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Bungie will discuss its all-new and still-unannounced franchise–believed to be titled Destiny–in late March during a 2013 Game Developers Conference talk at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California.

Presumably, a more formal announcement for Destiny is planned for sometime prior to the talk. Neither Bungie nor Activision had returned requests for comment at press time.

Bungie writer and design director Joe Staten and art director Christopher Barrett will lead the discussion, titled “Brave New World: New Bungie IP.” The talk will focus on Bungie’s design process and world-building techniques, running from concept to production.

Those in attendance will get a glimpse inside Bungie’s new world, though it’s not clear what state the game will be in during the briefing. Additionally, the event description suggests the next ten years of games from Bungie will be based in the Destiny universe.

To date, Bungie has released just one piece of artwork (above right) for Destiny, but speculation has run rampant. A leaked marketing document in November described Destiny as a “fun and accessible” game with a “deep, tangible, and relatable” universe compared to Star Wars. The game is also described as “social at its core.”

According to the document, Destiny’s plot revolves around an alien ship bent on destroying Earth and the “knights” tasked with defending what’s left of humanity. The document also shows images bearing the Destiny logo along with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 icons.

Destiny is Bungie’s first project as part of a 10-year publishing deal with Call of Duty company Activision. Legal documents from May suggested that the game will be released for the Xbox 360 in 2013, with a 2014 release slated for the PlayStation 3.

The game is reportedly “quite like Halo.”

Despite winning over the critics, Ninja Theory’s reboot of the Devil May Cry series has taken a solid drubbing on its Metacritic user score page.

The Xbox 360 version of the game is currently sitting on an 86 Metascore at time of writing, but the user score is a significantly lower 3.0 after 288 reviews.

Many of the complaints are aimed squarely at Ninja Theory’s characters and narrative, with many criticising some of the late game (and spoiler-filled) actions of Dante and his acquaintances.

Another common criticism is the level of difficulty, with many accusing it of being too simple for their tastes even on its more challenging modes.

Ninja Theory’s take on the series has divided fans since its announcement but most critics have embraced the game. The new combat approach alongside its attempts to engage with themes of capitalism and corporation in particular have been praised in reviews. “Sure, you may baulk at Dante’s trendy new haircut, or maybe even miss a little of that B-movie Devil May Cry insanity,” said GameSpot’s Mark Walton in his 8.0 review of DmC, “but the heart of what makes the series so enticing and so much fun to play holds true here.”

“DmC pulls off that unlikely reboot trick of feeling fresh and inviting while still holding onto what made the original series so appealing and so special. There’s no point in looking back: Dante has got a brand-new future in front of him, and if DmC: Devil May Cry is anything to go by, it’s going to be a great one.”

The Need for Speed movie has landed another high-profile actor. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi has signed on to DreamWorks’ racing movie, joining Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul.

Other actors recently confirmed for roles in the Need for Speed flick include Ramon Rodriguez (Battle Los Angeles, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Rami Malek (Night at the Museum, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part II), and Harrison Gilberstson (Beneath Hill 60, Accidents Happen).

In addition, English actor Dominic Cooper (Captain America, Band of Brothers) will play a leading role in the film. He has been cast as Dino, an ex-Nascar driver who uses his wealthy connections to establish a car-modifying business.

Rounding out the announced cast members thus far is Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later, Fright Night) who will reportedly play the role of an “exotic car dealer” for the film.

Directing the Need for Speed film will be Scott Waugh, who’s best known for helming Act of Valor, a military movie starring active-duty US Navy SEALs. Possibly more relevant to the Need for Speed project will be Waugh’s experience on stunt crews for dozens of films, including Torque, The Italian Job, and Biker Boyz.

Waugh will be filming a screenplay penned by George Gatins, the executive producer of DreamWorks’ 2010 comedy She’s Out of My League. Gatins developed the Need for Speed film’s story with his brother John, who is producing the film and also wrote the scripts for Real Steel and Flight

The Need for Speed movie is in production at DreamWorks (Shrek, Kung Fu Panda) and is due to theaters on February 7, 2014.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two came up well short of the sales milestone set by the 2010 original, according to a new Los Angeles Times report. Citing NPD data provided by a person not authorized to share the information publicly, the paper states Epic Mickey 2 sold 270,000 units in North America by the end of 2012. Over a comparable period of time, the original Epic Mickey sold 1.3 million copies in the region, the report states.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two scored generally fair reviews upon release in November. GameSpot’s review praised the game’s story and surprises, but lamented its jumping mechanics and cooperative partner Oswald, among other things.

Series developer Junction Point Studios founder Warren Spector said in May 2012 that Epic Mickey was planned as a four-game series, though no future games from the studio have been announced yet.

Disney just yesterday announced its new Disney Infinity game/platform that will span consoles, PC, and mobile devices. The game will make use of real-world toys, much in the same way that Activision’s Skylanders series does, and ship during June 2013.

Activision is not afraid of the competition, saying it is confident Skylanders will remain the top-seller in the market.

Warner Bros has confirmed that it will submit Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition–released in the US in February last year–to the Australian Classification Board for classification under the newly introduced R18+ rating.

The publisher’s 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot was originally banned by the Classification Board for “explicit” violence, blood spray, and limb dismemberment during fatalities, which made it unable to be accommodated within the maximum MA15+ guidelines in place at the time the game was submitted for classification.

Warner Bros later launched an appeal against the ban, claiming that the violence in the game is on par with other games already available for sale in Australia. The appeal was unsuccessful, and thus Mortal Kombat has remained banned in Australia to this day.

However, the recently introduced R18+ classification for video games now makes it possible for video games with high-impact violence to be sold in Australia.

“Warner Bros Entertainment Australia will be submitting the Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition for classification under the new R18+ classification category,” the publisher told GameSpot AU today.

The publisher declined to comment further on when the game will be submitted. The game is currently available in other territories on the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Earlier this month, the Classification Board confirmed that the first title to receive the new R18+ rating in Australia will be Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge for the Wii U. The game will be published by Nintendo, but currently has no release date in Australia.

FIFA 13 has retained the top spot in the UK games charts for the second week of 2013, making it the sixth time EA’s immensely popular football (or “soccer” for those in the US) has snatched No. 1 since its release last September.

The rest of the top 5 remains the same as last week: Far Cry 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Hitman: Absolution and Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

There’s a new entry in the charts this week courtesy of Platinum Games’ Anarchy Reigns, which entered the charts in sixteenth place. Sega released the game at a budget price in the UK, with retailers selling the game for £19.99 or less.

The Top 10 UK All-Format Ukie Games Charts, compiled by GfK Chart-Track for the week ending January 5, 2013:

1. FIFA 13
2. Far Cry 3
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
4. Hitman: Absolution
5. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
6. Halo 4
7. Just Dance 4
8. Forza Horizon
9. LEGO The Lord of the Rings
10. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim