An interesting choice to follow up the big budget original with something smaller, considering that Lords of Shadow was quite successful. Nonetheless, the 2.5 D perspective may hint at Metroidvania and classic CV influences, which should be a treat to fans. The question is, can a Spanish developer outdo what the Japanese have perfected?

Activision Was Crazy For Letting Sleeping Dogs Go, Says Square-Enix
cinemablend.com

Square-Enix’ pres­i­dent and chief exec­u­tive for the U.S. branch of the Square-Enix enter­prise talked a lot about the direc­tion of the Japan­ese com­pa­ny and how they’re try­ing to fit in with west­ern­iz­ing a lot of their prop­er­ties. When…

Square-Enix taking helm on a new IP, Sleeping Dogs, which is an open world action game. Outside of their comfort zone, but sounds interesting.

In addition to this What If scenario, 1UP is running a series of other ones, too. They’re all quite excellent reads. Some of the most creative editorials I’ve read since EGM.

What If Miyamoto Chose Manga Instead of Games?

What If Square Never Left Nintendo?

I am playing Mario Tennis Open

“Breezed through the first 4 cups with relative ease as I’ve been playing the series since n64. A few thoughts: looks and plays just as good as the GameCube installment, but leans towards n64 in terms …”

Check-in to Mario Tennis Open on GetGlue.com

Camera + Me Talking Endlessly + New Games = Mind Blown.

Gaming Vlog: Acquisitions (May 20th 2012) (by AFMSB)

Gaming Vlog that talks extensively about Nintendo’s newfound presence and distributor support for the Middle East and Saudi Arabia.

Vlog on Nintendo Support in Saudi Arabia: e-Shop, Hardware/Software Distribution, Social Media (by AFMSB)

E.X. Troopers yanks a character from Mega Man Legends 3
destructoid.com

One of the weird­est games to be announced so far this year is E.X. Troop­ers, the manga-style Lost Plan­et spin-off for the 3DS and the PS3. After Lost Plan­et 2 failed to set the world ablaze, a lot of peo­ple thought the…

Capcom lost their minds: using Mega Man Legends 3 assets for a spin-off of Lost Planet? Why? Just revive MML3 already!!

The link is too detailed to be a mere rumor, but still be wary. This sounds absolutely epic though and it’s an excellent idea. Leave to Retro to think up this space opera crossover first. Star Fox has lied dormant for several years and a Metroid crossover may be the perfect idea to revive it. Thanks to Shinesparkers for the lead.

Impressions with Sonic 4: Episode 2 gameplay by yours truly! Enjoy! Three videos overall.

Sonic 4: Episode 2 Gameplay + Live Impressions — Sylvania Castle Zone (Acts 1 & 2 & Bonus Stages) (by ProjectCOE)

Starting off a new Xenoblade-focused walkthrough which focuses on some interesting side-quests. One video a day. Full play-list is here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD019E8695D0036E1

Wow. Now that is what I call an awesome improv Jam. That bass solo is freakin’ awesome! Then Mr. Sakuraba himself, surrounded by dozens of keyboards, goes off and does his own thing too!

Theme of RENA ~ Drum Solo ~ Bass Solo (part 2) (by elevengu)

XSEED bringing Ragnarok Odyssey to North America
destructoid.com

Good news, every­one! The Last Story won’t be the only praise­wor­thy role-player XSEED smug­gles in from Japan this year. The pub­lish­er has announced that it will be local­iz­ing Rag­narok Odyssey, one of Japan’s most suc­cess­ful…

Always bet on XSEED! Ragnarok Odyssey hitting Vita this year!

4-player offline splitscreen for Minecraft on 360?! WOW! I honestly never expected that to be a focus at all. Local multiplayer will definitely add a unique couch play for Minecraft that’s usually reserved for online. I’ve never played Minecraft, but I’m seriously considering getting the 360 version now. 

Xbox 360 Minecraft Multiplayer (by TeamMojang)

A lot can change in 25 years. Kid Icarus is back and better than ever! I would say something cheesy like, ”throw everything you know and love about the franchise out the window because this reboot is a different beast,” but that doesn’t accurately describe the situation. By playing Kid Icarus Uprising, throw away everything you know about the two classic entries, but hold onto everything you love about their history. That sounds like a better tagline. It’ll make sense as you read on.