As promised, EA will let buyers of the new SimCity download a free game on Origin to compensate for the city-building sim's troubled launch. The free games they're offering are better than expected.

If you've purchased SimCity and registered the game by March 25th, you'll be eligible to download one of the following games:

• Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)
• Bejeweled 3
• Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)
• Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)
• Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition)
• Need For Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition)
• Plants vs. Zombies
• SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition

It's a diverse selection of games, some of which are pretty new. Dead Space 3 is only about a month old. It's not a game I enjoyed but nonetheless, it's a $60 game that EA is giving away for nothing.

You might be assuming there's a catch. As it turns out, there is. You won't have much time to get this free game. EA says they'll launch the web portal for redeeming this offer on March 22nd and then close it on March 30th. After that, you won't be able to get your freebie.

EA is offering the free game due to launch issues with SimCity's servers. The game requires you to be logged in at all times in order to play, so the server problems rendered the game unplayable. This resulted in petitions, a boycott, and a whole lot of angry gamers.

Will the freebie stop all the online protests? Probably not. They'd probably rather EA just removed the online requirement from the game. As hackers have shown, it's pretty easy to do.

Need for Speed Most Wanted is getting three DLC packs all at once. The Terminal Velocity, Movie Legends and Heroes packs will add several new vehicles and events to the game for a price.

Terminal Velocity introduces the Porsche 918 Spyder 2013, BMW 1 Series M Coupe 2012, Audi RS3 2012, Ford Fiesta ST 2012 and Alfa Romeo Mito QV 2012. Players will also get access to Hughes International Airport, an area loaded with new events. This DLC is the most substantial of today's trio, costing $15.

The Movie Legends DLC, meanwhile, lets you feel like an action hero. The five new vehicles - Aston Martin DBS 2008, Aston Martin DB5, Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am Special Edition 1977, Dodge Charger R/T 1970, Shelby GT500 1967 - are all cars prominently featured in films. If you want to feel like James Bond, it'll cost you $10.

The third DLC, Heroes, is also $10. This pack also adds five cars, each from older Need for Speed games. The new vehicles include the Lamborghini Diablo SV from Need for Speed III Hot Pursuit, the Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34) from Need for Speed Underground, the Nissan 350Z from Need for Speed Underground 2, the Porsche 911 GT2 from Need for Speed Undercover and the BMW M3 GTR from the 2005 edition of Need for Speed Most Wanted.

If your hunger for virtual cars knows no bounds, you can buy the Deluxe Bundle and get access to all three DLC packs at once. The bundle is $25, making it $10 cheaper than buying all three individually.

The DLC is live on Xbox and PS3 starting today. PC gamers will have to wait until March 13th.

I've been trailing behind in keeping up with some of the latest in streaming technology and portable gaming devices. We've had a number of new gaming machines announced or coming to market from various hardware developers, including Razer and Xi3. Well, one of the devices that seems to have coasted a little under the radar is Nvidia's Project SHIELD, the handheld gaming machine that can stream content directly from your PC or enable you to play Android games thanks to the Jelly Bean OS.

The latest addition to the Project SHIELD gaming line-up is Electronic Arts' Need For Speed: Most Wanted, the reboot of the racing title from the PS2 era. The game is showcased in a brand new promotional video where the graphics are cranked up to the max and you get to see EA's latest racing title in all its graphical glory being streamed from a beastly GeForce GTX 650 GPU.

There was one common complaint on the YouTube page – yes, I know that the golden rule on YouTube is never read YouTube comments if you want to come out the same way you went in – but I have to agree with the majority about the lack of detailing HOW you connect Project SHIELD to your devices and how you access your games and showcasing the process of getting into your games when you're not logging in via Steam.

Other things like chat, framerate adjustments, latency and whether or not you can do other stuff on PC while you're streaming from it on SHIELD aren't really covered in the video. For newbies it's a tough-sell video because you'd really have to read up on the thing if you wanted to know the important stuff.

Still, it seems like a nice hardcore alternative to the likes of the PSP or Nintendo 3DS, and it sure beats anything you can get on a standalone Android or iOS powered device.

I'm sure many of you with tons of questions can have your queries answered by learning more over on the Official Website, where additional blogs, videos and news regarding Project SHIELD can be found.

Overall, 2012 wasn't exactly a banner year for video games. There were a handful of standouts in the mix, lots of sequels that did an adequate job of pushing their respective series along, and even a few new IPs that managed to turn some heads. But it's been quite a few years since I had such an easy time selecting the handful of titles that would be considered for my “best of” list.

I guess that's to be expected at this point in a console generation's life cycle. Fewer big games are coming out for the current hardware while developers ramp up production on the launch titles for the next batch of gaming machines. We've had a couple of new handheld consoles get rolling this year and Nintendo even launched its newest proper system, the Wii U. But the Wii's successor, the 3DS and the Vita are all still in their infancy. Developers are still feeling them out, meaning that few truly spectacular games have started popping up on this latest batch of consoles.

But none of that should take away from the more humble list of truly epic games we all got to play this year. Some of these titles will stand the test of time, spurring on discussion and being warmly remembered for years to come.

While 2012 may not have been overstuffed with gaming greatness, there are at least a few titles that managed to grab me by the throat and command my full and undivided attention. These games would be considered great no matter what year they came out, and so now it's time to give them a little recognition.

#5: The Pinball Arcade

I don't expect many gamers to know what The Pinball Arcade even is, which is a real shame. Coming from FarSight Games, this meticulously crafted love letter to classic pinball machines is the best, and pretty much only, source for exquisitely detailed versions of pinball games you can find in the real world. Actually, the simple fact of the matter is that the physical versions of these machines are becoming harder and harder to come by, making The Pinball Arcade that much more important. With a steady stream of DLC tables being added to the mix, The Pinball Arcade kept me coming back for more throughout 2012. And perhaps most importantly, playing these virtual tables inspired me to seek out their real life counterparts, kick-starting a love affair with a bygone era of gaming I may have never had the opportunity to enjoy had The Pinball Arcade never been made available on my home console.

#4: Need For Speed: Most Wanted

One of my favorite games of this entire generation is Burnout: Paradise. I spent an ungodly number of hours tearing up the virtual street of Paradise City and the surrounding mountains, completing nearly every task on the game's ridiculous set of single player objectives and careening into the wee hours of the morning with online friends on more than a few occasions. While Criterion's treatment of this latest title in the Need for Speed series was scorned by many longtime fans, what the developers have effectively done is provide me with the long-awaited sequel to a game that owns a pretty big chunk of my gaming heart. Need for Speed: Most Wanted is a beautiful game with loads of content, an engaging multiplayer offering and more than enough insanely fast vehicles to keep any virtual gearhead revving the engine for hours on end. As far as arcade racers go, this one stands toe to toe with the best the genre has to offer.

#3: Far Cry 3

Confession time! I haven't actually finished Far Cry 3 yet. But with more than 20 hours poured into its single player campaign, every one of which I have enjoyed tremendously, I have little trouble adding this title to my game of the year list. While Far Cry 3's story might not be Shakespeare, some of its writing is nothing shy of poetry. Sporting some of the most memorable characters to come along in a long time, a nice variety of missions and side tasks to keep things fresh, a massive island that's exciting to explore and FPS gameplay that's silky smooth, some of my best gaming memories of 2012 were made on Far Cry 3's Rook Island. And that's not even touching the game's separate co-op campaign or online multiplayer. So, no, I have not yet reached the end of Far Cry 3's campaign. But if we're looking at this solely from the perspective of how much enjoyment a game is giving me, then the time I've spent with Far Cry 3 easily outshines the vast majority of titles I've sunk my teeth into this year.

#2: The Walking Dead

If you would have told me six months ago that one of my favorite games of the year would be coming from Telltale Games, I would have likely chuckled and chalked the statement up to momentary insanity. That's not to say that Telltale doesn't make quality games, just that what they have to offer doesn't usually set the bar so damn high. That, and then there's also the fact that, until now, no adventure game has ever been able to hold my attention for more than a few hours. But Telltale pulled off the impossible with The Walking Dead, crafting a beautiful, haunting, terrifying, wonderful, disturbing, joyful, upsetting delight of a game that had me eagerly anticipating each and every chapter of its five-part series. Lee Everett, Clementine and the rest of the cast breathed life into a game that, quite honestly, had more than a few technical flaws. But smart gameplay choices, a gripping story and the courage to demand that the player make unimaginable decisions and live with their consequences makes The Walking Dead something of a gaming milestone. This is a game I think about frequently, and I don't expect that to change anytime soon.

#1: Journey

Journey is a wonder to behold. It's an exercise in simplicity while still managing to warrant deep contemplation and conversation. Without speaking a word, Journey says in two hours what no other game has managed to say in thirty years. It's hard to talk about Journey without heading straight into the land of hyperbole, but few games have ever deserved this degree of praise. Journey demands attention. It should be studied. It evokes emotion in a way typically reserved for the most notable pieces of art. It's one of two games that have ever made me cry and, nearly a year after first stepping foot on that ocean of sand, the haunting soundtrack alone is enough to squeeze my heart and make my eyes misty. Journey is a beautiful, heartbreaking and utterly inspiring experience, and a game that easily takes its place among history's best.

Criterion Games and EA announced the very first downloadable content for Need For Speed: Most Wanted today. The Ultimate Speed Pack centers around five of the fastest cars in the world.

Players will be able to step behind the wheel of the Pagani Zonda R, McLaren F1 LM, Lamborghini Aventador J and Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. The DLC provides 25 events that are specially designed for these new vehicles. The fifth car, the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder, can be acquired by besting a new Most Wanted rival in a street race.

The Ultimate Speed Pack will also augment the game's multiplayer. It provides 70 new "speed-themed milestones" for players to chase. By doing so, they'll earn Speed Points to unlock new rewards.

The DLC will debut on December 18th. It'll cost $10 / £7.99 to download it on Xbox 360, PS3, or PC. If you're not interested in this particular content, hang tight because Criterion says that they have additional post-launch content in the works.

Need for Speed Most Wanted's setting of Fairhaven City is home to 10 elite street racers. Throughout the game, you'll have to beat each of these most wanted drivers in one-on-one competition.

The trailer shows one such show-down. The player goes head-to-head with a Most Wanted driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini Aventador. After a long checkpoint race through the city, the player emerges victorious and jumps up a spot on the wanted list.

However, underworld prestige isn't the only reason to race the Most Wanted. You can also win their cars. After the race, the player acquires the Lamborghini by chasing his opponent down and running him off the road. Not sure why you'd want the car after it's been banged up all to hell. On the other hand: Lamborghini!

Most Wanted will debut in North America on October 30th before making its way to Europe on November 2nd.

As the title suggests, Need For Speed Most Wanted focuses on high-speed police chases. A new trailer shows off one particularly exciting chase that reveals a new feature in the game.

You'll have many ways to evade the police. If you're in a fast enough car, you can simply outrun them with some skillful driving. Alternately, you can try to run them off the road.

Wanted will also allow you to switch cars mid-chase. This should throw the cops off your trail. If not, it's still a smart move because you're stepping into a fresh car with no damage.

Most Wanted will debut on October 30th in North America and on November 2nd in Europe.

A new single-player trailer was released for Need for Speed: Most Wanted, featuring a look at some of the sports cars, supercars and super-sports cars available in the game. The trailer doesn't waste a lot of time and focuses on how players will have access to all of the cars right from the start of the game, all that's required is to drive up and hop inside.

With Criterion leading the development for Need for Speed: Most Wanted – a change-up from former studio Black Box Interactive or EA Canada – it's looking as if Most Wanted will be closer to Burnout Paradise than the critically praised but poorly received Need for Speed: The Run. The newest game adds the ability to “steal” cars by driving up to them. The entire game takes place in an open world and races, chases and competitions can start up just about anywhere. Check it out in the trailer below.

To be completely honest, I have no real feelings about this game. It's kind of hard to determine if it's going to be as good as the Underground series or as stolid and a bit out of its element like the Shift series.

What's been on display looks functionally competent so far. I can already imagine that most people will probably scour the city to find the most expensive, high-end supercar to steal before aiming to complete challenges, because really, isn't that what we all do in GTA, Saints Row and Just Cause games?

You can look for Need for Speed: Most Wanted to launch for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on November 2nd. Need more info? Official Website ripe and ready for you.

This weekend Criterion Games offered players another look at their Need for Speed: Most Wanted reboot. Four screenshots show thrill-seeking drivers battling for position in street races.

In Most Wanted, players travel through a large open-world environment and compete in impromptu races. The police aren't too keen on these street races, though. They'll try to chase you down while you're racing, giving the game an extra challenge.

This reboot does not take place in Rockport City, the location of the original Most Wanted. Instead, players will be racing in and around Fairhaven City. It looks like a good playground for aspiring drag racers, as it features a nice mix of urban and rural environments.

Most Wanted will arrive this fall on the PS3, Xbox 360, PC. Android and iOS ports are planned as well.

If you wanted a little extra Burnout in your Need for Speed, then you'll get plenty of it in NFS Most Wanted. The remake of the recent NFS racing title sees Criterion Games taking over the development helm and implementing a lot of their own style and panache into the racing and gameplay mechanics. The new trailer takes a look at the game's pick-and-play racing modes and there's also a brief look at how to steal cars in the game.

First off, the video gives gamers a brief overview of how to hijack cars. No, this is not Sleeping Dogs style or Just Cause 2 style hijacking. You won't be driving at 120km/h and hopping from your car into the driver seat of another car. Instead, the process is simple and subdued and simply requires pulling up to an empty vehicle and pressing the 'Y' (for Xbox 360) or triangle (for PS3) button.

But you're not here to find out how to do grand theft auto in a Need for Speed game, you want to see all those awesome takedowns, right? Am I right? Well, let's stop wasting time reading and start gazing at some cars being totaled at high speeds.

If you're an NFS fan then that's probably more bumping and grinding than you're used to. If you're a Burnout fan then it's probably a lot less bumping and grinding than you're used to. Either way, the shunts and bumps in this game are mostly aimed at getting opponents or cops out of the way as opposed to engaging in vehicular fisticuffs, as is the trademark staple for most other Criterion games.

The environments look roomy and the extra space on the road means they obviously want you to slide, move and collide frequently, which is a slight change of pace from the typical Need for Speed game.

You can look for Need for Speed Most Wanted to launch on November 2nd for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. For more information be sure to pay a visit to the Official Website.

EA sent out word to announce a teaser trailer for the full multiplayer trailer for Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Yeah, this exciting announcement teaser will get you amped up for the full trailer, which will further get you amped up for the actual release of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. The teaser trailer set a release date for the full trailer, which will go live on August 14th, next Tuesday.

You've got to love teaser trailers to announce full trailers. It's like using marketing to market marketing. Awesome, right?

Anyway, enough about breaking down the method to the madness, let's talk about the multiplayer trailer...or rather, the teaser announcing the multiplayer trailer. First, let's have a look at it below.

Hm, I'm going to have to give this trailer a 7/10 for teasing an announcement. I just didn't feel as if the trailer pushed hard enough to promote the full trailer, it almost felt like it could have been a standalone teaser in itself. A successful teaser trailer to announce the full trailer needs a good hook and while the carnage and sexy cars were present, I felt the trailer spent a little too much time on style over substance. Perhaps, the next teaser trailer to announce the full single-player trailer will fair better.

Still, I think the above trailer had an ample amount of tease to it. I did feel somewhat compelled to watch more, and so, in that regards it wasn't a complete bust. Also, props to marketing for scaling back on the Baysplosion™. It was a much more subdued teaser trailer for the Need for Speed in comparison to previous trailers for NFS: The Run, which focused more on hijinks than actual racing.

You can look for the full multiplayer trailer reveal this upcoming Tuesday. For more information on the game, feel free to visit the Official Need for Speed Website.

EA is giving gamers an opportunity to earn bonus content for Need For Speed: Most Wanted. If you reserve a copy of the game before launch, you'll be granted access to DLC packs that could give you the edge in early multiplayer competition.

Every pre-order will be automatically upgraded to the Limited Edition. The LE costs the same as the standard edition but comes with these three extras:

• Four hours of Double Speed Points: Players earn double speed points throughout the first four hours of multiplayer.
• 2012 Porsche 911 Carerra S: Optimized aerodynamic body that reduces drag for maximum speed and Nitrous Burn, delivering efficient and sustained speed boosts.
• Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale: A Race Pack Powertrain tuned for increased power and the impact protection modification to provide increased stability and strength when driving at breakneck speeds

Additionally, Origin and select retailers will be offering exclusive DLC packs to pre-order customers:

• Speed Pack: The Caterham Superlight R500 in the exclusive Satin Black livery, featuring the Track Tyres modification for improved road handling, and the Lightweight Chassis modification allowing players to reach mesmerizing speeds.
• Strike Pack: The Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series in the exclusive Satin Black livery, featuring the Power Pack Powertrain modification for an engine tuned for torque, acceleratio,n and the ability to reach breakneck speeds, and the Re-inflating Tyres [sic] modification making it easier to survive and counter rivals’ attempts to slow players down.
• Power Pack: The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in the exclusive Satin Black livery, featuring the Reinforced Chassis modification for taking increased damage, and the powerful and violent Nitrous Dump modification for making tight jumps and powered up takedowns.

EA didn't break down which retailer will be offering which bonus, unfortunately. Nonetheless, good rewards all around - especially considering that you don't have to pay an exta dime for them.

Most Wanted is the second game in the NFS series handled by Burnout dev Criterion Games. It centers around street racers and the cops that try to run them down. The features include an open-world structure and Autolog integration.

The very first gameplay footage of the upcoming Need for Speed: Most Wanted game from Electronic Arts and Criterion Games has surfaced. The two trailers first give you an idea of what to expect from the grand scheme of the game and then the second trailer tosses gamers head deep into thrill of being chased by cops in an open-world city...yep, an open-world city.

Criterion Games is obviously fusing some of their racing game expertise from Burnout with NFS. The game allows players to race from point-to-point like typical NFS titles but then goes a step further by enabling gamers to keep on racing long after the race ends. Yes, you can keep on racing after the race ends.

Pretty snazzy eh? Well things get better as Criterion takes the game for an actual spin with live footage from the game in action below. Not only that but gamers also get a view of the new crash-time mechanic in Need for Speed: Most Wanted, where dynamic bumps, shunts and brush-ins will result in the camera going all dynamic and gamers getting to see the carnage from a different perspective. Check it out in the trailer below, or you can learn more by visiting the Official Need For Speed Website