The first game to be added is Trion Worlds’ MMO Rift. Other titles are coming from ten more publishers (Robot Entertainment, CD PROJEKT RED, Freebird Games, Recoil Games, Autumn Games, 1C Company, inXile entertainment, Paradox Interactive, Core Learning Ltd. and N3V Games) in the coming months.

“Origin is focused on providing choice to consumers and the games they play,” said Craig Rechenmacher, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for Origin at EA. “From blockbuster franchises to high-quality independent titles, we’re bringing the industry’s best content to one place. We’re excited to welcome new partners and a diverse new line-up of titles to Origin today.”

If you’re interested in finding out when these titles will be added, Origin’s official website is the place to go.

And I mean lengthy — it’s seven and a half minutes long. Grab a glass of lemonade or something. I don’t know. But you will enjoy this. Take a look:

The Sims 3: Showtime is supposed to make your Sims big stars, right? Well, they might get a little extra somethin’-somethin’, thanks to EA Play’s new collaboration with Kitty Purry — I mean, Katy Perry.

The new expansion, currently slated for a March release, will be getting a collector’s edition featuring the starlet, and future content featuring Perry will also be produced.

“Today marks the start of the most integrated and exciting collaboration with any artist in the history of The Sims,” said Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music for EA. “Katy Perry has been a fan of The Sims for several years, and her Simlish recording of her hit ‘Hot and Cold’ featured in The Sims 2 series quickly became the most popular Simlish music video to date. We couldn’t be more excited to work with Katy and bring her distinctive talents, style and personality to the franchise’s global fan base. No performer could better represent the humor and fun of The Sims brand.”

“I love how you’re able to play out different stories through your Sims characters – giving them different careers and watching them succeed,” said Perry. “It’s cool to see the Sims’ stage performances in The Sims 3 Showtime decked out just like my California Dreams Tour – even my cotton candy video screens are in there! I always like to think of myself as a cartoon, and now I’m a Sim!”

The Collector’s Edition of The Sims 3: Showtime will include the expansion, the Ultimate Stage and Katy Perry-themed contend like fashions, a guitar and a Sim hairstyle. An exclusive poster will also be included.

To celebrate, EA’s released a new Sims music video — to the tune of Perry’s latest single, of course. Watch below.

Playing the demos for upcoming titles Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3 will unlock special items as part of a cross-promotion deal surely orchestrated by EA, who is publishing both titles.

The demo for Kingdoms of Amalur, available January 17, unlocks items for use in Mass Effect 3, and vice versa.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to deliver this massive one-two punch with Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Mass Effect 3. We wanted to provide fans of the Mass Effect franchise with a unique set of rewards for diving into the expansive universe of Reckoning,” said Curt Schilling, Chairman and Founder of 38 Studios.

Playing the Reckoning demo allows you to unlock two items for Mass Effect 3 inspired by the game: the Reckoner Knight Armor, and The Chakram Launcher weapon, the latter of which is only unlocked after completing the demo and watching the final trailer. The demo itself allows you 45 minutes of play time in a portion of the open world after a brief introduction to the game.

Playing the demo for Reckoning also adds new items to the full version of that game, some of which up your fire and ice resistance.

Playing the upcoming demo for Mass Effect 3 will unlock two items for use in Reckoning: the classic N7 Armor (which might look kind of ridiculous in the Reckoning world, but we’ll see), and holographic Omniblade Daggers.

Does the promise of more in-game items make you more likely to give these demos a shot? Talk about it in the comments.

Over on Xbox.com, a new House Party is on the way. This year’s one-game-a-week promotion looks to start off with something quite a few people have gotten excited about since its reveal at the VGAs — Alan Wake’s American Nightmare.

This year’s House Party also features Warp from EA, Nexuiz from THQ Partners and Ubisoft’s long-awaited I Am Alive.

Get a look at all of them in the trailer below.

Your Sims are about to become superstars. Well, they will in March, anyway. That’s when the Showtime expansion for The Sims 3 will debut for Windows and Mac. You’ll be able to tell your Sims’ rags-to-riches story with brand-new social features, too.

“The Sims 3 Showtime is a huge step forward for The Sims franchise,” explains Scott Evans, General Manager of The Sims Studio. “For the first time, we are introducing social features that allow you to send your Sims to a friend’s game, perform at their venue in front of their Sims where you both will earn rewards, and capture and share these in-game moments of your rise to fame.”

A pre-order of the expansion will net you a special “Limited Edition” of the game which features the “Ultimate Stage,” a fully-customizable performance venue with all the trimmings — props, backgrounds, lighting and special effects.

Here’s a trailer for the expansion:

After finishing my second beta weekend, and with the NDA lifted, I wanted to splurge about how much I love the new Star Wars: The Old Republic – and how I don’t see it as an MMO. And that’s what’s getting me to play it (I’m not much of an MMO player).  A Bioware game through and through, there are a lot of things that I love and that have got me excited for the release this December. A warning for possible spoilers, though I’ve done my best to avoid anything major.

As of now, I’ve levelled two different classes into their mid 20s, and my partner has played two as well – Sith Inquisitor and Smuggler for me, and Sith Warrior and Republic Trooper for him. We played on PvE servers for the most recent beta, and got to see both the Imperials and rebel scu – I mean, Republic side of the galaxy. I won’t deny – we ended up playing dark side for all of them. Sorry, no screens from the gameplay – I forgot, and was too busy playing! 

1. The Voice Acting

Bioware has lauded this as the main reason for what makes this MMO different – and there is no escaping it. YES this makes the game different, it’s engaging, it’s hilarious, it made me interested in the characters and what they were doing. The voice acting is amazing, not only for your PC and companions, but for everyone you interact with as well. Nuanced, talented and varied, the voice acting adds a level to this game – and honestly? This is what makes it a Bioware game to me. 

2. Companions

You get a variety of companions based on what class you play, and your actions in the game affect their opinion of you. It’s an affection system, with them approving or disapproving of what you do – and you can go in the negative! You also gain experience from interacting with your companions! Which I thought was a great motivator. 

Your companions are engaging – if they’re present when you’re in a conversation with an NPC, they often chime in. As they start to like you more (based on conversation approval/disapproval and gift giving), they want to talk to you about your life and theirs. They have interesting back stories, are the types of companions you want (one word – WOOKIE), and make the game more immersive. 

My example for this is the smuggler merchant you get with the Smuggler class, Corso Riggs. A chivalrous farm boy who went to find adventure after personal tragedy, his attitude fit perfectly with the swarthy, snarky smuggler I was playing. He’s sweet, he’s tough, and he’s on your side. To me, he seemed cater made for someone wanting to find the ‘Bioware touch’ in this game – loved him to bits. He makes me want to play Republic, when I’m a pretty hardcore Imperial!

3. The Stories & Writing

I’m not a classic MMO player. I’ve looked forward to SW:TOR because of the RPG aspects, and I don’t think Bioware let this one down. I think it’s been worth the wait – and I can remember when they announced the Star Wars MMO all those years ago. The quest lines I got involved in were engaging, got me charged – and I can’t wait to play again because I want to find out what happens. Even side-quests seem worthwhile and have stock – in many ways, because of the voice acting. 

The writing does not let down in my opinion, and stays true to what Bioware has established themselves as – great writers of story AND dialogue. The lines the characters use are hilarious, snarky, cruel etc. — I listen to it all, because I want to know what they say and how they react. And yes – you can flirt with lots of people hah. Which I loved (and may have done, making poor Corso incredibly jealous).

4. The connections to KOTOR

Yes! They are there! In any of the classes I played, it was possible to come across side quests that related back to things that happened in KOTOR. It tickled me pink to see this – to see what happened to some of the people and places. 

Seeing Taris a few hundred years after the orbital bombardment was stunning. Learning what people think of Revan (you know I have a soft spot) got me giggly. There’s more too, but I don’t want to give too much away.  

5. Alone or with friends

My first beta weekend I was playing by myself – I got in, and my partner didn’t (much to his dismay). I can be pretty anti-social, so I went at it alone. I mostly followed my class quest story-line. It was easy enough to do – though I did find random groups for some flashpoints and heroic (harder) group missions with relative ease. This past weekend, my partner and I were able to play together almost from the get go, because we chose complimentary characters – we were on the same starting worlds. It was fun to see the quest lines (you watch other classes as a spectator – and get to see the cut scenes), I loved the cut scenes, I loved the dialogue – it felt like a co-op RPG most of the time. There were the two of us, and our two companions, kicking ass and taking names. And we were all out of bubble gum. 

When you’re in a group, you roll for dialogue options – but are still rewarded if you are the one to speak or not and there’s a dark/light side choice involved. NPCs also acknowledge that you’re in a group a lot of the time, which I was surprised by.

6. Expansive worlds, environment/presence

The worlds feel big – and honestly? I found them beautiful. They aren’t Skyrim quality, but for an interactive, expansive galaxy, I found the landscapes and cityscapes made you feel small. I wanted to look at them. I wanted to go through them. The architecture suits Republic or Sith, and it adds to your experience. I am the type to get in the head of my characters, and think about where we’re going and why, and the environments helped do that.

As well, the music in the game is amazing. I love the Star Wars themes, and a lot of them make a reappearance, in addition to new themes. It changes based on battles and location, and it can really add things to not only fights, but cut-scenes and quest lines. 

7. Light Side/ Dark Side — ethical quandries

If you want to be evil, you can be really REALLY evil in this game. I don’t have as much experience with the light side choices, I won’t deny. You can shoot people in the back when they don’t do what you want, you can threaten to torture children, you can electrocute prisoners to gain information from them, take bribes, or sell plague cures for profit – and more! 

Sure you could do this in any other MMO, but in this game you hear it all. Once more, this is where the voice acting really shines. When you threaten people, they beg and plead, when they die, they scream and cry. I wanted to see how far my character could go – how evil and malicious they could really be. You hear the indignation, you hear the suffering… and you end up feeling bad for it. 

8. Multiple games

Overall, I think it’s obvious that this game has been in the work for as long as it has been – and that it’s been worth the wait. The care and time put into it shows – it’s amazing. I don’t know what else to say about it. I want to play each of the classes because I want to experience their story lines, companions, loves, hates, trials and tribulations. I’m going to sink a lot of time into it. But I think it’ll be worth it. I never felt like I was grinding, because I loved the stories, the side quests, the voice acting and interactions. Classic MMO players may not like it because it is an MMORPG – with stress on the RPG.  There is a lot you can do in SW:TOR. Whether it’s questing, grinding (if it’s your thing, not mine), there are space battles (simple, but I won’t deny I loved them), exciting PvP warzones that are a game (huttball) or actual combat. I tried them all, and I liked them all. You can go do different activities based on your mood – and you get rewards and experience for all of it. 
As well, there were visible and worthwhile improvements from one beta to the next (a month’s time) – so I have no doubt only more time and love will go into keeping it amazing. I want to see the end games – I want to see if there are ends to these characters stories. For the few months I played WoW way back when, I can’t ever remember thinking anything remotely like that. Sounds more like a stand alone RPG, eh?

I’m eagerly awaiting mid-December – when my pre-release access opens and you’ll all stop hearing from me. Needless to say, I’m concealing the real reason for my ‘staycation’ this holiday season.

Remember when we wrote about the awesome Joystick Junkies DICE store? Well they have offered our readers a chance to score the Dog Tags of their choice! These dog tags have DICE on them and the symbol for the position that you love to play most.

Follow the directions below to win the Dog Tags! I have to say that I tend to play Assault. These tags can be purchased at the store for $15.99 each.

What makes this takeover so special? 4-player co-op, that’s what. Take a peek:

Electronic Art’s Origin service is expanding to include titles outside of EA publishing. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, THQ and Capcom Entertainment, Inc will be hosting some of their PC titles on the Origin service. Starting in November Batman: Arkham City, Saints Row: The Third and other titles will be available.

“Since launch, we’ve had overwhelming support from both publishers and developers across the gaming industry, recognizing Origin as an opportunity to deliver more of their great content straight to consumers across the globe,” said David DeMartini, senior vice president of Origin at EA. “We’re excited to welcome Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, THQ and Capcom as the first publishers to offer their games via Origin.”

“When we met with the EA team and discussed their long-term vision for Origin, we were excited to lend our weight to their efforts,” said Christian Svensson, senior vice president at Capcom Entertainment. “We hope to expand our PC fanbase for our legendary brands on Origin.”

Looks like Origin is looking to make it’s mark in becoming a service that PC gamers use to purchase new and upcoming games.