The Sony PlayStation Vita (or as I like to call it, the PSV) was given its proper name and unveiling at E3 2011, so we had Jessica Chobot scope out the system for herself in a hands-on preview. Until you've actually held the thing, you're only getting half the story. So while we can't magically make the Vita appear in your home - I volunteer to test out the new technology when it arrives! - we can show you a glimpse as to what our hands-on time was like. Check it out below.

Aliens: Colonial Marines is a game that drops marines onto LV-426 after the events of James Cameron's classic Aliens to fend off a xenomorph horde with pulse rifles, power loaders, and just about anything our heroes can get their hands on. But if this sounds like mumbo jumbo for franchise fans only, don't worry: we scoped out the game at E3 and it looks to be just as heart-racing as any top-notch shooter.

"In one sequence, the player can  set up sentry guns to hold off an oncoming horde, lovingly lifted from a deleted scene in the film, and of course, there are Power Loaders, the giant exoskeletons used to transport heavy cargo and swat away at alien Queens. Even better, these Power Loaders are armed to the teeth with guns and flamethrowers. Most interesting though was the four-player drop-in/drop-out that allows you to take on the xenos with three of your buddies instead of only AI jarheads."

I don't know if you knew this, but I have an Alien tattoo on the back of my neck. Sorry you had to find out this way, Dad. I'm pretty pumped to load up my M56 Smart Gun and put these beasts down. And if that doesn't work, I've got my trusty shotgun handy... in case of close encounters.

Still, don't take my word for it! Read all of Eric Eckstein's Aliens: Colonial Marines E3 2011 preview and judge for yourself!

The Game Critics Awards are in for E3 2011, and BioShock Infinite has won "Best of Show," as well as winning more awards than any other game. Infinite took home four awards, twice as many as any other game. Battlefield 3, Sound Shapes, and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim each won a pair of awards.

The full list of Game Critics Awards winners are below the "Read More" tag.

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A Saints Row The Third (aka: Saints Row 3) gameplay footage trailer has arrived, courtesy THQ and Volition. Are you ready for dancing hookers? How about utter tank mayhem? Calling in an air strike on unsuspecting thugs? How about-- You know what? Why don't I just stop talking so we can all watch the chaos together?

We have a Saints Row 3 release date of November 15, 2011. Hopefully it won't be too awkward come Thanksgiving when I say how grateful I am for being able to dance in the street with hookers before smashing someone's face into pavement with absolutely no consequences.

Excited? Any ridiculosity you think the developers missed? I mean, my first thought - first thought! - when this game was announced was, "There is no way I'm buying this unless they put in a giant purple dildo sword..." so don't be afraid, friends. Sometimes dreams do come true.

Skullgirls characters run the gamut from cutesy and cheesy to bold and brawny. The 2D fighting game girls smash and clash in over-the-top throwbacks to early fighting games and has easily been one of the most anticipated titles on our radar. If you want to check out these lovely ladies and check out the exclusive X-Play reveal of character Parasoul, be sure to watch below!

Dance Central 2 by Harmonix is gonna make you throw your hands up in the air and wave 'em around like you just don't care. But don't worry, you won't need to be alone. The game has been expanded in numerous ways, pushing it towards the mark of perfection missing from the original Dance Central. Our own Dana Vinson checked the game out at E3, and she dares you to step up with your crew.

"Harmonix has done a lot to polish the gameplay this time around, and their efforts seem to be pushing the game more towards that mark of perfection. For starters, two players will be able to dance and compete simultaneously. Before, you could have more than one person dancing, but the game would only score one player. In order to go head-to-head, you had to do a Dance Battle, which involved switching off with the other dancer. Now, both dancers will be able to dance at the same time, with the game scoring them at the same time."

If you think you're ready to take on Dancing Queen Dana, be sure to check out Dana's full Dance Central 2 E3 2011 preview.

Personally, I think she's got some stiff competition. I already made a fool of myself playing the game at E3 2011 for your entertainment, and I promise that trend will continue.

Now that the show has closed down and the dust has settled, the Game Critics Awards, an independent group of 35 leading North American media outlets that cover the videogame industry, has announced its best of E3 2011 nominees. The big winners, BioShock Infinite and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, each earned four nominations, including Best of Show. Xbox 360 was the most nominated platform with 55 nominations, followed by PS3 with 48 nominations. EA and Sony tied for most nominations with 14 each. The winners will be announced on June 28.

We've included the whole list under the cut.

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Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is taking some serious risks. For one, the game is returning to an earlier period in the franchise timeline instead of advancing a totally new set of circumstances. Second, you're the bad guys. And you're out to kill the good guys. Third - and this may be the biggest shock of all - the controls have changed, allowing you to move and shoot at the same time, a first  for the series. Jake Gaskill played hands-on at E3 2011, and let us know exactly how this change affected his time with the game:

"...Operation Raccoon City marks the first time an RE game lets players walk while shooting. According to Capcom, the decision was made so as to more accurately reflect the tactical prowess of the Umbrella soldiers you play as in the game. Of course, both Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy are both highly trained operatives in their own rights, so this could easily have been added to any number of previous titles, but it’s a welcome, if long overdue, addition nonetheless.

Because of the new controls, the gameplay is fast and brutal, much more in line with a Left 4 Dead than a traditional RE game, but that’s exactly the point of Operation Raccoon City, to provide a new perspective on the old RE formula."

For my money, this looks like as much of a departure for the Resident Evil series as Resident Evil 4, and doggone it I'm still asking people "Whattaya buyin'?" all these years later. So good readers, whattaya buyin'? Mayhaps our full Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City E3 preview? Check it out!

Do not miss X-Play at 6:30 PM tonight! It's a very special episode in which Adam, Morgan and company will look back over E3 2011 and name the Best of E3 2011. That's right, X-Play has considered the hundreds of games from all genres at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this year, and we're ready to name the Game of Show: Best Shooter, Best Multiplayer and more!

You'll find our entire list of nominees under the cut, so check them out, make your own choices, and enter your opinions in our comment section!

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Dead Island really could have been handled a different way. Think of the resort's advertisements: "We'll murder your troubles! We'll slay your stress! We'll demolish your dreariness and revitalize your relaxation!" What's that, you say? You like fighting off zombies during your vacation? Suit yourself. 

We took some time with Dead Island and learned a little more about its multiplayer mode. Dana Vinson enlightens the masses:

The entire campaign is playable in co-op mode, and you can drop in and drop out with different friends at different times, or play consistently with the same people to level up together. If you choose to play with someone who’s a higher level than you, the game will warn that there are spoilers ahead. At that point, you can choose to proceed or not at your own mental risk. If you hate people and want to play alone (or maybe you only sort of like people so you have a team of two), you will not be accompanied by AI teammates; instead, the enemies will scale depending on the number of players in your party.

That sounds like some intelligent game design to me and it looks like the developers have put the same amount of care into sculpting the title as a whole, but don't take my word for it; check out our Dead Island E3 2011 Multiplayer Preview.

Forza Motorsport 4 wants to be your racing game, even if you don't particularly like racing games. Or rather, even if the only racing games you like are ones with serial killer clowns, environmental devastation or sweet burnouts. And I have to say from my own perspective, it's got me raising eyebrows. Thankfully, our own Nikole Zivalich kept her hands steady at 10 and 2 during her preview at E3 2011, even if her eyes may have wandered or turned glazed:

"Since most people aren't car people, Turn 10 Studios made an advanced lighting engine and used special rendering techniques to make their cars look as appetizing as possible, and, at times, down right delicious. Seriously, they were so shiny it looked like they were coated with a layer of sugar, and maybe tears. During my demo, there was a constant emphasis on how advanced the lighting engine was. I can't speak for the mechanics of it, but it looked amazing. Again, sugar."

If you want to read more of what Nikole thought - and you do! - be sure to hit up our full Forza 4 E3 2011 preview.

Fruit Ninja Kinect is only the first step in your journey. What's the final step? It'll be you, your sword, and your wits vs. the infamous fruit-cannon, the deadly device that has been the scourge of man and beast alike.

Okay, okay… while that's not exactly probable, what is probable is that you'll get a kick out of this game if you enjoyed its mobile predecessor. Adam Rosenberg tells us more:

"The popular mobile game Fruit Ninja, from Australian developer Halfbrick, requires that you imbue your finger with the grace and finesse of a trained dancer. Weaving complex patterns across the touchscreen on your device of choice, you skillfully slice your way through miles upon miles of airborne fruit, while avoiding the occasional bomb that gets chucked into your path. Your points score rises quickly as combos mount, and fruit starts to fly faster and more furiously. You're a Zen master though, quiet and patient, striking out with the tip of your digit only when the moment is right.

Summer of Arcade downloadable title Fruit Ninja Kinect is virtually unchanged from its smaller screen predecessor in terms of the gameplay, but in trading up from a touchscreen to a motion-sensing camera, the experience changes from an idyllic test of your concentration and patience to a muscle-straining workout of flailing arms and ridiculous posing.

It is, to sum things up simply, out of control fun."

Fruit Ninja Kinect will likely be invading countless living rooms when it gets released. See if it's worth inviting into yours by checking out our Fruit Ninja Kinect Preview!

Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter will not be kind to me. As a DM - that's Dungeon Mistress by the way - and party member for several tabletop campaigns, I geek out super hard about this stuff. And while Neverwinter has yet to win me over with its gameplay, if it can streamline or act as a visualization tool for my campaigns, I'm there. Oh, what's that you say? Kevin Kelly got a chance to check out Neverwinter at E3 2011 and he wrote up a preview? And it looks like a fantastic tool for gamers like me? Well why didn't you say so!

"Cryptic Studios is taking the helm with Neverwinter, and while they're staying true to the games D&D ruleset and the multiplayer from the previous versions of the game, the teams looks to put very powerful game creation tools directly into the hands of gamers. At E3, they didn't show us anything from the game, but instead chose to focus on their massively powerful Foundry mode, which will cause writers of fan fiction all over the world to swoon in delight.

Foundry, which first appeared in Star Trek Online back in December, is an amped-up level editor that allows you to build your own encounters, populate them with creatures, write the dialogue, and build completely new areas. It's not exactly what the developers use when designing the game, although they are switching over to using the system from time to time. It's basically a user-generated content generator on steroids."

Seriously you guys. I am such a nerd. Now, while you head over to check out the full Neverwinter E3 2011 preview, I'm gonna brush off my 20-sided dice and whip out some stat sheets. Mmm, stat sheets.

Let's be honest here -- a title like this doesn't need much of an introduction. It's World of Tanks. It's in the world… and there are tanks. That's about enough for me, but just in case you needed to know anything else, we got together with Victor Kislyi, CEO at Wargaming.net, to get a little more informed. Topics of interest included his mention of the MMO's 15 vs. 15 pvp battles, the player garage that can hold up to 200 tanks, and the fact that you'll be tasked with leveling up both your tanks and your crew members. Get even more informed with the interview below:

NeverDead is developer Rebellion's crazy, twisted nightmare of fantasy violence. But we've played all that before, I hear you say. And you're right. But what you haven't played is a game where the character is legitimately immortal. Even if protagonist Bryce should happen to lose his head (pun!) or fall to pieces (pun pun!) he'll always get back up to continue his crusade against the demon hordes. Now, why he's immortal and why he's fighting these monsters is another matter entirely. Jake Gaskill got a chance to try the game at E3 2011, and thankfully he can shed some light on this mysterious man:

"NeverDead tells the story of a tragically immortal alcoholic named Bryce Boltzmann who has been forced to live with the loss of his family for over 500 years, and who is now on the hunt for redemption and demon asses to cap. Of course, none of this backstory was presented during my hands-on time with the game during E3. My time with the game was about one thing and one thing only: bizarre and, at times, frustrating showdowns with numerous demonic forces."

NeverDead is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing titles we've seen as of late, and I for one am excited to see how Rebellion will pull off this high concept title. If you've ever wanted to just sort of let yourself go (less obvious pun!) make sure to check out our full NeverDead E3 2011 preview!