Oldboy Redband Trailer: If You Had A Hammer,You'd Do The Same Thing...

Spike Lee swings for the fences in this trailer for his remake of Park Chan-wook's knockout 2003 film. It looks as if Lee has got the insanity and tension down pat and yup, this also looks to be as violent as the original with a few twists. As noted on the other (and NEWER) DAF, Spike may also be going for that elusive Oscar nomination with this one and it looks like Josh Brolin is certainly swinging that hammer with "nominate me!" passion. Will this one end up a proper remake that nails it (much like Martin Scorcese's The Departed did when it blew up at the box office and Academy Awards), or will it be one of those "why the hell did they even bother?" reworkings that ends up dumped onto video before slowly dying in cable rotation? I can't tell at all, but I'm hoping for the best. My man Spike needs a nice hit every now and then...

Fist of the North Star 2: Kenshiro's Rage Trailer: Heads Will Roll Again... or Explode (Your Choice)...

I'm one of the few reviewers who liked the first game, so I'm looking forward to this sequel quite a lot. Granted, developer Omega Force isn't reinventing the wheel here, but the level of depth here will be outstanding for fans of the anime and manga, that's for sure. The combat has been made smoother and faster, I'm liking the visuals a lot and overall, I'm locking this down as a sleeper when it hits the PS3 and Xbox 360 next year. If there's anyone out there who doesn't like this, well, I'd say some Fist fans would say "You are already dead." or something close. Of course, those are the annoying fans with too much time on their hands who SHOULD be enjoying the games they like without letting others get in the way of their enjoyment, but hey - everyone needs a hobby, I suppose...

GTA V Trailers 1 & 2: Yeah, You Know You'll Be Playing This One For A While...

As usual, Rockstar is set to impress gamers worldwide with another incredible Grand Theft Auto experience. As usual, it's hard to take your eyes off of the amazing visuals (feel free to pause the videos to check out the hilarious signage the art team is putting up all around. As usual, the game is still in progress, so don't expect to play this until next spring. That said, as usual , expect awards galore, some fantastic voice acting and a soundtrack absolutely packed to the max with some great and varied music and talk radio chatter we'll all be grooving to. It's going to be a fine 2013, that's for sure...

BioShock Infinite "Beast of America" Trailer: A Delay of Game Is All For The Better, I Say...

 

Some gamers are irked that Irrational Games isn't rushing this out the door this year, but I say leave them be so they can make a great game even better. Of course, it has a LOT of hype to live up to, so let's hope all the team wants to do as far as the story and gameplay go get DONE and done right. That and hell, i want to see the developer get tis finished so they can perhaps do something cool with the Vita one of these days...

Dead Space 3 Eudora Gameplay: Almost 17 Minutes of Pure Hell (In A Good Way, Silly!)

I'm absolutely NOT one of the whiny crowd crapping on Visceral's decision to add OPTIONAL co-op play to this sequel. I'm a fan of all the Dead Space games (yes, even Dead Space Extraction on the Wii and PS3, which did an excellent job at making an on-rails game really compelling, thrilling and scary). Hell, it will make me a lot less freaked out If I know I can have someone else to hind under the damn couch with when things get a wee bit too frightening. Anyway, this one's on track to be a big smash, provided the dev team can overcome the hurdle of dealing with that pissy part of the fan base that just doesn't like anything changing in their favorite games. Granted, if multiplayer is shoved in and makes for a bad time for all, then yes, you can indeed bash both SA and Visceral all you want - I'll be one of the first to wave the flag if they blow it.

TGS 2012: God of War: Ascension Trailer: Kratos Is A Badass In Any Language...

 

I actually got a chuckle from this trailer because the narrator sound like Linda Hunt, but speaking fluent Japanese. How do you find someone to do that voice work, i have to ask? I'd imagine SCE Japan had assorted actresses listen to Hunt's performances from the other God of War titles and try to emulate her scholarly tone. Or perhaps there just so happens to be one voice actress in Japan who just so happens to have that dark voice all nailed up? Stranger things have happened, folks... like multiplayer coming to a Gad of War game. Which, by the way, I hear is surprisingly great in a few areas. A I've said elsewhere, Sony's not going to let the PS3 die a crappy, quiet death with no games of note filling up store shelves as they push the console aside for a newer, more expensive upgrade.  2013 is going to be a key year for PS3 on a number of fronts, I say...

TGS 2012: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Trailer: A Few Too Many Cuts Above The Rest

 

Fan favorite developer Platinum Games has really gotten the hang of making anything they do quite the killer experience, but Revengeance looks to take them to new levels of action and excitement. With not a Snake in sight, this might be one of those games that convinces some of the Raiden haters out there that he's not just a throwaway joke character. I still remember laughing for too long at the grand joke played on us back when Metal Gear Solid 2 went from Snake's story to the Raiden show (to interesting results, to say the least!), but unlike a lot of die-hards, I gave Kojima a break because it was clear what the man was up to. In any event, I'm looking forward to diving into this plsu the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes when that one gets some sort of showing here in NYC. Hey, Konami... don't forget about me this time!

E3 2012: Watch_Dogs Gameplay Demo: 2013 Is Definitely Going To Rock...

As far as unfinished works with no concrete launch date, Ubisoft's upcoming PC and console game tied with Quantic Dream's PS3 exclusive, Beyond: Two Souls for my game of the show. It wins hands down for the biggest surprise game of E3 and makes me wonder what else the company's many studios are working as as far as anything else we haven't heard about. If there's any publisher out there that has a consistent set of goals for today and tomorrow along with the games to back it up, it has to be Ubisoft, hands down. Sure, not everything is perfect or fits the "hardcore" category you'd like them all to. That said, you can't deny that the company isn't clear on what they want gamers to experience in each of their products.

OK, I'm really just babbling on here to fill space, as I absolutely HATE speculation and won't write up anything more about the game until I know some actual facts about it. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. 2013 is going to be a hell of a year for gaming if they start getting this interesting. Go, Ubisoft!

E3 2012: The Last of Us Gameplay: Whatever it Takes To Survive

Naughty Dog is clearly working magic with the PS3 and The Last of Us looks to be yet another potential Game of the Year candidate from the developer when it's finally released (I'm guessing in 2013). This gameplay clip features some surprising violence and also shows this isn't a simple "zombie" action experience at all. I love that Ellie's AI works so well, the sheer brutality of the battles (every fight is a fight for life) and the fact that this is only ONE way to play through this encounter. You can sneak by the hunters and avoid all that death-dealing, but I'll have to see the alternate route for myself and find out what sort of obstacles await along that particular path. As I keep saying, if you don't have a PS3 yet, now is about the time to grab one.

E3 2012: Dead Space 3 Trailer: Frozen Properly, Keeping It Fresh Works...

It's hard as hell to keep a franchise going after a second installment because there's a damn good chance you've used up ALL your best ideas in coming up with the sequel. That said, the team at Visceral Games seems to have done a decent job in mapping out a timeline for their sci-fi horror franchise, and here you go. Co-op play (drop in/drop out) is the deal this time out, as is a frozen planet (which means outdoor environments!) and more Necromorphs than you can shake a stick at. Not that shaking a stick will do any good, mind you... 2013 is going to be a killer year for gaming, so you better hope those Mayans were way off in their "prediction". Me, I don't believe in that stuff, so I'll be waiting patiently for the release date so I can jump in and enjoy the ride being cooked up by Visceral and EA.

E3 2012: Ubisoft's Watch_Dogs: Prepare To Get Paranoid And Be Thrilled At The Same Time...

During Ubisoft's fantastic press conference, they had my jaw bouncing off the floor at least four times, but then Watch_Dogs was unveiled, it dropped and stayed down for the duration of the outstanding demo. The game starts off as one type of game and turns to something entirely unexpected, with a twist at the end that sent my hard spinning. While I initially wasn't sure about the "lead" character and his motivations (he's "obsessed" with violence and loves to pore into people's lives by hacking into their devices to reveal personal details), the way the demo ended made me wonder just where this game will go, meaning yes, I want to see MORE. I love it when new IP does what it should: surprise and shock while it innovates and moves a normally generic genre forward. I'm not at all sure what the mobile or social content will be, but I'm SO glad I don't have a smartphone or use a device that has all my personal info on it. I got more paranoid watching this than I did the Far Cry 3 demo!