A collection of commercials from the 1980s, when Activision was a big player — and still is. If you can remember these ads, you officially belong to the “senior” gamers. Another video available here.

Microsoft and developer Turn 10 plan on releasing an “ultimate collection”, Forza 3 version, which will include all the released DLC so far. This is most likely as a counter attack to Sony’s massively anticipated Gran Turismo 5, which is set to take the crown from Forza 3 as the ultimate racing game. The new Forza 3 version will have an additional two dozen cars, but it still won’t match GT5′s over 1000 cars.

The original Mafia from a few years ago had some interesting concepts, but they were never fully realized and taken advantage of. It was kind of GTA in the 1950, without the depth that GTA had. And sadly, so is the sequel, Mafia 2.

While Mafia 2 has a lot of good things going for it, most are developed enough that they matter. Let’s start with the gameplay, which for 90% of the time, comprises of shooting, ducking, shooting some more. There’s also a large city to drive around in, but for the most part, there’s nothing to do. There are no mini-missions or side quests, which is a shame, because the city looks and acts realistically, as if taken directly out of the 1950s.

The game does excel is one way though: the story. You play as Vito Scaletta, an Italian who returns from WW2 looking to break into the gangster business. Throughout the game, you follow his quest and story, both though gameplay and cut scenes. And the cut scenes are especially well done, with great voice acting which adds to the value of the over all story. However, the repetitive gameplay which supports the great story ultimately drags it down, and you’ll often find yourself wanting to get the shooting over with so you can go back to watching the story unfold (usually in cut scenes).

Technically, the game looks great, the visuals manage to render a believable and atmospheric 1950s city and setting, albeit a few technical glitches such as screen tearing. The audio and voice acting are top notch, and the game carries a feel of high production values. The gameplay however, isn’t too impressive and neither are the missions, some are quite dull and repetitive. Overall, it’s a game with a lot of potential, and cannot be classified as a bad game, despite the lackluster gameplay. Because of the great story, it’s certainly recommended to those who like gangster and mobster stories.

The Good:
Believable world
Great story
Great production values

The Bad:
Repetitive gameplay
Some screen tearing issues
No multiplayer

Overall score: 7/10

Sega and developer Platinum Games have announced that their much anticipated shooter Vanquish will be released on August 31 on the PS3 and Xbox 360. The demo will feature one level — the same level that we played at E3.

Sony will be releasing MotorStorm 3D Rift tomorrow, which will retail for $10 and offer 10 tracks in different events — all in 3D of course.

Gamescom 2010 in Europe managed to attract a record 254,000 attendees this year, almost 10,000 more than last year. Over 500 exhibitors were present at the event, and over a thousand media representatives from around the world.

Atari has announced that it’s working with Cryptic Studios on an online co-op RPG based on the Neverwinter Nights franchise. The game will simply be called “Neverwinter”, and will be released in 2011. The story and campaign will be based on an upcoming novel by R.A. Salvatore, which explores the Neverwinter universe. The game should be the much rumored “MMO” that Cryptic has been working on since 2008.

Activision has released a new trailer showcasing the multiplayer aspect of the upcoming GoldenEye for Wii. The game will support both split-screen and online multiplayer.

A great Steam sale this weekend: Stalker and Stalker: Call of Pripyat have been bundled up and lowered by 75% this weekend only. This means you can grab the radioactive bundle for just $10. Get it on Steam here.

Developer Runic Games has revealed that their RPG Torchlight has sold 750,000 copies on the PC — a good $10 million in revenue — and that they’re working on Xbox 360 and PS3 versions as well. Runic chief Max Schaefer said that they plan on releasing Torchlight 2 on consoles soon after the PC and Mac versions are released.