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A rumor yesterday, an official trailer today: it's the new co-op mode for Call of Duty: Ghosts. We'll be shooting aliens. Read more...

Batman: Arkham Origins topples GTA 5 to become the UK No. 1, although it does so with only around half the first week sales of Arkham City. Chart Track says Origins' opening week "almost exactly" matches that of first Arkham game Asylum. Some bat-stats: Origins shipped 6 million units by the close of 2011, and Asylum 4.3 million at last count.

We should note those Origins sales do include the Blackgate Vita game, but no other platforms beyond Xbox 360 and PS3; the Wii U, packaged PC, and 3DS versions are all delayed in the UK until November 8. Holy technicalities, Batman!

As for the rest of the charts, it's the kind of week where one big name game shifts all of the top 5 down one place - a bit quiet. However, everything changes next month, starting this coming week. We'll soon see the arrivals of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Super Mario 3D World, A Link Between Worlds - and those are just the games coming out on consoles already out. In a word, next month is going to be loco.

PC owners with an itch for leveling up and a lot of free time are in luck this week - Gamefly has several bundles with some deep discounts, so long as you use the promo code GFDOCT20 during checkout. The Witcher series can be collectively snagged for $17.99, both Torchlight games can be looted for $13.99, and the Mass Effect Trilogy's price tag has gone Paragon at $13.99. Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition (and a sadness simulator) can also be had for $9.99, while Deus Ex and Deus Ex: Invisible War can be had with couch change at $3.49.

If you're a Steam user, you have until tomorrow to pick through the sale for publisher Deep Silver's catalog. Offers include Saints Row 4 at $24.99, the Metro franchise and its DLC for $36.84, and the Dead Island games and their DLC for $33.49.

If you need to gear up for the Xbox One launch, GamerDeals found an Amazon promotion that pairs a $20 code for Xbox Live with the purchase of a 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscription. The offer is good until November 9, so if you don't have the cash now, no worries!

Lastly, console owners can gruesomely rip a chunk off the price tag for the 360, PS3 and Vita versions of Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition for $14.99. If you'd rather spout comic-worthy one-liners while dealing out death, Injustice: Gods Among Us is on sale for the 360, PS3 and Wii U for under $40.

Batman does a bit more detective work in his new game. Good thing? Bad thing? Take a look as Evan Narcisse and I show you what's new in Batman Arkham Origins.Read more...

The upcoming Wii U platformer Super Mario 3D World, like many other Nintendo games, won't have online multiplayer. If you want to play with other people, you'll have to do it in the same room.Read more...

The people who make Super Mario 3D World want you to know that it's pretty great.Read more...

Toy Ghost has added a new donation tier to its ongoing Boogerman 20th Anniversary Kickstarter campaign, awarding an exclusive co-op mode featuring 16-bit platforming star Earthworm Jim to backers who pledge $40 or more.

The new mode is available as a backer-exclusive add-on, and is not included as part of the core Boogerman revival itself. The pack adds Earthworm Jim as a playable partner character, along with a batch of exclusive levels designed for co-op play. Backers will also receive a t-shirt emblazoned with EWJ and Boogerman himself.

This crowdfunded team-up marks the first time Boogerman and Earthworm Jim have worked together since 1997's Clayfighter 63 1/3 for the Nintendo 64. Regarding Boogerman's oddly clean-shaven look in the picture above, Toy Ghost notes that the team "forced him to clean up a bit for the picture." Earthworm Jim has standards, after all.

Earthworm Jim creator Doug TenNapel wrapped up his own Kickstarter campaign earlier this year for the Neverhood follow-up game Armikrog. Since its launch last week, the Boogerman 20th Anniversary Kickstarter project has earned over $25,000 toward its funding goal of $375,000.

The PlayStation 3 and PS4 incarnations of Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed 4 will both feature exclusive downloadable content additions - but only for six months.

That time limit is stated plainly in the above PlayStation 4 ad. At the 1:19 mark, the ad trumpets "60 minutes of exclusive gameplay" only found in PlayStation 4 version of Assassin's Creed IV, but as the footnote explains this exclusivity is valid for six months. A similar scene focused on Watch Dogs plays out seconds later.

As Shacknews points out, this isn't necessarily a guarantee that these DLC packs will find their way to Microsoft- and Nintendo-branded consoles. Ubisoft could ignore other platforms once the exclusivity agreement ends, though that makes little financial sense if Assassin's Creed IV and Watch Dogs are the big hits Ubisoft intends them to be.

Yeah, the name could have been snappier, but if you're in need of a new Wii U game to look out for, they don't get more promising than this.Read more...

This is a Deja Review: A quick, unscored look at the new features and relative agelessness of a remade, revived or re-released game. Two years ago, we called Deus Ex: Human Revolution an "imperfect, complex and ambitious reminder of what a game can be when it's unafraid." Eidos Montreal didn't hold our hands, didn't string us from Waypoint A to Waypoint B so we could kill Bad Guy C. It trusted players to be intelligent and curious, and constructed a bleak, fascinating world that needed to be explored.

Now, in 2013, with a "Director's Cut" of Human Revolution available for Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, most of its "imperfect" aspects have been smoothed over, improving what was already a great experience. Even so, the addition of second screen features introduce a handful of new, albeit smaller, problems.

Boy howdy, the ability to take selfies in Wind Waker HD is the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it?Read more...

Deliver fists full of justice this week with Batman: Arkham Origins...

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Warner Bros uncowled (it's a word) a walkthrough video of Batman: Arkham Origins, ahead of the dark knight's new adventure coming to retail shelves this week. WB Montreal Senior Producer Ben Mattis and Gameplay Director Michael McIntyre are your tour guides, taking you through a fulsome 17 minutes of the studio's prequel chapter in the Arkham saga. Spoiler warnings ahoy: The vid introduces iconic elements like the Batcave and Batwing, and takes you through a mission in which the Bat has to deal with a corrupt SWAT team who, like the villains, are also after the bounty placed on the hero's head.

Arkham Origins swoops into stores on Friday, October 25, on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, and PC. UK heroes-to-be will have to wait until November 8 for the Wii U and boxed PC versions.

Considering we're knee-deep in silly season, it's surprisingly quiet in the UK charts this week. Grand Theft Auto 5 makes it two weeks in a row and three in all as the country's best-seller, despite a 31 percent drop in sales from last week. Meanwhile FIFA 14 holds on to second place, and below those two it's practically an unchanged top ten. Still, there are some nuggets of interest to unearth.

The biggest mover and shaker is Skylanders: Swap Force, the third major outing in the ridicu-lucrative toy-based series. While it doesn't move and shake enough to displace the top two, it debuts in third place ahead of Pokemon X, Y and Beyond: Two Souls. UK sales compiler Chart Track offers a couple of interesting stats on Swap Force, the first that it sold 35 percent less than previous entry Giants. As for the second, have a guess which of the game's gajillion platforms earned the most sales. If you said the Wii - with 37 percent for the record - give yourself a pat on the back and at least one sprinkled donut.

Move outside the top ten and you immediately find Sonic: Lost World, just missing out in 11th. That's a combination of the significantly different Wii U and 3DS games, and a peek at the individual formats chart shows the console game in 15th and its handheld sibling in 28th. The blue blur's new adventure doesn't roll into North America until next week on October 29.

Warning! Challenger approaching! And it's Xerneas, the 16-point Pokébuck who debuted in Pokémon X (and on its cover) last week, so look for him in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Masahiro Sakurai, the game's creator, posted that image to the game's Miiverse feed; it was then published to its official page.Read more...

The last time David Kotkin offered a public look at his Delta Six gun controller, it looked much as you'd expect: beige plastic, brightly colored buttons, and a garish, silver directional pad jutting from the side. Having raised nearly twice his $100,000 goal on Kickstarter, Kotkin made a few changes. The more realistic, new Delta Six includes bright red caps at the end of its barrel to help others determine whether you're playing a video game or planning a paramilitary raid, but otherwise it's the sort of detailed, carbon black hardware that you'd expect to see in the hands of a modern soldier.

Kotkin claims the Delta Six will be available for purchase by the end of the year, but in the meantime, he has created a pre-order page for those players willing to spend $265 for such a meticulously detailed faux gun.

The Wii U and boxed PC versions of Batman: Arkham Origins have been delayed to November 8 in the UK, CVG reported. The Xbox 360, PS3 and digital PC versions of the game will still launch on October 25. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate has also been delayed to November 8 on 3DS, but not on Vita.

That's not the case for North American players, however. A Warner Bros. representative told Joystiq that "Batman: Arkham Origins will launch on all platforms in North America on October 25." Warner Bros. did not provide a reason for the delay for its UK audience.

How To Survive is an isometric survival game that pits players against hordes of shambling undead, and as this new trailer points out, the best defense in a situation like that usually involves teamwork, resourcefulness and enough firepower to make George Patton salute from beyond the grave.

Interplay-developed Boogerman will reach its 20th anniversary next year, and to celebrate, its original creators are looking to develop a new game, funded by Kickstarter.

Like the original Sega Genesis, Mega Drive and SNES game, Boogerman 20th Anniversary will have players guiding Snotty Ragsdale through nasty platforming levels like pus palace, the naval caverns and the mucus mountains. Developers Mike Stragey and Chris Tremmel, who have since worked at a number of studios such as Activision, EA and WayForward, say the game will be a brand new HD experience with new mechanics and levels like swimming and minecart-riding. Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country 64 composer Grant Kirkhope will create the game's soundtrack as well.

Boogerman 20th Anniversary is estimated to arrive in November 2014 for PC, Mac, PS4, Vita and Wii U. The developer is looking to raise $375,000 by November 20 in order to bring the project to life, and has a Greenlight page set up to gain community approval for release on Steam.

A number of Ubisoft's games from this fiscal year are selling less than the publisher targeted, including Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Rayman: Legends. Those were the games name-checked by CFO Alain Martinez when pressed on the company's adjusted forecasts in the wake of delays to Watch Dogs and The Crew.

"We have had games that were released for which we anticipate today lower sales than we anticipated when we gave our first targets," Martinez said during an investors' conference call. When asked to clarify which games he was talking about, he added, "Already released games such as, of course, Splinter Cell, Rayman, and others."

Ubisoft adjusted its averaged revenue forecasts for this fiscal year by €415 million, around $561 million, and expects to make an operating loss rather than a profit. The publisher stated this was principally due to the surprise delays to Watch Dogs and The Crew.

Ubisoft delayed the once Wii U-exclusive Rayman Legends to bring to other platforms and gain more sales. Meanwhile, Splinter Cell: Blacklist placed fourth in August's NPD charts, selling less than Madden 25, Saints Row 4, and Disney Infinity.

When the next entry in the Mass Effect franchise inevitably arrives, it will feature a brand new story unrelated to Commander Shepard and his or her crew of sexually promiscuous extraterrestrials.

Mac Walters, lead writer for the franchise, was asked by Complex where BioWare plans to take the series' plot now that it's been revealed that Commander Shepard is no longer leading things. "... the idea is that we have agreed to tell a story that doesn't relate necessarily to any of the Shepard events at all, whatsoever," replied Walters. "But throughout it all, one of the key things is that it has to be Mass Effect. It can't just feel like a spin-off. It has to feel like a Mass Effect game at its heart, at its core."

"Just without the Shepard character or the Shepard-specific companions," added Walters.

The writer was then asked for his opinion on fan backlash toward the ending of Mass Effect 3, a response that gave Walters and his colleagues at BioWare a greater appreciation for just how much people care about the pixelated people he writes. "I think that's one of the things we really underestimated, which was how much ownership people would take over a character that they could do that," said Walters. "You know, you've been given free choice to make all these decisions with this character, with the fates of millions of people, and then, you don't get to choose your own fate."

"I'm not saying that our decision was wrong or right," said Walters. "I think we just underestimated the impact that would have on certain players."

Ubisoft's new Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag story trailer shows a colorful Caribbean setting, the game's young captain's fight for glory and how he got drawn into the war between the Assassins and Templars. An action packed trailer, so what better song than "Two Steps From Hell?"Read more...

Nothing against tea-bagging in first-person shooters other than it being played out, stupid-looking and annoying. But I guess it's also super-hilarious, hence this immortal awards show moment a couple of years ago. Uproarious!Read more...

Troy Baker, amateur opera singer and voice of the Joker in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins, gave a live demonstration of his vocal talents to New York Comic-Con attendees, and the results are ... well, skip to 2:12 in the above video and see for yourself.

The speech Baker reads in the video is from a one-shot Batman comic called "The Killing Joke," written by Alan Moore. In the comic, the monologue begins while Joker tortures Commissioner Gordon by chaining him to a carnival ride and forcing him to view pictures of his daughter Barbara Gordon (who at the time was also Batgirl), naked and paralyzed from a gunshot wound Joker inflicted on her. So yeah, it's kind of dark material.

If you watch before Baker gives his performance, you'll also see him describe the audition process. Apparently, Baker didn't even know who he was auditioning for until part-way through. "I remember that, walking into an audition and I think that, actually, it wasn't even Joker, it was a character whose name was just 'Jack,'" Baker said. It wasn't too long before Baker realized what he was reading, as well as the pressure he was under.

Baker also sings a little jingle at the end of the video, which we'll recite for you now: "Some say I am good. Some say I am evil, even more so than the Sith. But I suppose you'll all find out on October 25th."

Troy Baker, who has replaced Mark Hamill as the Joker in the next big Batman Arkham video game, and who has replaced Nolan North as the ubiquitous voice-actor who seems to star in every other major game, read some lines at New York Comic Con yesterday. And not just any lines. Some lines the great Alan Moore wrote for the Joker in the seminal graphic novel The Killing Joke. Enjoy.Read more...

It's taken 40 long years, but it's finally happened. I've finally become an adult, and it's all thanks to the latest Skylanders game. I just don't understand the Swap Force.Read more...

Doctor Strange will put a spell on Marvel Pinball this December when he fights his rival, Baron Mordo, and the demonic forces he will call forth in an effort to earn the title of Sorcerer Supreme. The battle will span across the Vita, PS3, 360, Wii U, Android, iOS and OSX platforms.

Baron Mordo will enlist the help of Dormammu and Nightmare in his effort to stop Doctor Strange from being, you know, alive. The Lovecraftian Shuma-Gorath will loom in the table's background, surely only to bide his time before asking Doctor Strange for a friendly comparison of high scores.

Back in February, Two Tribes planned to bring a level editor to the Wii U version of Toki Tori 2 in its free "plus" update. However, the developer recently announced the Wii U won't be receiving the game's level editor feature after all, citing poor sales for the game on the platform as the biggest reason for the change in plans.

Two Tribes also noted technical issues and "missing features" in the console's Miiverse system, creating more challenges for developing the level editor it wanted for Toki Tori 2+. "We obviously wanted to use Miiverse for level sharing as everybody has access to it," the developer said. Among the problems with Miiverse, it said that "it wasn't possible to start the game from a level posted in Miiverse," though "something like this might be possible in the future."

The developer considered using its own servers as well, but that solution wound up being "way out of scope." Additionally, Two Tribes said that while Steam integration on Wii U would at least allow Wii U players to play custom levels created by those on Steam, after talking with both Valve and Nintendo it found the idea to be a "dead end" as well.

To make up for it, the developer said it will now give away free keys to the Steam version of the game to Wii U players. All players need to do is head to either of the related European or US-based Miiverse posts for Toki Tori 2+, post a message with their Steam ID and then email tokitori2@twotribes.com with their Steam ID and a link to the post. Two Tribes will manually message players with a Steam key, doing so "as long as we feel is necessary."

Shovel Knight may have a relatively quaint exterior, but don't let its apparent simplicity fool you.

At first it appears Shovel Knight is something of a Ducktales clone, with the eponymous knight bouncing about on his shovel like Scrooge with his cane. The knight can only bounce when hitting an enemy or specific in-game objects, however, and most of his attacks are reserved to lashing out and striking enemies with his scooper.

Every inch inspired by the traditional 8-bit platformer, Shovel Knight does fall back on established design tropes. Disappearing blocks and bottomless pits abound, for example. But the game is pleasantly distinct.

Most of Nintendo's platforms are getting new games on the eShop this week, even the lonely DSi. Let's face it though, the only games that matter are Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. We declared the games "hands-down the best in the series," so Pokéfans will definitely want to pick those up.

What else are you going to play, Tennis? Golf? No, really, the NES versions of Tennis and Golf are out on Wii U Virtual Console too.