COLOGNE, Germany – The Gamescom Awards are the most coveted prizes in the European games industry and an accolade for outstanding software and hardware. Last week, more than 275,000 visitors to Cologne experienced the spectacular innovations presented at Gamescom 2012. Among them were the 20 international jurors and experts from the world’s leading games media who made up the jury for the Gamescom awards 2012. It was this jury that picked out the winners of the awards for this year’s best games and hardware from more than 100 entries.

GRAPEVINE, Texas – Ever wonder how those used games at GameStop ended up on store shelves? Well, the process they go through is a lot more than simply checking the disc. All used games, consoles, and electronic devices in the US go to a huge factory in Grapevine, Texas where they’re inspected, refurbished, categorized and then shipped back out to stores around the country. Check out the process in the exclusive video below.

While E3 is over and Gamescom is right around the corner, retailer GameStop is offering its PowerUp Rewards members a chance to experience a mini-E3 just like store managers. Every year, the game industry brings in celebrities and game developers to showcase the biggest titles for Christmas and beyond to GameStop managers. This year, the managers will get their own show in San Antonio, Texas, but then approximately 5,000 gamers will get the next day to see everything up-close and experience hands-on with the biggest titles of this year. Nintendo Wii U will have a large presence at this EXPO 2012.

Gamers can get an early start in exploring the mythology of Scotland with Disney Interactive’s Brave: The Video Game, inspired by the Disney•Pixar movie Brave. The new Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC/Mac and Nintendo DS game offers fans the chance to continue the story of the film and relive highlights from Merida’s heroic journey to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late. The third person action adventure game allows players to challenge destiny and change their fate, while playing as Merida who is voiced by the film’s actress, Kelly Macdonald. See the exclusive video interview with Macdonald below.

Epic Games just got bigger. Chinese Internet, mobile and telecommunications company Tencent Holdings Limited, which already licenses Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 technology, has agreed to acquire a minority stake in the Cary, North Carolina-based game developer.  Following the strategic investment, Epic will continue to operate independently and seek to further expand its game franchises across multiple platforms. The deal is expected to close within one month, subject to customary closing conditions. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The idea behind E3 was to showcase the latest and brightest games of 2012, but there are always a few games that disappoint us. Some games on our list made serious changes to their formula, and not for the better. Other games took center stage at E3 when they shouldn’t have. There were many games at E3, but here is our top five list of disappointments.

When it comes to the global sport, soccer still reigns supreme. EA has sold over 100 million copies of its FIFA games over the years. With E3 around the corner, Electronic Arts unveiled five new innovations that will bring big changes to EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 13, along with the largest and deepest feature set in the history of the franchise.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to visit Santa Monica Studios to demo two new upcoming games. The first was a Celtic magic adventure called Sorcery exclusively designed for the Playstation Move. You play a young wizard apprentice armed with an arsenal of spells and abilities fighting through a variety of fantasy locations to free the world of evil. Using the motion controls as the on screen character’s wand via the Sony Move was actually quite fun.

Q-Games has always been a developer that’s been just as much about style as it has substance with its games.  Take a look at the PixelJunk Shooter games, or, for that matter, the gorgeous PixelJunk Eden or the entertaining (if slightly difficult) PixelJunk SideScroller.  However, its latest effort, PixelJunk 4AM, might be its most innovative to date.  The reason for that is, instead of giving you pre-set objectives, it instead lets you play around with a musical space, shaping it however you see fit using the PlayStation Move controller.

NBA 2K12 has been roaring up the basketball charts over the past few months, mainly due to the lack of a (direct) competitor.  But it's still one hell of a sim, and players everywhere have been dunking and raining three's, even if it's without New York Knicks superstar Jeremy Lin.  (But, yeah, we know you play as him sometime.  Admit it.)  Now the madness is set to continue next month, as Best Buy has announced a new edition that will be sold exclusively through them.

The PlayStation 3 -- with its Move peripheral -- seems to be the new home for great arcade shooters, as indicated by such releases as Time Crisis: Razing Storm (with three arcade games in one) and House of the Dead Overkill: Extended Cut.  It doesn't look like they'll be changing course in 2012, as Sega has just announced two of its more popular arcade shooting games coming to PlayStation Network over the next few months.

In a sign that CES continues to grow despite the struggling global economic situation, 94 companies will exhibit in the new Eureka Park TechZone at the 2012 International CES. The dedicated area was created partnership with the National Science Foundation, Startup America Partnership, CNet and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), showcasing innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2012 International CES, the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology, is scheduled January 10-13, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.