The highly-anticipated reboot of the SSX series now has a demo available on Xbox Live. The demo features racer Zoe Payne in “Race It” and “Trick It” events. Along with these single player events, the demo offers some online functionality. Players are able to upload “ghosts” of their best attempts int the “Explore Mode” and those who send the demo to their friends can unlock the extra character Mac Fraser.

The demo is exclusive to Xbox Live Gold members and will be available later today for PS3 owners once the PSN update rolls out. SSX is currently set for a February 28 release in North America.

Source: GameTrailers

The Playstation Vita, which already has a few fighting games under its belt will be receiving another this fall. Capcom has announced that their cross-over fighter Street Fighter X Tekken will be arriving on Sony’s latest handheld sometime in the fall with an additional twelve characters added to the roster.

On top of Playstation 3 exclusive fighters like Pac-Man and Mega Man, the Vita release of Street Fighter X Tekken will bring on an additional twelve fighters. These fighters are currently unannounced and considering this is Capcom, we will likely see them as part of the console releases in the form of DLC.

Source: Joystiq

A system line-up is not complete without Activision bringing their moneymaking powerhouse franchise to it. Sony confirmed that the Call of Duty franchise will make its Vita debut later this year.

Senior Vice President of PlayStation marketing, Guy Longsworth, announced the title launch window during an interview with GameTrailers‘ Geoff Keighley. Mr. Longsworth stated, “in the Autumn, [my sons] are really looking forward to Call of Duty on Vita, and that’s going to be an absolute game changer for the platform.”

The details for this planned Call of Duty Vita title are scarce at the moment. Mr. Longsworth did not state if the title will be a port of a console game or a product that has been built specifically for Sony’s new handheld.

The PC version of Alan Wake finally arrived last week after being exclusive to the Xbox 360 for nearly 2 years. The PC version on Steam has sold tremendously well and already recovered the development and marketing costs for Remedy.

On the Remedy forums, Executive Vice President Aki Jarvilehto stated, “We are very happy with the sales and hitting #1 on Steam at launch was nothing short of amazing. We recouped our development and marketing expenses during the first 48 hours.”

Currently, Alan Wake on PC is available on Steam for $29.99 (reg. price $34.99). If purchased prior to February 23rd at 10pm PST, the Collector’s Edition DLC will be included for Free!

Check out our review for Alan Wake (Xbox 360) from 2010 to see what you’ve been missing. PC gamers rejoice!

5. Bikes-

Introduced in the Wii iteration, a bold attempt to add a new element to the racing. The idea was that the speed-boosting wheelie ability would be offset by their less effective corner turbos. In practise, though, the effect only made bikes grossly overpowered. Karts were rarely seen in online races, and it surprised nobody when their two-wheeled cousins didn’t return in Mario Kart 7. The design was great, but the execution flawed.

4. Goo-Goo Buggy/Rattle Buggy-

Double Dash!! karts, for Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. I’ve always been a sucker for the lightweight characters, and this vehicle’s perfect for them. It’s also priceless when the babies collect their exclusive item. A monstrous chain chomp affixed to the front, pulling the buggy along at lightning speed, is a suitably ridiculous sight. Somehow, it’s never as entertaining with any other vehicle.

3. Cact-X-

I spent a lot of time trying out different combinations of parts in the 3DS game. This was probably my favourite of all the new offerings, as it gave the stats I wanted and looked good as well. Who wouldn’t want to drive a cactus, complete with rather stylish pink flower exhaust?
At least, that’s what it looks like to me.

2. Wario Car-

The purple beast itself, modified to somehow look as evil as it’s owner. When Wario’s on the back, tossing bombs and cackling deviously, you know you’re somehow witnessing the essence of what Mario Kart should be. It made an ‘almost appearance’ in Mario Kart 7, in the form of the really-similar-but-black Growlster.

1. The Kart-

The series has offered a wide range of different racing machines in its time. There’s something delightfully nostalgic about the good old classic kart though. It’s like a constant nod to the earlier games, on wheels. The latest, Mario Kart 7, seems to recognise this. It also offers the Pipe Frame kart body, as seen in fan favourite Mario Kart 64. However many zany vehicles the franchise provides, this will always be a favourite.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Craig Hart and Thomas Mayer from GamingSurvival.com provide a Snapshot of Shank 2 – released for XBLA, PSN, and PC.

The Snapshot video features an unedited, in-depth look into Klei Entertainment’s fantastic brawler featuring commentary by Craig and Tom. Marvel at Tom’s ability to talk AND play at the same time, while Craig ponders the meaning of life.

Also, check out our full Shank 2 review.

Today, we’re looking at Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The opening to the game features a flashback to Rondo of Blood, and Richter’s confrontation with Dracula.

Their conversation ends with these famous words from the vampire lord:

“What is a man? (throws glass dramatically) A miserable little pile of secrets… But enough talk. Have at you!”

Fans of the series will know this is typical of Dracula’s theatrics. He’s always to be found lounging at his ease on his throne, trusting that any unwelcome Belmonts will be dealt with in his absence. After all, the castle is heaving with his demonic, deformed lackeys. Either that, or he has bowed to the inevitable and is simply waiting for the latest vampire killer’s arrival.

In the interim, he amuses himself by concocting some rather brilliant mocking one-liners.
“I will toy with you a bit,” he announces in Order of Ecclesia, before taking a quite savage beating.
Another one.

Dracula’s earned himself many points for persistence, though. Plus a few extra for sheer badassery and wit, as we’ve seen. It’s a trait shared by many video game bad guys: if you’re going to be horribly defeated, make sure you go out in style. If this involves a transformation into a freakish abomination of some sort, as it often does with this guy, so much the better.

Dungeon Keeper was released for the PC in 1997. An RTS from Bullfrog Productions, this game devoured a significant chunk of my childhood. It’s possibly the only PC game that could ever make an appearance on my ‘favourites of all time’ list. Let’s take a look at why.

First, there’s the twisted story concept. You take the role of a malevolent force, lurking in the outskirts of a peaceful, untainted land. Your task is to gradually take control of this world, one level (or ‘realm’) at a time. You do this insidiously, making a vast dungeon beneath the ground from which to train and finally unleash your unholy forces. Defeating the Lord of the Land, a powerful, goodly knight, and his army completes the level.

I’ve never seen a cast of characters as varied and peculiar as that found in Dungeon Keeper. The creatures you command range from the terrifying dominatrix-esque Dark Mistress to the bizarre Tentacle, a four-legged oddity with a beak. Each has their own abilities in battle and their own skills. The Warlock, for example, excels at researching spells in the library for your nefarious use. However, don’t expect him to get his hands dirty building traps and doors in the workshop. That job’s much better suited to the hardy but dim-witted Troll.

Attacked by some terrifying, bloodthirsty... fairies?

The way you utilise all these elements is another intriguing aspect of the game. Will you spend all your time in the training room, and so crush your opponents in an unstoppable show of force? Or will you be stealthier, using the extensive selection of magic spells available to triumph? The most fiendish of these inflicts a plague on an opposing minion, with the hope of spreading it to his companions. While I never found this to be as devastating as it may sound, you can’t falt the diabolical concept.

As I have previously written, Dungeon Keeper was a breath of fresh air on release. So original, such an engrossing and endlessly entertaining concept. A cult classic, and a title that proves that the lure of the dark side can be surprisingly difficult to resist. As the game itself states, Evil is Good.

The idea that Activision would not release a follow-up to the hugely successful Call of Duty: Black Ops never crossed our minds. Amazon France posted a listing (and subsequently pulled it) for the much anticipated sequel.

According to a report by the French gaming site GameBlog, Amazon France allegedly posted a product listing for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. GameBlog.fr was able to grab a screenshot before the product listing was pulled by the online giant.

GameBlog did not get away scot-free though. In a follow-up post on the site, Activision requested that they “remove this news now”. According to the site, when they refused to pull the article, the site was “blacklisted” by the publisher. The site states that they have been asked to not introduce themselves at an event for Transformers: The Fall of Cybertron, of which they were previously invited. They also stated that they will not be receiving materials from Activision in the future and will result in a delay in reporting for the publisher.

1. More power

I don't think so, Tim.

Hope you were sitting down for that shocker! Expect AMD to deliver a quad-core CPU with a tweaked GPU from a couple generations ago. It may sound tame, but the difference will be significant and immediately noticeable. Initial rumors peg the beefed up box as 6x more powerful than the 360. Unlike Nintendo, Microsoft is still interested in pushing cutting-edge console power and has to keep pace with Sony.

2. Blu-Ray Drive

Seems legit.

Continuing with the softball predictions; the next Xbox’s optical drive will have some form of Blu-Ray technology. Whether it’s a vanilla, off-the-shelf drive, or something slightly tweaked like in the Wii U is uncertain. I’d wager on the former, as Microsoft wants their machine to be the one-stop entertainment shop for your living room. Shutting it off to the world of Blu-ray movies is a foolish, if not purely bull-headed, notion. Even if Sony gets a small cut for all drives sold, it’s a price worth paying for MS’s end goal. Giving Sony one less competitive advantage is ideal.

3. Internal Wireless N

With any luck, you will be.

A no-brainer, as it already exists on Xbox 360 Slims. Microsoft isn’t so stupid as to backpedal and charge users for something they include for free now. Considering wireless adapters cost like, a nickel to include, it’s going to be present.

 4. Mandatory, Platter-Based Hard Drives

Scumbag hard drives.

Microsoft will go back to their roots and include a hard drive with every console. As awesome as it would be if it were an SSD, they’re still prohibitively expensive. A decent-sized one costs more than a brand new console! So, MS is stuck using traditional, platter-based HDDs. The minimum capacity will see a bump, as manufacturing a 250GB drive isn’t really more expensive than a 60GB drive. Microsoft wants to make sure there’s plenty of room for users to purchase content from the Marketplace. Also, developers will love the fact that each user has a hard drive; they will no longer have to code with that exception in mind.

5. Smaller Console

The Xbox was big. Get it?!?!

Don’t expect something as small as the Wii, but Microsoft will aim for a small, efficient, and powerful machine. The parts used obviously won’t be top of the line, and CPU/GPU fabrication has been hitting the 45nm and lower mark for quite some time now. That means a smaller physical footprint while still delivering plenty of power. We may even see the removal of a disc tray in favor of a slot-loader, making the optical drive’s volume even smaller.

 6. Backwards Compatibility w/ Kinect & Others

Anything that reminds me of Johnny 5 can't be all bad.

Speaking of wireless adapters, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MS allow use of Xbox 360 controllers on their new console. Lord knows they aren’t going to pull a Nintendo and show off a radically new controller. The dual analog + 8-button paradigm will continue. MS also uses a proprietary wireless frequency – they won’t invest the time and money for a new one. The Kinect will be grandfathered in, as it would be foolish to kill off all the momentum Microsoft has gained. That doesn’t mean a newer, fancier Kinect won’t be released down the road. Given the technological limitations of the current device, it’s almost guaranteed.

7. Native Software Backwards Compatibility

A whole new generation can experience the horror of Vampire Rain.

It’s been strongly rumored that Microsoft is once again going with ATI/AMD for the new console’s GPU, and that’s a smart move. That means no emulation shenanigans. When the Xbox 360 was in development, Microsoft had to scramble and make original Xbox games (which ran on nVidia hardware) somehow work on an ATI GPU.  We all know how that turned out, as many fan-favorite titles were left unplayable. They won’t make the same mistake twice; all Xbox 360 games will be able to work day one. This ties well with Kinect backwards compatibility, as Microsoft wants to keep the casual base they’ve spent millions building up. It’s possible they could implement some form of hardware acceleration to make 360 games run smoother or sharper, but that seems like a lot of effort for a small return.

8. Deep Integration with Windows [Phone] 8

Like this but less purple.

We’ve seen hints of it now, but the next console will be designed to natively interact with the upcoming Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Services like Windows Media Center will still be hanging around, but do you remember the promises of taking your XBLA games with you on the go? Microsoft desperately wants you tied to their eco-system, not unlike Apple with iTunes. We’re seeing similar experiences already with the Vita and PS3; Microsoft does not want to be left behind. Their XNA programming suite makes it super simple to make a game run on console, PC, and mobile device; this is a huge advantage that is not being utilized enough. I’m sure MS isn’t blind to the possibilities.

9. No Used Game Blocker

Also customer and employee hell.

A few weeks ago, a stupid (yes, stupid) rumor surfaced talking of the Xbox 720 having technology that will block used games from being played. Plenty of developers, including those internal to MS, loathe shops like GameStop which profit hugely off of used game sales. As much as they want to stop it, this isn’t the generation to do it. Microsoft is still quite dependent on fostering good-will from retailers, especially GameStop. Imagine the scenario if this technology was implemented; GameStop (and other used-game shops) would give MS the finger and not dedicate any shelf-space to their console. All Sony and Nintendo have to do is stay the course and let Microsoft sink in their own stupidity.

10. Multiple SKUs at Launch

"Okay Grandma, remember...I want the Pro!" "Oh dear..."

The Xbox 360 was the first console to launch with 2 SKUs. It worked surprisingly well, and offered the illusion of choice (we all know the Core SKU was a terrible bargain in the end). It will happen again for the next generation. MS will sell a SKU touted as the “premium” experience, while the other SKU will be for the “casual” market. There may be some confusion in the marketplace, but it worked itself out before. If Microsoft is smart, they’ll market the two versions more clearly this time.