After taking a break for Christmas, Bethesda are back pumping out promo videos for Brink. This one is called “A Choir of Noise”. So put on your headphones, crank up the volume, and enjoy the brutal sounds that come from Brink’s many guns.

Akuma and Taskmaster are the latest fighters to join the roster for Capcom’s upcoming mental fighting game, Marvel vs Capcom 3. To celebrate this news, we have dozens of screenshots and a couple of trailers to share with you.

Valve is keen on keeping their promise of making the PS3 version of Portal 2 “the best console version of the product” by bringing Steam and its features to the system.

What this means is that Portal 2 will feature cross platform play between PS3 and PC/Mac gamers for multiplayer games in addition to cloud-based storage of saved game files and cross platform chat. This is a first for the current generation of consoles.

All in all, we’ve got a much more appealing update to look forward to today, with the releases of Spare Parts, Modern Combat: Domination, Costume Quest on Ice, and a massive seven minis.

There’s also lots to get excited about in terms of DLC, including a batch of Mass Effect 2 add-ons, the second free update for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and (yes, Vicheous!) new content for R.U.S.E..

That leaves the usual episode of FirstPlay, some dynamic themes, and a few videos (including Crysis 2 and Dead Space 2), so there should hopefully be something for everyone.

Anyway, what will you be downloading today?

Mass Effect 2 may headline the releases this week but there is quite a bit of additional content hitting the store. PlayStation Plus members are getting their bi-weekly update to go along with a myriad of other downloads for all of us to enjoy.

There’s plenty to be had here people so let’s get to it.

Following today’s announcement of Final Fantasy XIII-2, the question we kept hearing was: “What about Final Fantasy Versus XIII?” They had a point. Despite being announced in 2006, Square Enix has been very quiet about this game, and the news of another Final Fantasy XIII variation has made many people concerned over the health of the Versus XIII project.

Following on from today’s surprise announcement of a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII being in the works, we can now show you a trailer for Final Fantasy XIII-2. Yes, that’s Final Fantasy XIII-2, not Final Fantasy IV or Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Oh Square… you do like to confuse your customers.

Square Enix announced today the production of Final Fantasy XIII-2, the sequel to 2010′s Final Fantasy XIII. The game, which is scheduled to be released next winter on PS3 and Xbox 360, is set to …

Although the vast majority of Rockstar’s games involve very similar game play mechanics, the famed developer has managed to keep things fresh with a bevy of interesting characters and new environments.

This is news that will surely make a few PS3 Attitude posters happy. Gran Turismo Anywhere – the feature that allows you to drive B-Spec races remotely from another device – is expected to be available from early February. This date came directly from Gran Turismo’s creator Kazunori Yamauchi via his Twitter account (translated by Rob Groove).

Fight Night Champions is said to have a single player mode that is much different and deeper than anything that the franchise has previously shown. Although we may not yet have so much as a release date for the game, that does not prohibit us from taking a look at the progress to this point.

How is everything looking?

All the time developers are finding new ways to push the boundaries of their platform so they can create more impressive graphics and gaming moments. The public wants it – they cannot wait to see the flame, fire and sand effects in Uncharted 3. Nevertheless, despite this constant anticipation for the next best thing, there has always been a place for retro gaming.

It could be because retro games are easy to grasp: the concepts are often so pure your granny could learn them. Or maybe it is because they do not demands hours of your time, unlike the majority of modern games. Either way, retro gaming is soon to find a new home – in LittleBigPlanet 2.

Atari has released a new batch of screenshots for their upcoming PSN title and boy are they colorful.

The UnderGarden, which comes to the PSN later this winter, is a game about exploration and puzzle solving as you explore dark and vast caverns, gathering pollen to grow flowers and plants. Sounds similar to Flower, doesn’t it?

Every year the crack staff over at Guinness World Records updates the world on the esteemed accomplishments of humanity, and perhaps this will be the year that the creepy guy with long fingernails is surpassed by an equally creepy guy or gal with slightly longer fingernails.

The powers that be have also recently seen fit to expand their gaze to incorporate the feats of gamers. The ‘Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition’ chronicles everything from “best selling racing game” to “longest videogame marathon” (Mario Kart Wii and 50 hours of Red Dead Redemption respectively, in case you were wondering).

What records do SCEA and Guinness have in mind for LittleBigPlanet 2?

Mileena might appear like any other regular person on the outside but hidden underneath her purple face mask is her true identity; an evil creation by Shang Tsung.

The outlook of 2011 is bright. PS3 owners will indeed be busy with a host of AAA titles set to explode onto the scene before we bid 2011 adieu. One of the first of these incendiary titles to release is Dead Space 2.

All of us that played the first game remember making our way through the USG Ishimura, eying the million vents, and shooting the appendages off of countless necromorphs. Today we are given a look inside Isaac Clarke’s next tour with the official Dead Space 2 launch trailer.

What does EA have in store for you this time that will keep you playing in daytime hours?

MotorStorm Apocalypse finally has a release date and no, it’s not December 21, 2012. The PlayStation exclusive racing game will be hitting store shelves in March in European territories and later in April for North America

Addias. Nikre. Boreos. Knock-offs are a part of consumer based society. Company A creates a wonderfully successful product. Then another company, let’s just call them Company B (bet you didn’t see that coming) mimics said product virtually eliminating a large chunk of their development costs.

Of course this trend does not limit itself to expensive shoes and chocolate cookies. With the video games industry more viable than ever it is no surprise that more and more companies are throwing their hats into the ring to try to get a piece of the pie. Double metaphors aside, it is not surprising to see something like a Call To Duty or Need To Speed on store shelves. However, is it possible for a company to make a product that is too similar to its competitor’s?

For some reason FirstPlay have reviewed some of the most disappointing games of last year, with verdicts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Tony Hawk: Shred. Thankfully, much more satisfactory are the PSN reviews of Funky Lab Rat and Pac-Man Championship Edition DX.

There’s also footage of the first hour of Dead Space 2, a guide to tuning in Gran Turismo 5, an online review of Call of Duty: Black Ops, an introduction to MUBI, and screenshot galleries of Dungeon Siege III and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.