SOULCALIBUR V picks up 17 years after the events of SOULCALIBUR IV with new heroes and returning warriors clashing in an epic showdown between good and evil. The tale of Patroklos, son of Sophitia Alexandra, unfolds as his family’s destiny intertwines with the Soul swords. With the series’ revolutionary 8-way run, allowing for true 3D movement during matches, a refined battle system, and stunning graphics, SOULCALIBUR V will be the top game of 2012 for anyone looking for a knock-down, drag-out fight.

The Dark Souls Collector’s Edition can be pre-ordered for $59.99, the same price as the standard edition, and will include a limited edition art book containing premium illustrations of characters and environments from the game, a mini-strategy guidebook, behind-the-scenes videos from the development studio detailing various stages of game concept, design and building, and the game’s soundtrack for digital download. All of this will come packaged with the standard edition game in a custom-designed metal case.

Spiritual successor to PlayStation®3 system exclusive Demon’s Souls – winner of GameSpot’s “Overall Game of the Year” and “Best PS3 Game”, and IGN’s “Best RPG for PS3” awards – Dark Souls also brings that game’s uniquely challenging and rewarding style of gameplay to the Xbox 360® for the first time. Stricken by the curse of undead, gamers are abolished to the northern realms and must battle hideous demons and unimaginable monsters to collect souls and find the Eternal Flame of Life, which is losing its light, to survive and cure the curse of undead.

With tense dungeon crawling and fearsome enemy encounters, the seamlessly intertwined world of Dark Souls is full of extreme battles, rewarding challenges, nuanced weaponry and magic, and the flexibility to customize each character to suit any desired play style. The innovative online component allows gamers to draw from the collective experience of the Dark Souls community as they either help or sabotage each other on the journey through the Northern Realms to save the land from darkness. With a massive, seamless open world design, Dark Souls encourages deep exploration and an adaptable gameplay experience.

Santa Clara, Calif., (Feb. 23, 2010) – Another storm is brewing as NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. announced today that it will be releasing NARUTO™ SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 2 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. Based on the popular NARUTO SHIPPUDEN animated series from VIZ Media, LLC, the game will drum up a squall of new features and enhancements, an extensive character roster as well as incredible visuals that are sure to please fans and gamers alike. NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 2 is scheduled to be released throughout North America in fall 2010.

With more than 40 characters to choose from, engaging in bigger and more epic cinematic boss battles has never been this intense. Players will encounter a host of Akatsuki ninja in the game and, in a shocking story twist, see Sasuke wearing Akatsuki gear. With its signature battles, interactive environments, original Japanese voiceovers and a host of unlockable items, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: Ultimate Ninja STORM 2 is a tornado of fierce ninja action that cannot be missed.

Tekken 6 continues the storyline of the Mishima power struggle between father and son, with Jin Kazama positioning himself to rule the world and his father Kazuya Mishima being the only opposition around to stop him. While the act may seem noble, Kazuya’s true ambitions are also that of world conquest with his cursed son being his only obstacle. In the wake of these events, The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 is announced which sees the return of the 35 competitors from Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection along with 6 brand new fighters. With the largest lineup of characters in the history of the series, Tekken 6 makes strides keeping the game exciting and packing enough reason for hours of replay.

True to its tradition of stunning visuals, Tekken 6 brings out a new level of artistic direction with new stages that are completely immersive and downright distracting. You’ll have your fighters slugging it out in snow covered mountain valleys, a secluded rainforest lake, or even a downed colony satellite filled with flying overhead jets and upside down land formations. Along with being breathtaking, the background stages also have more interactivity with many stages allowing for walls and floors to be broken through, carrying fighters to new arenas to finish the fight. The character customization first seen in Tekken 5 also returns and carries the largest arrangement of modifications to character appearance. Along with that, there are now equipped item moves that add a (very) small amount of weapon combat to the game.

The Tekken series has always been about combos and juggles and Tekken 6 introduces new tweaks to its mechanics that introduce a deeper level of strategy while competing. Character specific combos now have variable ‘combo ender’ options that allow for finishing touches and bonus damage. To longtime players of the series, the combo enders add the missing link to Tekken’s much cherished fighting system and really bring out the flash in each match. While it may seem that juggles are starting to feel like infinite combos, the damage scaling has been revised to keep gameplay from becoming a one-combo round.

The console release of Tekken 6 brings a new mode called Scenario Campaign. Scenario Campaign is a throwback to traditional brawlers such as Double Dragon and Streets of Rage but incorporates the actual move sets of the Tekken fighters. While similar to both the Tekken Force and Devil Within modes from previous releases, the scenario campaign mode gives players a bigger level of storytelling by following the two newest characters of the series – Lars Alexandersson and Alisa Bosconovitch. The duo will travel together and try to piece together the connections to Jin’s need for world dominance, Kazuya’s obsession with destroying his own son and why both Lars and Alisa seem to be integral to those plans. Though this mode has a serious issue with camera placement and broken AI, it’s worth playing given that it’s the easiest alternative to acquiring customization items without using actual fight money credits in game.

For fighting games, the cast of fighters is always a make or break (pun intended) factor. Everyone’s favorites like Paul Phoenix, Nina Williams, Yoshimitsu and the wooden fighting dummy Mokujin return. The 6 new characters all introduce their own uniqueness to the talent pool. Bob is an overweight fighter that uses his size to gain more leverage in the martial arts arena. Alisa is the cybernetically enhanced daughter of Tekken 3’s Dr. B whose graceful fighting style is overshadowed by her robotic attributes. Zafina is an extremely agile assassin researching world ending occurrences stemming from the father-son blood feud. Miguel is a Spanish brawler seeking vengeance for his dead sister. Lars steps in as the wild card with a hidden secret that makes itself apparent during the scenario campaign mode. Whether you’re a casual player or a longtime acquaintance to the Tekken series, these characters drive the overall appeal of the game and provide some of the most exciting thrills in the fighting game genre.

While missing its release in arcades here in the west, Namco Bandai has made sure to include an online fighting mode allowing players to fight against others around the world. Though it’s an excellent way to seek out competition, server lag issues on both consoles have diminished the broad appeal of online fighting. As an alternative, the Ghost Vs mode provides players with computer controlled rivals that mimic actual flesh and blood opponents. Players can also download ghost fighters from both the online community of their own respective XBL and PSN buddy lists.

Tekken 6 has done a spectacular job of giving the players what they want with a fighter, and with so much content and a huge cast of characters, Namco Bandai continues to prove that the genre still has a lot of fight left in it.

This will mark the first time that a title in the Tekken series will be released for a non-PlayStation platform. More details as they break.