That’s not the way Techland tells it, of course, but that’s certainly how it comes across. In fact, to hear the developer describe the game, The Cartel is more of a western than any other entrant in the series. At the start of the preview event, a member of the design team goes through a bullet-pointed list that Techland reckons defines the genre.

A suitable choice of location, a feeling of lawlessness, a degree of freedom, a cast of ‘real men’ and a mature, dark tone – this is how Techland defines the Wild West. It’s a definition so loose it could be twisted to fit everything from GTA IV to Dragon Age 2. So, while Techland draws up the specifics and inspirations it has painted-by-numbers on to this template, it’s impossible not to see the truth – that The Cartel is just another shooter.

It still manages to feel like a western at times, to be fair. The horses have turned into cars and the pistols swapped for AK-47s, but there’s still something timeless in the lighting and viciousness of the language, occasionally. Most of the action we saw took place in urban ghettoes, but there were glimpses of Nevada mesa too. It’s just a shame that the western tone is so overshadowed by Generic Shooter Syndrome that it’s almost entirely missable.

The location is LA and much of the game’s freedom comes from your ability to choose to play as one of three characters – each a cop pulled into an above-the-law anti-drug task force. These cops are the ‘real men’ Techland previously mentioned, including Kim, an ambitious female FBI agent who isn’t at all designed as a Halle Berry look-a-like. The most law-abiding of the trio, Kim doesn’t exactly fit the template – but the skin-tight jeans and ridiculously figure-hugging bodice of holsters makes it clear that she’s around for different reasons. She’s a cliché in a combat vest.

To be fair, the other characters are equally lacking in subtlety. Eddie, with his outlandish shirts and copious bling, represents the DEA and is the smooth-talker of the group. The final member, Ben, is a Bible-quoting killer (a trite hallmark of the series) from the LAPD who is supposed to be jaded and vengeful, but mostly just walks around swearing needlessly. In short; none of the group has enough depth to drown an earthworm.

The final pole in the wigwam definition proposed by Techland – the dark tone – is one that appears to have been seeded continuously and crudely throughout the entire game. Techland has injected adult content at every possible juncture, with characters constantly swearing as they shoot, missions taking place in strip clubs and clumsy first-person fist-fighting all jostling for undeserved attention. The camera lingers over every inch of exposed flesh, following the usual misdirection that this is what gamers want.

What really turned us cold regarding The Cartel, however, wasn’t the way that the western tone had been mostly sacrificed, but the fact that it had been swapped for something so unintelligent and un-unique.

There’s nothing remotely clever or interesting about The Cartel that we can see; no killer feature, no gripping story. There was no single aspect of the game that would make us want to play The Cartel over any other game crowding the market – and most of what we saw wasn’t even decently put together.

The scene with which the preview event opened, for example, concerned the three lawmen going to talk to an informant, who would then lead them to a local gang lord. As the level starts, the car drives up to his building and the trio of gunslingers are saying nothing of import. A moment passes and, as the LAPD’s Ben, control is granted to the player as he gets out of the car.

Eddie and Kim start walking towards the apartment building, which is on the other side of the empty street. Ben follows and, as the three enter, control is seized from the player and a cutscene starts. Ten minutes later, the scene is over – the three are now going to say hello to the gang in person. There’s been much swearing and anti-Mexican comments over the course of the cutscene, but you need only take away that single fact.

Control is returned to the player only once Ben is back outside, and a second text prompt instructs him to walk back to the car. He does so and, lo and behold, a third cutscene kicks in as the protagonists discuss their next move. A minute later it fades to black and the next level loads. It’s been a 15-minute sequence, an entire level of the game, and the developers are looking very pleased with themselves – but all the player has done is walk across the street and back again.

This is not good game design and, sadly, it doesn’t get any better from here. Following the street-crossing simulator came the nightclub firefight, which tried to emulate Michael Mann, but felt more like a budget version of Kane and Lynch; a copy of a copy. Call of Duty-esque slowmo sections were thrown in with witless abandon, while Ben spouted expletive-studded Bible phrases for no apparent reason.

Not even The Cartel’s only unusual feature, a flanking system that requires you to work with your allies covering fire to get a good position against enemies, felt decently implemented. Not only did the nature of it require a lot of battling against boring enemies in static positions, but players were always directed to use it by intrusive text prompts in the HUD. Surely a better idea would be to have your allies yell instructions, given that one of the few interesting features of The Cartel are the characters that keep you company?

As I watched the rest of the preview unfold, further evidence stacked up against The Cartel. Every level we saw, from Nevada mesas to driving through downtown LA, felt oppressively linear and incredibly restrictive. Every single room was gated; I felt like we were always waiting for the AI to unlock the next door and give us permission to enter.

The end result is a game which doesn’t excite us, to say the least. It doesn’t offer anything we haven’t seen before, and doesn’t even look well put together. That Call of Juarez is turning into Just Another Shooter is one thing; now it also looks like it’s turning into a pretty poor one to boot.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel is being developed by Techland and will be published by Ubisoft. It will be released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this summer.

Mortal Kombat is one of those franchises that was legendary on a 2D plane, but struggled when it attempted to make the leap to the 3D realm. While many people did in fact enjoy the 3D Mortal Kombat titles like Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon, there was always a feeling that it didn’t quite belong in that dimensional view. Unfortunately, Mortal Kombat has thus far only seen one current generation release, and even then, it was a crossover title with DC Universe rather than an actual Mortal Kombat game. It utilized 3D style graphics and gameplay, as the previous generation’s trilogy did to very mixed results.

When Capcom decided to revitalize the Street Fighter franchise less than six months later with Street Fighter IV, it didn’t just show that there was still a market for solid 2D fighting games; it ignited the fighting game revolution. The mechanics Capcom implemented Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV (e.g. focus attack dash cancels, two ultra combos and EX specials) revealed the flaws and antiquity that existed in Mortal Kombat‘s 3D fighting mechanics, and series creator, Ed Boon decided it was time to do something about it.

For starters, the game looks absolutely gorgeous. Mortal Kombat combines the old-school look fans want with the graphics of the current generation. The animations are very smooth, and everything, from the blood that flows like water to the fracturing skeletal structures of the combatants, just looks really polished. There’s also a lot of action going on in the background, which really makes the environment have that organic feeling. Even as the fights go on, you’ll notice that damage appears in realtime on the fighters, which really gives the visuals a nice touch. It’s actually quite easy to make the claim that Mortal Kombat is one of the best looking fighters I’ve ever seen.

The new fighting system, which designers at the recently founded NetherRealm studio have put into place is incredibly solid and just all-around fun. The characters are fairly balanced and the overall feel of the system is that of a true successor to the Mortal Kombats of old. Mortal Kombat really takes to the new 2D fighting system and implements it as successfully as Street Fighter did back in 2009.

Gameplay in Mortal Kombat is not just about solid fighting mechanics, however. This time around, the gory fighter has a few tricks up its sleeve. In possibly taking a page from its longtime rival franchise,Mortal Kombat has decided to further develop its take on the “Hyper Combo.” Instead of enormously over-the-top combinations that send opponents flying like I saw in Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Mortal Kombatuses a very intuitive meter system that grants different abilities based on the levels you reach. Nearly every action fills up the meter from the punishment you doll out or receive.

The concept is not unlike what I’ve seen in other fighters. When the meter reaches level one, the player can execute “Enhanced Moves,” which are simply more powerful versions of the character’s existing special moves. When the meter reaches level two, the player can execute a powerful Combo Breaker by simply blocking and pressing forward while his or her opponent is executing a combo. Most players will want to wait until they fill the meter to level three, however, as that will enable the player to access to the devastatingly awesome X-Ray attack system. The X-Ray attacks are executed by pulling both triggers while you are in possession of the full meter. The character will then, in turn, unleash a combo that is, quite literally, bone-crushing.

The awesomely powerful X-Ray attacks are always a pleasure to execute. 

Each character possesses a unique X-Ray move, but I kind of wish there was a bit more variety in the way they could happen. It’s also interesting to note that the X-Ray moves have no bearing on the way the receiving character performs for the remainder of the round, let alone the fight. While I didn’t expect the moves to have any effect aside from the devastating damage they do, it’s slightly strange to literally watch someone’s leg or skull get shattered, and then they continue to fight unhindered. I can’t get too mad at the lack of realism, however, as the title I’m discussing here is a game that features robot ninjas ripping the limbs off of 2,000 year old human-dragon hybrids.

While the fighting itself is incredibly entertaining, the tale that Mortal Kombat ultimately tells is one of robust features. In addition to the online fighting and the typical fight ladders that I’ve played through since the series inception, there is literally the potential to get lost for tens of hours in the other modes.

The story mode is where you’ll likely want to start, particularly if you’re a fan of the franchise’s storyline. Story mode takes players on a cinematic journey through the first three Mortal Kombat titles. While players who are less familiar with the overall franchise story arc may find themselves a bit lost at times, the storytelling is the best I’ve ever seen in any fighting game. The story does a good job of not taking itself too seriously, throwing in some incredibly cheesy one-liners from the likes of Johnny Cage, but not to the point that the story becomes a parody of itself.

Make no mistake about it, the story mode is difficult. Those that aren’t the best at fighting games may struggle at certain boss fights even on “beginner” mode, which can prove to be very frustrating. Through trial and error, however, most players will be able to plow their way through the mode as long as they can avoid trashing their controller in frustration. Obviously, the length of story mode will vary based on the skill level of the player and the difficulty level the game is being played on, but players can expect it to last anywhere from 4 to 10 hours, which is remarkable for a fighting game.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much replay value to the story mode as the cinematics don’t change and the outcomes will always remain the same. Luckily for players that aren’t just planning on making this a weekend rental, NetherRealm Studios has decided to include the most feature-rich mode I’ve seen in any fighter ever: the Challenge Tower. The Challenge Tower is a ladder mode that will see players going up against various challenges that range from endurance fights against multiple characters to fights that see both characters without their limbs. Challenges from other modes, such as “Test Your Luck,” “Test Your Might,” “Test Your Strike,” and “Test Your Sight,” make their way into the tower as well. All in all, Mortal Kombat‘s Challenge Tower is an enormous, time-consuming mode that brings diverse challenges and the potential to last from 10 to 15 hours. The only issue I found with this mode is the fact that sometimes the “challenges” end up being little more than veiled tutorials for the various characters you assume control of.

Just like every other recent title in the series, with everything you do throughout Mortal Kombat,  you’ll earn koins that can be spent to unlock items in The Krypt. The Krypt in this game is simply enormous. There are various sections that are navigable and interactive, and progress can be tracked based on completion per section. The items that are unlockable can be a little lackluster at times, but players interested in the background of the game will find many pieces of concept art and behind-the-scenes bonus items to enjoy.

Challenge Tower levels like “Armless Kombat” make for some intriguing moments 

Mortal Kombat is easily one of the most violent, gory and brutal games ever released onto home consoles, but that does not mean the game’s success hinges on that gimmick in any way. Instead,Mortal Kombat takes an incredibly well-constructed fighting system and places it in the middle of the most feature-rich infrastructure  I’ve ever seen in the genre. Mortal Kombat is more than a return to form for the legendary and controversial fighting franchise; it’s the setting of the bar for all other games in the genre.

First off, Uncharted 3 multiplayer is a complete evolution from the initial foray we made into multiplayer with Uncharted 2. The leap forward in gameplay, technology — not the least of which is 3D stereoscopic support — and depth is nothing short of astounding, no joke. Our goal has always been to take the signature Uncharted gameplay and our penchant for awesome set-piece moments to serve as the key building blocks for creating a multiplayer experience like no other. We dipped our toe in with Uncharted 2. Now, with Uncharted 3, we’re diving in headfirst.

The Uncharted 3 Multiplayer trailer, which was JUST released today, is the best crash course on everything we’ve revealed about our competitive multiplayer modes — and more.

At the event we provided the assembled editors hands-on time with two of our multiplayer maps – The Airstrip and The Chateau. Both are great examples of the whole spectrum of map design and dynamic environments we’re aiming to have available in Uncharted 3.

The Chateau is a more traditional style arena map, with multiple levels to take advantage of our unique Uncharted traversal options — including ziplines. The Airstrip is a two-part map where the location and map layout actually changes in the middle of the match! The first part of the match takes place on a massive cargo plane being chased by trucks, with players jumping from truck to truck and between the cargo plane and the truck convoy. You can see some of this better in the Uncharted 3 Multiplayer trailer we released today. The second part of the match begins when the cargo plane is about to take off from the runway. After takeoff, the match changes locations for all players to the airstrip hangar area for a slightly more traditional multiplayer setting and layout. Just watch out for the fighter planes that will inevitably come in for a strafing run.

We revealed two of our new competitive modes, along with the perennial favorite Team Deathmatch. One is Three Team Deathmatch, which is a small-team 2 vs. 2 vs. 2 variation on Team Deathmatch. The other is the oft-requested Free For All – with every player out for themselves. Over the months left until release – that’s about six-and-a-half months if you’re counting – we’ll detail all of our competitive modes.

As you’re looking to get into matches, we’ve made some updates to make it easier to get into games quicker, and with your friends. The first is Late Join, which is a staple of many online games and for good reason. It ensures that matches stay full, that you can get into matches faster and you can get into your friends matches faster if there’s a slot for you, instead of waiting for your friend to finish their current round. We’ve heard that many of you want to play with a friend on the same couch and we’re really proud to say that we were able to not only implement same-console split screen but you can log into two independent PSN IDs for most gametypes – the ones you can’t are to prevent unfair collusion between players.

Playing with friends and creating a team environment is extremely important for us and we’re trying to encourage this with the Buddy system. Each player will be partnered with a Buddy and you’ll be able to collectively share your successes throughout the match with each other. You can even pick up Treasures — more on that later — for your Buddy. The Buddy system also allows you to choose to spawn on your Buddy if they are safely out of combat so you can jump into the action together quicker. This is key since most of our game modes are all about team play and teams that stick together will do far better than teams who don’t.

New to Uncharted 3 multiplayer is character customization. Both heroes and villains skins will have a hundreds of customizable parts, from accessories to shirts and pants to a deep weapon customization feature. Even named characters, like Drake or Sully, will get plenty of options to make your character your own. Hand in hand with customization is our emblem editor. If you’ve worked with emblem editors in other games, you’ll be pretty familiar with the one we’ve implemented in Uncharted 3. Our emblem editor extends the level of customization of your online profile with hundreds of decals, three layers, rotate and scale functions – you’ll see your final emblem on your character and even possibly in the environment during matches.

Speaking of weapon customizations – it goes beyond the cosmetic. We have weapon mods that not only change the look of your weapon of choice, but they are functional too, adding precise scopes, bigger clips and more!

Boosters are back in Uncharted 3, but we didn’t just carry over the Booster selection from Uncharted 2. There are a few old favorites in there, but we’ve created what we feel is a more satisfying mix of old and new based on your feedback and selection patterns. We’ve extended the Booster system with a special subset of Paid Boosters, give you a one-time Booster that you spend some cash to have the option of using during a match. There are still other ways to get minor advantages during a match. You have to option to select a specific Medal Kickback, which activates when you’ve racked up the required number of Medals for that specific Kickback. You can see this in the Multiplayer Trailer when the RPG Kickback is activated at 00:50 into the video. You’re taking a little chance when you select these, as some really choice Kickbacks require you to get a significant number of Medals before you can activate them.

Those are a TON of customization options you can pick through and we know that you don’t want to be bogged down in menus in the limited time before the match begins trying to figure out which sets of customizations you want to slot for that match. We’ve introduced four slots to save specific loadouts — your starting rifle, starting sidearm, weapon customizations and mods, Boosters, and Kickbacks.

All of these customization and modifier options allowed us to extend our in-game reward system. No longer is everything tied to level gain or cash. During matches, you’ll have the opportunity to get items from treasure chests on the maps. You’ll also be able unlock a wide variety of items and modifiers through Missions. There are two types of Missions – some are instant missions and others, accessible from the Multiplayer menu, are more long term. Instant missions can appear in the middle of a match and provide a target that you can complete within a few matches tops. The Missions you select from the Multiplayer menu will take significantly more time, days of playtime possibly, and the rewards will be accordingly more significant.

A couple of things we’ve learned over the past year and a half of reviewing thousands upon thousands of Uncharted 2 matches is that it really sucks to be blown out on the way to losing a match and that winning or losing a tightly contested match by some kill made way off-screen is a bit of a letdown. We’ve thought of some ways to make these inevitable multiplayer moments a bit more exciting and satisfying. Power Plays activate when one team is way behind in the score count. They provide the team on top with an opportunity to maximize their cash for the match, while evening the odds a little for the team on the losing end of the equation and giving them the opportunity to close the gap a little.

If matches are too close to call as they get close to the end, Overtime will activate, giving either time an opportunity to win the match by more than one point within a limited time. If the game is still too close to call, the match enters Sudden Death. Sudden Death is similar to Elimination – there are no respawns and the last player standing wins the match for their team.

We’ve also made it easier to share your passion for Uncharted 3 multiplayer with your real life friends and family through social media hooks we’ve added to the game. We’ve integrated Facebook into the game in a way unseen on a console game so far – way more than just sharing videos and photos, or updates to your Wall. USA Today has an exclusive look at our plans to bring social networks into Uncharted 3. Cinema mode has gotten a revamp allowing you to create clips from full matches and upload them directly to your own YouTube OR Facebook account (or both). We’re streaming a tightly curated list of awesome Uncharted videos created by you – our community – back into your multiplayer menu via Uncharted TV. We’ll have more details on all of the above over the next few days.

Oh yeah, and we have a brand new Sprint button. Don’t hate on it until you’ve had a chance to go hands on! We feel it works extremely well and, of course, we’ve built Uncharted 3 multiplayer to take into account that you can sprint.

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about competitive multiplayer, but what about co-op? Fear not, co-op is most definitely IN Uncharted 3 multiplayer and it too has been vastly expanded upon. We didn’t cover anything co-op related at our multiplayer event last week – everything and anything co-op will be revealed further down the line.

When can you get a crack at Uncharted 3 multiplayer? In just a couple of months – the Multiplayer Beta for Uncharted 3 begins WORLDWIDE on June 28, 2011, with early access for PlayStation Plus members or by purchasing copies of Infamous 2 (excluding Australia)

We look forward to bringing you full video coverage by June 28th and make sure to view our E3 coverage of Uncharted 3 by early June!

The behind the scenes coverage from THOR is thundering your way and across the world!  This behind-the-scene featurette which gives you a look at the elaborate set design of both worlds and it also shows new footage from the movie. Awesome stuff!

The epic adventure THOR spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the mystical realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. As a result, Thor is banished to Earth where he is forced to live among humans. When the most dangerous villain of his world sends its darkest forces to invade Earth, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, in THOR, Chris Hemsworth portrays the title character with Tom Hiddleston in the role of Thor’s brother Loki, and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster.

Additionally, the studio has cast Academy Award winning actor Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Renee Russo as Frigga, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Josh Dallas as Fandral, Jaimie Alexander as Sif, Idris Elba as Heimdall, as well as Colm Feore, Kat Dennings and award-winning actor Stellan Skarsgård.

The film is slated for release in theatres domestically on May 6, 2011 via Paramount Pictures which will also release the film on a worldwide basis.The epic adventure THOR spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment.

Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.The screenplay for THOR was penned by Mark Protosevich as well as Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz, and Don Payne. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige will produce the film. Alan Fine, Stan Lee, David Maisel, and Marvel Studio’s Co-President, Louis D’Esposito, will executive produce.

For those of you who don’t know the original inFAMOUS story, Cole’s electrical powers appear when he’s caught in the blast of a mysterious device called the Ray Sphere. Cole gains more and more abilities, becomes more and more powerful, and survives the gauntlet of Empire City… but he also is given a glimpse into his future. He realizes that even at the height of his powers, he is no match for the challenge that awaits. A battle with a great Beast looms, and Cole isn’t ready to face it.

So in inFAMOUS 2, Cole travels South to New Marais to trace a path to the man behind the Ray Sphere technology, Dr. Sebastian Wolfe. With buddy Zeke riding shotgun, they set off to find the key to the next step in Cole’s evolution and a new level of power– powers that will be necessary if Cole hopes to survive the upcoming battle.

When Cole and Zeke eventually track down Dr. Wolfe, he explains that over years of experimenting, he had isolated the specific type of energy responsible for all genetic mutations. Dr. Wolfe’s technology—like the Ray Sphere—was all created to concentrate and manipulate this energy. To most people a dose of this mutative energy is fatal—but for a small fraction, the energy unlocks their untapped potential. These rare individuals are called Conduits, and of course Cole is one of them.

Wolfe has also developed a device—called a Blast Core—which can store this type of energy safely for an extended period of time… Over the years, he’s built and charged six of these Blast Cores. So to continue his evolution, Cole will need to locate these all-important Blast Cores, and absorb their energy into his body. But Wolfe fears the Blast Cores will fall into the wrong hands, so he has moved them to safe locations around the city — and Cole will have to hunt them all down.

Of course our story will take some important twists and turns along the way, we’ll meet other Conduits, and as in the original inFAMOUS game, your choices about what kind of person you are. But no matter which path Cole follows, one thing remains the same: without the Blast Cores he won’t survive.

As Detective Cole Phelps rises through the ranks of the LAPD, one of the most harrowing crime desks he will face is that of Vice.

Phelps discovers that corruption abounds Los Angeles in 1947, as he’s plunged into a world of junkie-killing morphine, illicit boxing match fixes, and comes face to face with some of the town’s most notorious mobsters.

Created entirely from in-game footage, watch L.A. Noire Official Trailer #3 above in high-definition! And look for the special Pop-Up Edition release coming next week with extra insights and information.

What Rockstar and Team Bondi have accomplished with L.A. Noire is nothing less than groundbreaking,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “It’s an invention of a new realm of storytelling that is part cinema, part gaming, and a whole new realm of narrative expression, interactivity, and immersion. We are poised on the edge of a new frontier.

Using the latest in new animation technology that captures every nuance of an actor’s facial performance in astonishing detail, L.A. Noire is a violent crime thriller that blends breathtaking action with true detective work to deliver an unprecedented interactive experience. Search for clues, chase down suspects and interrogate witnesses as you struggle to find the truth in a city where everyone has something to hide.

In terms of the new type of gameplay… at the end of each case, Phelps will be judged on his performance in a number of areas, from his skill at interrogation and clue finding to the amount of damage he caused to city property. After you’ve finished each case, you will have the option to replay the case to chase down any leads you may have missed and better your score.

There’s just under six weeks til the release of L.A. Noire – coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 17th in North America and May 20th in Europe and Australia.

Yes, it’s real.

The boys have another hazy evening, this time in Thailand, and instead of losing Doug they lose Stu’s fiance’s brother. Mr. Chow is back so we’re assured of at least a few laughs out of him. Other than that, it’s everything you would expect from a sequel of a highly successful film.

If it ain’t broke… don’t fix it.