Tomb Raider's 'Guide to Survival' video series

Crystal Dynamics is planning a series of developer diary's for Tomb Raider, and the first one, called "Smart Resourceful Lara", is now out. They explain core concepts in the game that lets Lara improve her equipment, learn new abilities, and see key components in the game in order to progress.

Everybody loves an Origins story, especially when it's about one of the most iconic female protagonist in gaming history. Everything shown so far about this game is completely out of what we'd expect from a Tomb Raider game, which is a good thing. This is a reboot after all. It's focus on how Lara Croft becomes the character we all know from past games, it's dark and harsh environment, plus the strong emphasis on survival, makes Crystal Dynamic's next take on the Tomb Raider series one of the most anticipated games for 2013. Well, for me that is.

Tomb Raider is currently planned for a March 5 release for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Fans get to vote for Bioshock Infinite's reversible cover

Last week, Irrational Games revealed Bioshock Infinite's box art and the reaction towards it was surprisingly negative. Fans of the series felt the cover art had no personality and does not reflect Infinite's game world at all. Rage no more, Ken Levine announces that a reversible cover will come with the game, and you get to vote which art will be used.

Along with the announcement from Ken Levine himself, a poll was also included in the post so that fans can start voting for the best cover art. There are 6 cover arts to choose from, so if you feel strongly about having an amazing cover art for your copy of Bioshock Infinite, vote away. I personally like box art #6.

But what’s that you say? You want even more choice in covers? We’re also going to be arranging a whole mess of MORE alternate covers which will be available to download and print yourself. Of course, these are free and we’d love to hear your thoughts in the forums as to what you’d like to see.

Why use a shot of the protagonist Booker Dewitt in the cover art in the first place? Ken Levine talked to Wired about the chosen cover art and answers that question. It's a marketing move straight from the developers. They want the uninformed gamers that enter a store to pick up Bioshock; Infinite, hopefully turns it over to see what it's all about, and consider spending his hard-earned cash to try the game out.

Does box art affect your buying decision? For me, not at all. They can have a 5 year-old make a doodle of the game's logo for Bioshock: infinite and I'll still get it. But again, this is for the people that have no idea what they are getting into, so hopefully it pays off.

Bioshock: Infinite was previously planned for a February 2013 release but was pushed back a month for further polishing. The new release date is March 26, 2013 for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

[Source: Irrational Games]

Hawken open beta starts in a few hours

The fast-paced mechwarrior-ish online game Hawken will soon hit open beta. To celebrate, Adhesive Games released a new cinematic trailer.

From all the gameplay footage I saw with Hawken, this game is somewhat similar to mechwarrior back in the day but with the speed of modern multiplayer games such as Call of Duty. The pace is what got me interested in the first place. This is purely an online multiplayer game, with four game modes planned so far. Hawken will be Free-To-Play when it gets officially released.

The client will be available for download on 12/12/12.  As I write this, the timer shown on the upper left shows the open beta starts in 10 hours. You can create an account now in preparation.

Metro: Last Light Genesis trailer, free PC copies of Metro 2033 being given away

Metro: Last Light's latest trailer called "Genesis" is quite depressing. This bible-quoting trailer shows gameplay footage of the game, but focuses more on the game's doomed world.

Metro: Last Light is the sequel to the 2010 game Metro 2033, which was based on a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel of the same name.

Together with the trailer above, THQ is offering free Steam copies of Metro 2033. If you want to grab a copy of the first game, all you got to do is head over to Metro's Facebook page and like it. After doing so, you will be given a Steam redeem code.

I highly recommend you try Metro 2033 if you haven't yet. It's a great shooter with an eerie atmosphere and that need to save up on ammo to survive.

Metro: Last Light is planned for a March 2013 release on Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

THQ adds more games to The Humble THQ Bundle

THQ is doing this amazing sale for charity. The Humble THQ Bundle include 6 titles for the PC and you get to choose how much you pay, you can even choose where the money goes. You can have this bundle for as low as $1, but there's a kicker, if you pay for the average price (currently at $5.65), they add more titles to your bundle. To sweeten the pot even more, THQ adds Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War if you pay the average.

If you buy the bundle below the average price, these are the games you will be getting:

• Red Faction: Armageddon
• Darkstalkers
• Metro 2033
• Company of Heroes
• Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
• Comnpany of Heroes: Tales of Valor
• downloadable soundtracks for Saint's Row: The Third, Darksiders, Red Faction: Armageddon, Company of Heroes, and Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

With two titles actually being expansion packs for Company of Heroes, buying this bundle below the average is still an amazing deal, but if you are feeling generous for charity, here's what's added to your bundle if you get the bundle for at least the average price:

• Saint's Row: The Third
• Warhammer 40,000: Daw of War
• Titan Quest
• Red Faction: Armageddon Path to War DLC

Once you get yourself a Humble THQ Bundle, an email will be sent to you with a code so you can unlock these games onto your Steam account.

The highest contributors so far have donated $1,650.01. THQ has sold over 788,770 bundles, which is around $4,477,095.09 in earnings.

If you are interested, head over to the Humble Bundle Page now. Hurry up if I were you, The Humble THQ Bundle will only last until December 12.