So you’ve no doubt either gotten a new Playstation 3 with Move, an Xbox 360 with Kinect or just a bigger TV to play them on – its funny though, none of our picks for next year utilize any of these fancy new motion controllers they are just the old school controller games that will have us glued to our TV’s in 2011.

Grab a cup of coffee, fasten your seatbelt this is one post that’ll blow the sculpting gel off your hair!

#10: Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds – February

The trailer had us already, but the unlockable characters really digs into our Marvel fanboy nature and gets us excited for this new installment that everyone is waiting for. The biggest disappointment? No comic book series crossover to promote it!

#9: Bulletstorm – February

An FPS with a lot of great one-liners.

#8: Deus Ex: Human Revolution – March

The third chapter in the Eidos FPS series and its a prequel.

#7: Rage – September

Id Software’s new FPS utilizing its new id Tech 5 engine and at least 3 years in the making.

#6: Unchartered 3: Drake’s Deception – November

The third chapter in the life of the modern-day Indiana Jones that will be NOT be played by Nathan Fillion in the movie version but by Marky Mark Whalberg!

#5: L.A. Noire – May

From the makers of Red Dead Redemption and showed us that playing GTA in an Old West setting would be just as fun as modern times is taking their engine to the world of L.A. Confidential with their newest sandbox game!

#4: Gears of War 3 – December

It may be more of the same, but that same is still fraggin’ awesome!

#3: Batman: Arkham City – December

The trailer to this game looks like they’ve pushed the CG into an almost super-realistic state. With the first game being one of the rare non-sucky licensed games, we have high hopes for this one!

#2: Metal Gear Solid: Rising – TBA

Kind of a Metal Gear 5 but with the cyborg Raiden – if this comes out in 2011 we’ll be surprised. We’re keeping it at #2 because we’re not sure it will make it this year, but that doesn’t dilute the anticipation level.

#1: Mass Effect 3 – December

So soon after the second one?! Bioware is already advertising the 3rd installment in the game series which destroyed us with amazing gameplay and amazing story. Since it comes out at the end of 2011 it gives you time to replay Mass Effect 2 to make sure your Xbox saves the best team as you load Mass Effect 3:

There are more than 10 really on the list but we wanted to cut it to 10, let us know what we left off the list that should be on it in the comments below.

Time to get derezzed and parkour your way through the world of Tron: Evolution for the Sony Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC. As denizen of the digital world it’s up to you to save Flynn and Tron from Flynn’s evil digital doppelganger Clu.

The game’s story takes place before the Tron: Legacy events and provides some insight into the film’s past. The film will also reference elements of the game’s story so fans will want to play the game to learn more about the TRON mythology seen in the film, but according to Disney each entertainment experience will stand on its own.

In the Story mode gamers will take on the role of Anon a character that can best be described as a “digital” version of the Prince of Persia. Much like the PoP you will be spending it parkouring your way through Tron and most likely falling to digital doom over and over again. The annoying aspect in this game is that your parkouring courses features a lot of floorless areas that will require you to make running leaps off a small ramps to get over to other walls and ledges. However these ramps are always located next to the edge of a ledge and most times you inadvertently wind up running off the end of the ledge.

While the parkouring aspects plays a big part in this game so does the fighting. Using your “Tron Frisbee” gamers can beat the digital bits out of some bad guys. Using a combination of the triggers and face buttons players can pull of varying attacks and combos. As you progress you can upgrade your disc to include added attributes like bomb and stasis, which gives you explosive attacks and with the later slows them down to a crawl.

Gamers will also get to ride light cycles and race across TRON’s digital landscape doing 90 degree sharp turns to make spectacular escapes. Players will also get to hop into tanks and blast their way through obstacles and shoot down transport ships. Unfortunately both of these features are laden with finicky controls and once you’ve tried each of them the novelty wears off quite quickly leaving you with no desire to try them again.

Overall game play is fun; however it is repetitive much like shampooing your hair, wash rinse and repeat. Gamers will find themselves parkouring their way to a large hall filled with Tron denizens who run screaming from you to be replaced by a group of bad guys who you pummel to bits, then you parkour your way to the next hall and you keep doing this over and over again. Occasionally you’re rewarded with a very short movie sequence that queues you in a little bit on what’s going on plot-wise and also points you to your next game destination/objective.

There a few multi-player games that expand the worth while-ness of the game and lets you and a few buddies have some extra fun. The multi-player light cycle races are very fun and a very similar to those seen in the movie. The battle arenas are similar to multi-player Quake and Halo matches and unfortunately seems like a simple knock-off of those games.

A special Tron: Evolution’s limited-edition package will also be available that will cost die-hard fans a whopping US$130 (about HK$1,010). What makes this package so expensive is the inclusion of an exclusive Tron light cycle collectible model made by Sideshow Collectibles. Also included in the package is a special casing to house the model so that you can proudly show it off and the display case also features a pullout drawer in its base to store the game’s box.

Hopefully Tron: Evolution isn’t indicative of what the movie will be like. It seems this game falls into the same abyss as other movie tie-in games and fails to deliver an equally exciting or fun experience as the movies that they are based on. While gamers might not find this as stimulating as the like of  Prince of Persia or Assassin’s Creed, fans of the original movie will definitely get some fun out of this game and some extra insight into the soon to be released movie that will be in cinemas on the 23rd of December.

As we count down the days till the final shopping days to Christmas, Microsoft wants you to remember that the Kinect is readily available now in Hong Kong to slip under that big green tree you got from Ikea.

If you still don’t believe its as good as they say, you can hop over to the newest mall in Tsim Sha Tsui – The One (apparently NOT a reference to Keanu Reeves or The Matrix) and test drive it yourself before buying one.

We definitely give it the thumbs up, especially if you enjoy games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero or are more of a party gamer. The Kinect really is like gaming with the set pieces from Minority Report and definitely worth the HK$1,400 we paid for one.

Our only caveat is that it definitely gives you a workout, we found we couldn’t play for more than 30 minutes before having to sit down – its not like a Nintendo Wii where you can cheat – this thing wants you to move, jump and dance your way through the games and is not for the serious Call of Duty gamer but could save you a lot of money in California Fitness memberships!

Kinect Adventures is the game that comes with the Kinect camera control and is a pretty good snapshot of what the system can do. We went for the racing game Kinect Joy Ride which asks that your hands be held at 10 and 2 to drive around a track and to practice our disco moves we got Dance Central and think in about a month or 2 can take on MC Hammer.

If you already have an iPad and iPhone 4 marked off your list as gifts then the Kinect will definitely be the other winner on Christmas morning for young and old. Just lay off too much turkey and gravy before playing or else you’ll ‘kinect’ with something in your bathroom!

Xbox keeps Summer around well into November.

After having both Chrissie Chau and Jessica C strut their stuff for Microsoft’s upcoming Kinect dance game for us at the recent Ani-Con the computer giant invited us to a pool party to announce when the Kinect will be available in Hong Kong. At L’Hotel Island South in Aberdeen Xbox 360 girls revealed not only skimpy bikini outfits but also the launch date of the Kinect which is November 18th 2010.

And while Chrissie and Jessica kicked off the Kinect excitement in Hong Kong they left it to their 3 friends to reveal the most important stuff: the release date and the price:

And here is what you will be shelling out in November:

Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Package

• Kinect
• Xbox 360 4GB (Black Kinect version)
• Controller (Black)
• Xbox 360 A/V cable
• One month Xbox Live Gold membership
• HK$2,499

Kinect Adventures Package

• Kinect
• Kinect Adventures video game
• HK$1,169

Also available right now is the Xbox 360 4GB Kinect-Ready console priced at HK$1,699

Launch games include

• Kinect Adventures (Bundled with Kinect)
• Kinect Joyride – HK$259
• Kinect Sports – HK$259
• Kinectimals – HK$259
• Dance Central – HK$259

At this year’s Ani-Con the guys from Xbox HK showed off their new Kinect system at their booth. Ani-Con visitors could try out demos of either Dance Central and Kinect Sports. The dance game only had five playable tracks while the sports game only let gamers try the Hurdles track event.

At a special press conference held the day before the beginning of the Ani-Con Xbox invited celebrity idol models Chrissie Chau and Jessica C to help demonstrate how to “Kinect” with the new Xbox 360 add-on.

The Kinect works as advertised and watching Chrissie and Jessica C dance to Lady Gaga’s Poker Face was quite a spectacle.

The Kinect is a controller free gaming add-on for the Xbox 360 and allows players to interact with games just by moving your body and talking. At the Con there was some initial problems with the game frequently pausing on its but the Xbox guys said that this was caused by the frequent bright flashes from the photographers cameras.

At the present moment Microsoft Hong Kong hasn’t set the local prices yet, but they do have three months to tell us. However Xbox USA has announced their prices:

• Xbox 360 4GB (black) with Kinect add-on device – US$299.99 (about HK$2,340)
• Xbox 360 250GB (black)– US$299.99 (about HK$2,340)
• Kinect add-on device – US$149.99 (about HK$1,170)

Launch Games

Dance Central
Do we need to explain when the title has “Dance” in it.

Kinectimals
Basically a virtual petting zoo without the poop and the financial expenses of vets and kibble.

Kinect Sports
Again do we need to explain when the title has “Sport” in it.

Kinect Joy Ride
Hmmm… Will we be taught how to boost cars in this driving game?

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved
We think the title is self explanatory.

Kinect Adventures!
The game wasn’t demo-ed at Ani-Con so we have no idea what it is but we guess it must be tones of fun.

Zumba Fitness
OK, this one does need a little explanation this is a dance fitness workout game set to sexy, high-energy music!

SONIC FREE RIDERS
It’s a Sonic the Hedgehog game Sonic, we’re guessing a lot of high speed running and golden ring collecting.

It was a hot sticky Sunday afternoon, as we discovered not everyone is in line for an iPad, as hundreds of gamers came out in force to buy the new Xbox 360 console this past weekend.

The special first day sale took place in the Atrium of Langham Place Mall in Mong Kok and gamers had been queuing up since the mall opened its doors that morning for a chance to be among the first 200 people in Hong Kong to own the new Microsoft console.

The new Xbox 360 features a new slighter slimmer and edgier body that comes with a whopping 250GB hard drive and built-in Kinect hardware, making this Xbox 360 2.0 console a definite must buy for the hardcore gamer.

There to help launch the new 2.0 console was celebrity ??? and local super Halo gamer girl ??? (who only plays Halo with the best of the best in the world).

Those that attended and bought a console each received data transfer cable and a special coupon that will allow them to try out the new Kinect system at this year’s Ani-Con that is being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai at the end of this month.

There was also a special deluxe package that was available for an extra HK$399 on top of the HK$2,369 for the console, which included an extra controller with re-chargeable battery and charging cable, a carry bag and two games (Forza Motor Sport 3 and Nier).

The new Xbox 360 2.0 console is available now at your nearest gaming retailer for the suggested retail price of HK$2,369. Kinect is coming in November so plenty of time to practice your skillz before jumping around with it.

Got an iMac? Then you should definitely consider buying this Mini DisplayPort Converter for 27”iMac from Belkin. This adapter takes an HDMI input at up to 1080p and squeezes it into a Mini DisplayPort connector at 720p for display, letting you enjoy graphics from your Sony PS3 or Xbox 360 on your lovely iMac. Audio signal is also split for stereo-out and it’s HDCP-compliant.

This device will require you to fork out US$150/HK$1170, which is an awful lot for a converter box with a single input. But in Hong Kong apartments it makes a world of sense if you want to keep all your toys together in your study and for you alone to play with! Bwa-hahahaha!

Ahem, yes well, there you have it. More info here.

On the road many days out of the year? Feel like you are neglecting your Xbox? Hate reading tweets from your friends declaring that they are almost finished Red Dead Redemption? Then here’s the answer to your prayers: GAEMS Portable Console Gaming and Entertainment system.

It’s a protective suitcase that securely holds your Xbox, making you look like an CSI agent, instead of a geeky road warrior. The GAEMS suitcase carries a 15-inch, 720p LCD in the lid, and “a whole mess of speakers”. Flip open your console and you’re good to go.

There’s just some glitch, though. There’s no place to put your power brick, and your controllers. Fortunately, it’ll still undergo some design changes. Price and availability you ask?  Probably about US$250/HK$1950 with an expected launch date of Q4 this year, and yes there are PS3 and new Xbox 360 versions coming too.

Register to pre-order it here.

We were supposed to cover E3 2010 live this year but somehow our plane took off without us so we’ve had to live it viacriously through blogs and websites and instead of enjoying the beautiful Los Angeles weather, had to sweat it out here in Hong Kong.

But its been a busy week – so here are a bunch of things that we liked/loved/loathed from the show floor at E3 2010:

XBox 360 Slim

Nintendo 3DS

• Game gallery images

Playstation Wave and Plus

Gears of War 3:

• Beast mode preview
• Horde mode to return
• Ice-T in GoW3

Previews of cool upcoming games:

• Twisted Metal
• Scott Pilgrim vs The World
• NeverDead
• Spec Ops: The Line (A wasted Dubai is the setting!)
• Portal 2
• Vanquish
• Final Fantasy XIV
• and of course: Metal Gear Solid: Rising

Gran Tourismo 5 using real cars as models

Silent Hill 8, yes EIGHT, coming to Xbox and PS3 in 2011

And all the E3 2010 Booth Babe photos you can handle!

This 3-day event is video game heaven and we’re still wandering around different sites looking at all the cool new stuff. Sometimes you wonder why bother going – you only have 2 eyes, but at the Neonpunch offices we have 4 monitors hooked up to each computer so we can catch the action from multiple viewpoints. The only thing we’re missing is the hands-on with the games.

For more news hit up our 2 favorite gamer blogs Kotaku and Joystiq.

If you saw things that we missed please post them below.

We get one holiday and the video game world explodes. We’ll try and catch you up on what you may have missed yesterday.

At the E3 Expo, Microsoft unveiled “Kinect“, the motion-sensing game system that plugs into Xbox and allows hands-free games and controlling the console with voice commands. It will begin selling in November 4, before the crucial holiday season, hoping to lure new and casual players to the Xbox and steal a march on rivals Nintendo Co Ltd and Sony Corp.

The world’s largest software vendor will also begin selling a smaller, same-priced version of the console this week. But the new Xbox 360 will not be able to read players’ motions without the Kinect add-on. Microsoft ambitions to make its Xbox 360 not just a gaming device but a hub of home video and Web entertainment,

Kinect uses a three-camera system and gesture recognition software to read a player’s body movements and then translates those actions onto the TV screen into the game to let people play videogames using natural body gestures instead of hand-held controllers. The platform, if it works well, takes gamers a step beyond Nintendo’s Wii.

Microsoft didn’t disclose how much Kinect will sell for, though analysts’ estimates range from $50 to $200.

On its launch day, Kinect will drop with 15 titles. Microsoft highlighted 6 of the 15:

• Kinectimals – Lets youngsters play with virtual animals, sort of like Nintendogs but with wild and impossibly cute animals.
• Kinect Sports – Soccer, bowling, beach volleyball, pingpong and boxing competitions, track and field games. A bit like Wii Sports.
• Joyride – a racing game, lets players use their hands to hold an imaginary steering wheel – “Thrill of high speed kart racing, with the joy of controller-free gaming”
• Kinect Adventures – an adventure that lets players raft down digital rivers.
• Your Shape: Fitness Evolved – an amazing looking fitness game that lets users track their personal fitness and do workouts with digital trainers. The game features running and aerobics.
• Dance Central – brings a So You Think You Can Dance experience at home, without needing to step on stupid pads or mats.

Microsoft also offered sneak peeks of a LucasArts game, in which Jedi Knights do battle with light sabers, something very enticing. In demonstrations, Microsoft employees showed how Kinect can also be used for video chats as well as to listen to music and watch movies with friends in other locations.

But that’s not all. Microsoft also struck a deal with ESPN network to broadcast live sporting events through the Xbox 360 games console, bypassing traditional cable providers.

Nintendo’s got Wii. Microsoft’s got Kinect. Your Move, Sony.