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Immersion: The Stories Around Interactive Narration – Call of Duty

Who says irony is limited to the confines of narratives?

In 2002, Electronic Arts released the third game in its already-incredibly-popular Medal of Honor series (created by none other than the venerable Steven Spielberg, who thought that the opening Normandy sequence from his recently completed Saving Private Ryan would make quite the interactive experience). Its name was Allied Assault, and it was crafted by a relatively small, PC-only developer called 2015, Inc.

Gears of War 3 gets going in September

Microsoft has announced that they're releasing Gears of War 3 worldwide on September 20, 2011. This is an interesting move by the Xbox 360 company because the first two GoW games came out in November so they could capitalize on the holiday gift buying period.

Trailer: LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean - The Video Game

Disney has dropped the first trailer for LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, giving us our first look at what Captain Jack Sparrow is going to look like in brick form.

Dead Space 2 now out

Today is launch day for Dead Space 2, EA and Viseral Games's sequel to one of the best survival horror games in recent years. When the first Dead Space came out two years ago, EA released it with little fanfare. Critics and gamers loved it and it became an example of a breakout hit. Suddenly the sci-fi gaming genre had its own Resident Evil or Silent Hill.

Mortal Kombat to become web series

Warner Bros. Premiere has announced that it will produce an all-new live-action Mortal Kombat production, set to begin filming next month in Vancouver. What's different about this new MK is that it won't be a new movie or TV show. Instead, the new Mortal Kombat will be delivered online as a web series.

Immersion: The Stories Around Interactive Narration – Too Human

[Editor's note: This "Immersion" article is the second in a three-part feature about the innovative role that video games have played in pushing ahead the medium. You can read the first, which examines the impact of Valve's Portal video game, here. -- Patrick]

Immersion: The Stories Within Interactve Narration - Portal

[Editor's Note: We're trying out a new column on Coming Attractions that serves as a general interest way point into the world of video games. The column, "Immersion", is written by longtime CA reader msunyata, a.k.a. Marc N. Kleinhenz. Marc will be writing three articles for Immersion and, depending on how well they're received, go on from there. Feedback is appreciated. -- Patrick]

New Batman: Arkham City showcases villainy of Hugo Strange

During tonight's broadcast of the Video Game Awards (VGA) on Spike TV a whole load of new and exciting announcements and previews were beheld. Major new releases like Mass Effect 3 and a new Elder Scrolls game were announced, but during the broadcast a second trailer for the forthcoming Batman: Arkham City game was aired. Did this trailer just tell us that the main villain behind the antics in the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum is Dr. Hugo Strange? And is it just a big coincidence that Strange is the current frontrunner for who might be the main bad guy in the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises?

Trailer: Batman: Arkham City

The second teaser trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum has hit the intertubes. It's all too brief and doesn't give us any real indication of what the gameplay is like, but look, it's got Batman in it and it's hyping the sequel to one of the best superhero video games ever. Therefore, it should be on all of our radars.

Trailer: Back to the Future: The Game

Later this month Telltale Games will release the first of five chapters forming a brand new Back to the Future adventure. Unlike the BttF movie trilogy or spinoff cartoon series, this new story featuring time travelling teen Marty McFly and inventory Doc Brown will be released onto PC, iPad and PlayStation 3 platforms.

Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game announced

Following in the footsteps of such movie franchises that have received the Lego video game treatment, Disney Interactive Studios has inked a deal with TT Games, the developers of Lego Star Wars, Lego Harry Potter and Lego Batman, to make Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game. Come next May Captain Jack is going to be bustin' bricks.

Call of Duty: Black Ops makes $360 million in first 24 hours

Everyone knew that the first day sales of Activision's latest Call of Duty game would be big, but I'm guessing that most didn't expected Black Ops to break the record for first day sales.

Call of Duty: Black Ops in stores today

Today is zero day for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The seventh title in Activision's immensly popular first-person shooter war franchise, Black Ops is the first in the series to be set during the Cold War. All indications are that this Call of Duty will sell millions of copies, just like its predecessors, and become one of the year's biggest titles.

Inception video game being planned

While doing press in Rome for the Italian release of Inception, director Christopher Nolan told reporters that he's developing ideas for a video game based on his hit movie.

Halo: Reach makes $200 million in first day

We all knew that Halo: Reach would storm out of the starting gate; the real question was only how much it would take in during its launch day. And now we know.