We can call them that, can’t we?

We’ve redefined industry terminology many times in the past, and three famous international publishers — Electronic Arts, Activision, and Square-Enix — “ are presenting a strong reason to do so again. They’re purchasing developers who provide considerably different titles than what they’re already known for, and this habit of consolidating the industry shows no sign of stopping.

It isn’t anything new, though these aforementioned juggernauts are heading in intriguing and different directions. For quite some time, EA was known for its mediocre releases, and they were mostly sports-related. Madden and NBA Live were their most notorious titles, while their college and Tiger Woods releases didn’t fare much better. That’s changed, and drastically. The upcoming Mirror’s Edge and Dead Space have been talked about numerous times (both here on TNL and everywhere else), and they’re even trying new things with their tired sports games.

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Includes first ever footage of ALIENS: Colonial Marines!

If you’ve never seen the Jace Hall Show before, you’ve been missing out one of the most insane and hilarious video game related shows to ever hit the internet. So you might as well start with the final because it’s only going to leave you wanting more.  This week, Jace visits Gearbox and Id Software in Texas to get some peeks at ALIENS: Colonial Marines, Borderlands, Doom 4, and a very special ‘live demo’ of Rage that’s not to be missed.  Plus the legendary John Carmack busts out his judo skills!

Check it out.

Save the galaxy from the comfort of home.

I always thought Meteos looked like a slick puzzle game, superior to the more hip but less charming Lumines, but what’s a guy without a DS to do?  Now Q Entertainment has decided to give XBLA a little more love with Meteos Wars, an expanded version of the DS game where you slide, stack, and ignite your blocks to take care of those annoying doomsday meteors.  Be a master of the combos and power-ups, then take care of your friends in multiplayer.  All the while exploring this colorful galaxy. (more…)

The Harvest Moon presell goodie couldn’t be cuter.

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness comes out this week for the DS and, for those who reserved it or are in good with their local game store employees, it comes with a chicken.  Natsume has a long-standing tradition of making good with the presell swag, and with both a DS and Wii Harvest Moon coming out within a few weeks of each other they’ve stepped up with a brand-new stuffed critter as well as the re-issue of a classic.  For fans of the series who love their swag, the chicken is available right now.  It’s super-cute, round as a flattened ball, and the chick is attached securely to the left wing.  The game ships August 26th for in-store on the 27th, so at the time of this writing there’s still a chance to get to the store and snag one to call your own.

You’ve got a little more time if cows are more your speed.  Natsume is reissuing the Harvest Moon cow plushie as the presell goodie for the Wii’s Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility, due in-store September 17th.  It’s the happiest cow in the world, and makes any room it’s in better for its presence.

Four player XBLA madness is nearly at hand.

You may remember Alien Hominid, either fondly for it’s unique art style or unfondly for it’s punishing difficulty.  Either way it was hard to forget a pesky alien chomping off the heads of FBI agents on his way to get back home in a Metal Slug style side-scrolling adventure.  Now the same team have turned their attention to classic beat ‘em ups like Golden Axe and Guardian Heroes to create one of the most colorful and most massive experiences to hit Xbox Live Arcade.

I was only privileged to play Castle Crashers for a few minutes at E3, and then only alone, but I was still awed by the sharp animation of the high resolution 2D art with humor etched into every exaggerated gasp and eager bash.  The gameplay was just as good with plenty of melee, ranged, and magic attacks to mix up your arsenal, and a cute little helper bobbing over your shoulder.  The Mario World style overworld map seemed to scroll forever with dozens of possible locations, all of which I’ll be exploring with my buddies online and off in only twelve hours from now, for the measely cost of 1200 points.

You should too.  Don’t miss what is going to be the downloadable game of the year.