After a year of major game releases, the game industry & gamers from all over the world are set to pick the best of the best for the 2011 Video Game Awards.

Shane Bell (Urgent Fury CIO) & Doc (The Tester (Season 1) & Replay w/ Doc) join Commander Fury to preview a few of the categories & make their 2011 VGA picks.

So with all of the craziness of Multiplayer releases in 2011 over, now it’s time to look ahead to 2012. And a new entry into the realm of multiplayer is Mass Effect 3 by Bioware based in Edmonton Canada.

In a press release from October, the award-winning developer, a label of Electronic Arts Inc., announced hat multiplayer will be coming to the critically-acclaimed Mass Effect™ series for the very first time as part of the new Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system.

With the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system, players will fight for the survival of the galaxy against an ancient alien race known only as, Reapers, in both the single player campaign and through a suite of Mass Effect games and applications. Progress made in each of the components of the system, including the new multiplayer mode, will directly link back to the player’s main campaign, helping Commander Shepard rally the forces of the galaxy to eliminate the Reaper threat once and for all. The Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War feature can be activated via the Online Pass code found in every new copy of Mass Effect 3. The Mass Effect 3 Online Pass can also be purchased separately on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system.

“The theme of galactic war in Mass Effect 3 presents us with the perfect opportunity to introduce multiplayer into the Mass Effect series,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series. “Multiplayer not only features amazing combat and deep customization options, but it will give players another way to help the war effort against the Reapers in the main event — the single player campaign.”

Featuring four-player cooperative gameplay, multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 puts players in the role of a team of elite Special Forces soldiers sent to protect resources and assets that can help the war effort against the Reapers. Players will have the option of playing as one of six classes and from six different races: Human, Krogan, Asari, Drell, Salarian and Turian.

Multiplayer and other components of the Mass Effect 3: Galaxy at War system provide alternative ways for players to wage the final war against the Reapers. The new system will also connect players to their BioWare Social Network accounts to stay up to date on the latest Mass Effect 3 news and access downloadable content (DLC) and add-ons.

Now if you read around the net, the avid Mass Effect Fans are not that keen on addition of the Multiplayer, but as stated by Shane Bell in his editorial about Multiplayer not extending the life of games, maybe this developer is seeing an opportunity to add a longer playability to their title after all.

Only time will tell if this is successful or not and there are rumors of a beta soon, the game is scheduled to launch March 6^th, 2012.

About BioWare

The BioWare Label is a division of EA which crafts high quality multiplatform role-playing, MMO and strategy games, focused on emotionally engaging, rich stories with unforgettable characters and vast worlds to discover. Since 1995, BioWare has created some of the world’s most critically acclaimed titles and franchises, including Baldur’s Gate™, Neverwinter Nights™, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™, Mass Effect™ and Dragon Age™.  BioWare currently operates in seven locations across the world, including Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Montreal (Quebec, Canada), Austin (Texas), Fairfax (Virginia), San Francisco (California), Los Angeles (California) and Galway (Ireland).

In 2008, BioWare was acquired by Electronic Arts, a leading global interactive entertainment publisher. In 2011 EA created the BioWare Label, alongside EA Games, EA SPORTS™ and EA Play.  To join the millions of fans already registered with the BioWare community, go to http://social.bioware.com.

Commander Fury is Urgent Fury’s “boots on the ground” for the biggest game release of the year!!!

As he finds himself braving the cold & crowds at his local GameStop to celebrate the launch of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the 2nd Annual Urgent Frequency Veterans Day Thanksgiving Call Of Duty Midnight Launch Party Episode. Get all the intel about the most anticipated game of the year…including gametrailers.com‘s full review of the game, and an overview of Call Of Duty: ELITE.

Plus, we wrap things up with the Thanksgiving classic….Arlo Guthrie’s – “Alice’s Restaurant“.

Story by: CritiKiL

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t come out until Nov. 8. But pirates have already obtained the video game — one of the most-anticipated of the year — VentureBeat has learned. The PC version of the game, or at least part of it, has been circulating among pirates in the U.S., who illegally copy and share it without paying Activision Blizzard or its retailers. That’s a big problem, as Activision Blizzard is expected to sell more than 20 million copies of the game in 2011 alone, according to Arcadia Research. That amounts to more than $1.2 billion in sales at retail. Piracy has always been a problem with video games, especially for PC titles. But the pirates go after Call of Duty because it’s the big prize. Every year, a cat-and-mouse game ensues. Activision Blizzard closely monitors manufacturing in the weeks leading up to shipment, since it only takes one stolen disk to set off the viral spread of pirated copies. But it’s hard to stop inside jobs.

Evidently, pirated discs began to spread quickly after an employee at a shipping warehouse (run by a huge shipping company) in Fresno, Calif., stole one disc. It’s not clear how many full copies spread this way, as the disc that was stolen was apparently Disc 2 of a two-disk set for the PC. Security may have been too tight for the thief to steal the other disc. The same course of events happened before last year’s launch of Call of Duty Black Ops and the year before that with Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. But sales of the franchise keep climbing.

Investigators are using the same tactics as last year, knocking on doors around the country and asking people nicely to turn over and delete their pirated copies of Modern Warfare 3. Rather than face fines, many complied. A Modern Warfare pirate who was caught posted a message (below) yesterday on Craigslist. In it, the person warns others not to buy MW3 before the release date because “they will come get you.” The post says “you will be fined $5,000″ and it could result in permanent banning from online play. Then the person adds, “I already went through it.”

Story by: CritiKiL

Story by Mike Fahey @ Kotaku.com.

Following up on the success of Transformers: War for Cybertron, Activision and High Moon Studios return to the planet of the Autobots and Decepticons next year with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and they’re bringing the king of the Dinobots with them.

The original headline of this article was simply “Motherfucking Grimlock”, but I decided to err on the side of being informative. Now that we’ve gotten that over with, it’s motherfucking Grimlock! The leader of the Dinobots (and the Autobots on several occasions, depending on the continuity you subscribe to) takes his rightful place by Optimus Prime’s side on the cover of next month’s Game Informer, on store shelves October 14.

The game follows the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons to its fateful conclusion: the exodus of both from their dying planet. How High Moon Studios handles that exodus remains to be seen. Will we get the Ark and Nemesis shootout in deep space from the cartoon? The leaving a few good bots behind storyline from the IDW comic book series? Something entirely new?

I am obviously way too excited about this. Here’s a quote.

“High Moon Studios is an extremely talented development team having raised the bar of gameplay and Transformers authenticity in their games,” said David Oxford, Executive Vice President at Activision Publishing. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is an extraordinary project both for the studio and the Transformers gaming legacy – the stakes are higher and the scale much larger than ever before, and we absolutely cannot wait for fans to see all the new characters and epic action that awaits them.”

There, all better. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is slated for release sometime next year for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It will feature motherfucking Grimlock.

Story by Call of Duty Community.com.

Anyone who plays Call of Duty, knows that Custom Matches are a big part of why we play, from proving your point in a 1 on 1 quick-scope battle, to laughing at your friends in Mike Myers. This year, Modern Warfare 3 will take the Custom Match experience to a new level, allowing some new and some fan favorite game types to come to the field. They are:

One in the Chamber

Infinity Ward is bringing back this fan favorite to satisfy the needs of those craving the wager match, although it is worth mentioning, that this time there is no prize. Just the knowledge that you are better than your comrades.

Gun Game

Again, another fan favorite and something I’ll be falling over myself to play when the game is released to see which guns I like to play with. Definitely something to look forward to.

Infected

An age old game mode that never ceases to amaze, this is by far the best way to find out the best hiding spots in the game and how to get there. An aside to this, is that this has been called several names over the years. Mike Myers is one of the names, and also Zombies was a name given to it.

Drop Zone

Almost like Headquarters, except that it’s call Drop Zone. Oh, and given that it is called that, Care Packages drop to the glee of the team in command of the zone. I have visions of horrific “death by box” kills in killcams on this one.

Team Juggernaut

Didn’t get a lot of information on this one, but as far as we can tell, it’s Team Death Match with a Juggernaut on your team. Pretty straight forward huh?

Juggernaut

Now, this also sounds like a “Pro” version of Mike Myers. 1 person is a Juggernaut, your job is to kill him, then you become the Juggernaut. Easy right?

If you rather watch someone explain these game modes to you, have a look and see what WoodysGamertag has to say about the game modes.

I can definitely see some awesome lads (or ladies) nights in where these game types are put the test. Personally, I think this will really make for a better game as far as Modern Warfare 3 is concerned as it will mean a longer shelf-life!

As you can see, Infinity Ward have taken on some fan favorites, and produced some fine sounding other game modes. It really shows that they have taken some time to make sure that the Custom Matches are as good as the online ones. If you have any questions, please feel free to visit us at the forums: www.callofduty-community.com/forum/

Story by Seeson @ blogs.battlefield.ea.com.

Thank you for playing the Open Beta and making the final game better!

We are very excited to see so many gamers join our Battlefield 3 Open Beta. Here’s an update on the Open Beta from DICE General Manager Karl Magnus Troedsson.

I want to give you an overview of how the Open Beta is helping us shape a fantastic final game, what we are implementing based on your feedback, and how the Open Beta will help us deliver a robust gaming environment from day one.

The Open Beta is a true Beta

The Battlefield 3 Open Beta is based on software that is more than one month old. We need to test the new back end dedicated server structure we’ve built. Not only have we built a new game engine, but an entirely new back end system so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of dedicated servers on all platforms.

Just like normal procedure when releasing a game, the Open Beta has had long lead times due to testing, certification, and setting up. This means that the code you are now playing is actually quite early and not representative of the final game.

We had to do this in order to have as many people testing as possible, in order to ensure a top quality experience when the game is released. However, we’re confident in the Battlefield formula and confident that our fans will support us in order to make Battlefield 3 better.

Dedicated servers require dedicated testing

The biggest reason for running the Open Beta is to stress test our servers and back end. Already, we are seeing 6 times the number of simultaneous players in the Battlefield 3 Open Beta compared to the Beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2! The fact that Battlefield 3 is clearly our biggest game launch ever by a magnitude of 6 makes it doubly important to test everything.

We are constantly updating the News section on Battlelog with information on what we are fixing from Open Beta to final. We appreciate your time and your feedback. The data and feedback from the Open Beta will not only directly affect the final game of Battlefield 3, but its future development and support.

We’re heading out on the road this week to let journalists experience all aspects of Battlefield 3. Stay tuned for their previews, and stay tuned for the final game on October 25th. The final game will look, play and sound better than the Open Beta. You have helped making sure of that.

Karl Magnus Troedsson

General Manager, DICE

Story by Scott Grill @ Examiner.com.

If you’re taking a break from playing the Battlefield 3 beta, you may want to take a look at this Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 video showing gameplay from the Spec Ops Survival mode on the Paris map.

The Paris survival mode gameplay footage definitely shows off the arcadey side of Modern Warfare 3 as the player one of two players charges opponents by jumping on top of cars and taking them down with the shotgun. It also provides a glimpse at some of the items that can be purchased from the equipment armory such as the Sentry Grenade Launcher.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is scheduled to release on November 8 for the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Grenade Launcher Sentry Gun = SWEET!!! (Nemesis)

Story by Owen Good @ Kotaku.com.

About a week before the Battlefield 3 beta began, the game’s community manager had decided he’d heard enough shrill complaining about the fact that “Operation Metro” and not some other map would the only one playable. And so he went off.

Rewind: Operation Metro was revealed to be the beta map on Sept. 20. Apparently, large numbers of forum goers thought some other map would be used, like one that allowed up to 64 players. The choice of Metro did not sit well with many, and the Battlefield forums were filled with great anger and profound disappointment. This is what Daniel Matros, DICE’s global community manager for Battlefield 3, had to confront at the end of the day.

“Right now, I am not in the mood to even browse in here and check out most parts of the forum,” Daniel Matros began on Sept. 20. Saying that “the beta is a privilege, not a right,” unless you got a key with a pre-order, Matros ripped into the whiners, still with a measured tone that suggests he had to choose his words carefully.

“The vibe I’m getting now is just that tons of ungrateful people don’t understand how much work we are putting on this game how many overtime hours we are doing and also how many meetings we are in to ship a game like this.”

Matros thanked those who did provide constructive feedback. “To the rest of you—grow up.”

Two replies later, proving his point, someone wrote: “Why aren’t you releasing Caspian Border in the beta?”

It should be noted that although this thread no longer exists (a cache of it does) even a cursory Google search of the forums turns up threads backing Matros.

As for why they went with Operation Metro, not something else, well, it’s a beta. “We have already showed this map and made some big changes to it to enhance gameplay as well as get it more fluent than in the Alpha,” Matros explained later. “Lots of new things have been added in closer to launch. Our rank progression system as well as customizations have made their way into the beta and it´s very important for us to test these things before we launch. That is the purpose of the Beta as well as combining it with Battlelog and all of the features there. If you feel that this isn´t the right map for you, then perhaps we don´t really agree on what maps we want to see.”

It is indeed hard not to be sympathetic. These games are not made by elves. We’ve heard plenty about “crunch” at the end of a development cycle, I’m sure the last thing anyone wants to deal with, amidst all of that, is inconsiderate sniping and snide questions from some entitled dickbag who is unhappy that the free thing he’s being given isn’t optimized for his comfort.

It is, however, rare to see this kind of thing play out, probably why the thread is gone. The Battlefield 3 beta runs until Oct. 10. I hope everyone survives.

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com.

In this lengthy video of Sega’s Aliens: Colonial Marines, Gearbox head Randy Pitchford walks us through some new gameplay for the upcoming game.

There’s a lot of things to see, and hear, so get to it. Let me know if you’re as impressed with what you see as I was this summer after attending the E3 presentation.

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com.

Clan-Batman-versus-clan-Joker shooter Gotham City Impostors looks like it’s going to be about $15 or 1,200 Microsoft Points when it hits, according to the game’s official YouTube account.

GothamCityImpostors, the person running the official YouTube account for the upcoming game, wrote in comments on their latest video” “As far as pricing is concerned, the current plan is for the game to be $14.99 or 1200 MS points.”

Of course that’s not confirmed yet, but it sounds like it’s getting close.

We’re also hearing that Beta testers are starting to receive email invites for the game. The beta will run nightly from 7 p.m. to midnight EST starting on Oct. 5 and ending on Oct. 9. Fingers crossed and eyes open. Or maybe the other way round.

Thanks for the beta tips and to Chodiac about the pricing heads up.

Story by Michael McWhertor @ Kotaku.com.

At the risk of sounding overhyped about DICE’s Battlefield 3, the latest batch of unofficial screens from the game’s ongoing beta are (mostly) about its UI, which are beautiful and even a little bit informative.

Screengrabs from Battlefield 3‘s beta, courtesy of Battlefield forum goers, show off some multiplayer options, win/lose screens and the myriad graphic options for the PC version of the game. Very handsome, very option-heavy.

Story by Mike Fahey @ Kotaku.com.

As promised last week, EA delivers the full version of its “99 Problems” Battlefield 3 TV spot today, unveiling never-before-seen gameplay footage and a new tagline aimed right between Modern Warfare 3‘s eyes.

At this point we’ve accepted that Battlefield 3 looks gorgeous, so we’ll not harp on the visuals. Instead, let’s turn our attention to the new tagline at the end of this TV spot. It reads “Above and Beyond the Call”, an obvious dig at Call of Duty, the Activision franchise EA hopes to unseat as king of the military online first-person shooters.

How should Call of Duty fans react? I’d suggest measured, focused rage. Don’t fly off the handle; stay firmly planted on the handle and toss your vicious retorts with military precision.

As for Activision, I’m hoping the company reveals the new tagline for Modern Warfare 3 to be “Fuck Battlefield in Its Stupid Ass”, which is probably why I’m not in marketing.

Well the eagerly awaited game event is here, and as I and many other games fans made our way from the Underground to Earls Court I couldn’t wait to see and more importantly play the new upcoming games.

The atmosphere was amazing as we all made our way into the arena, which was broken up into seven zones with the centre area dominated by the hot topic of conversation outside – Onlive.

Not surprisingly this is the first place everyone headed including myself, there were a number of consoles set up around the stand with both wired and wireless controllers with demo’s of some of the 100 games that are now available as of Sept 22nd (that’s in the UK of course, Onlive has been running in the US for a while now). As well as getting to play some of the games on offer, there was also the chance to get your hands on a free console once you had registered, needless to say I managed to get my hands on one and I’ll be posting more on the Onlive console and the games on offer in a separate article.

All the big names in gaming were showing off their latest creations, including the big 3′s Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, Resistance 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Gears of War 3. My first port of call was the Forza Motorsport 4 stand, Turn 10 have raised the bar even further with this latest in the franchise, the graphics were stunning as has been the case with previous incarnations and the controls were very responsive. The demo for Forza 4 is coming for Xbox LIVE Gold Members on Oct  3 and will be available for Silver members on Oct 10 for those who want a taste of things to come.

Another of the games I sampled was Battlefield 3, due for release on Oct 25th which was tucked away in the over 18′s area. This had a long queue of people waiting to play as you’d expect, but it was well worth the wait. It was certainly an amazing sight seeing banks of people all working their way through the trees and undergrowth, utterly absorbed. It wasn’t hard to see why, EA Games with Frostbite 2 have created very impressive gameplay and the headphones allowed the low hum of Earls Court to be blotted out in favour of the crackle of gunfire and the shout of orders.

I’m sure you have seen all the advertisements and coverage of the 3DS but you may have been like me and wondered just how good it is. Well they were showcasing the latest Mario and sonic releases as well as a demo of Sky 3D. The latter to try and show people that the 3DS has more to offer than just a handheald  gaming console. I was curious as to what the experience would be like and chatting to some of the others there, they felt the same.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Its true to say that as this doesn’t rely on glasses, it makes it feel a more natural experience, although I did find the need to keep your viewing angle steady took a bit of getting used to. The 3D effect was very good and the adjustable 3D slide on the side made a noticeable difference.

It wasn’t just all game and console demo’s of course, there were a host of developer sessions throughout the weekend as well. Among those giving talks were Michael Denny from Sony talking about the Playstation Vita and Dr Ray Muzyka from EA Games on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

To sum up, there was much more at Eurogamer Expo 2011 than I am ever going to be able to write here, that said, the Playstation Vita, 3D gaming and the prospect of on-line gaming like never before with Onlive makes the next twelve months a very exciting prospect indeed.

Story by Mike Fahey @ Kotaku.com.

In this teaser trailer for a full length ad to run on television September 27, rapper Jay-Z explains that while Battlefield 3does have (at least) “99 Problems”, not one of those problems is a bitch. And here we were all worried!

But when EA’s Battlefield team teases something, there’s generally something interesting waiting on the other end. My guess? Jay-Z is lying to us, and one of Battlefield 3‘s problems is indeed bitches.

Story by Kirk Hamilton @ Kotaku.com.

The Riddler and The Penguin may get increased stage-time in Batman: Arkham City, but the latest trailer for Rocksteady’s upcoming game is all about our old friend The Joker. Looking quite a bit the worse for wear after his misadventures in Arkham Asylum, the J-Man sounds like he’s enacting another big, complicated plan to ensnare the Bat. Big surprise, that.

Also featured: a healthy dose of Harley Quinn’s accent, some giant goon named “Mr. Hammer,” and some fairly serious-looking lava and explosions.

Batman: “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Joker: “Nice of you to say, but you of all people should know, there’s plenty wrong with me.”

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com.

Battlefield 3′smuch-anticipated open beta starts on Thursday, Sept. 29, the publisher said this morning.

The beta will run until Oct. 10 and will give players a chance to check out the game and the social platform Battlelog, according to the post on the official website for the game. The beta is set in Paris on the Operation Metro map playing the game’s Rush mode.

If you pre-order the PC digitial version of Battlefield 3 on EA’s Origin store before Sept. 25, or if you bought Medal of Honor: Limited Edition/Tier 1 Edition, you will get 48 hours early access to the Beta, meaning you can start playing Tuesday, Sept 27.

For Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, the open beta will be visible on the consoles’ digital marketplaces under Battlefield 3. For PC, you need to install Origin and download the Open Beta from within the Origin application.

Story by Fahed @ MP1st.com.

I don’t think we can wait any longer for the Battlefield 3 Beta, and DICE has just hinted at a big announcement coming tomorrow.

After weeks of denying many beta rumors, DICE has stirred up the pot with 3 hints. On the official Italian Battlefield page, DICE teased “guys, tomorrow follow us, there is news about something you have been waiting for a long time.” However, the teasing didn’t stop there. Dainel Matros, Battlefield’s global community manager, tweeted “this week is going to be off the hook BF3″, and his coworker, David Goldfarb, reassured that this week is “gonna be a great week. BF3″. 

My guess is that the long-awaited Beta will go live tomorrow or will be announced tomorrow to go live next week.

If you were wondering whether you’re going to get a taste of the singleplayer in the upcoming beta, DICE’s Ian Tornay re-clarified “BF3 beta is multiplayer only. There are some rumors to the contrary circulating.” 

Images by: CritiKiL

Story by Johnny Cullen @ VG247.com.

Following a teaser last week, EA’s launched a fully-extended trailer of Battleifield 3′s Operation Guillotine.

The trailer, which comes in at a fairly decent 1:42, contains footage captured from the Xbox 360 version of the DICE shooter.

This was the mission shown to us when we were at the developer in Stockholm earlier this month. Expect a writeup on that from us next week before we head to Eurogamer Expo.

This is seriously properly amazing stuff. Why on Earth this isn’t on your wanted list yet if it isn’t already is, quite simply, mind-boggling. Get watching below.

Battlefield 3 launches on October 25 in the US and October 28 in the UK for PS3, 360 and PC.

Story by Brian Ashcraft @ Kotaku.com.

UPDATE – Earlier this morning, a representative from Capcom Japan confirmed with Kotaku and Kotaku Japan that the trailer posted above was being shown in the company’s closed theatre at the Tokyo Game Show.

Contacted for further information, however, representatives from Capcom USA later informed Kotaku that they “could not comment on rumours or speculation”. Those “rumors” being the trailer in question.

As this discrepency casts doubt on the legitimacy of the clip, we have updated the story’s headline and content accordingly. Apologies for any confusion caused!

The above clip was shown today at Capcom’s TGS theater, which is running trailers for all its upcoming games.

It opened with the Resident Evil (née “Biohazard” in Japan) 15th anniversary logo, before showing the Capcom logo on the screen.

On a black screen, the following words appeared: “The world has seen all kinds of horror… Bio-organic weapons have taken over.”

A spinning blue earth appeared on screen.

“And one place has the key to stop it all,” read the next title card. An image appeared on the screen momentarily. It looked like some sort of lab or industrial area.

On the final title card, the following numbers appeared: 48.415802,-89.2673.

The camera pans up through what looked like falling debris to the Resident Evil 6 logo.

Back in 2009, it was mentioned that the inevitable Resident Evil 6 was going to be a complete reboot.

Apparently, Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi is not helming the sequel.

In fall 2010, former Capcom producer Keiji Inafune said there would be news about RE6 “shortly”.

The video was originally uploaded by YouTube user sdx4life.

Story by Liam Dunne @ XboxDailyNews.

THE BUZZ: Several people (Including myself) are being sent virus e-mails claiming to contain a beta code for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

The e-mail seems to of come from Microsoft, with Call Of Duty: Mw3 Beta in the subject line. You can view the e-mail here:  http://i.imgur.com/DnNXC.png and here: http://i.imgur.com/E9T01.png

If you click on any one of one of these links your information will be sent to the people who sent the e-mail.

GamerJunkie.net also wrote about this e-mail, however they called Microsoft and got several pieces of information backing up the fact that this is a phishing attack.

1. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Beta Codes were sent in June.

2. The email is sent from an address that has been hacked.

3. All of the links in the email are to phish your information.

4. The bottom of the email mentions Treyarch which has nothing to do with MW3.

5. The beta ends September 31st 2011. September 31st 2011 does not exist.

EGM’S TAKE:  While Phishing attacks are common nowadays, these hackers may come across someone who so desperately wants to play Mw3 they might click it, or they might come across a person who doesn’t know what’s going on, click the e-mail then get their info taken. We would just like to warn you if you get a message fitting this description don’t open it, just delete it straight away.

Story by Brian Crecente @ Kotaku.com.

The first thing I notice when I maneuver Sgt. Henry Blackburn, 1st Recon Marine, through the smoking door frame of the Tehran apartment complex isn’t the smoldering bodies lying on the ground nearby, it’s the piece of paper drifting through the room.

I follow it with the tip of my gun, watching it drift around the run down entry way, past an old wooden chair, a slightly flattened box, chipped and dirty walls. Someone took the time to create this piece of imaginary paper and the path it takes as it floats on imaginary crossdrafts in a video game about a future fictional battlefield in Iran.

I stop to jot down a few notes.

“Make my way to the apartment entrance,” I write. “Kinda skudgy. Debris and trash lying around. Paper fluttering the air. Carpet on the floor is rolled up in one corner. Old mattress lying in the hallway.”

Played on a Playstation 3, Battlefield 3 is a solid first-person shooter with tight controls, immersive sound and a hectic, driven storyline. But it’s the density of the game’s visuals that always stand out to me when I play this game.

This morning I had a chance to play a snapshot of the game, a ten minute or so demonstration of a level called Operation Guillotine. Hours earlier Luke Plunkett played and enthused about his time with the very same demo in Tokyo. So when I take the PS3 controller in hand here in New York I decide to meticulously pick my way through the brief time with the game.

Battlefield 3 takes place in a 2014 where the U.S. Marine Corps is fighting along the Iran-Iraq border. This particular missions opens up on what appears to be the evening of Oct. 31, 2014.

Blackburn is hunkered down among a group of other members of Misfit 1-3 preparing to storm a city in Iran’s Tehran Province. The particular build I’m playing on is a couple of weeks old, but still more than a month newer than the one Plunkett and I played in Germany at Gamescom.

The level opens with a low whistle. One of the other marines, looking with me at a massive city lit by bursts of gun fire, flak and explosions says, “That’s a big city. No gun truck yet.”

“Nope,” another marine says. “The wheels of change move slow.”

Seconds later we get the call to move down the hill, into the outskirts of the city and take the Khojir Apartment complex.

These opening, controllable moments of the level don’t give me a chance to fire a single shot. Instead I’m running down a hill with a mortar in both hands.

Explosions shake the ground as I run, some hit so close that I can feel the force of them pushing Blackburn slightly off course, like a boat hit by an unseen wave. Trees shudder in the wake of the blasts, some trees topple over, others burn, their leaves engulfed in flames, their trunks checkered with red embers.

The screen is flaked with smudges of dirt and mud.

Blackburn makes it to a clearing near a wall and drops the mortar on a spot, watching another marine drop a round into the tube. The round launches into the air, lighting the sky with a floating green flare.

I run Blackburn to the wall, to a man with his back against it, and press a button to get a boost over.

When Blackburn lands on the other side he’s got his weapon out. Down a hillside I can see marines in a firefight with opposition across a small gully. The enemy have taken up positions on a road, firing off pot shots at the men below.

I drop Blackburn to a knee and sight down the gun. I fire off three bullets, taking out two enemies with head shots and apparently winging the third. I’m aiming for a third headshot when another marine takes him down.

Moving Blackburn down the hillside I notice a group of enemies setting up much further down the gully, setting up an ambush along the path I’ll be taking once I get him to the floor below.

I drop Blackburn to his knee again and take aim. I squeeze the trigger and run into the only disappointment I end up finding in the brief demo. The bullet seems to miss. I aim carefully and fire another headshot. Nothing. I pump out an entire clip in short bursts at the distant enemy. Nothing.

Later I mention this to the public relations folks manning the demo. What’s the distance of rounds fired in Battlefield 3, I ask. The answer is a little vague and involves mentioning that the developers brought in ex-SAS operator Andy McNab to help with things like firing distance. In theory, rounds can’t go forever in the game. But I’m not convinced they lose trajectory over time. It felt more like they hit an invisible wall. EA says they’re looking into it for me.

It was a very distant enemy and not something I suspect you’d run into much in the campaign, so it felt more like an oddity than a problem.

Back in the game, I push Blackburn down the hill, into the gully and around the bend to face off with the enemies lying in wait. Running toward the enemies, a nearby blast momentarily blackens the screen, but I manage to take the enemies out quickly by switching to a shotgun.

Running Blackburn up a set of stairs out of the gully culvert and within sight of the target apartment complex. But first there’s a group of enemy shooting at us from a sandbox foxhole.

I take them out and proceed to the outskirts of the apartment complex.

Running up the entrance stairs, I’m walking toward the doors when another marine runs up and tosses a grenade through a side window. The blast shoots three or four bodies through a wall of windows. A second later the door bursts open and a burning man runs into the clearing dropping to my feet before dying.

I walk through the door and for a moment I’m distracted from the death, the gunshots, the timbre of war, by a floating piece of paper. I take my notes and then push Blackburn forward, down a dirty hall littered with newspapers, boxes, mattresses, furniture. I move him toward a door, noting for a second the bugs flying slowly around the light.

At the door, the game tells me to press a button to knock it in. When I press it, the door kicks not in, but back toward me, knocking Blackburn on his ass. Time slows for an instant and I see another man, not a Marine, standing over me with a rifle, he’s moving it down toward me, when I hear a gunshot and he’s blown off his feet and back.

As I fell I apparently pulled the trigger in surprise and hit the guy in the chest. Laying on my back I aim and take down two other men in the hall before getting back up.

I run through the hallway, past the dead and through a back door. A humvee awaits me. On the ground nearby a marine is on his knees leaning over the prone body of another, slowly, methodically giving him CPR. I count to 15 chest compressions in my head before turning away and boarding the vehicle.

Story by Johnny Cullen @ VG247.com.

Capcom’s dropped the TGS gameplay trailer for Street Fighter x Tekken, New characters confirmed for the fighter in the video include Rolento, Ibuki, Heihachi, Kuma and Zangief, all of Street Fighter and Tekken fame except new character Rolento. The new gameplay modes include 2 on 2 Dual Battles, Scramble Mode – think of this as SF’s version of the Tornado tag matches in the old WWE Smackdown games – online training mode Briefing and Pandora, where you sacrifice your partner for a huge power boost. This is properly looking awesome.

The Capcom-Namco collaboration is out next year for PS3, 360 and Vita. The video’s below.