It looks like it's old-school RPG announcement day.  In addition to the Legend of Grimrock 2 announcement, Avadon 2 : The Corruption has been annouced.

I got all excited seeing Etrian Odyssey on there, but I think that doesn't actually hit the store until the 26th.  At any rate, I couldn't download it today.  So I guess either the 26th or maybe the 28th during the normal update.  I would guess if they list it, though, it must be the 26th, because otherwise they could list it next week.

Nintendo did a midnight eshop release for Fire Emblem, but that was a first party title.  They might do the same for EO4, but at worst it should be available Tuesday morning.

Some further details on the games -
inFamous : Second Son - "After rescuing occupants from a fiery bus wreck, he discovers that he suddenly has the ability to direct, manipulate and even transform into… Smoke...Setting the scene: It’s been seven years since the Cole McGrath episodes and the world has clearly changed. Anyone showing signs of being a so-called “bio-terrorist” is immediately handed over to the Department of Unified Protection (DUP) — a government agency created to ensure there is never a repeat of the catastrophic events of Empire City and New Marais. So Delsin, who has never been particularly respectful of authority, finds himself caught in the DUP dragnet – And decides he’s not going to go quietly."

Knack - "The result is Knack, a creature with mysterious powers – for one, he can incorporate more relics into his body as he finds them, which allows him to transform from a three-foot tall creature into a gigantic wrecking machine.  During the game Knack also discovers that he has a skill (in other words, a knack!) that allows him to incorporate ice, metal and other substances into his body, giving him new abilities from level to level. The result is gameplay which is a little bit like Crash Bandicoot, and a little bit like Katamari Damacy, in that the Knack can get quite large indeed."

There are also some screenshots of Diablo 3's console interface, although these are PS3 shots.

No details yet, but the developers have announced that they're working on a sequel.

It's nice to see another Infamous game, but that presentation was hilariously overdone and melodramatic.  As far as backwards compatibility goes, why don't people just keep their old consoles?  I've got my old PS1, PS2, and XBox all still hooked up, and they work fine.  It does create a bit of clutter, but it allows me to play all my old games.

If you do the "Warden's Keep" DLC quest, you'll get a chest in which you can store items.  Since you have access to the world map, you should be able to do the quest at any time.  As far as companions, feel free to take whichever ones will be most useful or interesting at the time.  They all level up the same, regardless of whether they're with you or not.

Here's the "Lamb of Columbia" trailer featuring Elizabeth.

Generation of Chaos: Pandora's Reflection is a maybe, depending on reviews and pricing.  The previous GoC games have gotten poor reviews, but this one was co-developed by Sting and this review has me hopeful.

it's kinda sad that an era is ending, but I haven't really been buying much DLC anyways as it's hard to get replacement instruments anymore for a decent price.

The Band Hero bundle seems to be on sale every few months.  According to Cheapass Gamer, it's on sale now at Tuesday Morning stores (if you have one of those near you) for $30.  They've also been on sale at places like Big Lots and I got the full kit for $35 with free shipping at Newegg several months ago.

For those that have played the previous games which would you say this one most resembles?

Definitely Sly 2, with a dash of Sly 3's minigames and large roster of playable characters.  I think the developers even said they used Sly 2 as an inspiration.

I'm not too far in, but I'm really enjoying the game too.  Sanzaru did a great job of adding enough new stuff while not straying far from the formula.  I really like the ancestors concept, as it allows for characters that play like Sly, but with new moves.  I could do without the touch controls in some of the minigames, but other than that, the game is fantastic.

It looks like the game is selling well.  According to the NPD charts, it was #11 for the month of January, despite being released late in the month.

Nintendo held a 3DS-heavy Nintendo Direct presentation today and announced several new games - Mario & Luigi : Dream Team, the next in the Mario & Luigi series of RPGs, Mario Golf : World Tour, LEGO City Undercover : The Chase Begins, and a port of the Wii's Donkey Kong Country Returns.  There are screenshots for M&L and Mario Golf here and a trailer for LEGO City here.  This year was already looking great for the 3DS, but now it looks even better

If you don't like spiders and never want to sleep again, watch this.

The Vita version of Ratchet & Clank : Full Frontal Assault has been delayed until spring, and in order to make up for this, Sony is offering a free copy of R&C : Deadlocked HD for anyone who has bought or buys the download or disc version of FFA.  Deadlocked HD and FFA Vita will release on the same day, and you have until then to take advantage of the offer.  The deal is good only for North America, as Sony Europe has a different offer.

4) Speaking of getting behind monsters, I've surprised a few but they still seem to turn around before I can attack them. Is that supposed to happen?

There's a merit card reward that makes it easier to sneak up on enemies, and I think it costs 2 cards.  I haven't tried it myself, so I don't know how effective it is.

This is an unexpected but pleasant surprise.

damn, it's also going to be the last Witcher game.

They later clarified this.  It sounds like the developer is moving on to other things, but the series will continue.

Game Informer posted that they will have an exclusive preview for the Star Trek tables in their new issue, which is probably why the Playstation blog post was taken down.

Sly Cooper : Thieves In Time and Fire Emblem : Awakening for me.  I just need to decide if I want to wait and see if Fire Emblem is released on time or just get the download version.

The digital version is now available in the eShop.

I like point and click adventure games, but this sounds great too.

I really like the concept but wish it wasn't the JRPG-style turn-based combat.  Something more like Zelda would have been awesome.

The game has both.  According to the preview "The gameplay itself seems to alternate between the real-time action of a Zelda game, before graduating to the turn-based strategy of the Final Fantasy series: with plenty of dungeon crawling, puzzle solving, and even giant tortoise fighting in between."  It looks like you'll play both the Zelda-style and Final Fantasy style in each era.

XSeed has announced their lineup of games for 2013.  On the handheld side, they have Rune Factory 4 coming to 3DS this summer, and Valhalla Knights 3 and Ys : Memories of Celceta coming to Vita in the fall.  I haven't heard much good about the Valhalla Knights series, but I'm definitely in for Rune Factory and Ys.

There have been lots of retro-style games over the last few years, but here's something I've never seen - a game that changes graphics and gameplay styles as you play.

As you play through Evoland, you’ll begin to unlock new technologies, gameplay systems, and updated graphics. One moment you’ll go from adventuring in Game Boy monochrome pixel graphics, to exploring villages straight out of the Super Nintendo era, to finally the beautifully rendered 3D that looks like it jumped right out of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on the Nintendo DS.

Here's a preview of the game, currently on Steam Greenlight and scheduled for release in March.

Hey, 3DS XL owners: is the sweet spot for viewing the 3D better than on the original 3DS?

I'd say the exact sweet spot where it looks perfect is about the same, but the XL seems to have a much larger "looks good" window.  Unlike the 3DS, you have to get the XL pretty far off center before the image looks bad.

[Spoiler]

Games Finished
=============
Gunman Clive (3DS)
Hyperballoid HD (PSN) - 100% trophies
The Walking Dead Episode 1 : A New Day, Episode 2 - Starved For Help (PSN)


Casual Games Finished - 8

Spoiler for Hiden:

My Kingdom For The Princess 2, Mystery Trackers : The Void, Hot Dog Hotshot, The Chronicles of Emerland Solitaire, Angelica Weaver : Catch Me When You Can, GabCab, Patchworkz, Cake Mania : To The Max!

Amazon has Deadlight for $3.75 (or $10 as part of the MS bundle) and it's a Steam key.

Here's a new trailer - a documentary-style history of Columbia.

Crytek has opened a new studio in the US and hired Vigil Games' "core team", including one of the co-founders.

I'll probably be getting Skulls of the Shogun on XBLA and Lets Fish! Hooked On for Vita, depending on reviews.

The XBLA pack (Mark of The Ninja, Iron Brigade, Deadlight, Toy Soldiers, and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet) is live and the individual games are also on sale.  They also have Fable : The Lost Chapters for $2.49.

It looks like Nintendo underestimated the demand for this game, since Gamestop has stopped taking preorders and Amazon has a warning about delays.  I put my order in at Amazon, so hopefully I'll get it as soon as it comes out.  If anyone else is interested, I'd suggest trying to secure a copy now.

I hope Namco Bandai already has copies of the guide to give out, as it seems to be in short supply as well.  Amazon, Gamestop, and Best Buy are all sold out.

For those who may not know, look in the far right of the photo.

I still don't get it - what am I missing?

Here are some details about traveling around the world map.

Additionally, each area can have two special events.  For example, you can have two enemy units visit, in which case you’ll have to face two “Boss” units, or you can have an enemy and a merchant visit, in which case you’ll have to protect the merchant from the enemies...This freedom of travel also means that you can visit separate areas unrelated to the story when they open. These lead to Paralogues, which are like side stories.  Most of these come with a recruitable character... Later, you can recruit the children of your married units and the Paralogues are unlocked whenever you marry a couple off.

I'm really surprised no one picked up Vigil.  I know Darksiders 2 didn't sell as well as expected, but the franchise has a ton of potential.  You'd think someone would have realized that.

- edit - be leery about contributing as this things raises all kinds of alarm bells for me

That's especially true since they'll get the money whether this reaches its goal or not.

In the Wind Waker HD presentation, they said they would "tune up the overall game experience", so there should be some gameplay changes.

LEGO City Undercover is probably the game I'm most excited about on the Wii U for sure.

Yeah, it's probably the main reason I'm considering a Wii U at this point.  Which is why I don't own one yet, I guess.

Stupid Wind Waker remake and the promise of another Zelda eventually, plus Metroid is why I'm considering it.   The LEGO stuff?  Just a bonus. 

Ugh, did I really write "probably...for sure"?

"For sure" - gag me with a spoon!