I hate it when this happens. I'm looking to pick up a few new games for my upcoming birthday but I don't think I can afford it. There are eight games in total to consider: Far Cry 2, Sonic Generations, Rayman Origins, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Tales of Vesperia, Mass Effect, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.

I've been playing a lot of video games recently so let's get into this. First things first, I completed Prince of Persia this past Friday. This is my second time going through it, first time with my PC copy of the game and I loved it. That game does truly give you an experience. I also have been playing Condemned on the PC as I try to overcome my fear of horror games. It's not going well. I stopped playing about halfway through the second level. I'll keep trying though (someday). I also started playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance on the PC and I was having a great time with it. I went all the way to the sixth level (which is about halfway through the game) when my save game file became corrupted and some sort of fatal error screwed up the install files for the game so now I'm screwed and I can't play anymore. I'm thinking of getting the Gold edition of the game for the Xbox 360, as it has eight more characters, but that sucker's like $40-70 bucks!

Today Sega announced the release of two Sonic games and additional content, all for the PC through digital download markets. The first title is Sonic CD. The port is based off of the recently released XBLA and PSN versions. If you buy the title on Steam, you'll also get Metal Sonic and Tails costumes for the multiplayer game Spiral Knights. 

Sonic Generations starts great. When I started playing the game, three acts in, I was on the phone with Nick. “Hey, this game might be better than the console version,” I said. “I'm not surprised,” his response. All the while, I thought to myself, these stages really capture the feel of the original Genesis Sonic games.

...And it isn't that I'm ranked #1 on the leaderboards for one of the stages.

My review copy of Sonic Generations for the 3DS arrived today, and imagine my surprise when I opened the game to find a Club Nintendo code! Click through for an image!

Sonic Generations begins, aptly enough, with classic Sonic playing through a new stage based on the original first Sonic stage: Green Hill Zone. Sure enough, there are all sorts of enemies like Motobugs (lady bugs on wheels) and Choppers (piranha bots that bite at Sonic while he crosses a bridge.) Sonic runs through a two-dimensional plane through the entirety of the stage, and with just the press of a button (or the traditional down + the jump button) he can charge up a spin-dash and take off.

This week's PB & Jason is almost all about reviews! Expect to hear an expansion of my Dungeon Defenders review. Also, keep an ear open for a pre-review on Sonic Generations. Want more? How about a rantsplanation about why reviews are important and for whom I believe reviews are created?

Earlier this year, on June 23, Sonic turned 20 years old. As a celebration of his legacy, Sega is releasing Sonic Generations today on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, with the 3DS version to follow later this month. The game celebrates the history of the franchise by joining old and new into one singular game that promises to mesh and meld all of what makes Sonic great. PixlBit's staff, growing up during the era of the blue blur, have fond memories of Sonic and his games and have come together to share their memories of the mascot.

Sonic Generations will have levels taken from various previous games in the series. Green Hill Zone, Chemical Plant Zone and Speed Highway are all represented in the new 20th Anniversary game. It was revealed today that players will be able to experience the original Green Hill Zone with Sonic Generations.

Steam is well known for offering some pretty sweet deals and this latest may be hard for fans of the speedy blue hedgehog to pass up.  Those that pre-purchase Sonic Generations will get copies of Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic 3 and Knuckles absolutely free. 

Sonic Generations will be the first title of Sega's mascot for the 3DS and it now has a release date. Although the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC version of the game will be released on November 1, the 3DS version will follow on November 22, 2011.

If you were around for the bitter, vicious, and petty wars between the Super Nintendo and the Sega Genesis, you can’t help but feel at least a little bad for Sega’s blue speedster with the 90s ‘tude. While Mario went on from the 16-bit era to have some of his greatest adventures, Sonic has had a slow, steady slide into irrelevancy. While he has his staunch supporters and always sells well to the kids, there is a segment of the hardcore gaming community that keeps wondering when that next great Sonic game is going to come along. With each new release, there’s always the talk that “This is the one! This is the game that makes Sonic great again!” And the fans buy into it, and more often than not, they end up disappointed, and have to seek solace in their fan fiction.

Sega announced today that players will be able to test out more of Sonic Generations with the release of a second demo tomorrow on Xbox Live. Unfortunately for PlayStation 3 owners, the second demo won't see release for another week, appearing on the service on October 25, 2011. The full game will be released on November 1, 2011 for the PS3, 360 and PC, as well as the 3DS later in November.

Sonic is Sega's mascot and he was a Sega platform exclusive back in the day. However, many of his games have been ported to PC. We now have confirmation thanks to Valve that his latest game, Sonic Generations, will be released on Steam the same day as the other versions on PS3 and Xbox 360, according to Blistered Thumbs.

Nintendo will be at the New York Comic-Con next week and will be showcasing some of their biggest titles for the Wii, 3DS and original DS.

This year, we're doing something a bit different. In order to bring you coverage as fast as possible, we'll be posting audio recordings of notes from staff members at E3 and later adding in a written version of the impressions. Please click through and check out this staff member's recorded thoughts on the game from the E3 show floor.

E3 is a busy time, and 2011's conference is no exception. With new information constantly being released, it can be easy to miss big announcements or overlook certain articles. Because of this, PixlBit has compiled all of our E3 articles into separate sections (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Wii U, and Vita) for easy viewing, so that none of you miss out on any of our coverage.

E3 is a busy time, and 2011's conference is no exception. With new information constantly being released, it can be easy to miss big announcements or overlook certain articles. Because of this, PixlBit has compiled all of our E3 articles into separate sections (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Wii U, and Vita) for easy viewing, so that none of you miss out on any of our coverage.