I wonder why games continue portraying the government's final solution against an apocalyptic cataclysm as a failed initiative to store a portion of humanity deep underground. Hasn't Fallout taught us the dangers of the word "vault"?

Video Blips:

• Developer id infuses its trademark flair for action-packed shooters with a gritty sci-fi story in Rage. Judging by all the flotsam strewn everywhere, I'm surprised the game isn't called "Wall-E 2: After the Armageddon."

Continue after the break for the return of a cult favorite in PlanetSide 2, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North's unsubtle affiliation with the films, and a bunch of oddly shaped cars racing each other in F1 2011.

• PlanetSide 2 brings back its predecessor's successful formula for massively multiplayer shooter battles. As long as I don't get crushed by falling soldiers while sniping, I'm game.

• Forget that whiny Frodo guy and his unnatural love for hoop jewelry as you protect the North from evil in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. The town of Bree apparently broke its film noir mood switch with the amount of rain and lack of sunlight it receives.

• Improved garages, paddocks, and pit lanes are some of the new features found in F1 2011. You also race vehicles that look like a mix between a shark and a shovel, but that's a given.