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With Resident Evil 6's new Agent Hunt mode out of the bag, Capcom has shared more details regarding the less publicized announcement that Ada Wong will be a playable character in the game. She'll be unlocked after finishing the stories of Leon, Chris, and Jake, and her story will shed light.
Famitsu (via Kotaku) reports that Ada's scenario will be mostly solo, unlike the other stories that tend to involve partners. Occasionally she'll intersect with Leon or Helena from the main story. Her crossbow will be able to pin enemies to walls, or hook her to locations a la The Legend of Zelda.
Regarding the Agent Hunt mode, director Eiichiro Sasaki says Agents should be able to handle themselves. "It's balanced so that in a one-on-one, agents will most likely win." he said. "The point of this mode is to enjoy the game as the role of an ‘enemy,' not ‘competition.'"

Shacknews receives a slew of new screenshots and trailers for upcoming games everyday. The most anticipated titles receive their own post, because we know you're eager to see that content. For the rest, we have the Daily Filter, a place to feature all of the media we add to our enormous database on a daily basis.
Today's Filter features a developer diary for Aliens: Colonial Marines, a launch trailer for The Expendables 2, and more.

Under Siege, a criminally-underlooked RTS for the PlayStation Network, is receiving a free update today that adds a number of new features. The 1.02 update adds four-player support, playable both online and locally, split-screen. Four additional multiplayer maps have been added to the game, including one co-op map.
In addition, there have been "general performance improvements," "shorter load times," and the addition of anti-aliasing.
Seed Studios isn't quite done updating the game. The next patch, 1.03, will offer the ability to share maps and record gameplay footage in 720p.
Under Siege originally released on PS3 last Spring to mixed reviews. Critics noted "sudden difficulty spikes" as a primary complaint, something that's been addressed in the latest patch. The game is currently available for $13.99.

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences released its list of nominees for this years Interactive Achievement Awards. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception leads with a dozen nominations, and shares a Game of the Year nod with Portal 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.
GameSpot reports that Drake's latest outing isn't quite to the levels set by Uncharted 2 in 2010, which earned 15 nominations. Portal 2 earned 10 nominations, while L.A. Noire followed with nine nominations -- but no GOTY nod.
This will mark the 15th Interactive Achievement Awards, to be held on Thursday, February 9 at the D.I.C.E. Sumit in Las Vegas. Check out the full list of nominations at the link above. Plus, be sure to check out our own ongoing Shacknews GOTY reveals, and keep up with our Staff Favorites that didn't make the cut.

Ooh, the weekend! Well aren't you fancy! Lah-de-dah! Oh, and you have cheap PC games for me too? Ooh, get you! Yeah, you and your $5 Dead Space games, think you're so good. Oh, and your Mass Effect games are $5 each too? Get you! Big-head. Oh I'm sure you have more too.
Here's our selection of this weekend's PC deals:

Amazon

If you picked up $5 credit in Amazon games promos last year, you can now use that on the games listed here. If you didn't, or want to buy more, hey look at these:

• Crysis 2 - $19.99 (50% off)
• Dead Space - $5.00 (75% off) [offer also on Steam]
• Dead Space 2 - $5.00 (75% off) [offer also on Steam]
• Sid Meier's Civilization IV: The Complete Edition - $8.99 (70% off)
• Sid Meier's Civilization V (Steamworks) - $8.99 (70% off)
• Sid Meier's Civilization V Game of the Year Edition (Steamworks) - $24.99 (50% off)

Direct2Drive

Friday:

• Call of Juarez: The Cartel (Steamworks) - $24.95 (50% off)

GamersGate

• Mass Effect - $4.99 (75% off)
• Mass Effect 2 - $4.99 (75% off)
• Mass Effect 2 Digital Deluxe Edition - $7.49 (75% off)

Get Games

• Cryostasis - $2.00 (80% off)
• F.E.A.R. 3 (Steamworks) - $12.49 (75% off)
• Football Manager 2011 (Steamworks) - $6.24 (75% off)
• Men of War - $2.00 (80% off)
• Overlord - $2.49 (75% off)
• Overlord II - $2.49 (75% off)
• Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad (Steamworks) - $22.49 (25% off)
• Serious Sam: The Random Encounter - $1.99 (60% off)
• Stronghold - $2.00 (75% off)
• The Club - $3.49 (65% off)

Green Man Gaming

Green Man's having a big old sale on heaps of Paradox games, not just those included below.

• Cargo! The Quest for Gravity - $9.97 (50% off)
• Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (Steamworks) - $7.49 (50% off)
• Magicka (Steamworks) - $3.98 (60% off)
• Magicka Collection (Steamworks) - $7.98 (60% off)
• Mount & Blade: Warband - $9.98 (60% off)
• Sengoku - $11.98 (60% off)
• Space Pirates and Zombies - $3.73 (75% off)
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Retribution (Steamworks) - $14.99 (50% off)
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine (Steamworks) - $24.99 (50% off)

Until Saturday, 4am Pacific:

• Deus Ex: Human Revolution Augmented Edition - $14.98 (75% off)

Impulse

• Batman: Arkham City - $24.99 (50% off)
• Duke Nukem Forever (Steamworks) - $9.99 (50% off)
• Hard Reset - $14.99 (50% off)

Origin

Buy any two games--PC download, boxed, or console--to save 20%, buy three for 30% off, or buy more or more to get 40% off your order. EA's not offering this on Star Wars: The Old Republic or any other game released within the past 30 days, though.

Steam

You can try Nation Red before you buy, as it's running a free weekend as well as being on sale. Click here to install it through Steam.

• Dead Space - $5.00 (75% off)
• Dead Space 2 - $5.00 (75% off)
• Dead Space 1 + 2 - $9.99 (75% off)
• Nation Red - $2.50 (75% off)
• Nation Red 4-pack - $7.49 (75% off)

The most successful dictators know to move with the times, and Tropico 4's El Presidente is no exception. The Modern Times expansion for Haemimont's sim will drag your island republic out of the Cold War, into the present day and beyond, with a new campaign, buildings, and more. Why, you can even restrict your citizens' Internet access!
Modern Times will introduce 30 new buildings as El Presidente moves into the future, including condos, skyscrapers, organic ranches and biofarms. From buildings to transportation, your old junk can be modernised and upgraded too. Naturally, you'll also want a space program so you can send your citizens to the International Space Station and prove to the world that you're not some two-bit banana republic.
The politics are updated, featuring the 'war on terror,' and with ten new edicts including censoring the Internet or launching a 'Festival of Love.' You see, "unseen and sinister forces" are at work in the expansio's new 12-scenario single-player campaign, and it'll doubtless fall to El Presidente to stop them.
Modern Times is due out some time in March, priced at $19.99 on PC and 1,200 Microsoft Points ($15) on Xbox 360. We've asked publisher Kalypso to explain the pricing disparity, and will let you know what we hear.

EA has announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 will launch on March 27 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Developed by EA Tiburon, the 2013 version promises to add Kinect support, social features, and an overview of Woods' golf legacy--presumably without the public shame and divorce bits. EA also touted a "Masters Collector's Edition," with a few bells and whistles of its own.
The announcement promises players more control over their swing, stance, and ball position, along with Kinect and Move integration. You can pick from among 22 licensed golfers, and form your own exclusive country clubs to team up with friends. And, as with many other EA Sports games, Tiger 13 will participate in EA Sports' "Season Ticket" program, letting subscribers get digital access to the game three days before it hits retail.
If you pick up the Masters Collector's Edition, you'll get the Augusta National Golf Club's Tournament practice facility, the Par 3 course, a Green Jacket presentation, and five additional championship courses. It will be priced at $69.99, ten bucks above the standard edition.

Microsoft had a lot to brag about during its CES keynote. It proudly announced that Xbox 360 was "the top selling console in North America in 2011," a feat made obvious by following the monthly NPD data. According to MS, Xbox 360 has now reached 66 million sales. Microsoft is still trailing the Wii by about 30 million units, but it's certainly not a figure to scoff at.
Kinect, which launched slightly over a year ago, has sold an impressive 18 million units worldwide. (At this rate, Kinect will outsell the original Xbox by next year.) There are also nearly 40 million Xbox Live members, including free accounts.
Video was also a big emphasis for Microsoft at CES this year. The company touted that the "hours of video consumed globally on Xbox Live increased 140 percent from 2010 to 2011." That makes sense, given the amount of content partners Microsoft has secured for its Dashboard relaunch.
"More than 60 percent of US Xbox Live Gold members used entertainment apps on Xbox Live" during December, when the new Dashboard was available for all, Microsoft stated in a press release. Gold members watched "an average of an hour a day each." With figures like that, it appears Microsoft's strategy to turn the Xbox 360 from games console to media hub is definitely working.

Xbox Live has acquired yet another entertainment partner. News Corporation will be bringing a variety of TV, news, and video apps to the Xbox 360 later this year from their most popular brands: FOX, Fox News Channel IGN Entertainment, and The Wall Street Journal.
As with HBO Go, video content from the Fox News Channel and FOX apps will require an "authenticated" subscription from "participating" cable and satellite TV distributors. And, as with all TV apps on Xbox 360, a Live Gold membership is required.
The FOX app will give users access to on-demand availability of "leading shows," including Glee, House, New Girl, Bones, Fringe, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and more. The Fox News Channel app will let users access clips from the network and "interact" with anchors and personalities, including Shepard Smith and Bill O'Reilly. WSJ Live from The Wall Street Journal will offer "up to four total hours of live video programming each business day," from the Jounral, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron's, MarketWatch, SmartMoney, and AllThingsD.com. The IGN app will offer video previews, reviews, gameplay videos, live streams, and walkthroughs. You'll also be able to queue up videos from IGN.com by using a new "watch later" feature.
As with every other Xbox TV partner, all of these programs will include Kinect support. Expect these apps later this year.

The new Hyundai Veloster Turbo three-door horseless carriage was unveiled at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show yesterday, and today you can take it for a test-drive in Forza Motorsport 4 thanks to a free downloadable content double-pack. Now there's canny transmedia marketing!
The Hyundai Veloster Bonus Pack offers the 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo, to drive or to admire in Autovista, plus the 2011 Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster for just plain racing. You can download it now from the Xbox Live Marketplace for $0 (0 Microsoft Points).
The marketing promotion also extends to a time trials event that'll see the winner take home a shiny 2012 Hyundai Veloster of their own. Registration closed on January 8, though, so hard luck if you haven't already signed up.
People who live in areas with a poor public transport network might appreciate the following automotive facts: the Veloster Turbo has a "1.6 liter inline four" engine, while the 2011 Racing Veloster weighs "just over 2,800 pounds"--that's about 14 newborn elephants.