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By Michael Lopez

It may be hard to believe, but spring is already here. And outside of warmer weather and longer daylight hours, the season promises a ton of new video games. Though there's way too many to mention in one story, we thought it'd be fun to highlight a few of our anticipated faves.

Angry Birds Space – Oh yes, after two glorious years in the marketplace, the Birds are getting an intergalactic revamp. For the new Space version of the game, you can fling your feathered cohorts into the deepest trenches of the galaxy. Not only that; they'll be weightless, which means an entirely new type of gameplay. And don't worry about the green pigs. They'll be back too, causing trouble on every planet in the solar system.

Kinect Star Wars – Now THIS is the kind of Star Wars game we can get excited about. Forget the role-playing and Millennium Falcon flight simulators, we want to break out the light saber and slash down Darth Vader! The newest Xbox 360 title makes that a reality, with sensory movement via the Kinect. Just make sure to set aside plenty of space in your living room before waving your arms and becoming "one" with the Force.

Diablo III – Sorry console fans, you'll have to get a Mac or PC for a taste of Diablo III. But if you ask us, it's worth it! This highly-anticipated RPG saga picks up after a 12-year hiatus. For Part III, you'll literally be able to "go medieval" on your opponents, with sorcery, giant blades, and flaming arrows. Beyond that, it has lost treasures and an awesome multiplayer mode for anyone looking to kill several hundred hours of their life.

Mario Tennis Open – Ok, we admit it. We’re still hardcore Nintendo fanatics. And though their Mario games may seem simplistic, they actually can be quite addicting. This season's installment is Mario Tennis Open for the portable 3DS. Taking full advantage of the third dimension and the system's gyroscope feature, Tennis is a highly competitive sports title, with power-ups, customized rackets, and an online feature for challenging friends.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City – Clearly Resident Evil is a franchise that continues to thrive. Not only has it produced over a dozen spinoff games, it has its movie series (featuring Tr3s fave Michelle Rodriguez). Raccoon City turns the zombie premise into a fast paced shooter, where you can literally blast fang-faced monsters with some seriously heavy artillery. We could've seen this being a great Halloween title, but if Capcom wants to release zombies in the spring, more power to them!

Which spring video games are you looking forward to? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags 3DS, Angry Birds, Angry Birds Space, Blogger: Michael Lopez, Diablo III, Hot Stuff, Kinect, Mario, Mario Tennis Open, Nintendo, Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Star Wars, Star Wars Kinect, video games

By Michael Lopez

As you may well know, the day after Thanksgiving has become a haven for holiday shopping deals. And in the console world, that means the hottest titles will be hitting the shelves no later than the November 22. So you may want to start camping out early, because the video game bumrush is about to begin!

One of the biggest games of all actually is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 hit shelves on November 8 and promises to blow its predecessors out of the water! Stars like Tobey Maguire and Christopher Meloni are lending their voices for the 1st person shooter, which will take place in Africa, Dubai, and Moscow. Expect tons of political intrigue and great online co-op enhancements.

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations caters to much of the same crowd. With its violent undertones and espionage-infused plot, it almost plays like an action-packed version of the Da Vinci Code. There are global secrets, underground organizations, and tons of new skull-crunching weapons (like the deadly hookblade!)

Sports fans will want to get their hands on the new WWE ’12 game. Sporting all new graphics and enhanced controls (the last few WWE titles suffered from multiple glitches), this rock 'em, sock 'em ring battle brings together some of professional wrestling's all time greats. And as an added Black Friday bonus, everyone who pre-orders it will get a code to unlock a playable version of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. It was released on November 22.

And, in the Nintendo realm, there are plenty of long-awaited releases too. One particular hot title is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The 15th game in the popular RPG franchise, this outing will take full advantage of the Wii's motion controls. It will also delve much deeper into the Zelda mythology, working as a prequel to 1998's hugely popular Ocarina of Time. Early Japanese reviews of the game have been phenomenal.

Nintendo's other big hero, Mario, will be back around Thanksgiving too, in the 3DS title, Mario Kart 7. Though it technically comes out December 3, Kart will be taking pre-orders way before Black Friday. This high-paced racer will include all of your favorites from the Mushroom Kingdom along with new characters like Wiggler and Queen Bee. There will also be a hang glider option which should make for some very interesting gameplay.

Which upcoming video games are you most excited about? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Black Friday, Call Of Duty, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Hot Stuff, Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Kart 7, Nintendo, The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword, video games, WWE, WWE 12, Zelda

By Michael Lopez

Be honest, you know you've got a copy of Angry Birds floating around somewhere in your iPad. According to the latest stats, the high-flying video game app has been downloaded over 350 million times and is now "officially" more popular than Nintendo's famed Mario series.

That's quite a feat considering the app is only two-years old. The brainchild of Finnish gaming company Rovio, Angry Birds was developed for a mere $136,000. Rovio's senior designer Jaakko Iisalo based part of the concept on the swine flu epidemic, which had been dominating the headlines back in 2009. Making birds fly into green sickly pigs seemed like a fun, easy-to-maneuver, time waster.

Little did they know the type of impact this game would have on the world. Rovio is now a billion-dollar company and has created an entire merchandising wing (no pun intended) devoted solely to the Birds. T-shirts, action figures, and plush toys related to the franchise have sold in the millions.

And judging from the latest articles, the Birds epidemic is far from over. Rovio is rumored to be in negotiations with Starbucks about coffee shop gaming devices. They have also set up in-store playing stations at retail outlets like Barnes & Noble, which have proven to be extremely successful.

But that's only the tip of the Angry iceberg. According to CinemaBlend, there may be a Birds movie hitting theaters in the near future. Rovio honcho David Maisel dropped several hints about the project at a recent gaming summit in Hollywood and even discussed the possibility of flying feather heads in 3D!

It all sounds very interesting to us, though we do feel a little sad for Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom. Perhaps if he got Angry enough, Nintendo's famous plumber could stir up heat in the app world and give the Birds some high-flying competition.

Do you like to play Angry Birds? Sound off in the comments or @MTV3.

Tags Angry Birds, Blogger: Michael Lopez, iPad, Mario, Movies & CineMás, Nintendo, Rovio, Starbucks, Super Mario, Technology, video games