Weekly Recap Jan 22nd: Co-Op Games Of 2011 Preview, Gears Of War Exiled, Orion Prelude

A big week in gaming news as the third week of January finishes up. Epic’s new copyright for Gears of War Exiled has led many to speculate about what the next step for the franchise will be after the third game. Meanwhile, an indie studio wants to bring the fun back to the FPS genre with something that aims to mix in the dynamics of competitive multiplayer FPS titles such as Halo and Unreal Tournament but with all the shameless fun from out-running and gunning down giant dinosaurs while using mechs and four-wheeled jeeps. That’s right, the fun is being put back into the shooter genre with Orion Prelude. And a big list of cooperative multiplayer titles coming out in 2011 for your favorite consoles has been compiled over at Co-Optimus. These stories and more in this January 22nd, 2011 edition of the Gaming Blend Weekly Recap.

Sunday

Sequence: Rhythm-RPG Coming To Xbox 360 In March. You dance your way to victory and thwarting evil.

Fight Night Champion Unleashes Face Shattering Screenshots. Just looking at the screenshots make my face hurt.

Orion Prelude Coming To PC, PS3 And Xbox 360 This Summer. If you’re into straight-up fun shooters then Orion Prelude is the game for you.

Co-op Games of 2011 Preview. A must-read article from Co-Optimus featuring all the cooperative titles worth playing in 2011.

Monday

Hostile Sector 3D Turn-Based, Browser MMORPG Coming Soon. Channeling the likes of classic strategy games such as Jagged Alliance and X-Com.

Homefront Box Art Released For Xbox 360, PS3 And PC. Get a first-hand glimpse at the new

Microsoft Enhanced Silver Xbox 360 Controller Receives Screenshots, Trailer. Get a better look at the new controller, which is due out this March.

Nintendo Downloads: Animal Boxing, Urbanix Join Line-up. It may not be the most appealing of games but hey, it’s there for those who want to try it.

Tuesday

Dawn Of War II Retribution Multiplayer Beta Begins January 31st. Say ‘I’ if you plan on signing up. I know I will.

Eidos Says Deus Ex Human Revolution Has More Than 25 Hours Of Gameplay. Simply amazing…now that’s how an RPG should be done.

Bejeweled Blitz Live Announced For Xbox 360. They just can’t let Bejeweled go.

L.A. Noire Interrogation Screenshots Released. It’s tough getting a feel for this game with screenshots but they’re still worth oogling over.

Gears of War Triple Pack Announced. For $29.99 you get too much stuff for me to list here. Check it out for yourself.

PS3 Portal 2 Has Cross Platform Play And Chat. Now that’s a bold step in a good direction. Nice Valve.

Wednesday

Gears of War Exiled Revealed. What’s this, a brand new Gears of War game?

IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Announced for PC. This is easily one of the hardest flight sim franchises ever, and a new sequel will keep gamers frustrated and entertained for a few more hours.

Nintendo 3DS release Date, Price Announced for North America. How soon will you be able to pick up a 3DS? Click the link to find out.

SOCOM 4 Multiplayer Beta Access Bundled With KillZone 3. Almost forgot about SOCOM 4…it’s good to know it’s still getting a little bit of exposure.

WWE All Stars Release Date Announced For Wii, PS2, PS3 And Xbox 360. New school superstars versus old-school superstars all wrapped up in one big package.

Bizarre Creations Closure Likely. Even though everyone loved Blur there’s still no hope for the developers.

Ridge Racer 3D Announced for Nintendo 3DS. Namco is reviving the classic arcade racer for Nintendo’s new handheld.

Capcom’s Nintendo 3DS Launch Line-Up Unveiled. Two new games from Capcom planned to launch alongside the 3DS.

Dawn of Fantasy Next Gen MMORTS Release Date Detailed. City sieges, PvP and a whole lot of diplomatic stuff makes Dawn of Fantasy a true next gen title.

Tron Studio Shut Down By Disney. Propaganda Games can’t recover from the poor sales of the movie-based game and goes the way of being derezzed.

Thursday

Hudson Unveils Nintendo 3DS Line-Up. Bomberman leads the pack with three new Hudsonsoft titles for the upcoming 3DS.

Peter Molyneux To Receive 2011 GDC Lifetime Achievement Award. I suppose he deserves it. Warren Spector might be a little more deserving of it, though.

Final Fantasy XIII 2 Teaser Trailer Released. Ah, Square will you never learn?

Champions Online Star Trek Online LifeTime Subscriptions Announced. For the low-low price of $239.99 you can play for as long as you like whenever you like. Yep.

ExerBeat Announced For Nintendo Wii. Another fitness game to help tone you up while you put in some seirous gaming hours.

GTTV Adds New Segments And Technology Focus For New Season. Geoff and crew will be introducing some brand new segments for the popular TV show.

Hearts of Iron III Motherland Announced. Paradox keeps rolling out new iterations of the popular strategy title.

Metal Assault Beta Sign-Up Open; Debut Trailer Released. Want a little more Metal Slug in your MMO gaming? Well, you’ve got your wish with Metal Assault.

Friday

Duke Nukem Forever Release Date Announced. It’s about time…seriously, it is.

Mortal Kombat Official Release Date Set For Xbox 360 and PS3. Two big games get final release dates…which one do you think people care more about? (see bold text above).

Black Prophecy Behind The Scenes With Voice Acting. There’s also a lot of walking through claustrophobic hallways but that’s another story.

Turtle Beach Unveils 2011 Gaming Headsets For Xbox 360 and PS3. They’re also compatible with PCs and Macs.

Crysis 2 Multiplayer Demo Is An Xbox 360 Exclusive. Sorry PS3 owners, you have to pay to play this one.

Saturday

Vindictus Blood Lord Football Expansion Now Available. New raid bosses with increased player raids…up to six now.

XBLA Fans Most Anticipated 2011 XBLA Game Release Master List. A complete rundown of all the noteworthy XBLA titles for 2011…wow.

MicroBot Co-op Review. More cooperative gaming courtesy of Co-Optimus.

LittleBigPlanet 2 Co-op Review. Find out how the cooperative functions of LBP2 plays out with a new review.

Silicon Sisters First Game Demoed At GDC, 2011. Time-management, real-time strategy, action, adventure, point and click? What could it possibly be?

Rumor: L.A. Noire Release Date Is May 17th. Now here’s some interesting news…let’s hope it turns out to be true.

That wraps up this edition of the Weekly Recap here at Gaming Blend. We close out this week with a brand new debut gameplay trailer for impressive looking MMORPG, Dreamland Online. Check it out below.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.