Lara Croft is, in some ways, 
the gaming equivalent of the Mustang. At her core, she rarely changes, but that doesn’t stop fans from getting all worked up when she gets a new look.
Square-Enix is hoping to shake things up in a more dramatic fashion with the series’ next installment, dubbed simply “Tomb Raider.”
It would be easy to write off Trucks and Skulls HD 
as a clone of Angry Birds, but that would be doing this app a disservice. While the physics-based puzzles are in the same vein — an enemy hides under wood, stone, and other obstacles that you destroy by flinging objects — there’s just enough of a difference that it remains enjoyable. The game is, quite simply, fun. Beating the puzzles gives players a rush, while losing only makes them want to try again (rather than frustrating them). The addition of a level creator is a nice touch that encourages creativity, but sharing the levels you create is a slightly difficult process. (You have to email them to friends, who then must upload them into the game.) Scores can be shared with friends via the iPad’s Game Center functionality.
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There aren’t a lot of golf 
gaming options on the iPhone or iPad yet — and Let’s Golf is one of the better ones. It’s good, but not great, and often seems to lift elements directly from Sony’s popular Hot Shots series, rather than taking any chances of its own. It offers plenty of options, though, and will keep casual fans of the greens happy. If you’ve got the iPod/iPhone version of the game, there’s no reason to upgrade, but if not, you won’t regret the $5 spent here.
Those pundits who have been 
focusing on the threat OnLive, a video game streaming service, poses to the traditional video game industry might want to expand their focus a little.
The company now says it plans to expand into subscription video streaming in 2011. And Amazon could be right behind it.
It takes guts to radically alter a game that has 
12 million paying subscribers—but when the company doing the tinkering is Blizzard Entertainment, you generally won’t hear a lot of complaints.
“World of Warcraft: Cataclysm” hits store shelves Tuesday and, as you might guess by the name, it will turn the world of Azeroth on its ear. At the same time, it could make the most popular online game in the industry’s history even bigger—and prove to be a significant revenue boost for Activision-Blizzard.
[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to game industry analysts on 
what 2011 might bring for the struggling Western retail game biz — with predictions of another slump in retail sales that might only be forestalled by the launch of Nintendo’s 3DS, a “primary driver” of any possible retail rebound.]
There’s good news aplenty from gaming companies these days – but as financial analysts begin crunching the numbers for next year, many fear that the holiday cheer could be short-lived.
The shifting business models of the Western video game industry will continue to impact retail sales figures, even with the relatively easy comparables 2010 has established, say many analysts. The good news is that digitally downloaded content should continue to grow – and help make up some of the difference.
The marketing relationship 
James Cameron and Panasonic struck in the fall of 2009 continues to bear fruit. Panasonic today announced that the 3D Blu-ray version of “Avatar” would be available exclusively to buyers of its 3D TV sets.
From now through Jan.1, consumers who buy a Vierra 3D TV will receive a copy of the film – which has previously only been available in 2D in homes – as well as two pairs of rechargeable 3D glasses.
The battle over video game 
motion control devices has moved to the accounting department.
Sony and Microsoft are both claiming to have momentum on their side with their new devices, releasing updated sales figures. No matter how you slice it, though, it’s clear that both the PlayStation Move and Kinect are enjoying a strong holiday season.
[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris examines 
the surge in Nintendo’s U.S. sales around Black Friday, and asks whether this holiday season turnaround is enough to influence the company’s slowing growth curve.]
Over the course of the past year, gamers and the gaming press have written Nintendo off as a company in steep decline; hailed it as the savior of the handheld industry; written it off again (a couple of times, in fact); and called it greedy.
With Tuesday’s release of the 2010 Black Friday sales figures, the winds have shifted once again and Nintendo is now being called a powerhouse. The latest moniker is, of course, a temporary one – but it begs the question: exactly what is going on with Nintendo these days?
After a year of disappointing sales figures 
and investor malaise, the video game industry is feeling some seasonal cheer.
The kick off to the holidays has been a boom time for game makers this year – with stellar sales for both hardware and software.
The question for investors, though, is whether this seasonal bump is the start of a turnaround for gaming companies – or just a short-term surge that will fade away by the end of December.
Chris Morris: Journalist 