Gaming Blend Monthly Recap: January, 2012

We're finishing off the very first month of 2012 and it has been an exciting month to say the least. January came bustling onto the scene with a vengeance, playing host to revelations, unveils, announcements and a few rumors that will carry some weight throughout 2012.

This monthly recap is a short collection of some of the news highlights throughout the month for those of you who may have missed out on them when they originally hit the net. You can catch up on the important stuff with the links provided below.

A few keynote highlights includes the Consumer Electronics Show that took place early on in the month where Microsoft flattened the poorly circulated rumors about a console announcement. There was also the surprise announcement from Razer about their new hardcore gaming tablet, which can run the latest and greatest video games while on the go. These exciting stories and more in this first edition of the Gaming Blend Monthly Recap.

January 1st - 7th: God of War IV, Coolest Game Trailers of 2011, XCOM Rebooted Again God of War IV surfaces on a resume indicating that an announcement is quite imminent. We round up some of the coolest game trailers from 2011 and 2K announces that a new version of XCOM is in the works for turn-based strategy fans. A review of Heavy Fire Afghanistan is also available as well as news about the developers behind Bastion leaving all plans for a sequel on the cutting room floor.

January 8th - 14th: CES 2012 Reveals, Razer's Fiona Tablet announced, No PS4 at E3 2012 This was probably one of the most shocking, information-filled CES events in a long time. Sony blatantly confirmed that they would not be announcing any new consoles at this year's E3. Razer does just the opposite of Sony and announces a new gaming device for core gamers, and a few additional gadgets and gizmos get revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012.

January 15th - 21st: Steampunk Batman, Ong Bak Game, Katy Perry Joins The Sims This was probably one of the weirder weeks of the month, especially with Electronic Arts and Katy Perry signing on to collaborate in a new expansion pack for The Sims. To wash the idea out of the minds of core gamers, HIVE Studios announced that they would be working with Tony Jaa on a 3D fighting game based on the Ong Bak movies. Also, concept art surfaces for a cancelled steampunk-inspired Batman game.

January 22nd - 28th: No More MS Points? Xbox 720 Release Date, BlizzCon Cancelled The last recap of the month came to an end with a shocking revelation that Microsoft will be getting rid of Microsoft Points by the end of 2012. More rumors surface about the next Xbox console launching in the fall of 2013, plus additional information is revealed regarding the hardware that the Xbox 720 may be running on including rumors of a modified AMD HD Radeon 6670. Gearbox and Sega delay Aliens: Colonial Marines to a fall release and Blizzard has become so overwhelmed with projects, including the new content pack for StarCraft II and the release of Diablo III, that they had to cancel BlizzCon 2012 in order to focus on actually finishing their games on time.