I love Dragon’s Lair.  I’ve been an avid fan since I was a kid way back in 1983, and have collected a number of goods over the years, including a lunchbox (yes, really) and a poster autographed by Don Bluth and his team.  And I can play the original game backwards and forwards, and even name all the enemies that appear in it, from the Giddy Goons to the Lizard King.  So, yeah, when I was handed a code to check out Dragon’s Lair on Xbox Live Arcade, I was eager to give it a try and see if it held up as well as other versions of the game, like the ones for Wii (as part of the Dragon’s Lair Trilogy) and PlayStation 3.  But this time…something just doesn’t feel right.

It’d be interesting to talk to the executive who green-lit a big $200 million budgeted film “loosely” based on the Hasbro board game Battleship…especially considering it’s bombing something fierce this weekend against the mighty Avengers movie.  (We’re not that surprised – it sucks horribly.)  For that matter, we’re trying to figure out why Activision, of all people, would jump at the chance to make a game based on the movie based on the board game.  No matter – like most movie-licensed fare, it doesn’t really get anywhere.

Sonic the Hedgehog has been around for years now, entertaining us with his platforming adventures on the Genesis before moving on to other platforms and, eventually, multi-system success on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.  But the ride hasn’t always been the greatest with him, thanks to lackluster efforts since Sonic Unleashed (seriously…a Werehog) and the iffy next-gen debut of Sonic the Hedgehog, where he fell for a…human girl.  Ick.  Anyway, that said, he did have some great games over the years…so why not count down the best?

When Namco released the original Sniper Elite for Xbox and PlayStation 2 a while back, it enhanced the job of being a long-distance killer better than Konami’s arcade-style Silent Scope series could – especially considering the seriousness of its World War II mission.  With Sniper Elite V2, 505 Games steps in as publisher, and tells a more fleshed out tale of a US soldier running and gunning through Germany on his own terms, shooting targets from a distance – and up close when necessary – to get the job done.  It has stuff in common with the original game, but feels much more streamlined, not to mention fun.

You may not be familiar with the name Cave unless you have a love for “shmups”, or shoot-em-ups if you will.  These are games where one lone ship faces off against some sort of armada, with big boss enemies to back them up.  The Japanese developer has been working on these types of game for some time, including releases like DeathSmiles (both 1 and 2) and Dodonpachi Resurrection.  Its latest, Akai Katana, is definitely one that deserves to join the ranks, and, thankfully, Rising Star Games has saw fit to give the game a discounted American release.  Wise choice.

AUSTIN – Disney Interactive Media Group has big plans for Mickey Mouse. The studio’s Junction point development studio is hard at work on the sequel to the bestselling Disney’s Epic Mickey game. Only this time, the new game is going co-op and cross-platform for even more interactive fun. Junction Point founder Warren Spector talks about Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two in the exclusive video interview below.

Electronic Arts never fails to showcase a strong array of third-party titles for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as other consoles each year they attend E3.  Last year was a huge highlight between such games as SSX and Mass Effect 3, but what does the company have to lean on this year?  Well, besides big sports hits like Madden NFL 13 and the upcoming Overstrike from Insomniac Games, we’ve got a few ideas as to what the company should officially announce at the show.  With that, here are our suggestions…

If you've been reading our stories as of late, then you already know about Sony's recent push for independent game hits on the PlayStation Network, including games like Papo & Yo and The Unfinished Swan.  However, one additional game that will deserve some attention once it arrives over the summer is Dyad, a game that channels the energy of such old-school shooters as Tempest 2000 and N20, and puts them into a contemporary experience that will addict PSN players for hours on end.  We recently caught up with the game's progress during a recent trip to PAX East 2012.

One of the highlights from this year's PAX East event was a huge standee for Ubisoft's upcoming Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, featuring plenty of action from the co-op side of things.  In the demo, players could team up to defend their home base from invading enemies on all sides, using their various tools of the trade, weapons and accessories alike, to their advantage as they got the jump on their adversaries.  This will be a huge part of the game when it ships later this month for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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?

According to Insights into the Freemium Games Market, the latest report from leading market research company, The NPD Group, 4 out of 10 of those who have played an upgradable freemium game report making an in-game payment to extend or enhance a game. A growing number of freemium, or free-to-play games are hitting the market, like Firefall, which can be seen in the exclusive video below.