If you've been hanging out for beta access to get a taste of the upcoming Torchlight II, the odds may be much better this weekend. Runic Games have updated the official Torchlight II site with word that their current beta session is coming to a close, but not before they suit up for a wide network stress test.

We'll be sending out many more beta codes to those who have already made their Runic Games Account. Haven't signed up yet? Go for it now! Creating your account is always your best chance to receive a beta invite - especially this weekend.

The Beta Weekend will start on Friday, May 18th at 11:00am PDT and go until Tuesday, May 22nd at 11:00am PDT. We will be staggering invitations to let participants know they have been chosen, but you will not be able to play until the start of the Beta Weekend on Friday. This is to help stagger downloading of the game client.

In Sydney time (AEST) That start date translates to Saturday May 19th at 04:00am and the end date to Wednesday May 23rd at 04:00am.

There's no strict guarantee you'll get in, but if you want to be in with a shot, best head over to torchlight2game.com soon.

The high-jumping Italian plumber from Brooklyn can do anything he sets his mind to and that's a virtue that Nintendo have frequently exploited. We've seen Mario and his friends pick up a racquets and head for centre-court before, but not in glasses-free 3D!

Mario Tennis Open lands on the Nintendo 3DS next Thursday, May 24th, and Jickle can tell you all about it in today's AusGamers review.

The Silicon Sports crew have reminded us that their BarCraft gathering is meeting again tomorrow night at Melbourne's The Exchange Hotel for another round of alcohol-fueled e-sports action. The occasion is the GSL Season 2 Final which will see StarCraft 2 players MVP and Squirtle duke it in a Terran vs Protoss showdown.

The Exchange Hotel wants to support eSports as much as it can and have opened the entire venue for BarCraft Melbourne on May 19th at 5 pm. With a capacity of 1000 people, 7 screens and 3 bars, we will all be able to watch, enjoy and celebrate the GSL Season 2 Grand Final in comfort. I am sure MVP and Squirtle will put on an epic TvP series – I can’t wait! Go MVP!!!

Hit up the Silicon Sports website for further details.

Space is near endless. It offers a vast amount of unmapped knowledge that we have yet to even comprehend as human beings. This is where video games come in, giving us that opportunity to explore the vast universe and beyond.

While there are a few titles that offer freedom beyond what we would normally expect, the majority of space themed games have a set of limitations in place. Not being able to dock anywhere, only one single method of flying, destroying individual parts of an enemy ship and even using other pieces of ships to create your own are just some of the limitations.

The team over at Digitilus are changing things up with their latest title, Skyjacker, a 3D first-person space simulation based on an original IP from the “Abyss Lights” book series. The game offers a vast amount of freedom, with the core focus being immersive space combat that gives players something they have been longing for in the space themed market.

In SKYJACKER the player controls a space pirate, roaming space in his starship. Game objectives are:

Be the real space pirate, flying, shooting, robbing and crashing alien ships all around the Galaxy

Collect the loot to improve your own spacecraft

Climb the criminal ladder, getting higher ranks

Space combat is a large focus of this game. The ability to break any in-game objects into their component parts is the key factor of space battle in SKYJACKER. The player has to use all his skills and talents in tandem with battle features of his spacecraft to achieve mission goals. Such factors as 4 models of the flight, vehicle physical parameters and weaponry settings have a direct influence on the combat result. The player is motivated to progress in all aspects of the game to win his space battles.

If you still aren't quite convinced, you can check out the demo that offers a glimpse into the space filled extravaganza over here. Digitilus are also running a Kickstarter page for those keen to help out with development, with the goal of $200,000 and only 13 days left. If you aren't the type to play a demo than take a look at the gameplay below showing off the battle mode available in the demo.

Just a reminder to Aussies and Kiwis that Max Payne 3 is officially out on store shelves for the ANZAC market from today, giving you plenty of reason to sink into your couch or desk chair over the weekend to help Max finish that glass of whiskey he never seems to be able to.

From our review:

Max Payne is a package and a half, and also represents a massive leap forward, visually, for the Rockstar bench. The environments throughout are some of the most detailed I’ve seen in a long time, and even on the review platform I played the game on, Xbox 360, I was constantly dropping my jaw -- it’s simply breathtaking.

For the full review (8.8/10) click here.

And drop us a line with your Max thoughts post-purchase in the Comments section.

Another day, another matinée - here are all the gaming-related videos that have crossed our desktops since the last screening:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 "Collection 2 DLC" Launch Trailer
• Darksiders 2: Death Lives "Death Strikes - Part 2" Cinematic Trailer
• Infinity Blade: Dungeons iOS Gameplay Trailer
• Batman: Arkham City: Harley Quinn's Revenge "Payback" DLC Trailer
• Quantum Conundrum "Fun with Physics - Time" Trailer
• Lollipop Chainsaw "Special Edition Reveal" Trailer
• Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition "Official" Trailer
• Grim Dawn "Pre-Alpha - Soldier & Demolition Melee Build" Trailer
• World of Warplanes "Ground Attack Planes" Teaser Trailer
• The Walking Dead "Episode 1 Accolades" Trailer
• Sorcery "Creatures" Dev Diary Trailer
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier "Team Ghost - Kendrick Lamar" Trailer
• Blacklight Retribution "Netwar" Trailer
• Joyride Turbo Kinect Trailer
• Resonance Trailer

As always, stay tuned for the latest game videos as we get them online!

Unfortunately the demo-reel isn't yet available for public consumption, but over on Wired, you can find a very detailed article painstakingly describing everything they saw and learnt about Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 in its debut press presentation.

As we've come to expect from these early tech-demos from Epic, the level of detail is another cut above anything that's out there right now. Running in real-time on one of Nvidia's new Kepler-architecture GeForce GTX 680s, the presentation showed an armour-clad demonic figure in a volcanic mountain-top fortress with liberal use of smoke, embers and liquid-hot-magma effects.

In previous engines, one floating ember was enough to slow performance considerably; a shower of them was impossible. With Unreal Engine 4, there can be millions of such particles, as long as the hardware is potent enough to sustain them. Game developers overuse features of every new engine, because they are suddenly so easy to implement. In the original Unreal Engine, for example, the ability to render colored lighting led to a rash of games that employed the effect. The same may prove true for UE4′s particle effects, for better or worse. (“Mark my words,” Bleszinski says, “those particles are going to be whored by developers.”)

In one 153-second clip, the Epic team has packed all the show-off effects that have flummoxed developers for years: lens flare, bokeh distortion, lava flow, environmental destruction, fire, and detail in landscapes many miles away. Plus, it’s breathtakingly photo-realistic—or would be if demon knights were, you know, a real thing.

Upon completion of the cinematic sequence, direct control was taken by the epic presenter to navigate around the world in a first person perspective:

Willard maneuvers his avatar into a dimly lit room where a flashlight turns on, revealing eddies of dust—thousands of floating particles that were invisible until exposed. In another room, globes of various sizes float in the air. Willard rolls a light-emanating orb along the floor (think of a spherical flashlight that rolls like a bowling ball) and beams of light wobble and change direction, illuminating parts of the room and revealing the clusters of floating spheres with a kind of strobe effect. At first it all seems perfectly familiar: “Well, yeah,” you think, “that’s how they’d act in the real world. What’s the big deal?” But it is a big deal: This is stuff that videogames have never been able to simulate—the effects simply aren’t possible on today’s consoles.

It's not all about visual fidelity either, as the Wired article goes on to describe the Kismet 2 visual scripting tool. Epic's Tim Sweeney explains that as the rendering tech evolves and improves, that it becomes more and more laborious for artists, animators and level designers to craft the content that takes advantage of it, so productivity increases in these processes at the engine-level are essential.

Need to determine how many bullets it will take to shatter that reinforced glass? Kismet 2 is your tool. Once behaviors are set, they can be executed immediately and edited on the fly. With Kismet 2, Epic empowers level designers—the people responsible for conceptualizing the world—to breathe life into that world directly, rather than relying on programmers to do it on their behalf. Says Golding, “We’re turning our level designers into godlike creatures who can walk into a world and create with a swipe of their hand.”

For more details and screenshots from the demo, check out the full Wired article. The public unveiling of this demo and more details about Unreal Engine 4 are expected in early June around the E3 expo.

We still know next to nothing about the game -- only speculation that it will be a more open-world racing title to compliment the track-focused Forza Motorsport -- but here's the first screenshot of Forza Horizon, the Xbox 360 exclusive title in the works at new UK studio Playground Games.

EA and Crytek have released a new batch of in-engine screen caps and concept art from the upcoming and very lush looking Crysis 3. You wouldn't know the game is supposed to be a first person shooter by looking at them though as all the images are once again gratuitously crafted scenes of urban-jungle action and dramatic pose-striking.

Crysis 3 is powered by Crytek’s proprietary CryENGINE and advances the state of the art with unparalleled visuals and incomparable shooter sandbox gameplay. Taking place in 2047, Prophet returns to New York City on a revenge mission only to discover that the city has been encased in a nanodome (Liberty Dome) and has become overgrown with trees, dense swamplands and raging rivers – a veritable urban rainforest. Seven distinct natural environments become known as the Liberty Dome’s Seven Wonders, where nobody is safe.

Hit them thumbs below for the full gallery.

Crysis 3 is due on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in early 2013

Robomodo, developer of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD has revealed via the game's Facebook page that post-release DLC for the digitally released game, coming later this year, will be select levels from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.

Moreover, they've asked fans to suggest levels from the third installment in the series, though the final nod of approval on what actually makes it in will come from Tony Hawk himself.

Ideally, as a giant fan of the original two games (the second being the pinnacle in my opinion), I think drawing some content from the third game is a good idea, but I'd also love to see some fresh new levels in there as well, built with the classic series' sensibility, only a bit more modern.

Watch a trailer featuring the Birdman himself and fellow pro, Chris Cole, embedded below, or right here via our videos page.

Those pesky file-finding savvy gamers. It turns out that the Max Payne 3 game disc harbours some information regarding the vehicles you'll be playing around with in Rockstar's forthcoming, and highly anticipated, Grand Theft Auto V.

The list is a heady one, and can be found over at NeoGaf, but the file's outing was originally posted over at GTAForums.com, which also features a video proving the folder exists, because it looks like there was a lot of non-believers out there.

Among the usual cars list, BMX bikes, fishing boats, trains, a monorail and tanks are mentioned as part of your transport repertoire.

Currently there's no other information regarding GTAV barring what we've seen in the game's debut trailer, which you can watch embedded below.

Following a recent community announcement the Dragon Age 2 team were shifting focus to a third installment in their fantasy action RPG, BioWare has extended a further olive-branch to their vocal fanbase, asking for ideas and a clear definition of what Dragon Age means to them.

"The next thing for the Dragon Age team members and I to do is hear from you," wrote Executive Producer, Mark Darrah. "What does Dragon Age mean to you, and where would you like to see it go? We’re excited to hear what you have to say."

The team also hosted a panel at PAX East recently where they spoke about "hypotheticals" in where to take the franchise next (the results of which can be seen here).

The end result appears to be an open dialogue between the team, BioWare itself and fans in a move that might be slightly related to the Mass Effect 3 ending furore, but could also be seen as a community-driven developer reaching out to its fans to draw them into the creation process.

"Beginning today, we’ll do a series of questions and discussions around Dragon Age," the team wrote on the BioWare blog. "Consider this a conversation between fans, the community team, and the developers.

"Everyone at BioWare is incredibly excited about the future of the franchise but we’re interested in what you have to say," the post continued. "Every month, we will discuss a topic or question about Dragon Age and game development. You will have one week to post your thoughts, desires, and hopes before we close the thread for review. Moderators and developers will pop into the thread to chat every now and again, so keep an eye out."

The post also revealed that this dialogue isn't specifically tied to simply helping the development of the next game, but the whole DA universe and beyond for the likes of novels, comics and more. However, the post also asserted that nothing produced via this system is to be set in stone and that it's essentially everyone "talking about ideas".

"This should remain a discussion between BioWare and fans about what you loved about Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2 — what this franchise means to you," they concluded.

So, what would you have the team do with the next Dragon Age? Drop us a line in the Comments section with your thoughts and ideas.

THQ and Vigil Games have released another new cinematic trailer for the upcoming Darksiders 2. The new clip -- which is a continuation of the Death Strikes video -- features yet more of Darksiders II protagonist Death, tearing it up on his pale horse and taking on some kind of giant stone golem.

Hit play on the embed below for some hot scythe on stone action.

The trial regarding Activision's dismissal of Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella is still scheduled to go ahead on May 29, but the Call of Duty Publisher has reportedly settled out of court on $400 million claim it had made against Electronic Arts and their alledged collusion in the process.

Activision had accused EA of plotting with the IW developers to lure them away while their Call of Duty contracts were still active. West and Zampella have since gone on to found the new studio Respawn Entertainment, whose first yet-to-be-announced game is to be published under the EA Partners label.

According to Bloomberg, a statement from an Activision Lawyer after a Los Angeles Superior court hearing today, was simply that "Activision and Electronic Arts have decided to put this matter behind them".

Another day, another matinée - here are all the gaming-related videos that have crossed our desktops since the last screening:

• The Last of Us "Truck Ambush" Trailer
• The Secret World "Combat & Abilities" Trailer
• Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two Dev Diary Trailer
• Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition "Sound Effects" Dev Diary Trailer
• Halo 4 "Animated Key Art" Trailer
• Mortal Kombat PSVita "Challenge #139" Trailer
• Lollipop Chainsaw TV Spot Trailer
• Men In Black: Alien Crisis Facebook Gameplay Teaser Trailer
• Renaissance Heroes "Aisha" Trailer
• NHL 13 "Road to NHL 13 - Part 2" Trailer
• Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance 3DS Trailer
• Smite PAX 2012 Gameplay Trailer
• Creative Assembly "United Developer Profile" Video
• Cities in Motion "Paris" Trailer
• Rise of Immortals "Talking About Nauria" Trailer
• Dungeon Defenders "Quest for the Lost Eternia Shards III" Launch Trailer
• Smart As... PS Vita Dev Walkthrough Trailer
• SOL: Exodus Launch Trailer

As always, stay tuned for the latest game videos as we get them online!

Microsoft has sent along a big list of new information pertaining the upcoming Halo 4. On the multiplayer front, the biggest reveal is the Spartan Ops mode, a new story-driven experience that intersects the main Halo 4 campaign, which they boast as "effectively delivering two campaign experiences in one game".

The document also elaborates on the great character customisation and personalisation that 343 Industries has in-store for us this time around:

Halo 4 features a vastly expanded suite of new multiplayer modes, weapons, vehicles, armor abilities, a new loadout and player progression system, and a new armor modification system that introduces gameplay-enhancing customisations for the first time in a Halo game. These advancements can be used in both Spartan Ops and certain War Games matchmaking playlists, empowering player choice, vastly expanding their creative options, and make the experience deeper for core fans and more approachable for newcomers.

The Halo 4 player progression system goes beyond simple aesthetic upgrades, encouraging players to invest time and effort to create a Spartan that looks and plays the way they want. Players can earn and activate combat enhancements called “Specialisations” based on the style of play they engage in, from stealth to all-out assault, and everything in between.

On the Limited Edition, Microsoft announced that it is available for pre-order today and supposedly "maximises your Halo multiplayer career".

The Limited Edition will include future access to nine post-release DLC maps (spread across three competitive multiplayer map packs), six "specialisations (which standard edition Halo owners will have to wait for to unlock over time) as well as some of the usual collector's edition type stuff such as making-of videos and some exclusive in-game skins and avatar props.

Check out the handful of new screenshots below or Gamecenter's interview with Frank O'Connor (with some multiplayer gameplay footage) and Read the complete document for all the details on Halo 4 multiplayer and the Limited Edition contents.

Halo 4 is due on Xbox 360 on November 6th 2012.

As announced last month, developers Chris Jones and Aaron Conners have launched a kickstarter drive to bring the world a new addition to their classic adventure game series Tex Murphy.

Last seen in 1998's Tex Murphy: Overseer, the Tex Murphy adventure games were known for their humorous noir-gumshoe tales, presented with a cheesy interactive live-action cinematics.

Project Fedora will reunite creators Chris Jones and Aaron Conners and feature their trademarks of rich interactive storytelling and immersive gameplay. The new game will incorporate the very best of the classic Tex Murphy elements - sci-fi, film noir, witty dialogue, great characters, beautifully integrated FMV, and a deep, engaging story - but it will also enhance the experience of the former games with stunning new graphics, a sleek new interface, and other updates.

The detective-style gameplay takes place in a fully 3D world where you search for clues, solve puzzles, investigate crimes, and question witnesses and suspects. While the gameplay will be fun and challenging, you'll never get stuck with the free, built-in hint system.

One of Project Fedora's most exciting features is how the game and story can unfold in different ways. As you play, your actions and choices will change events, leading to new story elements and gameplay. This "narrative pathing" not only allows you to customize your experience, it will provide unique replayability, as the game will have at least three or more story paths leading to multiple endings.

The story will pick up right where Overseer left off all those years ago, but the developers maintain that the continuity won't alienate newcomers.

In under a day, the pledge drive has already raised over US$125,000 of it's $450,000 goal, so it looks like a shoe-in.

Watch the pitch video below (or here for the HD option) and head over to the Kickstarter page to make a pledge.

It's one of the most successful Australian-developed games for iOS (and now console), and to celebrate the second Anniversary of Fruit Ninja, developer Halfbrick is holding a competition across the country to find Australia's Fruit Ninja Master.

Next week, Fruit Ninja fans from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are invited to enter the official Fruit Ninja dojo (city location details below), where 30 iPad gameplay stations will feature for players to compete to win a place at the Fruit Ninja Master national final in Sydney on May 30. The national champion will not only win the glory of the title, but also thousands of dollars worth of prizes including a Ninja Experience trip for two to Japan! All are welcome and entry is free!

Below are details on where and when:

• Brisbane – Monday May 21st, Queens Street Mall 10am – 7pm
  
• Sydney – Thursday May 24th, Darling Harbour 10am – 7pm
  
• Melbourne – Saturday May 26th, Federation Square 10am – 7pm

The team has also conformed new content, which is coming in an update soon, will be playable at each location for Fruit Ninja fans. Drop us a line in Comments if you think you have the Fruit Ninja skills to pay the bills and plan on entering.

Another day, another matinée - here are all the gaming-related videos that have crossed our desktops since the last screening:

• Hitman: Sniper Challenge Launch Trailer
• Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Launch Trailer
• Game of Thrones Launch Trailer
• Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter "Legend of the Beast" DLC Trailer
• Max Payne 3 "Assault Rifle" Trailer
• Max Payne 3 "MLG Pro Exhibition" Trailer
• Heroes of Ruin "Multiplayer" Gameplay Trailer #2
• PixelJunk 4AM Launch Trailer
• Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 Launch Trailer
• World of Warplanes "Warplane Classes" Dev Diary #2 Trailer
• Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion "Beta 3 Preview" Trailer
• Iron Front: Liberation 1944 Gameplay Trailer #2
• Summer Stars 2012 Gameplay Trailer #2
• KartRider Dash Facebook Trailer
• NVIDIA VGX "Google Earth Demo" Video
• NVIDIA VGX "Video Playback Demo" Video
• NVIDIA VGX "Professional 3D Apps" Video
• NVIDIA VGX "Windows Aero" Video

As always, stay tuned for the latest game videos as we get them online!

Ahead of what is expected to be more reveals at the E3 2012 expo, Sony and Naughty Dog have released a new trailer for The Last of Us, the upcoming survival action game from the creators of Uncharted.

The "Truck Ambush" Trailer can be viewed embedded below (or here for the HD option) and shows just one of the many threatening scenarios one might encounter as a father and daughter duo in a cruel, post-apocalyptic world.

The Last of Us is expected in late 2012 or early 2013, exclusive to PlayStation 3.