redemption.battlefield.com and using their Origin ID, request a code for their region.

Check out our review of Battlefield 3 here.

Most racing games flaunt their cars. They flaunt the insane amount of rides, how realistic they are and what it feels like to drive them. Need For Speed: The Run is different though. The cars seem like an afterthought in favor of…the ability to get out of the car.

Yeah, you can see where this is going.

In a year with two quality Need For Speed games and a slew of other high quality racing titles, Need For Speed: The Run feels like a step back, a fraud almost. The actual racing mechanics themselves feel lackluster when compared to similar games and even the Hollywood blockbuster style storyline feels boring and uninspired. The Run could have been a quality action romp, but instead it’s one of the most disappointing games of the year.

From the get-go, The Run could have been great. The game, which finds you as a contestant in a cross country race from San Francisco to New York, is basically a rehash of the 1981 Bruce Willis movie  Cannonball  Run. In truth, there’s nothing wrong with that – the game takes you on some pretty cool trips, from the hills of San Francisco to the fields of Middle America, the tunnels of Chicago and finally the bustling streets of New York City.  The game recreates these locales in pretty impressive styles and most looks just as you’d expect it to.

To the developers credit, they manage to get some pretty varied (well, at least early in the game) missions into these locales. In some stages you’ll be pitted against a clock because you’ll need to make up time against other racers, and others you’ll have to avoid cops and gangsters in Hollywood style action sequences.  They’re really well done, but odds are you won’t notice; these sequences are presented as QuickTime events, so you’ll be more focused on pounding on the button that appears in the corner of the screen to fully enjoy what the developers have done here.

It’s a shame then that this Hollywood style treatment isn’t found throughout the entire game; namely the plot…or lack thereof.  Everything in Need For Speed: The Run feels incredibly scripted and as a result, less than thrilling. There’s no room for error in this incredibly linear tale as you’ll always need to complete each of the game’s objectives in the right order to move on or your trying again. Cops and other NPCs all behave and speak the same way, and in some sections it doesn’t matter what you do, the game shoehorns you into quicktime event action sequences.

The most disappointing aspect of The Run is just how few of options there truly are. You can’t fine tune your car or buy new parts for it; hell – customization is completely gone here. You’ll pick up new cars along the road and in gas stations, but if you don’t like them, your only option is to wait until you find a new one. This takes a lot of the replay value out of the game when compared to other Need For Speed games, and is especially apparent in the online mode. No longer are you racing against player’s own creations, you’re just racing against pre-made cars with attributes set by the computer. Where’s the fun in that?

Of course, this would all be forgivable if The Run was a great driving game, but it’s not…it’s not even a decent one. Gone are the fine tuned machines and mechanics from previous games in favor of arcade style controls that feel tacked on. Cars often feel floaty as if they don’t have any weight to them and handling can be incredibly frustrating.  It’s often that you’ll be chased by a group of pursuers, making good time, but be screwed over by one curve and have to start the whole race over again.

The Blast Factor: Need For Speed: Shift and Hot Pursuit served as rebirths for a racing franchise that had gone stale. They introduced new mechanics and were a blast to play through. In that sense The Run can only be seen as a major step back. It’s built on shoddy mechanics, goofy premises and a horribly bland story. There are plenty of great racing games on the market and this is not one of them.

This weekend, EA really wants you to play Battlefield 3, so much so that they’re willing to offer you the chance at cash, trips and prizes just for playing.

Users who play Battlefield 3 online this weekend will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes for three pretty heavy prizes. The grand prize allows the winner and three friends the chance to visit the DICE studios in Stockholm, Sweden, a trip which includes air and hotel accommodations. Second prize is $5,000 in cash and third is the choice between an Xbox 360, a PS3 and an Alienware PC. Players can earn one entry for each day they log in.

Of course, the timing of the sweepstakes is no accident, as Battlefield’s biggest competitor, the much anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launches this Tuesday and is sure to take away from Battlefield 3′s share of online competition.

It may be getting mixed reviews from critics (including us), EA’s Battlefield 3 continues to roll at retailers, selling more than 5 million copies in its first week. The publisher also announced that it has shipped more than 10 million units.

“We had a spectacular first week,” said Patrick Soderlund, executive vice president of the EA Games label. “The quality is actually trending up. We’ve seen an uplift in metacritic on the console 87 on PS3 and 85 on 360. We are holding at 90 on the PC. So we are more pleased with the quality of the product and the perception of it. I think the word of mouth from gamers is really strong. People are saying, ‘You have to go in and play this multiplayer. It is like an addiction’.”

So just how good are those numbers? To put it into comparison, Call of Duty: Black Ops, the latest installment in the rival series doubled those numbers, selling 10 million copies in its first week, totaling a whopping $650 million.

Still though, it can’t be denied that the shooter, has momentum, entering the holiday season as one of the hottest games on the market, but how long could it last? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, a game which has been in a heated rivalry with launches on November 8, and is expected to top the sales results of Black Ops.

Perhaps the most telling tale of Battlefield 3’s complicated existence comes before the game even enters your system. Certain versions of the game come in multiple discs, one for the game’s multiplayer suite, which comes first – and the other for the single player. After more than a decade,  EA and DICE  surely know their audience and have justly put the majority of their time and development into the game’s online gameplay, but as a result, the single player suffers and you’re left with a mixed and uneven shooter that fails to deliver on all of the hype it’s generated since being announced. No, Battlefield 3 is not a bad game – it’s just not as good as it could be.

Before you go any further you should know something about me — I’m a single player campaign first kind of guy. Before I even touch the online multiplayer I want a game to tell me a story, I want the game to take me places, to make me care. Quite simply, Battlefield 3 failed to do that for me.  That’s not to say that there aren’t any edge-of-your-seat moments; when Battlefield 3 fires on all cylinders, it’s great action, just not great drama. Take for example on sequence early on in the game where you’re asked to take out an enemy held up in a hotel balcony. It was thrilling to run up to the top of the building and strategize with my squad-mates as to how to take them out; but for the life of me, I can’t tell you just why we were doing it.  The uninspired story of Battlefield 3 feels less like a fleshed out plot, and more like a device to move you from set piece to set piece, and they’re just not all thrilling enough to make you care. You can only take so much military jargon before you just find yourself just pointing at something and shooting.

It’s almost impossible to write this review without mentioning the 800 LB gorilla in the room – the rivalry that’s played out between Battlefield and Call of Duty over the last year. In the midst of the verbal sparring; a strange thing has happened, Battlefield has become everything they’ve spoken out against. Modes from previous Battlefield games have been removed (where’s my commander mode EA?), and the team at DICE seems insistent on making this feel like a Modern Warfare game. All of the plot points are here, the stolen nukes, the gruff commanders and the stereotypically evil Russians; hell there’s even a few missions that feel like they were lifted directly from previous editions of the rival series.  What’s most disappointing about the campaign experience is when it’s clear that they didn’t do the necessary research. In fear of spoiling some key moments, I won’t get into much detail, but there are some moments that defy military law that are sure to take you completely out of the game.

That being said, I can’t deny the sheer enjoyment I had when the campaign worked. When Battlefield 3 fires on all cylinders and gives you frantic action, it’s hard to argue that it delivers.  Lessons are learned quick in the world of Battlefield 3, like the time I was facing down a sniper and mistakenly got up from my cover in an effort to get a better vantage point, only to be instantly shot down. It’s moments like these that make Battlefield enjoyable, where you’re forced to make split second decisions in the face of a coming onslaught. These edge of your seat moments don’t come often in Battlefield 3, but when they do, they’re more than worth it.

Let’s be honest though, myself aside, the majority of gamers are going to jump in to Battlefield 3 for its online play – and this is where the game undoubtedly shines. On the PC version up to 64 players (24 on console versions) can load out in nine different maps which vary from industrial to urban and even some jungle locations. What makes these maps so interesting is not their size (though, they are quite large), but how varied in scope they are.  One map for example had me dodging sniper shots from multiple roofs, while the other had me scurrying between tunnels to try to get an advantage. Of course, this is a Battlefield game, and that means you’ll have access to plenty of vehicles, which can be a great addition to the game, but can also be a pain in the ass. Getting a vehicle, like a tank or a helicopter can turn a battle around completely, but they’re so powerful that each game becomes a mad dash to occupy each vehicle, and if you you’re not the lucky one, you better turn around and run. We also experienced a slew of issues with the EA servers while playing Battlefield online. These issues mostly cropped up with the console versions, and they’re likely to be fixed via a patch, but it was incredibly frustrating to not be able to get in to a game on launch week.

The entire Battlefield package comes together with the new Frostbite 2 engine. There’s no denying that the game is nothing short of gorgeous; from the detail on characters and buildings, to the views of the city around you. Most impressive perhaps is the level of detail Frostbite allows for in its destruction. Remember that scene early on I was talking about? The one where you’re trying to take out the enemy in the hotel? It’s extremely satisfying to watch as the entire building rumbles, smoke starts to billow out and pieces start to fall off. At times its almost impossible to not marvel at how well it all comes together. It’s not all perfect though, as we did notice a few oddly muddy textures and a bit of slowdown – especially in the console versions.

The Blast Factor: Battlefield 3 may be the toughest game I’ve yet to review; it’s majorly flawed, but at the same time, it does so much right that it’s almost impossible not to at least enjoy your time with it. After all the hype and the name calling, Battlefield 3 is here. Was it worth the wait? The easy answer is an emphatic yes; it may not be the end-all-be-all first person shooter you’re looking for, but it is a remarkable one, that you’re going to want to play – especially if you’re into multiplayer.

Battlefield 3 is available now for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 from EA and DICE. The Xbox 360 and PC versions of the game were used for this review and provided by the publisher.

Fans eagerly awaiting Mass Effect 3′s March release will be getting a bit of an early taste; as EA has announced that a beta for the highly anticipated title will hit Xbox Live and PSN this coming January.

The beta, which will include both multiplayer and single player sections will be first available to those who buy Battlefield 3, but EA does say that there will be other ways in. Perhaps dark and twisted ways that you’ll only tell your shrink about in ten years.

Or maybe they’ll just sling codes on Twitter. Who know…

We’re exactly one month away from the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Check out the new redemption trailer below!

EA and Klei Entertainment announced that they’re developing a sequel to Xbox Live indie darling Shank for release next year; but they’d rather you not call it a sequel.

“We didn’t make another Shank,” Jamie Cheng, CEO of Klei said, “we completely ripped the game apart and reconstructed it with better controls and visuals.”

According to Cheng, the studio has listened to fan feedback regarding the original title, and developed a better game, including better visuals, controls and yes — more co-op.

Shank 2 is expected to be released sometime in early 2012.

Remember like two days ago when we told you that EA might delay Star Wars:The Old republic into next year. Just kidding — Bioware and Lucas Arts announced today at the Eurogamer expo that their highly anticipated MMO will release in the United States on December 20.

“This is an incredible moment for everyone at BioWare and our partners at LucasArts who have dedicated their lives to build this extraordinary game.,” Bioware’s Ray Muzyka said . “We appreciate the patience from the millions of fans who have been waiting for the game’s release.”

Each copy of the game will come with a 30-day free trial, after which gamers will have to join one of three subscription models:

1 Month Subscription: $14.99
3 Month Subscription: $13.99 per month
6 Month Subscription: $12.99 per month

Those who preorder the game will get early access.

In a move that’s going to surprise no one, it was confirmed at this year’s E3 that all Modern Warfare 3 DLC will be timed exclusives to the Xbox 360.  You didn’t expect Sony to take that lying down did you?

It was announced today that beginning with the already announced Road to Karkand,  all DLC for Modern Warfare 3′s closest competitor, EA’s Battlefield 3 will be exclusive to PS3 for one week before it hits Xbox Live.

You’ve been waiting a long time for Star Wars: The Old Republic and now…you could be waiting even longer.

Speaking to a group of investors, EA CFO Eric Brown revealed that a release date won’t be announced until late October; “In terms of timing we haven’t given a street date yet,” Brown said. “We won’t do so for some time, possibly at our next upcoming earnings call towards the end of October.”

Then Brown confirmed what gamers have feared for quite some time, the long awaited, long in development game could slip to next year. “”We did hold out a slight possibility that it could slip to our March quarter,” he said, “and the factors that would cause a slip is, for example, us not being completely satisfied with the scalability testing, and wanting to tune it for several extra weeks.”

Bioware’s Stephen Reid has said that the comments were not supposed to be made public, but stands by Brown’s comments, saying that the slip to next year is only a possibility and not a promise.

If the game does get delayed, it won’t be the first Star Wars title to be delayed this month, Star Wars Kinect was recently pushed back to the first quarter of 2012.

EA has announced that Battlefield 3′s highly anticipated open beta will kick off next week for both PC and console platforms.

Kicking off September 29 and running until October 10, and set in Paris on the Operation Metro map playing the game’s Rush mode, the beta will give players an opportunity to explore the game, as well as Battlelog, the game’s social networking and matchmaking service.

Xbox 360 and PS3 owners must log on to their console’s digital marketplace to download the beta, while PC owners must install Origin to play the beta. Those who bought Medal of Honor’s special edition or pre-ordered the game on Origin will gain access two days earlier, on September 27.

Over the last year, there’s been a lot of talk about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 VS Battlefield 3. Who’s got the better engine? Who’s got the better multiplayer? Which one is going to sell more when they release within mere weeks of each other this fall. You know who doesn’t care? Infinity Ward — developers of Modern Warfare 3.

Speaking to IGN at an event to promote the game in Sydney, Australia, Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward’s Director of Communications and Community Manager, said that the studio isn’t focused on anything but getting the next Call of Duty ready.

“There’s no buy in on that sort of stuff,” says Bowling. “We don’t care about sales numbers, we don’t care about competition, we don’t care about beating anyone. Our 100 per cent focus is making a game that we’re going to love to play, that we’re going to be proud of, and that we know that our fans are going to play. To us, we don’t care if there are three people playing it or 30 million people playing it. If there are three people having a great time then we’ve done our job correctly and we will be happy.”

The war of words between EA, who is developing Battlefield 3 and Activision, who is developing Modern Warfare 3 has been anything but passive. Both companies (but admittedly EA a bit more) have taken potshots at the other, and there’s even rumors of CEOs of both companies being told they couldn’t see each other’s game at E3. Then again, reps from both companies did play nice at this year’s GamesCom, taking to Twitter to praise their rivals.

Battlefield 3 releases on October 25, with Modern Warfare 3 following behind it on November 8.

Since its announcement, we’ve heard so much about Battlefield 3 running at half the speed on console as its PC counterpart. Well, see for yourself, here’s the recently released full official look at Battlefield 3 running on an Xbox 360. Looks pretty good to me.

The last two Call of Duty games have featured three editions — the standard, the prestige and the hardened editions. Well, my middle of the road friends, you’re going to have to choose, as Infinity Ward Creative Director Robert Bowling answered a fan question regarding the lack of news for the Prestige Edition announcing that there isn’t one planned.

If the Japanese promotional poster to the right is to be believed, the Xbox 360 version of the hotly anticipated Battlefield 3 will ship on two discs. The poster, which has been seen in gaming shops throughout the country clearly depicts the differences between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game.

This one seems pretty cut and dry, but without comment from EA, we’re filing it as a rumor.Battlefield 3 hits US stores on October 25.

Okay you two, break it up — I said break it up!

For the better part of the last year, EA and Activision have been trading barbs, quips and insults  regarding the real life war between Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3, which release less than two weeks apart later this year. EA has already said they want the long running Call of Duty franchise to “rot,” but now they’re calling for something a bit more severe, the franchise’s death, an inevitable event according to one EA employee.

In response to Activision’s Publishing Executive Eric Hirshberg calling for an end to the mudslinging between the two companies, EA’s Jeff Brown had a clear message for the competion — “Welcome to the big leagues Eric.”

“You’ve got every reason to be nervous. Last year Activision had a 90 [percent] share in the shooter category. This year, Battlefield 3 is going to take you down to 60 or 70. At that rate, you’ll be out of the category in 2-3 years,” he continued. “If you don’t believe me, go to the store and try to buy a copy of Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk.”

With all of the trash talk going on in the video game business lately, you’d expect the folks at Steam to be pretty pissed that EA won’t be offering their hugely anticipated shooter Battlefield 3 to the service in favor of their own client, Origin. You’ve apparently never met Gabe Newell.

Newell, head of Valve and Steam recently spoke to Develop Magazine regarding getting the publisher’s titles back on the service. “We have to show EA it’s a smart decision to have EA games on Steam, and we’re going to try to show them that,” he said.

Though Newell wasn’t clear on just how he was going to show EA, he was pretty confident that the two parties would be able to come to some kind of agreement. “I think at the end of the day we’re going to prove to Electronic Arts they have happier customers, a higher quality service, and will make more money if they have their titles on Steam. It’s our duty to demonstrate that to them. We don’t have a natural right to publish their games.”

Battlefield 3 launches October 25 on PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Origin.