Honorable Mention: Pre-Order Bonuses with Dishonored

As much as I was looking forward the latest first person stealth magic slaughterfest from Arkane Studios and Bethesda Softworks, the pre-order bonuses for Dishonored were too nifty to ignore. Check out the best in whale oil-punk reproduction goods money can buy.

Preview - Game of Thrones: Visuals from the RPG

This weekend after a failed attempt to score some bonus AR cards from the recent Kid Icarus: Uprising events at Gamestop, I was able to secure a copy of the pre-order artbook for Game of Thrones. The upcoming RPG from Atlus is due next week and looks intriguing. Granted we're talking about a licensed game based on a cable show, based on a book series. Atlus has a respectable track record and usually does not disappoint. I haven't heard much about how this sidestory which blend with a compelling collection of literature, or the details of combat mechanics. Thankfully, from the look of this book, fans of the series expect a faithful visual interpretation of George R. R. Martin's fantasy epic.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition Unboxing (I swear that's the title)

I have never been much of a PC gamer, as I've made clear in the past. More recently my experience with PCs, specifically laptop-based gaming, has been limited to demoing console releases via the OnLive streaming service. By no means a perfect replacement for either consoles or PCs, the service still offers a novel approach to this generation's gaming options. During one of my several timed demos with OnLive, I sampled a good 25-30 minutes of The Witcher. A surprise hit during its original release, The Witcher gathered a substantial following thanks to the craftsmanship of Polish developer CDProjekt; a unique blend of mature story and sophisticated combat mechanics.

A few years down the road a sequel was released, which enhanced the Witcher's tight combat/magic controls and added to the deep lore of the original. The resulting game was another very polished (Polish'ed?) release from a still relatively unknown Eastern European developer. With my total experience limited to a taste of what the series had to offer I knew I had two choices: buy a better laptop, or pray for a console release.

How many Polish developers does it take to ship a smash-hit RPG?

Assassin's Creed: Tomahawk Edition

If the idea of a tomahawk throwing Italian-Native American (or something) isn't enticing enough, Ubisoft and select retailers are giving away sweet steelbook cases for Assassin's Creed III with preorder. Faster than you can say "How" I dropped a finsky at my local Gamestop. Behold the glory of said axe wielding assassin rendered by master bad-ass artist Alex Ross.