Seven months in development, Shinobi's Place has released "Invaders! Possibly from Space!" to the wild - free - for PC. It recreates Fry's fight against Lrrr's invading horde ("Increase speed, drop down, and reverse direction!") with so much more - episode dialogue, power-ups, and of course, the all-Rush mixtape soundtrack. That means at least three IPs infringed upon here. I can only hope that Taito, Fox, Matt Groening, and Rush can come to a quick agreement that something this awesome must be allowed to live. In case they don't, run go get it quick before it is C&D'd to death.

Invaders! Possibly from Space! [Shinobis-Place via GameSetWatch]

The video's creator, YouTube's kalleanka71 apparently is a Swede who enjoys doing these kinds of mashups. And he does them very well. This is his latest (released Dec. 25). Others include Dallas, Airwolf, both a Rebel Alliance and Imperial version, and a head-asploding MacGyver that simply must be seen.

About the only time where Just Cause 2's vehicle physics work against you is when it has the chance to create an even BETTER awesome car crash, such as street vehicles going off road, or anything trying to get a grip on icy surfaces. God, I lose it when that sportscar goes off the sand dune. Just lose it.

The thing is, I want this game to take itself seriously while all this crap is happening. Oh, sure, this would be hilarious if it was all set to a Dukes of Hazzard banjo accompaniment. But, like giggling in study hall, it's even funnier when you beach a cigarette boat, parachute onto the dock and karate kick a bad guy and try to keep a straight face throughout.

Vehicular Stunts Developer Diary [GameTrailers]

The attention to detail put into this thing is simply mindblowing. For the cards, Baxter took photos of the cards from Pub Games, imported the images into Adobe Illustrator, recreated them there, added distress marks and imperfections to artificially age them, and had a print shop specially order a parchment card stock to print up three decks.

But wait, there's more. The chips. Made of wood in the video game, Shawn got his father, a Chicago artist, to create ceramic chips by hand. Shawn redrew the Fable guild seal and had a special stamp created for his father to emboss the chips. Then they were deliberately underglazed to make them also appear old and worn. Then comes the box. Shawn's cousin is a furniture maker, so, boom, he built that to specification, included an old oiling technique to finish the wood and give it comparatively aged appearance, too.

In all, the materials cost $400. That's not what raises my eyebrows; it's the fact this was only a two-month project.

Anyway, Lionhead, Microsoft Game Studios, Molyneux, whomever, now you have your prototype. Make it happen. I don't think Shawn's dad and cousin are taking orders for the rest of us anytime soon.

My Hand Made Fable Fortune's Tower Set [Capcom-Unity, thanks Noah L.!]

Kotaku reader Wayne T. received a form letter, two 1960s/70s era comic covers ("Saxton Hale's Jungle Brawl" and "Saxton Hale's Barbershop Action") and the most badass piece of mail the United States Postal Service ever sorted.

"I guess I'll forgive them for not having my spy crab kit in stock," Wayne told us. "P.S. - The woman probably wasn't impressed because I didn't send enough money. I'll fix that next time ..."

Reader and Carnegie Mellon University student Theyab forwarded us a copy of his creation, which explains the properties (and dangers) of the most common plant life that plumber-adventurers use in their work. The Science of the Mushroom Kingdom would be a handy primer to those new to the effects of Super Mushrooms and Fire Flowers—and a serious warning to any Mushroom Kingdom resident who would haphazardly freebase Star Power dust.

"The project was to make an instruction book of my choice so I decided to make a textbook explaining how some of of the flora of the Mushroom Kingdom worked," Theyab explains. "That is if the Mushroom Kingdom was a real place. I tried to make it feel as if it was a book the young toads would read."

Packed with laugh out loud in-jokes and real world references, The Science of the Mushroom Kingdom is an impressive creation. Dean's List worthy, I say!

We'd highly recommend poking through the gallery to enjoy Theyab's work.

26-year-old Thaís Jussim is the one responsible for the beautifully crafted Samus Aran space suit seen above, one the Brazilian Metroid Prime fan assembled over the course of six months. The beast of a bounty hunter suit is lit by 73 battery powered LEDs and set Jussim back $350 in material costs.

Jussim, who created the suit with the help of friends and family, says the suit weighs about 23 pounds and is surprisingly not very comfortable. Who would have guessed. Jussim also reveals that there's, uh... Zero Suit Samus cosplay in the works, by the way. It's her next project.

*ahem* Anyway, if you'd like to see more shots of the costume and learn more about the woman behind the visor, read on. (Oh, and sorry for the lateness on this one. You'd be amazed how little time I spend on cosplay web sites.)

Metroid [DeviantArt - thanks, Amy!]
The MDb Interviews Samus Aran! [Metroid Database - thanks, Ryan!]

The Gene Simmons Axe Guitar features 'ultra-responsive frets' and an 'analog whammy bar' but fuck all that - this is a guitar shaped like a battleaxe as used by the guy from Kiss with the tongue and the big face who was in that film with Magnum and the killer robots. You know the one.

This beauty is compatible with Rock Band and Guitar Hero and seems to feature Simmons' signature as well as a representation of his greasepainted mug, so one would assume it is an official Simmons Product. Santa, I hope you are reading this and can take a hint.

Gene Simmons Axe Guitar [Amazon - thanks to Nick LeBlanc for the tip]

We believe that multi-touch will be everywhere in a few years, already seeing it now with Jeff Han's Perceptive Pixel, Microsoft's Surface, and the iPhone. When the multi-touch platform develops further and end in the hands of more consumers, they would want to play games on it. Oculusia is one exciting example of how these can be designed and implemented.

In case creating the game wasn't enough of an achievement, Thomas notes that they also built the table itself. Damn fine work gentlemen!

Fancy Pants Adventure World 2 [Armor Games]

Dark Maze sent me a copy of the DVD, which I just finished watching after beating Halo 3 and having nothing else to do. If I had to do it again, I would have watched the movie first. At several points the writing had me literally laughing out loud. I was a little unsure about it at the beginning, but when the main character had to push a bookcase in front of a switch to get the bathroom door to open, I was hooked.

The DVD includes two commentaries, the flash cartoon shorts that appeared on Newgrounds, and a making of commentary that looks like it had a much larger budget than the movie itself. They sell the DVD on the official website for only $12.99, which is a steal.

Littered with hilarious video game humor and references, it is a movie gamers everywhere should see at least once, hopefully with friends, helpfully drunk. You really need to check this movie out. A cult classic in the making.

Press Start Movie Website [Dark Maze Studios]

University Student, Su-Yin, has put together the Mario cake to end all Mario cakes. Created for a friend's birthday, this masterpiece took three days to make. The Mario figure in the center is amazing and puts it head and shoulders above other cakes of it's ilk. I'll be emailing Su-Yin shortly to see if she can bake me something on the order of Silent Hill. An edible Pyramid Head would be awesome. Flynn De Marco

A Geek-ful cake [The Journal of a Girl who Loves To Cook]
[via The Last Boss]

Not only does it look way more fun with the wii-mote, but it's also nice to see a game that was way ahead of it's time still being enjoyed today by some one who took the time out to revive it .

This is what is most exciting about the Nintendo Wii - that it has the ability to go past the novelty of the of its own console's games. For some users, it lets them revisit the way that people look at old games, or the ways in which music is made. I get a way bigger kick out of seeing what people are doing with it rather than playing it myself. Kim Phu

Rez Being Played with the Wii Remote [Arcade Resistance]

Ever since I brought the video game papercraft feature back from the grave, I've been getting a lot of links from readers to some terrific pieces. This one is really amazing as not only is it well done and home made, but it's Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2. PYRAMID HEAD! I'm a huge fan of the Silent Hill series and this is one of the papercrafts I've highlighted that I might actually be able to make some time to put together. Kudos go out to Chamoo232 (aka Anne Marie) for creating this awesome piece! Flynn De Marco

Pyramid Head Papercraft Model [PaperKraft.net]

MAKE:blog has found this little gem, the automated Xbox 360 button masher, built specifically in order to hit Perfect Dark Zero's "two most tedious achievements: 1000 Death Match Games and 1000 Dark Ops Games worth 30 gamer points each (60 total)". See? This is what Achievements does to you.

Did it work? Course it did. David's machine ftw:

Both of these Achievements were successfully obtained by the xBot without having to sit there and push buttons for 40-50 some-odd hours. While it's running its course, nothing needs to be touched. Except for the occasional checking if I got my points.

Why, you may ask, did I build such a thing? Because I can!

Well, quite. And who in their right mind wants to spend 40 hours of their actual life hitting buttons? No, well, okay, apart from Kotaku commenters? Alice Taylor

Xbot the Xbox 360 Button Masher [MAKE:blog]

So the Penny Arcade guys are good for more than just great comics and hilariously witty social commentary, they make awesome t-shirt designs too. This one is called "The Lite Brigade' and should definitely go on any DS lite lovers holiday gift list. These tees are only available on the ThinkGeek website and in addition to the smokin' front graphic, it has the Penny Arcade logo emblazoned on the back. You can bet I won't be waiting to see if I'm getting one of these for Christmas as I'm already ordering it as soon as I finish writing this post... Flynn De Marco

The Lite Brigade T Shirt [ThinkGeek]
[via Aeropause]

Statistical site Sperling's BestPlaces has, via survey, been able to determine what I already know: Seattle is Numbah One for gaming in the nation. But when our homeless people look like video game characters, this is a big No Duh.

Sperling commissioned the survey based on the number of video game systems owned per household - defined as an Xbox 360, Xbox, Windows based PC, PlayStation 2 or GameCube - as well as the number of games purchased, the number of game rental and the frequency of online gaming via Xbox Live or Windows.

When the end times come and the gamers must rise up against the Insane Jackass Army, headquarters will be at my house. You guys can sleep on the fold-out.

As the smoke of massive cartridge and cd-fueled bonfires sully the weeping sky, we will amass in ranks along the shining halls of Westlake Center. The hardened EB employees there will lean on the shoulders of sympathetic Hot Topic gloomygirls, weary from a long night of outfitting our soldiery with shuriken carved from the CDs of the used sports games bin.

We'll be forced to pillage Hot Dog on a Stick for rations, dazzling the fearful employees with bright, seductive games of Loco Roco, Nintendogs, and Zuma before drafting them into the rank and file and starting them on more serious pursuits.

Outside, the shambling Jackasses begin to close in. Eliza Gauger

Seattle Named Number One Gaming City [Gamasutra]

Previously on Kotaku: Link Alive and Well in Seattle

Today is full of videos, for which I apologize. It's just what the feeds doled out last night.

Brand new as of the 14th, this Red Steel trailer is full of the new control scheme, good music (hopefully in-game), and and undoubtedly exaggerated gestures on the part of the "gamer". But this footage gets me stoked about being given more opportunity to play video games in a way that utilizes more than my thumbs.

But check out the totally un-bushido way that the hero stabs that ninja once he's already disarmed. For shame.

The gleaming white mini-katana (I know it has a real name but none of my Japanese-speaking friends are talking to me) in the background hints at a custom wiimote from my dreams. Eliza Gauger

Click here for full-quality version of the above video [IGN]

The cam isn't too shaky, and the pelvic thrusts are absolutely authentic: could this be a tip-o-the-assless-chaps to supergreen Japanese television personality Hard Gay? God I hope so.

Game|Life says:

I've been continuing my excursion into the off-kilter world of Tingle's Rose-Colored Rupee Whatever. I bring to you this evening news that there is, in the game's second level, a character whose overtones make the green-spandexed Tingle look positively hetero.

It's Duke, the short-legged-no-shirt-overalls-straight-out-of-The Village People construction worker! Who communicates primarily by way of thrusting his pelvis.

Eliza Gauger

Tingle RPG: Gay as in Happy [Game|Life, via 4 Color Rebellion]