Mortal Kombat Vita Bound This Spring

“The NetherRealm team is committed to making sure that we follow up the success of 2011’s Mortal Kombat with an equally compelling experience on the PlayStation Vita,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “The original game content and new features we developed for the PlayStation Vita will provide gamers with the best fighting game experience available on the new mobile platform.”

NetherRealm’s brutal battle ballet is back, this time arriving on the Vita sometime this spring. As with the PlayStation 3 version, the game will feature fan favorite Kratos as a playable fighter plus a number of new yet to be announced enhancements and features that should help it rocket to some pretty impressive sales. While I wait for more news and some screenshots from the upcoming game, it looks as if this version will start making appearances at a Vita Hill Social Club event near you at some point in the near future. Stay tuned for updates as we get them

Resident Evil Retribution Trailer: Product Placement Does Work, After All…

I meant to post this one a few days back when it was initially released, but I got busy tackling the pile of old posts I still need to reformat. plus a few other things Anyway, I’m not a huge fan of the RE films, but the trailer for Retribution is clever enough to pique my interest somewhat. For starters, Sony getting a PlayStation Vita in the first few seconds of the trailer before the US launch is priceless (and makes me want one even more) and the excellent segue combining MORE shameless product advertising for other products then turning into Alice’s next adventure is excellently done. Granted, I’ll most likely NOT pay for a ticket and wait to catch this one on cable like I have with all the other RE films, but at least this trailer grabbed my interest enough to make me want to watch it multiple times.

WipEout 2048 Intro Cinematic Double Shot!

No, you’re not quite seeing double here (even though you are). It’s one video with commentary and one without (if you somehow haven’t managed to read the headers above the videos). Also, one of the Vita’s must-haves in my book just because I’m an old-school WipEout player from the original PlayStation days. I also had the PC version, but I found it tougher to control using a keyboard. Oh well. Anyway, what I love about the commentary from Game Director Graeme Ankers and Art Director Lee Carus is that it acknowledges those players who’ve been around since the first game while giving a bit of back-story to those coming into the game for the first time. WipEout 2048 zips onto the Playstation Vita on February 22, 2012.

Kid Icarus: Uprising Trailer Shows What The Fuss Is All About

Nintendo’s killer app (that would have made for a great launch title had the 3DS shipped in 2012) is finally soaring into retail in March, so here’s the latest peek at some gameplay. I still feel bad for Wii owners that they’re not getting this one, but it really would be nice to see the Wii U do something with the character now that he’s officially back on the gaming radar worldwide. Let’s hope we see more new games and not poor Pit relegated to another Smash Bros. sub-character no one under a certain age even knows about (like poor Ness from the Earthbound/Mother series)…

Max Payne 3 Gets Release Dates, Extended Pre-Order (Bullet) Time

I’d have posted this news when it arrived yesterday, but I had a little incident that kept me away from posting for a bit. Thanks, Max. Look, I know you’re terribly excited about your new game, but please keep the house calls to a minimum. I can use less lumps upside the head, too. Ouch. Anyway, May 15, 2012 for North America and May 18, 2012 in Europe for PS3 and Xbox 360. PC gamers get theirs in North America on May 29, while Europe gets theirs on June 1. You can also (and wisely) pre-order the game from a few places online or off, if there’s a game shop near you. Rockstar as extended the time to pre-order the game until April 2, 2012, which means you should probably snag that Special Edition if you like what you see on the pre-order page, correct?

Hmmm… that US release IS a week after my birthday, so perhaps Max will be a tiny bit nicer and drop off a little gift as an apology of sorts. Of course, I could just wake up again with my other foot in the toilet and another lump on the head, so I won’t push my luck…

Sine Mora: Digital Reality & grasshopper manufacture’s Xbox Live Exclusive Shmup

Yeah, yeah, I’ve not REALLY been ignoring this one at all (hey, I’m a huge grasshopper fan, so how could I?). I was just hoping we’d see a retail release for the Vita or some other handheld over yet another download only title that’s just going to be buried in a dashboard update down the road. And it’s a 360/XBLA exclusive for now, so there’s that. Disappointments aside, the game does look quite lovely and fun to play, so there’s that. More updates to come (but don’t expect the game to migrate to another platform unless it’s headed to PC at some point, as this is a Microsoft produced project).

Resident Evil 6 Set For November 20, 2012 Release

I may be the only person NOT surprised at this news, but there you go. Capcom has dropped the big news, so RE fans still unwilling to grab a 3DS for the upcoming Resident Evil Revelations (which is looking really great, by the way – if you own a 3DS, the demo is out NOW!) can now prepare for the followup to Resident Evil 5 when it hits PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on November 20, 2012. The awesome 3+ minute trailer is posted over on my M-Rated game stuff blog, as I’m playing nice for the family audience out there (and it seems that no one has been able to program a simple age gate bloggers can use- what’s up with that?). Anyway, believe it or not, PRE-ORDERS are already being taken for the game over on the official Facebook page, so click on over to do the sign up and “Like” thing and check out the gory details for yourself…

Oh, by the way… 70,000 zombies? Yikes. The game better have some sort of kill counter, that’s for sure.

Starhawk Comes Out The Day After My Birthday…

Yeah, yeah, the public beta is out and plenty of fans have been playing the thing for a while at events and such, but I’m going to jump in feet first on launch day and figure stuff out on my own. Granted, I’m in it for the single player first and foremost, so there’s that. From the bits I have played and seen at Sony press events, I can tell this one’s going to be huge to the point of potentially getting a few gamers away from certain modern shooters for a bit. The team at Lightbox has really cooked up an instant classic and along with some of Sony’s other 2012 surprises, this looks to be the best year for the PS3 (and PS3 owners, of course)…

Touch My Katamari Trailer: It’s Good To Be The King!

Yes, he’s back, as are a few other familiar faces, all headed for a February 22, 2012 date with destiny on the PlayStation Vita. Can TMC roll up the sales and solid reviews big time, or will it be a touchy subject when the game rolls into the bargain bin? I predict minor to medium greatness, provided the target audience snaps it up properly and spreads the good word…

Phantom Breaker Updated Gameplay Trailer

7Sixty Games has released a new trailer for its upcoming 2D fighter, Phantom Breaker and officially announced that the game is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Remember folks, $39.99 gets you the Special Edition that includes a bunch of cool omake goodies you won’t be able to snag anywhere else. Go click that link above and see for yourself. You KNOW you want to…