One thing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has going for it are the brains behind its creation. While Big Huge Games are no strangers to success, partner  38 Studios is a new company with a lot to prove. This means that thinking outside the box and looking for ways to differentiate itself from the pack  leads to innovative tweaks to your typical sword and sorcery formula. You also have Todd McFarlane (yes, THAT Todd McFarlane) designing everything from armor to weapons to creatures while the story and lore is being penned by renowned fantasy author R. A. Salvatore. Oh, and Ken Rolston is leading the team as executive designer. Does he sound familiar? He should, considering he was lead designer on Elder Scrolls entries Morrowind and Oblivion. So, Reckoning has the pedigree, but does it have the actual game to back it up?

After choosing your race (One of four groups breaking down to Humans, Light Elves, Dark Elves, and Nomads), your looks, and your skill set you realize that you are, in fact, dead. Not to worry! Thanks to the wonders of Gnomish science, you’ve been brought back to life as a veritable blank slate, with no memory of your past and a destiny that, unlike everyone else in the Kingdoms of Amalur, is yours to write as you so choose.They throw a lot of lore at you in a short amount of time, and none of it seems all too new. You’ve got evil immortal elves waging war with all the mortal races, and your return from beyond the grave signals a change in the world.

Blah, blah, blah, it’s not necessarily riveting stuff, but from the time I spent with the demo, it’s obvious the developers are trying to craft a distinct world entrenched with a deep history and richer cultural dynamics. With only forty minutes to explore the open world portion of the game, I found myself rushing from NPC to NPC trying to play through as many quests as possible, so it’s tough to decide whether anything really resonates. There at least seems to be some interesting people and agendas at play in this world, and the handful of quests I embarked on were either interesting spins on genre favorites or new territory altogether.

Combat is a fascinating mix of magic and hack-n-slash, something the developers compared to “Oblivion meets God of War“. As a third-person title, your character is front and center at all times, chaining moves (you earn more complex ones as you level up) between primary and second weapons in order to create combos. You can also throw magical attacks into the mix. I played with a nice lightening spell and a promising shadow cast, which confused my enemies for a few seconds. Fighting was fast and fun, and when I gained enough “Fate Energy” (or something) I unlocked a temporary sort of God-Mode where I tore through enemies and utilized weaponry summoned from another realm. Quick time events are thrown into moments like these, which lead to brutal kills and awesome finishing moves.

All the other staples of a great roleplaying experience are there. Weapons can degrade and also evolve through smithing and enchantment, while the world is full of fantastic loot for you to add to your arsenal. The skill trees (broken down into the areas of Might, Finesse, and Magic) look to have a ton of variety to upgrade through, while the Destiny system (your characters Class and bonuses) can be leveled up and swapped out at any time. So, if you get bored playing the Thief, you can turn around and start leveling up the Warrior if you so choose. Unfortunately, the game suffers from a wonky camera (you have to fight the damn thing at times to get anything done) and a tendency to bug out when you get thrown into bigger fights. Conversations aren’t exactly riveting, and the cartoony style of the game (akin to the new Star Wars MMORPG) might not appeal to everyone.

Reckoning is still very much a dark horse for me, an unknown quantity that could rise to become an entertaining romp through the RPG genre or fall flat on its face and fade into obscurity as an experiment that should’ve been shelved. Honestly, only time will tell.

An unannounced demo of Final Fantasy XIII-2 has just been released to Xbox LIVE. The demo is available only to Gold members, and will take up 1.29 GB of space. The demo description states,

The unfolding drama of FINAL FANTASY XIII, released in 2010 and selling six million copies worldwide, continues in FINAL FANTASY XIII-2. Explore a richly developed world featuring both new and familiar faces, and an exciting and highly developed strategic battle system. In this ongoing saga, the future is about to change…

[FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Demo]

The game will be released on January 31, 2012, and if you pre-order from the link below, you can save $10 and get a unique coliseum battle against boss enemy Omega.

See larger image Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Video Game) List Price: $59.99 USD New From: $58.08 In Stock Release date January 31, 2012.

For the most part, the Kinect, Microsoft’s little nodding robot camera peripheral, has seen its fair share of family-friendly titles that don’t necessarily aim to incite controversy.  The glaring exception to that rule is last September’s Rise of Nightmares, a Sega title that finally added blood, gore, and dismemberment to the Kinect’s résumé.

Anyone looking for a sample of Rise of Nightmares‘ wares will surely be interested in the free demo released today.  The rest of you that may be a bit more adverse to the grotesque nature of the game, stick to the Kinectimals that you know and love; we heard there’s even bears now.

[Rise of Nightmares Demo] 334MB

EA Sports has released a demo today for the upcoming Xbox 360 tennis game, EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2. The demo, which clocks in at 1.08 GB, will allow you to play by yourself, or against a friend as Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal at the 2011 Wimbledon final.

Additionally, EA also revealed the cover athletes, and some additional details for the game today.  Alongside the global talent is a roster of elite past and present players from around the world that will adorn regional packaging. Djokovic will be be on the Global cover, alongside John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova. Some other region specific cover athletes include:

The title will be available for the first time in HD, on the Xbox 360. Players can experience the authentic thrill of serving up aces on Wimbledon’s prestigious Centre Court, hitting cross-court winners on the clay courts of the French Open, playing under the bright lights at the U.S. Open or working on their serve and volley game at the Australian Open.

EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis 2 will include a host of gameplay features including:

• All-New Total Racquet Control: Control every shot with the right analog stick, smashing forehands, backhands, overheads and volleys with precision, accuracy and power.

• Become a Champion: Become a true Grand Slam tournament champion by capturing all four major championships in succession – including Wimbledon (exclusive to the EA SPORTS Grand Slam Tennis franchise).

• Legends of Now and Then: Play with or against more than 20 of the greatest players to ever grace the courts, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Maria Sharapova, Serena and Venus Williams.

• Professional, Realistic, Organic (P.R.O.). AI: The playing styles and behaviors of the sport’s greatest stars are captured right down to their signature swings and emotional reactions. Realistic tactics and strategies are your keys to success against each legend whether playing on hard court, clay or grass.

• ESPN Grand Slam Tournament Classics: Relive some of the most memorable moments in tennis. From Borg versus McEnroe, to Nadal versus Federer, play your way through history unlocking up to 25 amazing moments of Grand Slam® tournaments.

EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2 will be available on February 14, 2012.

[EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis 2 Demo] – 1.08 GB

See larger image Grand Slam Tennis 2 (Video Game) List Price: $49.99 USD New From: $49.99 In Stock This title will be released on February 14, 2012.

Easily my favorite workout based Kinect game last year, Your Shape Fitness Evolved is back with it’s 2012 version, and is now available in stores. However, if your like me, and haven’t had a chance to try it yet, Ubisoft has released a demo for the newest iteration of Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012. The demo will take up 683 MB of space, and is currently only available to Xbox LIVE Gold members.

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 is the personalized fitness game on Xbox Kinect that delivers serious results. With this demo, check out the intensity of Bootcamp, the engaging fun of Jumprope and the rhythms of African Dance. With over 90 hours of customizable activities, Your Shape allows you to workout your way! The state-of-the-art motion tracking technology provides enhanced feedback on your exercises, and now monitors floor movements for exercises like push-ups and sit-ups. Tailor your workout by using the in-game personal trainer, focusing on specific muscle groups or building a routine around your time limits. And tap into the Your Shape Center community to share and compete with players around the world.

[Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 Demo] – 683 MB

Anyone looking to escape the repetitive mundanity of the annual shooter season may be interested in checking out the free demo for Ubisoft’s Rayman Origins.  Already being hailed by some outlets as an extremely competent platformer, Rayman Origins looks to dole out plenty of enjoyment for side-scrolling 2D aficionados.  The demo’s available to all Gold subscribers for free, so there’s really no reason to not roll the dice on some cartoony, jumpy, leapy action.  Unless, of course, you can’t stand the thought of playing something where you don’t hold a gun.  If that’s the case, it may be time to get the orderlies involved.

[Rayman Origins Demo] – 351.81 MB

J Goldberg, community manager for Volition, tweeted a few hours ago that gamers have made well over a million custom characters for Saints Row: The Third via the game’s Initiation Station demo. The demo, which gives players the chance to play around with the character creation and clothing options in Saints Row: The Third, is one of the deepest and most fun character creation modes I’ve played with in a long time. Volition has said that although the demo features around 80% of the total clothing options in the game, the ability to layer all of the different clothing options together makes it fairly easy for fans to make their in game avatar look anyway their little heart could ever desire.

In addition to that, the video above is called Tim & Eric Meets Saints Row: The Third, and it is the full length Professor Genki themed show that Tim and Eric produced exclusively for Saints Row: The Third. If you have ever seen a single episode of Awesome Show Great Job, you know exactly what to expect from this, and it does not disappoint. Volition picked the absolutely perfect two guys to create the ad campaign for Saints Row, as Tim & Eric are probably the only two real world people who are as insane and crazy as the game looks to be.

I am super pumped for next Tuesday. I’ve made over ten characters already for my game, and can’t wait to get my grubby hands all up in some Saints Row: The Third. Expect a review from me shortly after the game’s release, but here’s a bit of a possible spoiler: There’s no doubt in my mind this will be my game of the year.

2K Play has decided to make a game for those interested in cheerleading. If you expect me to say anything else on the topic, or the game, you are sadly mistaken. I honestly feel like I could make 1000 jokes here, but in the chance that some ladies are reading 360Sync, and are actually interested in cheerleading.. this game is definitely for you.. and perhaps only you.

Real cheers, real routines, controller-free! Cheer out loud with voice support in this demo featuring five authentic cheers and competitive routines choreographed by pro cheerleaders. Master more routines set to hits like “Shake It” and “Hollaback Girl” in the full version of Let’s Cheer!

[Let's Cheer Demo] – 342 MB

If you still watch MTV, sing LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem, and think that GTL is the coolest thing since Jackass and the Andy Dick Show, oh do we have a demo for you to try. Yoostar on MTV will give you the chance to become your favorite Jersey Shore character, or to relive other moments from MTV.

Yoostar on MTV fulfills the dreams of pop culture fans and gamers alike by giving everyone the opportunity to star in the most iconic scenes to ever hit cable TV. With a huge library of live events, news, classic, reality, and original shows to choose from, as well as the inclusion of upcoming shows to maximize its cultural relevancy, the extensive archive of trend-setting and entertaining content leaves no stone unturned. Additionally, some of the most popular music videos in recent history will be playable in Yoostar on MTV, in which you can perform with your own voice or via lip dub.

The demo clocks in 338 MB, and we’ll try to not judge you for still watching MTV (with the exception of the newly revived Beavis and Butthead).

[Yoostar on MTV Demo] – 338 MB

THQ has launched a unique demo today for the upcoming Saints Row: The Third. The demo, which is called Initiation Station, allows you to create characters (before you get the game), and then share and download them for the full game, which launches on November 15. We must warn you that the download is just under a gig, clocking in at 872 MB, and is only available for Xbox LIVE Gold members.

Create, share, and download the most outlandish characters you’ve ever seen, then upload them for play in Saints Row: The Third. Inside every Sinner is a Saint.

[Saints Row: The Third Initiation Station] – 872 MB

See larger image Saint's Row: The Third (Video Game) List Price: $59.99 USD New From: $42.50 In Stock Used from: $38.48 In Stock Release date November 15, 2011.