PS3

With the HD-capable Wii U, Nintendo has finally caught up with Sony and Microsoft. While the PS3 and Xbox 360 have had their share of faults, Sony and Microsoft have managed to address most of those over the past six and seven years of their respective console’s lifespans.

Criterion Games wants wanted their latest open-world crashathon racer Need for Speed: Most Wanted (out today for PC, PS3, Vita, Xbox 360) to be a more film-like experience. So they hired BAFTA Award nominee Vanesa Lorena Tate to take on audio lead responsibilities. She’s been composing since she was four years old and has worked on such films as Hellboy 2: The Golden Army and two Harry Potter flicks: The Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hallows part 2 in addition to Criterion’s last Need for Speed, 2010’s Hot Pursuit.

Harmonix Music Systems redefined the peripheral-based rhythm genre with Rock Band in 2007. Five years, two numbered sequels and a few notable band-specific spin-offs later, their fans have a huge music library at their disposal. Thanks to smart thinking at the outset, almost all of the material from each successive game release has been playable within the Rock Band ecosystem (The Beatles Rock Band notwithstanding). There’s somewhere in the neighborhood of three thousand songs in the Rock Band catalog if you count the community-authored tracks available on the Rock Band Network store.

The problem is, no one wants to buy peripheral-based games anymore. The novelty’s over and isn’t coming back anytime soon. Despite this, Harmonix has been keeping Rock Band fresh by releasing new songs and albums each week for players to download. This is great for hardcore fans, but not everyone wants to go through the hassle of getting the band back together because they want to play a few new tracks. That’s where Rock Band Blitz comes in.

We love Journey, the latest adventure from innovative studio thatgamecompany, and we think you will too. So we're giving away a choice piece of game-related swag — a scarf decorated with game iconography — so you can stay warm in your air-conditioned home theater, or out and about in the changeable spring weather.

2011 was on for the record books in terms of killer video game releases: Portal 2, Batman: Arkham City, Minecraft, Dead Space 2, Deus Ex, Battlefield 3, NBA 2K12, and Star Wars: The Old Republic, just to name a very few.  But, just as you (and your wallet) started sighing in relief, 2012 has barged in, regardless of how much you still have left to do in Skyrim. So hurry up and finish, 'cause it looks like there's a lot of great stuff on the way this year.