The Bling Gnome is a pet of sort that runs around in the game as you play picking up all of the gold dropped from the baddies you kill while playing the free-to-play massive game. The gnome can also be told to pick up dropped items that aren't rare and eat them. He then poops out gold as a reward... seriously.

I love this idea, it saves all of the hassle of having to go back to town and sell off the crap you horde while out in the wilds adventuring.

Hit up the jump for the full explainer as well as some more pics of the gnome in action.

Dungeon Runners Bling Gnome: Excreting gold for fun and profit

Exactly what is the Bling Gnome you might ask? Similar to its cousin, the Garden Gnome, the Bling Gnome is a tricked-up helper gnome with a bit of attitude that will follow your character around and pick up all the gold dropped on the ground (that was intended for you to pick up) auto-magically. This way you don’t have to go running around and pick it up all the gold yourself, the little gangster will do it for you.

The Bling Gnome also has the ability to pick up dropped items, at the Rare level of availability and below (anything that’s not purple- or rainbow-colored), and eat them, converting them into gold. Another time saver! Instead of filling up your inventory with a clutter of items you just want to sell when you get back to Townston, the Bling Gnome will convert them into gold right then and there. That’s not all… though honestly, what would Dungeon Runners be without some scatological humor somewhere? Every once in awhile during this “swords-into-goldshares” conversion process, the Bling Gnome can produce amazing items from its rear end in rather spectacular fashion. In other words, it can poop out an ultra-powerful item (along with the gold). The more items you pick up at once, the higher the chance it can happen. How handy is that?

Players won’t have to look under a blarney stone to get their own Bling Gnome. By the end of June, players can go to just about any game retailer in North America and purchase a Dungeon Runners game pack that includes the soon-to-be-legendary Bling Gnome as well as six months of premium membership level game time for the price of four.

For more information on Dungeon Runners and the Bling Gnome, go to www.Dungeonrunners.com.

Haven't had enough upcoming Nintendo game scan stuff? Hit the jump for looks at promotional images for Fatal Frame IV and Rhythm Heaven Gold.

New Nintendo Titles [NeoGAF via Game|Life]

Wrath of the Lich King is coming in the second half of 2008, says Vivendi's quarterly report. That's as close as we're going to get to a release date for now. Blizzard hasn't officially put a date on the expansion and it's totally realistic it could delayed, as is their wont, but we'll hold tight for a pre-December 31 release, fingers crossed.

Vivendi: Very Good First Quarter - 2008 Outlook Confirmed (PDF) [Vivendi]

Chengdu's Shuangliu county has arrested two virtual item and currency traders, surnamed Li and Zhang, focused on tapping out The9's (Nasdaq: NCTY) licensed MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW), reports Chengdu Evening News. Police arrested the pair after Li reported Zhang for unfair revenue distribution. Going into business last August, the gold miners accumulated more than 20 employees with 20 computers to generate RMB 1.6 million in seven months of dealing.

Oopsies. I'll be nosing around for more on this story (like exactly what the pair was arrested for), but if any intrepid readers come across anything, send it my way. As Steve at PlayNoEvil notes, "Turn up the Irony Meter to 11. After all, with all of the complaints in the US about gold farming, it takes the Chinese to stand up and do something about it."

WoW Gold Miner Offers Himself Up To Police [Pacific Epoch via PlayNoEvil

If anti-gold farming initiatives were effective, gold prices should go up as the cost of business increases for gold farmers. (NOTE: This assumes that demand is fairly constant. If game companies could actually convince their players not to buy gold, than prices would drop with a glut of gold on the market and no one to buy it. I've not been able to get volume data from any gold sellers, but my sense is that their customers are not going away.)

The Gold Farming War - Who's winning? [PlayNoEvil]

"The real significance of this case is, 'What are the rights of the [virtual world] community members when they go online?'"

IGE's attorney seem to be familiar with the agreement, having argued in court papers that players don't have the right to even bring forth this lawsuit. It's sort of like a person trying to sue a thief who swiped the lawnmower he sometimes borrows from his neighbor. Still, they are ready to fight if need be.

"The stakes are high and our intention is to address [the lawsuit] in court," Miller said.

"We believe that shutting down gold farming and real-money transfer is in the interest of all World of Warcraft players and that a victory in this case would have a positive long-term effect on the online gaming industry as a whole," said Paul Sams, Blizzard Entertainment's chief operating officer

We'll keep you posted in case anything ever comes of this whole mess.

Video game fan asks court to ban real sloth and greed from World of Warcraft [South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com]

At this price, Xbox LIVE is just about $3/month. So low that's it's pretty damn tough to complain about Microsoft charging for the privilege of online fun...but don't you get any ideas, Sony.

Xbox 360 Live 12-Month Gold Subscription Card (FREE 1 Month Bonus) [Buy via BargainJack]

Patapon (PSP)
Action plus rhythm plus great art style equals awesome.

Frontlines: Fuel of War (X360, PC)
Battle for control of the earth's depleted natural resources.

Lost: Via Domus (X360, PC, PS3)
Solve the mysteries of the island.

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty (X360, PC, PS3)
The Nazi's won WWII and boy are we in trouble.

Naruto: Ninja Destiny (DS)
A Naruto 3D fighter for your DS.

The Sims 2: FreeTime (PC)
Exactly what the Sims need. More free time. Bastards.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PS3)
The world of giant bugs comes to the PS3.

Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed (WII)
Aliens and penis jokes: a winning combination.

Mazes of Fate DS (DS)
Determine your fate in this RPG with mazes.

Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None (WII)
Live (or die) through Agatha Christie's greatest mystery.

ArmA: Gold Edition (PC)
ArmA: Armed Assault and ArmA: Queen's Gambit together again for the first time.

Heavenly Guardian (PS2)
Animated 2D shooter action.

Puzzle Guzzle (PSP)
Guzzle this puzzle!

Now we have a problem. And it is not gold farmers.

Banks don't like chargebacks. High risk/ high fraud markets (the adult industry and gambling) pay a substantial premium for payment processing. If fraud gets too bad, payment processors will simply refuse to service companies. The also will impose additional procedures to combat fraud - all of which cost money.

The first consequence for the entire game industry will be a broad increase in payment processing fees. New game providers will face difficulty entering the market as most payment processors will refuse to work with them.

Subscription gaming is in trouble. While the free-to-play business model has been pitched by many as a good strategy, it is going to become necessary in a higher payment processing world.

Eep. Will there be more fallout à la the Halifax bank incident? Time will tell.

You hate Gold Farmers? Here come the Gold Frauders

"To be honest, I think instead of real-world trading, games have to be designed in a way that they provide enough fun while you are getting somewhere; if I am incapable of providing you with enough fun while you collect that 1000 gold for a steed, then the game is not good enough.

Buying MMO gold is like funding prostitution [Eurogamer]

The main Southern Weekly article on ZT Online follows a gamer as she first becomes interested in the game, through her rise to power, and her eventual disillusionment with the money-sink it had become.

Woven into the narrative are descriptions of the often shockingly brazen tactics ZT Online uses to soak the "RMB gamers" who would rather spend money than grind out levels. The picture resolves into that of an online casino dressed in the trappings of an adventure game, and Shi Yuzhu [the brain behind ZT] ends up looking a lot like a shady used-car salesman.

It's a really, really great (if somewhat lengthy) article from a number of perspectives - it's one of the better mainstream media articles I've read on gaming, though not without its flaws. But as the PNE commentary points out, the fascinating thing is how it turns a lot of ideas about 'good' MMORPGs upside down ... and is reaping major rewards. From the sounds of it, I doubt we'll be seeing it Stateside, but one never knows.

Gamble your life away in ZT Online [Danwei via PlayNoEvil]

So for the next 5 minutes, I'm going to forget that Rock Band bundles will be the only available incarnations of the game at release, and that the USB conglomerations for both PS3 and Xbox 360 fall somewhere between disappointing and horrendous. Hit the jump for the full press release, unadulterated by my killjoy nature.

Cambridge, Massachusetts- November 5, 2007 - Harmonix, the leading developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, a division of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) along with distribution partner Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced today that its highly anticipated music videogame Rock Band™ has gone gold, is in final production and manufacturing, and set for launch. The Rock Band Special Edition Bundle will be available in North America on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system November 20th for the suggested retail price of $169.99. In addition Rock Band for PLAYSTATION®2 computer entertainment system will be in stores on December 18th for the suggested retail price of $159.99.

"Rock Band is a true symbol of Harmonix's vision, dedication and passion for music and after two years of development, we are thrilled that Rock Band is finally ready to get in the hands of rock fans everywhere," said Alex Rigopolous, CEO of Harmonix. "We have a small army filling our warehouses with final product, ready for our November 20th ship date so players can fulfill their rock and roll aspirations. Now, our focus is putting together an amazing selection of downloadable music content for players so players can continue to further customize their Rock Band experience post launch."

Details on the Rock Band Special Edition Bundle:
· The Xbox 360 version of the Rock Band Special Edition Bundle will feature a wired drum kit, microphone and Fender Stratocaster guitar controller as well as a USB hub for easy plug-in access for all instruments.
· The PLAYSTATION 3 system version of the Rock Band Special Edition Bundle will feature a wired drum kit an d microphone, as well as a wireless Fender Stratocaster guitar controller, which will be interoperable between the PlayStation 2 system and PLAYSTATION 3 system.
· The Rock Band Special Edition Bundle for the PlayStation 2 system will feature a wired drum kit, wired microphone, wireless Fender Stratocaster guitar controller and a USB hub.
· Suggested retail pricing for standalone Rock Band software for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 system versions will be $59.99.
· Standalone instrument peripherals for Rock Band, including a wireless guitar option for the Xbox 360, will be available at a later date to be announced.
· The standalone Rock Band software will support a variety of 3rd-party instrument peripherals as well as enable owners to share peripherals with those who o wn the Special Edition bundle.

Partnerships with instrument giants including Fender® Musical Instruments Corporation, Roland Corpation, BOSS, Ludwig, Line 6, Ernie Ball, Electro-Harmonix, Vic Firth, and Zildjian ensure authenticity of the look and feel of in-game play, while the Rock Band instruments, including the Fender Stratocaster® guitar controller, are designed by real world musicians.

Rock Band will ship in Europe in the first quarter of 2008 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION 3 system and PLAYSTATION 2 system.

Rock Band is rated "T" for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

EA will serve as the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band, managing distribution for the game in US, Europe and Australia.

Rock Band is an all-new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. The game chall enges players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune - all while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals. Built on unprecedented partnerships with artists, record labels and music publishers, the 58 tracks in Rock Band will span the full range of rock music and include original master recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time. For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

I swear this is my last Halo Helmet post, and I don't mean that in a I-swear-this-is-our-last-cake-post sort of way, for reals. I was mostly over the helmet after the last two posts, but this one, well it's both functional and looks kick-ass. Someone finally gutted a helmet and then put in a gold-tinged visor so it was both functional and really neat looking. What do you think?

Legendary Helmet [High Impact Halo]

Sometimes we post embarrassing things. This was perhaps the most embarrassing Pikachu pictures we've ever run on Kotaku.

Mass Effect still doesn't come out for a month. DAMN!

Mass Effect Goes Gold [Bioware]

If you missed out on my hands-on impressions while wearing a casual v-neck t-shirt, don't pass them up again. And turn up those speakers for maximum Princess Peach punishment!

The more I have considered this issue, I think spectacular, arbitrary punishments are the best penalty for gold buyers.

I'm leaning towards "The Roll Back". The game operator detects a gold buyer. He reviews the account file and makes a notation of where the player was when he bought the gold (or farther back, or at the time he is detected). This state is quietly saved. Then, at some random date in the future - say, 1 to 6 months later, the player is notified that he was busted for gold buying and his account is rolled back. No gains, no experience, no nothing from the time since counts.

This should be done rather publicly on a daily basis... banner headlines - a Player was rolled back from Level 63 to Level 20. He lost X gold, Y experience, the following items..... One of those annoying news tickers (with RSS feed, of course).

He's got some more interesting thoughts that are worth a quick read through. While such a system seems fraught with potential technical challenges and ups the amount of effort that must be invested by the operator, it's not like companies aren't spending any time going after farmers/buyers - and what better way to stem the tide of RMTs for virtual gold than putting a punishment system in place that punishes not just people you actually catch, but the whole system?

Proxy Products for Gold Farmers and RMT in Blizzard's World of Warcraft [PlayNoEvil]

But you get two great games, Games for Windows support and all the bonus material from the original Empire at War Collector's Edition for the low, low, low price of $29.99. Now that's savings.

Product Page

Being indignant at such crimes, I also feel sorry for those criminals. Many of them are even more wretched victims, of the unconstrained online game business, than legitimate users and players.

They are addicted young players who wasted too much time in the games and become losers in schools and, as adults, have difficulties in finding a regular job to support themselves - so they turn to online crime.

Some of them, induced by experienced crackers, join the business of online larceny, and mostly function as tiny worms in a huge nest.

Considering there are plenty of non-loser college graduates who are also having a hard time finding legitimate jobs (as illustrated by the near-riot that took place at a Zhengzhou job fair last year), I don't think we can pin the rising unemployment problem on online games, but no doubt there would be some happy players and companies if the Chinese government did step in and ban the sale of virtual goods. I can't imagine it would stop the problem, but perhaps - at the very least - stem the tide. But that leaves another question: what is an unemployed gold farmer to do?

Virtual sword theft is real theft [Shanghai Daily via Worlds In Motion]

I had the great pleasure of meeting Ken Levine at E3 and a nicer guy you will never meet. He emailed me with his support during the time of our site hack and when I saw him again at the BioShock launch party he treated me like an old friend and even introduced me to his lovely wife... When I spoke to him, the poor guy was supposed to be on vacation, basking in the knowledge that he had just put many years of work to rest and that people were loving it. Instead, he's scrambling around trying to satisfy the needs of some vocal, angry gamers. He did admit that the PC issues were something that shouldn't have happened and he has done everything in his power to help resolve these issues to people's satisfaction... He also mentioned to me that it was his idea to offer the orchestral soundtrack for free download on the Cult of Rapture website... Their launch party was even billed as an "appreciation" party and the guests were not just people who worked for the company, but members of the press and long time active forum members from The Cult of Rapture.

"This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios," said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. "This is the game we've always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can't wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25."

Most Anticipated Title of 2007 Released to Manufacturing, Begins Final March to Xbox 360

The wait is almost over. "Halo 3," the final chapter in the groundbreaking "Halo" trilogy and the most anticipated game release of 2007, has been released to manufacturing.

Three years in the making by renowned developer Bungie Studios, "Halo 3" is now finished and will begin its journey to store shelves around the world in less than four weeks. "Halo 3," which has already set new records as the fastest preordered game in history, has exceeded one million presales in North America alone. The title is set to shatter day-one entertainment sales records when it is released worldwide beginning Tuesday, Sept. 25.

"This is a huge milestone for us and a big cause for celebration at Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios," said Harold Ryan, Studio Head at Bungie Studios. "This is the game we've always wanted to make and certainly the best game our studio has developed. We can't wait for gamers to get their hands on it on Sept. 25."

Created by legendary developer Bungie Studios and exclusive to the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, "Halo 3" will set a new standard for interactive storytelling and social gaming by engaging consumers worldwide in Master Chief's epic battle to save humankind. In November 2004, the world's view of video games changed forever with the release of "Halo 2," which generated a record-setting $125 million (U.S.) in sales within the first 24 hours and changed the way people think about interactive entertainment. Three years later, it remains the most-played game on Microsoft's Xbox LIVE® online gaming and entertainment network, with nearly 1 billion hours of online gaming logged to date.

"We are pleased to offer the cool Halo 3 Special Edition console for the huge Halo fan community," said Stephen McGill, Microsoft's Head of Gaming and Entertainment. "It's a great way for Halo fans to show their allegiance to one of the most popular and successful entertainment franchises ever."

Halo® 3 Special Edition Xbox 360TM Console Priced, Dated For Europe

Limited Edition Xbox 360 Will Have Estimated Retail Price of £279.99, Available From 26th September

LONDON — 23rd August 2007: Microsoft® today announced estimated retail pricing and availability for the Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition Console, launched in anticipation of this year's largest blockbuster gamer launch, Halo 3.

The Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition console, with an authentic Spartan green and gold finish, will carry an estimated retail price of £279.99 when it comes to retail on 26th September. The Xbox 360 Halo 3 Special Edition console comes with the following features:

· Halo 3 Special Edition Wireless Controller

· Halo 3 Special Edition 20GB Hard Drive

· Halo 3 Special Edition Wired Headset

· Halo 3 Special Edition Gamer Pics and Theme (Exclusive download via Xbox LIVE®)

· Component HD AV Cable

· Ethernet Cable

· HDMI Port

· Play & Charge Kit

· Xbox LIVE Silver Membership

· One-month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership

"We are pleased to offer the cool Halo 3 Special Edition console for the huge Halo fan community," said Stephen McGill, Microsoft's Head of Gaming and Entertainment. "It's a great way for Halo fans to show their allegiance to one of the most popular and successful entertainment franchises ever. Halo 3 is just one of the amazing games coming to Xbox 360 this Christmas. Combine the best games lineup of any console ever, including the universally acclaimed Bioshock launching this week, with today's new affordable estimated retail pricing that makes it easier for more people to enter the world of Xbox 360, and it's clear there has never been a better time to be a gamer."

Age of Empires III Makes it Gold [gamedaily]

For easy reference, the plan for profit goes something like this:

Step 1. Create a mule.
Step 2. Install Auctioneer, allowing you to monitor prices and keep track of purchases.
Step 3. ??????
Step 4. Profit.

I suppose it's Step 3 that will be of most interest to WoW profiteers, so you'll have to get into the nitty gritty at Joel's site. A good read, even for a clueless MMO outsider like myself.

Make 100 World of Warcraft Gold a Week in Just Minutes a Day [JoelJohnson.com]

Scummy? Maybe. Creative? Definitely. Blizzard doesn't look favorably upon the act of gold farming or reselling of virtual assets from its ultra popular MMO, so some vendors are forced to work around traditional methods of publicizing themselves. Given that we're now talking about their actions, it sounds like they were successful.

Gnomes Rain From Azeroth's Skies [Clickable Culture]

Kazemi points out that gold farming isn't just a phenomenon that pisses off players and designers, but involves a whole host of people:

In the end, it comes down to a cost-benefit analysis: Is banning a suspected farmer worth the $15 per month subscription fee you lose that the farmer is paying, and on the chance that it's not a farmer, is it worth the bad word of mouth to insinuate you don't trust the people who play your game? It's a delicate balance that involves the marketing and customer service departments of a company every bit as much as it involves the designers.

To Catch A Farmer [The Escapist]

In an article I somehow managed to miss out of last week's NYT Magazine, Julian Dibbell takes a not entirely new look at "The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer," though it does focus a bit more on the life (or lack thereof) and less on the gold farming.

Scattered around the stifling, dim wang ba, 10 power levelers just off the day shift were merrily gaming away. Not all of them were playing World of Warcraft. A big, silent lug named Mao sat mesmerized by a very pink-and-purple Japanese schoolgirls' game, in which doe-eyed characters square off in dancing contests with other online players. But the rest had chosen, to a man, to log into their personal World of Warcraft accounts and spend these precious free hours right back where they had spent every other hour of the day: in Azeroth.

While news of gold farming, bannings, documentaries, and the like is all over the place these days, it's usually interesting to see yet another take on the "surreal" business of getting virtual loot and selling it for real money. Maggie Greene

The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer

Via CNET Asia, another look at the documentary Gold Farmers (we covered it last year), directed/produced by Ge Jin, and still a work in progress.

The clip over at Cnet is an interview with a Chinese gold farmer - after seeing bits and pieces of the trailers and stuff like this, I'm really hoping this project comes to fruition. It looks like it would be an interesting documentary indeed. Even this short clip of an interview brings up issues that go way beyond 'just' gold farming. Maggie Greene

There's gold in them servers, boy... [CNET - Fluorescent Paradise]

China's 'Gold Farmers' Play a Grim Game [NPR via Eclectic Gamer]

In an apparently vaguely worded and of questionable enforceability announcement, the South Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that - starting next week - "the government will prohibit the trading of cyber items by 'unfair' and 'illegal' ways from next week to 'promote' the healthy growth of the game industry." Terra Nova has a post up that has parts of the new law excerpted, and explains: "The word 'abnormal play' is surely relating to some workshop whrere BOT program facilitated .... In the sphere of MMOs, RMTing of game money etc earned by normal play remains out of govermental regulation(except the possibility of taxing)."

Companies like NCSoft initially supported the ban, but people are starting to get suspicious about the government's motives and just how they plan to sort out legitimate deals from "unfair" and "illegal" ones. I guess we'll find out next week. Maggie Greene

Ban on Cyber Asset Trading Clouds Game Industry [The Korea Times via PlayNoEvil]

If you thought the eBay markup on next-gen consoles was high, wait till you see this. This limited edition gold Zelda Triforce GBA, autographed by Miyamoto himself was recently sold on eBay for a whopping $2,157.86. There were only 30 of these puppies made and signed back in 2005 when the Nintendo World Store opened it's doors for the very first time (one of them still resides in a case at the NWS). The system had never been played and came with a copy of Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap.

There is no doubt that this is a rare and precious item, but two grand, wow. I guess everything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, but for that price, that better be real gold. Congratulations, Ossidium, you are now the proud owner of a piece of Nintendo history and an empty bank account. Flynn De Marco

Rare Limited "Zelda Triforce" Nintendo Gameboy Advance [eBay - Thanks, ecto311]

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police, seven former employees of Lineage developer NCsoft are suspected of selling source code for online game Lineage III to a major Japanese game company. This past February, the seven game programmers resigned from the Korean game maker and interviewed with a Japanese game company. It's believed the source code was copied during this interview. What's more, it's also suspected that Lineage III's program design was leaked last September by either email or disk. Word on the street is that NCsoft has been in turmoil since a senior developer was axed for poor leadership skills. The majority of the senior dev's 90-member team cut after the firing. According to NCsoft, the potential damage caused by this source code comprise is over a billion dollars. Not exactly pocket change. Brian Ashcraft

Source Code Prob [Digital Chosunilbo]

For a brief moment it looked like the hiring of former IGE lackey Dave Christensen by Sony Online Entertainment might pass with nary a ripple.

But then it hit: Sony Online Entertainment just hired a guy from a company that is essentially the marketplace for gold farmers in almost every MMO on the net.

Or as Michael Zenke so deftly put it "SOE spits in our face."

Of course Sony has the right to hire whoever they want from where ever they want, but I think what rubs so many people the wrong way about this particular hiring is the stand that PC gamers, PC magazines and developers took against IGE early on.

I understand SOE's desire to try and tap new markets, but I don't think this is the best way to do it. Whatever the company gains from hiring Dave Christensen is not worth the loss of respect from the gaming community. Brian Crecente

SOE Spits In Our Face [MMO Nation]

Joost emailed us this morning to point out that a new trailer for Shadowrun mentions a Games for Windows Live Gold account.

A voice over at the very end proclaims 'Shadowrun links Xbox 360 and Windows Vista players together for the first time'. Then visible on the screen for a second is the following credits, including '...requires Xbox LIVE Gold account and hard drive (on Xbox 360) or Games for Windows - LIVE Gold account (on Windows)' (emphasis mine)

What did you think? That Microsoft was going to let you play your games online for free? While this doesn't confirm that the Windows Live Gold account will cost money, its existence certainly implies it. I just hope this isn't the beginning of premium pricing for all online PC gaming. Brian Crecente

Games for Windows Live Gold

Please note that M.A.C.H. for the PSP shipped on February 20 and that Vivendi's F.E.A.R. is due to hit the PLAYSTATION 3 later this month. Michael McWhertor

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. G.O.L.D. [Gamespot]

Sony just sent me a package that made me smile. The final code for God of War 2. No more playing endlessly through the two demo discs, now I get to play the game itself. Unfortunately, I can't post my impressions until Monday.

Despite the picture the final game will be on one disc, Sony says. Brian Crecente

I have, over the past week, played an absurd amount of the near final code for Crackdown on my Xbox 360 debug unit.

While it's not that surprising that a guy who writes about video games for a living is staying up till 2 a.m., 3 a.m. to play a game, what is surprising is that until I got my hands on the game I was absolutely sure it was going to suck.

Everything I'd read and seen about the game, yes even those trailers, made me think crap Grand Theft Auto knock-off, or worse still, crap 20 to Life knock-off.

But what I didn't take into account, didn't realize, was that at some point I would be able to level up my character's strength so much that he would be able to jump from a high rise onto a moving car, hop down, lift it over his head (with a driver inside) and toss it at a gun-toting thug, crushing the criminal instantly.

Yeah, you can do that.

The one thing this gaming is missing is any sort of versus multiplayer gaming. Sure you can coop with someone through the game using Live, or in-room, but I wanted to toss cars at other people on my friends list. I wanted to drop on their heads from hundreds of feet up. I wanted to air juggling them with a rocket launcher.

Despite a Microsoft rep volunteering to coop with me through parts of the game, I haven't yet had a chance to check that out. I've been too busy bounding from rooftop to rooftop.

So far I've taken out four to five of the various gang bosses, leveled up all of my skills but driving (who the hell wants to drive when you can leap from building to building.)

I've also done a fair amount of exploring.

What I like about the game is its immense open-endedness, its intertwined plots, its leveling-up. Actually, the leveling-up is what I like best.

When you start out you can barely jump up enough to grab the edge of a roof while standing on a dumpster. You can barely chuck trash cans and containers. But as you practice these "skills" your boost them and when you level up, your guy erupts into explosions of glowing blue light.

Each level up comes with a pretty hefty increase in that ability. Soon you'll find yourself running and leaping from rooftop to rooftop, plummeting down from buildings to land next to a bad guy, crushing the roadway, and then kicking the man across the street, instantly killing him.

Whats so fun about the game isn't that you have these super powers, it's that you earn them. There's something very satisfying in slowing building up a character's strength and seeing the direct impact. None of this damage bonus, no, you go from lifting trash cans to throwing cars.

While I really like the game, there are some issues. Most noticeable is the abundance of strange clipping and collision problems.

It doesn't take much to find yourself falling through or under the game's graphics, which is really unfortunate. Once, I spent a good half hour polishing off all of the gun-toting bad guys crammed into the lobby of an office building, only to have kill myself off after falling through the floor of the elevator while riding it up to the top to take on a boss.

Don't get me wrong, the game is a blast, and the persistent leveling of specific skills really makes this game, but I hope to god they do some work to polish it. To be fair I don't have the final build, so perhaps some of these issues have already been fixed.

I'm expecting the gold in the next day or two, so I'll let you know. Brian Crecente

Big time Korean gold farming companies have come together to form their own trade association called the Digital Asset Distribution Promotion Association (or "DADPA" to the hipsters). Want does DADPA want? They plan to lobby the Korean government, which is attempting to regulate digital asset trading. According to Raph Koster, these gold farmers have apparently formed this lobby before game companies were able to. Boy, these gold farmers are savvy. Savvy and scary! Brian Ashcraft

Trade Association For Gold Farmers [Raph Koster via Dark Diamond Network]

Making video games isn't just expensive, but CRAZY expensive. Just ask Alain Tascan, EA Montreal's General Manager. Electronic Arts is well known for its big budget game titles, so Tascan should know what he's talking about:

I'm not sure that the model we have here will be the model in 15 years, and that the EA you know today will be the EA you know then... I'm sure we'll do things differently, just because of the cost. The cost of games now is crazy.

So what, EA will release a Madden every other year? Brian Ashcraft

Game Cost High [Games Industry]

It seems those crafty Microsoft employees have put the kibosh on that business with the newest update of the 360 dashboard. Tank over at 2old2play was able to turn up some details.

The fall Dashboard introduces a hybrid locking system which renders most of these cheating tactics useless. Only some of the 'unlocked' style game saves currently work and to guarantee they work, they need to be re-done on an updated Xbox360 and then re-uploaded to a game sharing site.

Many of the top scorers on the World leaderboards have admitted to cheating and the former World #1 Ranked player, ST The King has stepped down from his throne, although it's not clear whether he actually cheated his way there.

For a more in-depth look at Achievement Cheating check out 2old2play, a favorite site for old geezers like me. Flynn De Marco

Microsoft takes a stand against Achievement Cheating [2old2play]