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Prequel novel gives us the adventures of the Four Horsemen pre-apocalypse.
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Tags darksiders 2, PC, PS3, thq, vigil games, Xbox 360

Title: The Art of the Mass Effect Universe (Hardcover)
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
MSRP: $39.99
Release Date: February 21st, 2012

Publisher's synopsis: The Mass Effect series is a groundbreaking epic that has immersed gamers in one of science fiction''s richest universes. Now BioWare and Dark Horse are proud to invite fans deeper than ever into the Mass Effect saga with The Art of the Mass Effect Universe! Featuring concept art and commentary by BioWare on the games'' characters, locations, vehicles, weapons, and more - Mass Effect 3 - The Art of the Mass Effect Universe is the most complete companion available to gaming''s most compelling series.

For those of you looking to remain spoiler-free about the events of Mass Effect 3 but you're really interested in picking up this hardcover volume due from Dark Horse, let me offer a piece of advice: just don't crack open the last third, which is actually pretty rich with minor and major details about the final game in the trilogy including plot points and (obviously) evolved character designs from the last game.

In essence, this is the function the book serves—providing fans of the franchise with a peek into the evolution of the series and the iterative nature of Bioware's vision for their sci-fi franchise. The 180-odd page book spends about a third of its length on each chapter in the Mass Effect series, detailing the specifics behind why characters and worlds came to look the way they did as well as the some of the technical limitations that resulted in modified visions for the game.

****Mild Spoiler Alert: Dark Horse has supplied several pages from the art book which are previewed below the break. Be warned that the images contain mild spoilers for the upcoming game.****
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Tags bioware, Dark Horse Comics, ea, mass effect 3, The Art of the Mass Effect Universe

Del Rey-published novel to bridge the events between Hitman: Blood Money and this year's Hitman: Absolution.
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Tags Del Rey, hitman: absolution, Hitman: Damnation, IO Interaction, PC, PS3, Raymond Benson, square enix, Xbox 360

Electronic Arts has picked up the rights to publish games based on the work of Robert Ludlum, the author of the Jason Bourne series. The first game is being made by "Chronicles of Riddick" developer Starbreeze Studios. Read more...

"Sofa Boy," a new children's book written by industry veteran Scott Langteau, aims to teach kids how to limit their video game usage and avoid "Sofa Boy Syndrome." Read more...

The author of sci-fi literary classic "Ender's Game," Orson Scott Card, is already working on an interactive adaptation of his book with the Epic Games-acquired Chair Entertainment for Xbox Live Arcade.

We haven't even seen that game yet, but he already wants more.

Discussing the XBLA project and the franchise's future, Card told Sci Fi Wire that the "Ender's Game" universe is ripe for video games that do more than chronicle a linear storyline from start to finish.

"My hope and plan is that the Ender's Game computer and console games will not be mere tellings of the story, but rather true games with a high degree of replayability. In other words, you don't play the game once, so you can act out the story (as with, say, the Harry Potter movie-based games), and then discard it. The Ender's Game games will immerse you in the experience of different aspects of the life of these kids who train together in order to fight the war. I can see a Battle School online game as well as a Battle Room game, various Formic War games, even the Mind Game (or Fantasy Game) that Ender plays relentlessly on his computer."

If Card gets his way, we'll be seeing quite a bit of "Ender's Game" in the future, though it doesn't sound like he's decided on which direction to go in just yet.

Let's give him some recommendations, readers. What do you want?