Nathan Drake has pretty much stolen the crown as the go-to character for action/adventure games, but once upon a time, a generation ago, that crown was a queen's headpiece, belonging to Ms. Lara Croft. Although a few games have been released for HD consoles bearing the likeness of Lara, the most recent being this past summer's download-only Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, none have really captured the feeling of the Tomb Raider games of yore. Square Enix, which along with Crystal Dynamics co-developed Guardian of Light, has announced today that they'll take another stab at the Tomb Raider franchise.

GameStop and IGN are both companies that are as well-known to gamers as American Apparel is to hipsters. The former is the largest retailer dedicated to video games and accessories, while the latter is quite possibly the largest gaming website on the internet, due mostly to the fact of having more than a ten year head start over everyone else. Today, the Wall Street Journal's Kara Swisher is reporting that the two companies have formed a partnership that will "target video gamers from discovery to purchase."

ASTONISHING X-MEN: GIFTED
Written by JOSS WHEDON
Art by JOHN CASADAY

Combined with John Casaday’s gorgeous art, Joss Whedon’s story in Astonishing X-Men brought the team of super-mutants back into the public fold. No longer operating in black jackets, the spandex was back, and so was the focus on Xavier’s School for the Gifted. The dynamic characters lived and breathed as only the could under the steady hand of Whedon, and “Gifted” was exactly what the franchise needed after the epic that was Morrison’s New X-Men.

The main purpose for most video games is to transport us to another world. To escape the mundane confines of our current existence and go somewhere where we can do things we couldn't/wouldn't do otherwise.

 Movies, TV shows and books all do this to varying extent as well.

 But what about the ability to transport us to a different world with just a glance. The best sci-fi art can reveal to us an entire universe unlike our own. The masters of this, like Syd Mead, H.R. Giger and Ralph McQuarrie, have inspired countless millions whose work is not as well known, but still magical in its ability to evoke emotion, and more importantly imagination. The type of image so good you want to know more. You want to step into that world to see more.

I couldn't hope to cover all the amazing sci-fi artists and illustrators out there, but here's five that do astounding work. Some you may have heard of, others perhaps not. Many, though, I bet you recognize by sight if not by name.

Is anyone, and I mean ANYONE out there still playing Ghostbusters: The Video Game?  I liked the game, but I can’t imagine that after a year and a half, there’s much of an active player base left.  Someone still cares, however, and that someone (Terminal Reality, the game’s developer) has released a patch for the game. 

Who says the PS2 is dead?  Software production has slowed to a trickle, and the consoles themselves can be had for about $50, but Sony still has a use for the decade-old console.  The Sony Bravia KDL-22PX300, a TV that was recently released in Europe, comes with a PS2 built in to its base.

Most of the news articles that Gamervision posts are honest attempts to relay pertinent information to you, our readers.  Occasionally, we’ll post something just because it’s funny and related to the gaming industry.  This time, though, we’re blatantly using sex to grab your eyeballs.  Hell, that’s what Atlus has been doing since they started publicizing their bizarre, adult-themed game, Catherine, back in August.  Today, they unveiled the Japanese box art for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, and like I said, SEX!

When Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam launches on December 21, not all of its multiplayer maps will be available.  In fact, it will be our responsibility to unlock it.  Taking a page from Battlefield: 1943, DICE has included a community challenge that will grant access to the Operation Hastings map.

For the most part, I don’t have a clue what’s going on in this trailer for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition.  It’s all in Japanese, so all the text is little more than gibberish to me.  I don’t have to speak the language, though, to see the two faces shown at the 2:24 mark, or to know what their presence means; Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma are coming to Super Street Fighter IV.

You know, I found it a little bit strange that ‘Splosion Man, the popular action platformer from Twisted Pixel, was on sale for damn near free last week, but I didn’t really give it a second thought.  Now I understand why they did it; ‘Splosion Man was clearing out some of his old stuff to make room for his new lady friend.  Twisted Pixel announced today that Ms. ‘Splosion Man will be making her downloadable debut some time next year.

That time of year is upon us once again, so instead of your regular weekly installment of comic book recommendations for the week, we’re taking a little break to present a holiday gift guide. Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift for a comic book rookie, a long-time reader, or simply wondering what to tell friends and family to get for you, we’ve got you covered with a wide range of great books from 2010.

When Nintendo announced their Wii Speak peripheral back in 2008, I thought it seemed like a good idea, but one that I could certainly wait on.  After all, at launch, the microphone system was only intended to work with Animal Crossing: City Folk; a game I didn’t care about.  I figured that, eventually, there’d be a nice library of Wii Speak-compatible titles, and I’d pick the thing up on the cheap.  Of course, that never happened, and publishers never bought in to the whole idea.  Now it looks like even Nintendo is done with the peripheral.

It’s easy for hardcore gamers to hate Farmville.  The insanely popular Facebook app takes everything that hardcore gamers like about gaming and ignores it completely, offering the most casual, passive gaming experience of any popular game in memory.  It’s owners, Zynga, with their corporate philosophies of “Be Evil,” and “Originality is bad,” are just as easy to despise.  Words With Friends, however, is much less hate-able.  In fact, for many hardcore gamers, the online Scrabble clone–inspired title is an irreplaceable way to game socially while on-the-go.  So how do we feel about Zynga buying up Words With Friends developers, NewToy?  Conflicted.

EA’s entry into the field of mixed martial arts games, EA Sports MMA, was met with mostly positive reviews, but according to sales estimates, failed to find a significant customer base.  It comes as something of a surprise, then, that EA has every intention of making a sequel.  According to EA Sports associate producer Jeff Ecker, in fact, it’s not a question of “if,” but one of “when?”

OnLive, the cloud-based gaming system, has undergone many changes t its pricing structure since it was first announced.  Originally, players would have had to pay $15 a month for the service, plus the price of games.  Eventually OnLive realized that this plan was too pricey, and removed the $15 monthly charge.  Then, last month, they teased the idea of a monthly plan that would allow access to some, but not all, of OnLive’s library of games.  Today, the company announced details about the service.

Last year’s Ghostbusters game was a pleasant surprise, and offered gamers’ their first opportunity to step into the world’s greatest paranormal investigators in a good video game.  Atari has announced that it will be releasing a second Ghostbusters title next year, but I wouldn’t get too excited if I were you.  It’s not a sequel, but rather a downloadable, top-down, four-player action game.  Better than nothing, I guess.

Yesterday the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, released a vegan themed flash game called Super Tofu Boy, attempting to take a playful jab at Super Meat Boy. Today, the developer of Meat Boy has responded to the dig, not by threatening the non-profit with legal action, but by announcing that Tofu Boy will be added as a downloadable character to PC version of the game with the next patch. Since XBLA games can't be patched in a similar way, the new character will be limited to the PC only.

Avatar was James Cameron’s first movie in more than a decade. A 3D spectacle that destroyed numerous box-office records, Avatar set a new standard for computer-generated effects and filmmaking. The extended collector’s edition of the film released a short while ago, and despite the lack of a 3D viewing option, it sets a new bar for what viewers should expect from Blu-ray movies.

The stock racing music on Gran Turismo 5 is innocuous at best, crappy at worst. What's needed are some songs that want to make you drive fast. A good driving song may have nothing to do with the driving (in fact, most don't).

I'm not talking about top down, sun in your hair, cruising on the PCH with your toy poodle kind of faff. I'm talking about middle of the night, high speed burns across the desert. The kind of music that makes you want to push your right foot through the firewall and DRIVE.

Sega has announced the next project from Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of Yakuza.  Ironically, the creator of one of the most purely Japanese game series ever is now responsible for Sega’s newest attempt to cater to Western gamers.  Binary Domain is a squad-based shooter set in a futuristic world that pits humans against robots.  The above trailer illustrates this quite clearly, what with all the shooting and robots.