Kotaku

Modern Warfare 2 Selling Just Fine On PC [PC]

Luke Plunkett — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Proving that the Modern Warfare 2 "boycott" was more hollow tantrum than actual boycott, Infinity Ward have revealed that the PC version of the game has been outselling its predecessor.

"The PC version of Modern Warfare 2 has actually outsold the PC version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in it's first week", IW's Robert Bowling posted on the company's message boards. "Making it the most successful PC version."

The quote was made in response to claims that the PC version of the game accounts for only 3% of MW2's total sales in the UK, Bowling adding "Essentially, all this percentage proves is that the console versions sold great, not that the PC version sold poorly".

3% of overall sales [Infinity Ward]

Sony Giving Away Free Comics [Psn]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0700

While Sony's digital comics store for the PSP won't be launching until next month, that hasn't stopped the company from teaming with IDW to give away some free comics to tide you over. Free doesn't need a store!

The publisher is offering an issue of Star Trek: Year Four - The Enterprise Experiment, which you can get by visiting the regular ol' PlayStation Store and entering the following code:

724K-A4BG-JLD7

Bam. Free comic. There are more codes for more comics (Transformers) being handed out on the PS Comics site and via Twitter, so those wanting to give the PSP comic reader a good workout, you know what to do.

Interestingly, it says the Star Trek offer is good only until December 16, giving you a fairly good indication of when the store is due to launch.

Digital Comics Reader Now Available for PSP – Get a Free Issue! [PlayStation]

The Life and Times of Luigi [History Lesson]

AJ Glasser — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0700

If you ever wanted to know why Luigi is thinner than Mario or how he bears living in the shadow of his older brother, this exhaustively researched article over on GamesRadar's got you covered.

"Luigi: A life in the shadows" cover the other brother's origins from palette swap to star of his own (two) video games. Anybody else remember playing Mario is Missing? Yeah, that game starred Luigi.

Best bit? Right here...

But Luigi's heart has strayed at least once during the previously mentioned Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The Beanbean Kingdom the two stars explore has a prince to match the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess Peach. Prince Peasley is a dashing (if self-absorbed) pretty boy, who throughout the game slowly gains Luigi's attention. As time goes on, Luigi seems almost enamored with Peasley, blushing at his compliments and eventually trying to hug him, which Peasley deftly dodges, as Peasley seems to only love himself. But this bi-curious side of Luigi has yet to return, as he's since stayed pretty true to Daisy. However, that hasn't stopped the devs of the M&L series from continuing to ramp up Luigi's effeminacy to Tingle levels of fab.

I totally did not know that. I thought when Luigi wasn't with Daisy, he was letting Peach cheat on Mario with him. Also, I thought John Leguizamo and Samantha Mathis as the "ideal" Luigi/Daisy couple.

Check it out, if you're a little Luigi-curious:

Luigi: A life in the shadows [GamesRadar]

Microsoft Denies "One Million Banned" Report [Microsoft]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0700

There are some out there who believe that during the recent wave of Xbox Live bannings, Microsoft kicked as many as one million people off their online service. It's a belief Microsoft execs do not subscribe to.

"We didn't release the number", Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten told VentureBeat. "I cannot explain to you why people would think it was a million people. It wasn't a million people".

So, those who had money on it being one million, sorry. You're out. Until the cold day in hell Microsoft actually disclose the figures, though, those with money on it being 999,999 or 1,000,001, you're still in the running!

Microsoft's Xbox Live chief on banning modders and browsing Facebook photos on TV [VentureBeat]

Virtual Console: Mario Kart, Smash Bros, Pilotwings, All Coming [Wii]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:30:00 -0700

Has a year of uninspiring selections all but made you forget the Wii's Virtual Console even existed? Understandable. Might want to buckle up, though, because three of the most-requested games for the service are finally making an appearance.

This coming Monday - November 23 - sees the release of the original SNES Mario Kart, for 800 Points. Good news. Better news is to come, though, as "sometime this holiday season" Nintendo will also release the original SNES Pilotwings and the original N64 Smash Bros. Exact release dates and pricing to come on those two.

Leaving just one game on my Virtual Console wish list. Jurassic Park. Chop chop, Nintendo.

Super Mario Kart drifts onto Wii VC [GameSpot]

Valve Bans Gray-Market Modern Warfare 2 Keys [Banhammer]

Owen Good — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:00:00 -0700

Some who bought CD keys for Modern Warfare 2 - no physicial media in other words - from import resellers have seen their access to the game vanish, as Activision has apparently asked Valve to ban such keys.

A poster in Valve's official forums complained that a key he bought through G2Play.net no longer lets him open and play the game. A Valve representative, BurtonJ, called such sales "illegitimate" and confirmed the ban. He recommends buying a full version of the game - maybe through Steam? Hint hint.

VE3D, which spotted the thread, points out that calling the key sales "illegitimate" is not entirely true. The keys are typically sold legally in Asia and other territories and while game makers try to ban it, their ability to do so is not absolute. Of course, the interest is clear: The keys being sold cost less than the full game, and both publisher and digital distributor stateside want to protect their bottom lines.

Valve's only advice to gray-market key buyers is ask for a refund and get a "legitimate" copy of the game.

Valve Banning Grey-Import Modern Warfare 2 CD Keys [VE3D]

Nintendo's Denise Kaigler Has Left The Building [Business]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:40:00 -0700

Nintendo's vice president of corporate affairs, Denise Kaigler, has announced that she'll be leaving the company after less than two years in the position.

Some may know Denise as that lady who replaced Nintendo fanboy icon Perrin Kaplan in the job. Others may know her as that lady who played splish-splash with Totilo, as both tried really hard to pretend Times Square was somewhere a little more tropical.

Either way, she's gone. Kaigler cites personal reasons for the departure (she lives in New England, Nintendo live on the other coast), with today her final day in the job.

In a statement issued to Kotaku, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing, Cammie Dunaway, says "Denise Kaigler has been a valuable part of the Nintendo of America team for the last two years. Shes made a personal decision to spend more time with her family in New England. We wish her all the best in this next chapter of her life, and we look forward to continuing to deliver great Nintendo experiences to people of all ages as we head into this holiday season".

Best of luck, Denise.

[image: JesseAngelo.com]

New Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Costumes In Action [Screens]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:20:00 -0700

Tecmo recently updated the Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 cast's wardrobe, offering style savvy ninja masters new, sometimes inappropriate attire for Ryu, Momiji, Rachel and Ayane. If you didn't download the pack, here's a revealing look at what you've been missing.

Frankly, I think the four bucks is a small price to pay to improve upon Ayane's look and give Rachel something more business-like to wear. But it's also four bucks worth of virtual clothing. You'll have to judge for yourself.

Child's Play Drivers Pile Back on the Bus [Charity]

Owen Good — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:00:00 -0700

Take a seat and don't stand forward of the yellow line - Desert Bus for Hope kicked off its third marathon o' masochism, and looks to top the $70,000 it raised last year for the Child's Play charity.

Online sketch comedy team LoadingReadyRun is back behind the wheel, promising to play the most boring video game ever designed - Desert Bus, from Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors for Sega CD - in return for your donations. Desert Bus is a simulator that depicts driving a bus between Tucson, Ariz. and Las Vegas in real time. The game cannot be paused.

The first hour of driving - which begins this very minute at LoadingReadyRun's bus campaign HQ in Vancouver - requires only a $1 donation. But additional hours require donations that increase by 7 percent every hour. You keep donatin' and they keep drivin'. As of writing, they had already collected $5,640 before even cranking the bus' engine, buying a total of 88 hours so far. By their scale, a million dollars donated would double that playing time.

The bus crew played the game over five days last year, raising $70,000 in the process. Penn Jillette referred to the marathon in the latest edition of Game Informer, marveling that the team was able to pile up a score of "eight points." You get one point per completed trip between the two cities.

You can follow the action on two live streaming cams: The driver cam, and the bus cam. Donation info is at the link below.

Desert Bus for Hope [site]

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Snow Temple Preview: Ditching Zelda [Preview]

AJ Glasser — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:40:00 -0700

Two of the major selling points for The Legend of Zelda: Spirits Tracks have been the train and the addition of Zelda to Link as a companion character. But what can you expect from the rest of the game?

I sat down at Nintendo's Redwood City office to get a good look at the single-player mode for myself (since all I had to go on were Nintendo Power previews and Stephen Totlio's experience) before diving into the multiplayer mode. I was given a choice: I could replay the same demo Nintendo Power and Totilo had already covered, or I could be one of the first to see the second dungeon in the game – the Snow Temple.

What kind of correspondent would I be if I didn't go for the latter? A copycat, that's what!

What Is It?
The Snow Temple was described to me as the "second" dungeon in the game once Zelda and Link are sent to the Tower of Spirits to restore the Spirit Tracks of Hyrule. The level began outside the snow-covered structure with the train parked out front and Zelda hovering beside Link.

What We Saw
The temple had about three floors and judging from the main room that requires puzzle solving, I'd say I completed three quarters of it before having to stop to play some multiplayer.

How Far Along Is It?
The game comes out December 7. I was playing on a normal-sized cartridge that could well be a final version of the game.

What Needs Improvement?
My Snow Temple For An Item-Toggling Button: Link started this dungeon with the Whirlwind item and earned the Boomerang about halfway through. To use an item, you've got to select it from a menu so that it appears in an icon in the upper right hand side of the lower screen. Tapping that icon activates the item and then you do whatever is required of you to use it (blow in the mic for the Whirlwind, draw a path on the screen for the Boomerang). There came a point in this dungeon where you had to use the boomerang to create a path of ice over water (by crossing its path through an ice torch and back across the water) – and then quickly change to the Whirlwind to activate a switch out in the middle of the water. Because the ice path melts quickly, your timing has to be spot on and it can get pretty fiddly when you're trying to bust out the Whirlwind, aim it and THEN blow into the mic. I died at least twice, wishing in vain that a tap of the shoulder button would switch between items.

Dude, Where's My Zelda? As soon as I set foot in the Snow Temple, Zelda shrank and faded away with a sigh. It turns out she can't go with you or help you within the Temples and you can't talk to her for advice the way you could with other companion characters in other Zelda games. This turned Spirit Tracks into an experience that was an awful lot like Phantom Hourglass. Phantom Hourglass was good, so that's not an automatic minus – but I think people were expecting the all-new Zelda gameplay to be a consistent feature instead of an area-specific thing.

What Should Stay The Same?
Shallow Learning Curve: Truthfully, I never beat The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and it's been ages since I've touched it. But it really didn't take long to master the stylus-only controls and the menus weren't at all difficult to navigate and interpret. People who missed out on Phantom Hourglass are going to be just fine adjusting to Spirit Tracks.

Sure Rings My Bell: The entire temple was based on moving three bells into a main room together so that Link could trigger them in a sequence to open a door. This objective was communicated entirely through visuals (little panels with bells on different note lines, panels on the floor, etc.) and all of the puzzles were familiar slide-the-block, clear-the-room-of-monsters affairs that I know and love in Zelda games. I got so caught up in the familiar, simple gameplay, I didn't mind dying twice and getting stuck three different times.

Final Thoughts
Despite not having beaten Phantom Hourglass and not really liking The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (yeah, I said it – you wanna fight?!), playing Spirit Tracks felt like coming home. That's probably the best feeling I could ask for from a game, especially so close to the holidays when I long for that feeling and have all this extra time to play games.

Gameloft Cuts Android Efforts, Says It's Not Alone [Gameloft]

Owen Good — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:00 -0700

The French mobile games developer Gameloft has scaled back its development on Google's Android platform, complaining that the Android application store is "not as neatly done" and offers little enticement to buy games offered there.

This is interesting because, as MacWorld points out, smaller developers had welcomed Android as an alternative to the sometimes inscrutable policies and decisions of the iTunes App store. Not Gameloft (though hardly a "smaller developer,") which says it sells "400 times more games on iPhone than Android," according to the finance director Alexandre de Rochefort, speaking at an investor's conference.

Moreover, "we have significantly cut our investment in Android platform, just like ... many others," Rochefort said, as reported by Reuters. "It is not as neatly done as on the iPhone. Google has not been very good to entice customers to actually buy products. On Android nobody is making significant revenue."

Reuters says that iPhone applications generated 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter.

Gameloft Says It, Others Reining in Android Plans [Reuters via MacWorld]

Ubisoft Says No Thank You To No More Heroes PS3, 360 [Grasshopper Manufacture]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0700

The recently announced Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 port of Wii game No More Heroes is now on the hunt for a new North American publisher. Ubisoft says it's passing.

In a statement to G4, the French publisher said that unlike the original Wii game and its sequel No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise shan't carry the Ubisoft logo on these shores. No reason given, apparently, but here's to hoping Grasshopper Manufacture can find a friend for those of use interested in experiencing "Very Sweet Mode" stateside.

Ubisoft Not Publishing No More Heroes: Heroes Paradise (Aka No More Heroes HD) [G4's The Feed]

Haters Gonna Hate [Note]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:40:08 -0700

To: Luke
From: McWhertor
Re: Funds Raised!

Well, this week sure was capped with blustering nonsense! I can't wait to drink away this work week's worth of silliness, conclusion-jumping and finger-pointing, forgetting my troubles with a few games of Left 4 Dead 2 and whatever libation I choose to purchase from my local Vons. Look, I realize I bring up Left 4 Dead a lot, but it—and its predecessor—happens to be one of the few online shooters that somehow maintains a stranglehold on me for longer stretches than the average game.

Perhaps the only other games to do so were Counter-strike and Team Fortress 2. See a pattern there?

Anyway, I know you're flying the Kotaku Starship solo tonight, so best of luck out there.

Here's what you missed...
Art Style Digidrive Micro-Review: The Superiority Of Video Games
Left 4 Dead Campaigns Now (Unofficially) Work In Left 4 Dead 2
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Multiplayer Preview: Spreading The Phantom
Kotaku Game Club: Modern Warfare 2 Discussion Resumes.. NOW (Levels 13-15)
Mysterious New 2K Games Shooter Teased By Spike
Sackboy Gets Furried By Sonic The Hedgehog
Left 4 Dead 2's Midnight Riders, Ellis Take To YouTube, Facebook

A New Look At Borderlands' The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned [Gearbox Software]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:20:00 -0700

Who's excited about fresh Borderlands content? Even if it's zombie-related? I know I am, planning on downloading The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned as soon as is humanly possible. Or within my window of laziness. Anyway...

Gearbox Software released a batch of new media for the Borderlands expansion, content that looks like it would've been great to play on or around Halloween and will give my Siren a bluish hue that I'll really enjoy. More reanimated screens in the gallery below.

Notebook Dump: Excuse Time [Extras]

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:10 -0700

Today's Notebook Dump is different.

I usually use the Notebook Dump as a place to tell readers about facts I've picked up that don't merit their own posts. Today, however, it's more relevant to talk about why I don't have as much to share this week.

A game reporter spends some weeks... distracted. This week was like that for me. I spent a chunk of Monday completing Assassin's Creed II. I spent part of Tuesday sitting for a gaming-related interview for Spike TV (extending my streak of weeks during which I've worn make-up to two). On Thursday, I was indisposed for a couple of hours at one of those secret-for-now preview events for a game that comes out next year. All of this, in addition to spending a few hours chipping away at the Modern Warfare 2 campaign to keep pace with our Game Club, keeps a game reporter from doing that much, well, reporting.

That's not ideal for me, mind you. For years, people have replied to my description of what I do for a living by asking me what it's like to play games for work. They assume I play games from nine to five, but that's something I've tried to avoid. It's less easy to avoid that this time of year. Playing games spills into working hours. Working hours become added gaming time. Less reporting gets done. That's yet another sign that the job of the reviewer and the job of the reporter aren't made to overlap. Some would argue that they should not — or even that one person shouldn't do both. Tell that to all the people who conflate games journalism with games reviewing.

Enough of this irregular Notebook Dump. By the way, that's an image up top of a Mario t-shirt that I photographed at the Nintendo World store this past weekend. Say hello to his little friends.

Games I Got But Didn't Write About (Yet?): NCAA Basketball 10 (Xbox 360, PS3), Assassin's Creed Bloodlines (PSP), Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles (Wii)

Left 4 Dead 2's Midnight Riders, Ellis Take To YouTube, Facebook [Valve]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:40:23 -0700

Gamers looking for more story in their Left 4 Dead 2 experience may want to refocus their efforts on the web. Ellis, one of the game's new Survivors, and his favorite fictional band, the Midnight Riders have YouTube accounts.

Right now, there's not much to the Midnight Riders' YouTube channel, just like the web site that bears their name. What the Riders do have is a legion of similarly fictional fans, many of whom are infected with the "green flu" but plan on catching the band at Whispering Oaks or the Peach Pit.

One of those fans is Ellis the mechanic. His YouTube account—showing his taste for the Midnight Riders and Swedish country techno band Rednex—is full of Ellis personality. The same for his Facebook page.

Left 4 Dead 2 fans looking to explore the story on a deeper level should befriend and subscribe now.

Midnight Riders & Ellis [YouTube - thanks, P-Zan!]

Yes, Mass: We Pray Was More Dante's Inferno Schtick [Marketing]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:20:36 -0700

That Mass: We Pray trailer posted earlier this week? Totally Dante's Inferno marketing. And well done too, as numerous sites both within and outside the video game coverage space posted it as genuine.

But marketing it is, the latest in Electronic Arts' attempts to drum up interest in Visceral Games' Dante's Inferno, due early next year. We'll just have to wager a guess that the spot, the web site, the cross controller and kneeler accessory were the work of ad firm Wieden + Kennedy, responsible for some of EA's previous viral and non-traditional ads, like the Tiger Woods "Jesus Shot" video and Spore billboard campaign.

Mass: We Pray ties into the Heresy circle of Dante Alighieri's version of Hell—and the level of the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP game—but also lets Facebook users "damn" their friends and acquaintances. But that's not a very nice thing to do.

Modern Warfare 2 Deployed To NASCAR Paint Job [Sports]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0700

Just as DJ Hero, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Guitar Hero have done before it, Modern Warfare 2 will grace the chassis of GameStop's NASCAR Nationwide Series entry car. It'll do so this weekend, too!

Driver Joey Logano will go round and round in the Modern Warfare 2 themed stock car, moving at high speeds at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, viewable on ESPN2, aka The Deuce.

"This is the perfect race to have Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the car because it is the last race before the holiday season," Logano said. "GameStop gave me a copy last week, and it is an unbelievable game. It should definitely be at the top of a lot of Christmas wish lists this year."

Sure, I guess that makes... sense?

Sackboy Gets Furried By Sonic The Hedgehog [Downloadables]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:40:58 -0700

Sonic the Hedgehog fans looking for something 2D and side-scrolling to tide them over until Sega's "Project Needlemouse" pokes its way to consoles can spend some time with LittleBigPlanet's Sackboy later this year, thanks to new Sonic-themed costumes.

According to PlayStation.com's Hong Kong presence, as spotted by Siliconera, LittleBigPlanet costumes that ape Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Werehog, Tails, Dr. Robotnik (aka Eggman) and Knuckles will be available later this year. December 17, at least in Hong Kong, to be exact.

While we'd PlayStation.com to be right about the particulars, we're checking in with Sony and Media Molecule to see when we can enjoy dressing our Sackboys up as Sonic and his friends on our PS3s.

LittleBigPlanet Sonic the Hedgehog Costumes (English/Chinese Ver.) [PlayStation Hong Kong via Siliconera]

ModNation Racers: Express Your Inner Pink Kitty Girl [Clips]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:20:00 -0700

The latest trailer for the PlayStation 3's ModNation Racers gives us a much better feel for the sheer amount of customizing you'll be doing when the game launches next year.

Once more I get the distinct feeling that I will spend hours upon hours designing my racer, car, and special tracks, only to get bored with the actual racing afterward. I've not had a chance to play the game yet of course, so perhaps my tune will change, but in the meantime, I have to ask myself how much being able to create a pink kitty girl racer is worth to me.

Millions.

Review Round-Up: Assassin's Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, Indiana Lego 2, And More [List]

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:00:09 -0700

We reviewed a bunch of games this week on Kotaku and dare I note that the sequels had a better batting average than the originals?

EyePet Review: His Master's Voice
In which Luke Plunkett's furniture and lighting fail to meet Sony standards.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert Micro-Review: Palm-Size Power Trip
In which freelancer Matt Cabral forgives a key omission.

Left 4 Dead 2 Review: We Don't Care How You Did It Up North
In which Michael McWhertor no longer worries about the corny and the hokey.

Assassin's Creed II Review: A Season For Masterpieces
In which I praise, among many other things, the game's infidelity joke.

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues Review: Nuke The Mini-fig
In which Brian Crecente finds a silver lining to a Crystal Skull.

Asphalt 5 Micro-Review: Pedal to the iPhone
In which Cabral is driven to temporarily dislike one of his favorite bands.

Torchlight Review: The Fate Of DiabloCraft
In which Michael Fahey is on the verge of laughing — but holds back.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Review: Deja Vu in Space
In which Brian Ashcraft fires the Ion Cannon a tad too much.

Art Style Digidrive Micro-Review: The Superiority Of Video Games
In which I praise a game that can be played on shaky boats, wobbly subways and other unstable places.

Square Enix Already Rolling Out Paid Gyromancer DLC [Dlc]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:40:00 -0700

In the grand tradition of My Life as a Dark Lord for WiiWare, Square Enix releases a batch of tiny paid downloadable content for two-day old puzzle RPG Gyromancer.

To be fair, the downloadable content for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Dark Lord came out the same day the game was released on WiiWare, and Square Enix waited a whole two days before releasing paid DLC for Gyromancer, but much of it is every bit as ridiculous.

Like Dark Lord's paid DLC, four of the seven items available for Gyromancer are items to use in battle to earn you an advantage over a foe. For 40 Microsoft points apiece, or $.50, you can purchase the Magic Key, Remedy, Magick Mirror, or Hock of Meat items, each having some sort of beneficial effect on the game board.

Microtransactions don't get much more micro than this, folks.

A bit more useful are the three new maps Square Enix has released for 240 points apiece. Each of the three maps - Dragon's Haven, Rivel's Trial, and The Four - include new monsters you can add to your stable of fighting beasts. In the Four, you must defeat three guardian monsters before facing off against the strongest monster in the game. Well, the strongest monster in the game once you spend $3 at least.

I'm all for downloadable content, but when it comes this soon after a game's release and offers relatively little value it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The new maps and packs for Gyromancer are now available on Xbox Live and Steam.

Mysterious New 2K Games Shooter Teased By Spike [UPDATE] [Clips]

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:20:36 -0700

The Spike TV Video Game Awards will once again double as as an autumnal E3 as new games are revealed, new trailers unveiled. Halo: Reach is coming. As is whatever this game is, teased first on Kotaku in video below.

Thoughts? Theories? Is it Ken Levine's new game? Is it BioShock 3? Is it related to anything that shows up in Google when you type in 2K Games and Dubai? We here at Kotaku can only speculate about the secrets the VGA people are holding onto. They won't tell us anything.

The name of the game and gameplay will premiere during the VGAs on December 12 at 8pmET/PT on Spike. A Halo: Reach trailer is also scheduled for the broadcast.

1up.com reports that this is a teaser for Spec Ops and we can now even watch an August-posted TV commercial for it.

Kotaku Game Club: Modern Warfare 2 Discussion Resumes.. NOW (Levels 13-15) [Modern Warfare 2]

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:01 -0700

Outer space and betrayal are a part of the fourth (of five) Game Club meetings about the Modern Warfare 2 campaign. Thoughts on the penultimate batch of levels?

We're covering:

-Second Sun (Goodbye, space station)
-Whiskey Hotel (Goodbye, Oval Office - almost!)
-Loose Ends (Goodbye ~~Ramirez~~ Roach and Ghost)

Those of you who didn't exactly follow Game Club protocol already began to spoil that the levels we're discussing today would include a plot twist. Once teased, it was obvious what the twist would be.

So let's talk about plot twists... We just had one in Modern Warfare 2. Have the twists been done well in this game, compared to, say the twists in the first Modern Warfare or other games with big surprises such as Knights of the Old Republic? (When you answer, please show some restraint about spoiling too many other games.)

Also, what do folks think of territory-defense levels like Loose Ends? I was frustrated in the 90s with GoldenEye's late-game level like this. But I rather liked the one near the end of the first Gears of War. I believe MW2's was another success, offering the player to make tactical decisions, something the campaign otherwise seldom permitted.

NOTE - The next Game Club meeting will be on Monday, same time as this one, 2pm Kotaku Time, 4pm ET. We'll be covering the game's final campaign levels.

What Are You Playing This Weekend? [Lazy Sundays]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:40:28 -0700

I'm making this weekend a Demon's Souls weekend. Now that the holiday review season is dying down, it's time to play a little catch up.

So into the Nexus I will go, armed with my Knight and a heavy dose of fear, as I harvest souls for the long-delayed Kotaku review of From Software's PlayStation 3 sleeper hit. As a chaser, I plan to let go with a little more Left 4 Dead 2, my multiplayer game of choice. I've enjoyed my time with Modern Warfare 2, but I like laying waste to zombies with my friends.

How about yourself? Will you leave any helpful warnings for me in Demon's Souls? Perhaps be the Ellis to my Coach? Or do you have alternate gaming plans this weekend?

Star Wars Galaxies Fans Generate 3 Million Works Of Fan Fiction [Sony Online Entertainment]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:20:00 -0700

In just over a month since the release of Star Wars Galaxies Chronicle Master mission creation tool, fans have created more than three million pieces of interactive Star Wars fiction.

The Chronicle Master system works much like City of Heroes Mission Architect, allowing players to use in-game tools to create their own missions and share them with the community. Since Sony Online Entertainment implemented the feature last month, players have been sharing the hell out of some missions. SOE cites one player who has already created more than 6,000 playable quests, all by himself. That's relatively insane.

It's even more insane when you take into account estimated subscription numbers for the game. MMO Data has Star Wars Galaxies' subscriber list estimated at around 50,000 players. Even if they were off by half and it was 100k, that's still 30 user-created quests per player. I suppose it helps that completing player-made quests earns you special in-game loot, but still, that's a pretty impressive ratio.

It just goes to show that players who've stuck with Star Wars Galaxies this long are really, really into Star Wars.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Multiplayer Preview: Spreading The Phantom [Preview]

AJ Glasser — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0700

It seems like nobody noticed (except of course the developers) that Link's newest adventure has a multiplayer mode. Too busy paying attention to trains and a ghostly Zelda along with Link for the ride, I guess.

But anyway, Spirit Tracks has multiplayer. Boy does it ever have multiplayer, and boy did we ever play it. Here's what we liked:

What Is It?
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks' multiplayer mode is akin to The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures for the GameCube – four people each control one color-coded Link and move around the same map as the other Links. The difference in Spirit Tracks is that instead of trying to help each other, you're racing each other to collect Power Gems and trying to royally screw each other up on the way.

Note: It's local-only.

What We Saw
I played two matches against a developer and two publicists at Nintendo's Redwood City office after finally getting my hands on the singleplayer mode.

How Far Along Is It?
Spirit Tracks it out December 7. I was playing on a normal-sized cartridge that may have been a final version.

What Needs Improvement?
Little Bit Laggy: When dashing around the dungeon map, things start off steady and the Power Gem drops are few and far between. As the match picks up pace, however, and players start falling into traps or getting sliced up the Phantoms, huge amounts of Gems will suddenly spill out onto the map. That plus all four players frantically running to that point to scavenge Gems caused a couple of super-laggy moments in an otherwise smooth experience.

Trap Door Confusion: There are trap doors in every map that are either random or triggered by switches. I honestly couldn't tell you which, though, because sometimes I'd press a switch and a trap door would open and sometimes the door seemed to open and shut in a kind of rhythm. It was confusing – and that much more frustrating when I fell into one because I didn't know if I should blame somebody for it.

What Should Stay The Same?
Spreading The Phantom: Numerous Phantoms – those big guys in helmets from the last Zelda DS game, Phantom Hourglass – wander the maps, prowling for Links. When one spots you, a little icon pops up above your head, indicating that it's got a bead on you. If you fail to run for your life, the Phantom will speed toward you and cut you – costing you precious Power Gems and precious seconds as you scramble to get up and recover them before the other players get there. The fun part about this mechanic is the bit where you can pass the Phantom's bead onto other players you run by – like spreading Chlamydia. It's amusing.

The Invisible Zone: One map we tried out had a patch of water in the center that rendered players invisible when they ran in. You could still see ripples where their feet landed in the water – and if you look closely, the ripples are color coded like the Links – but with all four players running around in there and Phantoms bearing down on one or more of them, it was blind panic. And freaking awesome.

Mario Kart-style Pick-ups: Occasionally, an orb with a question mark on it will fall from the sky. Players that snag this pick-up are treated to several things like a random Gem drop, invisibility or a lightning strike that you can inflict on other players. It keeps things interesting and can be the salve to the wound of a player who just went from 51 Gems to two after a string of Phantom infections.

Single Cartridge Play: I am so happy that it doesn't require four people to actually buy the game to enjoy this mode.

Final Thoughts
The multiplayer mode in Spirit Tracks certainly isn't the main attractions of the game – but it's a solid addition that deserves to be played if you can tear yourself away from trains and princesses for a little while.

Left 4 Dead Campaigns Now (Unofficially) Work In Left 4 Dead 2 [Hacks]

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0700

Left 4 Dead 2 fans longing not for Francis, Bill, Zoey and Louis but for Dead Air, No Mercy, Death Toll and Blood Harvest have one more reason to go for the PC version of the zombie apocalypse shooter.

Industrious Left 4 Dead modders have devised a not-exactly-simple workaround to bring the original game's four campaigns into the sequel. The very unofficial, multi-step hack requires ownership of Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, ample patience and better than basic knowledge of editing PAK files. But, hey, it works.

Well, it mostly works. The list of issues includes numerous crashes, limitations and a dependency on console commands, but if you're desperate to play No Mercy with Spitters and baseball bats, you now have the option. Will Valve offer a sanctioned version of this? At the risk of pissing off the Left 4 Dead owner further, we sure hope it does.

How to Resurrect the Original Left 4 Dead [L4D Mods]

Who Is Beating Up Chun-Li? [A New Challenger]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0700

An update to the official Japanese Super Street Fighter IV blog teases a new character reveal for Super Street Fighter IV next week. Who could possibly be the source of so much Chun-Li pain?

Capcom US posted a link to the Japanese site today with the headline "New Super Street Fighter IV Art and... A New Challenger?", leading us to believe that's exactly what Nakky is talking about. According to a translation of the post by Azrael from the Shoryuken forums, the post teases big news that will also be appearing in next week's issue of Japanese video game publication Famitsu, with a promotional video going up on the Capcom site around the same time.

Yes, it's an announcement of an announcement, but at least we have a nice picture to dissect between now and next week.

ドリームチーム枠！ [Super Street Fighter IV Official Blog via Capcom Unity]

Art Style Digidrive Micro-Review: The Superiority Of Video Games [Review]

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:40:38 -0700

I'm sure opera, movies and cave paintings are fine forms of entertainment, but can any of them derive fun from such a mundane activity as directing traffic?

After a several weeks of inactivity, the Art Style series has returned to North America's DSiWare shop with Digidrive, an abstract puzzle game about directing traffic that can sit along side Art Style: Boxlife, a wonderful game about folding boxes in a factory, as a suggestion that Art Style games are downloadable because, were they sold in stores, the descriptions on the back of their boxes would scare people away.

This game is a remake of Bit Generations: Digidrive, a 2006 Japan-only Game Boy Advance game from Q Games, the studio known best these days for making the PixelJunk series on the PS3 and less-well-known for programming the PS3's background ribbon thing. And, yes, their take on directing traffic, virtually, is fantastic.

Loved
Terrific Traffic Trope: The gameplay in Digidrive is as solid and simple as it gets. Thank goodness, you know, that game designers consider waiting tables and taxi-driving and other often un-delightful real life activities as subjects for games. Here, being a one-man traffic light is a joy. What you've got is a gradually sped up relentless flow of color-coded cars approaching the center of a four-way intersection from four sides. With either the d-pad or the stylus players can direct the cars to one of the three lanes that branch from the road on which they are entering the playing field. Your directive is to park like-colored cars behind each other, which banks fuel. Doing this well and then cashing in that fuel by letting a siren-blaring emergency vehicle drive into that section of parked cars, provides force to a puck on the bottom of the screen. That's important, because you are hoping to push that puck away from a plunger that is creeping up on it.

Yes, that's weird. And no, that's not how directing traffic works in real life. But it's fun, because of a few smart twists: Going into a high-speed Overdrive mode if you have at least five cars successfully parked in all four lanes helps you bank a lot of cars. Also, a clever but risky technique lets you double your reserves if you sacrifice one of the rows of parked cars. Timid players will never park many cars and keep cashing in to bump that puck forward nudge by nudge. Bold players will bank more and more cars, doubling and re-doubling their reserves, waiting until the last possible minute and than cashing in to ignite a major push of the puck. Hey, trust me, okay?

Abstract Art: The techno soundtrack is good. Better is the iconography of the graphics. A less interesting development team would have used numbers to represent the number of cars successfully being parked at the end of a lane. Q Games uses shapes. Park five cars and you get a triangle. Park a bunch more and that triangle fills up and becomes a square. Repeat until the square becomes a pentagon, then a hexagon (if you haven't messed up by this point and had the puck hit by the plunger), and then the hexagon becomes a circle. I like ammo counters and flashing words too, but I'll take a game that signals success with shapes.

Hated
Touch Options: Hated is a strong word, but I found no great advantage from playing the DS version's new touch mode. It allows players not just to direct the game's cars with a tap of the screen but to tap the shapes of banked cars to cash them in, rather than waiting for — or sending out into the roadway — an emergency vehicle. This seemed to make the game simpler without making it better. I preferred the d-pad controls which allow me to play this game even when I'm standing on the subway, holding onto a railing for support with my other hand. Many portable games require you to play while sitting, leaning or standing still. Praise Digidrive for allowing us portable gaming on unsteady platforms, but, if you do, don't try those touch controls.

It's hard to express the quality of a puzzle game when just putting it in your hands would prove that the balance and flow here is good. Don't be deterred by the traffic-directing subject matter. In fact, I hope that kind of oddity emboldens you to try this game. It was fantastic on the GBA and makes the transition to DSiWare well.

Art Style Digidrive was developed by Q Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DSiWare downloadable store on November 16. Retails for 500 Nintendo Points ($5.00 USD). Played three difficulty levels in single-player, tried touch mode, tried two-player Vs Mode against the computer, and had trouble looking at the traffic in the intersections of Manhattan without wanting to get involved.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

World Of Warcraft Celebrates Thanksgiving [Blizzard]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:20:00 -0700

World of Warcraft finally adds a virtual Thanksgiving celebration to it's lineup of seasonal holidays, and just like the real Thanksgiving, Pilgrim's Bounty is mainly about cooking and eating.

I knew something was missing from World of Warcraft. If I am going to be nearly comatose from eating brown food, then my WoW character should be too. During the Pilgrim's Bounty celebration, which runs from November 22nd through the 28th, Bountiful Tables will be popping up outside of major towns and cities in Azeroth, allowing players to sit, eat, and share food until their armor no longer fits. Each table features five different chairs - The Sweet Potato Chair, The Turkey Chair, The Stuffing Chair, The Cranberry Chair, and The Pie Chair - with the player sitting at each chair responsible for sharing his or her bounty with the rest of the class. Eating five helpings of anything grants you a buff. Eating five helpings of everything grants you an hour long 10% reputation gain buff, reflecting the spirit of the season.

I am just tickled that there's something called The Pie Chair. I need one of these chairs.

As I said, the holiday is also about cooking, and Pilgrim's Bounty features five recipes that can take a player from skill level 1 to skill level 340, along with daily cooking quests that result in the prize of a Turkey Caller, which sounds like a pet to me.

Check out the Pilgrim's Bounty page on the World of Warcraft website for more on this gluttonous new holiday.

GameStop Throwing "World's Largest" Mordern Warfare 2 Tourney [GameStop]

AJ Glasser — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0700

You remember when "tournament" used to mean knights in armor and jousting and stuff? Of course you don't. Everyone knows "tournament" means "chess" or "video games" now.

GameStop announced today that it would hold the "world's largest" Modern Warfare 2 tournament kicking off Nov. 20 both online and at 2,900+ US GameStop locations that might be near you. I wonder if the fact that it's the world's only Modern Warfare 2 tournament makes it the world's largest...?

There are actually three different tourneys. The first is the US-only Xbox 360 one on one tourney where Round I takes place in-store, Round II takes it to Xbox Live and the finals go down in some as-yet undecided location — grand prize is $5,000. Then there are the International four on four tourneys for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, which you can find at gamebattles.com/gamestop. The top four teams from each platform will go to the finals to duke it out for a $10,000 grand prize.

Get more details here.

Image Cred

Halo Waypoint Saturday Feature: The Duel [Halo Legends]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:40:00 -0700

Every Saturday is video day in Halo Waypoint, and this week features the debut of "The Duel," the next episode from The Halo Legends anime anthology.

"The Duel" takes us back in time thousands of years to the dawn of the Covenant, where a shamed Elite defies his Arbiter fate and embarks on a mission of revenge against those that have wrong him. It all sounds so very Halo 2, doesn't it?

"The Duel" features a striking classic watercolor anime look, courtesy of Production I.G, the studio behind Blood: The Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell, and FLCL.

Remember, the episode will only be available for 24 hours, so once Saturday ends, so does your chance to see it. Check out the full video schedule below to help plan out your next two months of Saturdays.

Halo Waypoint Saturday Video Schedule:

"The Duel" Nov. 21, 2009
Making of "The Duel" Nov. 28, 2009
"The Package" Part 1 Dec. 5, 2009
"The Package" Part 2 Dec. 12, 2009
Making of "The Package" Dec. 19, 200
"Origins" Part 1 Jan. 2, 2010
Making of "Origins" Jan. 9, 2010
Trailers of upcoming episodes Feb. 2, 2010

Try Jurassic: The Hunted Before You Stare At It Quizzically On Store Shelves [Demo]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:20:00 -0700

Activision sprung Jurassic: The Hunted on us only a month ago, barely giving folks time to see it, much less find out how it played. Perhaps an Xbox 360 demo will shed some light.

Jurassic: The Hunted, developed by Cauldron HQ and released two weeks after it was announced on the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PS2, is a budget first-person shooter involving weapons and survival expert Craig Dylan, trapped on an island inhabited by dinosaurs. The screenshots looked nice enough, but there's just something about a game going from official announcement to release in under a month that doesn't generate confidence. Now releasing a demo, on the other hand, either speaks of Activision's confidence in the title, or its hope that the few people who would enjoy this sort of thing realize it exists. One of those.

The Jurassic: The Hunted demo is now available to Gold Xbox Live members in the U.S. Give it a go, and report back your findings.

Command & Conquer Producer Says His Audience is Unbalanced [Say What?]

AJ Glasser — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Speaking to Edge Magazine in an interview about his upcoming game, Command & Conquer 4, Producer Raj Joshi laments that real time strategy gamers get their kicks "entirely ... from smashing another human in a videogame."

The full Joshi quote as pulled by Gamerzines reads: "RTS players are great people but some of them have very little balance in their life. So their enjoyment is entirely derived from smashing another human in a videogame."

On the one hand, I want to disagree because I like RTS games and consider myself a level-headed person who enjoys all kinds of balanced things like butterflies and nail polish, etc. But, yeah, I enjoy smashing another human player in a competitive video game — that's kind of the point, isn't it?

On the other hand, I do agree with Joshi because I once watched a friend fling his expensive keyboard across a room during a total rout in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. "Unbalanced" just about sums him up.

And on a third hand that I don't physically have, couldn't you say that by Joshi's logic all gamers who get off on crushing other players in any genre are unbalanced? Why pick on his own audience when there are so many other worthy targets to choose from (*cough* first-person shooters *cough*)?

Oh, but here's another Joshi tidbit to sink your teeth into: "Now the gameplay is no longer tailored to beating the opponent's base and having that be the source of victory. It's now about capturing objectives. So there's less of that head-to-head 'I'm going to crush you' mentality going on."

I'll let you handle the arguments behind that one, commenters.

RTS players "have very little balance in their life" - C&C4 Producer [Gamerzines]

Darksiders: Instruments Of Destruction [Clips]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:40:00 -0700

In this video, titled Darksiders Book One: The Horseman's Road, we get a look at the tools that former apocalyptic horseman War utilizes in his twisted quest for redemption.

I'm liking the look of Darksiders more and more each time I see it. The gameplay does seem derivative of other action platformer titles, but I don't see anything wrong with that. I don't mind if a game looks or plays like another one, as long as it is entertaining. If we avoided things only because they looked like other things then we never would have had that crush on the girl at the record shop who looked like a punky version of Cameron Diaz, and then where would we be?

Note that this is the UK version of the video, and Darksiders hits North America on January 5th.

Rock Band Next Week: Tom Petty And Kelly Clarkson [Harmonix]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:20:00 -0700

With the recent release of LEGO Rock Band, you're just going to have to get used to seeing names like Kelly Clarkson popping up in our weekly Rock Band update posts. We apologize.

Not only does next week's Rock Band Music Store update bring six live tracks from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, it also gives us insight into what Harmonix feels is family friendly. For instance, "Refugee," "A Thing About You," and "Here Comes My Girl" are all available for LEGO Rock Band as well as the normal version, while "American Girl," "Even the Losers," and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" are not. All of the tracks are from The Live Anthology, in stores November 24th.

Kelly Clarkson makes her Rock Band / LEGO Rock Band debut with "Miss Independent,", rounding out a non-Petty, family-friendly trio that includes the Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" and Pink's "Who Knew."

Things can only get worse.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Nov. 24) and PlayStation 3 system (Nov. 26):

· Go-Go's – "Our Lips Are Sealed" +
· Kelly Clarkson – "Miss Independent" +
· P!nk – "Who Knew" +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "A Thing About You (live)" +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "American Girl (live)"
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Even the Losers (live)"
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Here Comes My Girl (live)" +
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Mary Jane's Last Dance (live)"
· Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – "Refugee (live)" +

Nintendo Takes Over Malls Across America [Holiday Shopping]

AJ Glasser — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0700

As if the mall couldn't be any scarier this holiday season, Nintendo is setting a Nintendo Holiday Mall Experience for shoppers to try out mid-mad dash.

The Mall Experience is intended to make "it easier than ever for holiday consumers to sample the year's most sought-after games" for the Wii and DS/DSi. Demo stations will be set up at 35 malls all over the country starting next week to let people play games like The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (~~which will be hot stuff~~ which won't be available 'til it goes on sale Dec. 7), Style Savvy (whose ads on MTV cause me physical pain), Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (yay!), New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit Plus.

Hm. I hope they're set up next to the food court.

Here's the list of malls they're hitting up between Nov. 23 and Dec. 20:

• Chandler Fashion Center in Chandler, Ariz.
• Westfield Culver City in Culver City, Calif.
• Westfield Parkway in El Cajon, Calif.
• Ontario Mills in Ontario, Calif.
• Westfield San Francisco Centre in San Francisco
• Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, Conn.
• Orange Park Mall in Orange Park, Fla.
• Florida Mall in Orlando, Fla.
• Tyrone Square in St. Petersburg, Fla.
• Lenox Square in Atlanta
• River Oaks Center in Calumet City, Ill.
• Greenwood Park in Greenwood, Ind.
• Arundel Mills in Hanover, Md.
• South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Mass.
• Burlington Mall in Burlington, Mass.
• Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn.
• Southdale Center in Edina, Minn.
• Deptford Mall in Deptford, N.J.
• Queens Center in Elmhurst, N.Y.
• Roosevelt Field in Garden City, N.Y.
• Galleria of White Plains in White Plains, N.Y.
• The Mall at Tuttle Crossing in Dublin, Ohio
• Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City
• Franklin Mills in Philadelphia
• Wolfchase Galleria in Memphis, Tenn.
• Grapevine Mills in Grapevine, Texas
• Irving Mall in Irving, Texas
• Ingram Park Mall in San Antonio
• Chesapeake Square in Chesapeake, Va.
• Virginia Center Commons in Glen Allen, Va.
• Tysons Corner Center in McLean, Va.
• Potomac Mills in Prince William, Va.
• Northgate Mall in Seattle
• Westfield Southcenter in Seattle
• Southridge Mall in Greendale, Wisc.

Image Cred — and I so wanted that game for Hanukkah as a kid!

Need For Speed Shift Goes Team-Based [Dlc]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:40:00 -0700

Come December, it isn't all about you anymore. EA is releasing a Team Racing pack for Need for Speed Shift, a free update that brings team tactics and five legendary vehicles to the game.

Team Racing is an all-new mode for Need for Speed Shift that pits two teams of up to six racers against each other. In team-based races, winning isn't simply about crossing the finish line. You'll have to coordinate with your teammates, work out strategies, and yes...sometimes you'll have to lose in order to win. It's a difficult concept for some to grasp. I'd suggest watching Talladega Nights for inspiration. If you bought a launch PlayStation 3 you should have a copy. It's all about the Shake N' Bake.

The Team Racing pack also comes with five renowned racing cars:

1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427
1967 Shelby GT-500
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
1971 Dodge Challenger R/T
1998 Toyota Supra Mark IV

The Team Racing pack will be available worldwide for the Xbox 360 on December 1st, December 3rd for European PS3 consoles, and December 10th for the North American PS3.