Junction Point's "Epic Mickey" is coming along swimmingly and is likely be one of the best 3rd party Wii games ever released. I had a brief walkthrough of some of the game's intro levels today and the mix of platforming, puzzle mechanics and morality choices (a staple of the game's creator, Warren Spector) are looking exceedingly sharp. But something caught my eye while I was playing through the preview build: Mickey's ears.

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Tags disney interactive studios, epic mickey, junction point, mickey mouse

Knowing when the "Epic Mickey" Collector's Edition will be available should be a lot more useful to everyone now that the game from Junction Point and Disney Interactive Studios has an official release date set. Figurine Mickey, the behind-the-scenes DVD, their special packaging and the regular Everyman Edition of his new Wii title will appear in stores on November 30 in the U.S., several days after it ships to Europe on November 25 and the U.K. on November 26.

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Tags disney, disney interactive studios, epic mickey, junction point

Bob Marley fans may be wondering whether the rumor we posted earlier this week about "Legend" coming to "Rock Band" as DLC would turn out to be true. Well, good news, as we just received the official confirmation from the "Rock Band" folks that all thirteen tracks from the classic record are coming to the "Rock Band" music store on September 21.

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Tags bob marley, harmonix, legend, mtv games, rock band

For more than a decade, Bungie has been making "Halo" games. The franchise started out as an exciting Mac release and has since evolved into something much, much larger. But Bungie's time with the Spartans and Covenant comes to a close with the release of "Halo: Reach," as they'll be moving on to a brand new, decade-spanning, multi-platform franchise. The question remains, did they have enough left in the "Halo" tank to end on a bang, or is "Halo: Reach" more of a wet fizzle?

The Basics

The events of the "Halo: Reach" campaign take place immediately before the very first "Halo" game. The planet of Reach, a human military stronghold and research hub, is attacked by the Covenant, and will eventually fall. This downfall is revealed the instant the game begins, but a quick flashback jumps you to just before things start to go south. You know the ending, but it's really all about the journey, isn't it?

In addition to the campaign, there's a metric ton of multiplayer content, ranging from deathmatch to racing to capture the flag to zombie-style infection. If I went ahead and listed out all of the multiplayer modes in "Halo: Reach," we'd be here all day. Suffice it to say, there's a lot.

On the cooperative side, in addition to playing the campaign with friends, players can participate in Firefight. First seen in "Halo 3: ODST," Firefight has up to four players battling increasingly difficult waves of AI enemies. "Halo: Reach" introduces new customization features and modes to Firefight, allowing players the ability to tweak any of the game's settings.

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Tags bungie, halo, halo: reach, microsoft game studios

Ludacris and A Tribe Called Quest will enjoy the company a few more rap and hip-hop luminaries on "Def Jam Rapstar," and Busta Rhymes and DMX will be among them. Busta will be pulling overtime, since he's already on the "DJ Hero 2" track list, but the latest batch of titles confirmed by Def Jam Interactive includes a few other names as well.

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Tags 4mm games, busta rhymes, def jam, def jam rapstar, dej jam interactive, dmx, konami, Terminal Reality

EA Sports broke out good news for Dwyane Wade and Joakim Noah fans this week, but anyone expecting online multiplayer matches for "NBA Jam" on the Wii can just forget about it. As the game's October 5 release date get closer, EA's "exclusive" solo release for the Wii and "NBA Elite 11"-bundled perk for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is starting to get fleshed out, and Wii owners will have mixed feelings aplenty to sort out as they figure out whether or not to pick it up.

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Tags ea, ea sports, nba jam

With no indication when Sega might return to "Virtua Tennis," the "Top Spin" series is really the only tennis game in town. 2K just announced that the fourth iteration, the aptly-named "Top Spin 4" is being developed for release in 2011 for 360, PS3 and Wii. The game will feature vintage Andre Agassi (seen above) as a playable character, but only for those who pre-order at GameStop in the US. I guess Sweden already scooped up Björn Borg.

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Tags 2k czech, 2k games, top spin, top spin 4

Over the last few years WayForward Technologies have established themselves as the go-to developer for developing licensed games if you want the end product to actually be enjoyable, especially if it's on one of Nintendo's platforms. While most licensed titles generally fall into the category of shovelware, WayForward has done an impressive job crafting games that are enjoyable across the board, whether you're a fan of the source material or not. Their streak has continued with their latest release, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold The Videogame," a classically influenced, 2D sidescroller based on the Cartoon Network show of the same name.

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Tags batman, batman the brave and the bold the videogame, dc comics, wayforward, Wii

RZA isn't the only rap legend touting his old school video game interests this week. Snoop Dogg has announced his own new game contribution in the form of an eight-pack of tracks for Rock Band titles, and like RZA, he touted his roots as a longtime player.

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Tags harmonix, mtv games, rock band, snoop dogg

Yuji Naka is a name that's been associated with some memorable titles over the years, including Sega's most important property, Sonic the Hedgehog. In his latest title, "Ivy the Kiwi?" his studio, Prope, has gone back and evoked the essence of Sonic by making the main focus of the gameplay center around the titular character, Ivy, a small woodland creature who runs a lot. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on your feelings about Sonic's latest titles) it's doubtful that "Ivy" will have the same staying power as a certain blue hedgehog.

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Tags ivy the kiwi?, prope, xseed