Metal Gear Solid: Rising is a third-person action game that follows the story of Raiden, who originally appeared as a playable character in 2001's Metal Gear Solid 2. Rising has players controlling the quick and agile Raiden in gameplay reminiscent of later entries in Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden series. What sets Raiden apart from ordinary characters, however, is his cybernetically enhanced body. Players will be able to hack and slash at cyborgs and other mechanical minions, tear parts away from their bodies, and then harvest them for use as energy, ammunition, equipment, and more.

The swordplay also distinguishes this game from similar melee-oriented titles, with a "free slicing" mechanic that lets players cut precisely where they want using a special targeting reticule. Raiden will be able to cut into nearly anything in front of him, allowing for strategic uses of the sword to disable electrical systems, sever robotic limbs, and more. While previous Metal Gear Solid games emphasized stealth, Rising is designed to be faster paced. Raiden will use his speed and acrobatic agility to avoid detection instead of hiding inside boxes or carefully peering around corners. Metal Gear Solid: Rising is the first entry in the series designed as a multi-platform title. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Game over, man? It's only just begun. Aliens: Colonial Marines is a squad-based shooter, set in the science fiction universe inspired by James Cameron's 1986 film. In the spirit of the 20th Century Fox movie series, the game plays out through the claustrophobic corridors of futuristic, labyrinthine, extra-terrestrial industrial constructs. Tense, creepy pacing is punctuated with vicious ambushes and explosive firefights. To succeed in their deadly mission, each marine must know his role, and the squad must work together to survive.

The assignment is a covert, preemptive strike, part of a desperate plan to foil a pending full-on invasion of Earth. Players wield weapons seen in the Aliens films, including pulse rifles and flamethrowers, and also new equipment created for the game. A full single-player campaign is available, as well as an online, four-player co-op adventure mode. The game's story was authored by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, partners who have previously written for the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Battlestar Galactica sci-fi TV series. Aliens: Colonial Marines was developed by Brothers in Arms creator, Gearbox Software. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide

The development team behind Dragon Quest, Dark Cloud, and Professor Layton joins forces with the renowned Japanese animators at Studio Ghibli to produce Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, a classically styled RPG designed to look like an animated movie. Players take on the role of Oliver, a young boy who heads off to a parallel world in the hopes of reviving his dead mother. A companion named Drippy guides Oliver through this new world, where a special book gives him magical powers, and he can recruit a variety of characters and creatures to join him in battles.

In Wrath of the White Witch players explore an expansive overworld map, uncovering secret locations, visiting various towns, palaces, and dungeons, and engaging in combat. The battle system combines elements of real-time and turn-based action, with combatants taking turns dishing out attacks, healing their party, and casting magic spells, but doing it while freely moving about the battleground and switching characters at will. All of the characters and creatures can be named, earn experience points, and learn new skills, and gamers can take control of them directly, or just set their tendencies and let the computer handle both sides of the conflict. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Anarchy Reigns is a futuristic brawler starring a cast of 16 gritty combatants, including characters from the developer's MadWorld. You'll choose fighters from one of two opposing sides, white and black, before engaging in fast-paced battles against multiple rivals at once. The story is told through a number of cinematic cut-scenes that introduce the combatants as well as offer up some banter between faction members. In addition to the single-player campaign, which has you fighting in a number of urban areas with computer-controlled teammates, Anarchy Reigns includes deathmatch, survival, tag team, and battle royale multiplayer game types. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Dogfight 1942 puts amateur aces in the cockpits of more than 25 American, British, and Russian fighter planes as they engage in intense aerial battles with the German Luftwaffe and Japanese fighter planes. Players can go on more than 20 combat sorties, including bombing runs, escort missions, and furious dogfights over Great Britain, Eastern Europe, and the Pacific Ocean. Gamers can join the action in both "Simulation" and "Arcade" modes, and deft piloting will earn players upgrades to their planes. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Retaining the open-world characteristics of Far Cry 2 while returning to an island setting similar to that of the original Far Cry, Ubisoft's shooter Far Cry 3 puts players in control of Jason Brody, a tourist who finds himself stranded on a lawless island where warlords and indigenous rebels have spent years mired in bloody conflict. Gamers can explore the jungles, swamps, mountains, and beaches of the island in a variety of ways, including speeding over land in jeeps, trucks, and ATVs, soaring through the air in hang gliders, and gliding across the water in speedboats.

As Brody attempts to reconnect with his girlfriend he will interact with a cast of unusual characters, come across more than 20 different species of wild and sometimes dangerous animals, and discover ancient ruins, shipwrecks, and caves. He can also earn money during his adventure by playing poker, racing, and winning shooting and knife-throwing contests. Players gain experience as they fight their way across the island, developing better stealth skills and combat techniques, and collecting plants and animal parts to craft new and improved items.

A separate co-op mode spins an entirely different story, as four crew members of a seedy cruise ship set out on a six-chapter campaign to track down the captain who stole their valuables and sold them out to pirates. Other multiplayer features include classic modes in which gamers team up to capture land or kill the most enemies, while the Firestorm mode finds two teams competing to turn opposing bases into raging infernos. Creative players can also design and share custom multiplayer maps using the included map editor.

~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

IO Interactive's bald assassin comes to PS3 for the first time as gamers help Agent 47 avoid the police, eliminate those who betrayed him, and uncover a deep conspiracy in Hitman: Absolution. The developer's new Glacier 2 AI system was designed to mimic the wide range in intelligence, behavior, and response seen in real humans, while the trial-and-error gameplay of previous entries in the series has been replaced by a new AI attention meter that lets gamers know exactly how close other characters are to spotting Agent 47, so they can back off when needed.

As always, the build up to the kill is as much of the gameplay experience as actually performing the assassination, and the freedom to choose how to perform a hit is a direct result of how much players plan, observe, and listen, and how creative they feel. Hitman: Absolution rewards gamers for performing classic moves by allowing them to use the new Instinct mode, in which they see the world through Agent 47's eyes and can map out enemy patrol routes, spot weapons, and locate shortcuts or ways to escape. Players can also accomplish their tasks by donning a variety of disguises or impersonating victims, but doing so may elicit unpredictable reactions from other characters. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Based on the animated film of the same name, Rise of the Guardians finds gamers joining mythical childhood figures as they fight to prevent the Boogeyman-like Pitch from cloaking the world in nightmares and darkness. Players take on the role of Jack Frost, North (Santa Claus), Bunnymund (Easter Bunny), Tooth (Tooth Fairy), and Sandy (Sandman) as they battle nightmares through 3D levels based on locations in the film. Each character has unique abilities and weapons that can be upgraded, and up to four players can drop in or out of the action whenever they please. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed mixes up the kart-racing formula by adding vehicles that transform from cars into boats and planes. As in Sega's previous all-stars racing game, tracks are based on popular Sega games, such as Super Monkey Ball, Panzer Dragoon, and After Burner. Many of the previous game's favorite characters return along with a number of new ones, including Gilius Thunderhead of Golden Axe and Vyse from Skies of Arcadia. Even real-life NASCAR star Danica Patrick and the title character from Disney's Wreck-It Ralph make an appearance.

When racing through the World Tour mode users gain experience points that upgrade each character and unlock racing mods that alter each vehicle's abilities. Players can also gain experience in the multiplayer modes Grand Prix and Battle Arenas. Multiplayer supports up to ten players online or four players in local split-screen. A new weapon system has been developed as well that gives players a better chance at blocking and evading attacks from the opposition. ~ Jonathan Sutyak, All Game Guide

Gamers can join one of America's most famous WWII generals and re-create the march of the Third Army in History: Legends of War Patton. Players lead their troops on historically accurate missions across the Western European Theater, engaging in turn-based battles and taking on Attack, Defense, Infiltration, and Sabotage modes. PS3 gamers can earn Prestige Points to improve and enhance their soldiers and era-authentic bombers, tanks, and weapons, while multiplayer fans can join a friend for local hot-seat competitions. ~ Christopher Brown, All Game Guide