Remember the uproar that was stirred when folks thought that EA's Battlefield: Bad Company would have weapons only available for purchase? For the few of you who actually liked the idea, Nexon presents Combat Arms, their first multiplayer online FPS. Along with a hearty selection of free weapons, Nexon allows players to purchase new weapons and equipment from their online store, tricking out their character to their hearts' and wallets' content.

You can head over to the official website to download the game for free and check out the tons of new content Nexon has added in honor of today's official launch, including new weapons, a new map, and the addition of a new game mode, Capture the Flag. Wait, they've only just added Capture the Flag? This should be entertaining.

UPDATE: Nexon contacted us to clarify that while items will be eventually be available for purchase for Nexon cash, upgraded weapons never will. Hit the jump for the full "Free to Play Pledge".

Ace Combat 6 Trailer Really Does Make Things Better

Ace Combat Team Working On Anime-Inspired Wii Flier

On August 2nd, Mamoru Oshii, the director behind anime Ghost In The Shell, will release his new flick The Sky Crawlers. Based on a series of novels, the romance adventure focuses on a group of dogfighter pilots and is set in a fictionalized World War II-type setting. The film just had it's American premiere at the Skywalker Sound studio in California, where soundtrack work for the film was done. And to tie-in with the movie, Namco Bandai is releasing Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces, which is being developed by the Ace Combat team. That's good news! The game will sport an original story and use the Wii Remote for throttle and the Nunchuk for the control stick. It's out the fall in Japan — no word about a Western release.

Innocent Aces [Dengeki Online via Game|Life]

Nexon Announces Combat Arms Open Beta

Nexon America, publisher of MapleStory, KartRider and Mabinogi, announced it'll launch a free online FPS called Combat Arms, slated to release later this summer.

The company touted the game's "highly customizable" aspect, from the look of characters to the guns and equipment. Match wins are rewarded with in-game currency in addition to XP, both of which allow players more customization options. Nexon also said the game weighs the community aspect heavily, with a clan focus and some social network-style features.

Though there's no specific release date confirmed, the closed beta begins May 30th, so if you're interested you can try your luck; full release follows the jump.

After my last Ace Combat 6 DLC post I finally went out and picked up the game, and after a few hours of play I was kicking myself for not grabbing it sooner. Against all sanity I even hopped online to download one of the gaudy Idolmaster planes - only to help me humiliate my foes online of course - and was floored by the sheer number of dlc planes Namco Bandai had pushed out. How many do we really need? 20? 30? How about 8 more?

Yes, next week 8 more planes will be hitting Xbox Live, with two standalone planes and three package deals. Packages include Razgriz Set 4 (3 planes, 300 points), the Jungle Flamingo Set (2 planes, 300 points), and the Idolmaster Ami Mami set, featuring two mercifully unpink planes for 400 Microsoft points.

Have any of you actually been keeping up with these, collecting the whole set, so to speak?

Haven't forgotten! Here you are, the best reader dress-up-as-a-plane costume. There is a gallery below. Click through it and vote for ONE PLANE that you like by writing "I vote for this" directly under that photo. Vote only once. Failure to do so will cause your vote to be void and end in us showing you the door. To see how the voting worked last time, click on this post. Voting ends midnight, MOUNTAIN TIME.

We have a winner! That's right, Coin Plane has been selected by Kotakuland as the best reader plane. So! Maker of Coin Plane, send us an email at kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom so we can get that Ace Combat 6 copy out to you. CONGRATS.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten about the cosplay contest. That will go up shortly.

I thought it was over, but you folks just keep on buying them. Namco Bandai is readying yet another batch of downloadable planes for Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation for release tomorrow via Xbox Live, including yet another gaudy, incredibly expensive (400 MS points) IDOLM@STER model and two planes that really do nothing but shoot colored missiles for show purposes. Along with those three, a cheapy Typhoon and a completely free PJ Emblem F-16C, they're also releasing a 400 point pack containing four aircraft from the Razgriz squadron of Ace Combat 5 fame. Hit the jump for more details on the release, or check out the gallery to see the pretty planes that keep fans coming back for more.

Pick The Best Reader Plane

Damn, you reader people are talented. Our make-an-airplane contest has drawn to a close! Here are the top twenty reader crafted planes, all competing for a copy of Ace Combat 6. We got tons of submissions. Much love to everyone who took the time to enter. Here's how the voting works. There is a gallery below. Click through it and vote for ONE PLANE that you like by writing "I vote for this" directly under that photo. Vote only once. Failure to do so will cause your vote to be void and end in us showing you the door. To see how the voting worked last time, click on this post. Voting ends midnight, MOUNTAIN TIME. One more thing! We will be posting the cosplay entries in a separate voting post a little later. Sit tight!

Coining The Coin Plane

Last day! Panic time! Reader painey sends long this:

My model plane is created from a 50pence piece, which is hammered flat, bent into shape and filed down. My grandfather used to make these all the time and thats how I learnt.

Behold! Carrot Plane Made of Carrot

We're speechless, so let reader filip fill us in:

Here is my plane.
This is the carrot plane,it is made of carrot.
Yumm!

The Popsicle Plane

The Ace Combat 6 contest continues! Reader Jason sends along his entry. Here, look at it. He writes:

Here's my plane! It's made out of popsicle sticks! I included a nickel for scale! Cuz it's tiny! Exclamation Point!

B-2 Bomber Made From Ace Combat Stuff

And our contest continues! Today, since we're short on plane costumes, we bring you this B-2 "Spirit" bomber from reader Stephen, who writes:

So I know I don't score many points in the effort category here, but hopefully I make it up in the creativity and fan devotion categories :)

The idea is that it's a top down view of a B-2 "Spirit" bomber. Since it's a little esoteric I've attached a picture of a real B-2 for reference that maybe you can include with it.

A Plane Made of Kid

We're not sure if this is adorable or cruel! Kotaku commenter Purple-Penguin writes:

My son is dressed as a plane, a radio controlled plane, or you can look at it as I made a plane out of my son.

Hit the jump for reader Adam's plane, which he based off the Wright Flyer and made entirely out of Q-tips!

Make Plane, Dress Up As Plane, Win Plane Game

And the entries are pouring in! Above, reader Daniel cosplays as an airplane. Here's what's going on: Dress up as an airplane or make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom and, like all contests, don't forget to add a "Kotaku" sign. Remember, we're giving away two copies of the game and INTERNET FAME. Haven't figured out if we'll give one out to the best cosplay and one to the best 3D plane, though...

Hit the jump for Kevin's plane, which he made out of 300 pipette tips.

Just as one contest wraps up (still need to post the finalists — will do shortly!), we've got another. This one is a cosplay contest. But not any just cosplay contest. A radical cosplay contest. Here's the deal: Dress up like an airplane. Any type of airplane is fine! Pose with a Kotaku sign. Send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. THAT'S IT. Easy, huh? Bandai Namco has agreed to give away a copy of Ace Combat 6 to the winner. We'll be giving away INTERNET FAME. Contest ends wraps up April 11th at midnight PST. INTERNET FAME lasts forever.

How Brutal Legend Fighting Works

We'd never question the brilliance of Tim Schafer and Double Fine's upcoming action/rockventure title Brütal Legend. But we were...curious, that's all...about how the game would actually play. PSX Extreme explains:

The battle axe is Eddie's primary attack, and it works much like Devil May Cry's sword attack does - basic, yet effective. Riggs will shred on the guitar when he needs to cast various types of magic, and performing these magic attacks will require timed combo entry on your controller.

Brutal Legend [PSX Extreme via The Adventuress]