The post-WWII streets of 1940′s L.A. were riddled with film noire-style crime and patrolled largely by cigar-smoking, revolver-toting detectives and G-men. It marked a time when L.A. was drenched in bedlam and murder amidst smoky offices filled with pudgy, poker-playin’ gangsters and thugs wandering the dark inner-city streets. And that’s pretty accurate of the scenery in the L.A. Noire video game, where the player is immersed in a first-person POV detective role.

Respond to and investigate the multiple facets of routine street and traffic control, arson, and most importantly, homicide. In addition, you—the wise-crackin’ L.A. detective—are responsible for:

Say goodbye to your day jobs, because World of Warcraft: Cataclysm promises to take the series in a new and altogether frightening direction for those of you who thought peace had at last come to the kingdom of Azeroth. Awaking from his unholy rest, Deathwing the Destroyer has come back to retake the land, and the Horde and the Alliance must race to stop a cataclysm of biblical proportions.

The Horde has their goblins and the Alliance has their worgen. This time around, you can join the adventure as either of these two races. Improve your characters with a new level cap of up to 85. Experience familiar zones in not so familiar situations for a fresher gaming experience that is filled with new content and disastrous consequences. In addition to these, you can also experience a new realm of lands including an undersea kingdom. More raid content, new race/class combos, and various guild advancements are just a few of the bonuses that this new version of WoW brings to the foreground. Archaeology features and flying mounts allow you to explore the realm of Azeroth both below and above the earth for a wide range of achievements, artifacts, and unique rewards.

Boasting diverse player-vs.-player action, you can quest for yourself or against/with the minions of WoW fans, who like you have had enough of bitchy bosses and “better halves.”

First, there was Halo. Now there is Halo Reach, which takes place pre-Master Chief in a world of intense and groundbreaking visuals that you have come to expect from the popular action series known for its stunning graphics, realistic battle sequences, and unbelievable multi-player options. In Halo Reach, a Spartan squad called the Noble Team, who are fighting for their lives and their planet.

While Halo Reach is missing the ever popular Master Chief, the Covenant are present and ready to do some damage. All over the web, gamers are abuzz that this is the last game in the cinematic series. One would have to question whether or not this is true considering that we live in an age where guaranteed successes such as this are rarely if ever laid to rest for good. But for now, we’ll take the Bungie folks at their word and pre-order our copies today. Only big decision to make now: do we get the standard, limited or legendary editions? Cost ranges from $60-$150, so it’s probably the best that we plan for $60 and hope for the best on payday!

There are racing games…and there’s Gran Turismo, Sony’s insanely popular driving simulation where gamers can customize and race the most popular (and expensive) cars on the planet.

On November 2, 2010, the latest iteration in the series, Gran Turismo 5, will drop for the PlayStation 3 in a very big way. For $99.99 MSRP, a Collector’s Edition of the game will be available in very limited quantities.

Included with the Collector’s Edition are a 1:43 scale collectible diecast 2009 Nissan GT-R Spec V, 300-page guide to cars and racing techniques, a GT-branded key chain, a voucher for five (5) downloadable cars and a numbered certificate of authenticity.

If you’re a hardcore gamer and a real fan of the series, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to own a truly unique and well-put together collectible.