What We Learned This Week: Gearing Up For E3 2011

This week we started to see the leak and confirmations of a few huge titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Soul Calibur 5. We also previewed a few big name titles like StarHawk, Alice: Madness Returns, and Shadows of the Damned that we're sure to see more of at E3 this year during our coverage from June 7-9. Over the next few weeks you're definitely going to want to keep your browser pointed here for massive amounts of previews of a bunch of games being shown at E3, but for right now you're just going to have to stick with what we've got so far (which is a lot!).

Here's our slate of excellent web shows for your watching enjoyment:

• Feedback: The Feedback team talks the PS3 shooter SOCOM 4.
• The MMO Report: Casey takes a look at rumors of a Mass Effect MMO.
• Sessler's Soapbox: Adam Sessler discusses Metacritics' review of people.
• Fresh Ink: Blair Butler covers Death of Spider-Man in the new Ultimate. Plus you get reviews of the latest Jonah Hex and more.

And now the news...

Monday

• Check our new releases list to find out what games are hitting your platforms of choice this week.
• It's summer movie madness in this week's Links of TheFeed
• Check out our guide to this week's big game: Brink!
• Bethesda's Brink will be out tomorrow for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
• Anonymous has once again denied involvement in the PSN outage.
• Sony may be considering offering a reward for info leading to the hackers who took down the PSN.
• The Bin Laden compound is now available as a Counter-Strike map and in Kuma War.
• Is there a Diablo 3 beta test announcement happening during the Activision conference call today?
• Sony may have prevented another attack on the PSN due to a heads up from CNET
• Bungie won't be revealing their new project with Activision at E3
• Ever wanted to see StarCraft modified as the Game of Thrones intro? Well now you can.
• A devoted Portal fan recreated an amazing replica of a turret.
• It's nearly time for Feedback, and we need your questions! Your insightful, inspiring, and nearly obscene questions!
• Before we stage an intervention we got Leah to explain StarCraft to us
• Check out our preview of The Witcher 2.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 gets creative, but obvious, fake "leaked" screenshot.
• There may or may not be new Blizzard games coming out this year.
• Diablo 3 Beta is coming in Q3 2011.
• Is Modern Warfare 3 coming in 2011?
• World of Warcraft, the one MMO to rule them all, could finally on the decline.
• Sony has denied claims that their servers were running outdated software.

Tuesday

• Microsoft buys Skype, plans to bring it to 360s.
• According to Remedy Entertainment, more Alan Wake is coming, but it won't be Alan Wake 2 or DLC.
• Check out our review of Bethesda's Brink.
• Battlefield 3's pre-order incentive is free map pack called Back to Karkand.
• You can now play RIFT for free and get bonus items for recruiting friends!
• Go Around the Net with Kevin, Candace and Dragon’s Breath!
• Hitman Absolution has been confirmed, officially.
• Konami's Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D is on track for a November release.
• Adam discusses the recent influx of Bin Laden inspired video games and how this expression may legitimize games as art.
• A leaked version of the Tomb Raider script gives us a glimpse into the new game.
• We take a look at the Acer Iconia Tab A500 Tablet.
• Assassin's Creed: Revelations will have multiplayer, in fact, it will have multiple multiplayer modes.
• A bunch of details of Modern Warfare 3 has spun out of the rumor-mill.
• Indie games often don't get the fanfare they deserve. Dive into these titles, and enjoy the flipside of gaming.
• A winner was named in Irrational Games "Name in the Game" contest for Bioshock: Infinite.
• Crysis 2's upcoming map pack called "Retaliation" will be available on May 17.
• Singer Lady Gaga will debut some songs through Facebook.
• Xbox Live is releasing something called "Rockstar Pass" for L.A. Noire. No one knows what it is.
• Nintendo has been keeping mum about their new console that will be announced at E3 this year, but what do we already know?
• Interested in the color shifting Outland? Be sure to check out our review.

Wednesday

• Check out this Dark Souls trailer. The game is coming in October.
• Check out the trailer for Fallout: New Vegas' "Honest Hearts" trailer.
• Ladies and Gentlemen, L.A. Noire's launch trailer.
• Has anyone out there gotten any reports of fraud on their cards?
• G4's Road to E3 Console-a-Day sweepstakes has begun with a Nintendo 3DS! Enter now!
• Today's Around the Net features a girl playing with a dead squirrel. Gag.
• Mass Effect 3: a massive amounts of details from the game have leaked.
• Some details have popped up about the 2D platformer Rayman Origins.
• Soul Calibur 5 has been announced for a 2012 release.
• You'll be seeing more James Bond this year according to Activision
• On this week's Feedback, we talk about Bethesda's new squad-based shooter Brink, Activision, EA, and more!
• According to Activision head Bobby Kotick, there are price cuts in the works for consoles.
• Check out our latest preview of Dark Souls, the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls.
• The Navy is using crowd-sourced videogaming to catch pirates.
• Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011 is the next Dragon Ball Z game from Namco Bandai.
• A release date for Ace Combat: Assault Horizon release date was announced.
• Link is back in the famous Water Temple, we all know how much you guys love it.

Thursday

• Namco Bandai had a big day today.
• Bungie Aerospace trademarks "Crimson"
• Did Oblivion cause a seizure in a Navy pilot?
• RPG Chrono Trigger for the Wii is coming out on May 16.
• We've got an early look at Civilization World.
• A poor Batman meets a bully and more on Around the Net!
• Check out this hot new demo for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning that shows off weapons and magic.
• It's a sad day for MMO fans when a game closes its doors, and that's what's happening to Lineage.
• Game maker Square Enix is warning of a big loss announcement.
• TECH REVIEW: Chris Hardwick and Candace Bailey review the Canon T3i DSLR with a rotating LCD!
• Star Fox 64 3D will have three gameplay modes when it launches according a Japanese retailer.
• Heroes of Newerth is celebrating its one year anniversary by offering a free week to play.
• A mysterious Alien game from Creative Assembly was accidentally announced
• We take a look back at E3 2010 and see how Microsoft did.
• Crytek has just announced Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2.
• Multiple retail sources point to a June release date for Call of Juarez: The Cartel.
• There's a Mortal Kombat Kollection coming this summer to the PSN and Xbox Live.
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Solider has unfortunately been delayed until 2012.
• Casey discusses Star Wars: The Old Republic's release window, WoW's possible subscription peak, and beer in Uncle Casey's Mail Bag
• April was a busy month for gamers with games
• Microsoft has sold $310 million worth of consoles in April, according to the NPD Hardware Analysis.

Friday

• Sony has announced Starhawk, and we've got videos, previews and interviews.
• Check out Sony's "make-good" plan for their MMOs.
• We got our hands on Alice: Madness Returns' first chapter, check out our preview.
• A huge leak of information seems to reveal a ton of ton of details of Modern Warfare 3.
• Don't worry, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still happening.
• Call of Duty continues to stay on the top of charts in the gaming world, but how do they do it?
• Diablo 3 has a new Follower system, you're going to want to check out this new finely tuned mechanic.
• LA Noire is on the way, and we need your questions! What do you want to know about that, or anything else in the game space?
• The websites for Eidos and Deus Ex: Human Revolution have been attacked by hackers
• The Witcher 2 Assassin Of Kings' latest gameplay video shows off the game's combat mechanics.
• ears of War 3's multiplayer beta got a new feature this morning, Torque Bow Tag.
• Comic reviews of Batman, G.I. Joe Cobra, Punisher Max on this week's Fresh Ink Online
• MLG has announced they'll be partnering with the Korean GSL to create a StarCraft 2 exchange program.
• Shadows of the Damned has demon hunters, monsters, and dead girls in lingerie and we have video to prove it.