Ubisoft today announced Rocksmith’s Top Pick/Hot Pick Contest, an online competition that challenges both Rocksmith fans and die-hard guitar lovers looking for the best way to show off their artistic talents. This initiative invites the guitar community to submit either their most original pick design or their own guitar performance video based off Megadeth songs for a chance to win cool prizes.

There are two ways to win:

Top Pick
• Participants are expected to sign up via the Top Pick contest site http://www.toppickcontest.com. Once there, they will be invited to create a custom guitar pick design and promote their piece of art on social networks to increase their chances of winning. Prizes for the highest rated users includes a pair of backstage tickets for one of the nine Megadeth Canadian tour dates, as well as a chance to see their pick design being produced.

Hot Pick
• Hot Pick invites participants to video record themselves playing one of the three Megadeth DLC songs (Symphony of Destruction, Public Enemy No. 1 or Hangar 18”) and upload it to the Hot Pick website (www.hotpickcontest.com) for a chance to win a special ticket to one of the nine Megadeth Canadian tour dates. The winner will then get to challenge Megadeth’s guitarist, Chris Broderick, to a Rocksmith competitive match-up and a chance to walk away with Broderick’s own guitar.

Rocksmith is the first and only video game that allows players to plug in any real guitar into an Xbox 360, PlayStation3 to play a sizeable library of songs from the latest hits to classic rock songs. Rocksmith adapts to the player’s skill level from novices who have never picked up a guitar to the most experienced shredder.

|Update:DLC| Microsoft and Epic release “Fenix Rising,” the third major game add-on for the most critically-acclaimed shooter of 2011, Gears of War 3. Featuring five spectacular new multiplayer maps inspired by the life and experiences of Marcus Fenix, “Fenix Rising” also introduces four character skins and a new experience system that allows players to rank up through level 100 four times to unlock exclusive emblems and weapon skins.

With the purchase of the add-on, players who attain level 100 will have a choice to “Re-up” for another tour of duty to showcase their valor and dedication as elite “Gears of War” fans. Their experience and rank will be reset, but all other progression (including TrueSkill rating) will remain intact. Players can “Re-up” up to three times, earning a new wings color each time: Red, Green, and Gold. The rank number will also be coloured Red, Green, or Blue. Each “Re-up” level also awards the player an exclusive, custom weapon skin that cannot be obtained by any other means.

Available on Xbox LIVE for 800 Microsoft Points or included as part of the “Gears of War 3” Season Pass, “Fenix Rising” expands the multiplayer battlefield with five stunning new maps – Academy, Anvil, Depths, Escalation, and the Slab – delivering endless hours of frenetic online action across Versus Multiplayer, Horde and Beast Mode. Additionally, players who purchase “Fenix Rising” will gain access to four new character skins (Recruit Clayton, Thrashball Cole - Limited Edition, Savage Marauder and Savage Kantus - Limited Edition) for use in Versus Multiplayer and Horde Mode.

Players can obtain “Fenix Rising” and all the previously released add-on content for “Gears of War 3,” including “RAAM’s Shadow” and the “Horde Command Pack,” and secure access to one more upcoming game add-on by purchasing the “Gears of War 3” Season Pass for 2400 Microsoft Points, which entitles them to the first four game add-ons for a total discount of 33 percent.

|RD Update| Rockstar Games proudly gives word that Max Payne 3 will bring the payne on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 15, 2012 in North America and May 18, 2012 internationally; and for the PC on May 29, 2012 in North America and June 1, 2012 internationally.

Max Payne 3 is based on the incredibly precise and fluid gunplay that is based around the series’ famed dark and cinematic approach, Max Payne 3 follows the famed former New York detective onto the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. Max Payne now works in executive protection for the wealthy Rodrigo Branco in the hopes of escaping the memories of his troubled past. When a street gang kidnaps Rodrigo’s wife, Max is pulled into a conspiracy of shadowy, warring factions threading every aspect of São Paulo society in a deadly web that threatens to engulf everyone and everything around him.

In another first for the series, Max Payne 3’s multiplayer offering brings the game’s cinematic feel, fluid gunplay and kinetic sense of movement into the realm of online multiplayer. Building on the fiction and signature gameplay elements of the Max Payne universe, Max Payne 3 features a wide range of new and traditional multiplayer modes that play on the themes of paranoia, betrayal and heroism, all delivered with the same epic visual style of the single-player game.

|Update:DLC| Ubisoft has revealed all new downloadable content for Assassin's Creed: Revelations called the Mediterranean Traveler Map Pack. This pack extends the Assassin’s Creed Revelations multiplayer experience with the addition of six multiplayer maps, each introducing new gameplay opportunities through their varied terrain, perches and hideouts.

For more info; players can journey to the majestic holy city of Jerusalem, the opulent imperial district of Constantinople and the colorful mercantile district of Dyers. Fans of the franchise can also revisit favorite Italian Renaissance maps from Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood specifically requested by Assassin’s Creed players to be included in the pack. To start, players will explore the historic city of Firenze (Florence), then travel to the mountains of San Donato and visit nighttime Siena with its carnival lights, talented performers and deadly hiding spots.

The Mediterranean Traveler Map Pack will be available for download on January 24 for 800 Microsoft Points on Xbox LIVE and $9.99 on PlayStation Network and Windows PC.

|PRUpdate:ME3| On March 6, Earth is ground zero in a battle to save the galaxy, and EA and BioWare are giving you an opportunity to arm up with cutting edge weapons and armor to prepare for the upcoming war. Now online, with each pre-order purchase of Mass Effect 3 at participating retailers, fans will receive the M55 Argus Assault Rifle*. Deadly at any range, the Argus boasts quick burst-fire to ensure ammo conservation and maximum accuracy on the battlefield.

Additionally, fans who pre-order at select retailers in U.S. and Canada will receive the following items:

N7 Warfare Gear (GameStop and EB Games)
• N7 Valkyrie Assault Rifle – Deliver two rounds per shot with deadly accuracy and stop the opposition dead in their tracks with superior high caliber rounds.
• N7 Defender Armor – Improved shields and health, players can survive even the most punishing of battles and withstand sustained enemy fire. The N7 Defender Armor which offers increased ammo capacity and amplified weapon damage.

AT-12 Raider Shotgun (PC - EA’s Origin service)
• AT-12 Raider Shotgun fires a large pellet spread, ensuring maximum coverage for close-range targets. Designed for superior rapid fire, the AT-12 allows for optimal recovery time between shots.

|Update| THQ and the UFC announced that Dutch heavyweight sensation Alistair Overeem will join the roster for UFC Undisputed 3, the forthcoming installment in the critically acclaimed mixed martial arts (MMA) game from THQ. Through a limited time offer on their facebook page, players who “like” the page and share it with two friends will receive a free token, enabling them to include “The Reem” on the in-game roster.

About the big man Overeem
Perhaps the most devastating striker in the heavyweight division, Overeem – a famed world champion kickboxer and former undefeated STRIKEFORCE heavyweight champion – is scheduled to make his UFC debut against former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar at UFC 141, live on pay-per-view December 30, 2011 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The winner will become the number one contender to challenge current UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos for the title in 2012.

|Update| The Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network can now get in on the Dungeon Defending action with The Lost Eternia Shards: Mistymire Forest DLC for Dungeon Defenders. The new DLC is online for 320 MS points on XBLA or $3.99 on PSN. Loaded with new enemies, loot, missions, and a new boss, the Mistymire Forest DLC pack is a steal. The Lost Eternia Shards saga is just getting started, and there’s even more epic content coming your way.