New Releases in Stores

Based on an episode of the popular animated series in which baby genius Stewie and talking dog Brian visit a number of parallel universes, Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse finds the duo chasing Stewie's megalomaniacal rival Bertram through ten different multiverses in an attempt to save Quahog from destruction. The third-person 3D action mixes elements of platforming and puzzle solving with combat and shooting, complete with upgradeable weapons, and PS3 players can switch between Brian and Stewie at any time, or join a friend for co-op action.

Featuring a story penned by the show's writers, and voice work from the entire TV cast, Back to the Multiverse is designed to retain the tone and humor of the animated series, exemplified by the universe in which Bertram offers fast-growing trees to the Amish to get them to attack Brian and Stewie. Solo gamers can also take on the "Infiltration" and "Multiverse Madness" modes, while up to four can chose from ten characters and engage in local multiplayer battles. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

This compilation from Namco Bandai Games offers remastered, high-definition remakes of the early 2000s fighting titles Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3. The original title lets gamers battle with more than 20 characters and pull off more than 60 different moves with each warrior, while Budokai 3 brings the roster to more than 40 fighters and allows character customization. Both games now offer full achievement support, updated soundtracks, and optional Japanese soundtracks. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

This compilation from Namco Bandai Games offers remastered, high-definition remakes of the early 2000s fighting titles Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3. The original title lets gamers battle with more than 20 characters and pull off more than 60 different moves with each warrior, while Budokai 3 brings the roster to more than 40 fighters and allows character customization. Both games now offer full trophy support, updated soundtracks, and optional Japanese soundtracks. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Microsoft's iconic space marine Master Chief returns to begin a new trilogy as gamers head to the Forerunner planet Requiem and battle a force more powerful than anything humanity has ever faced in Halo 4. Set four years after the Covenant War, the Campaign mode finds up to four players working together to help Master Chief battle a variety of foes, uncover ancient secrets, and deal with Cortana's instability. Halo 4 also includes the new Spartan Ops co-op multiplayer mode, in which up to four gamers can join forces for weekly objective-based missions and cutscenes.

Competitive multiplayer remains a key part of the Halo experience, with players creating their own Spartan-IV warrior and then accruing experience by taking part in various game modes. The War Games mode fits into the overall narrative, serving as a large training simulator in which Spartan warriors fight one another in a variety of multiplayer game types, including Slayer, Regicide, and Infinity Slayer. Players can now completely customize their loadouts with a primary weapon, secondary weapon, grenade, and a variety of armor upgrades like jet-pack boosting, camouflage, and a new kind of X-ray vision.

Gamers can equip new abilities by earning Spartan Points, and all the experience they accrue allows them to progress from level one to level fifty. When players hit level 50 they unlock Specializations, which, over the course of ten more levels, give them the ability to further customize their characters into eight specific classes like Pioneer, Rogue, and Operator. There are ten basic multiplayer maps, but an updated version of the Forge mode returns to once again let creative gamers edit and share their own map designs. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Ubisoft's epic struggle between Assassins and Templars heads to a new location and a new era as gamers take control of Ratonhnhaké:ton, also known as Connor Kenway, a half-Mohawk and half-English rebel who battles for the liberation of his people in the years before, during, and after the American Revolution. Assassin's Creed III finds players bounding through the trees of a sprawling frontier wilderness, battling enemies throughout the fledgling cities of Boston and New York and the fields of Lexington and Concord, and engaging in naval combat along the roiling Eastern Seaboard.

Created for Assassin's Creed III, Ubisoft's new Anvil Next game engine was designed to offer more fluid action, allowing for seamless transitions as Connor switches weapons, battles groups of foes, clambers over forest snags, and performs stealth kills. Gamers can make use of a variety of new weapons, including more advanced firearms, rope darts, and classic bows, but Connor is a dual-wield specialist whose signature blade is his new tomahawk. New assassination and fighting techniques abound, but new features like mobile hay carts and the ability to run through buildings ensure that stealth and evasion are still key components of the series.

The mission structure in Assassin's Creed III remains relatively similar to previous titles in the series, with targeted assassinations, side missions to help the downtrodden, and platforming sessions inside iconic buildings, but one big change is the addition of naval warfare. As the commander of a ship, Connor can engage in a variety of sea-based missions that include navigating minefields, boarding enemy vessels, and large-scale ship-on-ship assaults. All of the action can be dramatically altered by a new system of dynamic weather, with thick fog and giant waves providing cover but also making assaults more difficult.

Connor's travels throughout the colonies will put him in contact with iconic figures of the American Revolution, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere, but as always, the entirety of his 30-year experience as an Assassin is witnessed through the DNA memory of Desmond Miles, who players will also take control of for the portions of the game set in 2012. Multiplayer action returns to the series with a variety of modes, including Domination mode, in which PS3 gamers vie for control of certain points on the map, and the Wolf Pack mode, where teams work together to assassinate NPC targets. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Ubisoft's epic struggle between Assassins and Templars heads to a new location and a new era as gamers take control of Ratonhnhaké:ton, also known as Connor Kenway, a half-Mohawk and half-English rebel who battles for the liberation of his people in the years before, during, and after the American Revolution. Assassin's Creed III finds players bounding through the trees of a sprawling frontier wilderness, battling enemies throughout the fledgling cities of Boston and New York and the fields of Lexington and Concord, and engaging in naval combat along the roiling Eastern Seaboard.

Created for Assassin's Creed III, Ubisoft's new Anvil Next game engine was designed to offer more fluid action, allowing for seamless transitions as Connor switches weapons, battles groups of foes, clambers over forest snags, and performs stealth kills. Gamers can make use of a variety of new weapons, including more advanced firearms, rope darts, and classic bows, but Connor is a dual-wield specialist whose signature blade is his new tomahawk. New assassination and fighting techniques abound, but new features like mobile hay carts and the ability to run through buildings ensure that stealth and evasion are still key components of the series.

The mission structure in Assassin's Creed III remains relatively similar to previous titles in the series, with targeted assassinations, side missions to help the downtrodden, and platforming sessions inside iconic buildings, but one big change is the addition of naval warfare. As the commander of a ship, Connor can engage in a variety of sea-based missions that include navigating minefields, boarding enemy vessels, and large-scale ship-on-ship assaults. All of the action can be dramatically altered by a new system of dynamic weather, with thick fog and giant waves providing cover but also making assaults more difficult.

Connor's travels throughout the colonies will put him in contact with iconic figures of the American Revolution, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere, but as always, the entirety of his 30-year experience as an Assassin is witnessed through the DNA memory of Desmond Miles, who players will also take control of for the portions of the game set in 2012. Multiplayer action returns to the series with a variety of modes, including Domination mode, in which Xbox 360 gamers vie for control of certain points on the map, and the Wolf Pack mode, where teams work together to assassinate NPC targets. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The development team behind Burnout Paradise takes control of EA's long-running racing series to let gamers run from the cops and outrace their friends through the open-world of Fairhaven City in Need for Speed: Most Wanted. With no story mode, and nearly every vehicle available from the outset, players are encouraged to jump right into the action with high-speed races, police chases, massive billboard jumps, and car-specific events. Players acquire Speed Points and level up as they race, eventually earning the right to take on ten supercars driven by the Most Wanted Racers.

Cars can be upgraded with a variety of mods, including a reinforced chassis, re-inflating tires, and nitrous boosts, with each modification letting gamers do new things with their vehicle. Multiplayer in Most Wanted is designed to give users as much freedom as possible, with no menus to navigate or lobbies in which to meet. Instead, the Autolog 2.0 system keeps track of statistics and accomplishments, allows for cross-platform scoring, and recommends various events that friends have recently completed. This Limited Edition offers two exclusive vehicles in the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale and the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S, and gives gamers four hours of double Speed Points to level up more quickly. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

The development team behind Burnout Paradise takes control of EA's long-running racing series to let gamers run from the cops and outrace their friends through the open-world of Fairhaven City in Need for Speed: Most Wanted. With no story mode, and nearly every vehicle available from the outset, players are encouraged to jump right into the action with high-speed races, police chases, massive billboard jumps, and car-specific events. Players acquire Speed Points and level up as they race, eventually earning the right to take on ten supercars driven by the Most Wanted Racers.

Cars can be upgraded with a variety of mods, including a reinforced chassis, re-inflating tires, and nitrous boosts, with each modification letting gamers do new things with their vehicle. Multiplayer in Most Wanted is designed to give users as much freedom as possible, with no menus to navigate or lobbies in which to meet. Instead, the Autolog 2.0 system keeps track of statistics and accomplishments, allows for cross-platform scoring, and recommends various events that friends have recently completed. This Limited Edition offers two exclusive vehicles in the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale and the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S, and gives gamers four hours of double Speed Points to level up more quickly. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Gamers can celebrate a new direction in wrestling while simultaneously paying homage to the Attitude Era as they join CM Punk, The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and dozens of other wrestling stars in WWE '13. The biggest addition to this version is the new Attitude Era mode, which lets players join more than 30 wrestlers from the late 1990s and participate in a season comprising more than 60 different matches. Narrative gaps are filled by cutscenes and video packages, and gamers can unlock more than 100 special items as they help the WWF win its TV ratings war with the WCW.

The Predator 2.0 game engine offers players a suite of new animations and controls, including giving wrestlers realistic moves based on the physical size of their opponents, and new Spectacular Moments animations that include ring breaks, barricade crashes, and mid-air catches. The career-based Universe mode returns, letting gamers control every aspect of their experience, from matches and arenas, to alliances and championship belts. Multiplayer fans can join friends for online or offline competitions and co-op matches, and the Creation Suite once again lets players design and share their own wrestlers, finishing moves, and storylines. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Gamers can celebrate a new direction in wrestling while simultaneously paying homage to the Attitude Era as they join CM Punk, The Rock, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, and dozens of other wrestling stars in WWE '13. The biggest addition to this version is the new Attitude Era mode, which lets players join more than 30 wrestlers from the late 1990s and participate in a season comprising more than 60 different matches. Narrative gaps are filled by cutscenes and video packages, and gamers can unlock more than 100 special items as they help the WWF win its TV ratings war with the WCW.

The Predator 2.0 game engine offers players a suite of new animations and controls, including giving wrestlers realistic moves based on the physical size of their opponents, and new Spectacular Moments animations that include ring breaks, barricade crashes, and mid-air catches. The career-based Universe mode returns, letting gamers control every aspect of their experience, from matches and arenas, to alliances and championship belts. Multiplayer fans can join friends for online or offline competitions and co-op matches, and the Creation Suite once again lets players design and share their own wrestlers, finishing moves, and storylines. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide