While no specifics have been announced on L.A. Noire’s release date, Rockstar has confirmed we’ll finally be seeing the game this Fall. (more »)

The next Assassin’s Creed will find Ezio Auditore in Rome, Ubisoft’s revealed during their third-quarter financial conference call.

An Ubisoft rep revealed Ezio’s intentions to “strike directly at the heart of the Templar Order.”

This is the same Assassin’s Creed that Ubisoft confirmed to feature online multiplayer. That same Ubi rep has said that the developer is putting a lot of importance into the multiplayer aspect of the game.

Ezio Goes To Rome In The Next Assassin’s Creed [Kotaku]

Level 5, developers of White Knight Chronicles and the Dark Cloud series, is currently hard at work on both unannounced PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii titles.

Level 5 President Akihiro Hino made the announcement during a company meeting just recently. Dengeki Online managed to record the quote. (more »)

Today’s announcement of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier wasn’t specific on what platforms the game would hit, only being confirmed for Xbox 360. However, has Ubisoft Community Developer Aymeric Evennou confirmed that the game is coming to PlayStation 3, as well.

“To those who wondered, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier will also release on PS3 : same experience, same development team and same release date,” Evennou confirmed in a Twitter update.

There you have it. Multiplatform.

Rapture’s second take on the gaming world happens today with the release of BioShock 2 in North America. 2K Games has released three new gameplay clips of the sequel in celebration of its release to show gamers why they should come back for a second helping.

You’ll want to come back. Is it just me, or does that Rumbler remind you of Sam Fisher’s night-vision goggles? (more »)

Update: It’s coming to PS3, as well. Same time, same developer. More here.

Original: Ubisoft’s announced the latest entry in the Ghost Recon series this morning. That “BIG” announcement they’ve been teasing is in fact Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, in development at Ubisoft’s Paris studio for a holiday 2010 release. (more »)

While Visceral Games is hard at work developing the sequel to 2008’s Dead Space, it looks like Dead Space 2 may not be the next game in the franchise we see on high-definition consoles. If recent surveys are to be believed, Dead Space Extraction (originally released on Wii) is on the way to Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network. (more »)

The latest issue of Famitsu has reviewed Sony’s Heavy Rain, which is being released worldwide later this month. Along with Heavy Rain, the Japanese publication reviews Dante’s Inferno, MAG and Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition.

Read on for the scores and a scan. (more »)

Looks like that big Ubisoft announcement is coming soon, very soon. Ubisoft Community Developer Kimi Matsuzaki has said in a new Twitter update that it’s happening at 2 AM PST tonight.

“Check Xbox Live around 2 am PST/5 am EST/11 am CET for that announcement I mentioned…” Ubisoft’s Kimi Matsuzaki tweeted.

Not to long now.

EA has announced that ten brand new, Xbox 360 exclusive cars for Need for Speed SHIFT will be hitting Xbox LIVE on February 18th for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

The ten new cars are all of the Ferrari family and also include forty-six new challenges in hot laps, eliminators, endurance races and a world tour. An additional 125 gamerpoints are also being added, which means more achievements. (more »)

BioWare’s a busy group, working on Star Wars: The Old Republic, a new Dragon Age already, and according to EA’s COO John Schappert, there’s “something far-reaching coming from Mass Effect” in early 2011.

That would mean something is releasing between January 1 and March 31 next year.

BioWare is obviously making Mass Effect 3, but could it finish development in time? Kotaku notes that project manager Casey Hudson once said that “definitely want to make ‘Mass Effect 3′ a fairly short turnaround.” These conditions would comply.

Tomorrow, two free downloadable items will be released for BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 via the game’s Cerberus Network, the developer has announced today.

The first item, the ‘Cerberus Assault Armor’ (pictured above), gives shepard +10% in heavy weapon ammo capacity, shields and health. The second, an ‘M22a Eviscerator Shotgun’, gives Shepard a farther shotgun range and armor-piercing ammo. Apparently, the “design also violates several intergalactic weapons treaties.”

They’ll both go live tomorrow at 12:00 PM MST. They’re free so make sure to get them.

Cerberus Armor and Eviscerator Shotgun DLC Available Tomorrow Feb 9 [BioWare]

Electronic Arts has released their Q3 financial results today, which confirms release windows for many of their most anticipating titles as well as some new titles we’ve yet to hear about.

This year in the July to September range, EA will release both Realtime Worlds’ All Points Bulletin and EA Los Angeles’ Medal of Honor. (more »)

Natural Motion, the guys behind the Euphoria engine used in Grand Theft Auto IV, have been hard at work on their very own football game. Backbreaker takes football on from a third-person view rather than an over-the-top view like Madden games are known for doing. Along with that, it adds completely unmapped unique tackles that makes literally every play different.

See for yourself. (more »)

Over at the European PlayStation.Blog, SCEE Social Media Manager Jem Alexander was able to get a small question and answers session with producer, Yoshinori Kitase, and director, Motomu Toriyama regarding Final Fantasy XIII. As you know we’ll be exactly a month away from the western release as soon as the clock hits midnight.

Alexander brings up some pretty good questions, but we took some of the most notable for our readers. (more »)

Xbox 360 owners with an Xbox LIVE gold membership can sign onto their consoles today and download a free demo and premium theme for Sega’s Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

The demo will cost you a gig of space, but it’s worth it if you have a thing for blue hedgehogs like a lot of us seem to. I’m not sure who’s in the demo, but I’m guessing at least Sonic will be available. Go ahead and queue it up at the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

If you’re into the theme, a shot of it can be seen above. It’ll run you 240 Microsoft Points. Not as free as your other option. Queue it up here.

Come to think of it. Why the hell does Sonic need to drive a car? Isn’t that like a handicap for him?

LucasArts has announced today that the third episode in the LEGO Star Wars series is coming to consoles this autumn. Titled LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, LucasArts’ next game in “next-generation family entertainment” is set to arrive on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PSP, DS and PC.

The Clone Wars will include every character from both seasons of the Cartoon Network animated series as well as “fan-favorites” from the original Star Wars saga. New battle modes like head-to-head combat, an upgraded level builder, and the ability to play as either a Jedi or Separatist will all be included. On top of that, there will be plenty of new character abilities for the player to mess around with. (more »)

Late last week, Ubisoft teased a “BIG” reveal to come this week. I speculated it has something to do with Microsoft’s X10 event being held on Thursday, and with a new tweet from Ubisoft community developer Kimi Matsuzaki, it looks like my speculations may be correct.

“Xbox Live – where you want to keep an eye on for the Big announcement,” wrote Kim in a recent tweet.

We’ll keep our eyes on it, then.

Mass Effect 2 producer Casey Hudson has revealed that not all Mass Effect 2 saves will work in Mass Effect 3 for players who want to import. That is, if Shepard ends up giving his life for the sake of humanity at the end of Mass Effect 2.

“Dead is dead. Mass Effect 3, as with the rest of the trilogy, is Shepard’s story. If you have a dead Shepard at the end of Mass Effect 2, that saved game won’t import into Mass Effect 3.” (more »)

You’d think the costume party for the Japanese PlayStation 3 version of Tales of Vesperia would’ve ended by now, but it appears Namco Bandai isn’t finished quite yet. There’s a new set arriving this Wednesday being called the character’s strongest costumes.

Obviously, the costumes won’t make the player any stronger, but the look adds a sense of higher power to the character, which is why the name is being used. (more »)