One aspect of LEGO games that has always stood out was the central hub location where players would go in and out of missions. Originally, this was a small location of only a few rooms that chapters could be explored by entering. This was the primary setup for LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones. More recently, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes changed this format with an open world Gotham for players to traverse and go into story missions when they saw fit. Now, Traveler’s Tales needs to switch up for the format again for LEGO The Lord of the Rings.

While it made sense in LEGO Batman’s world for the caped crusader to be able to travel around Gotham at his whim, that just isn’t the case with the tighter narrative that needs to be told during The Lord of the Rings. Even in LEGO format, The Lord of the Rings needs to have a clear beginning and ending location that players can’t just skip to. As anyone who has watched, or especially read The Lord of the Rings, it isn’t the destination that mattered to the story as much as it was the journey that got the heroes there.

One of the most intimidating prospects for a game developer may be the chance to work on a franchise they grew up loving. There is so much pressure put on themselves to uphold the high standards they set because they don’t want to let down themselves, other fans or the creators of it. But it also gives great opportunity for talented teams to make something special that can stand alongside other creative works associated with that franchise. Traveler’s Tales is one of those teams that has shown both love and respect for everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter in the LEGO universe and are undertaking the formidable legacy of The Lord of the Rings in their next game.

When you look at LEGO The Lord of the Rings at first, what you may notice first is the world going on behind the characters. There is a blend of both picturesque landscape combined with scenics from the films created out of LEGO. Much like they did with LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, LEGO The Lord of the Rings will have a large open world format with side quests for players to take part in instead of just following the story of the game.

Nintendo doesn’t sit on their laurels when it comes to their handhelds. Ever since the release Game Boy Pocket back in ’96, Nintendo can’t seem to go very long with out re-releasing and improving on their portable devices. Perhaps this ever evolving strategy is why, despite strong competition from Sony and smart phones, Nintendo has never fallen from the top of the portable gaming mountain.

It was reported that Nintendo was going to announce North American plans for the upcoming 3DS XL, but when nothing was said at their conference rumors began to spread that we might not see it officially in the states. In retrospect it was probably pretty dumb to think Nintendo wouldn’t release a new 3DS in the wake of the successful Vita launch last year.

This is an important time for Nintendo’s portable gaming division. The initial launch of the 3DS was underwhelming, and Sony’s Vita is the most impressive direct competition Nintendo has ever faced. In fact, for the first time since the SEGA Game Gear another company actually owns a respectable share of the market. A market that is shrinking in the age of smart phones and app store games providing much better value for gamers on the go.

For now Nintendo is still the king, and the launch of the 3DS XL should only solidify that. You can expect the newer, larger 3DS to hit shelves in North America August 19th, a few weeks after our Japanese and European brothers get their hands on it, July 28th.

Last week, Capcom held its annual media event Captivate in Rome. There they gave tons of information about some of their top franchises. The top announcement came in the form of the third iteration of the Lost Planet franchise being announced with Lost Planet 3. Resident Evil 6 received its release date and gamers were able to try out Resident Evil: Chronicles HD Collection with Move controls for the first time.

Street Fighter X Tekken for Vita confirmed Cross-Platform Play, a system that will allow players from the Vita to combat PlayStation 3 users. Additionally, DmC Devil May Cry, Dragon’s Dogma and Steel Battalion Heavy Armor were all playable to either press or the general public.

Check out all the news as well as brand new screen shots and videos from Captivate 2012 below and stick with us for more on all these huge titles from Capcom.

Lost Planet 3 has been announced for early 2013 for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

The extreme and unpredictable conditions that characterized the Lost Planet series return, harsher than ever before in Lost Planet 3. Players take on the role of Jim, a utility rig pilot who has left Earth to take on a hazardous but lucrative contract on E.D.N. III. Delivering a diverse range of gameplay, including third-person on-foot battles and intense first-person utility rig action, players will need to brave the uncharted terrain, hostile climate and threat of indigenous Akrid creatures. With a number of multiplayer modes and a compelling single player experience, Lost Planet 3 will delve deeper into the Lost Planet universe, uncovering hidden truths when it releases in early 2013.

The floor this year at PAX East included a section indie developers dubbed the Indie Megabooth- 16 independent developers showing off twenty of the latest and greatest indie games on all sorts of platforms. One of those titles was Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, the follow up to PSN title Tales from Space: About a Blob, now available for the Playstation Vita. I decided to pick up the title to play during my free time at PAX East, and I’m really glad I did.

Much like the Katamari games, Mutant Blobs Attack  requires you to eat everything in sight to proceed through the level, as long as it’s not bigger than you. But, while Katamari is a 3rd person perspective three dimensional game, Mutant Blobs Attack is a 2D sidescrolling platformer, more like Loco Roco.  As a blob, you’ll also gain powerups to allow you to fly, float, and magnetize yourself to walls.

The game utilizes the Vita’s controls without overdoing it and becoming cumbersome to play. You control the blob throughout the levels using the analog stick, but there are also a few random levels that require you to tilt the Vita around like a ball maze to try to move the blob to the goal. The back touchscreen don’t come into play at all, but the front is used to manipulate the environment to proceed.