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Dragon Age II has both its plaudits and critics. While most reviewers found a lacklustre, but solid sequel, many fans were left seething with a game they felt was rushed and a step in the wrong direction.

In a surprising move EA exec Frank Gibeau says he understand why some fans have criticised the sequel and that the publisher is listening to these comments.

Fans of the Battlefield series have taken to the EA forums to voice their concerns over the pre-order options available to the Limited Edition version of Battlefield 3.

Bioware has lifted the veil off the Mass Effect 3 Collector's Edition almost nine months before the game's scheduled release.

Electronic Arts reminds us this morning that the Xbox 360 and PC versions of Crysis 2 will be boosted with a new map pack today. The PSN version will - for many obvious reasons - be coming along at a later date.

Beginning today, gamers can strap into their Nanosuits and return to the streets of New York in Crysis 2 with the brand new map pack, Retaliation. Retaliation features four maps that introduce new iconic locations to the fun, addictive and fast-paced multiplayer campaign that helped make Crysis 2 a critical and commercial success. New maps in Retaliation include “Park Avenue”, “Transit”, “Shipyard” and “Compound”.

One of the most critically-acclaimed first person shooters of 2011, Crysis 2 is rated 90% or more by over 50 outlets, including “4 stars out of 4 stars” from the Associated Press. Crysis 2 catapults players into Crytek’s stunning recreation of New York City in 2023. With the city on the brink of annihilation from a terrifying alien threat, players will use the powers of the Nanosuit 2 to be fast, be strong and be invisible, in an attempt to save humanity.

Retaliation is available for download today on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC for 800 Microsoft points or £7.99. For more instructions on PC download availability, please visit http://crysis.ea.com. The map pack will be made available on PlayStation®Network at a later date.

I've become somewhat bored of DLC, especially as much of the rubbish peddled at us these days is just game content removed to sell back to us. Thanks an effing bunch publishers.

But sometimes you see some extra content that really seems worth the money and the Legends Pack for Shift 2 is just that.

Not only will we get 14 new cars, but we'll also get six classic tracks. And by classic I mean just that - Monza as it was in 1958 for example.

Check out the full details after the break.

Slighty Mad Studios' Shift 2: Unleashed is one of the best racing sims released in recent times. Certainly in terms of excitement it tops the rather dry Gran Turismo 5. Dig deeper though and you also find that its not just the excitement of racing the game simulates very well - the underlying physics engine is very neat indeed.

The suspension and tyre modelling are much better than Gran Turismo, it's easy to see if you watch replays of both games concentrating on suspension movement. Bringing up the telemetry data in Shift 2 shows how much work the physics engine is doing behind the scenes to present a game that goes quite a long way to create a realistic experience even on consoles.

So you're wondering why so many folks on forums and some critics believe that (a) Shift 2 is merely an arcade game, or (b) the physics engine isn't very good at all? In the case of game critics that's pretty easy - most mainstream sites are terrible at reviewing racing games, or anything else that isn't a straight shooter. But what of user experience? Those gamers who love a good racing game but are baffled by the way Shift 2 handles out of the box? They have a point.

Have the consoles ports of CryTek's CryEngine spoiled the fun for the PC hardcore? Allan investigates in his review of Crysis 2 on PC.

Looking very tasty indeed - but which version will you be picking up?

After the jump, three newly released screenshots from EA/DICE's Battlefield 3.

Electronic Arts has released a tasty new video showing some of the depths it has gone to in creating a more realistic experience this time around.

After the break, some new screenshots from Shift 2: Unleashed featuring the Pagani Zonda R and Zonda F.

Electronic Arts has announced that three new premium DLC packages for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit are coming our way from February 22nd.

One of these pays homage to the best Need for Speed game of the classic PC era.

Check out the details after the break.