Update: I apologize, I haven't been online much due to the holidays. I realized that there was an erroneous data point for Andrew Stanton in 2009 that was never supposed to be there. I missed it when I initially looked over the graph, but it's been removed now.

As we've been reflecting on the last ten years, we've been asking ourselves whether any true "masters" of science fiction and urban fantasy have emerged, especially in film and television. It's certainly been a decade of highs and lows, of old masters who've begun to fade and bright new stars just cresting the horizon.

To that end, I've attempted to chart the relative "master levels" of various directors and television producers over the several years. This is an utterly unscientific chart; I looked at the projects these folks have had since 2000 and assigned each one a "master level." The number reflects my understanding of the projects acclaim, its ability to attract an audience (i.e. box office/Nielsen numbers), its awards, whether it succeeded in something unusual (such as a relatively popular foreign language film in the case of Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth or Dr. Horrible's status as a breakthrough web film), and the nebulous sense that it add or subtracted from the individual's "geek cred." The numbers themselves are largely subjective and, of course, you should feel free to nitpick.

The greater purpose was to offer a watercolory sense of whether any "masters" have emerged from this crowd. Certainly, the last year has brought low some of the genres' promising potentials. Joss Whedon entered into the decade riding high on a Buffy/Angel cocktail. Though his name wasn't enough to overcome Fox's confusing treatment of Firefly, but the show's eventual cult popularity led to the Serenity feature film, and the Whedon brand helped make Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog an important moment for web-based content. Perhaps this all made Dollhouse — which has been, by turns, frustrating and brilliant — all the more disappointing, its impeding demise fairly readily accepted, even by Whedon's fanbase. Similarly, Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica, despite being regarded by some readers as the most overrated scifi of the decade, was regarded by many as a turning point for smart, politically savvy space opera. But a rocky final season punctuated by finale filled with dei ex machinae left a lot of folks sour on the entire series. And the Wachowskis, while doing a solid (though Alan Moore-enraging) bit of cinema with V for Vendetta, never quite lived up to the promises of The Matrix.

But there have been plenty of masterful bright spots as well. Bryan Fuller gave us some beautiful urban fantasy with shows with Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, and Pushing Daisies, even if many of his efforts (including the truly amazing The Amazing Screw-On Head) were prematurely axed, or shafted before ever getting off the ground. Guillermo del Toro brought us to great heights with Pan's Labyrinth, even if his other eye candy films didn't hit the same heights.

So have we seen any masters? Peter Jackson has certainly come close. Granted, The Lord of the Rings movies are high fantasy, but they showcased Jackson's ability to handle a difficult epic in a way that not only pleased JRR Tolkien's fans, but also won him mainstream accolades. And his remake of King Kong, which should have been automatically anathema, proved both profitable and well-reviewed. The Lovely Bones has been his blip, earning him his worst reviews in 20 years. But it's more likely that 2009 will be remembered as the year Jackson introduced the world to filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, demonstrating that he has a good eye for new talent and the Hollywood cache to bring that talent to light. It's not for nothing that he made this year's power list.

Another power list member, JJ Abrams, has also given us a good spate of fun and thoughtful science fiction. While he didn't give us the decade's best monster movie, he did manage to reboot the Star Trek franchise in a way that was respectful to what came before and drew in folks who never turned into the TV shows. Of course, we still have yet to see as Lost will end and whether Fringe will survive.

Chris Nolan is on the list of promising possibilities for eventual masterhood. Although Memento wasn't science fiction, it took a "what if" concept (here, what if a man searching for his wife's killer had no short term memory) and portrayed it in a thoughtful, suspenseful, and ultimately heartbreaking way. And he not only shot fresh blood into the corpse of the Batman franchise, he made it Oscar-worthy. And now he's continuing the science fiction thread with Inception.

And, of course, there's the question of whether James Cameron will prove the kind of science fiction as much as he claimed to be the king of the world. His foray into science fiction television, Dark Angel, never fared particularly well in the ratings; it was eventually canceled in favor of Firefly, and it never achieved the posthumous popularity of the later show. But perhaps Avatar is the reinforcement of his previous scifi successes, proof that he can still be relevant where other long-time directors have started to fade away. Hopefully, we won't have to wait another 12 years to see his next installment.

Personally, though, after seeing the delightful Monsters Inc. followed by the superb The Incredibles and WALL-E, I have my fingers crossed for Andrew Stanton and Pixar Studios. Here's hoping that John Carter of Mars is something phenomenal.

Still, singling out directors and producers as possible masters might be missing the point entirely, even when we're talking about movies and TV. Alan Moore might well be your science fiction master, not just because he has written so many fantastic books, but also because those books have captured the imagination of so many directors in the last several years — albeit with varying results. And in the coming years we'll see how comic book writer Brian K. Vaughan — who has been working on Lost as well as the Buffy Season Eight comics — translates to the big screen when Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, and Runaways hit theaters.

So who, if anyone, do you see as your science fiction master? Someone from the list above? Perhaps Russell T. Davis for reviving and expanding Doctor Who? Or maybe writers like Jane Espenson, who have worked on so many of the shows we love? And, with filmmakers like Neill Blomkamp and Duncan Jones arriving on the scene, who might prove themselves master of the genre in the next ten years?

Graph by Steph Fox.

Here's a bonus chart, with more data:

There's a lot to choose from when it comes to gamer-created gamer apparel, of course. Also people are coming up with new stuff all the time. But I've picked out five pairs of shoes that I've found in the last year which I'd seriously considering buying if I weren't a starving journalist. Check 'em out and by all means point me to your favorites, if you've got a link.

Princess Peach Trainers
Created By: Daniel Reese (a.k.a. BRASS MONKI)
Shoe Type: Nike Trainers
Theme: Super Paper Mario
Spotted On: BRASS MONKI's blog
Total Cost: £135/$230

These fancy kicks were mocked up by Daniel Reese by my request after I got in touch with him over pricing on the Moogle shoes. Even if it's just a Photoshop job of what the shoes would look like, I think the design is spiffy, I love the color pink and I find that there's not nearly enough in the way of Princess Peach-related shoes to buy these days.

NES Controller Keds (Classic)*
Created By: Danielle (a.k.a. Cole530)
Shoe Type: Keds slip-ons
Theme: Nintendo hardware
Spotted On: Zazzle
Total Cost: $74.50
*Not pictured per Zazzle's site policy.

I remember decorating Keds in summer camp when I was a kid with fabric glue and glitter, but my childish creations are nothing compared to these kicks. I like the design because it's subtle and the colors will go with most of my wardrobe. Unfortunately, I find Keds slip-ons to be beastly uncomfortable until you beat them into submission — and that would probably damage the paint.

NES Controller Keds (Hipster)
Created By: Rachelle Williams (a.k.a. ParadoxArtistry)
Shoe Type: LA Gear Slip-ons
Theme: Nintendo hardware
Spotted On: Etsy
Total Cost: $85

I've never worn LA Gear brand slip-ons, so I'll just have to trust the artist's claim that these shoes are comfortable. Other than that, I like how vibrant that red acrylic looks — even if it is too loud to get away with wearing to an office job. Also, I'm not sure how I feel about the cord spelling out N-E-S on the back of the right shoe. My preference with gamer clothing of any kind is subtlety that separates gamers from posers. In other words, if you have to ask me what's on my shoes, you clearly aren't cool enough to hang out with me.

Ms. Pac-Man Mary Janes
Created By: Lindsay (a.k.a. emandsprout)
Shoe Type: Rubber-soled Mary Janes
Theme: Ms. Pac-Man
Spotted On: Etsy
Total Cost: $28

It's not hard to find ladies sizes of shoes, but I rarely run across actual ladies shoes (heels, slingbacks, etc.) in my quest for gamer clothing. These classic Mary Jane slip-ons are decorated with what looks like felt pieces and tiny accessories, so I'd be a little worried about ruining them after only three wearings. But still, it's Ms. Pac-Man and it's comparatively cheap.

Unofficial Kotaku Shoes
Created By: Adidas
Shoe Type: Trainers
Theme: Kotaku
Spotted In: Nordstrom's in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Total Cost: Can't quite remember what it cost in the store, but similar shoes on Adidas' site go for $90

I spotted these while Hanukkah shopping with my dad earlier this year and almost bought them just because they had the Kotaku color scheme. Sadly, though, they only had mens sizes too big for my little feet. Also, while I could claim I had Kotaku shoes, they're not really Kotaku-themed enough to speak for themselves. Still cool, though.

These five pairs are but a few examples of awesome gamer shoes to be found on the Internet. For further reading, go check out some of the other shoes we've spotted over the years.

The Hughes Bros previously directed Menace II Society and From Hell, among other projects. Albert Hughes said the movie takes place 30 years in the future after a series of wars have left the planet environmentally devastated. The human population has gotten incredibly small, and they live Mad Max style in broken down cities that seem to have partly reverted to an almost medieval style of life.

Visually, the movie looks something like The Matrix crossed with Road Warrior, with silvered, smoky air and stylized fights. In a discussion at Comic-Con after the clips aired, Washington said that he'd done almost all the fight scenes in the movie himself, after training with two people who had worked with Bruce Lee. In addition we saw the "motion graphic novel preview" of the movie. It was stark and intense, done entirely in stark animation. We see Eli beaten by his drunk dad, and then watch as Eli's parents give their money to a televangelist's ministry. Eli eventually steals and burns his parents' checks to the ministry, after waiting until the two of them are asleep with drinks in hand. Then he kills his parents in a blaze of fire. "And I've been wandering ever since," he says. This is backstory for his character that helps us understand his badassery in the movie.

Allen Hughes said he and his brother were drawn to the project because it was "uniquely different." He added:

[The story] reminded us of what we liked about the original Planet of the Apes. It's an adventure-journey with something to say about society.

Gary Oldman plays Eli's nemesis, who wants a rare book that Eli carries. Oldman elaborated:

[It's] An old important book. I want this because it's a means to absolute rule and power for me. With this book I can guide, lead and control, and manipulate.

After seeing the motion graphic novel backstory of Eli's life, I couldn't help but wonder if the book is the Bible.

The movie looked very promising - a nice antidote to the usual post-apocalyptic fare. And with heavy hitters like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman tearing it up on screen, it's sure to be intense.

io9 pal Ed Grabianowski explains it all over at Robot Viking:

Part of what makes these sets so cool is how rare it is to find terrain sets with a modern theme at all. The Mayhem Junkyard set just came out a few weeks ago, adding a dirty, grungy setting complete with crushed cars, piles of used tires and the dingy front office that you find in every junkyard. The only detail missing was a girly poster on the wall.

The Mayhem Junkyard is just the latest Mayhem setting, though. Mayhem Industrial includes a trucking company, industrial equipment and trucks. Streets of Mayhem is a gritty urban street scene perfect for a ton of modern and sci-fi RPGs and miniatures games, including a certain special Robot Viking project (that I promise isn't dead!). Mayhem Downtown will give your superheroes all the tall buildings they can possibly leap over, brood on the ledges of or swing from via synthetic webbing.

Get the scoop on how to deploy these cool gaming sets in your next post-nuclear D&D game. Read the rest of Ed's review at Robot Viking.

Sure, X-Men Origins: Wolverine may try to act as a beginners' guide to the breakout character from Bryan Singer's X-Men movies - We try to pretend that Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand doesn't exist 'round these here parts, thank you very much - but there's only so much you can fit into one movie. For all the rest, click the links below.

A Brief History Of Wolverine
A beginner's guide to Wolverine's complicated backstory.

The Secret Origin Of Wolverine
Who came up with the character, and just why he's always been a bit of a creative orphan.

All In The Family
It's not just Wolverine, you know; meet his kids. And he has a few.

The Best There Is At What He Does... Which Is What, Exactly?
What are Wolverine's powers? We explain.

Wolverine Eternal
You can't keep a good man down. Especially when he literally can't stay dead. We look at why Wolverine just doesn't know how to quit.

Deus Ex 3 is a prequel to the other two Deus Ex games. In it, you're Adam Jensen, a private security officer working at a company that develops biomechanical augmentations for the human body, just one stepping stone towards the nanotech augmentations of the other games. Jensen witnesses an attack on his company, and has to investigate. Besides Shanghai, the game will take you to future versions of Detroit, Montreal and two other cities.

Here are some more bitchin images:

[EIDOS Forums]

Let's take a look at them. First, you're going to want to access your profile. You can do that by logging in, then clicking the profile button (pictured above). Easy.

That will bring you to your profile screen, pictured above. From here, you can do all kinds of stuff.

1. Manage and edit your profile. This will let you upload/change your profile avatar, edit your personal information (like Gamertag, Steam ID, etc), display a website of your choosing and filter the kind of things that appear on...

2. The main "feed" page. You can edit what's displayed here by clicking on the comments, posts, favourites, friends and followers buttons on #1, and basically, it's there to highlight your comments, the comments of friends, posts from particular Kotaku authors, that kind of thing. Three of the four pictured there are red because they're my posts, but the third one down is what the comments look like when they're fed into the page.

3. Your "friends". When you're reading a post on Kotaku, and pop down to the comments section, you'll see that underneath other commenter's profile names is a little icon. Shaped like a love heart. If you like what you're reading, click that and you'll be "following" them, which means that whenever somebody you like posts a comment, you can edit your "feed" page (ie #2) to display their comments, so you can track them down and read/reply to them.

A "friend", then, is somebody you're following that's following you as well. Awww, isn't that sweet!

4. Your "followers". We pretty much just covered #4.

So, that's how you make friends on Kotaku and keep track of them. Now let's find out how you can keep in touch with them.

From #1 (the taskbar at the top of your profile page), click on "messages". That will take you to the screen above. It's basically the same as a personal messaging system on a forum, except it collects them all in a single thread. From this thread, you can view your messages, reply to messages sent to you, delete old messages, and select whether you want your message/reply to be private (so only the two people communicating can see it), or whether you don't care if the world knows about it.

So next time you need to clear something up with somebody, or just say HELLO, the messages system is probably a better way to go about it than clogging up the comments section.

And...that's about it! There are a few fancier tricks for more advanced users, like subscribing to RSS feeds (hint: the feed button is at the top right of the profile screen), but for the most part, that's all you need to know.

Oh, apart from this. You must read this. We'd recommend you read it on a daily basis. No. Hourly basis.

For those who aren't Kotaku commenters, but would like to be...create an account and start commenting. The world won't see your comments, but we will. If you're sticking to the rules (and actually contributing something to the conversation), it shouldn't be long before somebody gets around to activating your account.

Champions Online will be an vastly action-oriented MMO — the brief clip screened featured battles with exploding forcefields and clashing katanas. Unlike games where a single enemy is encountered, Champions will have its heroes fighting off squads of attacking henchmen at first, with new strategies and tactics introduced as gameplay progresses and your advancing character comes into contact with hardcore villains and supervillains. The game is especially interested in elevating the level of personalization and character-building, allowing for unique modification of powers and putting more power than ever in the hands of players.

What's special about this game?

—Customization! A huge part of what they're excited to bring to Champions Online is enabling players to have hands-on creativity within the game's world. The game will be classless, featuring pre-defined themes and power sets, but your character will be defined by the skills and talents you choose, entirely self-constructed. There will be opportunity for hybrid characters that can switch between offense and defense capabilities, and characters in general will be able to temporarily take over the action role of a team member if they go down. You'll be able to select various roles, switch up your build, and learn about more powers than you'll be able to use at once. The mobility of switching between active and supporting roles is an exciting development, meaning no one team member will feel forced into a box by their chosen skill-set.

—The Nemesis System — the creators seem the most excited about this new, extensive feature. You'll be able to build your own villain that you can fight once you build up your reputation. You can customize your villain entirely, choose their power sets and minions, even create a background and mythology for them. The game's creators suspect that as much time if not more will be pored into villain-creation than into heroic character-building. You'll be able to invite people to fight with you, then show off your nemesis-constructing skills when your personal villain attacks. This element of being able to create and share the result with friends is one of the features creators wanted most for Champions Online. By the time you're creating your own nemesis, you'll be very well-acquainted with the game, and your own villains will likely be the most difficult enemies you encounter.

—Action-oriented MMORPG — There will rarely be static fights and there will always be somewhere interesting to go. You'll be able to constantly move around, with lots of interaction in many different environments. There will be constant activity on the game, marked at first by fighting off swarms of lower-level minions. If you've always wanted to take on a ring of bad guys and show them how it's done, this will be your chance. It'll feel heroic to battle coordinated attackers, feel even better when you reach more challenging solo opponents.

—A Variety of Vistas — Champion Online's creators wanted to bust out of just being set in city-scapes. Millennium City (set in the ruins of a very old Detroit) will be the hub of adventuring, but there will be a ton of different places in the world to visit and find new challenges. Every area will have a strikingly different feel. A few of the settings the panel let slip featured a desert, a location in Canada, and Monster Island. While "everything and the kitchen sink" is in Millennium City, there will be many types of neighborhoods/genres within the disparate cites sites. Each place will look and feel distinct, and offer a different type of gameplay, from typical showdowns to espionage to crime-solving.

—Complex Storylines — One writer shared that "the amount of dialogue and scripting is insane." He had recently submitted 29 pages of dialogue for one neighborhood of one setting. Although there are several overarching storylines threaded throughout, there willl be tons of stories and missions that mingle horror and comedy with heroism.

Info from the Q & A:

—The stats operation system will be unique, and you'll be able to use items, talents, and "perk rewards" to alter your status.
stat operation: use items and talents and perk rewards, able to alter your stats

—Will there be unusual weapons? (The questioner wanted a guitar). There will be a lot of unusual weapons on top of more than 200 "mundane" weapons, plus we are promised "crazy fun cool new stuff."

—You'll be able to band together with other players to form "supergroups."

—Can you punch people through plate glass? There'll be breakable surfaces, along with interesting things to pick up and hurl (the biggest at the moment is a tank, but they hinted there may be an F-14 jet to throw at some point).

—Do you have to grind out levels with the daily grind so many other games require? Certain levelling-up is a feature of most MMOs, but the creators believe that Champions Online is unique because there are no limitations to where superheroes can go and what they can do; the genre gives more freedom, and players will be involved in creating their own content.

—Will there be super-vehicles? The game's creators are starting to work on vehicle tech, aware that some players are interested in "supercars and motorcycles and superpogo sticks," and are in development stages with those ideas. Super-vehicles aren't guaranteed for launch.

—What happens at the max level? Work is progressing on the endgame now. Items will continue to mean upgrades to your character, and they're working on having an arena-like fight club. The game is built to be in the hands of the players, and the endgame will grow with player suggestion and input.

During yesterday's Cryptic panel, we got a sneak peak at the highly-anticipated Star Trek Online MMO game. This absolutely gorgeous-looking game is set in the year 2409, 30 years past the events of the ST:TNG film "Nemesis." Klingon compromises have fallen apart, with the Klingon Empire on the verge of all-out war. There will also be "an ancient threat from the past." You'll be able to play as either a Starfleet officer or as a member of the Klingon Defense, with both choices at Captain rank. Yes, you will be a Captain of your own starship. You'll be able to select your bridge crew and command them, as well as pilot the ship yourself.

Early on you'll choose your career path — either tactical, engineering or science-based. But the game seeks to bring to the fore what the creators feel to be the fundamentals of Star Trek: space, shipboard and ground exploration. Gameplay will be focused on beaming down to planets for a variety of missions, mastering shipboard concerns and, of course, exploring the final frontier.

You'll be able to have "total customization" of your own alien races, with the ability to modify characters down to the slightest skin-textures and features. While you'll also be able to choose from all of the "known and loved Trek races" to play, if you've ever wanted to father your own alien species, this will be your chance. The brief glimpses and stills we were given of the actual game look extraordinary. The graphics are detailed, rich and look better than the space scenes in most movies. We got to see the character-design elements in action, and the level of detail will please even the most exacting of fans.

After the panel, I asked game producer Craig Zinkievich whether we could expect a high level of social interaction to be available between players along with missions and character-building. He confirmed that character interaction would be very present in the game — just as it is in the Star Trek universe — with sites like space stations offering places to congregate. "And pleasure planets?" I suggested, to which he laughed and skirted the issue — but implied that it could be a possibility, and definitely isn't ruled out. See you all on Risa?

Over at game forum NeoGAF, member HUELEN10 told the following tale. We cannot vouch for the validity of it, but here goes:

My neighbors which I don't really know to well to begin with, got their kids a Wii for Xmas. They got no games for it, but they did get a Classic Controller as well as an additional Nunchuck Combo and a carrying case. They asked me what games they recommended, and I decided to recommend them the Animal Crossing City Folk/Wii Speak bundle, Wario Land Shake It,Mario Kart Wii, and Super mario Galaxy. I also recommended them some VC games including Super mario World, and Sonic 2 8-bit.

Anywho, the Mom asks me what VC is, and I told her. I told her that all she needed to do was put in her credit card when prompted on the Shop Channel, and get the amount of points she wanted. I also told her what WiiSpeak is, and how to connect her Wii to the internet via an ethernet connection.

Anywho, I got a call today from the mom telling me that the Wii is not working. I asked what was wrong and you won't believe it.........

SHE PHYSICALLY PUT 3 CREDIT CARDS INTO THE DISC SLOT.
HOW STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Also while putting the Wii Speak on top of her sensor bar, she apparently cracked it open. Just ugh. I told her she has to cancel her cards and call Nintendo for a 75USD repair, and now she expects ME to pay for this. Her husband is on my side of the issue, but she is steaming at me right now. Seriously, she put in 1, and thought that that one could not be accepted, so she kept putting them in and they will not come out. I might try to remove them tomorrow with her hubby while she is away on a business trip.

There are pics, so that must mean it happened, no? We just checked the SUPER SAFE Japanese Wii manual, and there's nothing about not putting your credit cards in your Wii. Though, there is a warning about putting a four leaf clover in it. So don't go doing that!

Fail & More Fail: GAF Tells REAL Stupid Owner Stories [NeoGAF via Kombo]

I've had a pet project I've been working on for years, three of them if my memory is right. It started as a simple idea: You can judge a lot from a person's desk. I bet you could judge just as much from their home entertainment system. So I decided it would be fun to try and track down some pictures from the work desks and home gaming set-ups of the people who work in and cover the video game industry. Simple right? Not so much.

Turns out that many of the people are either too busy or too private to want to participate in such a project. To make matters worse, there's always fear that something sitting on someone's desk, that ends up in a photo, could actually be news worthy. Like a secret project or the next big thing. But I didn't give up and about once a year I'd harass a bunch of game developers for photos. Finally, this year, the harassment paid off.

What started as a trickle of photos turned quickly into the collection of galleries you'll find on the jump: More than 40 different photo galleries from 17 studios, seven publications, two industry movers and shakers and a couple of fun surprises.

You'll get to see the desk of such greats as Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux and Tetsuya Mizuguchi along with plenty of others. Remember you can comment both on the next page and on each individual photo if you click on them.

If I find there is interest, I will try to periodically update this gallery of galleries with more developers, journalists and industry movers and shakers. Have fun.

DEVELOPERS
2K Games

ASTRO Gaming

Buzz Monkey Software

Capcom

Eat, Sleep, Play

Electronic Arts

Firaxis Games

Flying Lab Software

Gearbox Software

Harmonix Music

Incognito Entertainment

Insomniac Games

Kojima Productions

Lionhead Studios

NanaOn-Sha

Naughty Dog

NCSoft

NetDevil

Neversoft Entertainment

Ninja Theory

Pandemic Studios

Petroglyph Games

THQ

Q Entertainment

JOURNALISTS

Blue's News

BoingBoing

EGM

The Escapist

GameLife

Joystiq

Kotaku

MTV

Slashdot Games

VE3D

VH1

INDUSTRY FOLK

MISCELLANIES
I AM 8-BIT

Penny Arcade

Whorecraft

Video Games Live

Which writer’s father bought a Playstation 3 specifically to play Grand Theft Auto 4?

Thanks Shawn, we are most flattered.

Kotaku PS3 theme [PlaystationUniverse]
[Thanks, Justin]

Live casting starts now. Watch and don't mock! Game starts on the hour best of seven. Guardian, Pit, Isolation, Construct and High Ground. Hit the jump for the live-ish blog!

Crecente just put his son to bed, so we are waiting.... For him to do that. Crecente is back, deleting people on his XBL account to make room for Luke.

BOMBSHELL. Readers we didn't lie: We will be talking on Gizmodo with Crecente, Fahey, Mark Wilson and Luke... Luke Smith. Former Kotaku writer and current Bungie employee. Giz will be bringing on former writer Travis, who doesn't work for Bungie.

And the game is getting under way. Sorta. GET A TRIPOD, CRECENTE. Oh, the camera is strapped to Crecente's head.

First game and Kotaku wins!

Crecente would like to point out that he has the second highest number of kills.

Second game. It's 1-1. Giz wins! Rather, Giz wins.

Third game. Giz wins 49-50. Giz is up 2-1. :/

Fourth game. Giz...

Fifth game. And it looks like Kotaku just might... WIN!!! It's now 3-2.

Last game. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww fuck."

The Eye of Judgment set up over in the Sony booth is pretty big, there are six tables set up, two of which are set up for playing head-to-head online and the rest are designed to be played side-by-side on a single machine. At one end of the area was a large glass display case with a selection of some of the retails card packs and boxes. I hate to say this, because of all of the required equipment and space, but I'm really looking forward to this game.

It's been an AO rated week here in Kotaku Originals. Manhunt 2 gets an Adults Only Rating, banned, and kicked to the curb by Nintendo and Sony in a matter of days, McWhertor gets close up and personal with BioShock and we get a first peek at the new LEGO MMO.

• The LEGO Universe Trailer
• BioShock Ltd Edition Coming To Australia
• LiveBlogging NetDevil
• LEGO MMO Details Tonight... Maybe
• BioShock Hands-On Impressions
• Stranglehold's Gun Porn
• ESRB Head Talks AO, Manhunt 2 and Community Standards
• In Plundr Size Matters
• Adults Only Manhunt 2, Homeless?
• Nintendo Nixes AO Manhunt
• Vote for the First Game Club Game
• Nothing Says Gambling Like Ninjas And Zombies
• Rockstar Responds to Manhunt Rating
• Manhunt 2 Rated Adults Only
• Manhunt 2 Banned In UK
• Second SOCOM coming to PS3
• Sony's Online Gambit
• How to Kung Fu Hustle
• Physical Education Final? Twilight Princess!
• The Pikachu Shopping Stroller
• Wii Smart Car Fleet

Flynn De Marco

1.80 Firmware: Sorry PAL, No Backwards-Compatability Relief

ESRB Comments on Halo 2's Naked Ass

Sex, Gambling, But Not Games in Japanese Arcade Hell

New GTA IV Gallery

PAL Virtual Console Updates Itself, Brings New Old Games

Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree Impressions

Picross DS Awesome Impressions

Mario Strikers Charged Impressions

Planet Puzzle League Impressions

Brain Age 2 Impressions

Nintendo Media Summit Blowout Begins

Insecticide Coming to DS, PC this Holiday

Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WW II

Gallery: Kung Fu Hustle

Justify Your Haze

Settlers: Rise of an Empire

Naruto: Rise of the Ninja Q&A

Arcade Too Loud? Try These

A Mario To Blow Your Nose On

Day of Ubi

Ubi's Games for Everyone Gallery

My Life Coach Impressions

Boogie Hands-On Impressions Part II

Jam Sessions Rocks My World

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Unveiled

My Word Coach DS/Wii Impressions

Splinter Cell Conviction Impressions

Haze Impressions

Tom Clancy's EndWorld Impressions

The Assassin's Creed Speech, Trailer

PotC At World's End Impressions

The Guinea Pig Metal Gear Solid Cosplay

Fighting Mania: Fist of the North Star Impressions

Turret Tower: Game in a Tube

Ubisoft Working on Beowulf

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Flynn De Marco

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• This Day in Gaming

Flynn De Marco

Apparently we've unhinged Jack.

After Kotaku dissected Jack Thompson's latest appearance on national television trying to connect the tragedy at Virginia Tech with video games, the attorney started emailing us... again.

First Jack tried to tie us to allegations that a 14-year-old made a threat against the University of California Berkley campus by emailing one of the sergeants of the campus police. After speaking with the sergeant actually handling the investigation (not the one Jack emailed) I was told that there was nothing to worry about.

Next Jack asked us to remove our analysis of his misstatements on national television and when we politely declined he faxed the FBI in Colorado:

Dear FBI:

This web site at the below url is targeting me:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/virginia-tech/breaking-idiot-thompson-blames-va-shooting-on-games-252702.php

I ask that something be done by the FBI to stop this or prosecute it:

Kyle81 says: Actually the VT shootings are now the biggest mass shooting in US history with 31 dead, not just school shooting. Jack should be shot for taking the opportunity to leech off a tragedy to push his own agenda 04/16/07 03:25 PM

Regards, Jack Thompson

I quickly got on the phone with my friends at the agency (they were among the agencies I covered for five years as a police reporter in Denver) and found out that they hadn't yet processed the fax. I was also told that it was unlikely they would handle such an investigation, if one was even needed, but that the local police might look into it.

Finally, I asked about the fed's policy on pursuing charges for filing a false report... but I'll get to that later. Brian Crecente

Update To be clear, while we fully support freedom of speech we're not such big fans of pointless threats. So stop making them. If nothing else that make gamers look like a bunch of immature hot heads.