Find out what kind of sweet ride you’ll be hopping into in the upcoming Lego Star Wars game!

6 new shots posted.

We lay siege to a haunted house during our hands-on cooperative session with Dungeon Siege III.

When we last visited the world of Dungeon Siege III, we helped young Lucas Mont Barron escape the burning Mont Barron estate, adventured through the countryside, and rescued a supposed Archon, Anjali, from some cultists. Now, we’re back in developer Obsidian Entertainment’s action role-playing world.

However, this time Lucas and Anjali are teaming up for some cooperative gameplay as we go hands-on to investigate the spooky Gunderic Manor.

Once again, we stepped into the young adventurer’s shoes. Adept with a sword and shield, Lucas is a strong melee fighter who excels at powerful blows against single targets.

Our co-op companion was Anjali, a fiery mage with some crowd-control abilities. Our mission was to help Leona, a witch looking to set up shop in the dilapidated Gunderic Manor. We agreed to investigate the manor for her and clear out any malcontents (or homeless people) we found within it.

The quest started out easily enough. The manor seemed to be deserted until we encountered Alise Gunderic, one of the manor’s former inhabitants. Specifically, we encountered the ghost of Alise Gunderic, who pleaded with us to destroy the Heart of Nagog.

According to her, this item was the one thing binding her soul to the mortal realm. Having only just met her, we decided to trust her completely and agreed to help without another word.

All of the gargoyles and skeletons outside must have overheard our conversation because after we exited the room, they all sprang to life and attacked. What a mistake on their part.

It didn’t take us long to fall back into the easy rhythm of Dungeon Siege III’s combat. Our role was simple: Get in front of the enemies and dish out as much hurt as possible.

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Snowblind Studios explores the previously unseen northern battles of Middle-earth in this action role-playing game.

We’ve seen games individually based on the Lord of the Rings films and books, but we haven’t seen a game that encompassed nearly all major media birthed from Tolkien’s fantasy universe until now.

Warner Bros. and Snowblind Studios have license to use both the films and the books in their upcoming action role-playing game Lord of the Rings: War in the North. While this ostensibly lets the development team at Snowblind borrow visual elements from the films and stay closer to the lore of the books, their relationship with the fantasy universe created by Tolkien even goes deeper. The Tolkien estate is working in conjunction with the development team on the new story, overseeing details to ensure that it fits in within the rest of the Lord of the Rings canon.

War in the North occurs around the same time as the War of the Ring in which Frodo and Sam make their way to Mordor as the rest of Middle-earth fends off Sauron. And much like that story, War in the North focuses on the fellowship of a dunedain (ranger), dwarf, and elf attempting to fend off Sauron’s armies in the north headed by one of Sauron’s top lieutenants, Agandaur. Using this fellowship as the foundation for gameplay means that you’re never alone.

You always have direct control over one member of the fellowship whether you’re playing alone or with two other people. But if you are playing solo, then the AI will take over the other members. Additionally, if you’re playing as the dwarf but feel like switching to the ranger, you’ll have opportunities to switch at various hub areas.

The reason you might want to switch, and the reason why you’re always playing with two other characters at any given time, is that members of the team have their own strengths and skills that are designed to work more effectively when used in conjunction with each other. For example, Farin the dwarf is the tank of the group, which means he’s most effective when engaged in melee combat. In fact, one of his special abilities, called war cry, is even designed to draw enemies toward him and away from his teammates who might have a harder time standing toe-to-toe with more powerful foes.

This war cry skill also makes him impervious to knockdown strikes, but he can still take damage, and you would do well to use evasive moves while in this state. Meanwhile, Eradan the ranger is formidable at both close and long range, but he has the ability to surprise enemies with his special stealth skills. Finally, Andriel the elf can be used primarily as a support-ranged character because one of her skills lets her cast an orb that simultaneously heals other members of the fellowship and deflects enemy projectiles.

However, she can also dual-wield various weapons, which can make her effective in close combat.

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Eidos Montreal reveals release date for long-awaited cyberpunk action-RPG; UK release set for August 26.

The traditional press release may want to watch its back, as more and more companies are using Twitter to make major announcements. The latest example comes from Eidos Montreal, which today used the microblogging service to reveal the release date for Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Square Enix’s long-in-development action role-playing game will arrive on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on August 23 in North America and August 26 in the UK.

Deus Ex will be available in two versions: The regular $60 edition and a $70 Augmented Edition. The latter will include premium packaging for the game, a 40-page art book, a DVD with behind-the-scenes features, and a motion graphic novel included on a bonus disc. Players who preorder from specialty retailer GameStop will get a new mission–complete with a cameo from original Deus Ex protagonist JC Denton–as well as in-game assists in the form of a grenade launcher, explosives, and an automatic lock pick.

Developer Eidos Montreal has said it wants to stay true to the spirit of the original Deus Ex, allowing players to choose their own approach to each level. Depending on the augmentations players choose, they can go through each part of the game with a focus on combat, stealth, hacking, or even social interactions. For more on the game, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

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BioWare’s RPG sequel and Nintendo’s twin titles join Torchlight, MLB 11: The Show, and Major League Baseball 2K11 on the release docket.

The first quarter isn’t even over yet, but it has already seen a host of high-profile games hit the market. This week’s release docket is particularly full, with a variety of high-profile titles for the role-playing gamer, the sports fan, and Pokemon junkies.

EA is hoping Dragon Age II will cast a spell over gamers this week.

The latter title–or titles–are Pokemon Black and White version. Having already sold over 5 million units in record time, the twin games debuted on March 6, in line with Nintendo’s Sunday high-profile releases. The two titles introduce a handful of changes to the established gotta-catch-’em-all formula. Developer Game Freak has expanded the games’ online functionality through features such as Global Link, where players can access special content by uploading their save files to a website. Black and White also introduce more than 150 new Pokemon that players can add to their Pokedexes, as well as changing seasons. The two titles are exclusive to the DS.

RPG lovers get a big-name release this week in the form of Dragon Age II from celebrated developer BioWare and Electronic Arts. The game–which is already available in demo form–will see the player transform Blight-survivor Hawke from “a destitute refugee to the revered champion of the land,” with new combat mechanics for the game’s three archetypal classes. Although Hawke gains fame as the Champion of Kirkwall, the game will peer into his mysterious rise to power over a 10-year period. It will be available for the Mac, PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on Tuesday, March 8, which will also see the release of the first two DLC packs for the game, The Exiled Prince and The Black Emporium.

Tuesday will also see baseball fans get a choice of two sports sim titles. 2K Sports will release Major League Baseball 2K11–which boasts Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay on the cover–for the 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS, PC, and PlayStation 2. Meanwhile, Sony will release the latest in its acclaimed line of first-party baseballers, MLB 11: The Show, for the PSP, PS3, and PS2. The latter game will see the introduction of pure analog controls and co-op play to the series.

Xbox Live Arcade will see a notable release this week in the form of Torchlight. The action-RPG from Seattle-based developer Runic Games was originally released for the PC in late 2009. The hack & slasher sees players exploring a mine which leads to a labyrinth of dungeons from ruined civilizations. Players must fight a series of monsters of ever-increasing toughness to discover the source of a magical–but corrupting–mineral called ember.

For further details on the week’s games, visit GameSpot’s New Releases page. The full list of downloadable games on the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Marketplace, and Wii Shop Channel will be revealed later this week. Release dates are based on retailer listings and are subject to change.

SUNDAY, MARCH 6
Pokemon Black Version–DS–Nintendo
Pokemon White Version–DS–Nintendo

MONDAY, MARCH 7
G.G Series: Horizontal Bar–DS–Genterprise
GO Series: Earth Saver–DS–Gamebridge
Heavy Fire: Black Arms–WII—Teyon

TUESDAY, MARCH 8
Atari’s Greatest Hits Volume 2–DS–Atari
Beastly Frantic Foto–DS–Storm City Games
Dragon Age II: The Black Emporium–MAC, PC, PS3, X360–Electronic Arts
Dragon Age II: The Exiled Prince–MAC, PC, PS3, X360–Electronic Arts
Dragon Age II–MAC, PC, PS3, X360–Electronic Arts
Major League Baseball 2K11–PS3, PC, PS2, PSP, X360, DS, WII–2K Sports
The ,000,000 Pyramid–WII–Ubisoft
MLB 11: The Show–PC, PS2, PSP–SCEA
Petz Bunnyz Bunch–DS–Ubisoft
Ship Simulator Extremes: Ferry Pack–PC–Paradox Interactive
The Sims 3: Barnacle Bay–PC–Electronic Arts
Yoostar 2–PS3, X360–Yoostar Entertainment Group

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9
Torchlight–X360–Microsoft Game Studios

Watch the latest trailer for Alice: Madness Returns, including some gameplay footage!