Game Informer Issue 217

Full cover:

Features:

• Letter From the Editor: Is It Out of Control? (Andy McNamara discusses free-to-play games and the heavy push to monetize them)
• Feedback (Reader Letters, Responses and Artwork)
• The 3DS IS Here (Overview on Nintendo’s new 3D-capable handheld)
• A Glimpse Into the Future (Epic unveils new tech demo showing off the new additions to Unreal Engine 3)
• Rumor Watch (Article on the potential buyout of Take-Two by Activision)
• The Big Questions (Article that looks at the big questions currently surrounding the industry)
• Top Ten: Stupid Video Game Titles
• Game Informer Editors Smash Their Way Into the Record Books (First-hand impressions from Dan Ryckert, Tim Turi, Jeff Cork and Ben Reeves on their attempt to break a Guinness World Record)
• Impulse (A look at downloadable titles Fallen Frontier, BattleBlock Theater, Skullgirls, Outland, Ms. Splosion Man and Moon Diver)
• Racing Lines (GI’s Matthew Kato attends the Porsche Driving School in Leeds Alabama to test his video game driving skill sin real life)
• Massive (GI details some of the compelling reasons to give new MMO Rift a chance)
• What’s Next For Kinect? (A look at some of the upcoming games being developed for Microsoft’s Kinect)
• Afterwords: Dragon Age II (Questions answered by lead designer Mike Laidlaw)
• Interview: Ru Weerasuriya (Interview with one of the co-founders of Ready At Dawn)
• Class GI (A look at some of the forgotten early innovators of classic gaming genres)

Cover Story: Mass Effect 3 (PS3, 360, PC)(Extensive look at the finale to the story of Commander Shepherd, where all the threads from the previous games come together as the biggest threat to the galaxy finally arrives)

Spider-Man: Edge of Time (PS3, 360)(Extensive preview on the next Spider-Man game from Beenox, which will combine Spider-Mans from several different universes)

Previews:

• Gears of War 3 (360)
• Infamous 2 (PS3)
• Batman: Arkham City (PS3, 360, PC)
• The Darkness II (PS3, 360, PC)
• Prototype 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
• Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (3DS)
• Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
• The Gunstringer (360)

Multiplatform Reviews:

• Crysis 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
• Dirt 2 Unleashed (PS3, 360, PC)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (PS3, 360, Wii)
• Homefront (PS3, 360, PC)
• LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (PS3, 360)
• WWE All Stars (PS3, 360)

PlayStation 3 Reviews:

• Top Spin 4
• PlayStation Move Heroes

XBOX 360 Review:

• Torchlight

PC Review:

• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution

PSP Reviews:

• Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
• The 3rd Birthday

Nintendo 3DS Reviews:

• Pilotwings Resort
• Ridge Racer 3D
• Nintendogs + Cats
• Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars

The Score (Short, one paragraph reviews):

• Madden NFL 3DS (3DS)
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (Wii)
• Steel Diver (3DS)
• The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile (360)
• Chime Super Deluxe (PS3)
• LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (DS, PSP, 3DS)
• Major League Baseball 2K11 (PS3, 360)
• Bit.Trip Flux (Wii)
• Slam Bolt Scrappers (PS3)