Last week, Nintendo held a very posh preview event in the great city of Toronto, where it showed off some upcoming and recently-released 3DS titles. I had the distinct pleasure of attending, with the opportunity to sit down and test out the company’s most talked-about upcoming 3DS game: Kid Icarus: Uprising. Looking back at the device and its inaugural announcement, it’s not hard to forget talk of Pit’s return after a twenty-five year hiatus was a definite highlight. Since that day, classic gaming geeks, shoot ‘em up lovers and video game lovers alike, have been eagerly anticipating their chance to fly through its depth-filled skies. Thankfully, that day just over a month away.

An X-Man of a very different kind, Michael Fassbender plays Brandon, a New Yorker forced to confront his serious sex addiction when his fragile sister (Carey Mulligan) unexpectedly shows up and squats on his couch.

If there’s any filmmaker alive that’s more suited to exploring sexual psychoanalysis and the related theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung than the man behind movies like Crash (the sex ‘n’ traffic accidents one) and Videodrome, we’ve yet to meet him.

Developed by Ubisoft, The Adventures of TinTin: The Game is hoping to change gamers’ preconceptions the old fashioned way – by impressing them with a quality experience. Does it fully succeed? We North Americans will have to wait a bit to find out. However, I had the chance to briefly go hands on with the PS3 version of the game at Sony’s Holiday 2011 Preview Event in Toronto, just last month. Read on for my thoughts on what is set to be one of the holiday season’s final releases – on this side of the pond, at least.

The world’s most famous plumber is making a return to our pixellated hearts later this month, with Super Mario 3D Land. Developed by the folks behind the Super Mario Galaxy franchise and available exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS, this much-anticipated platformer is sure to endear itself to the gaming community. Fans have been waiting a while for Mario’s first appearance on his parent company’s new, high-tech portable system. Expectations are high and the anticipation is evident, with many hoping it’ll be one of the iconic series’ best entries yet. Having played parts of the game at Nintendo’s Holiday 2011 Preview Event, I’m expecting this title to release to an approving audience.

This August, I had the distinct pleasure of being asked to attend Microsoft’s X’11 Holiday Preview Event. It was where I went hands-on with RAGE. However, that wasn’t the only game Bethesda Softworks had available for preview. The company’s other offering was another one of the floor’s hottest titles: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Calling all gamer parents, toy collectors and those looking for a new gaming experience. I think I’ve found what you’re looking for with Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure; a game which looks to reinvent the beloved series, which has fallen on hard times as of late. Behind its colourful, high-definition visuals and engaging gameplay is some very exciting technology. In fact, the game’s most prominent mechanic takes place outside of the game world, with technological wizardry that the gaming world hasn’t seen before. It involves physical, real-world toys, which kids are sure to enjoy in real-life and on their television screen.

I need to come clean about something. Not only am I a huge Uncharted fan, but it’s one of my favourite video game series of all-time. It’s yet to disappoint in any way, shape or form, with a noticeably shiny coat of polish covering each of its previous two entries. Due to that aforementioned reason, you can surely understand that getting a chance to demo Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception at Sony’s Holiday 2011 Event in Toronto was right up my digital alley. Especially since they were showing off two stages from the single player campaign, which is admittedly my favourite part of almost every game on the market. I took my time and played through both for quite a while, aiming to write up a detailed preview article to explain my early thoughts. Put on your adventure hat and we’ll get into brass tax.

The best thing I can say about the violent indie horror/thriller You’re Next is that it had a kick-ass heroine and some creepy animal masks. Sweeping the Fantastic Fest Awards last month, You’re Next wowed the crowds but left me wondering what all the excitement was about (and seriously questioning the crowd‘s taste in horror movies).

George Clooney officially passes the impish matinee idol torch to Ryan Gosling in this smart, hella-cool (does Clooney waste his time on any other kind of movie these days?) political drama.