Ugh.  Game of Thrones.  Not the show, mind you, and certainly not A Song of Fire and Ice.  Those are high-quality works that, by all means, shouldn’t be missed, especially for the significant twists and turns.  But the game, recently released by Atlus and Cyanide Studios, leaves a lot to be desired.  It’s fallen completely flat on its face, leaving a diabolically thrilling storyline dangling in the wind because of faulty gameplay and a presentation that can’t compare to The Witcher 2 or even Kingdoms of Amalur.  With that, we’re left wondering…why didn’t someone else grab this franchise?

Over the years, some fascinating games based in the Wild West have come about, featuring heroes riding tall in the saddle and wearing cowboy hats to signify that they mean business.  While some have fared better than others (like Paradox’s fascinating but limited Lead and Gold for PlayStation 3), developers have no doubt tried their darndest to capture the essence of the likes of Sergio Leone and other influences to create the best “Wild West” experience.

No one in the U.S. knows more about Street Fighter X TEKKEN than Seth Killian. The resident fighting guru at Capcom knows every fighter inside and out. With new updates for the console version of Street Fighter X TEKKEN and a brand new PS Vita version coming soon, Killion took some time at Captivate 2012 to discuss what’s next for the venerable fighting franchise in the exclusive video interview below.

Throughout the history of video games, the oldest stereotype surrounding the industry has always been do violent video games affect player behavior and personality. It is a known fact that people who play games are exposed to more violence than the average consumer. From nuking entire civilization to obliterating players online, it’s has become more and more common now that games are more focus on squarely providing violent action. For this reason alone, parents have long held an underlining negative attitude towards the industry and those who stand by it, but is this criticism injustice or have developers gone to far? Should government step in?

Hot on the heels of Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur V World Championship in Las Vegas this week, there are new opportunities for the best fighting gamers to earn cash. Major League Gaming (MLG) is offering several fighting competitions to its 2012 Pro Circuit Spring Season. Check out this video from the Namco Soul Calibur V event below.

Capcom believes there’s a core audience of gamers who are willing to take the Kinect plunge. The Japanese publisher has enlisted developer From Software to create this sequel to the hit Xbox game, Steel Battalion. Working closely with Microsoft to take full advantage of Kinect, Steel Battalion Heavy Armor is an Xbox 360 exclusive first-person action game that promises to deliver a uniquely immersive experience and an evolution in warfare gaming.

The long awaited dream match-up between the two leaders in the fighting genre can now be played at home… and on the go. Street Fighter X Tekken on the PlayStation Vita builds upon the action-packed console experience and delivers an expanded version of the ultimate tag team match up. In addition to all 43 of the iconic characters featured on the PlayStation 3 version, 12 new characters will make their debut on the PS Vita, making for one of the most robust character line-ups in fighting game history. Check out the trailer below straight from Captivate 2012.

Capcom has a brand new franchise that’s about to be unleashed, Dragon’s Dogma, which is likely to be one of the big games of 2012. While the game is new, the creator, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, is not. Kobayashi has produced some of Capcom’s biggest games, including Devil May Cry 4 and Resident Evil 4. He talks about the new fantasy action adventure game and why Dragon’s Dogma is different than anything gamers are used to.

It sounded like a fair enough idea.  Capcom signed on Slant Six Games to produce a new Resident Evil game that takes more of a team initiative, and rather than controlling the usual heroes (or anti-heroes, depending who you choose), you’re instead in charge of someone working for Umbrella, in this case some Spec Ops soldiers sent in to do clean-up.  It sounds like a compelling idea, but how did Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City go wrong?  Well, it’s right there in the opening sentence – Slant Six Games.

There are a lot of influences that Capcom can easily say it drew from when it was putting together Asura’s Wrath alongside the team at CyberConnect 2.  Dragon Ball Z definitely comes to mind, especially with all the rage bursts that seem all Vegeta-like.  For that matter, we also spotted a little God of War, Panzer Dragoon, the Incredible Hulk and even a little Mr. Furious from the Mystery Men films (though obviously that’s a small percentage – Ben Stiller this guy ain’t).  But somehow it all blends together into a gaming experience that’s more style than substance, yet it’s something that shouldn’t be missed.

Steel Battalion was a rather quirky game for its time.  Unlike any other?  Sure.  But it also came with the most realistic vehicle play you could imagine, thanks to a deluxe sized controller that featured literally dozens of functions, ranging from various settings to an eject button, when things got too hot under the collar.  It was definitely an acquired taste, especially with its $200 price tag.  But Capcom is ready to bring this series back for a whole new audience, as it’s doing away with the controller in favor of Kinect-supported controls.  Will that be enough?

Say what you will about Capcom’s practice of releasing a fighting game, and then releasing an improved version of that game months later, but it’s quite effective, giving them time to add characters that make a difference to fighting fans, or adding the key features that will bring in an even bigger audience.  Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 easily fits into this business pathos, and after creating havoc on consoles a few months back, it’s making its handheld debut on the PlayStation Vita, along with a couple of extra features.  So, is it still good?