Way back when Splinter Cell: Blacklist first leaped into the spotlight, it did so in a fairly strange fashion by, well, leaping into the spotlight. Instead of methodical skulking, we saw fast-paced hulking – in broad, nearly blinding daylight, no less. It felt bizarre, as though Sam had suddenly become some hard-charging young gun in his old age. Recent videos, however, have eased my fear the teensiest of bits on that front – first with some admittedly takedown-heavy stealth, and now by showing us just how much time and effort is going into getting various forms of light and darkness just right.

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Wanna know what you usually find in caves? Bats. Awful, shrieky little things with webbed wings, beady eyes, and a thirst for that red stuff that sloshes around under your precious neckflesh. Also spiky ceiling rocks that could fall and cave in your head, and lots of unpleasantly cold water. But sometimes – every once in an eerily blue moon – you also find yourself. Or at least, that’s what Ron Gilbert’s talking cave argues in a new trailer, and who are we to disagree? Not caves, that’s for sure – so probably not particularly qualified. But this cave also seems to know people, so what do I know? Probably nothing. Hear about the Adventurer, Knight, Time Traveler, and Twins in The Cave‘s learned, slightly sultry baritone after the break.

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Tripwire are having a busy weekend, with the announcement of Killing Floor’s now-traditional Christmas spectacular, and a free weekend on Steam for Red Orchestra 2. This Christmas’ Killing Floor event is IN SPAAAACE, which puts robots and Evil Santa on the moon (a free map with Christmas-themed baddies). Could anything be more festive? Watch the trailer below, and decide for yourself. R’ochestra meanwhile is free from now until Monday. It’s a fantastic, rumpled bastard of a game. Worth a few squeezes of the mouse button.

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It’s cold outside. Holiday vacation hasn’t started yet. The world might end soon. These are all equally pressing issues, but fortunately, I think I’ve got a solution that wraps them up in a nice, holiday-friendly bow: giant robots.

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From the creators of Sine Mora comes a retro-themed download that looks like Monty Python and plays like Castlevania. Diving into Suda 51′s latest bizarre creation, it’s no big shocker to find Black Knight Sword steeped in abundant freaky style and general weirdness.

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Survival can take on many shapes and forms. Thus far, for instance, Tomb Raider‘s demonstrated it through climbing, hunting, resting, and fleeing from deranged cultists – so, you know, the usual stuff. But this is an ultra-budget prequel to a series that once featured DINO-BATTLES. In other words, it’s not a slow-paced sink-or-swim sim.

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Voxel team-based constructoshooter Ace of Spades is out tomorrow and I’m looking forward to seeing how it compares to my fond memories of yesterweek.

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Despite limited success in the world of video games The Games Workshop, the tabletop games they have developed and the influence that those games have had on popular culture is immense. You could be forgiven for thinking that Blizzard was a daughter company due to the similarities between Warcraft and Warhammer, and Starcraft and Warhammer 40,000.

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Ah, South Park. When it’s got a good head of steam going, it’s marvelously spot-on, but when it steps over the line, it ends up miles off the mark. Read the rest of this entry »

Ruffian Games has released footage of a playable prototype of its canceled Streets of Rage remake. Studio head Gary Liddon uploaded the footage to his YouTube account today, following the video’s leak. The video is embedded below.

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