New Hand-Drawn Action Adventure the Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster Launches in September

Barcelona, Spain – June 8, 2026 | Publisher Selecta Play, in partnership with independent developer Dormidin Studio, is thrilled to officially announce the global release date for Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster. The brutal, hand-drawn fantasy action-adventure will launch on September 9, 2026 across PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Following a highly successful playable demo rollout on May 15th, players can continue to experience a high-stakes preview of the game ahead of its upcoming featured participation in the Steam Next Fest, running from June 15th to June 22nd. Coinciding with the global digital release this September, collectors will also be able to get their hands on the confirmed Standard Physical Editions for both PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

Inspired by 80s and 90s cult-classic fantasy films like Beastmaster and Conan, alongside gaming staples like Castlevania, Golden Axe, and Ghouls ’n’ Ghosts, the game casts players as the last Beastmaster. Featuring stunning, meticulously frame-by-frame hand-drawn animations and a sprawling Metroidvania-inspired world, players must explore the interconnected realms of Arborea, using mystical transformations and visceral combat to survive a growing, world-shattering war.

Game Key Features:

Harness the Power of Beasts: Channel animal souls for powerful, game-changing transformations and unlock new combat strategies to defeat enemy hordes.

Explore a Sprawling World: Embark on a beautifully hand-drawn Metroidvania journey through ancient ruins, dark magic domains, and interconnected natural landscapes.

Arena Duels: Engage in brutal, competitive battles utilizing dynamic close-up camera angles and energy bars directly inspired by classic arcade fighting games.

Customize Your Playstyle: Collect a diverse variety of ritual beads, teeth, amulets, and plant roots to actively alter your physical attacks, vitality, or Mana.

About Dormidin Studio

Dormidin Studio is a small independent studio driven by an immense passion for retro fantasy adventures. Built on creative freedom, the team focuses on crafting visually stunning, hand-drawn experiences that challenge the status quo and honor the golden era of arcade classics.

About Selecta Play

Selecta Play is the video games publishing branch of SelectaVisión. The company collaborates with talented independent studios worldwide to bring unique digital and physical experiences to life, delivering premium boxed editions and digital releases to passionate gamers across all major console platforms.

Article by: Susan N.

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Free to Play Open World Fantasy from Digital Extremes 'Soulframe' Unveiled at TennoCon 2025

LONDON, ONTARIO –  July 19, 2025 | Digital Extremes held its latest Soulframe Devstream live from its 10th annual TennoCon. The development team behind the upcoming free-to-play fantasy action RPG revealed some details about Soulframe.

Additional reveals included a full look at the Bromius Omen Beast boss fight, a new enemy named Wazzard of Wastes, and the hazardous Neath’uns underbelly. The team also highlighted plans for enhanced character customization and a vision for what combat progression will look like in future Preludes updates.

“Over a year now of players going hands-on with Soulframe in our Preludes pre-alpha builds, we’ve learned so many lessons and built a lot of new features for us as a studio,” said Geoff Crookes, Creative Director of Soulframe. “After last TennoCon, we put a huge amount of effort into improving combat fluidity and continued that passionate work into exploring brand new features like player social hubs, asynchronous player messaging with World Trees, among so many other additions. Today, we shared what the latest additions to our next Preludes build would be and beyond. We promise to all existing and future players to keep trying new things outside our comfort zone and work with you to create something we’ve all been looking for.”

• SOULFRAME ACCESS FOR ALL: Digital Extremes invites all players interested in the game to join its growing community. Create an account at Soulframe.com by July 20 at 11:59 p.m. ET to secure an Envoy name and explore all content and adventures Soulframe Preludes currently has to offer. Players can continue to access Soulframe Preludes until the game’s full public launch. Once the open sign-up window has closed, players may still sign up, but will wait in the sign-up queue until additional access is available.
• NEW ENEMY, WAZZARD OF WASTES: Seek out the source of the rot within the heart of the Galvinar swamp, the Wazzard of Wastes. Today’s gameplay demo showcased this magical mini-boss with a fresh look at Magick-focused combat, featuring a fresh parry feature capable of reflecting projectiles back at the tainted thaumaturge.
• BROMIUS BOSS FIGHT / NEATH’UNS ENVIRONMENT: After its initial tease, TennoCon attendees and viewers were treated to the next Omen Beast boss fight: Bromius. Explore the Neath’uns underground full of corrupted Sproutfolk and environmental puzzles hindering the rehabilitation of the mutated three-headed Bromius from sinister whispers within the dark, tainted sap.
• CHARACTER HAIR CUSTOMIZATION: The first set of hairstyles available for players to customize their Envoy was showcased by the development team. Eight different hairstyle cosmetics are in production, with additional customizations for Envoys to emblazon themselves still to come.
• CUSTOMIZED COMBAT PROGRESSION: Inspired by historical medieval martial arts manuals, the Soulframe team shared a stylistic and customizable approach to skill progression and combat techniques to suit individual playstyle preferences. Viable offensive and defensive build options can be mixed and matched from close-range melee focused on creating space with dodges, ranged damage that can close the gap with timed parries, to more supportive roles, and other combinations.

This progression approach allows individuals to tailor their Envoy’s strengths to their preferred playstyle and becomes additive to situational party composition makeups when playing with others cooperatively across a variety of encounters. 

For a comprehensive rundown on Soulframe announcements made today, visit the official event website and Soulframe media page, and join the adventure on Bluesky, Twitter/X, Instagram, Twitch, and YouTube. Join the adventure now by signing up for Soulframe Preludes on the official website.

About Soulframe

Soulframe® is an upcoming free-to-play open-world fantasy adventure from Digital Extremes and the imaginative minds behind the genre-defining Warframe®. Heavily influenced by themes of nature and restoration, Soulframe® promises a personal journey of discovery through a handcrafted world. Explore an ancient, broken land and inherit the courage, spirit, and grace of Ancestors to mend earthly flesh and heal its land from Ode’n reign. Players can sign up on the official game website for a chance to play an early test build of the game. For more information about Soulframe®, please visit: www.soulframe.com.

About Digital Extremes

Digital Extremes ranks among the world's top video game development studios. Originating more than 30 years ago with the co-creation of Epic Games' multi-million unit selling Unreal® franchise, Digital Extremes went on to develop Dark Sector®, BioShock® for the PlayStation®3, the BioShock 2 multiplayer campaign, and The Darkness® II. The studio develops its games using its proprietary Evolution Engine and reached critical and commercial success with the free-to-play action game Warframe®, supporting a global community of 85+ million registered players across all major gaming platforms. Alongside Warframe - which is in its 12th year of operation, Digital Extremes is currently developing Soulframe®. Based in London, Ontario, Digital Extremes has been named a Top 100 Employer in Canada for 15 consecutive years by MediaCorp Canada and was recognized with a 2025 lifetime achievement award of Corporate Icon by the London Chamber of Commerce for its contributions to community engagement and leadership. For more information about Digital Extremes and its products, visit www.digitalextremes.com. 

Article by: Susan N.

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Mega Cat Studios and ZPF Announce a Surreal 16-bit Shoot-'em-Up Game!

News Editors' Note: This press release was posted the day Steam Next Fest concluded. Keep an eye out for the title by wishlisting it on Steam here!

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The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria Review

The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria by developer Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games—PC (Epic Store) review written by Robert with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is the latest in a relatively young genre even though its gameplay has been around for quite some time- the open world survival craft genre that Return to Moria is set in is one that is absolutely perfect for the Lord of the Rings franchise. Delving deep into the ancient halls and caverns of the lost Dwarven Kingdom of Moria, you and up to 3 other friends can don your beards, heft your pickaxes, and head into the winding deeps in an effort to reclaim that which was once lost.

I've found that in recent years, when it comes to video games, movies, or other new and exciting things are set to be released, I would do everything in my power to remain blind to even trailers... That's how I was with The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. When its teaser first dropped, I watched it then deliberately put it out of my mind until it released. I'm incredibly glad I did, and not because of anything negative ... doing so brought a sense of WONDER back into gaming for me, and if you had told me two years ago that Return to Moria was going to be a more accessible open-world survival-craft version of Valheim/V Rising, then I would have been incredibly concerned given the reception Gollum had. Fortunately the good folks behind Return to Moria clearly have a deep appreciation for the universe penned by J. R. R. Tolkien.

THE GIRL DWARVES HAVE BEARDS!

With that out of the way ... I have been thoroughly enjoying my time in the mines of Moria. Set in the Fourth Age of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is an exciting (if safe) "open world survival craft" game. I would be very comfortable in saying, "Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a more-accessible version of Valheim, but set in Middle-Earth" and I say that with the utmost praise. Once you're through the intro (narrated by Gimli, son of Gloin!) that brings you up to date; the TLDR is that it's now the Fourth Age and Dwarves from all over Middle-Earth are returning to their ancestral home ... the Dwarven Kingdom of Moria. And this is where our adventure starts. Thrown into the Dwarven mines surrounding the entrance to their lost kingdom by a quake that forces you to trudge forward through these ancient mines, crafting and fighting the denizens of the dark as you work to reclaim the ancient and hallowed halls of Moria.

Upon loading in and creating your Dwarf, you'll set about crafting and building the basic necessities- fire, protection from the elements, and a place to relax and recover from any wounds that you might have incurred. You will also be able to recover any lost stamina- as you toil away in the mines, burrowing ever closer to the Kingdom of Moria, you'll wear yourself out- I actually really like this mechanic as it feels incredibly immersive. Bucking the trend of most open world survival craft titles that use additive stamina (you have a low base amount of stamina, then you buff it with foods/armors/etc.), Return to Moria starts your day off full of vigor and energy, but the more you mine and fie, the more tired you'll become. Let it get down too far and you are likely to become a tasty bear treat; it adds a level of restriction that makes sense within the genre and I'm here for it.

You'll find a forgiving durability system, too- as you continue to use your tools, they'll become dull and well-used over time which adds an additional level of tension; will you make it back before your arms and armor break, or do you sacrifice vital bag space to extra gear? It's a fine balance and one that had me remembering RPG titles on the NES and SNES where you had to make similar decisions when entering a dungeon. It's moments like these that make me go... "Dang, sure would be nice to have friends to play along with."

Outside of some beige-basic combat mechanics, the single biggest con to Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is that it's best experienced with friends. While Valheim felt great alone and was even better with friends, Return to Moria feels weighted towards a full squad of four Dwarves and at times, just isn't fun playing as a solo Dwarf. I imagine that it will be far easier to pair up with friends once Return to Moria hits Steam, but as it's currently only available on Epic Game Store, adoption will be smaller. Which is a shame because I think that folks over at Free Range Games have something truly special here- while they aren't the first open world survival crafting game out there, they are the only Lord of the Rings-themed one and are a trailblazer for the return of the LOTR franchise (I refuse to acknowledge that abomination that was LOTR: Gollum). The atmosphere is just right in being dark and brooding through the ancient halls with music that's just as eerie, but when you break through a layer of dirt and detritus into a beautiful Elven grove, it can absolutely take your breath away. It certainly did with me.

That's where Free Range Games has struck mithril ... Lord of the Rings as a whole, is about experiences and that's what they've enabled; they opened the door to the mines of Moria and have said, "here, here is your sandbox- go, dig, craft, survive" and then just stepped back. I applaud them for there willingness and drive to respect the source material- that's exceptionally important, especially to literary history and what J.R.R. Tolkien did for literature as a whole. Regardless of the platform, Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria has earned a seat amongst my favorite titles of 2023 and if you think of just how good this year has been for gaming, that says a lot. Thank you, Free Range Games, for giving us this opportunity.

Score: 9 / 10

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Memorable Music in Gaming #49

For my third and final edition of my Dungeons & Dragons Memorable Music articles I’ve been pulling from games that are pretty old now. It’s a testament to how good these soundtracks were then, and still are today. Gameplay has evolved, graphics have gotten better, but the music has aged flawlessly over the years, evoking powerful memories and emotions whenever I hear them play.

Neverwinter Nights – Forest Boss

This song just hits my nostalgia hard. The beginning just has this sense of scale that makes you think of an epic, grand battle about to take place, but even midway through, there’s a shift in the tempo that somehow makes everything feel just that much more amazing to me.

Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn – Jaheira’s Romance Theme

While so many of the songs in this series drive hard and fast to create a sense of urgency during big, bombastic battles, there’s a lot to be said about some of the quieter, more emotional songs, such as this one.

Planescape: Torment – Deionarra’s Theme

Haunting, sad, and a little unusual – this song in many ways encompasses this unique game itself.

Icewind Dale 2 – Skeleton of a Town

The twinkling sounds at the start remind of the snowy fields of Icewind Dale, before giving way to a more sweeping song that I could listen to on repeat while writing stories of fantastic lands – or simply recalling my adventures in this one.

  

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance – Ciraxis the White Dragon

Perhaps not the most challenging boss fight, but any time a white dragon is involved, there’s a greater sense of awe involved, and Ciraxis was certainly an entertaining battle with an excellent musical score to back the encounter up.

These are just some of the many songs that come to mind when I think of Dungeons & Dragons games, and this really just touched on the old Bioware titles from years ago. Not the really old Gold Box games, or the newer titles like the MMO Neverwinter Nights (which has a fantastic soundtrack as well). Any of your favorites in here, or glaring omissions? Thanks for reading!

Article by: Nick

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Memorable Music in Gaming #48

Welcome to the second installment where we are talking about (or listening to) music from classic Dungeons & Dragons games. I always felt like these games made great use of audio. I remember playing them and having my headphones on late at night, listening to the sounds of skittering creatures in dark caverns, all of it complimented by some of the best RPG music in the business.

Icewind Dale II – The Severed Hand

This song stands on its own, with an epic introduction that continues strong throughout what is the final battle of the game. A confluence of events that just brings the experience together for the definition of a memorable moment.

Baldur’s Gate – Sword Against Darkness

So many of the songs in this soundtrack just come out hard, emphasizing the tempo of combat. Not that this particular scene was all that challenging for me at the time, where the music outperformed the moment in gaming.

Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark – Main Theme

Given this expansions theme of being located in the Underdark, this theme’s tone compliments the experience perfectly. There’s a dark undertone to it, but moments of higher pitched instruments that cut through it, like a shining hope amidst the oppressive darkness. This expansion’s narrative was similarly fantastic.

Baldur’s Gate – The Friendly Arms Inn

Pull up a chair, huddle near the fireplace and rest your weary bones for a spell. Your journeys have been hard, and you’re not done yet - but for tonight? Tonight, you sleep well, my friend.

That is the vibe I get from this slow, comfortable song.

Neverwinter Nights 2 – King of Shadows Battle

What an amazing (if somewhat frustrating) battle this was for me. The music comes in fast and hard, and when the chanting vocals enter the song later, it just compliments what has happened to this point in the story and sets the stage beautifully.

Article by: Nick

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Memorable Music in Gaming #47

Given that Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves just released (a movie that I enjoyed a great deal), it got me reminiscing about some of my favorite songs from the vast catalog of Dungeons & Dragons video games.

Honestly, I could turn this into a two or three part article instead of a single Memorable Music, given how many fantastic soundtracks these games have seen over the years. In fact… I just talked myself into it.

So here’s Memorable Music in Gaming – Dungeons & Dragons Edition: Part 1

Baldur’s Gate – From Out of the Storm

This song is one that just hits you right out of the gates. It’s an absolutely epic mix of vocal harmonization and instruments as you wage an epic battle against Sarevok.

  

Icewind Dale – Kuldahar

Jeremy Soule is known for his epic fantasy songs, and this is among my favorites of his. There is something both inviting to the wind instruments here, that also make me recall the cold, frosty environments as well.

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Neverwinter Nights – City Docks Day

An underappreciated favorite of mine from Jeremy Soule. I almost feel like there’s a haunting quality to this song that would make it more appropriate for night than day, but it’s not going too far to say that this is one of my favorite songs ever from a video game. It’s shown up in a prior Memorable Music of mine, but I couldn’t justify leaving it out here.

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Baldur’s Gate 2 – The Pirate Isle

Flutes and percussions make this a fun, lightweight tune. The tempo’s a bit uneven, and with it a sort of bawdy sound that would be right at home in a tavern. Sometimes a song can simply be fun, and not need to be tethered to a grand battle or overly emotional moment, to remain memorable.

 

Planescape Torment – Sigil

I didn’t play this title when it first came out, and I wasn’t much of a Planescape connoisseur during my tabletop days, but this particular song stuck with me when I did play. The chiming sound of a clock near the end caps off a strange mix of sounds and tones that works in an almost haunting way.

Article by: Nick

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Atlas Fallen Coming to PC & Consoles May 16

Stunning new screenshots highlight action and environments

PARIS – Mar. 1, 2023 – Focus Entertainment and its studio Deck13 Interactive are excited to announce that Atlas Fallen, the epic fantasy action-RPG where you battle legendary creatures in superpowered combat, launches May 16 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Save the date and prep yourselves with glorious new screenshots showcasing the game’s high-octane action and breathtaking environments. More thrills will follow with a spectacular Gameplay Trailer coming soon, so stay tuned!

Rise from the Dust

On your own or with a friend, take on a heroic journey through a variety of breathtaking environments, swiftly gliding through the desert landscapes of a vast sand-covered world. Explore ancient ruins and unearth the mysteries and secrets of a fallen society. Fight a corrupt god and extraordinary beasts thanks to the divine power of your shape-shifting weapon. Unlock powerful skills and abilities to build a unique moveset and rise as the champion who will liberate the people of Atlas.

Atlas Fallen releases May 16 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.

 

Article by: Susan N.

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Planetarium Announces a New Free to Play RPG

16 DECEMBER 2019 - Innovative developers, Planetarium today announce the release of a free public alpha for their ambitious RPG, Nine Chronicles -  a vast adventure set in a fantasy world governed by its players. The news is accompanied by a teaser trailer that introduces players to the radical ideas and unprecedented freedom that will form the core of the game's design.

Offering the perfect introduction to an RPG built with community in mind, Nine Chronicles aims to put the power firmly into the hands of its players. Players are encouraged to join the Discord to gain access to the alpha and take part in the exciting opportunity the game presents.

Nine Chronicles is a free-to-play RPG set in a vast fantasy world - governed by its players, and supported by a complex economy where supply and demand are the greatest currency. You take control of a fresh-faced adventurer ready to carve a name for yourself in the Nine Realms collecting unique loot and battling the deadliest of foes.

Featured among the first companies in Asia to be selected for Ubisoft Entrepreneurs Lab, a global start-up program fostered by Ubisoft, Planetarium has shown themselves as drivers of innovation in technology within the gaming space. Working from a close mentorship with key Ubisoft staff, Planetarium hope to be a pioneer in bringing their blockchain gaming technology, Libplanet to a mainstream audience.

Kijun Seo, CEO of Planetarium - "It's been about a year since we started developing the game and the underlying technology, and we’re very excited to reveal it now. Since Nine Chronicles will be released as an open-source project and owned by the player community, we hope to find many like-minded gamers who’ll support us on our journey ahead!"

Catherine Seys, Start-up Program Director at Ubisoft's Strategic Innovation Lab - "The focus this season is in line with our goal to explore potential blockchain use cases for the gaming industry, and see how the technology could enhance players' gaming experience,"

"Planetarium has already demonstrated its technical expertise with its open-source project and caught our attention with their new user-participatory gaming paradigm using blockchain."

For more information on this season of Ubisoft's Entrepreneurs Lab check out an update here.

About Nine Chronicles

Play, mine and battle. The Nine Realms are yours to explore.

Nine Chronicles is a free-to-play RPG set in a vast fantasy world - governed by its players, and supported by a complex economy where supply and demand are the greatest currency.

Take control of a fresh-faced adventurer and carve a name for yourself in the Nine Realms collecting unique loot and battling the deadliest of foes.

Explore the Nine Realms and face a vast array of monsters on your quest to establish order and become stronger than you could ever imagine.

Create special items and trade with other players forming one part of a greater economy based on supply and demand.

Create your own unique strategies through a combination of items and abilities to tackle the greatest of challenges in the way you want.

KEY FEATURES

• Unique and challenging dungeons to explore spread across nine realms
• A robust trading economy that gives the time you put into the game real value
• Infinite possibilities for player-made content

About Planetarium

Planetarium is an open-source blockchain platform set to transform the longevity and the profit model of games. Rather than simply introducing blockchain technology into games, they intend to make the games run forever through decentralization and pioneer a new form of community-powered games.

Article by Susan N.

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Warhammer: Chaosbane - First Action-RPG to take place in the Warhammer Fantasy world - News

Following on the back of yesterday's Warhammer 40K announcement we have another one but in the Fantasy world! Looks like Vermintide won't be the only Fantasy title in the series running around anymore. Speaking of which I have to get back to my Skaven hunting...

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BIGBEN WILL PUBLISH A NEW TITLE BASED IN THE WARHAMMER WORLD: “WARHAMMER: CHAOSBANE”

Lesquin, June 1^st 2018 – Bigben, Games Workshop and Eko Software are glad to reveal the name of the next console and PC game based on the famous Warhammer license: Warhammer: Chaosbane.

The development of the title is being done by Eko Software, a French studio who has demonstrated great skill in the hack’n slash genre with How to Survive 1 and 2, a series which captivated millions of players.

This adaptation of the franchise will be the first Action-RPG to take place in the Warhammer Fantasy world. The game takes place in the Old World, a dark and bloody continent devastated by wars against Chaos.

In Warhammer: Chaosbane, the player will be plunged into the middle of Old World history as they embody a human, a high elf, a wood elf, or a dwarf and discover several iconic locations such as the cursed city of Praag, or Nuln, the old capital of the Empire.

Warhammer: Chaosbane is currently in development and will be available on console and PC.


Article by Pierre-Yves

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Hoard - PC Game Review

It's fun being the bad guy.  A lot of people who get a chance in games with moral choices go to the dark side in Mass Effect or Fallout.  There are some titles completely designed around this idea such as Dungeons and Overlord, though their degree of success can be debated.  Hoard embraces this role though as you play the part of a dragon who spews fire and collects gold and princesses every chance you get.  I picked this particular title up off of Steam fairly cheaply awhile back and have enjoyed it for the most part.

Graphics - 7:

This is not a pretty game.  The top-down graphics do a good job of showing you everything you need to see, but the world itself is fairly dull and lifeless unless there are a lot of moving units active on the map at once.  It looks like some sort of an old board game as you soar around the countryside looking to cause trouble.  That said, at times there can be several things happening at once on the map and I never experienced any glitches or slowdown.

Sound & Music - 5:

Not a real big fan of the music to be honest.  It does not fit the game very well, much like I felt Record of Agarest War's metal music was a bad fit with its medieval fantasy setting, the music in this game seems out of place as well.  The sound effects are simple, but effective.  To be honest though, this is a game you can just as easily play with the music turned down and something else playing on your computer in the background.

Gameplay - 8:

Your dragon handles pretty well once you get the hang of things.  Blazing knights and thieves, burning down towns and terrorizing princesses is a lot of fun and the controls work well.  Getting around the game's menus is easy enough as well.

Intangibles - 8:

The multiplayer is a lot of fun, and there are enough varied objectives to give you something to do as you move from map to map.  If you are a fan of achievements, there are a ton of them if you are playing this game through steam.  Adding to it is a leaderboard that I will never be at the top of, but for fans of the game it gives them some definite goals to try and attain.

Overall - 7:

This game is a lot of fun in quick, short bursts.  It would be perfect on a handheld.  The graphics, sound and music do disappoint, but they don't actually take anything away from the gameplay itself.  That said, once you play it for awhile, there might not be a lot left to do outside of the multiplayer.  I played this game very heavily at first, but scarcely since.  The same can be said of my son, who seemed to enjoy the premise for awhile, but after about a week hasn't touched it.

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Gaming Thoughts 1/19/12

So, I've had my hands in a ton of games over the last week, and I thought I would share some quick impressions here.

For one - I almost never download demos, but the clever tie-in between Kingdoms of Amalur and Mass Effect 3 where playing one opens up some items for the other appealed to me quite a bit.  Of course, those are two of the games I am most anticipating this year, and already have a reservation down on Amalur and will no doubt do the same for Mass Effect 3.

So, my quick impressions of Amular are overall pretty good.  The action moves along pretty nicely, and the visuals while a bit cartoony are still impressive nonetheless.  I may not have particularly loved the facial expression of my character when he first awakens, but I was quite taken with the lightening effects and vibrant colors.  There were a few notable glitches, specifically the audio doing odd things at times, but I've read several reports that state the dev team is aware of them and that they are fixed for the actual game.  The download size was 1.90 gigs on 360, so there's some beef behind it, but overall I enjoyed my run of it.  For those interested, I saw a few postings that Mass Effect 3 will go live with its demo on Valentine's Day.  I'll be playing it (don't judge me - my wife's out of town to be at Disney World with her best friend).

Next up - Final Fantasy XIII-2.  I'll preface this by saying I really did enjoy XIII and rated it pretty high, and this is more of the same, with more new items added.  I really enjoyed the demo.  I heard some people commenting that the action and camera focus were all over the place and that it was distracting, but I found it immersive.  It probably won't be a day 1 buy for me because the first title dropped in price quite a bit (you can find it for about $15 now) and because I have too many other games on my plate, but I suspect I'll be acquiring it by years' end.

Asura's Wrath is one of those titles that has struck me as quirky for some time, and I've been mildly curious about, but this game's demo did nothing for me really.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly good either.  Maybe a rental or a borrow from a friend, but I doubt this title makes my cut this year as I still have entirely too many other titles to work through.

I've gotten my hands on a few new games of late too, especially for the 3DS.  My son bought Devil Survivor Overclocked, and so far really likes it.  I've picked up Star Fox 64 and Street Fighter 4, and already had been playing quite a bit of Dead or Alive 4, Mario Kart and Samurai Warriors.  I've enjoyed them all, and there will eventually be more reviews - but that's still a ways off.

I just finished my run of Dragon Age: Origins, and will likely have a re-review posted in the somewhat near future.  I've also been busy with Skyrim still.  Oh, and I recently acquired several handheld titles (not including the PlayStation Plus freebies like the minis and Back to the Future games) such as Bastion, Bloodrayne, Street Fighter III and Dungeon Defenders.

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