bobwinkle12 presents Catherine Review posted at The Broskington Post. A review of the game Catherine, which certainly sounds odd. There are quite a few plot details spelled out concerning the beginning, but it seems like that may be necessary to really convey what the game is like. Should be an interesting game for those into what it’s about.

Jason Ward presents Dead Space 2 | ScifiWard posted at ScifiWard. A review of Dead Space 2 by a veteran of horror, claiming the game isn’t particularly scary. Highly recommended by the reviewer though, for reasons explained in the review.

The Dude presents What Makes It So Great (Gotham City Impostors Discussion) posted at Geeks on Games. He certainly has some thoughts on what makes it fun, and what sets it apart from other games, so check it out and see if it may interest you too.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Ben presents Sidescrolling Platformer ~Part 1~ Setup and Planning posted at AS3 Game Tutorials, saying, “Tutorials to create your very own platformer video game in Flash actionscript 3.” If you want to build your own side-scrolling PC game, this particular post looks like a good place to pick up some ideas.

Eric Hoff presents A World Without Online Multiplayer, Shank 2 Review, Dustforce Review – GameNTrain.com, and Turtle Beach XL1?s – The Review – GameNTrain.com posted at GameNTrain.com.

Jesse Leigh presents The only problem with MOBAs | Gamer MC posted at Gamer MC. Jesse nails the one major issue I have with League of Legends, a game I otherwise love playing. Can’t we just agree to have some fun? Even in the unranked games?

Erik presents Review: COD: Modern Warfare 3 (Video Game) posted at Fireball916′s Daily Reviews. Erik let’s us know right from the start he loves Modern Warfare 3. Just what you need to push you off the fence if you were thinking about picking up the game. (I’m not, by the way.)

The Dude presents From Software Says Another Souls Game May Not Happen! posted at Geeks on Games. This news is disheartening to those who like their games with a side of pain. On a brighter note, those of us gaming on PC get our copies of Dark Souls in a few months.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Wesley Copeland of VGI presents EA in Lawsuit Over Free Copies Of Battlefield posted at Video Games Interactive. Here’s a quick piece on a Lawsuit EA is involved in. Hopefully this is one more push on them to get their act together, but honestly, I’m not expecting much to come of it. Still, it would be sweet if they were somehow forced to make good on their promises.

Will presents Are Strategy Guides Worth It? posted at Former Banker, saying, “Is it ever worth it to fork out $20 to buy one?” Will hits my thoughts on strategy guides pretty solidly in this piece. Hard to disagree, unless you want the physical copy as a collector’s item.

Jesse Leigh presents Deep Sea – Shifting from entertainment to experience posted at Gamer MC. Here we have some info about a game that sounds like an interesting deviation from the norm. I’m not about to drop traditional visual gaming for it, but it could be interesting to try.

Jesse Leigh presents The real cause of piracy posted at Gamer MC. Want to know why I don’t buy from EA or Ubisoft, on console or PC? This article nails it. If only the big publishers would listen to some common sense about how to deal with piracy.

Jesse Leigh presents Pre-order? I’ll pass posted at Gamer MC. An interesting read about pre-ordering and how it is used for marketing.

Patrick Dunkley presents What is Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning? posted at PC RPG Reviews & Previews | Single player fantasy roleplaying games for 2012.. I’m downloading the demo of this game via Steam as I type this, and depending on what I find, I may have to purchase. In the meantime, this article has tons of good info on the game, and you should check it out.

John M presents A look at Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing on the iPhone posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “SEGA’s classic racer makes it debut on the iPhone, but is it a winner?” A brief review of Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing on the iPhone, there’s not much more to say. Except why does Sonic use a car? Have to level the playing field so he doesn’t auto-win or something?

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Kylak presents VG Talk #6 To Reboot or Not to Reboot posted at All Geeks Rejoice. Kylak discusses the idea of reimagining a series to give it a fresh start. I agree that, so long as it’s done well, it can definitely breathe new life into a series.

Kylak presents VG Talk #7 Dark Souls Loves You posted at All Geeks Rejoice. Another piece from Kylak, discussing the difficulty of Dark Souls. Wish I could weigh in, but there’s currently no PC version for me to sink my teeth into. I do like the concept of a very difficult game to play once in awhile though.

Zack K. presents The Four Parks: Kirby Mass Attack Review posted at The Four Parks. Zack has a brief review for us of the new Kirby game recently released.

wearechange tv presents Warco: an FPS where you hold a camera instead of a gun posted at WeAreChangeTV.US. Wearechange talks a bit about Warco, which looks like a nice spin on the usual fps setup.

Marcy L presents A noob gets pwned: Giving World of Warcraft a try at my children’s insistence | (Don’t Be) Too Timid and Squeamish posted at (Don’t Be) Too Timid and Squeamish, saying, “A humorous look at two gamers’ mother trying World of Warcraft for the first time.” The experience of an inexperienced gamer trying out WoW for the first time. Perhaps a bit heavy on buzzwords, but that’s likely for effect. An interesting read to see perspective from those less inclined to gaming.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for January’s carnival, as I’ll be taking a break from the carnival for December for Christmas. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Garret Moniz presents Gears of War 3 – For those who can’t game 9 to 5 posted at Gamesters Paradice, saying, “The Gears of War trilogy is finally over. Took a look back at an iconic moment that wasn’t even a part of the game.” Garret discusses some of the emotional impact Gears of War had for him. Short, but a good read.

Valaney presents Which Gaming Console Will Create the Next Big Thing posted at Techchai – Technology Tips, Tutorials, Articles and Updates, saying, “Rumors of next-gen consoles are starting to heat up, what do you think will be hot?” Some conversation about what consoles will be big next generation. Not a lot of talk of specifics, but Valaney still has a winner in mind.

Victor Stanescu presents Online Social Games ? Billion Dollar Industry posted at Vectorash.ro, saying, “A Sociable and Nice take on Online Social Games, a billion dollar industry for Facebook Games and Google+ Games!” Victor lays out some statistics on social network gaming and discusses a bit about what he sees as the rather mindless experience of playing social network games. I’m inclined to agree, and can happily say I play none of these Facebook games. Want a real social game? Invite some friends over for some Smash Bros., Mario Kart, or Gears of War, and actually socialize while you play a game.

Mark Roberts presents Man of Few Words posted at Alatar Tales, saying, “An investigation exploring the effects of a certain theoretical physicist’s lack of vocal chords.” Some thoughts on a certain main character’s lack of speech, and how Mark feels it takes him out of the game. Personally, I’ve never minded a mute main character. It’s a little odd at times, but it’s never pulled me out of the game experience.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Zack K. presents Nintendo Video posted at The Four Parks, saying, “My Reccomendation of the Nintendo Video App for the 3DS.” Zack wants us all to know that Nintendo currently has some new video features on the 3DS. While the concept is cool, I’m not sure how useful it is when the Internet is open to anyone on many different devices to get any video online they would like. Still, it’s entirely possible this will develop further into something very cool.

Next Island presents Blueprint Development posted at Next Island Dev Blog. Next Island wants to let people know that they are working on blueprints for Entropia. As I’m not familiar with the game, I can’t comment too much, but it seems like they want to keep it moderately quiet for now other than letting the news out.

Jake Moses presents Anomaly Warzone Earth HD review | Best Kid iPad Apps posted at Best Kid Ipad Apps, saying, “In depth review – A good game for PC/Mac becomes a great game thanks to the iPad’s touch interface.”  Jake has provided a great review on Anomaly Warzone Earth HD for the iPad. Tower defense game, except you’re the aggressor?  Sounds pretty cool, and the rest of the review makes it sound like a good choice for iPad owners.

Video Game Llama presents New Details About PS Vita Online Features posted at Video Game Llama.  Video Game Llama delivers some information on some new features of the Vita.

Elijah Obasanya presents Are We Witnessing The Death of The Call of Duty Franchise? posted at The Game Maestro, saying, “An article on the well known BF3 vs. Mw3 debate” A quick piece talking up the differences of opinion on Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. Both games will sell like hotcakes though, so I’m thinking it’s probably a moot point. Others may disagree though.

Zack K. presents Kirby’s Adventure Review posted at The Four Parks. Here Zack gives us a brief review of Kirby’s Adventure. Mostly opinion, with a few nuggets of information about the game.

The Legendary Carmine presents No Girls Allowed posted at Side Story Games – Carmine’s Comments, saying, “Video games are notorious for being a “boy’s club”. Most of the games that are developed for girls are a waste of time and money. Carmine seeks to establish what needs to be done to create better games for girls and how it fits into the industry’s current model.” Carmine discusses some thoughts on the state of games that attempt to appeal to girls instead of accepting they will likely have similar interests in gaming as guys do. Definitely worth a read, though I think it’s possible that we’ve begun reading too much into this. Make good games, and people of all genders will play them. Make bad games, and they’ll be relegated to the trash.

The Legendary Carmine presents A “Bad” Game vs A “Mature” Game posted at Side Story Games – Carmine’s Comments, saying, “Side Story Games is all about creating game reviews for parents, focusing on the mature content that may not be appropriate for kids. But sometimes the reviewers seem to think that certain ‘mature content’ is acceptable or even appropriate. Carmine clears the air as to what makes a game ‘bad’ vs. what makes it ‘mature’.”  I’m not sure I would say this piece clears the air on “bad” vs. “mature”, but it does get to the point that we use mature to denote adult themes, whether or not those themes are presented maturely. I personally think any amount of mature content is acceptable in a game, so long as those purchasing are aware of what they are getting into and adult games aren’t sold to children, and every gaming store I’ve been to has been very good about this.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Colin Whaley presents The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Review posted at OtherLoop. Colin’s review of Ocarina of Time 3d is extensive and very nicely detailed. It definitely paints a great picture of the experience, and, combined with my memories of what the game was, almost makes me want to go out and buy a 3ds for this game. Unfortunately, money is a finite resource.

John presents Is £10.99 too expensive for a Mobile Game? | jpmblog.com posted at jpmblog.com, saying, “Blimey a £10 iPhone game. Yes its good but is it too much to pay for a mobile app?” Well, $15.99 for a port of one of the best tactical RPGs ever made? Yeah, that sounds fair to me, so long as you’re cool with the model of digital distribution. This isn’t a tiny game. Porting it wasn’t a simple, quick task. Yeah, they had an engine and a story and all of that figured out, but they had to recode it to work with the iPhone, which is a very different beast from the hardware it has run on before. Final Fantasy Tactics is not a typical release for a mobile app, and that’s why it doesn’t have a typical price. I can understand why some may not want to pay it, but that doesn’t mean the price should be lowered. Now that you’ve read my editorializing, or perhaps before, you should go read John’s take as well.

John M presents A Fun Stress Relieving Game for the iPhone | iPhone Experience posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “Mobile phones are a great platform for stress relief games, and they don’t come much better then this ” Want to squish some rats? John M has a review of the game for you. Sounds like a simple concept, and looks great for killing time if you have an iPhone.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 12 Video Game Pre-order Deals & Bonus Offers posted at CamelCluchBlog.Com. Unfortunately, this one isn’t very timely, as I’m running a once a month carnival here, but if you’re curious what pre-order offers were going around for Madden 12, there’s a good collection in here.

Garret Moniz presents Modern Warfare 3 vs Battlefield 3 posted at Gamesters Paradice, saying, “Just taking a quick look at the upcoming competition between Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.” Garret has some predictions about whether Modern Warfare 3 or Battlefield 3 is going to come out on top this year. Click through to see who he believes is coming out on top and why.

Eric Gargiulo presents Madden 12 Game Achievements & Awards posted at CamelCluchBlog.Com, saying, “If you’re like me, you ran out on Madddenoliday and purchased your copy of Madden 12 or pre-ordered it. Before I even have a chance to unwrap Madden, I got an early tip on the newest Madden 12 achievements & awards, and there are some real fun ones in this year’s game.” I’m not too much like Eric in this regard, as I tend to shy away from sports games, but for those of you into Madden 12, or simply curious, you can find out some information about achievements in the game right on this piece here.

Almigo presents The Need. The Need for Speed. And Scigheras. posted at Almigo’s Adventures. An interesting piece about the history of a car that made an appearance in Need for Speed 3 for PC, and was never seen again. And no, it wasn’t merely a made up car, it actually does (did?) exist. Click through and read on for the full story.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Mr. Kermz presents Portal 2 Review PS3 posted at The Cynic Reviewer, saying, “Did my first video game review with Portal 2. Hope you like it.” We have a very nice first review here from Mr. Kermz, keep up the good work.

GameNinjaX presents E3 and Video Games Live posted at GameNinja. GameNinjaX shares his experience at E3 with us. Video Games Live sounds pretty sweet, I’m always a sucker for good game music.

Taylor Stein presents What We Hope RAGE Will Be posted at Gaming Precision. Taylor shares his thoughts on what he’s hoping RAGE will be like. Sounds like he has some high hopes, but they’re likely well founded with id at the helm. If it turns out well, I just may have to give it a test drive on my shiny new computer while I’m waiting on Skyrim.

John M presents Odd Spotting: A Fun Spot the Odd One Out Game for the iPad | iPhone Experience posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “A fantastic iPad based Spot the Odd One Out game for all the family. My wife is addicted ” John has some thoughts on Odd Spotting, which sounds like it could be an amusing diversion. Definitely a game for the casual crowd, but it sounds like a nice take on an old concept.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

The Legendary Carmine presents Dante’s Inferno posted at Side Story Games – Game Reviews. Here’s an in-depth look at the game Dante’s Inferno. Worth a read, especially if you might be interested in the game about the epic poem.

Maxwell randomly presents E Rated Games Aren’t All Crap posted at Maxwell Randomly. Sounds like someone other than me is fed up with the stereotype that E rated games are only for the wee ones.

Jeski presents Drawn: Dark Flight posted at Sublime Play, saying, “This is a pretty blog full of pictures and reviews of particularly beautifully designed puzzle and adventure games. The linked entry is one such review. ” A nice detailed review of the game Drawn: Dark Flight. Looks like an interesting game, hopefully I’ll find time to try it out sometime.

Grady presents To Washington: A Few Tips from the World of Video Games posted at The Outlaw and The Elitist. An amusing look at some lessons politicians could learn from video games. Of course, that would require them to play the games instead of trying to ban them.

Meg presents The Cave Is A Lie posted at Simpson’s Paradox. A quick bit of info about a bug suffered in a game Meg’s working on, and the achievement players suffering from this bug can find. For the reference of those reading, any chance we could get the name of this game so anyone possibly affected knows to be careful here?

Niels Van Hellemont presents Pre-Played: Star Wars: The Old Republic posted at The Grumbler, saying, “Taking a look at the upcoming BioWare game The Old Republic.” Niels has a preview for the new MMO coming from Bioware. Looks awesome, but my longstanding prohibition against paying monthly for MMOs means I’ll still likely be passing on this one.

Niels Van Hellemont presents Character Bio – Kratos posted at The Grumbler, saying, “Enjoy this in-depth look at the God Of War protagonist, Kratos.” A recounting of the story of the God of War series, a good read if you don’t mind spoilers or have already finished the game.

Jeremy Friedman presents How to Set Up a Minecraft Multiplayer Server posted at GeekGamut.com, saying, “A complete guide on how to set up and run a Minecraft Multiplayer Survival server.” As it says, instructions to set up a Minecraft server once you have the game. Great for those who want to play host to other gamers, but aren’t quite sure how to get started.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.

Dan presents Video Games are a Form of Art posted at Dan’s Gaming Blog. Dan talks about games as art a bit here. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that here in the U.S., the National Endowment for the Arts now recognizes games can be art.

ds presents The 10 most common clichés in video games posted at My little gaming blog. Some video game cliches, heavy on rpg stuff, but some other good ones in there as well.

ds presents Games + girls = ? posted at My little gaming blog. Here ds shares his experiences with girls and games. Personally, I find that women play games about the same as men, and not with the giant disparity between different types of games mentioned in the article. But everyone always tells me my experiences on this are weird. Maybe, maybe not, but I’ve never really seen a difference.

Jordan Vigil presents Microsoft’s Kinect and the growth of Motion Gaming posted at stratagonline. Jordan shares his thoughts on motion gaming. While I agree that motion gaming suffers from a lack of experiences outside the typical sports, workout and kids games, there are a few gems outside those genres, and if developers would spend the time to make *good* motion control games, it would work out quite well.

Joe Lutovsky presents It’s Just a Game. posted at It’s Just a Game. While I like the overall message, sometimes playing to win is the best way to have fun in a game, and *some* frustration and anger is a natural side effect of playing. So long as it’s not overwhelming the fun, or seriously stressing you out, I don’t think it’s too big an issue. Still, definitely good to keep games in their proper place.

Niels Van Hellemont presents World of Warcraft is losing subscribers posted at The Grumbler, saying, “Following the news that World Of Warcraft lost over 500k subscribers since the release of Cataclysm I posted my thoughts on these numbers. Let’s just say WoW is far from dead!” I’m not surprised  WoW is losing subscribers, for many of the reasons noted in Niels’ post. There’s only so much to do before it’s time to look for a new experience.

John M presents Which is better FIFA or Pro Evo Soccer on the iPhone posted at iPhone Experience, saying, “The age old battle of Football Video Games comes to the iPhone.” Here we have two soccer games (football for our friends in the UK, I know) for the iPhone and a comparison between them.

Sean McGeady presents The Teachings of Fiction: What Games Have Taught Me | Anti-Bandwagon Propaganda posted at Anti-Bandwagon Propaganda, saying, “This is an insightful, if slightly satirical account of the many facts bestowed on me by our mutual hobby. It’s a serious case supporting the beauty and wisdom of video games, but told by a witty and humorous host who knows not to take himself too seriously. I hope you enjoy it.”

Brandon Janko presents NBA 2k11 Review posted at Game Reviews and Articles. Here we have a review from Brandon for NBA 2k11. I’m a little confused as to how a game can have (according to the author) major flaws and score a 9.5, but reading the review I get the feeling it’s more little minor stuff than anything major that plagues the game. Still a good review and worth a read, of course, or it wouldn’t be here.

RandomGreatness presents Rank vs Actual skill in FPS posted at RandomGreatness’ Gaming Blog. And here we have the issues of using rank in a game as a determinant of skill. I have a solution for this though. Use the win/loss ratio over the course of the past month of gameplay for matchmaking purposes. No, it’s still not perfect, but no matchmaking system is, and it at least takes into account players who support their team as well as those doing all the scoring. Also, unlocks over time is never a good idea in a competitive game. It just isn’t. But then again, we see it all the time in rpgs, and shooters are doing the same thing to try to expand their life.

Samantha presents Rally the Horde!: Preview: Grim Dawn RPG posted at Rally the Horde!, saying, “Preview for the upcoming Grim Dawn RPG.” Samantha has a preview ready for yet another Diablo clone. For some reason, these games always suck me in, despite being the same thing over and over again. Will probably check it out eventually, especially if there’s a demo to try first.

Jon Parsons presents Paper Glider Para Drop iPhone Game Review posted at Vortex Game Reviews For iPhone. Here’s a look at an iPhone game that appears designed as a quick way to take care of the five minute wait you may be experiencing while taking care of various errands. Definitely the goal of many portable games, and looks successful if that’s the aim.

John presents Dead Space 2 Review posted at Game Reviews and Articles. A review for Dead Space 2, check it out if you’re into the genre, or just want to see what a fellow gamer has to say about it.

Nick H presents Sony Announces ‘PSP Remasters’ for PS3 posted at IGXPRO. For those itching to play some PSP games on their PS3, this post should be some welcome news for you.

Bryan Keithley presents Top 10 Sega Genesis Games Of All Time! posted at Finally Fast, saying, “You’ve waited. You’ve wondered. And now it’s finally here: the list of the hands-down, no-doubt, slam-dunk top 10 Sega Genesis games of all time (and all parallel universes). This list will either be a quaint history lesson or a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Either way, you’re sure to enjoy it!” And Bryan has a top 10 list of Genesis games, most of which I agree with, but not necessarily the ordering . Always nice to see the Genesis getting some love.

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Video Game Bloggers. Join us next month for more great gaming info. You can use the carnival submission form to submit posts for next month’s carnival. Be sure to check out some of the posts of other submitters and perhaps leave a friendly comment or two if you like their work.