Welcome to The Black List, your one stop shop for the stories published on the site this week.

MONDAY TEST TUBE Dead Rising 2: Off The Record > After grinding my way through the ‘first’ Dead Rising 2, I was keen to see what this new take had to offer. Two questions in particular presented themselves. Would it address my many concerns with last year’s release? Further, could it possibly contain enough new tricks to hold my attention? After a couple of hours with the game, I felt like both questions had been answered. READ MORE

TUESDAY FEATURE Developer Playlist 6: Matt Armstrong > In the latest instalment of our series on developers and the games that inspire them, Radical Entertainment’s Matt Armstrong talks Mass Effect, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Falcon 4.0. READ MORE

WEDNESDAY NEWS nanoBITES 63 > After waiting more a decade for someone to revive the XCOM license, it looks very much like we’ll be forced to wait a little longer. Previously due in March 2012, 2K Games’ sci-fi shooter has been delayed until April 2012 at the earliest. This is just one of the stories in this week’s edition of nanoBITES, our ongoing feature devoted to small but important news items. READ MORE

THURSDAY REVIEW Gears of War 3 > Whether you’re a fan or a hater you should definitely give Gears of War 3 a go, not for the cheesy story or even the cover-based shooting, but rather for the awesome online components of Horde and Beast. Epic are keen to extend the life of this very polished game with great online support like themed events and multiple DLC packs. If you aren’t playing, then yes, you are definitely missing out. READ MORE

FRIDAY REVIEW Dark Souls > In an age when when every square inch of a game had been polished to a sheen, pre-release coverage had become equivalent to watching a ‘Let’s Play’ video on YouTube and the sense of discovery was beginning to wane, Dark Souls was a breath of fresh (though likely poison-infused) air. READ MORE

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In an age when when every square inch of a game had been polished to a sheen, pre-release coverage had become equivalent to watching a ‘Let’s Play’ video on YouTube and the sense of discovery was beginning to wane, Dark Souls was a breath of fresh (though likely poison-infused) air. Read the rest of this entry »

You begin Gears 3 with the sense that things have gone very wrong. The welcome victory over the Locust Horde has allowed a newer threat, the Lambent, to take hold. The Lambent include mutated Locust along with completely new enemies that require you to shoot their ‘glowy’ body parts in order to kill them. They also spew yellow liquid when they die, causing damage if they are close. While the Locust arrive out of holes in the ground, the Lambent spawn from pods on the side of giant stalks. Signs of their invasion are everywhere and the sense of loss immense as the last of The Stranded (humans still living on land) just try to survive. The mighty COGs have retreated to the sea where they live on large rusted warships away from the stalks. You can end this once and for all… if you have what it takes. Read the rest of this entry »

NanoBITES captures those small but important morsels of gaming information that otherwise might slip between the cracks.

ITEM! French publisher Ubisoft has expanded its presence in the downloadable space by gobbling up Red Lynx, the Helsinki based studio responsible for world conquering motorcycle game Trials HD.

ITEM! Celebrated PSN stunt game Joe Danger is making its way to XBLA with more than 50 new levels in tow. A release date is yet to be announced. Developer Hello Games is also working on a sequel, Joe Danger: The Movie, for unspecified platforms.

ITEM! After waiting more a decade for someone to revive the XCOM license, it looks very much like we’ll be forced to wait a little longer. Previously due in March 2012, 2K Games’ sci-fi shooter has been delayed until April 2012 at the earliest.

ITEM! If imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery, THQ must be feeling more than a little vindicated. As reported by Game Informer, Ubisoft has announced Drawsome, a tablet peripheral for the Wii that looks very much like THQ’s surprise hit uDraw accessory.

ITEM! The next big 3DS release is almost upon us. Nintendo of Australia has revealed that Mario Kart 7 will arrive in stores on Saturday 3 December. This latest instalment will allow racers to take their karts underwater and into the skies.

Looking for more nanoBITES? View previous instalments here.