In all seriousness, congratulations to SK Gaming for their accomplishment, which unfortunately only goes to punctuate the awkward balance of story and gameplay in MMOspace. Were this a novel or a movie, this would be considered the greatest of victories. Feasts would be held, Ewoks would sing nub-nub all night long, etc,.

In MMOspace, we just get in queue and kill him again, until we decide to kill somebody else. Woot.

Kil'Jaeden DOWN World First [SK Gaming via Eurogamer]

When Rez first came out for the Dreamcast, I played it extensively and still even plug the old girl in every once in a while for the sole purpose of playing Rez. I've beaten the game quite a number of times so when Mr. Mizuguchi fired up the game for us to watch I got a great rush of nostalgia as I heard the familiar music start to play. He played through the first level of the game with predictable ease and as he got to the boss he turned to me and gestured towards the controller. I was instantly filled with a mixture of elation and terror. Here I was in a room with one of my idols playing his own game in front of him, surrounded by co-workers and being tasked with a boss level. But, I rose to the occasion and took the chair offered me by Mr. Mizuguchi and went in for the kill.

I was immediately impressed at how sharp everything looked. With the relatively simple graphic style of a game like Rez, you might think that HD wouldn't do much for it, but the difference was obvious from the very beginning. The controls, while still in the early stages of development, were very smooth and I actually found them to be much easier to deal with than the Dreamcast's. Having the rumble built right in to the controls without the purchase of the Trance Vibrator was a great addition as it was something I hadn't been able to try before. The music also sounded great, and I was told that all the tracks were being remastered for the full 5.1 Dolby experience. I managed to make it through the whole boss level like a pro, only devolving once and when it was all over I was rewarded with a clap on the back and a handshake from Mr. Mizuguchi.

Rez HD is going to be a great addition to the XBL lineup and will give players who formally couldn't get their hands on it a chance to play for the first time. It will also be terrific for old fans who will be able to experience the crisp new graphics, widescreen and remastered music creating a new way to enjoy an old game.

An unnamed analyst chalks that victory up to Nintendo's intercontinental domination and Microsoft's non-presence in Japan. Of course, this was obviously written before Microsoft announced the availability of Rez HD for the Xbox 360, a game sure to turn around its fortunes. Just kidding. It's more likely that Wii Fit boards will soon be manufactured from discarded 360 cases.

Nintendo's Wii takes console lead [Financial Times]

Games Radar has posted an interesting interview with Editor-in-Chief of Official Xbox Magazine, Francesca Reyes who apparently has gone to Bungie and played through and beaten the entire of Halo 3. When asked about the experience, Reyes who lives in San Francisco, had this to say:

...I thought to myself: Wow. I can't believe I just did something that hundreds of thousands of people have been waiting years to do. I can't believe I just did something that I'VE been waiting years to do. It was one of those epiphany moments when I got really, really happy and realized how much I loved my job.

Reyes is under embargo and can't talk about the game of course, but all will be revealed when her massive ten page review comes out in OXM later this month. I must admit that I don't have any real burning desire to play Halo 3 given my infamous inability to play FPSs, but reading this little interview made me just a tinge green with envy. I can only imagine how it will make a true Halo 3 die hard feel...

Meet the first person to play, finish and review Bungie's trilogy capping epic [GamesRadar]