Following in the footsteps of dozens of triple-A games that cast famous people as voice actors simply because they think it will make the game somehow better, Bethesda announced today that a lot of famous people will be doing voice work in Dishonored.

Hey, I like Susan Sarandon and Brad Dourif and Carrie Fisher and Chloë Grace Moretz and Lena Headey just as much as the next guy, but when I see these announcements, I can’t but think that this is just a giant waste of money. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that John Slattery and Michael Madsen will do a wonderful job with whatever they’re given, but are they going to do a better job than the hundreds of extremely talented voice actors and actresses currently working in games, television and movies today? Probably not, but I imagine they’ll cost a whole hell of a lot more.

Has anyone ever bought a game, or had their purchasing decision swayed because a Hollywood actor took on a voice role? Anyone?

Dishonored drops on October 9th, famous people in tow.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have a conundrum on my hands. On October 30th, Assassins Creed III comes out. I very much want to play this game. Unfortunately, Need for Speed: Most Wanted comes out on the same day. Now, I usually don’t care about the Need for Speed series, but NFS:MW is a Criterion game, as in Criterion from the Burnout series, as in Burnout: Paradise being the greatest racing games ever created.

Yes, ever created. I will gladly plant that flag in the ground and salute it daily.

I usually ask for AC games for Christmas, wait until the new year to play and, as a result, lag behind the Pope punching conversation. After seeing this new trailer though, I’m not sure what to do. This trailer looks sick and aside from some wildly hyperbolic statements, I am nine different ways of excited about this game. I did think it was odd that they mentioned Connor’s Native American background influencing his combat style right when Connor uses a redcoat as a human shield. What’s up with that Ubisoft? What are you trying to say about Native Americans. Also, what about how they mention the Un-United States of America and then mention exploring a continent. What’s up with that Ubisoft? What, do you think the US is an entire continent? Check a map sometime, wait, what? A Mayan Ruins single player level? Uh…well…carry on, then.

If you’re itching to get your greasy paws on Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, today is your day. The demo is currently live for both Xbox Live and PSN. The demo consists of the tutorial level, in which you play as Bumblebee, racing all willy-nilly to find Optimus and stave off a Decepticon attack. Then, if that doesn’t do it for you, the second level puts you in the shoes of Vortex, a Decepticon attack chopper. Once that’s finished, take a gander at the game’s multiplayer customization options and then jump into a Team Deathmatch or Team Conquest match.

I played these two levels at E3 and enjoyed the hell out of both of them. The Bumblebee level is linear, with limited opportunities to transform, but the Vortex level has plenty of open space for flying as well as corridors should you want to run and gun. I’m a little surprised that they didn’t include a Grimlock level, but at the same time, you gotta hold stuff back to keep people excited. Even though I played these at E3, I’ll be booting this up tonight, fo sheezy on the reazy.