Click here to view the embedded video.

But one thing was missing.

LEGO. More specifically LEGO Batman and company. So if you’ve ever wondered what those iconic posters would look like with LEGO minifis, wonder no more, and instead enjoy these three images.

But to quote Jack Nicholson from the 80′s film “But where is the Batman?”

After Activision’s surprise acquisition of the NASCAR license, UK studio Eutechnyx managed to capture the look and feel of Sprint Cup Racing in a game that had a few flaws, but showed plenty of potential. With another year to develop and add on new features, my fellow NASCAR fans and I can be optimistic that Inside Line should be the best NASCAR title to date. Granted, the bar hasn’t been set too high, but the addition of new features that built on the solid racing engine should push it over the top.

“We set out to reinvent NASCAR gaming last year with NASCAR^® The Game™ 2011 – and we’re very proud of it. With our continued enhancements to that game, and our very passionate fans helping guide us, we have an amazing platform to go to the next level with NASCAR The Game: Inside Line,” said Dave Thompson, Executive Producer at Eutechnyx. “We’ve added a new in-depth career mode and robust online features that include realistic race weekends, and now aspiring drivers can rise up through the ranks, attract sponsors, and upgrade their car’s components in the quest to be the Sprint Cup Series Champion.”

NASCAR and Activision will also be holding a bracketed contest starting next week to let the fans decide which driver will be featured on the cover art for the game. Good news for Dale Jr. fans, this might be the only thing he wins this year. Look for more details on that next week.

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Lights, Camera, Party

Yes, we’ve all seen more than our fair share of waggle-enabled party titles in the last five years, but the PlayStation Move-enabled Lights, Camera, Party developed by Montreal’s Frima Studios has a couple of things going for it that could make it a worthy addition to your family’s game library.

First, it will most likely be a downloadable title (though Frima is in discussions with publishers), which will bring with a much more wallet-friendly price tag.  Lights, Camera, Party may have some trouble standing out in a somewhat saturated genre, and the lower price point of a downloadable title will certainly help with that.

Second, the game hues more towards the quick-paced action of WarioWare’s microgames, rather than the more traditional and longer mini-games.

That said, it wasn’t all positive, as Jeff discovered first hand. Micro-games themselves can be polarizing for players. You’re given a very small amount of time to figure out what you need to do, which turns the games into trial-and-error experiences. And if you’re playing on Hard? Let’s just say that it could be very unforgiving (Jeff would agree, he got totally “pwned”), sometimes instantly failing you if you did one thing wrong. This wouldn’t be so bad if you could mix difficulties between players (eg. kids play on Easy, adults on Hard), but that’s likely not going to be the case unless there’s a last-minute change from the development team. There certainly won’t be lack of challenge, and we’re sure Easy will be much more lenient on the player.

Still, there’s no denying the game could provide lots of silly fun, and if there’s one thing that provides entertainment, it’s taking pleasure in the failings of others. The Move controls were well implemented, and the game has an appropriate look for a silly family title.

Sound Shapes

Sound Shapes has evolved since we last got to play it at E3 2011, as you would expect. It’s still a platformer with its unique musical twist, though we got to see a few more levels this time. Different worlds will have their own aesthetic with a few levels within them, and you’ll have to figure out how to appropriately interact with them. The platforming was pretty solid, and the checkpoints looked quite generous, which will be appreciated for some of the harder levels.

We also got to see what looks like a fairly extensive level editor, which will be appreciated even more by gamers with an appreciation for music, specifically the electronic variety. You’ll likely need a fairly decent understanding of musical concepts to truly appreciate it, so hopefully there’s enough on-card content to satisfy the more casual gamer and easy access to user-created levels, which Sony have really been focusing lately.

Retro City Rampage

For those who’ve played Grand Theft Auto before it entered the world of 3D, let you play dart minigames, and got all pretentious, Retro City Rampage will look very familiar. It’s a parody of the open world action game done in old school 8-bit top-down mode.

Compared to the titles of today, it looks terrible, doesn’t really seem to have a point, and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. In other words, it might be the most stupid fun you’ll have with a game this year.

Definitely a grown-up title, but at the right price point, it could qualify as a must-buy.

Dyad

If you enjoyed the trippiness of games like Rez or Child of Eden, Dyad offers up similar bright colours and gridlines, but layers that with gameplay that blending racing, shooting and score chasing. Moving through the never-ending tunnel requires grabbing on to enemies to pull yourself forward, grazing them to build up energy and unleashing yourself to lance through enemies, in the pursuit of ever lower times.

The whirl of high speed and flashing colours and the minimal gameplay is immediately compelling and immersive, and the kind of game you could easily get lost in for a couple of hours.

LittleBigPlanet Karting

We’re big fans of Modnation Racers, and all the racing fun and content creation that United Front Gaming packed into that game.

We’re also, to a slightly lesser degree, fans of LittleBigPlanet. So what to make of United Front being tasked with the creation of LittleBigPlanet Karting? Is this going to be MNR with a different paint job, or will it be a completely different creature? And is Sony killing one franchise by overlaying it with another in the obligatory brand-extension kart racer?

First impression? Yeah, this is ModNation racers with LBP graphics. Now, on the pro side, that’s a perfectly acceptable combination, and one that seems destined to produce a high quality title. But on the other hand, it’s a kart racer, complete with the obligatory weapons, the obligatory boosts, and the obligatory drifting. Are the LittleBigPlanet creation tools enough to make this game stand out in the “everyone has a kart racer” genre?

And more important, personally speaking, will this be the end of ModNation Racers? I can’t imagine Sony would maintain two kart racing franchises with a heavy emphasis on user created content, which doesn’t seem to bode well for the non-Sackboys.

Game of Thrones

There are no shortage of fantasy action-RPGs, but very few with the built-in advantage of one of the deepest and most well-realized fantasy worlds to draw from. That’s the case for Atlus and Montreal’s Cyanide Studios, who have to be hoping the built-in audience for George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones books and HBO show will flock to their new title. Featuring an original story set around the end of the first novel and two new characters, Game of Thrones does have plenty of background to draw on as they try to create an engaging, original adventure in Westeros.

We checked the game out briefly, because to be honest, I knew it would be next up in my review queue, and I didn’t want to spoil any of the experience. While it doesn’t look to rival Skyrim in terms of sheer epicness, the key to this game succeeding will be how well they create the impression that you are walking in the footsteps of Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, and Ned Stark. Ok, maybe not Ned Stark.

Papo & Yo

Saving the best for last is Papo & Yo, an intriguing new PSN exclusive that could reasonably aspire to the same emotional resonance that helped propel Journey’s success.

Papo & Yo is the story of Quico, a young boy growing up in the slums of what looks to be Brazil. Quico lives within his imagination to avoid his abusive alcoholic father, which oddly means a slew of platforming and puzzle solving. Since you’re playing within his imagination, there are magical elements to navigate, and the juxtaposition of wondrous magical happenings against the backdrop of poverty is striking. Still, the gameplay felt solid in the build we played and presents something intriguing to look forward to.

But it’s the exploration of Quico’s family life that offers the most intrigue and promise. Within his imagination, Quico has two companions: a small robot who can help solve puzzles, and Monster, a giant creature with an addiction to frogs. One of Quico’s goals, we were told, was to cure Monster of his addiction, and you don’t have to be a psychology major to see the symbolism.

Currently slated as a downloadable title with about five hours of story, this game could find that value sweet spot that digital titles hold so much promise for, and if the developers can realize their vision, and that’s a big if, Papo & Yo could be a game you don’t just play, but one you experience.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the video below from Disney Interactive Studios, we have a first look at the gameplay in this third person action adventure title. From the brief glimpses here, expect plenty of archery, exploration and puzzle solving.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The movie arrives in theatres on June 22, but you’ll be able to pick up the game in advance on June 19.

Full credit to Microsoft for trying something different with the console pricing model. While Redmond has typically pursued a strategy of lower entry costs, offering an Xbox 360 4 GB Kinect bundle for $99 (albeit on a somewhat trial basis through a limited number of Microsoft Stores) is taking things to a whole new level. If you simply look at the headlines and the bold print, a $200 price drop seems almost too good to be true. Well, that’s because it is.

The rather large asterisk on this, of course, is that Microsoft is taking a page out of the wireless provider book and subsidizing the upfront purchase of an Xbox 360 in return for locking you into a two-year contract of Xbox Live Gold service at $15 per month (note that monthly service is normally only $10 a month). So, the total outlay will end up being roughly $459. Compare that to doing things the old fashioned way and buying your console outright and paying for service for two years for $539 ($299 + $240 for service), and this actually looks like a sweet deal. Of course, since you have to get two years of service, a better comparison would be buying the console and getting two one-year subscriptions at $60 a pop. Now you’re looking at $419. So what you’re really doing with this “deal” is deferring your cash outlay and paying $40 more over the two year period.

A fair tradeoff perhaps, and how you receive this depends on your own personal financial policies. If you’re short on cash right now and just “gotta have” a 360 with Kinect system then the initial $99 outlay is much more palatable. On a much smaller scale, it’s like a mortgage. You put a smaller amount down and while you’ll pay a lot more over the life of it, it allows you to get into home ownership. But since we’re talking a much smaller scale, people may look at that extra cost over the life of the system and deem it not worthy for consideration.

Also, let’s not forget this is the 4 GB Kinect bundle we’re talking about. The one that we’re really not big fans of since that 4 GB of flash storage likely won’t last long. We still think getting a 360 with a hard drive is a better choice, even if it costs extra. You can certainly start with just the 4 GB and add a hard drive later if you find you need it, but why not get it all done at once?

And while the Kinect system is a good fit for families, the forced bundling of the Xbox Live Gold subscription might not be. If you’re not going to play online or use any of the admittedly terrific Xbox Live features, then you simply don’t need it, and you’ll pay a lot for nothing. You should definitely take a closer look at the Gold service and if you’d truly use it.

One other thing to keep in the back of your mind: there’s a very good chance that a new Xbox 360 will be announced and perhaps even released before the end of those two years. Suddenly, you’re locked in to a console that has essentially been put on an end-of-life notice, and at that point, how long will Microsoft continue to support it? W0uld they let you transfer the service to a new console when it comes out?

My feelings on this are mixed. Full marks for trying something different, even it resembles those awful cell phone contracts (I’m especially bitter because they’re three year terms in Canada). It does represent a lower barrier to entry for folks, and if you were going to get Live anyways, then you won’t come out too far behind over the long run. This could open new avenues for companies to consider for pricing options on new consoles, and with online services becoming ubiquitous (let’s assume Nintendo are not pulling our legs with what they’re planning for the Wii U), who knows, maybe it will become more of the norm. Of course, even Microsoft is being cautious about this right now, given the limited availability of the offer currently. Just make sure you understand what you’re getting into.

Activision have released a gameplay preview video for Transformers Prime which you can check out below, and then look forward to the robot smashing action later this year.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I think it’s safe to say that Activision’s big Skylanders gamble paid off.

According to their recently released 2012 First Quarter Financial Results, more than 30 million Skylanders toys have been sold since the game was released in October 2011. In terms of actual dollars, Skylanders was also the #3 best selling title across all systems in the first quarter of 2012, and the #1 kids title. In other words, complete and unquestionable success.

This should come as no surprise to any of the parents who have contributed to that 30 million total, as kids are clearly loving the beautifully sculpted toys. With a few characters still be released, you can expect those numbers to continue growing, up to the release of this fall’s Skylanders Giants, when that number will shoot way up again.

Sesame Street: Elmo’s Musical Monsterpiece, for Wii and DS, aims to inspire a love of music and dance in pre-schoolers, through the adventures of Elmo, Abby Cadabby and Count von Count.

“Sesame Street: Elmo’s Musical Monsterpiece gets children up and dancing and encourages music creation,” said Rosemarie Truglio, Ph.D., Vice President of Education & Research, Sesame Workshop. “The game also explores emotional expression through music and dance, introduces instrument names and sounds, and helps children to practice early math skills through music.”

Developed by Griptonite Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Elmo’s Musical Monsterpiece will feature the music of Ozomatli, a LA band that mixes hip-hop, salsa, dancehall, cumbia, samba, funk, merengue, Jamaican ragga, and Indian raga sound, guaranteeing a very worldly experience for preschoolers.

The game’s Parents Page will let parents review the curriculum goals built into the game, as well as monitor how much they kids have been playing, and set limits if necessary.

Sesame Street: Elmo’s Musical Monsterpiece will be available this June for Wii and DS.

Click here to view the embedded video.