I kid. That guy to the left is "Enemy Mechanic," aka the Von Kaiser/Bald Bull hybrid who duked it out with Indy under the flying wing in Raiders of the Lost Ark. According to Video Games Blogger, the rest of the characters are:

1. Cairo Digger
2. Crystal Skull
3. Enemy Mechanic (pictured)
4. Indiana Jones
5. Lao Che
6. Major Arnold Toht
7. Marion Ravenwood
8. Mola Ram
9. Mutt
10. Native
11. Professor Henry Jones Senior
12. Rene Belloq
13. Short Round
14. Spalko
15. Willie Scott

I'm not sure why the Crystal Skull is listed as a playable character if in fact it's just an "object" in the game. "Native" is self explanatory, and Lao Che was the gangster from the opening sequence in Shanghai from "Temple of Doom."

LEGO Indiana Jones 2 Characters List [Video Games Blogger]

Pitchford, speaking to Official PlayStation Magazine, called Valve's posture toward Sony - specifically as expressed by Doug Lombardi - similar to that of fanboys'.

"Doug Lombardi had to take a swipe at the PS3 again, and I thought it was foolish," Pitchford told OPM, according to AnalogHype.

I read it the same way I read fanboys," he added. "Like there's a guy who bought the Sony platform and he's a Sony guy, so he decides he's going to spend a certain percentage of his time bashing Microsoft. And there's a guy on Microsoft doing the same thing. Those guys are childish and narrow minded; It's the same kind of thing.

Pitchford wasn't done there. He also spoke of an "underlying sleaziness" in how Valve has treated the PS3 version of The Orange Box, relative to its support for the Xbox 360 version of Team Fortress 2.

I'm actually kind of mad at Doug because with the Orange Box, he said the 360 and PC versions are the good ones and the PS3 version is like the stepchild because some other developer made it. Well you Valve don't really think that, because look what you've done on the PC side. You've supported that, you've added all this content to Team Fortress 2, and you've left us hanging. It's hard to accept that genuinely, because I know the business, I know you guys make half the money on the PS3 version because you've got other fingers in the pie, and other developers getting a cut. It benefits you if nobody buys that, and only buys the PC version, because you make the most money. There's this underlying sleaziness.

Not that this settles anything but, there you go, equal time for PS3, albeit from a surrogate, in a great three-way Valve/Gearbox/Sony pissing contest.

For the record, we have inquiries into Gearbox regarding the accuracy of these quotes, and any clarification the studio might want to make.

President of Gearbox Questions Valve's Lack of PS3 Support [AnalogHype via Destructoid]

"Right now don't not buy it on the 360 because you think it's coming out on the PS3 - it's not going to," Chet Faliszek said. "Right? It's coming out on the PC and 360. It's going to be exclusive for that."

Faliszek also said that Left 4 Dead 2 is "all about playing with your friends," and that "in hooking up with your friends and the community aspects, I think the Xbox 360 is head and shoulders above the PS3. The 360 and PC are on par, right?"

Let's see, dissed PS3, and equated a console with PC, thus starting a good-old three-way let's-you-and-him-fight. Check, check and check. All in a day's work, Chet!

Valve: 360 Community "Head and Shoulders Above PS3" [CVG]

On his official blog, the actor writes, "Tales of Vesperia is coming out on one thing after another: Xbox 360, then PS3, and now upcoming, goes on sale even on the Wii. More shortly, the feature film anime version is also opening in theaters (But, I, I'm not in it...), and after that, there's also a CD."

It's possible the voice actor confused Tales of Vesperia with Tales of Graces — there are a lot of Tales to keep straight!

Koyama voices the character of Duke in Tales of Vesperia, which was originally released as a timed Xbox 360 exclusive in 2008. The PS3 version was released in September 2009.

力也の気持ち [−小山力也公式ブログ−声優グランプリweb via オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

Bitmob sat down, screengrabber at the ready, and found out, posting a ton of shots directly comparing the two versions. As you can see, the PS2 version looks a little, I don't know, warmer, but the texture clarity on the PS3 remakes is certainly an improvement.

For reference in the shot below, the top pic is the PS2 version running on a PS3, while the bottom pic is the PS3 version running on the...PS3.

Graphics Comparison (part two): God of War 2 vs. God of War Collection [Bitmob]

Here's a quick look at how the service works on the console once you get the disc. For now, you'll have to pop the disc in to access the Netflix service from the Movie section of your PS3's cross media bar.

The Netflix service is relatively similar to the offering found on the Xbox 360. Although you can't watch a movie with friends online, everything else seems to be there for PS3 owners.

I actually like the interface a bit more on the PS3 than I do the Xbox 360. The PS3 version takes up most of your screen to show off the movies or shows available in a particular area. You can sort by a number of genres, including very specific ones keyed to your tastes, as well as look at your Instant View queue and browse through the selection of TV shows and movies just made available on the service.

Once streaming a video you can pause, rewind, fastforward just like with a disc or downloaded movie.

While this may seem like old hat to Xbox 360 owners, it's got to be a delight for Playstation 3 users, especially those that landed the disc before the weekend.

Unless of course you are a game journalist like our own Stephen Totilo, who discussed his hands-on time with the game earlier today. Judging by this footage, I find myself a little envious. It looks endlessly entertaining.

The PS3 multiplayer beta kicks off on the 19th. After that, PC players get an open beta in December, and a full multiplayer demo drops everywhere next year. If this is your only taste, savor it!

A few weeks ago in New York I had the opportunity to try a map of Bad Company 2, the PC and console military first-person shooter from EA's DICE studio. The sandy Chilean map, called Arica Harbour, is the one that will be available in the game's PlayStation 3-exclusive multiplayer beta later this month.

A preview event gives a casual first-person shooter player like myself little opportunity to assess the quality of the map. I fought in the almost desert-like environment in buildings, on a bridge, all under a seemingly hot sun. I drove tanks, stormed across the bridge and knocked down walls. But I can't say whether it's balanced or whether it will prove as addictive to play as the best arenas in the genre.

I can say, however, that the feature list for this game and the sensory impression it leaves make clear what this game's potential is. EA's Medal of Honor series might be missing in action, but with Bad Company they've got a game that can gun for Activision's Call of Duty.

Screenshots and even the animated stills from yesterday's beta announcement already show how good the game looks. Bad Company 2's engine, an enhanced version of its predecessort's, supports the chipping and collapsing destructibility of any building in the game. Rockets punch through walls, as they did in the first Bad Company. But now tanks can crumple support beams to level even the interior frame. And, more subtly, an engineer with a drill can poke a hole in a wall and then shoot through it.

Multiplayer combat in the game is class-based. Each class, be it soldier, medic, engineer or recon can be outfitted with several items and attributes. Before entering combat you might switch your soldier's rifle but also alter his radar to add motion detection. Perks are unlockable, secured as the player earns experience points in each battle and levels up. Upgrades are scheduled and unlocked per class. As we reported last month, the limited edition of the game will provide gamers with six upgrades, including some that enhance the arms and armor of vehicles, immediately.

Players can also earn pins during battle, which serve as more granular Achievements or Trophies, rewarding, say, good shotgun performance. You gain these for bragging rights.

The essence of Battlefield is the openness of its combat zone. Players can fight on foot, in helicopters or on tanks. They can command any vehicle or post in the battlefield, opening the scene to a variety of tactical encounters. The map I played was set for a Rush challenge, which involved one team trying to secure several locations by reaching them and holding off any attackers. I had my moments, gunning some of the rival team down on the sidelines. But I'm the kind of guy who rolls in on a tank and then gets blasted by the RPG trooper hiding around the corner who somehow knew I'd be there.

Bad Company's battlefield is an impressive site and one theoretically open to a wide variety of multiplayer strategy. The brand may not have the momentum of a Call of Duty yet, but the intent to compete is there. call of Duty is still the king. This one's the hungry hopeful.

Bad Company 2 will be released in early March 2010.

Perruchon didn't own a PS3 until the cheaper and slimmer model hit and had been spending the last few years playing his Xbox 360. The PS3 reminded him how much he liked the DualShock design, which inspired this table.

No word whether this will actually go into production, Perruchon's DualShock table uses controllers to buttress glass surfaces. The design is for the black DualShock and the white one. Another concept image below.

Table basse design Sony dualshock ... [Stephane Perruchon via Born Rich]

While genuinely new content is thin on the ground, there are plenty of sales to make up for it, like substantial savings on Siren: Blood Curse and a range of PSP and PS1 games.

The new stuff that did make the update this week includes a demo for NBA2K10 and DLC for LittleBigPlanet and Brutal Legend.

PS3 STORE

Special Offers

* Siren Blood Curse (Was – £19.99/€29.99 Now – £14.99/€19.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter One: The Siren's Call (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter Two: No Refuge (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter Three: Nest of Devils (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* Siren Blood Curse Chapter Four: The End is the Beginning (Was – £6.99/€9.99 Now – £4.79/€5.99)
* 3 on 3 NHL Arcade
* Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars
* Echochrome Micro
* Syphon Filter: Combat Ops
* Command & Conquer
* Command & Conquer: Red Alert
* Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation

PSone Classic
Party Time with Winnie the Pooh

Demos
NBA 2K10 Demo

Add-On Game Content
Brütal Legend – Hextadon Map Pack
LittleBigPlanet
o Anniversary Cake Costume
o Spacesuit Costume

EyePet
o Hospital Styling Pack
o Lucky Dip Styling Pack 3

Rock Band
o Best of You by Foo Fighters
o The Pretender by Foo Fighters
o Wheels by Foo Fighters
o Word Forward by Foo Fighters
o Foo Fighters Pack 03
o About a Girl by Nirvana
o Blew by Nirvana
o School by Nirvana
o Nirvana Pack 02
o Fake Friends by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Videos
Assassin's Creed 2 Lineage Trailer
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Battlefield Moments Episode 1
DC Universe Austin Studio Tour Video
DC Universe Jens Anderson Video
Front Mission Evolved Trailer
Star Ocean: The Last Hope Trailer
Nier Trailer

PSP STORE

Special Offers
Echochrome Micro
Syphon Filter: Combat Ops
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation

Downloadable Games
Ghostbusters
Dragoneer's Aria
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron

minis
Spot the Differences!

PSone Classic
Party Time with Winnie the Pooh

Add-On Game Content
Rock Band Unplugged
o Toxicity by System of a Down
o Waking The Demon by Bullet For My Valentine

Videos
Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker Trailer
Thexder Neo Trailer

Pro tip: don't watch this at work. Or in front of small children.

"We'd never want to do that," said Danny Leaver, adding that a sequel would fragment the game's community. Producer Martin Lynagh said that the game's existing strategy of updates and DLC - and both have been robust enough - will be status quo.

"I think what you've seen so far from LittleBigPlanet, that's the way it's going to continue," Lynagh told Critical Gamer.

There's this and much more in an extensive interview, the first part of which was published today.

A LittleBigPlanet 2 Would Be "Counterproductive" Say Media Molecule [Critical Gamer via Evil Avatar]

There's Military Madness, Numblast and a Trine demo for PlayStation 3 owners to enjoy, with a little something for the PSP crowd too—Dissidia Final Fantasy and Ghostbusters: the Video Game have made the jump to digital download.

On the DLC side, there's paid content for Dragon Age: Origins and free content for Brutal Legend. See? Plenty to be excited about this week. The full list of PlayStation Store noobs is below.

Games & Demos for PlayStation 3
Military Madness: Nectaris ($9.99)
Numblast ($4.99)
PSone Classics: Gex ($5.99)
Trine demo
Military Madness: Nectaris demo

Games & Demos for PSP
Ben 10 Alien Force ($19.99)
Ben 10: Protector of Earth ($14.99)
Crimson Room: Reverse ($7.99)
Class of Heroes ($39.99)
Creature Defense ($7.99)
Dissidia Final Fantasy ($39.99)
Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground ($14.99)
Ghostbusters The Video Game PSP ($29.99)
Numblast PSP ($4.99)
Star Wars Battlefront Elite Squadron ($29.99)
Star Wars Clone Wars: Republic Heroes ($29.99)
MotorStorm Arctic Edge demo (free)

Expansions & Add-ons
LittleBigPlanet Anniversary Birthday Cake Costume (free)
LittleBigPlanet Spaceman Costume (free)
Dragon Age Origins - Stone Prisoner DLC ($14.99)
Dragon Age Origins - Warden's Keep DLC ($6.99)
Brutal Legend - Tears of the Hextadon Map Pack (free)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Character and Mission Pack ($9.99)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Character Compatibility Pack (free)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Juggernaut Playable Character ($1.99)
Topatoi: The Great Tree Story Arcade Style (free)
Way of the Samurai 3 Weapons pack (free)

Rock Band tracks

• "Best of You" by Foo Fighters ($1.99)
• "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters ($1.99)
• "Wheels" by Foo Fighters ($1.99)
• "Word Forward" by Foo Fighters ($1.99)
• "Foo Fighters Pack 03 ($6.99) – "Best of You," "The Pretender," "Wheels," and "Word Forward" by Foo Fighters.
• "Fake Friends" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts ($1.99)
• "About a Girl" by Nirvana ($1.99)
• "Blew" by Nirvana ($1.99)
• "School" by Nirvana ($1.99)
• "Nirvana Bleach Pack ($5.49) – "About a Girl," "Blew," and "School" by Nirvana.

Game Videos
Qore Episode 18: November 2009 ($2.99)
Pulse 11/5 Edition
God of War Collection Trailer
PlayStation 3 TV Commercial – "Candle"
PlayStation 3 TV Commercial – "Montage"
Assassin's Creed 2 Dev Diary 4
Dragon Age: Origins City Elf Trailer
Dragon Age: Origins Dwarf Commoner Origin Trailer
Dragon Age: Origins Mage Origin Trailer
Numblast Trailer
NIER TGS 2009 Trailer

Themes & Wallpapers
Tekken 6 – Returning Characters Theme (free)
Tekken 6 – The Fight Card Theme (free)
Tekken 6 – The New Faces Theme (free)
Family Guy Theme ($1.99)
Roadkill Theme ($1.99)
DarkMatter Quadrilogy Theme Pack ($5.99)
FIFA Soccer 10 Wallpaper
Let's FIFA 10 Wallpaper
FIFA Soccer 10 Blanco Wallpaper
FIFA Soccer 10 Rooney Wallpaper
FIFA Soccer 10 Rooney Wallpaper 2
Tekken 6 Alisa Wallpaper
Tekken 6 Asuka Wallpaper
Tekken 6 Hwoarang Wallpaper
Tekken 6 Jin Wallpaper
Tekken 6 Kazuya Wallpaper

The new DLC adds five new heroes to the Ultimate Alliance 2 roster, along with four new challenge missions for those craving a bit more action after the Civil War dies down. Max Eisenhardt is joined by the Black Panther, Carnage, Psylocke, and Cable as new additions to the super hero lineup, playable in the main storyline as well as the four new simulator missions.

With great power comes great responsibility, however, and you'll be responsible for shelling out 800 Microsoft points or $9.99 for the newly released content, along with an extra 160 points or $1.99 if you still need to add the unstoppable Juggernaut to your team as well.

It's nothing drastic, but those long put off by the "cheap" appearance of the line on both the PS2 and (til now) PS3 should appreciate the classier design.

When asked by AutoWeek about the game's budget, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi dropped this price tag: $60 million.

"There are other games that cost more," Yamauchi added. "Considering the size and scale of the game, I think it's probably a fairly small amount."

Other games that cost more? Games like Shenmue or Grand Theft Auto IV?

With Polyphony Digital's know-how and expertise, the game probably cost less that it could have considering the lengthy development cycle. But then again, GT5 is apparently 50 times more than the first Gran Turismo. We're not sure if that amount includes marketing and what not.

If Yamauchi and his team curbed the dev cycle and turned around the game in a more timely fashion, they could has brought down the game's budget even more. Not our money, though! Perhaps the inevitable GT6 won't take as long — or cost as much.

SEMA show: More news on the much-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 video game [AutoWeek Thanks David!]

Earlier this week EA DICE shot down rumors of a November 19th launch date for the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer beta for PS3 owners, but now it looks like they just wanted to announce it themselves instead of having GameStop doing it. To participate in the North American multiplayer beta test, PS3 owners need only reserve a copy of the game at the GameStop website or retail locations, at which point they will receive a key allowing them to join in the fun on the 19th.

The multiplayer beta takes place on the Arica Harbour map, pitting Americans against Russians in ground and vehicular combat for up to 24 players. You can check out the official beta announcement trailer below.

"With Battlefield: Bad Company 2 we're looking to raise the bar across all aspects of our multiplayer experience, setting a new standard for online play," says Patrick Bach, Senior Producer on Battlefield: Bad Company 2. "From the graphics to the vehicles, weapons and destruction, we are delivering the best online multiplayer game next year, and we want gamers to experience it themselves by playing the beta and demo."

What about the Xbox 360 and PC gamers out there? Don't fret too much. The PC open beta for the game kicks off next month, followed by a multiplayer demo for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 early next year.

Image courtesy of the PlayStation Blog.

The participating Best Buy stores will start selling Modern Warfare 2 at 12:01 a.m. this Tuesday. GameStop tells me that 4,250 of their 4,360 stores will also be selling at midnight and that they plan to also have "lots of fun activities" for waiting fans.

Is anyone here going to be staying up late come this Monday? If so, what platform are you getting it for?

One console was broken upgrading to firmware 3.0, the other installing 3.1. Both claim that upon contacting Sony's customer support, they were told the machine failures were "coincidental", and that to fix the console they'd need to pony up a $150 repair charge.

The sexiest part of the suit reads:

Defendant's unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices include, but are not limited to, misrepresentations regarding the fitness of the PS3 and software updates, failing to disclose defects in the system and software updates, and refusing to repair PS3 systems free of charge.

The pair have listed every PS3 owner in the US on the suit, and are seeking from Sony "unspecified damages and restitution".

Sony sued over PS3 firmware update problems [GameSpot]

"I communicate with our Twitter followers the same way I'd communicate with my office buddies," Bowling told Develop.

So if something happens I just throw it out there and opinions come in and we converse. Also during development, if we are sitting in a design meeting and we are arguing about something, no matter what it is I can just turn to what is now 60,000 people and post the same question.

Do we think will players like this?' well why don't we ask 60,000 of them and get a good representation of what we think they may like. Twitter has been fantastic throughout development, and I would recommend many, many more people adapted that into their design schedule.

It's not a carte-blanche relationship - the feedback Bowling pulls from Twitter must fit with Infinity Ward's design philosophy. "Typically stuff like: ‘we want more gore.' That's against our design philosophy," he says. "We don't make gory games. It's not that we can't, but it's not the experience we go for."

Over the lifespan of this game's development, tons of news has broken through Bowling over Twitter, so it's no surprise that channel has affected the arc of Modern Warfare 2, prerelease. It shows Twitter's not just a pass-through for trivia or hype, as some might dismiss it, but a useful way for both sides to stay in touch.

Infinity Ward Talks Twitter [Develop]

Gamasutra's report on that OTX Gameplan Insight research shows that, for at least two titles, Xbox 360 owners are planning to invest in the PS3 versions of holiday sequels more so than the other way around. Both Assassin's Creed II and Modern Warfare 2 are seeing a shift in platform choice that favors the PS3, according to OTX.

Why defect? Gamasutra's report doesn't speculate on that, but one might assume the reasons are two-fold. In the case of Modern Warfare 2, the option to play the game's multiplayer portions without the need for an Xbox Live Gold account may be a factor.

The other may simply be the expanded PS3 console ownership following the system's recent price drop. Both titles appear to be feature equal, but the allure of buying games for the new console you just invested in, well, that might be enough to make the switch. Any other theories?

Analysis: Xbox 360 Gamers Defecting To PS3 For Holiday Sequels? [Gamasutra]

Major League Baseball is offering games from the showdown between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, just in case you happened to miss a game and would pay to relive it. The official PlayStation.blog also makes mention of "classic games" coming to the North American PlayStation Store, downloadable for your viewing pleasure.

Any takers?

MLB and Lucasfilm Join PlayStation Network's Video Delivery Service [PlayStation.blog]

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 fighter was knocked for having unforgivable lag in our own Tekken 6 review. And we weren't the only ones disappointed with Tekken 6's net code. Hopefully, Namco Bandai's downloadable update, planned to ship "as soon as it has passed rigorous testing procedures."

Namco Bandai says it will offer more details and a release time frame shortly.

I have a relatively modest gaming computer, all things considered. It's got one of the first AMD Phenom processors in it from a few years back, 2GB of RAM, and a ATI Radeon 3850HD card in it. Not too powerful by today's standards, but still a ways out from obsolescence. While installing Dragon Age: Origins yesterday I envisioned a game that was slightly less stuttery than the PlayStation 3 version I had spent several days playing previously. I figured I would start it up, create a character, wander about a bit, and then maybe go to bed. Four hours later I was exhausted, but still reluctant to part from the much sharper, much prettier game I discovered.

Even once I maxed out the graphic settings in the game, the frame rate was still extremely smooth compared to the PlayStation 3 version, and large battles came to life in a whole new way, with a clarity the console version definitely lacked.

So the PC definitely has a leg up on the console version aesthetically. How about functionally?

The PC interface is a world apart from the console version, and if you've playing any massively-multiplayer online roleplaying game, it will be instantly familiar. The pair of three swappable shortcuts in the bottom right corner of the console version is replaced with a standard hot bar, where powers, stances, and skills can be slotted just as they are in countless MMO titles. The select button menu is nowhere to be seen, with the PC version instead featuring a row of buttons at the top of the screen, allowing quick access to inventory, your journal, character stats, and the like.

I wouldn't say the interface differences are better or worse. It all depends on how you are used to playing. As an avid MMO player, I found the PC version easier to navigate, though your results may vary.

As Totilo mentioned previously, the PC version of Dragon Age allows players to scroll backwards into an overhead, Baldur's Gate-like camera, presenting a much more tactical view of the map you are on, as well as adding a bit of extra familiarity for the PC gamer crowd. I haven't used it much, but I do appreciate the option. BioWare has also included the option for mouse-click movement, but I despise clicking to move with a passion that glows hotter than a thousand suns, so it isn't really a plus.

The PC version is also superior in the way it connects to the BioWare Community Website. As detailed by Totilo in his article on the social features of the game, the PC version automatically takes screenshots at key moments in the game, uploading some automatically while letting the player choose from addition shots to share with the community.

Dragon Age: Origins on the PC isn't without its faults though. There is no auto-level option for PC players, so you are going to have to manually update each of your characters as you progress. The inventory has also been streamlined a little, with potions, gifts, and miscellaneous items all lumped under one heading. It's slightly more confusing, but since you should be relatively close to your computer screen as opposed to your couch, it's workable.

Update: We have found the PC auto-level. Thanks guys!

After spending time with both versions of the game, I don't necessarily regret playing through the PS3 version first. I still had a damn good time playing. It's just now that I've seen how the game runs on the PC, I long to see the events of my first character unfolding with the clarity of that one.

Given a choice, definitely go for the PC. It looks better, runs smoother, and it's generally $10 cheaper as well.

A max of 18 players has been the norm for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of previous entries Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World At War, but it's considerably less than previous iterations for the PC. Infinity Ward's Mackey McCandlish and Vince Zampella confirmed that 9 versus 9 multiplayer battles would be the max going forward to the chagrin of a few PC gamers already feeling burned by the switch from dedicated servers to the IW.net service.

McCandlish explained that an 18-player cap was related to "the number of players we focused on when we were balancing map size, perks, classes, challenges, etc."

That lead to one fan venting in the Infinity Ward developer Q&A session hosted by Best Buy's Geek Squad. "Please explain how a 9v9 match is a multiplayer experience? I'd have more fun serving lunch at a local nursing home," complained a user named "Axen."

Man, there's such a fine line between Modern Warfare 2 team deathmatch and food service for invalids.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Live Chat Session - Transcript [Best Buy Forums]

The time-twisting adventures of Tim will be taking the trip to the North American PlayStation Network on November 12th courtesy of Hothead Games, with a European release coming at a later date. Press, players, and rap artists alike have heaped praise on Blow's innovative platformer, both for its unique gameplay and its distinctive hand-painted look. If for some reason you've not heard about Braid until this very moment, welcome to Kotaku, and visit the game's official website to find out more about the title everyone was talking about while you were trapped in that cave.

The Skirmish downloadable content pack for Dragon Rising comes out for free on the PC tomorrow, bundled with a title update that will take care of various single and multiplayer issues that players have been complaining about since the game was released. The four new maps - Lumberyard, White Fang, Stomping Grounds, and Force Dispersal - along with the All Round Defence and Uphill Struggle FTE missions will be available for free download for the PC version of the game starting tomorrow.

For console owners, the 5th of November will see the release of a title update for the Xbox 360 version, with the PlayStation 3 title update following shortly after. The Skirmish DLC will be available for both consoles at a later date, running players either 400 Microsoft points or $3.99.

You can check out a full list of the title update fixes for the PC and console versions at the Codemasters community website.

Because of its unique plug, to do this you'll have to buy a special set of component AV cables for your portable. Sony sent a set to me yesterday to check out, so I plugged it into our 42-inch high definition LCD in the living room to give it a spin.

The first thing I noticed is that the image typically takes up a relatively small portion of my screen, but thanks to the settings on my television I was able to zoom and stretch the picture to pretty much fill the TV without much resolution loss.

Keep in mind, the resolution isn't going to be so great on fast moving games like Gran Turismo and MotorStorm, but for games like PixelJunk Monsters and Patapon it looks great.

The best part is that you can sync a Playstation 3 controller to the PSPgo so after attaching your portable to the TV you can sit back on a couch and play games on it as if it were a console. All of the games we tested had zero lag for controls. The only real issue is that the games are created to be used with the PSPgo's control layout, so some of the buttons don't work on the PS3 controller.

It would be great if developers threw in a way to tweak controls for PS3 controller use or added some sort of auto detection for when you use a PS3 controller.

Check out the video to see what a collection of different games look like on the system. And, despite what I say on the video, they really are Component AV cables.

Sony's patent for a "Method and Apparatus For Real-Time Viewer Interaction With A Media Presentation" was filed back in April, but eagle-eyed patent watcher Siliconera spied it today. The patent essentially describes a system that would show viewers in avatar form, overlaying a "media presentation" such as a movie or TV show, letting them interact with on screen action.

That interaction as described in the patent includes behavior like throwing tomatoes at an actor's face—complete with face and target tracking—and shooting games, specifically shooting a spider off an actor's back. A third example shows on-screen avatars kicking an actor "in the behind."

Kind of like Microsoft's Xbox 360 game You're In The Movies, only appealing.

Those avatars are shown seated in the foreground of the screen, on top of existing media, not unlike the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000. (The patent actually makes mention of MST3K in the background of the invention.)

If we're reading the patent right, it looks like it may apply to pre-existing media, like DVDs or streamed Netflix content, as well as video content that could be meta-tagged to identify interactive areas. In other words, facial recognition from video content could be targets, but specific games could also be designed around the system.

Furthermore, the patent data has advertising already in mind, with Nike logos and Coca-Cola cans offered as possible overlays on top of existing media.

The diagrams showcasing the invention show off an interface that fits with Sony's motion controller set up, which uses the PlayStation Eye and its built-in microphones in tandem with handheld controllers.

Of course, all this avatar ass-kicking and spider shootin' misses a key component of the MST3K experience—the laughs.

Method and Apparatus For Real-Time Viewer Interaction With A Media Presentation [USPTO via Siliconera]

The vice president of merchandising and marketing tells IndustryGamers that GameStop has seen fit to use the adjective strong thrice in relation to the Triple's sales, a boost probably helped by the release of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the PlayStation 3.

Bartel has also handed out "strong" ratings to a few fall games that may or may not surprise you. He tells IGN that 2K Games' Borderlands is showing "strong legs" and is "a very strong title." Netting only one strong is Scribblenauts, "a strong game for the holidays" that will "transcend all boundaries." Presumably in a strong fashion.

That could be good news for 2K and Gearbox, as one friendly analyst theorized that Borderlands was "sent to die" this fall, despite Kotaku editor theories that heavy marketing and positive word of mouth could help make it a success. Following news of the game's scarcity at launch and Scribblenauts solid first month showing, that may not come as a surprise.

PS3 Sales 'Very Strong' Through October, says GameStop [IndustryGamers]
GameStop: Borderlands Has Strong Sales Legs [IGN]

The good news is that Bic Camera, the outlet responsible for dropping KOF XII to 980 yen—down from its launch price of 7,140 yen (about $79 USD)—appears to have sold out of the 2D fighting game. But with the game on store shelves a little over three months, an 86% mark down on the King of Fighters revival must be hard to swallow.

It's not that uncommon for Japanese retailers to issue steep price drops for older games—we saw plenty of new copies of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the same price in Tokyo this year—but SNK Playmore is probably not pleased.

Retailers in the U.S. appear to be sticking closer to the MSRP, selling the game between $49.99 and $59.99.

The game didn't review that well here in North America, nor did it debut strongly on the Japanese game sales charts. Maybe SNK Playmore will have better luck with King of Fighters: Sky Stage. At least that game has the fan service friendly Mai Shiranui.

The King of Fighters XII Gets Pricing "Re-Birth" [Siliconera]

If you have a free account to BioWare's "social" site, you can check out Fahey's accomplishments in the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon Age: Origins. These are the very accomplishments he earned while playing the game for his review.

When last I looked, he had done something big and maybe final at 69 hours into the game, but he's got a new storyline accomplishment logged at 76 hours. Clicking on his character timeline appears to reveal plot points, as a BioWare producer told me they would for the story I dd on this BioWare Social site. I'm reading his stuff with one eye closed because I don't want the ending of the game spoiled. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying poking through his playing history.

When Fahey gets back, I'll have to ask him about that gap between his 22nd and 47th hours playing the game. Methinks he left his PlayStation 3 on, idling for almost a day.

Clicking around on Fahey's page will bring you to his character profile page, so you can gape at his player-character's stats. More than 700 kills, Fahey? That's not nice.

The country of Ferelden is on the verge of being overwhelmed by the demonic Blight, and only the heroic Grey Wardens can save the land from total destruction. It sounds simple, but the struggle between good and evil is merely the backdrop to a much more twisted tale of intrigue, political maneuvering, and betrayal. Once you play through one of six unique origin stories based on your character's race and caste you're plunged into the thick of it, gathering a party of heroic and not-so-heroic adventurers as you struggle to ensure that Ferelden is ready to take on the Blight once they rise.

BioWare has proven time and time again that it can produce high-caliber fantasy roleplaying games based on existing properties, but can they pull off an original fantasy setting? The Dragon Age is dawning.

Loved
In A World...: As comfortable creating their own worlds as they are dabbling into established fictions, BioWare brings the country of Ferelden to life in Dragon Age: Origins. Rather than a simple game setting, Ferelden feels like a real place with a rich history lurking just outside the corner of the player's vision. The look and feel of the world is almost as impressive as the fiction, with several areas - particularly those in the underground realm of The Deep Road - looking as if they were traditional fantasy artwork come to life.

Tangled Webs: The origins in Dragon Age: Origins are more than just little stories created to move your character into the main story arc. Each gives insight into the major political and societal issues that plague the country of Ferelden, all of which crop up on a larger, more important scale later on in the game. The struggle between good and evil merely serves as a backdrop for a much more complicated tale of political intrigue, racial tension, and moral versus popular choices.

You Gotta Have Friends: Expanding on the excellent character work established in titles like Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur's Gate, BioWare once again provides an amazing cast of characters to fight by your side as you travel the twisted paths of Dragon Age: Origins. Each of your NPC companions has a distinct personality, and while they may seem rather cookie-cutter at first glance, exploring their origins and motivations reveals a truly complex collection of individuals. You'll Travel with them on their own personal quests as you progress through the game, establishing bonds and perhaps even falling in love with one of them. You'll grow attached, and should any of them part ways with you, you'll feel it acutely.

It isn't just your party members, either. Each NPC is handled with great care and attention to detail - even the ones who only have one line of text, spoken over and over again. Enchantment?

So Many Choices: I've played every major BioWare RPG released so far, and while they all deal with making tough decisions, none have seemed to have nearly as profound an impact as those in Dragon Age: Origins do. I regularly found myself making the sort of decisions that had me realizing that I had just completely altered a major portion of the game. Kingdoms rose and fell and important people lived or died based solely on my whims. This is definitely the kind of game you'll want to play through multiple times, just to see how your actions affect the world.

Just Talkin' Bout Dragon Age: An extremely well-written, deviously witty script is only as good as the actors who voice it, and BioWare has pulled together a winning team for Dragon Age. Claudia Black does a fine job of voicing the sardonic witch Morrigan, and Steve Blue does one of the best dwarves I've ever heard in his portrayal of Oghren. All in all, everyone does a spectacular job, but by far my favorite is Steve Valentine as Alistair. Alistair has some of the most amusing lines in the game, most of which would have fallen completely flat if not for Valentine's expert timing. Just remember, "There's nothing like a brush with death to make you...not like death very much."

Swords and Sorcery: Combat in Dragon Age can be as shallow or as deep as the player desires. You can spend the entire game simply controlling your own character and letting your party members go about their business, triggering special moves using the double 3-slot quick bar on the bottom right of the screen, and you'll do just fine. For more depth, you can customize your party's AI behavior by assigning situational tactics for individual characters based on a wide variety of conditions and roles. As satisfying as it is to simply plow right through the enemy, constructing elaborate plans and placing your party in just the right positions to completely decimate your opponents is even more satisfying still.

Hot Micromanagement: I really enjoy micromanaging my role-playing characters, from fine-tuning their equipment to placing each skill point to maximize combat efficiency. Throughout the game you unlock specializations which allow you to tweak your characters even further, focusing on particular aspects of the warrior, mage, and rogue classes. Enchanting weapons, applying poisons, constructing traps; these are the elements of a good RPG that get me all aflutter, and Dragon Age: Origins allows me to indulge myself while still allowing the player who'd rather just wing it to go their own way.

Outside Of The Game: BioWare goes above and beyond with the Dragon Age: Origins community site, where players can communicate, share stories, or browse each other's character profiles to see how far along they've gotten in the game. Once you have an account at the BioWare Social Network website, you can see everything I've done in Dragon Age. Skills, plot points, talent, equipment; it's all there for the world to see. It makes the game feel like more than a game, if that makes any sense, adding a new layer to the experience that keeps it alive long after you've finished playing.

Hated
Bugs Aplenty: My time with the PlayStation 3 version of Dragon Age was not without troubles. In fact, my 40 or so hours in the game were plagued with annoying little glitches that, while not breaking the game completely, did hamper the experience. Some special combat animations were way off, with my character performing finishing blows in the air next to the boss I had just downed. Sound glitched frequently, leaving me watching a character's lips move while no words came. On a few occasions the screen would glitch when a character was speaking, showing broken geometry instead of the person talking. I also had issues with monsters dying and taking up to 30 seconds to register as dead, making me have to wait to loot bodies and in some cases delaying the completion of certain quests.

Perhaps the biggest bug I encountered was during the final battle, when I simply could not progress. BioWare suggested it was due to a monster I needed to kill falling through the world. I wound up having to load a previous save in order to complete the game. Luckily the game had autosaved just before the battle started, but it was definitely more frustration than I needed.

Chugga Chugga Frame Rate: Dragon Age is a pretty game, but when it really starts moving, things get ugly. With only a couple of characters on the screen things aren't too bad, leaning towards the high 20's frame rate-wise, but when you're in a big battle or a crowd scene, things dip into the middle to high teens. Mind you I am guestimating here...it's not like I have some magical PS3 FPS tool, but the dip is definitely noticeable.

BioWare's Ray Muzyka once said that "Dragon Age is the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate." I'd take that a step further and say that Dragon Age is the evolution of Baldur's Gate, taking the concepts and mechanics established in that classic PC RPG and updating them using today's more powerful technology. While that alone is a recipe for success, the lack of an established license has allowed the developers to craft a unique fantasy setting from the ground up, populating it with fascinating characters and instilling upon it a depth that goes far beyond the simple tale of good versus evil the game initially presents. Much like CD Projekt's The Witcher, Dragon Age overlays modern day politics and social issues onto its fantasy world, creating a richer, more mature atmosphere in the process.

Perhaps the biggest testament to Dragon Age: Origins is the fact that after more than 40 hours of play time, I found myself contemplating my next character as the credits rolled, working out in my head what I would do differently the next time around. During the busy fall video game release season, when my response to completing even the most enjoyable games is "next," it takes an extremely compelling title for me to want to go again. Dragon Age: Origins is exactly that sort of title.

Dragon Age: Origins was developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 3. Retails for $59.99 USD ($49.99 PC). A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Reviewed the PlayStation 3 version. Played through the main game on standard difficulty, choosing the City Elf origin and rogue as my character class. Completed main quest, multiple side quests, and The Stone Prisoner downloadable content, which should definitely not be missed.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Those wanting to purchase new outfits for all, open your wallets. Each costume is ¥300, and there are 9 characters for a grand total of ¥2,700 or US$29.75.

Granted, this isn't as outrageous as the DLC in Namco Bandai's iDOLM@STER, but $30 isn't exactly cheap!

PS3『テイルズ オブ ヴェスペリア』の制服コスが配信開始、しかし300円 × 9人分 ＝ 2700円と神搾取 [はちま起稿]

From Lucasfilm, there's Star Wars: The Clone Wars, while MPI Media Group brings horror classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Other titles include Leverage from Cinetic FilmBuff, Powder Blue and Management from Image Entertainment, Hurly Burly and Interstate 60 from ContentFilm International and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog from New Video.

The movies will be available starting today.

Not much, it turns out. The fairy story-themed action title is only adult in that it wants players to be as violent as possible. Players take the role of Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, the Naked Emperor (from "The Emperor's New Clothes") or Jack (from "Jack and the Beanstalk") and battle their way through a world peopled with characters from other fairytales like "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Sleeping Beauty." Nearly everybody in the world except gingerbread men bleeds copious amounts of blood when you slap, beat, slice or hex them and for some reason, nearly everything in the world looks so cute it's almost psychotic.

But there's no sex or sexuality in the game whatsoever. So either the marketing team behind this whimsical gore-fest is made up of inspired geniuses with close connections to the adult film industry – or there's something wrong with this game that they need to hide behind the glamor of porn.

Loved
The Concept: Pairing cutesy stuff with violence is a proven concept. Just look at Happy Tree Friends, Fat Princess or Castle Crashers. Fairytale Fights follows along in lockstep with these examples as far as the setting and back story. Four major characters from four very familiar fairytales have their fame and notoriety stolen from them by a fifth fairytale character and they have to brawl their way through all of storybook land up to the Giants' house to find both the culprit and their missing storybooks. The combat keeps it simple, the setting is loaded with colorful props and characters that evoke a sense of nostalgia, which in turn creates a perverse sense of satisfaction when you bash a gnome or a bunny open to reveal buckets of blood.

The Graphics: The world of storybook land spans forests, cottages, castles, palaces made of candy and beanstalks. Everything is rendered lovingly with big, rounded and blocky art design via the Unreal engine. It's colorful and vibrant with a real sense of depth to the background.

The Music: Despite the raging violence that carries on throughout most of the gameplay, the music is consistently soothing and sweet. Like the cutesy setting, it does a lot to create the sense of juxtaposition and it totally mellows you out when the game aggravates you.

Hated
It's Broken: Fairytale Fights has its share of tiny flaws like graphics hiccups or poor collision detection when enemies go into ragdoll animations after death. However, it's also peppered with some pretty big bugs – like freezing during loading screens, corrupted audio playback and total failure of gameplay mechanics. For example, there's something called a Glory Kill in the game that you can activate by mashing a shoulder button after filling up a kill gauge – it makes enemies freeze in place and gives the player the ability to go nuts with the attack stick in a cool slow-mo animation. An unfortunate bug robs you of your Glory Kill by freezing not only the enemies in place, but you as well while the gauge runs out.

Fake 2D Platforming: Fairytale Fights is one of those games where everything is 3D, but the game adjusts the camera to make the world look 2D and then asks you to complete jumping puzzles in different planes of depth. I cannot stand this – it leads to a lot of pointless deaths from falling off of things while jumping in the wrong plane of depth, and it can get confusing in environments where you don't know where to go to access the next part of the 3D level.

Needs A Treasure Magnet The world is filled with treasure chests that contain either weapons or money. Unfortunately, some of them are placed poorly so that stuff falls off of cliffs as soon as you open said chests. But the real rub comes from the fact that money vanishes within seconds (while weapons stay on screen eternally) and there's no safe way to collect it when it happens to be near a ledge or a pool of acid. Granted, there's no economy in the game that requires you to have money – but it's so annoying to see a puddle of gems and know that it's not worth going after them because they're just going to vanish right when you get there and you might fall off a platform en route.

Camera+Controls = DEATH: Fairytale Fights is cursed with both a lousy camera that pulls way too far back most of the time and with controls that make it difficult to move your character away from dangerous ledges and out-of-shot positions beneath platforms. I think the Unreal engine is partially to blame – its physics make your character top heavy because their heads are too big for their bodies (so it's hard to slow down during jumping puzzles or make hard turns while running). But the fact that the camera can just lose you behind the 3D environment or pull so far back that you can't tell your character apart from the enemies makes it ten times worse.

Fairytale Fights is one of those sad games that suffer from good ideas and lousy execution. I wouldn't be half so upset if the concept was lame or the graphics were terrible. But the truth is that there are some really good things about this game that would be welcome in a normal, not-broken title. Heck, they might even be welcome in a broken title if it didn't cost a player $60. But these good parts don't make up for Fairytale Fights' numerous flaws. They're just made all the more tragic for being surrounded by them.

And Ron Jeremy. That's the most tragic part of all.

P.S. No, that "Kill 1000 Children" Achievement didn't make it into the game, but you can still off the kids you encounter in the candy palace.

Fairytale Fights was developed and published by Playlogic for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It came out on October 27 for $60. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the main Quest using both two-player cooperative mode and singleplayer on Xbox 360. Played several rounds of Arena.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

While Numblast may sound like a topical cream used in more intimate circumstances, it's actually a video game! It can be enjoyed on the go or from the comfort of your DualShock 3 for just $4.99 USD and should probably be enjoyed by fans of the PopCap school of tile-swapping, brightly colored short session games.

A trailer for Numblast is after this, which may help explain just what this new addition to the PlayStation Store will be like.

That would be the launch ready Space Suit Sackboy Costume, re-releasing the week of November 5 for LittleBigPlanet latecomers. Media Molecule's also letting PlayStation 3 owners eat cake, prepping a candle-headed, slice-suited Sackboy, seen floating in space above.

Both are, thankfully, free!

Happy Birthday LittleBigPlanet! [Media Molecule]

SOE's fascination with card games finally comes full circle. After years of creating collectible card games based on their popular MMO properties like EverQuest and Star Wars Galaxies, now the company's Denver studio is creating a strategy game based on the inspirations for those games - Magic: The Gathering.

Magic: The Gathering - Tactics draws on the Planeswalkers lore of Magic, putting players in control of 3D figures and spells from the popular CCG. The game will include both single player scenarios and online PVP multiplayer. As with any Magic-related product, fans can expect regular content expansions and strong tournament support, along with achievements and rankings.

"By collaborating with Wizards of the Coast, we're able to combine the strengths of both companies to develop an innovative, online, 3D game based on an extremely popular IP," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "We're going to be taking the Magic: The Gathering Multiverse places players have never seen."

I still prefer the Xbox Live Arcade Magic game myself, as it's the straight-up card game and not a strategy derivative, but it's nice to see the PlayStation 3 getting a little Magic loving either way.

Look for Magic: The Gathering - Tactics to hit the PC in early 2010, with a PlayStation 3 release coming soon after.