Hockey has gone Hollywood with the Los Angeles Kings skating into the Stanley Cup Final. EA Sports is capitalizing on all the buzz with a deep dive into NHL 13. The developer is introducing True Performance Skating and EA Sports Hockey I.Q. to the franchise, which promises to deliver a revamped gameplay experience that accurately captures the speed, creativity and strategy of NHL hockey. In addition, NHL 13 will also deliver new experiences that connect hockey fans to their friends and the real world of hockey with the all-new GM Connected and NHL Moments Live modes. NHL 13 will be available on September 11, 2012.

You may have heard about Microsoft upcoming first person shooter called Halo 4, which is releasing this Fall. We are only three weeks away from E3 and new details have started to emerge. Some are predictable, but the latest multiplayer details will catch your eye.

When WarHawk released for PlayStation Network a few years back, it introduced some important new fundamentals to the multiplayer battle experience, letting teams take out one another either on the ground or in the air, using a number of well-armed vehicles.  While it was fun for networked battles, it really didn’t offer much outside of that, since there was no sign of a single player campaign.  That said, some team members behind that game have since shacked up with Lightbox Interactive to produce a sequel of sorts, and StarHawk is the result.  And as fun as the original Hawk was, this experience surpasses it.

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…

Ronimo Games dodged quite a bullet with the release of Awesomenauts, as the game’s publisher, DTG, was just about ready to file for bankruptcy, throwing its release into question.  But things got worked out, and now players everywhere will be able to experience the MOBA – multiplayer online battle arena – action that awaits within.  While there are things that are hard to overlook, the situations you can get into with friends really put the “Awesome” into the game’s name.

We’re all for trying something new in a long-running series, but the problem is when an idea is introduced that doesn’t pan out like the development team expected it to.  Sadly, this is looking like the case for Lionhead Studios’ Fable.  After three entertaining adventure outings, the series is drastically moving into Kinect territory later this year with Fable: The Journey, which, honestly, doesn’t look so hot right now.  To make matters worse, things don’t really fare much better with Lionhead’s recent XBLA release, Fable Heroes.

God of War: Ascension was confirmed a few days ago by Sony after months of (badly) being kept secret by the company, and while many are interested in seeing the origins of the series’ violent hero, Kratos, there’s a new element that’s even more interesting.  Sony recently invited us down to an event in Los Angeles to get a first look at the game, but instead of seeing any aspect of single player, we were treated to a glimpse at the proposed multiplayer mode.

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?

I’m not sure what keeps compelling development teams to keep trying to make World War II-oriented flying games.  Maybe they’re trying to get a leg up on the Ace Combat series; or maybe they’re just trying to create the next “great thing” in the genre, like Secrets Weapons Over Normandy and the Blazing Angels series managed to do over the years.  Regardless, Konami’s stepping up this time around with Birds of Steel, and it actually feels like the most authentic entry in the genre to date.  But be warned, that doesn’t necessarily make the experience one that everyone can get into.

Yesterday, within 64 seconds of the first redemption going through, all 100 of the Nvidia GeForce GTX 560 graphics cards available in the PLEX for Graphics Cards program were sold out. The PLEX for Graphics Cards program allowed players to exchange 20 PLEX units for an EVGA GeForce GTX 560 video card, and have it shipped to their home. As first described at EVE Fanfest 2012, the joint program with Nvidia and CCP shattered all expectations in terms of player demand.

“The Art of Video Games” is one of the first major exhibitions to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking graphics, creative storytelling and player interactivity. The exhibition features some of the most influential artists and designers across five eras of game development, from early pioneers to contemporary designers. Video games use player participation to tell stories and engage audiences. In the same way as film, animation and performance, video games are a compelling and influential form of narrative art.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin captured his second career Art Ross Trophy as the National Hockey League’s scoring champion, Tampa Bay Lightning center and NHL 12 cover athlete Steven Stamkos claimed his second Maurice Richard Trophy as the League’s goal-scoring leader, and St. Louis Blues goaltenders Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak combined to win their first William Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the club allowing the fewest goals during the 2011-12 regular season. The four trophy winners will be honored at the 2012 NHL Awards, which will be held Wednesday, June 20 at the Wynn Las Vegas.