In the new trailer for Bioware’s upcoming expansion pack, Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening, gamers will get to meet a new character known as The Architect, who is one of the most formidable foes amongst the Darkspawn. The Architect, is “the first darkspawn to develop a will of his own” and has been described as “an unusual outcast who seems not to be subject to the call of the Old Gods, nor to the other darkspawn compulsions.” The Awakening expansion pack is filled with many new enemies and allies who you will have to discover.

See larger image Dragon Age: Origins Awakening (DVD-ROM) List Price: $29.99 USD New From: $8.03 In Stock Used from: $3.00 In Stock Release date March 16, 2010.

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See larger image 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (PlayStation 3) (Video Game) Here is the official trailer for 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, from EA Sports. It is the only official and exclusively licensed video game for the 2010 World Cup to be held in South Africa. The game is due out on April 27, 2010 in the North American market and April 30, 2010 in Europe and Asia. It will be available for the PS3, Xbox, Nintendo Wii and the PSP. Unfortunately for all the PC gamers it does not look like it will be released for the PC any time soon. EA Sports 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa will feature all 199 national teams that took part in qualifications and all 10 official stadiums which are to be used in the South African games, as well as the stadiums for each qualifying region. The level of detail in this game looks incredible, there is even confetti rain, streamers and fireworks. Gamers will be able to compete in an online World Cup tournament and play as the country of their choice from qualification all the way up to the Word Cup Final. The game features group stages, knockout rounds and the home and away strategies for every participating country. The game also features realistic altitude effects which influence how players get fatigued as well as the flight of the ball. List Price: $29.99 USD New From: $14.90 In Stock Used from: $8.93 In Stock Release date April 27, 2010.

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God of War 3 is takes place in the ancient realm of Greek mythology, it is a single-player game in which players take on the role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he battles his way through the towering heights of Mt. Olympus and the depths of Hell to once again to take his revenge on the ones who betrayed him. Armed with a pair of deadly double-chained blades, Kratos takes on some of mythology’s darkest creatures, tearing them limb from bloody limb, in his bloodthirsty quest to finally destroy Olympus.

See larger image God of War III (Video Game) By (author) Unknown List Price: $29.99 USD New From: $21.95 In Stock Used from: $14.99 In Stock Release date March 16, 2010.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has recently been announced. Hype for the game has been building steadily, and I’m personally incredibly excited for its imminent release.

The original Sonic games for the Nintendo Genesis were my childhood addictions. I played the crap out of every single one of those games, then went back and played them again. As soon as the series broke out into the third dimension, I felt that it had lost its roots and I had completely lost interest.
Well, Sonic Team… You have my interest once again.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (herein simply “Sonic 4″) is a game with a release date of “Summer 2010″ that returns the series to its two-dimensional glory, with spiffy, shiny, 3D-esque graphics. While I slightly resent their choice to spiffify the graphics, I’m incredibly excited for the retro gameplay.

This game has been announced as a download for four platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and a mystery device. The mystery device has been speculated to be the iPhone, which would be absolutely amazing.

I think this move shows that the Sonic Team knows that they need to reach back out to their older fans instead of making room for new younglings. This really shows that they may want to change their ways and move toward more traditionally regressive gameplay, which, oddly enough, is a fantastic thing here.
Unfortunately, they seem to be sticking to their new ways in some terrible areas… For instance, Doctor Eggman is still the name of the main protagonist. This is absolutely TERRIBLE! I want Robotnik back! Whoever renamed him Eggman needs to be canned immediately. I am incredibly excited about them moving back to two-dimensional gameplay, but the name Eggman just infuriates me. It makes me cringe in a “my childhood memories are ruined” kind of way.

But I digress. This game looks fantastic. This series is taking back its focus on speed and arcade-style fun, and they have tons of supporters. One thing I’m really glad about is that they didn’t make it 2.5-dimensional, in that it’s sidescrolling, but you can move up and down on the terrain as well as back and forth (vis-à-vis Battletoads). They’re completely taking us back to the days of the original trilogy.
Oh, and did I mention it’s episodic? No? Well, it is! That means that the game coming up for a summer release is just the first in a series of episodes. A whole series of brand-new old-styled Sonic games, coming to our homes. I am absolutely giddy. I’ll be purchasing this game for download on every single console that is available that I have. Twice.

Just thinking about this game is making my stomach knot up in nostalgic excitement. Unless that’s hunger. Regardless, it’s good, and it’s caused by this game. Watching the trailer (below), even with as little gameplay as it has, makes me incredibly excited. I’ve watched it 20 times, at least. Even the codename of the game (“Project Needlemouse”) makes me chuckle to myself every time I think about it.

This game is a release of epic proportions, especially with the hype. It’s an homage to all of the Sega Genesis-aged fans who sigh in discontent every time they hear about a new upcoming Sonic game. Sometimes, returning to the old ways is the best thing to do.

If the wait is killing you, and you’ve gotta get your hands on some hedgehog action now, play some free Sonic games online. Some of them are really original and entertaining.
More news on this as it happens. Expect a review when it’s available. I’ll be one of the first in the virtual line to get my hands on this.

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This is the official launch trailer for Mass Effect 2 from BioWare. This video gives you an idea of the seriousness of the grim situation facing Commander Shepard. The Illusive Man and his Cerberus group have recruited you to stop humanity from falling prey to the Collectors, a race of insectoid aliens who are stealing humans from across the galaxy. As Shepard, you must assemble a squad of assassins, savages, psychotics, scientists and soldiers to try to stop the Collectors attacks. It is up to you to save the galaxy from this grave threat. Assemble your team and get ready for Mass Effect 2.

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Once again stepping into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, gamers get to command their own crew sent on a suicide mission into deep space. Players must assemble their squad from amongst the galaxy’s most powerful mystics, geniuses, and convicts and lead them on a suicide mission to discover why humans have been vanishing from the galaxy. The success of the mission hinges on the squad recruited and their loyalty to the mission. Shepard’s future depends on it.

The long awaited Mass Effexct 2 is finally about to be released for the Xbox on January 26th. Here is the official cinematic trailer from Bioware.  Mass Effect 2 features some astonishingly realistic animations and we at GamerBalst.com expect it to be a huge hit.

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A new creation is lurking around rapture known as the Big Sister.  It’s much more powerful and faster than the Big Daddy, and poses a very serious threat to the player.  She seems to play a big role in the plot, although not a whole lot about that is revealed.  We do know that she is the “ruler” of the current Rapture, and has been kidnapping little girls from the surface world in order to make them into creatures like herself.  Whether this is her own will or the will of someone else is yet to be known.  Expect the Big Sister to play one of the more important roles in this game.

Little Sisters will again be an option in this game, though whether it effects the ending is yet to be known.  You can still kill them to harvest for ADAM, or you can “adopt” them to serve as lookouts for ADAM and also when the Big Sister is approaching.  Finally, a reason not to dissect the little girlies.

The game will feature a multi-player mode, death match wise not co-op, which hasn’t really been elaborated on.  I can’t imagine how well that’s going to turn out but I do hope for the best with it.

All in all, it sounds like a solid sequel.  It should definitely be worth checking out. And finally, the teaser.

See larger image Bioshock 2 (Video Game) List Price: $19.99 USD New From: $6.07 In Stock Used from: $5.00 In Stock Release date February 9, 2010.

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If you’ve played through Assassin’s Creed and actually got into the story, you were likely pretty let down at the cliff hanger of an ending.  Well I have good news to all of the depressed, Assassin’s Creed 2 is getting close to release, November 17th to be exact.  If you have missed it, here is the official E3 trailer.

Just as the first one, it looks amazing, seems fun and is very intriguing.  But the first one did have some flaws, flaws I hope will be fixed to make the sequel truly amazing.  First off, they won’t get by with more of the same.  The first game had you pleading for something new, good or bad, but it seemed like you were forced through the same beautifully designed concept multiple times with only story updates to really differentiate them.  Lets hope in the upcoming title that they don’t simply add 12 more levels to complete the storyline. And if they do create something spectacular, lets hope that whatever new innovative ideas they implemented are spread out among the “levels” and not repeated 12 times.  Secondly, Lets wish for some more side quests. Stuff that isn’t just an optional mission of collecting or killing x amount, but something that entices you to explore and discover things.  An open world is only fulfilling if there are things to do in it. And lastly, lets have a story.  Sure the previous game had a pretty good plot, but the narration didn’t really do it’s job.  A story is only as good as the person telling it.

So there you have it, my expectations and hopes for the upcoming title, even if it falls short it should be a game worth playing.

Release Date: Tuesday, 17 November 2009

See larger image Assassin's Creed II - Platinum Hits edition (Video Game) List Price: $19.99 USD New From: $10.87 In Stock Used from: $8.98 In Stock Release date November 17, 2009.

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Here is a trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum which is due to be released for the PS3, Microsoft xBox and the PC on August 25th 2009. Batman: Arkham Asylum was developed by Rocksteady Studios and is being released by Eidos / Warner Brothers.

Batman Arkham Asylum (Video Game) List Price: $29.99 USD New From: $24.99 In Stock Used from: $8.50 In Stock Release date August 25, 2009.

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Christmas is almost here and Sonic Unleashed, a great new game, is due to hit store shelves just in time for the holliday shopping rush.

Sonic the Hedgehog, an incredibly fast blue hedgehog was originally created for the Sega Master System back in the 1980′s. Since then Sonic has skyroketed into massive popularity with the development of many Sonic games throughout the years, including dosens of free flash Sonic games one can play online. Sonic has spead all over the world and has even made his way onto our early morning kid’s television shows.

Over the years Sonic has made some friends including an orange two tailed fox named Tails and the red close combat Knuckles. Together Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends go on missions freeing small animals, fighting evil robots, collecting rings and much more.

Sonic Unleashed is yet another fantastic game to add to the collection, which is apparently due to be released on the PS3 in several days.  The game seems to have all the classic hallmarks of a fast paced super sonic game and as the release date nears, it looks like it’s most likely going to get sold out this Christmas. In this latest game Sonic is due to battle against time and the race is on. Till we can start waving our Wii Controllers or stamping on our old-school controllers of the 360 & Ps3, Check out this official trailer for the game – looks very cool!

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