Video Game Awards 2011

At tonight's Video Game Awards, Sony and Spike finally quit teasing us and formally announced The Last of Us, the next game from Uncharted developers Naughty Dog. Set in an America ravaged by a horrifying fungal infection that has left a few survivors in a desperate struggle for survival.

The trailer indicates a very Uncharted-looking bunch of people running from some very 28 Days Later looking infected. The Last of Us is due exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2012.

Konami's Metal Gear Solid: Rising is now Platinum Game's Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Raiden, apparently channeling his unstoppable child soldier roots, has gone fully cyborg ninja in order to hack, slash and grotesquely dismember every single thing that exists.

Before this year's Spike TV Video Game Awards properly started, the event's pre-show debuted a live-action, non-gameplay trailer for Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Aside from being well choreographed and remarkably stylish, the trailer offers little insight into the title other than the fact that it will be coming to unknown consoles sometime during the 2012 holiday season.

Winners of the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards

GAME OF THE YEAR

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

STUDIO OF THE YEAR

Bethesda Game Studios

CHARACTER OF THE YEAR

The Joker – Batman: Arkham City

VIDEO GAME HALL OF FAME AWARD

"The Legend of Zelda"

GAMER GOD AWARD

Blizzard Entertainment

BEST XBOX 360 GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST PLAYSTATION 3 GAME

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

BEST Wii GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST PC GAME

Portal 2

BEST HANDHELD/MOBILE GAME

Super Mario 3D Land

BEST SHOOTER

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

BEST ACTION ADVENTURE GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST RPG

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

BEST MULTI-PLAYER

Portal 2

BEST INDIVIDUAL SPORTS GAME

Fight Night Champion

BEST TEAM SPORTS GAME

NBA 2K12

BEST DRIVING GAME

Forza Motorsport 4

BEST FIGHTING GAME

Mortal Kombat

BEST MOTION GAME

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

Minecraft

BEST ADAPTED VIDEO GAME

Batman: Arkham City

BEST SONG IN A GAME

"Build that Wall" (Zia's Theme) by Darren Korb – Bastion

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Bastion

BEST GRAPHICS

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN MALE

Stephen Merchant as Wheatley – Portal 2

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN FEMALE

Ellen McLain as GLaDOS – Portal 2

BEST DOWNLOADABLE GAME

Bastion

BEST DLC

Portal 2 Peer Review

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

Mass Effect 3

GAMETRAILERS.COM TRAILER OF THE YEAR

Assassin's Creed: Revelations – E3 2011 Trailer

EA SPORTS NFL BLITZ DIGITAL COVER ATHLETE

Ray Rice

LP Underground 11 is here!

Linkin Park has launched the 11th edition of their fan club LP Underground. They have changed the entire website with many new features that the fans have helped shape thanks to all feedback from last year. The LPU has gotten a brand new members-only online community, an exclusive merchandise package and additional benefits, including LPU members' request for early admission into Linkin Park shows.

And the annual LPU CD will also be available for all the members to hear. You can buy the new LPU11 music on both digital and physical format. The LPU11 CD is filled with unreleased demos from Hybrid Theory to A Thousand Suns. Some of the songs on this CD are early versions of familiar songs, such as the “In The End” demo. Other songs on this CD never made it on a Linkin Park album and remained unfinished and in a raw form. All the songs represent the journey it takes to create an album as a whole.

The LPU11 $60 Annual Membership includes:

-A brand new website and online community EXCLUSIVELY for LPU members

-Membership package including a t-shirt, membership laminate and lanyard, LPU flag, and an earplug case and earplugs

-FREE worldwide shipping for LPU11 Annual merchandise packages

-New benefits including early entry to Linkin Park shows and downloads of LPU-TV episodes

-All existing benefits are still included such as access to meet & greets, presale tickets and invitations to LPU Summits, exclusive downloads and more

To celebrate the launch of LPU11, when you purchase the $60 LPU11 Annual membership package during the next 11 days (until Friday, November 25), you can add on the physical LPU11 CD for just $1.11 with FREE shipping. Just select the Annual Membership + LPU11 CD option in the dropdown on the purchase page.

CURRENT LPUX MEMBERS: Your LPU account is active until 1 year after you joined. Your LPU Password has been temporarily set to match your email address. Please login to your account and reset your password by going to "Manage Account", then clicking to "Account Settings". You may now specify your desired password.

If you already have an account on a different site that is powered by ground(ctrl), your password will be your usual password to login.

Linkin Park Underground Eleven (track listing)

01. "YO" (MTM Demo)

02. "Slip" (1998 Unreleased Hybrid Theory Demo)

03. "Soundtrack" (Meteora Demo)

04. "In The End" (Demo)

05. "Program" (Meteora Demo)

06. "Bang Three" (What I’ve Done Original Demo)

07. "Robot Boy" (Test Mix, Optional Vocal Take)

08. "Broken Foot" (Meteora Demo)

09. "Esaul" (A Place For My Head Demo)

10. "Blue" (1998 Unreleased Hybrid Theory Demo)

To learn more, visit LPUnderground.com.

Grand Theft Auto V debut trailer

The trailer for Grand Theft Auto V is finally here! I noticed a lot of familiar environments in the trailer, but all centered around Vinewood, a stand-in for Los Angeles. We're definitely getting back into some of the places we visited in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Our hero is a dad who says he's trying to be a good guy, but, well, it's a Grand Theft Auto game, so you can guess how well that works out. There are also a lot of images of financial ruin, so we're guessing the current economic crisis is going to play a big role.

Watch the debut trailer for Grand Theft Auto V below.

Grand Theft Auto V is officially announced!

Rockstar Games has finally announced the long rumored Grand Theft Auto V on it's official site. It was just a matter of time before they announced this. We weren't given any news about the next installment in this very popular franchise. 

However, we got a first look at the new Grand Theft Auto V (Five) logo. And at the bottom of Rockstar Games' site is a text that says, "Trailer 11.02.11." 

So it's safe to say that on November 2nd, we will get to see where the next game will take place. Many believe that it will take place in San Andreas? However, in the end, it doesn't matter because it will be amazing wherever it will be.

This is very exciting news to me because I've loved the Grand Theft Auto franchise ever since the first game. And I loved it even more when it turned into the 3D third-person shooter we all love today. I'm going to buy Grand Theft Auto V on the release date, just like I did with Grand Theft Auto IV.

Syndicate officially announced!

EA and Starbreeze Studios' remake of PC gaming classic Syndicate has been one of the industry's worst-kept secrets. First unveiled as "Project Redlime," copyright filings fingered the actual product over a year ago. And this morning, after leaking details of the game on its own Origin service over the weekend, EA and Starbreeze are finally ready to "reveal" Syndicate to the world.

"We are excited to finally reveal what we've been working on the past couple years," Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark told a press release. "It's been a great experience working with EA, and an amazing opportunity for us to use our expertise in the first person shooter and action genres to bring back, and reignite, the signature action/espionage gameplay of Syndicate."

In Syndicate, you play "Miles Kilo, Eurocorp's latest prototype agent," tasked with navigating a "Machiavellian world run without government oversight with many syndicates vying for total dominance of their local market place," set in the year 2069. Helping you navigate that complex web of intrigue: GUNS!

"Our goal with Syndicate is to provide a challenging action shooter for today's gamers as well as fans of the original," says EA Partners' Jeff Gamon. But if you're worried you won't have enough guns, Syndicate offers "a separate and deep 4-player co-op mode featuring missions from the original cult classic." And while it may have taken EA and Starbreeze some time to officially announce the project, it isn't wasting time in getting it into our hands; Syndicate is expected to be released in "early 2012" for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Max Payne 3 coming in March 2012

Rockstar Games finally announced some news today about their upcoming video game Max Payne 3. We haven't heard much about this delayed game except for some few pictures and news that it's still coming. 

You can read a post from Rockstar Games official site below. They've also released two new pictures from the game and the box art.

Today, we're proud to announce that Max Payne 3 - the new dark, gritty action experience that continues the tale of former New York City detective Max Payne and is sure to satisfy both newcomers and veterans to the historic franchise alike - is expected to launch on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2012 in North America and Europe.

Still haunted by the memories of his traumatic past, Max begins a new life working private security protecting a wealthy industrialist and his family in Sao Paulo, Brazil. When gangs target the family under his protection, Max is forced to fight to save his clients and clear his name, in a bid to, once and for all, rid himself of the demons that have tortured him for far too long.

A true cross-studio collaboration between Rockstar Games’ global development teams that picks up from where series creator Remedy Entertainment's Max Payne 2 left off, Max Payne 3 utilizes cutting edge technology for a seamless, cinematic action experience, incorporating the latest advances in Natural Motion physics as well as a brand new iteration of the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine, resulting in highly-refined gameplay with an extensive range of realistic weaponry, an intelligent cover system and sophisticated Bullet-Time mechanics.

In addition to an expansive single-player campaign, Max Payne 3 will also be the first entry in the series to introduce a thorough and engrossing multiplayer experience. In a unique twist, Max Payne 3 multiplayer delivers a compelling experience that dynamically alters maps and mode progression for all players in a match. Along with traditional multiplayer modes, Max Payne 3 will also include a deep reward and leveling system, persistent clans and multiple strategic load-out options.

Stay tuned for much more news very soon and check out a pair of brand new screenshots from Max Payne 3 below.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coming to PlayStation 3

It's now official that a new Counter-Strike game is coming in early 2012. Counter-Strike: Global Offense will be releasing on the PC (Steam), PlayStation 3 (PSN), and Xbox 360 (XBLA). Valve says the game, which is being developed by Hidden Path Entertainment, expands on the game's original action.

"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely mod became the most-played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next-gen consoles and the Mac."

A version of the game was ported to the Xbox in 2003, but it's historically been a PC franchise. It should be interesting to see how console audiences who grew up with Call of Duty respond to the game.

Counter-Strike remains one of the preeminent competitive shooters around, even more than a decade since its release. If you go to any major eSporting event, you're bound to see the game in action. Elements of the game have even transcended the virtual world. While it remains popular, fans have been asking about a sequel for years now. And Valve has been dodging the subject for nearly as long.

The rumor about a new Counter-Strike game started when a post on eSports site ESEA had broken down some of the details, which was purportedly from pro players and others who recently visited Valve's offices to give feedback on the upcoming game's development. The game was supposedly called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and it could be released as early as the first quarter of next year. It's said to be running on an updated version of Valve's Source engine, and it focuses on 5 on 5 gameplay. There are also obvious additions such as new guns, maps, and grenades.

Read the official press release below.

VALVE ANNOUNCES COUNTER-STRIKE: GLOBAL OFFENSIVE (CS: GO)

Next Gen Console, PC, and Mac Release Targeted for Early 2012

August 13, 2011 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).

Targeted for release via Playstation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam (for PC and Mac) in early 2012, CS: GO will expand upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched exactly 12 years ago (CS beta 1, August 1999).

CS: GO features new maps, characters, and weapons and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust, etc.). In addition, CS: GO will introduce new gameplay modes, matchmaking, leader boards, and more.

"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombard, VP of Marketing at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac."

CS: GO is being developed by Valve in cooperation with Seattle-based Hidden Path Entertainment. The title is targeted for release in early 2012 and will be playable at this year's PAX Prime and London Games Festival.

For more information, please visit http://store.steampowered.com/app/1800/