Let me clarify: A PS3 won't access the mp3 files from a Blu-Ray disc. PS3s absolutely will play mp3s, just not from a Blu-Ray. Original article continues:

In addition to a bunch of other stuff, the $75 special edition comes with a bonus DVD whose content includes the fantasy RPG's epic soundtrack. Of course for PS3 that's upgraded to Blu-Ray to take advantage of that drive in the PS3, which in turn won't read the mp3 files. Basically, you have to buy a Blu-Ray player for a PC to get to it, and who the hell wants to do that, right?

BioWare's forums are said to be full of threads on this subject. In this one, a customer complains to Electronic Arts over its support chat, and is told more or less that EA's aware of the problem but has no remedy for it. Ouch. But the guy did get a $20 EA Store coupon, a code he immediately posted after proclaiming he had no intention of doing business with EA after this screwup. Pretty sure that code's been cashed, but who knows, if you complain, maybe you can get one.

I have emailed the EA press contact handling Dragon Age: Origins to ask if there might be some sort of larger fix for this - like either making the content available for download elsewhere, or shipping out a CD/DVD-ROM version. If I hear anything - remember, it's the weekend after Thanksgiving, it'll be updated here.

EA/Bioware Unwilling to Address DA:O PS3 Soundtrack Problem [BioWare forums via tipster David S.]

Moreover, Brennan's commentary seems to ask why disproportionate weight is given to a woman's physical appearance and not the role she occupies in a game? Incorporating jiggle physics. How is endlessly commenting on it - and not the fact it belongs to a playable female character in a strong, assertive and in many cases nontraditional role - helping the issue instead of reinforcing the character's physicality and perpetuating the objectification?

I have a couple problems with her argument. She acknowledges the obvious double-standard - that physical representations of men are more likely to connote themes of power and heroism, whereas with women it's almost entirely about sexuality and desirability. But it's not given much treatment in her final point, which is simply that video games aren't expected to provide realistic depictions of anyone's bodies. The logical extremes of that position are obvious but I won't point them out because I don't want this to get off topic. And the piece does raise a valid point: Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder; what else might it be overlooking?

Boobs and You [Massively, Nov. 20, 2009.]

Very few of our protagonists (Nathan Drake and Alan Wake to name a few exceptions) depict men in what I would call a non-degrading manner. Honestly, how many of you readers out there right now are as ripped as the guy from Blade & Soul? My guess is very few.

While our interactive media may have started with a slightly overweight plumber as the titluar hero, we've certainly turned to making sure all of our character models feature strong, burly, and oversexed men who's muscles can give a woman's breasts a run for their money. I mean, look at World of Warcraft, for example — a game that we normally don't consider sexually charged. How realistic is their depiction of men compared to the average guy?

[...] Finally, I really believe that I have to take this one on - the notion that video game women degrade or defame real women because of their depictions. In my honest opinion, that's only really half true.

While VG women certainly may have overblown proportions and tight clothing, many of them aren't exactly weak or stupid. They're usually also not just there to be saved by some handsome, burly man. Many of these women are extremely dominant, going out to take care of things instead of waiting around for someone else to do it.

Off the top of my head, Lara Croft is a world-renowned archaeologist/historian, Joanna "Perfect" Dark is a highly trusted secret agent, Sniper Wolf is a trained military expert, Antonia Bayle rules Qeynos with a strong passion and intelligence, Jaina Proudmoore strains herself keeping relations between the Alliance and the Horde in check, and Bayonetta is someone who can and will kick your ass.

All of those women may have questionable outfits/fashion taste, but their positions aren't exactly "degrading to women." These are all highly respected and highly trusted women in positions of power, and that's not even including the characters we create in our games who end up being heroes of the land. If anything, video games have a history of keeping a very level field between men and women, sometimes even flipping the traditional power roles to favor women.

- Seraphina Brennan

Weekend Reader is Kotaku's look at the critical thinking in, and of video games. It appears Saturdays at noon. Please take the time to read the full article cited before getting involved in the debate here.

But that's also the role Evan Longoria, the newly minted Silver Slugger and Gold Glover from Tampa Bay, takes on as the cover man for MLB 2K10, an endorsement announced this past week.

A cynic might view the selection of Longoria - a third-year player from a small-market franchise - as a budget choice for 2K this year, especially in light of MLB 2K9's underachieving performance last year with a Cy Young award winner (San Francisco's Tim Lincecum) headlining it. Longoria on MLB 2K10 is also well overshadowed compared with NBA 2K10 and NHL 2K10, which landed Kobe Bryant and Alexander Ovechkin, easily the top stars of their respective leagues.

But Chris Snyder, 2K Sports' director of marketing, insists the title wasn't settling when it signed Longoria. His team starts looking for the MLB cover man about two months into the season, meets with a pool of candidates at the All-Star Game, and bases the choice on his willingness to contribute to the game, not just its promotion.

"If Albert Pujols or A-Rod want to be in a video game, and give us that kind of time commitment, certainly we'd listen," said Snyder. "It's not that younger players have more time, it's more about them seeing video games as an avenue to promote themselves and their teams, and to be a part of something cool."

Longoria, who goes back to Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball on the Super Nintendo, is part of a generation of sports superstars now in its middle- and late-20s that has been playing modern, 3D sports simulations since at least their teenage years. It's a perspective that brings an innate enthusiasm for the product.

"Whatever I can do to further the realness and the gameplay - as far as things like the data, or the way I step in and out of the batter's box - any kind of input I can provide, I might not ever get this opportunity again," Longoria said.

Increasingly, we're seeing this kind of athlete input. An aside comment from Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals gave NHL 2K10 its "Is Party Now," marketing slogan. Although he wasn't the cover athlete, Edmonton's Zack Stortini consulted with EA Sports' NHL 10 on its new first-person fighting mechanic, and also the finer points of how physical play can be a tactic affecting team morale. Top mixed-martial arts fighters have also visited EA to weigh in on early builds of EA Sports MMA, sometimes with hilarious results.

And although, yes, the majority of a purchase decision will be for the game inside the box, it's why the person appearing on its front is in fact a consequential decision, Snyder said.

"It does matter, not so much for the star quality of the athlete, but what they bring to the table in making the game better," Snyder said.

Fair point. But clearly, Bryant was tabbed for NBA 2K10 - the centerpiece of 2K's sports catalog for going on five years now - as a statement about that game's excellence in the studio's 10th anniversary year. What statement does Longoria make about MLB 2K10?

"It's not so much a message about Evan and the game inside," Snyder concedes. "We start working on 2K10 immediately after 2K9 comes out, and we don't have the cover athlete locked and loaded. But our goal is still to put out the best game possible."

Still, Longoria's announcement is the first public detail about this year's game, and many peoples' assumptions are still built on last year's. "We know MLB 2K9 wasn't a 90-rated game," Snyder says, "but hopefully this shows that we are taking the necessary steps to repair that, and put out a product people are proud to plunk down their dollars for, and for Evan to have his face on."

Longoria's role will be largely advisory, the game-within-a-game rather than the fundamentals of how it is played. "This game's 10 years old now, and every baseball game has catch the ball, hit the ball, throw the ball," Longoria said. So he'll be consulting on subtler aspects - individual matchups, his tendencies and others', how a hitter might guess the next pitch and jump all over it. It's one thing to be standing at third base and see a hunch play out; seeing a video game conform to those expectations is a surefire sign of quality.

"From a major league baseball player's standpoint, that's what really furthers the game for us," Longoria said. "We're fans of video games, we play them, too."

As an example, in his meetings with 2K Sports so far, Longoria's been asked about the tendencies of pitchers he's done well against, and seen those who have given him trouble in real life - such as New York's Andy Pettite - and judged their in-game difficulty.

Snyder said Longoria rose out of "a stable of guys" the team works with throughout the years in a role that is part consultation, part audition. Longoria also worked with 2K through a local GameStop tournament last year, helping his candidacy.

Snyder wouldn't name any of the other ballplayers in the consulting pool when I asked, but did say they were there because of their willingness to contribute. "We touch base with these guys throughout the season, picking their brains on baseball, asking them if they would be willing and able to jump in and help critique the game, and tell us what he'd like to see changed," Snyder said. "When you've got an athlete willing to lend time and expertise, that's a big deal."

But in the end, to be on the cover of this kind of product is primarily an honor. Longoria mused that his career is still young enough that its highlights - a World Series appearance in 2008 and two All-Star selections among them - are only starting to sink in. The significance of a video game cover likely won't strike him until "maybe a 10-year-old kid brings a 2K sports box down to the field for me to sign."

And he went to lengths to reflect his success here back to his teammates, and to Rays lifer Carl Crawford in particular.

"Carl's played his whole career in Tampa Bay, and he's been a part of some really bad teams," Longoria said. "If there was one other guy to have on the cover with me, it would be him. I feel like I stepped into an organization that was ready, ready to do nothing but go up. The year that I had (in 2008) and going to the World Series, it propelled me and a lot of guys who've been really good players into the spotlight. I think Carl has been one of the best players in the major leagues for seven years now. But he didn't have this opportunity, and it's just thanks to him and to the team for me being in this position."

Stick Jockey is Kotaku's column on sports video games. It appears Saturdays at 10 a.m. U.S. Mountain time.

Hardware
• The 120GB 360 Elite bundle that includes PURE and Lego Batman is yours with a free $50 gift card through Newegg, but only until the end of today. Free shipping, natch. [Dealzon]

• An alternative: You don't get the cash, but you do get the 250GB Elite Modern Warfare bundle, plus Left 4 Dead 2 through Amazon (for $399). That offer is good through Monday. [Dealzon]

• Ah, Radio Shack. How the f—k you stay in business, I don't know, but I've never gone a Christmas season without visiting you for some damn reason. Anyway, the offer ends today but PS3 controllers are $29.99 there, $10 better than the next best price. Free shipping. [Dealzon]

• Also from Amazon, a new DSi bundle (in white) comes with five Brain Age games for $154.98, which is $15 off the usual. [Dealzon]

Software
• Steam's "Five-Day-Long, One-Day-Only" sale will churn up values throughout the weekend, so be sure to check back. It looks like the offers reset at 9 a.m. U.S. Mountain time (aka right f—-ing now). Two $49.99 bundles, LucasArts and THQ, are on sale throughout. [Steam]

• GamersGate is likewise running its own Thanksgiving Sale with 30 to 65 percent discounts on a ton of PC titles [GamersGate]

• GameStop's doorbusters have expired (they were good for yesterday) but Left 4 Dead 2 is $39.99. Also, any Rock Band purchase gets you the AC/DC Track Pack - originally a Walmart exclusive - for free. [GameStop]

• Not mentioned in the flyer, but GameStop's three-for-two sale on used games and accessories is going on through tomorrow. The code B2G1FREE activates the sale online, and Cheapy points out the code SAVER gets you free shipping. [CheapAssGamer]

• Guitar Hero: Metallica? Sounds like a nice stocking stuffer, especially at $25, via Amazon. [TechDealDigger]

As always, smart gamers can find values any day of the week, so if you've run across a deal, share it with us in the comments.

This weekend after Thanksgiving might find you indulging in a long breakfast or a colossal mug of overpriced coffee, which go with Weekend Edition like the Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Anyway, we've got a shortened report today and tomorrow to account for the holiday. Here's the deal: All standing weekend features will run at their normal times, beginning with this one, with the remainder of the posts spread out through the day on the hour, concluding by 8 p.m. There'll be eight items today and tomorrow.

Then, we're back to normal when Luke and Bash resume their regular shifts Sunday night our time. On Monday, I'll show up in the evening with my Kai Ryssdal voice. I swear, that guy reads the news like he's hitting on someone. And by the way, Simon looks nothing like I expected him to. Nor does Cory Flintoff, who I imagined as a cross between Willem Dafoe and Crecente's old nemesis assignment editor at the Rocky Mountain News. OK, now I'm just rambling. Here's the week in original coverage:

Top Stories
MTV: Rock Band Network To Be Fully Launched In Early 2010
ESA: Today Is A "Very, Very Good Day" For The Gaming Industry
IBM: We'll Keep Making Cell Processors As Long As Sony Needs Them

Kotaku Talk Radio

News
Red Dead Redemption Gets A Proper Release Date
Zelda Developer Was Stumped By New Zelda Game's Puzzles
Nintendo Boasts 9 Million Player Advantage Among Female Console Gamers
Is The DSi LL Bigger Than Uncharted 2, Nolan Ryan's Autograph, A Can of Beer?
DSi LL Unboxing
LittleBigPlanet PSP Now Available Digitally
Beat A Man Into A Urinal, Consider Buying Deodorant
iPhone Chart Toppers: Monopoly Times Two

Features
Turning The Beautiful Game Into A Video Game

Sports
Tampa Bay's Longoria is - Officially - MLB 2K10's Cover Man

Columns
Well Played: Gaming For Good
Hindsight: Seeking A Game That Can Trick Me
Well Played: Wii Fitness Shares Store With Dumbbells, Treadmills
Stick Jockey: No Less of a Memory - The Human Drama of Video Game Sports

Gift Guides
The PlayStation 3 Buyer's Guide
The Xbox 360 Buyer's Guide
The PC Buyer's Guide
The Wii Buyer's Guide
The PlayStation Portable Buyer's Guide
The iPhone Gamer's Gift Guide
What Games You Should Give and Get For the Holidays

Warcraft Turns Five
The MMOs That Rose Or Fell During World of Warcraft's Reign
Why I Don't Play World of Warcraft
Why I Play World of Warcraft

Reviews, Previews, Hands-On and Impressions
Sound Blaster Arena Surround Gaming Headset Review: Who's That Sneaking Up On Me?
Assassin's Creed Bloodlines Review: Thicker Than Water?
PSPgo Cradle Review: Dock and Go
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Review: Three's A Welcome Trend
Excitebike: World Rally Micro-Review: Race back to 1985
Astro Gaming A40 Audio System Review: Sound Advice
Wii Energizer 4X Charging Station Review: Induction Into the Hall of Fame
NCAA Basketball 10 Review: Some Shining Moments

Outreach
We Came, We Partied, We Raised ...

This figure, by A-Label, will be out next year in Japan. It stands at around 30cm high, and you should be able to import it for around USD$80-90. You want buttons, you gotta buy them yourself, so that's extra.

Here's how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person.

You probably know oodles about us - more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob - and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion.

Question: Sure, we know people eat a lot during the holidays. But how much do you game during the holidays?

I then started thinking "what are these writers doing in an advertisement for an unreleased game?", but then got tired, and went and had a lie down instead.

Dial M For Mario"

Danish Group Asks You To "Hit The Bitch"
Comment by: omgwtflolbbqbye
Nominated by: Showmeyomoves!

I think the game is glitched.

I beat (tee hee) the game last night and my dinner still hasn't arrived...

Swiss Study Documents War Crimes Committed in 19 Games
Comment by: dd528
Nominated by: (Starman) Starman

I just finished reading the full paper. I guess I have a few comments.

First is that it has clearly been written by someone who is almost entirely unfamiliar, not just with violent shooters, but with videogames in general. Obviously there is nothing wrong with that per se, but in this specific case, I think the obvious ignorance about the directorial intent behind a game, or the way in which certain in-game situations are supposed to function, harms the credibility of the report.

Second is that the tone taken is somewhat peculiar inasmuch as that it seems to be taking on some kind of reformist or censorial mantle. Statements such as: "it would be recommendable to avoid putting these kinds of scenes
in video games as they could mislead players in terms of what is allowed to be done" seem to me to assume a pretty low level of capability on the part of the gamer to distinguish between reality and fiction. This is a trap that the mainstream media often fall into and it's disappointing to see that level of ignorance on display in what presents itself as a piece of academic research.

I think that the way that Rainbow Six punishes the player for inflicting civilian casualties is a good thing, but that is because of it being good game design, not because I think games have some kind of moral duty to be presented in that way. The report reads as if it assumes that the role games should be playing is educating gamers about international law, and that other gameplay or narrative concerns should be secondary. To me, that is bizarre.

But, whatever I think about the (substantial) failings of this particular report, it is attempting to address some important issues. A lot of games are violent. Few of those come anywhere near situating that violence in a realistic context, even when they might claim to be pursuing realism. We live in a world where gratuitous violence is exploited for entertainment potential all the time, but that that doesn't mean that, once in every ten (or even hundred) titles, a game can't come along with something more intelligent to say about war or about crime.

In the real world, rules of international law, and the pressures of perceived moral imperatives, act as influences on the behaviour of combatants in a manner that is often lazily caricatured, if not completely absent, in videogames. I think it is well worth asking why that is, and whether some games might be improved if efforts were made to better incorporate those kinds of themes and constraints.

Industry Types Confess the Evil Deeds They've Done (in Games)
Comment by: Terrorsaur - Five Six
Nominated by: IchiShinigami

Me and Dogmeat were tied at the hip the moment we laid eyes on each other in the Scrapyard. His barks warmed my Boogeyman soul and we were soon on our way to being the stuff of Legend. We tackled the wasteland together; raiders feared the mere sight of Me and Dogmeat. I even taught him a few tricks, such as play dead ("Dogmeat is unconscious"), and fetch.

There were nights where me and dogmeat would sleep in the blistering cold nights of the wasteland in nothing but a mattress laid carelessly under a broken bridge or in a forgotten home. I would stare into his brown and blue eyes and feet him RadRoach meat as we both dozed off into the night.

But a distance began to grow between us. Sometimes I would send him to find ammo or chems and he would not return for days on end, leaving me alone to fight the Super Mutants and the Raiders who envied my ravishing good looks and weapons.

On other days, he began to intentionally screw up my plan of attacks and decide to run straight in into the fight while I was trying to sneak around, or would give away our position by making huge amounts of noise with the Wazer Wifle he dragged around like a piece of armor..

He began to grow vicious and careless. He would bark for no apparent reason and then leave in the middle of fights, leaving me to recruit a new partner, Jericho, in order to continue fighting. My once
Paragon heart became the Stuff of Nightmares. I grew angry. I later came to find he had gone on his own and had Puppies! of his own. I was crushed.

One day in the Citadel Tunnels, Dogmeat, Jericho and I were scavenging around for ammo and loot, as I continued the search for my father. Jericho had whispered to me "So do you want me to do it?" I said "No Jericho. Hes my pup. Ill do it." I told jericho to wait here as I took dogmeat with me into an abandoned train cart.

I grabbed my plasma rifle, and looked deep into his different colored eyes. His love for me, now absent from his eyes.

DOGMEAT HAS DIED.

Want to nominate comments? Send to tips any insightful or funny comments you read from other commenters. (Read: NOT YOURSELF). Be sure to include the post's URL, the commenter's page, the actual comment and your commenter page.

Here's a handy guide to commenting. Read it, learn it, live it, love it.

The first, above, is from a recently-released Bayonetta theme for the 360, which has a Virtua Fighter arcade cabinet lurking in the background. And on its screen? Yup, Bayonetta in Virtua Fighter.

The second, below, is a little more exciting. A piece of fan art by BouncekDeLemos, it shows Platinum Games' leading lady popping into BlazBlue for a spot of 2D combat.

Xbox 360 Bayonetta Theme Pokes Fun At Virtua Fighter [Siliconera]
[BouncekDeLemos @ DeviantArt]

The King of Fighters Promo Trailer, Starring Ray Park and Maggie Q [/Film]

See, Van Caneghem is a big supporter of things like "games as service", and online delivery. Which makes him a good fit for EA, since that's exactly what EA are moving towards, with games like Battlefield Heroes and their acquisition of online gaming company Playfish.

So what does this mean for the future of Command & Conquer? Well, we knew he was going to "transform" the series, but didn't think it'd be this drastic. Chew over these quotes from an interview with Van Caneghem over on Gamasutra. The first regarding strategy games taking a leaf out of Battlefield Heroes' book.

"Look what online has done for RPGs over the last 10 years. All the other categories are following suit... we're looking forward to building something to be a leader in that space."

On where he sees C&C fitting in with this shift, he says ""It allows you to do everything you would have expected from a boxed game, but it adds a lot more to it... being connected and connected with players, and persistence, the social elements of playing against each other with other friends."

And, perhaps most distressingly, this:

"What you're seeing with all the social gamers on Facebook... they are actually already playing strategy games whether they know it or not. Taking a franchise like Command and Conquer and expanding it to a wider audience is part of the strategy."

Tiberiumville, coming to Facebook, 2010.

Interview: Van Caneghem Talks EALA's Vision, Command & Conquer [Gamasutra]

The 50 ml bottle of "Lightning," inspired by the character of the same name, will cost 7,140 yen or about $83. It's described as having notes of "yellow peach," citrus, "lily of the valley," and bunch of other herbs and spices that Google translate could not parse out for me. The bottle of smell-nice will be ready in April.

Also, for you French majors out there, I'm aware of the difference between "eau de toilet toilette" and "parfum." The latter is more concentrated. The former you splash on after toileting toiletteing yourself. See, I'm not an uncultured lout.

Spray Yourself With The Scent Of Final Fantasy XIII [Siliconera via Ripten]

CVG cites PC Zone as the source of that cooperative multiplayer reveal, also pointing out that Conviction won't be the first Splinter Cell title to feature the option. But what Ubisoft Montreal has planned for the Xbox 360 and PC game we won't know until the feature is officially unveiled.

Splinter Cell Conviction has co-op, "new mode" [CVG]

If the level of violence I witnessed back then has been "toned down" in this developer diary hosted by Character Art Manager Dan Calvert, I might still abandon all foodstuffs to save my stomach. Sure, it looks like there's less blood — and I can see what they mean when they say the "stylized" art sort of subtracts a layer of disconcerting realism — but people's necks are still getting snapped.

See for yourself:

We'll wait 'til the numbers come in before declaring it a tame Black Friday, though, and maybe blame it on the Bay Area rain. Feel free to share any of your own Black Friday shopping photos in the comments — especially if it was a madhouse in your area.

Despite some of the character design choices—that Terror Mask isn't doing anything for me and, Rick, please pull up your shorts—I've long been a fan of bloody beat 'em ups. With the right mechanics, Splatterhouse may be the kind of disposable single-player experience I'm looking for.

Since the game's not out until Q3 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Namco Bandai has plenty of time to convince me to get excited.

After giving up pie chart real estate to Sony for the past few weeks, the ninth hardware platform on the Media Create weekly sales chart pushes Nintendo back into the leadership position in a major way. The DSi LL's closest competitor was the PlayStation 3, which commands a second place spot this week, outselling—but not by a whole lot—the Wii, PSP and regular sized Nintendo DSi. It's a fairly close race for second these days, with four platforms running neck and neck on the hardware sales front.

Not much of a competitor this week is the PSPgo, which settles for a spot between the DS Lite and Xbox 360.

The full list of hardware numbers is after this, along with a less colorful chart that may paint a better picture of how the general platform content is working out.

• Nintendo DSi LL - 100,553
• PlayStation 3 - 34,752
• Wii - 32,844
• PSP - 32,752
• Nintendo DSi - 32,070
• Nintendo DS Lite - 5,051
• PSP go - 4,574
• Xbox 360 - 4,085
• PlayStation 2 - 2,024

Xbox Live GM Marc Whitten has designs on replacing the traditional TV remote with voice and gesture recognition, courtesy of Project Natal. According to a report from Yahoo! Tech, Whitten believes that Natal "will be the largest leap of TV experience since the remote control," providing better input options than the increasingly complex remote.

How? By recognizing common, button-less input via Natal.

"Laughter is an input," Whitten said at the Streaming Media West show last week. "Yelling at the TV when I know an answer on 'Jeopardy' is an input. Attention is an input. The number of people in the room at one time is an input." And, you know, that's a fairly interesting concept.

Microsoft Sees 'Natal' as Your Next TV Remote [Yahoo! Tech]

The official Nintendo of Europe web site has details and first screens on the Nintendo DSi downloadable title, promising 200 stages of action-puzzle-strategy in the Q-Games fashion. With the developer's recently released Art Style: Digidrive making DSiWare a better place, we're looking forward to giving Reflect Missile a shot.

Reflect Missile [Nintendo UK]

On a night earlier this month, the people packing into the club didn't come to listen to the famous sing. They came instead to stand on a stage, face the crowds and play popular video game and karaoke replacement Rock Band.

The real draw, though, wasn't the chance at a moment in a spotlight once used by jazz men and musicians from the 20s to today, it was the chance to play video games and raise money for children.

Call it gaming for good or child's play for charity: At least once a year video game enthusiasts around the world find interesting and eclectic ways to raise cash for those in need.

Likely the largest gaming group raising money for charity is Washington State-based Child's Play which has, with the help of more than 100,000 gamers worldwide, managed to raise more than $5 million in donations of toys, games, books and cash for children's hospitals around the world.

"Child's Play is the grass-roots gamers' charity: created by gamers, for gamers," said Kristin Lindsay, Child's Play Project Manager. "I believe that we receive the support of the gaming community because we represent the charitable voice that gamers want to have. We are sharing our love of gaming with kids in need, and giving back through play. It really does make a big difference in our partner hospitals."

And it's not just video games and recreation equipment that Child's Play funds. Recently the group started a grant program through which they offer one-tome support to smaller facilities including pediatric hospices, crisis centers, school and group homes.

While many people donate directly to Child's Play, other groups create their own community fund-raisers to help raise money for the organization. The largest by far, Lindsay said, is the Desert Bus for Hope drive, which brought in more than $70,000 in donations last year.

Two years ago British Columbia sketch comedy group LoadingReadyRun decided to start raising money for Child's Play. One of their members came up with the Desert Bus concept.

While the fund-raiser is actually a sort of an Internet telethon, it gets it's name from a mini-game found on unreleased video game Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors.

The object of the game is to drive from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada in real time in a bus that constantly pulls to the side of the road and won't go faster than 45 mph. Completely the mini-game takes 8 continuous hours of play. Desert Bus can't be paused and if you crash or drive off the road you get towed back to Tucson and have to start over.

While the LoadingReadyRun accepts challenges to do silly things for donations during their telethon, the mainstay of the fund-raiser is the group playing the game non-stop. This year the group played the game in shifts for five days and 16 hours non-stop, raising more than $132,000.

"We all love to play video games, and we love the idea that we play a game (even a bad one like Desert Bus) and make a child's quality of life so much better," said LoadingReadyRun member Kathleen De Vere. "Child's Play is a very inspiring charity that does absolutely amazing things all over the world, and we are honored to help them with
their work."

And fund-raising isn't limited to the United States.

David Abrams, editor and owner of Tokyo-based Cheapassgamer.com, has raised more than $75,000 for Child's Play over the past five years.

"I decided to start to help collect funds for Child's Play simply because I was very impressed with the initiative Penny Arcade's founders had taken in creating the charity," Abrams said. "Child's Play was started partly as a response to the negative portrayal in the media of gaming and gamers and I wanted to help be a part of that response. Of course helping children is reason enough on it's own."

While some events, like Desert Bus for Hope and Abrams' online drive, bring in staggering donations, more than half of the cash comes to Child's Play through individual donations or smaller community fund-raisers like the one held in Denver earlier this month.

The Kotaku.com-sponsored fund-raiser brought in about 400 people from as far away as Florida and raised more than $6,500, a bulk of which came from people showing up at the worn doors of the club, cash in hand.

Once inside, gamers and developers crowded onto the decades-old dance floor, donating cash and dancing under an over-sized disco ball.

As the event's hesitant emcee, I split my time overseeing the door prizes we handed and threw out to the crowds between songs and talking to the many folks on hand about why they were there.

Plenty came to party, to have fun, to game on stage, but many more came for the cause.

As the event wrapped up, a young man approached me to shake my hand.

"I wish they had something like this when I was a kid," he said.

"Why?"

"I'm a cancer survivor," he said, "You have no idea what difference a few games would have made to me when I was in the hospital."

Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Other games on the menu this holiday weekend include Demon's Souls and Borderlands' new Zombie Island of Dr. Ned downloadable content, two time investments that I'm happy to commit to. That's a lot of grind, though, so I may need some sort of downloadable chaser to wind down with.

I'm passing on fighting the Black Friday crowds this year—I've already got enough to play anyway—but did anyone out there in Kotakuland score some games on the cheap today? Playing 'em this weekend? Hit us in the comments and let the world know!

NCAA Basketball 10 Review: Some Shining Moments
In which Owen Good explains how Dick Vitale can be tolerable.

Wii Energizer 4X Charging Station Review: Induction Into the Hall of Fame
In which Brian Crecente explains why the Wii remote jacket is not an impediment to usefulness (for once!)

Astro Gaming A40 Audio System Review: Sound Advice
In which Michael McWhertor ponders the value of $250 headphones.

Excitebike: World Rally Micro-Review: Race back to 1985
In which freelancer Matt Cabral praises a new game's graphics for looking 65-bit.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Review: Three's A Welcome Trend
In which a game angers me for not following its own rules.
(Pre-rendered cut-scene featured atop this post)

PSPgo Cradle Review: Dock and Go
In which Crecente resists all possible "cradle" puns.

Assassin's Creed Bloodlines Review: Thicker Than Water?
In which Brian Ashcraft applauds, respects, but also slams the game's camera controls.

Sound Blaster Arena Surround Gaming Headset Review: Who's That Sneaking Up On Me?
In which Crecente ponders the value of $100 headphones.

Cody is one of my favorite characters in Street Fighter / Final Fight history. Not only does he share a name with my mother's dog, but he also shares said dog's penchant for stabbing people in the stomach. Granted the character uses a knife while the dog uses his claws, but I've always suspected he was merely one opposable thumb away from slicing open my innards. Go Cody!

Appearing on the comparatively underpowered iPhone, Ravensword packs a near console-quality presentation. Featuring a large 3D open-world, an awesome variety of mythical beasts to slay, and some fantastic visual and audio tricks, it often rivals a PS2-era production.

Loved
Epic App: Intuitively using the now-common touchscreen directional pad and controlling the camera by swiping anywhere on the screen, adventure-seeking gamers embark on a robust quest to regain the amnesia-stricken protagonist's memory, recover the titular ancient blade and, of course, smite the hell out of evil. Sure, it's standard high-fantasy fare, but the impressive presentation, addictive action, and engaging quests keep things more fresh than familiar. You'll begin by slaying rats the size of puppies, but soon your blade and bow will be introduced to goblins, imps, zombies, sword-swinging skeletons, and ogres whose menacing presence swallow up a good portion of the iPhone's modest display. Your senses will be similarly stung by the screen-stretching environments; vast, diverse areas such as forests, graveyards, dungeons, and lava worlds can be fully explored for treasure when you're not busy hacking your way through the evil-doing hordes. Smaller touches, such as shop signs swinging when you walk into them, show the level of detail at work. The audio presentation is also very good, as a surprisingly rich score is complemented by immersion-amping details like chirping birds, crashing waterfalls, and the satisfying death cries of your freshly slain enemies.

Fun-poking Fantasy:Ravensword's subject matter may be all too familiar, but its light-hearted approach and delivery keep things fresher than a just-poured stein of tavern mead. Similar Tolkien-esque tales get bogged down with self-important characters and yawn-inducing exposition, but Ravensword keeps it simple, to the point, and often funny. The over-sized rats you slay, for example, are part of a quest that sees you replenishing the stock of the village's "Rat Donald's" restaurant-you'll later speak with a clueless villager who can't quite place the taste of Donald's secret rodent recipe. Everything, from NPC interactions to text descriptions of weapons and gear, often sneak in similar tongue-in-cheek references that keep things entertaining without ever becoming so silly that they pull you from the experience.

Hated
RP...Gee, Really?: Despite being advertised as an RPG, Ravensword is actually lacking many of the key ingredients usually associated with the looting-and-leveling genre. While it nails the high-fantasy presentation and hack-happy combat, it doesn't allow for any character customization. When you level-up, attribute points are auto-assigned, there are no skill trees, weapons and gear are stat-less, and magic is all but non-existent. Aside from their prices, there's no way to identify which weapons are better than others; you're left to assume the battle hammer will spill more goblin blood than a sword simply because it siphons more gold coins from your satchel at the blacksmith's shop. The implementation of armor offers a perfect example of Ravensword's style-over-substance approach; while the protective gear is realistically reflected on your in-game character-a nice touch, indeed-it only comes in two varieties, and, like the weapons, offers no comparable stats. Similarly, combat looks and feels great, but essentially boils down to mashing on the "attack" button. Other iPhones titles, such as the recent Diablo-like Dungeon Hunter actually have more character-building depth than this so-called RPG.

Ravensword has a lot going for it, not the least of which is its fantastic audio and visual presentation. It's an easy recommendation for action/adventure fans looking for an involving romp through a richly realized fantasy world. But despite an appearance evocative of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, expect to do more hacking and slashing than character customizing and gear tweaking.

Ravensword was published by Chillingo and developed by Crescent Moon Games for the iPhone and iPod Touch on November 17th. Retails for $6.99. A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the game.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

We featured Alex Kobbs' impressive LEGO recreation of the Zanzibar multiplayer map back in 2007. Now he's getting ready to release a 25-minute long feature set in that level, featuring an epic battle between the forces of Red and Blue. You can keep up with the project's progress over at the Kooberz Studio blog.

The action-shooter Avatar: The Game hits on December 1, tying in to the upcoming movie of the same name from James Cameron. The film and the Xbox 360 / PS3 versions of the game will support 3D visuals, utilizing the more advanced digital 3D techniques that are intended to supplant the old cardboard-glasses anaglyph approach that worked with any old display.

To experience Avatar in 3D through the video games, users will need to have 3D-compatible TVs. Otherwise they'll be playing the game in its non-3D mode.

But 3D TVs are not something many folks have. Some day, if Ubisoft is right, we'll wonder how we coped without them.

Here is Yannis Mallat, head of Ubisoft Montreal, where the Avatar games are being made, from an interview with the Financial Post:

"3D is to pictures what Dolby Stereo was to sound," he said. "No one wants to go back to mono."

Sony, as we reported recently, is also pushing 3D TVs and 3D games as a big thing for the near future.

Back in the summer, I wore 3D glasses while watching Avatar being played, maybe for five minutes. And I've played a side-scroller from Blitz Games using similar digital 3D technology. Both required 3D TVs. AndbBoth were impressive, moreso for how much depth into the TV they presented, rather than for what you often expect 3D to get you: Stuff flying out toward your face. But I don't feel that I've had enough time with 3D set-ups or the games built for them to say whether Mallat is just providing hype or if he's on to something.

And without owning a 3D-compatible TV, I don't think I can assess what he's talking about any time soon.

Ubisoft counting on future of 3D gaming [Financial Post]

The planet of Alderaan wasn't always a smoldering cloud of debris. No, back in the day it was a lovely, peaceful planet - perhaps the closest thing in the galaxy to a Utopian society. Then the Great War occurred, and the Sith tried to invade, and while the Republic handed the Empire their asses, the face of Alderaan changed forever. The peaceful rulers began to support talk of war; the crown prince was assassinated for storming out of the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant; and now everything is up in the air.

It looks like Alderaan will be a contested planet in the massively multiplayer online game, with players on both sides fighting against each other for a planet that will one day be used as Death Star target practice.

Holonet - Alderaan [Star Wars: The Old Republic]

After all, football is not like most other sports represented in video games. It is not a game of inches, of innings, of lines, or mechanical plays. It is, as die-hard fans of the game will tell you, more than a game.

It's an artform.

Few, if any sports on earth are so free-flowing, so open to an individual player's interpretation of how the game should be played, and how they'll go about playing it. It's why arguments over who is the "best" player in the world are often pointless; Pele and Maradona are incomparable, as are Best and Beckenbauer, Figo and Zidane. It's like arguing whether Picasso is better than Van Gogh, or Mozart sharper than Beethoven.

What makes the game such a joy to watch, and gives the players the freedom to express themselves individually, should make a video game adaptation a nightmare. In American Football, for example, things are very structured. There are self-contained plays, there are limitations on what is happening at any one time. It's very mechanical. A lineman blocks, within a small area of the field, and that's that. A field goal is from a fixed point on the field, with the kicker making the same approach every time. You see where I'm going with this.

But football is all over the place. Ten of the eleven players could be anywhere on the pitch at any given time. The ball can go anywhere, in any direction, in the air or along the ground. Possession can change hands ten times in two minutes. It's a playground, a well-manicured sandbox.

None of which seemed to matter while playing FIFA 10, which both looks and plays as close to the real thing as any sports game I've ever played. So how do you model a video game, which by its very nature is a long string of pre-determined actions and reactions, on something so free-flowing and unpredictable?

The answer is both simple and very, very complicated: you go and bury yourself up to your neck in the sport.

After all, it's hard replicating something if you're not intimately familiar with it. So we caught up with the brains behind FIFA 10 to see how the team go about turning what for the developers is a lifelong obsession into something millions more would call the same thing.

MATCHDAY PREPARATION

According to FIFA 10's producer, David Rutter, it all begins with the development team's diversity. "We're in the process of building a ‘team wall' at the studio with pictures of all the guys showing where they're from and what teams they support", he says. "At last count we had people from 18 different countries, speaking 10 different languages".

And the variety doesn't end with the developer's passports. The teams they support reflect the corners of the earth from which they all hail. Being a Western studio means support skews heavily towards the English game – not just Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs fans, but also less glamorous sides like Leicester and Queens Park Rangers. There's plenty of international support as well, from Barcelona to Inter to the…Vancouver Whitecaps, the studio's local team.

Being, you know, important to the job, EA Canada staffers are able to indulge that support in a number of ways. Live games from all the world's major leagues are broadcast both on TVs in the studio and streamed to the developer's monitors, while for more real-world research they also have a number of season passes to the aforementioned Whitecaps (who, interestingly, engage in an annual showdown with Microsoft fanboys the Seattle Sounders). And that's just the local stuff; with members of the team always travelling across the globe, they also take in games across more prestigious competitions, like the Premier League and Champions League.

For a more hands-on approach to studying the inner workings of the game, the team can draw on the knowledge of some former players. One of FIFA's gameplay producers, Aaron McHard, was a former member of the Jamaican national team's youth squad, while Kantcho Doskov, an animator, is one of the best "tricksters" (think juggling, balancing, etc) in the world, having been a finalist at the Red Bull Freestyle Championships.

For everyone else — the team's Sunday league superstars — EA Canada have built the developers their own football pitch on the site, so they can pop out and do some "research" whenever the urge takes them.

THE GAME PLAN

In order for the game to play like a realistic game of football, the actual players on-screen needed to do a decent job of mirroring their real-life counterpart's abilities and performance. After all, it's no good to anybody if Wayne Rooney can't shoot, Lionel Messi can't dribble or David James suddenly learns how to keep something out of his net.

To make sure FIFA's players act like real players, then, EA have gone Roman, managing their "scouts" in multiples of ten. So, there are ten core database managers at EA Canada. Those ten then supervise another 100 "football experts", who are the ones actually inputting each player's individual attributes into the game. Then, below those 100, there are another 1000 or so hardcore fans from all over the world, who go over each stat with a fine-tooth comb and provide feedback.

And if that's not enough, Rutter also says the development team are constantly receiving "feedback" from Premier League stars themselves, satisfied (or dissatisfied!) with their numbers.

With the attributes in the database, it's then over to the animators, who have an equally important task ahead of them; just as it would stand out if Wayne Rooney wasn't scoring, so too would it stand out if he ran around all legs and arms like Peter Crouch, instead of all shoulders and potato head like he should.

Every year, professional players are invited into the studio to perform motion capture work on every aspect of the game. Dribbling, free kicks, shooting, tackling, throw-ins, penalties, slide tackles, you name it, it has to be captured. Sometimes, these are "professional" in the sense they're local players. Other times, they're "professional" in the sense that they've captured moves performed in the studio by the likes of Ronaldinho, Miroslav Klose and Sergio Ramos.

KICK OFF

During FIFA 10's initial marketing push, much was made of the introduction of 360-degree dribbling, something that sounded minor but actually promised to revolutionize the way the game controlled. Once the game was released, however, things turned out a little differently. Sure, the 360-degree movement was a big improvement over previous years, but it wasn't the best part of the game's controls.

No, that went to something intangible. Something you couldn't really put on the back of the box. It was like the Force, all around you, binding everything together.

"I do think a lot of the fluidity of 10 came, not just from 360, but from improvements to our trapping system which is the system that controls how the player moves and controls the ball", says Gary Paterson, the game's creative director. "This system was improved in lots of different ways to ensure that it was as fluid as possible and this I think made a big difference to the feeling of fluidity."

The other key aspect of gameplay is the ball physics, which determines how the ball reacts to things like player contact and weather. For a game built entirely around the movement and collision of a round ball, it's obviously very, very important.

"The process we go through is like this", says Kaz Makita, executive producer on the game. "We will build a foundation of how we want the ball to behave in different situations, then test the different situations in game. We focus our testing on how we want the ball to behave and we go through a process where we refine it until looks, feels and plays authentically.

"The big challenge is how the ball interacts with a player because these interactions are limited by the number and variety of animations, something we are constantly updating each year. We make huge improvements each year with ball and player interactions but sometimes the variety of animations do not enable us to satisfy realism. We built a new animation engine so we could create a much deeper library of player behaviours, which enables us to create deeper, more authentic ball movement, but the challenge remains to build animations to fit with ball physics that look and feel authentic."

Patterson adds: "I guess the ball physics has two components: the physics formulae and the variable constants that we pass into those formulae... We have some very smart guys here who have been able to provide us with accurate ball physics formulae, but getting the constants for how a football passes through the air is very tricky. So much so in fact that we contacted a Physics Grad at a local university to help us define them. I'm pretty happy with the results but I think we will continue to tweak and tune."

Realism, however, only goes so far. "Once you have the ball physics, you have to use it authentically, and this part is just as tricky", Paterson says. "For example how much spin should be on a cross, what does a shot look like when the player miss-kicks it? All these things obviously affect the authenticity of our game and this is perhaps where we bend the rules a little to try and ensure we get a fun game. For example, in real life, crossing the ball is very inaccurate, many crosses go too far, or out of play, but in FIFA this would be very frustrating and upset the balance of the game (as you would be discouraged from crossing), so yeah, we have to bend reality a little bit."

NEXT WEEK

While FIFA 10 is currently king of the sports games, both in terms of sales and critical approval, the "10" after its name and the fact it's from EA Sports means it will only remain so for another ten months or so. Once FIFA 11 rolls around, changes have to be made. After all, just because it's the most realistic sports game on the market doesn't mean it's perfect.

So, what can we expect from next year's game, as the developers continue to strive towards presenting us with the perfect game of football? "We have been having a lot of conversations this year around game speed and game difficulty, as some of our gamers want slower and harder gameplay, more simulation" says Paterson. "This is a tricky one as it would mean we would have to alter one of the core gameplay concepts that we have built the game on thus far…"

Until the new Leerdammer update hits on Monday, the only way to create LittleBigPlanet levels with your friends was to gather around the television set or coordinate online and have one person do all the work. Come Monday, that will no longer be a factor, and friends from all around the world will be able to join together online and craft the sort of sublime, disjointed experience that comes from too many cooks in one pot. It's a feature fans have been waving their arms about for, and now it's almost here. Rejoice!

Leerdammer also adds location-based matchmaking to the mix, meaning the game will first look for folks whose connections don't suck before pairing you up with some guy on the other side of the planet.

All this plus more profile space, an auto-reject play invitation setting, and more, all in Monday's update. You can check out the full details over at Media Molecule's home on the web.

LittleBigPlanet Leerdammer Update [Media Molecule - Thanks Ursus-Veritas]

The first contest has you sending in a photo to prove how metal you are for a chance to win a kick-ass Mishka Brutal Legend Tee.

The second involves a bit of Tekken Cosplay with a chance to win a limited edition Tekken 6 Wireless Fight Stick.

If you'd rather not face the hordes of shoppers today, why not spend your timing entering contests instead?

Amazon.com: The Black Friday video game deals are in full swing, with more game discounts being revealed all day long. Right now you can get bargain prices on Forza 3 and Halo 3: O.D.S.T.

On the console side of things, Amazon has a 120GB PlayStation 3 bundle that comes with inFamous and Killzone 2, with a $10 Amazon promotional credit included.

Best Buy: While most of Best Buy's Black Friday goodness is sold out online, there are several great deals in stores, including a $299 120GB PlayStation 3 bundle with LittleBigPlanet and Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time; an Xbox 360 Elite bundle for $399 that includes Pure, LEGO Batman, and a bundle of Wall-E, Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, Sonic the Hedgehog and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2; and the two limited-edition Nintendo DSi systems, each with bundled software and a $20 gift card.

Brutal Legend: The Brutal Legend blog has posted a deal tracker so you can find the best possible price on Brutal Legend on Black Friday. Check it out here.

Capcom: The Capcom store is dicounting PC titles from 20-75% off for Black Friday, with free shipping on $25 worth of toys, books, and other fine Capcom-related products.

Dell Direct: Dell Direct is selling a Nintendo Wii bundled with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and an additional Wii remote for $249.99, which saves you the price of that additional remote.

EA: The EA Store has downloadable PC titles on sale for 30% off, including the latest releases like Dragon Age: Origins.

EA Mobile: More than 30 EA iPhone and iPod Touch titles have been discounted by up to 50% for the holiday weekend. From casual titles like Littlest Pet Shop and Sudoku to big-name games like Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Rock Band, now would be a great time to download some EA to your Apple device.

Futureshop: Canadians can have Black Friday deals too! Futureshop has popular EA console games on sale for $39.99 apiece, including Dragon Age: Origins, Brutal Legend, and Left 4 Dead 2.

Gameloft: Gameloft has reduced prices on a bunch of iPhone games to $.99 for the day. Terminator Salvation, Shrek Kart, Blades of Fury, Real Tennis 2009, Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes, Castle of Magic, and Hero of Sparta for less than a buck could certainly help you pass the time waiting in line today.

GameStop: For those of you living where it's not hit 11AM yet, you've still got time to partake of GameStop's doorbuster bundles, which include a $299 PlayStation 3 with LittleBigPlanet Game of the Year Edition and God of War I & II and an Xbox 360 Elite with Pure, LEGO Batman, and your choice of either Call of Duty: World at War or Bakugan.

Steam Sale: The Steam 5-Day 1-Day Sale continues today, with Left 4 Dead 2 at $37.49, Mini-Ninjas at $14.99, Dead Space for $14.99, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for a measly $2.49. Plus, keep in mind that Steam also has LucasArts and THQ bundles on sale for $49.99, so if you've got a fan of either developer in your family, you've got them covered.

Be sure to check out our Black Friday tag page for all of the deals we've been posting over the past couple of months.

Remember, this is by no means a complete list. This is a starting point. A place for our friends in the comment section to share their own deals with each other, giving their fellow gamers a hand in finding the best deals going on during the busiest shopping day of the year. Sharing is caring!

With Modern Warfare 2 pulling in $550 million in sales within the first five days of release, the $3 billion certainly makes sense. From the original Call of Duty right on up to one many of you are playing right now, more than 55 games have passed to gamers' hands, which might give Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's accompanying statement and speculation merit.

"Call Of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time. If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history."

Why?

Because they said they didn't like the pressure of having to think carefully about what they were going to write before they typed it and hit enter.

That's not what we want from Star commenters. That's what we want from all commenters. If you come here expecting a free-for-all of memes, trolling and insults, go somewhere else. There are plenty of places on the Internet that will welcome you with open arms.

On Kotaku we expect much more. Here commenting is a privilege, one we will yank away in a heartbeat for breaking our fairly easy to follow rules.

In a nutshell we want you to think before you type. We want you to behave and comment as if you were talking to a living being, face-to-face, not typing into the Internet Ether hidden behind layers of anonymity.

So in the spirit of holiday house-cleaning, it's time for a crash course in comments etiquette. What can you do? What should you definitely never do? What, in effect, do we want from you, our commenters?

Gawker Media blogs are known for their savvy commentary. Kotaku is, last I checked, the highest commented site in the group. We strive to let in a smart and plugged-in community, and we want comments that serve as first-rate contributions to the post at hand. We love new insight and inside information. We value informed response and welcome
spirited debate. Above all, comments should always further the discussion. "Lifehacker's Guide To Weblog Comments" is a great jumping-off point for the uninitiated.

We like to see good spelling and grammar, because we're nerdy like that. Capitalization and punctuation are important, too. These basic requirements go a long way towards making us all look better. Staying on-topic in a thread is essential — but now you can also take a topic to your own generated #hashtag page, then direct others there. Editors may sometimes caution that a thread has gone off-topic and should be moved to another forum.

Many readers have already discovered how to make their voices stand out via our #speakout page. Here you can share breaking news, leaked info, links of interest and timely video. Give us some substantive lines on why we should follow up, and your post may be promoted or featured on the blog. The #speakout page is also an excellent space to audition as a first-time commenter with a
juicy tidbit or to show off your investigative instincts. I may even start perusing that hashtag page for potential future writers. Strike that, I will be on the hunt their for good, original articles. Advertising and spammers will be summarily banned, but quality contributors have the spotlight.

In addition, there is now an informal commenter forum, #TAY, where the conversation is yours to guide. This is the place to add comments, liveblogs, pictures, video, and links that are relevant to your community. It's also easy to jump over here if you find yourself veering off-topic and want to take others with
you.

So: thumbs up to attention to detail, thoughtful typing and prodigious use of the 'Shift' key. Personal attacks, inappropriate behavior, off-topic rants in comments and idiotic memes are subject to bans and disemvowelling. Starred commenters should be aware that their privileges are not guaranteed, and should be careful in the comments they approve and promote. Commenters can be demoted for unruly or obscene posting. Baiting trolls helps no one, and we want the level of dialogue maintained to be high. But editors and moderators are equally on the lookout for our best contributors, too, to promote and star for brilliant efforts of the commenting kind, so let's see what you've
got.

A Guide to Proper Commenting

Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.

Over the week we've compiled a number of platform specific reference guides for you to use to help decide which games to buy and which to avoid when shopping for gaming friends and family this year.

Here's how you use the guides:
Click on the platform link.
Sort through the alphabetical listing for the game you are considering.
Read the summary, perhaps go to the full review.
Use the delicious brains in your head to decide whether to purchase said game as a gift.

We'll be updating the guide with more games as we continue to review titles through the remainder of the year.

Now have at it!

The iPhone Gamer's Gift Guide
The DS and DSi Gift Guide
The PlayStation Portable Buyer's Guide
The Wii Buyer's Guide
The PC Buyer's Guide
The Xbox 360 Buyer's Guide
The PlayStation 3 Buyer's Guide

So, good turkey day? Not being one to celebrate such a thing, today I gave thanks for the kebab I ate for lunch and played some FIFA.

You must be off to Australia in, what, a day or two? Should be a hoot. Weather's much nicer down here this time of year...

Here's what you missed:

An Old Friend Returns In New Mass Effect 2 Videos, Screens
Next Zelda Game To Feature Flight?
Sony Boss Takes A Swing Or Two At The Wii
Street Fighter IV's New Guys In Action
Red Dead Redemption Gets A Proper Release Date
Square Enix Anticipating The Death of Consoles

I'd say "adorable" is a better fit.