Kotaku

My MacBook Pro Is Starting To Lock Up [Note]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:20:00 -0700

To: Crecente
From: Ashcraft
RE: Games, Games, Games

I've had it about two years, now. And it's on all damn day long. It's been locking up more and more recently. Pin wheeling. Some programs just stop working. Dunno what the deal is.

How long do computers last anyway?

What you missed last night
New Final Fantasy XIII Trailer Does Not Skimp On The Cinematics
Tekken 6 PSP Is Out, And This Is What It Looks Like
Miyamoto Wanted To Patent "Jumping"
DSi LL Unboxing
Is The DSi LL Bigger Than Uncharted 2, Nolan Ryan's Autograph, A Can of Beer?

Mass Effect 2 PC System Requirements Ahoy! [PC]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0700

BioWare have released the system specs and DRM information for the upcoming Mass Effect 2, putting some potential customers out of their misery and sending others straight to their local GameStop.

Here they are, straight from BioWare's Chris Priestly. So if there's a problem, take it up with him, not me.

OS = Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
Processor = 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent AMD CPU
Memory = 1 GB RAM for Windows XP / 2 GB RAM for Windows Vista and Windows 7
Hard Drive = 15 GB
DVD ROM = 1x Speed
Sound Card = DirectX 9.0c compatible
Direct X = DirectX 9.0c August 2008 (included)
Input = Keyboard / Mouse
Video Card = 256 MB (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support). Supported Chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or greater; ATI Radeon X1600 Pro or greater. Please note that NVIDIA GeForce 7300, 8100, 8200, 8300, 8400, and 9300; ATI Radeon HD3200, and HD4350 are below minimum system requirements. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required. Intel and S3 video cards are not officially supported in Mass Effect 2.

As for the game's digital rights management, it'll use the same as Dragon Age, which means a simple disc check, nothing more, nothing less.

Mass Effect 2 DRM and PC requirements Announced [Mass Effect]

There Is A Lawsuit Featuring World Of Warcraft, Winona Ryder & Depeche Mode [Traces Of Nuts]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:30:00 -0700

Erik Estavillo is suing Activision Blizzard over World of Warcraft. Erik Estavillo is also a funny guy.

That or he's crazy. It could go either way.

Estavillo claims the company "continues to maintain a harmful virtual environment to many of its customers by forcing them to follow [World of Warcraft's] sneaky and deceitful practices".

And what could those "sneaky and deceitful practices" be? Walking is one of them, as he feels it takes too long to get from one point to the other in the game world. Because you can only speed up through extended play or buy purchasing an expansion pack, that qualifies as "deceitful".

He also believes that, because of a litany of health problems he suffers from (including OCD, agoraphobia, depression and Crohn's Disease), he's at risk of sharing the fate of Shawn Woolley, an Everquest player who committed suicide in 2001.

The best part follows: to back up his claims, Estavillo has subpoenaed Winona Ryder (who would presumably be able to "explain the significance of alienation in Catcher in the Rye") and Martin Lee Gore, of Depeche Mode ("he himself has been known to be sad, lonely, and alienated as can be seen in the songs he writes").

Best of luck, Erik.

Winona Ryder, Depeche Mode Factor in WOW Lawsuit [GamePolitics]

Kasumi! Figure! Bikini! [Gallery]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Just like death and taxes, figures of Dead or Alive character Kasumi are something that can be counted on. They're inevitable. This DoA Xtreme 2 features Kasumi in two different bikinis: skimpy and skimpier.

Retails for ¥9,240 (US$105). Out March 2010.

Can there be too many Kasumi figures? Yes, yes there can.

A Fusion of Japan's Otaku and Popular Culture [Alafista]

We Prefer The Tony Hawk: Ride Prototype [Tony Hawk]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:30:00 -0700

Robomodo, the developers behind Tony Hawk: Ride, have posted some photos showing off the prototype controller used as a testbed before the final design was nailed down.

And we love it! Sure, with wires, wood and buttons all over the place it doesn't have as compact a final form as the retail model, but it's dirty, raw and practical. Which seems to fit with the whole skateboarding thing a lot better than a lump of plastic with lasers.

In Pictures: How the RIDE team built a board [Develop]

Why Mario Is In So Many Darn Games... Explained! [Shigeru Miyamoto]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:00:00 -0700

The story goes that Mario was originally called "Jumpman." That's not what Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto called the character.

"Well, I called him 'Mr. Video'," Miyamoto said in the recent Iwata Asks feature on Nintendo's official site. "My plan was to use the same character in every video game I made."

Miyamoto was confident that he had come up with a solid character. "That's why I decided a solid, imposing name like 'Mr. Video' would work best," he added. "But thinking back, I don't think I should have gone with that name." Good thing someone at Nintendo of America came up with the name Mario. "If he had been called "Mr. Video," he might have disappeared off the face of the earth."

The idea to put Mario in multiple games wasn't simply clever branding on Miyamoto's part: he was influenced by Hollywood film director Alfred Hitchcock. "I thought the way Hitchcock cropped up in all the films he directed was really cool!" Miyamoto was also influenced by manga artists like Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy) and Fujio Akatsuka (Tensai Bakabon), who put their characters in multiple works. And know you know!

Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii [Wii.com]

Steam To Come Pre-Installed On Alienware PCs [PC]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:30:00 -0700

In what's probably more important news than you first realise, Dell and Valve have signed a deal whereby Steam will come pre-installed on all Alienware computers.

That's every single one of the gaming PC-makers laptops and desktops going forward. With a free copy of Portal thrown in for good measure. Sounds trivial, but this is exactly the kind of thing that gives Internet Explorer such a huge market share: it's not because it's any good, it's because you buy a PC, and it's normally already there, waiting for you.

Since Alienware aren't exactly the world's #1 supplier of gaming hardware, this move in of itself isn't that important, but if you think Dell (who own Alienware) are the only company Valve are going to sign a deal like this with, you're mad as a hatter.

These Are The Faces of Space Invaders [Screengrab]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:00:00 -0700

As seen on Logan Walters.

Mario 64 Used To Have Multiplayer [Mario]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:30:00 -0700

Mario 64 remains, for many, the pinnacle of singleplayer gaming. As close to a perfect game as you're going to get. Wonder how that would have changed had the game's original multiplayer component made it into the final product.

In a Q&A session posted on Nintendo's site, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed that Mario 64 had, at one stage during development, a significant multiplayer component.

Iwata: Ever since Mario Bros., you've had your heart set on making a multiplayer Mario game. You've tried each time, but it's never quite come together… Even with Mario 64, it started with Mario and Luigi running around together, didn't it?

Miyamoto: That's right. The screen was split and they went into the castle separately. When they meet in the corridor, I was incredibly happy! (laughs) Then there was also the mode where the camera is fixed and we see Mario running away, steadily getting smaller and smaller.

Iwata: Yes, that's right.

Miyamoto: That was a remnant of an experiment we did where Mario and Luigi would run away from each other but you could still see them both. But we were unable to pull it off…

Course, he now says with Super Mario Bros. Wii he has pulled it off, but...it's not the same. Wonder if it's something they could include with Super Mario Galaxy 2...

A Medal for Skilled Players [Nintendo]

Is The DSi LL Bigger Than Uncharted 2, Nolan Ryan's Autograph, A Can of Beer? [Gallery]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Comparing the DSi LL to other DS portables? Seen that. To other handhelds? Ditto. But what about comparing to other things — like cabbage, a baby, a baseball signed by Nolan Ryan? Haven't seen that yet. Until now.

This is not a scientific comparison! And, of course, a baseball is round. The DSi LL is not round, making it hard to compare — but not impossible.

SingStar Gets Into The Christmas Spirit [PS3]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:30:00 -0700

SingStar is normally something you associate with "Europeans", "drunk women" and "popular music". But with Christmas coming up, Sony figured it might be a good idea to add "tacky holiday songs" to the list as well.

I say tacky because, sadly, when putting the list of Christmas songs together, they didn't go the preferred route and include some Rat Pack crooning. Instead, we get ten downloadable songs featuring Slade. Wings. And...Cliff Richard.

OK, so Wings is actually pretty great. Especially since "Mull Of Kintyre" made the cut, which should give anyone with Scottish relatives something to do once, come December 25, the sun sets and the lid comes off the whiskey bottle.

But Cliff Richard? Come on, Sony. My mum doesn't know how to access the SingStore.

The complete list of holiday songs is below:

Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody
Doris Day – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Cliff Richard – Saviour's Day
Johnny Mathis – When A Child Is Born
Nat King Cole – A Cradle in Bethlehem
Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony & Ivory
Paul McCartney – Dance Tonight
Wings –Mull Of Kintyre
Wings – Band On The Run
Paul McCartney –Pipes of Peace

DSi LL Unboxing [Gallery]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Ah, yes. Unboxing. The ritual of taking things out of a box and then posting photos of what is inside. Here is a look inside the DSi LL box. Hello cardboard!

WoW Cosplay Goes The Extra Mile With Official Uniforms, Weapons [WoW]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:30:00 -0700

It's World of Warcraft's fifth birthday this week, and longtime Blizzard collaborator Sideshow Collectibles are going all out. Not with statues, either. With tabards (ie the things you wear over chainmail), giant flags, and even full-size replica weapons.

There are two tabards ($80) available, one for the Horde, one for the Alliance. They'll fit a large, brave human. There are also two flags, again, one for each faction ($40). At 7m x 5m, these are bigger than a human. And there's a lifesize replica of the Frostmourne sword as well, which is selling for $150 (and is available only in the US, sorry).

All five items will be shipping early next year, so really, the only way they're tying in with the game's fifth birthday celebrations is that this is the week they're taking your money.

iDOLM@STER Statue Brings The Fishnet Stockings [Gallery]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0700

Azusa Miura from Namco's pop idol simulator THE iDOLM@STER is getting yet another statue. She's wearing yellow garb and fishnets. Out March 2010, yours for ¥8,190 (US$95). Nerd heroin like this ain't cheap!

『ブリリアントステージアイマス』あずささんの限定カラー版を接写してみた！ [Dengeki]

Miyamoto Wanted To Patent "Jumping" [Nintendo]

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:30:00 -0700

Nintendo's website has published another Q&A session between company legends Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto. And, like always, there's some interesting stuff being discussed over upturned tea tables.

In this instance, the fact that in the 80's, Miyamoto thought seriously about patenting the idea of a jumping platformer.

Iwata: Donkey Kong involved jumping, as did Mario Bros., so you felt that Nintendo were the real originators of this kind of game.

Miyamoto: I did. I went as far as thinking that jumping is an original idea and that it should be patented! Anyway, I thought: "Right, I'm not going to let those other games top us!" (laughs)

Imagine if he'd tried it. And gotten away with it. And then been able to charge a fee every time somebody wanted to make a character jump in a platformer. You think they're rich now!

Letting Everyone Know It Was A Good Mushroom [Nintendo] [image: fanboys]

Lufia II DS Trailer Looks Like This [Clips]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700

We've already seen how the Lufia II remake is giving the game's hero a makeover. Now let's have a look at the game's actual trailer. So here it is, the game's trailer. Right now.

Thanks Men!

EA Backing Slowly Away From Wii Development? [Ea]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:30:00 -0700

EA's Montreal studio (Army of Two) certainly is, putting Wii development on the back-burner in favour of more big budget titles for the 360, PS3 and PC.

"The Wii market is a little bit unpredictable these days." EA Montreal's GM Alain Tascan told Edge. "We're going to see how Christmas is going to do and while with the Wii we have had very successful titles, we are going to focus on big, blockbuster-type titles. It doesn't mean that we are going to abandon the Wii, but as a studio we want to be ready for new challenges."

The announcement comes only a couple of weeks after EA boss John Riccitiello voiced his displeasure at recent third-party Wii software sales. So, no, Tascan's comments are not a coincidence.

Despite being best known for their work on Army of Two, EA Montreal have been working heavily on the Wii, releasing games like Skate It, Boogie, Need for Speed Nitro and Spore Hero for Nintendo's console. So if they're moving on from the Wii, it puts a real dent in EA's total Wii output.

EA Montreal Re-Focusing On "HD-Quality" Products [EDGE]

LittleBigPlanet PSP Now Available Digitally [Psn]

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:00:00 -0700

Looks like Sony got whatever snafu was holding up the digital copy of LittleBigPlanet sorted. As we mentioned earlier, LBP PSP was hitting the PSN today — and it has. The game is live.

New Final Fantasy XIII Trailer Does Not Skimp On The Cinematics [Clips]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:30:00 -0700

Square Enix Japan released a new Final Fantasy XIII trailer today. It's great, because it's super-long, has some gameplay footage towards the end, and there's not a late-night infomercial host in sight.

The DSi Extra Extra Extra Extra Large [Screengrab]

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:00:00 -0700

As seen on 読みゲー.

Microsoft Working On In-Game FAQs? [Trademarks]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:40:00 -0700

Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. Wii has a thing called "Super Guide". Helps you out when you're stuck. Nintendo will almost definitely be using the technology again, but trademark filings reveal they may not be the only ones.

Microsoft filed a patent in 2008 for a similar system for the Xbox 360, only instead of consulting the game itself for help, it would use Xbox Live to connect to a database and ask other users for tips.

An in-game GameFAQS, then, if you will.

The patent (remember, it's just a patent, meaning it's a possibility, not a definite) says this system would allow for not just the posting of text guides by tip authors, but also screenshots and videos as well, with any media able to be scrawled on with a digital pen.

Interesting, but then it begs the question; if these tips are available over a paid service, will prominent authors be reimbursed for their efforts?

Microsoft's Answer To Nintendo's Super Guide [Siliconera]

Michael Jackson's Thriller In 8-Bit [Clips]

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:00:00 -0700

A little night music — Japanese chiptune pioneer Saitone has put out an 8-bit version of Thriller. You can hear the full live version here.

Video: 8-bit ‘Thriller' [Pink Tentacle]

More DLC for Tekken 6? Maybe. Would It Be Free? Definitely [Dlc]

Owen Good — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:40:00 -0700

Tekken 6's producer told PlayStation Europe his team is eyeing additional DLC for the game, and it doesn't sound like he's talking about the Cardboard Tube Samurai outfit or online modes. Whatever comes out, if anything, will be free.

Asked about plans for more downloadable content, Katsuhiro Harada, the Namco Bandai producer over Tekken 6, said, "There is a strong possibility we will. However, even if we were to do so, it would be free to the end user."

The "strong possibility" qualifier would make it seem that Harada is not talking about an online cooperative scenario mode, nor network patches, both of which are in the works. Either way, if they do roll more content it's nice to know it will be free.

Tekken 6 Developer Interview [PlayStation UK via Siliconera]

New Crackdown 2 Screenshots, Artwork [Crackdown]

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:20:00 -0700

Crackdown 2 has been running quiet for a while now, rarely popping its head up for a look. That changes today, with more screenshots and pieces of concept art than you could shake a zombie's leg at.

Zombies, cops, weapons, cars, proper screenshots, it's all here. Knock yourselves out. Might want to grab a cup of tea first though.

Pick Up Your NCAA Basketball 10 Named Rosters [Rosters]

Owen Good — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:00:00 -0700

If you're tired of playing PG#11 for Kentucky or C#45 for Kansas in NCAA Basketball 10, Operation Sports has put together a full named roster file for the Xbox 360 version that's free and available for download right now.

To grab the file, follow these steps:

• Go to the NCAA 10 Main Menu
• Click Xbox Live
• Click My NCAA Online
• Click EA Locker
• Click Media Center
• Search for the file OS COACHES NAMES FULL VER 2 uploaded by ACEMAB194.

A dozen OSers contributed to building the file less than a week after its commercial release. They worked with the default roster on the retail game and created no players. Dynamic Updates will change the players' ratings as they progress through the season, but not their names or other information.

In addition to the verisimilitude, named rosters cuts down on announcer repetition. Without a name to call, they default to typically identifying players as "the senior," etc. Gus Johnson saying "the soph-a-more ...!" gets a little old after a while. This should help.

Again, this file is for the Xbox 360.

NCAA Basketball 10 Community Rosters (360) - Get Them Here! [Operation Sports via Pasta Padre]

Behold, Spirit Tracks Multiplayer Screens [Screens]

AJ Glasser — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:30:00 -0700

Those of you familiar with The Legend of Zelda: The Four Swords will have no trouble recognizing the color coded chaos going on in these screens. The rest of you will want to check out my multiplayer preview.

Tekken 6 PSP Is Out, And This Is What It Looks Like [Clips]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0700

The tiny handheld version of Tekken 6 is in stores and on the PlayStation Network today, and we've got a video showing you what you can expect from the tiny fighter.

It looks like Namco Bandai did as fine a job porting over Tekken 6 to the PSP as they did Soulcalibur IV. I'd run out and pick this up right away, but I've still got a great deal of Tekken 6 on the Xbox 360 to get through before I dare go smaller.

Games, Games, Games [Note]

Brian Crecente — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:30:00 -0700

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: When Did You Stop Believing in Santa Claus?

I spent today doing my posts, pre-writing columns and features, and playing fames lots and lots of games. Fun. No sarcasm this time.

What you missed:
The DS and DSi Gift Guide
Excitebike: World Rally Micro-Review: Race back to 1985
It's Amazon Gold Box Game Deals Day Again
Beat A Man Into A Urinal, Consider Buying Deodorant
Why I Play World of Warcraft
Tampa Bay's Longoria is - Officially - MLB 2K10's Cover Man
EA Makes Mercs Inc, A New "Pandemic" Game, Official
Far Cry 3 Is Go
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Review: Three's A Welcome Trend
The PlayStation Portable Buyer's Guide

Old News '95: Sega Might Sell Vodka In M-Rated Games [Old News]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:00:08 -0700

Talk of urinals and deodorant ads in games got me wondering how long people have been talking about in-game ads. I found some chatter from 1995. The era of "Cool Spot," the 7Up video game and other in-game ad dreams.

You are reading Kotaku's once-weekly (early this week!) journey back to yesteryear.

It is March, 1995, and Billboard declares: "Ads Begin To Pop Up In CD-ROMs, Games."

Time to talk to industry leaders. Sega first:

''It has to be appropriate for the title that it's in,'' says Steve Ackrich, Sega's director of third-party licensing.

Ackrich says the institution of an industry ratings system may help open the field of ''acceptable'' products. ''Right now we wouldn't allow Smirnoff (vodka),'' he says, ''but maybe if it were in an M (mature audiences) title, we might consider it.''

Nintendo?

Fellow market leader Nintendo has shied away from anything that smacks of in-game advertising, according to company spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan. ''We've always felt video games should be just for fun,'' Kaplan says. ''Does that mean we won't ever? No. But we're not doing it now.''

A game called ''Cool Spot,'' based on a character created in 7UP ads, did make the Nintendo cut, as well as pass the Sega test. Ads as games apparently are fine, ''as long as the game stands alone,'' Kaplan says.

Indie devs?

San Mateo, Calif.-based Digital Pictures included a plug for Nike at the end of its basketball game ''Slam City With Scottie Pippen.'' At the conclusion, the gamer is ''rewarded'' with Nike products.

People who make interactive CD-ROMs?

Creative [Multimedia]'s 1995 product lineup will include several titles with interactive ads embedded within them. ''We've put numerous restrictions on the ads,'' says Len Jordan, VP of marketing. ''There will be no more than three per title, and there can't be any direct-sell feature. They also will be completely self-selective,'' meaning users must choose to look at the ads by clicking on them.

Dare I say that in-game advertising has improved for everyone since then?

[PIC]

The PlayStation Portable Buyer's Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:30:00 -0700

The Playstation Portable got a fun, new little brother this year in the form of the slide-n-go, download-only PSPgo.

The PSPgo launched on Oct. 1, kicking off an impressive glut of download-only games on the Playstation Store. It also marked Sony's promised push for new, triple-A games for the Playstation Portable including MotorStorm, LittleBigPlanet and Assassin's Creed titles.

Take a gander at some of the big games that hit the PSP this year. What titles would you recommend as a gift?

Fieldrunners

Price: $6.99
Genre: Tower Defense
Subject Matter: The popular iPhone Tower Defense game brought to the Playstation Portable.
Value: This was one of my favorite downloadable minis when the PSPgo launched. It's a great port of the original.
Buy it for fans of tower defense titles.
Read the Full Review

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action
Subject Matter: A arcade-style shooter loosely based on the live-action G.I. Joe movie.
Value: G.I. Joe is a movie tie-in strangely reminiscent of Konami's Contra series. One or two players take control of their favorite Joes from the movie and take on Cobra across multiple levels of run-and-gun action. There are a few unlockables catering to fans of the old cartoon series, but other than that this is strictly a movie-lover's affair.
Buy it for: Really, really big fans of the G.I. Joe live-action movie.
Read the Full Review

Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars

Price: $39.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Open world action-adventure
Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game.
Value: There's a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested.
Buy it for: PSP owners looking for a chunky, fun-to-pay adventure.
Read the Full Preview

Gran Turismo

Price: $39.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Driving Simulation
Subject Matter: Gran Turismo offers players over 800 cars to purchase, customize and race on more than 35 tracks in a realistic setting, testing their driving skills with real-world physics.
Value: Gran Turismo offers nearly limitless replayability, thanks to the numerous cars, tracks and Driving Challenges stuffed in to the game. Long time Gran Turismo fans may be turned of by the lack of a Career Mode and Leaderboards, but this is a solid pick up and play racer.
Buy it for: The car-obsessed portable gamer who prefers a passenger seat in the real-world.
Read the Full Review

Half-Minute Hero

Price: $29.95
Rating: E10+
Genre: Across four mode: Hyper-speed role-playing game / hyper-speed scrolling shoot-em-up / hyper-speed real-time strategy game / hyper-speed top-down dungeon-crawler
Subject Matter: A winning send-up to the genres and technology of 16-bit Japanese-made games, there's actually a lengthy adventure here that spans eras and tells the comedic/dramatic tale of heroes who repeatedly face the challenge of saving the world in 30 seconds.
Value: High, as the game offers short-session bites of play that combine into a lengthy adventure that has none of the brevity suggested by the game's title.
Buy it for: RPG fans, fans of the Super Nintendo era, and fans who are looking for something original and smart on the PSP.
Read the Full Review

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival

Price: $14.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Platformer
Subject Matter: The LocoRocos are up past their bedtime and rolling and bouncing their way through a Halloween carnival-style levels.
Value: The stages might be short, but they are hard. A more satisfying (and less stressful) gaming experience was found in some of the mini-games.
Buy it for: Gamers looking for a challenge who get music stuck in their heads easily.
Read the Full Review

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Racing
Subject Matter: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is an over-the-top, semi-open world off-road racer.
Buy it for: fans of arcade race games who spend a bit of time commuting or can't afford a Playstation 3.
Value: With 12 maps, two directions to race them on, multiple courses and vehicle types, MotorStorm Arctic Edge is packed with content. Online play rounds out the experience giving you a chance to test your skills against five other players at a time.
Read the Full Review

PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Tower defense
Subject Matter: Classic tower defense mechanics and gameplay mixed with delicious PixelJunk aesthetics.
Buy it for: fans of the original Playstation 3 title, tower defense games or developer Q Games.
Value: Featuring new maps, enemies and towers, this is worth the cash.
Read the Full preview

PSPgo
Price: $249
Rating: NA
Genre: Hardware
Subject Matter: Sony's latest portable platform ditches the need for a UMD drive and instead gives you a 16GB harddrive and the ability to download all of the games directly to the system.
Value: At $249, the portable platform is quite pricey, coming in at the cost of several home consoles.
Buy it for: anyone interested in being able to load up their portable with movies, TV shows, pictures, music and games without having to carry a single disc around with them.
Read the Full Review

PSPgo Traveler Case
Price: $19.99
Rating: NA
Genre: NA
Subject Matter: This fauxe leather case protects and beautifies your PSPgo.
Value: For just under $20, this is a heck of a deal.
Buy it for: PSPgo owners looking to protect or upgrade the look of their portable.
Read the Full Review

Rock Band Unplugged>/strong>

Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Rhythm game
Subject Matter: Harmonix' insanely popular Rock Band on the go.
Value: For just under $20 you get a full-fledged World Tour and about 40 tracks. You also get the ability to download new tracks to your PSP.
Buy it for: fans of rhythm games, Rock Band and good music.
Read the Full Review

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: RPG
Subject Matter: A remake of the original Persona for the PlayStation.
Value: A more faithful translation of the original Japanese Persona has never been seen in North America, making Persona PSP the definitive first entry in a series that's been enjoying increased popularity these past few years.
Buy it for: Any Japanese RPG fan.
Read the Full Review

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron

Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Adventure
Subject Matter: You are X-2, a Jedi clone out to help the Rebels take down the Empire and stop your brother X-1 before it's too late.
Value: Elite Squadron mixes gameplay, story and clips from the Star Wars films as it tells the story of X-2. The real replay value comes with the game's online multiplayer.
Buy it for: Star Wars fans or those looking for a PSP multiplayer experience.
Read the Full Review

WoW At 5, The Video [Blizzard]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:36 -0700

Fahey wrote a superb chronicle of Warcraft and World of Warcraft yesterday to commemorate that latter's fifth birthday. If you want more, a lengthy, funny and sometimes emotional series of interviews is live at WoW's official site.

Standout stories include Blizzard chief Mike Morhaime discovering that World of Warcraft would be a hit based on a minor traffic jam as well as Blizzard's Rob Bridenbecker describing how one quest line in Wrath of the Lich King was written as an ode to his brother's struggle against cancer.

Powerful stuff about one of the world's biggest video games. Look for the video or read the full transcript at the official site.

World of Warcraft 5th Anniversary Movie [World of Warcraft official site]

A Holiday Message From The Society Against PlayStation [Clips]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0700

The recent batch of PlayStation 3 ads hearkens back to a simpler time, when all you needed to market your console was a little song, some puppets, and a stick.

Ah yes, the 90's. The console wars were so much better back then, when companies weren't afraid to create obviously fake protest groups in order to sell their product. If only more video game marketing teams would figure out the joy of anti-advertising.

Thanks to Morris for bringing back fond memories.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Review: Three's A Welcome Trend [Review]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:02 -0700

The Year of the Wii Lightgun Shooter continues with a Resident Evil entry that is two-thirds fun retro, never scary yet surprisingly generous. Too bad it makes a poor first impression.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a follow-up to 2007's Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. Both Wii games are lightgun takes on gaming's most famous horror series. The first presented Resident Evils 0, 1 and 3 in an on-rails shooting-gallery format. The new game remakes Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica, wrapped with a short new pre-Resident Evil 4 adventure called Operation Javier. All three scenarios star returning Resident Evil icons — Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, Redfield and Steve Burnside, Kennedy and Jack Krauser — allowing a player to pick one to control or to have a friend shoot as the other one.

The new game has not just its Wii predecessor and the older Evils it remakes to which to be compared. It can handle that. But it also unwisely invites comparison to Resident Evil 5 and unavoidably to the ribald 2009 Wii lightgun game House of the Dead: Overkill (reviewed here) and the brief but bold 2009 genre peer Dead Space Extraction (reviewed here). That's quite the swarm of comparisons.

Loved
Three Tales...: Darkside Chronicles and its predecessor present a pleasant way to re-visit gaming's past without forcing dull re-hash. If you want to experience Code: Veronica or RE2, your previous options have been to play through the original games or read a Wikipedia summary. I enjoyed the middle path of playing them as re-imagined on-rails shooters. The Duck-Hunt-on-wheels format trims a lot of the creeping and snooping from the re-introduced Resident Evils, for better or worse, but it also helps compress some full-size games into eight-level experiences. That allows players to experience three narrative arcs, three culminating boss battles, and observe the connections across the three adventures in one fat-free game. That offers plenty more for the dollar than the comparatively skimpy Dead Space Extraction.

... With Just The Right Cheese: Someone is going to scold me if I admit to laughing at the giant alligator attack of Resident Evil 2, the awkward flirting of Steve Burnside and Claire Redfield, the proto-Arkham-Asylum menace of Alfred Ashford, the absurdity of crying boss monsters, and so on. If you take Resident Evil seriously, then, be sure to not unlock The Darkside Chronicles bonus mode that allows you to fend off rampaging chunks of tofu. And be forewarned that the game isn't preoccupied with scares but rather the pleasures of shooting lots of monsters, preferably in their weak spots. If you don't take it seriously... if you get a kick out of seeing whether you will next fight little man-frogs or next listen to your partner character curiously brand a boss fight as "whack a mole" nonsense, then, hey, Darkside Chronicles has got it. This game isn't as gleefully aware of its excellent wrongness as House of The Dead: Overkill, but its own brand of mad horror adventure is colorful and entertaining.

Lots To Shoot With: Ammo scarcity is itself scarce in Darkside Chronicles. You always have lots of guns and lots of bullets, all very helpful because there are so many bad guys to shoot. Gold found in levels can be spent to upgrade guns. There's nothing too crazy to fire in the game. Pistols, shotguns, magnum, etc. But it all works. The sense of empowerment achieved once you start improving the guns makes the temptation to replay the levels quite strong, another perk this game has over Dead Space.

The Dark And The Giants: In levels enshrouded in darkness — and, oddly, when the scenario calls for large-scale combat against giant enemies — the game looks very good. Darkside's designers have had a lot of fun with the monsters they've re-purposed and the new ones that conclude Operation Javier. The game has some significant graphical problems (mentioned below) that keep it from reaching the surprisingly high bar of technical achievement and art direction of Dead Space, but the best of Darkside Chronicles' levels look terrific. There are times (not in the first level) when a Resident Evil 5 gamer might forget that they are playing the latest RE on a less powerful console.

Control Options Galore: You can play this game with the Wii Zapper and try it in co-op. I preferred a Remote and Nunchuk set-up, minus the Zapper. You aim your targeting reticule with the Remote and pull the Remote's trigger to fire. I could change weapons on the d-pad but preferred using the analog stick. I could reload with a shake of the Remote but preferred to do it with the Nunchuk. The controls were comfortable.

Hated
The South American Sun: The game's first level, the one I previewed several weeks ago, makes a poor first impression. It is in this level that Darkside Chronicles tried to be Resident Evil 5, placing Kennedy and Krauser in a sun-splashed south-American village and using nothing of the darkness or clever art direction to hide how much worse — less detailed, more jagged — this kind of scene looks on a console that isn't an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. In the sewers, in the shadows, in mansions and in plant-filled greenhouses this game looks quite nice. But outside in the sun, it looks like last year's model. The problem is exacerbated by the game's limited enemy types and animation routines. In the sun, you will notice that the same handful of zombies keeps coming at you. And it will be more obvious in the bright outdoors that the little man-frogs all flop in the exact same way, sometimes, if there are two of them that are shot by the same shotgun blast, synchronized.

Breaking Their Own Rules: The rule is that video game bosses have health bars and that players, who shoot weak spots, can drain color from those bars. That's how bosses die (never from old age, except in one Metal Gear). But in Darkside Chronicles, you better not be shooting that weak spot and expecting that health bar to drain if the boss hasn't animated to the proper state yet. The boss has to writhe and attack you some more, and you — you who shot that bar too low, too quickly — will just have to wait.

Lots To Shoot At: Let no one protest the number of the undead that need to be given metal fillings the hard way in this game. But let's discuss the way money is earned in this game: By shooting up the scenery. Shoot the picture frames. Shoot the lamps. Shoot the white cardboard boxes. Shoot these things when you're supposed to keep quiet. Shoot them — and oops, sorry I hit the non-reacting character I'm talking to who was standing slightly in the way. As game design, it's not a problem to have to shoot all over the place to find the money you'll want to spend on weapon upgrades, which in turn make the game more fun. But as mood killer, this design is just deadly. There's no stealth and creeping horror in a game in which I'm encouraged to blast every pixel and polygon in sight to find some cash.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles makes the wrong first impression, but gets better from there. I understand that purists don't love the liberties taken with the edited presentations of Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica, but as someone who isn't so devoted to the canon and enjoyed taking three rides through a Resident Evil arc in one game, I was satisfied.

The Year of the Wii Lightgun Shooter is ending now, with a trio of enjoyable games. Overkill is the craziest. Dead Space is the most innovative. Resident Evil offers the most content. They're all good.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles was developed by Cavia and Capcom and published by Capcom for the Wii on November 17. Retails for $49.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through on normal mode in a shade under nine hours. Unlocked tofu mode and uttered profane language during several boss battles, though not the last one.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Far Cry 3 Is Go [Ubisoft]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0700

According to a comment by Ubisoft's Kevin Shortt, development on the third installment of the Far Cry series is underway, and so far things look "pretty exciting."

Shortt made mention of Far Cry 3 during a recent media junket on the Avatar video game. UK magazine OPM asked the writer whether or not he was working of Far Cry 3, to which he replied:

"No I'm not, but I know the team are and what I've seen looks pretty exciting."

And so we get confirmation of a game we were pretty sure was being made in the first place, which is still pretty nice. We don't have any details regarding the setting, plot, game engine, or platforms, but still, good to know.

Far Cry 3 looking "pretty exciting" [CVG]

EA Makes Mercs Inc, A New "Pandemic" Game, Official [UPDATE] [Ea]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:51:50 -0700

Less than a day after the game's existence was leaked, EA confirmed that a new Mercenaries is in development. The publisher announced the title as the next release from Pandemic, the studio that was all but shut down last week.

The new game is in development at EALA, the studio where a core group of Pandemic team members were relocated following last week's closure of Pandemic's offices and departure of its top executives.

EA offered no gameplay detals, release date or platforms for the new game.

The existence of Mercs Inc — which EA refers to as a "working title" — first surfaced yesterday on website Bitmob, which ran a video of the in-development game and referred to the game as a multiplayer project.

The video showed classic shoot-em-up-for-cash Mercenaries paramilitary action, though it did not display much of the environmental destruction that was the original trademark of the series.

"We are very excited to announce a new instalment [sic] in the popular Mercenaries series because it demonstrates our continued commitment to Pandemic's rich catalogue of intellectual properties," EA group general manager Nick Earl said in a statement. Last week, Earl had the less pleasant duty of announcing the fate of Pandemic to EA employees.

Earl noted that a "core creative team is forging new ground and conceptualizing new ideas for this exciting franchise."

The first Mercenaries was released in 2005, developed by Pandemic and published by LucasArts. A sequel, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, was released last year, again developed by Pandemic but published by new studio owners EA.

[UPDATE: EA declined to provide any more details about when the game is coming out our what it will be about. As for whether the company announced Mercs Inc today as a reaction to the leaked video of the game that surfaced online yesterday and started the rumor of its existence, an EA spokesperson said, "We don't comment on rumors." The company has not responded to a follow-up regarding whether anyone who worked at the Pandemic offices as of last week is currently involved in the new project.]

Tampa Bay's Longoria is — Officially — MLB 2K10's Cover Man [Mlb 2k10]

Owen Good — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0700

2K Sports announced today that it's chosen Evan Longoria, the All-Star third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays, for the cover of MLB 2K10, and will put six designs up to a vote of fans of the series.

Ten days ago Kotaku obtained and published a confidential marketing survey showing that Longoria, the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year, was 2K's choice. Today's announcement confirms the decision but also shows the covers leaked out were mock-ups and not at all the final design.

"Being on the cover, right now, it's a process, and we're working on the game and trying to get things going, we're focused on bringing out the best in it." Longoria told Kotaku today. "I won't get to step back and really appreciate this until down the line, when maybe a 10-year-old kid brings a 2K Sports box to the field and asks me to sign it. Then it'll hit me."

Longoria's selection is somewhat of a departure for the series; from 2002 to 2008, its cover athletes were all New York players, including the Yankees' then-first baseman Jason Giambi, and Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter three consecutive times each. Last year's cover athlete was Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, still a large-market franchise in close proximity to 2K's Marin studio.

In Longoria, MLB 2K10 is selecting an up-and-comer from one of baseball's smaller market clubs - albeit one that stunned bigger spenders in 2008 to win its division and the American League pennant. Longoria has been selected to the AL All-Star team in both of his first two years in the league, and two weeks ago picked up his first Gold Glove award.

His role is not purely promotional; Longoria, an avowed sports gamer going back to Ken Griffey Jr. Major League Baseball on the Super Nintendo, will consult on the game's development and work on components such as its situational authenticity.

"When we met with Evan at the (2009) All-Star Game, we hadn't gotten to the short list about who we wanted on the cover," said Chris Snyder, the 2K Sports director of marketing. "When we met with him, he said he loved the (MLB 2K9) commercial with Tim Lincecum, but he said, 'You know, in it, I hit this home run and Torii Hunter robs me. Can we maybe cut back on that a little?' He was joking, but we caught notice of the fact that he paid close attention to detail, that he saw it was him in the footage int was Torii who robbed him."

Below is a gallery of all the cover options. Don't vote on them here in our comments; head over to the 2K Sports official site if you want to be heard. The game is scheduled for a March 2010 release.

Splatterhouse Gets Appropriately Splattered Shoes [Game Shoes]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0700

We weren't sure if Namco Bandai was taking the new Splatterhouse game seriously until we saw the exclusive Globe International Superfly model Splatterhouse shoes.

We're big video game shoe fans here at Kotaku, though Crecente's collection is far greater than mine. Perhaps I will 1UP him with a pair of Splatterhouse Superfly high tops. I am lacking in the sneaker department at the moment, and I do like the "moody yet playful" combination of red and black used to add that Splatterhouse flair to the Superfly design. Or I might not, seeing as the product page over at Club Namco only lists them up to size 11.5, and I am a size 13. Oh well. Crecente and his baby feet win once again.

Why I Play World of Warcraft [World Of Warcraft]

AJ Glasser — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Oh, not me specifically. I don't play World of Warcraft. But I am powerful curious as to why millions and millions of people sink money into the Blizzard moneymaker year after year for a game that you can never win.

Truth be told, I did actually take a stab at WoW a few years back at the behest of an ex-boyfriend. I was willing to go to hell and back for that man at the time, but it turned out I wasn't willing to go to Blackrock. Also, I never did get over my scorn for total strangers who demand to know if I'm really a woman before partying with me – and I was never very good about following directions, anyway.

Luckily, you never have to look very far to find someone who does play WoW. They might be only casual amateurs as opposed to level 60 devotees. However, as people who keep coming back to play World of Warcraft, I think they're every bit as qualified as a social scientist to explain the phenomenon.

Dan Amrich, Editor-in-Chief, World of Warcraft: The Magazine
I am an altaholic so I have many, but my main is a 74 blood elf rogue. I play for the social aspect. WoW has become more about the people I play with than the game itself. Although I really enjoy the stories and the spectacle, I find it much more enjoyable because I get to share it with my family. I play with my wife and brother-in-law every week; we live in different states and it's a lot more fun to chat on Skype about what happened in our lives that week while simultaneously slaughtering murlocs wholesale. It's three hours of online quality time. We've been trying to convince my mother-in-law to play but I don't think even WoW is that powerful.

Katrin Auch, Freelance Graphic Designer
I have 10 characters from 77 to 35, mostly horde, but I have Blood Elves, Tauran, Undead, Human, and Dreani. I play because I love that it is cooperative. I almost never solo. I play with different groups of friends, with different types of characters at different levels-we usually voice chat, and we find ways of using our skills together. Most of my characters are healers of some class, priest, shaman, pally-I get great pride out of keeping my party alive. And we talk about all kinds of things, so it's fun and social-like having a game night, but not having to clean up afterwards.

Casey Lynch, Director of Public Relations, Reverb Communications
Explaining why I play WoW is like explaining why I like to go out and eat pizza, drink beer and hang out with my friends all night. Obviously, because it's hella fun to me. And come to think of it, when I play, I'm usually eating pizza, drinking beer and hanging out with my friends all night, except we're wired into Vent and running Naxx instead of carousing at our favorite pub.

Compared to other games out there that have quantifiable replay value, i.e. something I could potentially sink 100+ hours into, WoW just seems to have more variety to offer. Between running endgame instances, PvP, Arena, Battlegrounds, and leveling new classes of toons I haven't played before, to the more obvious introduction of new content via expansions and updates, just when you feel like you've done it all, you try something different and it feels like a new game. I heart wow!

Reginald Rhoades, Corporate Support Associate, Viz Media
Why I play? Zombies. Also I played the original [real time strategy] games when I was a no good punk kid back in middle school. Being a delusional adult who gets obsessed with false realities, interacting with these long-known characters has been immensely entertaining.

I have additional reasons such as bonding with friends that live far too far away and flirting with married women in a safe environment.

My favorite character is a level 80 Forsaken warlock hotty named Arisu.

Just to summarize… In WoW, you can play as a zombie! And eat people!

Anonymous GameStop Employee
I play World of Warcraft to unwind – that's my "me time" after work. I play as a Hunter, which is a solo class, so I don't really party up with friends. But, yeah, I can go anywhere and do anything I want. It's the one time of day when I feel like I can do that. It's so relaxing.

Feel free to share your World of Warcraft motivation down below. And for all you haters out there who don't play WoW, stick around. Old Man Owen Good is cooking up something for you tomorrow.

Check back all week for more stories related to World of Warcraft's fifth anniversary.

Beat A Man Into A Urinal, Consider Buying Deodorant [In-game Advertising]

Stephen Totilo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:40:07 -0700

I think I can tell when ad people are joking. I tested that skill recently at an in-game advertising event. The people from Take Two saying a BioShock Big Daddy would be a great pitchman for Black and Decker? Joking.

The Ubisoft guy who preceded them? Maybe joking.

He was talking about smashing people into urinals in next February's Splinter Cell: Conviction. He was getting big laughs when he set up one of the game's interactive interrogation scenes by saying, "You might have several moments in the game [when] it's like a choose your own adventure, but it's choose your own torture." Chuckling and guffawing from the crowd. He was showing Sam Fisher bashing a guy into a urinal and noting that there was a deodorant ad next to that urinal.

"You will see a deodorant ad," he said.

You will be bashing a bad guy into porcelain.

And you will wonder, he said — joking? — "Is that the new Degree deodorant I want to buy?"

More laughter. And his kicker: "It's going to be very effective."

Credit the man, Jeffrey Dickstein, head of digital advertising at Ubisoft, for getting a reaction from a crowd of ad buyers. They were gathered in midtown Manhattan at a Lincoln Center theater space usually used for jazz performances. This wasn't the most game-savvy crowd, though they were there to be coaxed into buying ads for placement in the video games supporting Massive's in-game ad network. The buyers didn't seem to get the Big Daddy joke. They chuckled when descriptive ESRB ratings warnings appeared on a big screen, as if they'd never seen them before.

This was the second "Upfront" hosted by Massive, an attempt at an annual event.

I've attended both and look forward to, I guess, the fifth or sixth one. In theory, they'll get really good if they follow the model of more established media.

Upfronts for TV networks sound like wondrous things. NBC shows off its fall line-up to advertisers and does everything it can to dazzle its audience of prospective advertisers. They bring their stars on the stage. Maybe Conan O'Brien or Jay Leno does a stand-up routine.

Video games? Not quite there with the upfront yet. We're past the awkward first one from last December, when an Activision representative stood up at this press-invited event and blabbed the existence of Modern Warfare 2 and a new hands-free Tony Hawk.

At the second one, held earlier this month, the messaging was more disciplined. Straight-laced, you could say. As in when Dave Anderson, head of business development at Activision, talked about ad placement opportunities in Guitar Hero, described how new ad-showcasing camera angles were introduced into this year's DJ Hero, and mentioned something we may not have mentioned here on Kotaku yet, that Tony Hawk Ride is primarily targeted at 10-14 year-old boys. He also said that "I've wanted to be here since I was a small boy," assumedly referring to the jazz hall at Lincoln Center we were in, which was opened five years ago. Joking?

The Take Two people were the most entertaining. They threw free t-shirts to the seated ad folks. They aired a mock ESPN segment that showcased ad placement opportunities in the virtual arenas and fields of 2K Sports' hockey, basketball and baseball franchises. Their segment ended with the BioShock joke, which went over the heads of most of the people there.

The Massive folks, affected as they may be by some department cuts this year, can still cite some strong numbers. They've served 1000 ad campaigns in the last year and a half, an executive announced at the presentation. Massive research indicates that 63% of gamers recall the ads they've seen in games, a number Massive says is on the rise. People see in-game ads, and they send text messages the numbers the ads encourage them to. They visit product websites. They buy cars.

Massive is selling packages to these ad buyers. Advertise in the biggest games that third-party publishers have allowed to be in the Massive in-game-ad network. Or just advertise in the sports ones. Or be the only advertiser in an entire genre category. Or take over the entire Massive network for a day.

The Massive people and the game publisher people mostly say things that wouldn't horrify gamers. Even at a conference like this, in-game advertising doesn't sound like the mood-killer gamers have been wry that it could become.

The THQ exec talks about putting ads on the mat of a virtual UFC ring. The Blizzard person talks about keeping ads out of that company's games, relegating them to surrounding websites, log-in pages and the like.

Our Ubisoft man explains how the Splinter Cell team has generated heat maps to determine where players look in a level, and ensured that ad-placement locations are situated in those lines of sight — which might sound potentially irritating, but he's the one talking about making advertising in games as innovative as gameplay. And he's the one talking about selling deodorant to players as they make a bad guy tumble into a urinal.

Or was that part a joke?

Nightwing Is Still Nightwing In DC Universe Online [Screens]

Mike Fahey — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:20:00 -0700

Dick Grayson might be running around in a Batman costume with Bruce Wayne's son in the comics, but in DC Universe Online he's still rocking the Escrima sticks as Nightwing.

I thought DC Universe Online was going to try and coincide with the storylines currently happening in the comics, but apparently that isn't the case. See, in the comics, Bruce Wayne is dead (sort of), with his skull spitting out Black Lantern rings left and right as part of the Blackest Night zombie event currently tearing its way through the DC Universe. Dick Grayson, AKA Nightwing, is now Batman, and Robin is Damian Wayne, Bruce's son with Talia al Ghul.

Perhaps they'll work this all out by the time DC Universe Online launches for the PC and PlayStation 3. Grayson makes a fine Batman, but I miss me some Bruce.