Sony says the Mercedes SLS AMG was "chosen from a total of nearly 1000 cars recreated down to the finest detail" to be Gran Turismo 5's cover star. It not only welcomes the box art viewer with its open gull-wing doors, it also says "Hey, we modeled the interior of this car, too. Check it out."

Until such time as Gran Turismo 5 sees fit to make it to store shelves, enjoy some new shots of the Mercedes SLS AMG in action via the gallery below.

The action game directed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya offers a new alternative, but a familiar gameplay style for the fan of Capcom's shoot and slice 'em up series, something new for the Ninja Gaidens and God of Wars of the world to aim for. And it's not just Bayonetta's weapon arsenal, though she can wear a gun—or claw or ice skate or bazooka—on each hand and each foot, leading to a dizzying array of combos. She can also exact vengeance on her angelic foes with the magic of her hair, the black locks that act as both costume and, when needed, a giant, enemy shredding beast.

Is this action heroine a welcome addition to the Dantes, Ryus and Kratoses of the genre?

Loved
Witch Time & Quad Damage: The best aspect of Bayonetta? The deep, fluid, play-to-your-preference combat, made all the more interesting by a wealth of weapons, combinations and the delightfully fun Witch Time. That's the dodge at the last second mechanic that lets Bayonetta hack and slash and shoot in her own take on now-classic bullet time. Witch Time is meant to be used liberally, via a well-timed flick of the right trigger, and makes experimentation with Bayonetta's move set and weapon suite—whips, swords, shotguns, et al. applied to both hands and feet—tons of fun.

A Dull Moment? Why I'd Never! Action game fans will not hunger for over-over-the-top frenzied gameplay in Bayonetta. The game administers a constant drip of high octane fisticuffs, swordplay and gunplay that manages to regularly one-up itself over the course of the game's substantial length, throwing at the player more and more spectacular bosses and ridiculous circumstances for Bayonetta to effortlessly overcome. Not that these the player will find the gameplay effortless, necessarily—more on that later—but whether Bayonetta is battling Angels twenty times her size, riding on the back of a rocket, or surfing the lip of a mile-deep whirlpool, she does it with cat-like grace that juxtaposes beautifully with the chaos flooding the screen. Thanks to the game's ornately and cleverly designed part-angelic, part-demonic bosses, Bayonetta is (almost) never dull.

Visual Style: Bayonetta's gilded and glitzy aesthetic will likely have as many detractors as fans. But I'm a fan of the game's Vegas Strip visual intensity and costumes as subtle as Liberace's stage wear. It's gaudy, silly and full of impractical designs, but it's rarely if ever brown and boring. Bayonetta's personal appeal, as illustrated through her hip-thrusting and long-legged kicks, may wear thinner by the end of the game—as does the black witch hair offering titillating glances at her nether parts—but it is at least refreshing not to see a protagonist brooding and bulky.

Normal Is Normal, Hard Is Hard: At its default level Bayonetta offers a challenge. Certainly not an insurmountable one, but enough pushback from enemies and numerous bosses to make the game as hard as games like this should be. Platinum Games is generous with checkpoints and saving opportunities, offering two levels of difficulty above "normal." Having failed often in the next difficulty level up, I'm fairly confident that even gamers better than me will find an appropriate challenge in "hard."

Vs. Jeanne: Though they may be the least visually impressive of Bayonetta's many encounters, the battles with her white haired foil Jeanne are often the most interesting from a pure gameplay perspective. These hand-to-hand fights against Bayonetta's equal require some of the most demanding reflexes, offering the most intense battles. It was against Jeanne that I learned to appreciate Bayonetta's battle system and weapon switching. It's also against Jeanne where you'll use the wall-climbing Witch Walk mechanic most.

Heaven or Hell: Bayonetta is fortunate enough to have access to multiple realities, letting her access portals to Alfheim and to the Gates of Hell. The former lets players take part in mid-chapter battles of a puzzle-like nature, restricting them to a certain number of punches and kicks or to Bayonetta's Wicked Weave hair-based magical attacks. If you want to really play Bayonetta, unlocking everything, you'll find an impressive challenge in the hidden Alfheim portals. The Gates of Hell ensures that players will want to return to a "new game+" playthrough, purchasing and unlocking everything. In the Gates of Hell, all new weapons, techniques and accessories await the player. And given their price, it may be a long time before the Bayonetta fan has seen everything on display.

Devil May Cry Too: Look, if you like Devil May Cry, you're most likely going to love Bayonetta, the spiritual successor to the Capcom franchise that has varied in fan reception over the years. Hideki Kamiya, director of Bayonetta and the original Devil May Cry, also takes time to include nods to some of his other games, like Viewtiful Joe and Okami. But if you simply enjoy the Devil May Cry upgrade and combat systems, you're going to find much of Bayonetta fondly familiar.

Sega Throwback: And if you happen to be a Sega superfan, the publisher of Bayonetta's past is also well referenced. The gags aren't worth spoiling here, but a handful of Bayonetta's weaker, gameplay-switching chapters are made infinitely better by goofy nostalgia.

Hated
The Ugly Sister: As followers of the game are likely aware, the PlayStation 3 version falls well behind its Xbox 360 sister in a handful of technical aspects. There are frame rate and loading issues with the PS3 version, both of which detract from the fluidity of the experience, particularly if one spends time with the 360 version. The loading frustrations are not just limited to between-chapter breaks, either, as the game will pause to load when picking up items. The Xbox 360 version, while mostly consistent in its frame rate, suffers from some noticeable screen tearing. It's more obvious during the quieter periods, not as much when engaged in battle.

Lock Off, Featherface: Bayonetta's camera is a chore to deal with at times, sometimes pulling the view away from enemies at crucial moments. It's slow to catch up or control at others. The default setting for camera manipulation is painfully slow, something the user can tweak, but it's the reliance on locking-on to an enemy for reliable camera angles that can be frustrating.

It may be difficult to convey how much fun it is to play Bayonetta without touching on the thousand things that make the game memorable. Over the course of my first 16-hour play through of the game, Bayonetta showed me one ridiculous cinematic battle after another. The game's memorable, puzzling bosses may be the biggest draw for their visual spectacle, but it will be the deep, fluid combat that will keep action game fans hooked after the visual splendor wears off.

Now, Bayonetta does have a hitch or two. The story driving moments that interrupt all that action wears out its welcome quickly. A handful of verses that involve driving sequences and controlling mounted turret guns detract from the overall experience. Especially the turret gun nonsense. Fortunately, those cut scenes can be skipped. Turret gun sequences should be given the same courtesy.

For the gamer not put-off by the Devil May Cry school of design, there's much to like in Bayonetta. It's a ludicrous, oversexed romp that one shouldn't take too seriously, just as its creators seemed to have done. But Bayonetta should be enjoyed immensely.

Bayonetta was developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on January 5. Retails for $59.99 USD. Two copies of the game were purchased for reviewing purposes. Played Xbox 360 version to completion on Normal difficulty, further testing Hard difficulty. Played first three chapters on PlayStation 3 version.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Instead, it's an action/role-playing game hybrid where you play as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, who's been tricked into starting said Apocalypse when he really wasn't supposed to. Whoops. So you're sent to make amends, and by "make amends", I mean "kill everyone and everything responsible."

Playing through the game, it often feels like every element of Darksiders has been lifted from somewhere else. It plays like The Legend of Zelda (you even get a horse!), only with God of War's aesthetic and combat. There's also a bit of Prince of Persia platforming tossed in for good measure and even some Panzer Dragoon, all the above crudely cobbled together to form something else. It's the Frankenstein's Monster of January 2010.

But is that such a bad thing? Let's find out.

Loved
Demon Killer: Fairly early in the game, you gain the ability to transform into what is essentially a giant Balrog. And you can do this once every five minutes or so. Sure, it makes the game too easy as you progress, but when you can click your fingers and turn into a 20-foot flaming monster which can crush enemies at will, I simply do not care.

Mark Hamill: Mark Hamill is in the game. It's not his finest role, but hey, it's still nice hearing the guy, especially since he's playing Darksiders' version of Ocarina of Time's Navi.

Finish Him: Darksiders includes a neat feature whereby enemies close to death (say, they've got 1/3 of their strength left) can be wiped out instantly with a single button press. What's more, those enemies are lit up with an icon indicating this. When you're in the midst of a battle against 5-8 bad guys, it's a big help, as it lets you plan your course through the carnage and deal with enemies one by one.

The Future's So Bright... - I'll get to my grievances with the game's art style later, but one thing that doesn't disappoint is Darksider's colour. Despite being a post-apocalyptic title, the game pops with colour, from War's bright red tunic to lush green and blue water levels to swirling yellow deserts. Even the bad guys are dripping with aqua blues and bright greens. Sure makes a pleasant change from the browns, greys and more browns you'd expect from a game like this.

It's Dangerous To Go Alone. Take This. It's a genuine surprise to see that, in some cases, Darksiders actually manages to succeed in feeling like a Zelda game. After a slow, combat-heavy opening you'll soon encounter large dungeons full of puzzles, then go about unlocking new weapons to unlock new puzzles and defeat new enemies/bosses. Just goes to show that, at least in terms of mechanics, the Zelda formula isn't as hard to copy as you'd have imagined.

Hated
Mad Indeed: Much was made of the involvement of comic book star Joe Madureira as the game's creative director. Pity, because Darksiders is a creative mess. Its bulging, ridiculous characters are like something built to appeal to 16 year-old boys from the 1990's, the story is left untended for most of the game and Darksiders' worlds and opponents are so mired in cliché that at times you wonder whether the game's secretly deriding every fantasy game that's come before it.

Ratchet & Clunk: For some reason, there are platforming areas in this game. There really shouldn't be. War's movements are far too cumbersome and "clunky" for wall-running and flying... foxing, meaning some obstacles and areas are far more difficult to traverse than they ought to be. This is also the best spot to complain about the "demonic growth", which is the only substance War can climb in the game. You see, despite the fact the protagonist has metal claw fingers and is a horseman of the apocalypse, he can't climb rocks, or walls, or trees. All he can climb is conveniently-located "demonic growth". It's not the first game to do this, sure, but few these days do it so obviously.

Hope You Like Fighting: While Darksiders gets the Zelda formula right in some instances, in others, it falls short. In Zelda, the mechanics are only half the fun; the rest comes from exploration, interaction with NPCs and side-quests. Darksiders has mostly... fighting, meaning your only compulsion to advance through the game's sprawling levels is the promise of more combat.

Screen Tear: I played the game on 360, and experienced the worst screen tear effects I've seen since Saints Row. Which, coincidentally, was also published by THQ. It's tolerable most of the time, but in some areas it's almost unbearable.

There's an over-used saying that goes "jack of all trades, master of none". I'm going to use it one more time, however, because that's exactly how Darksiders feels. Yes, it takes the best elements of some of the best games of the past decade and throws them together, but it never manages to mould them all into something truly unique. It's like watching a YouTube mashup of your favourite games in lieu of, well, actually playing through your favourite games.

You've also got to wonder about the timing of the game's release. Zelda inspirations aside, you'll spend the bulk of your time in Darksiders brawling, and with God of War III and the sublime Bayonetta on the way, maybe THQ should have got this out the door a little sooner.

Since they didn't, though, what we're left with is a game that initially disappoints with its bland levels and uninspired premise, but will, for those willing to ride out its humdrum opening hours, gradually unfurl into a competent action RPG.

Darksiders was developed by Vigil and published by THQ for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Released on January 5, retails for USD $59. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played game to completion on Xbox 360 (normal difficulty).

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

It's a pretty straightforward affair. You show up, you're of age, you play some MAG and socialized with the Zipper Interactive folks, peppering them with questions about the next SOCOM in between hands-on time with the "final beta."

Additional details are right here, but if you happen to miss out on the good natured festivities, the game will hit North American store shelves just a few weeks later.

Oh, here's some important information!

Who: You and 99 other diehard MAG fans
When: Thursday, January 7 from 4:00 to 7:00pm
Where: The Aria Hotel at CityCenter in Las Vegas, Nevada

Requirements:
· You must be 18 years-old or older – ID *will* be checked by burly men!
· You must RSVP via the Facebook event page.
· Don't hang out in the main lobby! Line up outside Juniper rooms 2 & 3.

Celebrate MAG Going Gold in Vegas – CES Meetup details [PlayStation.blog]

Famitsu—and we're guessing parent company Enterbrain—have tracked some of 2009's bestselling games that bear the budget price, known on the Sony side as "PlayStation 3 the Best" titles and on the Microsoft side, "Platinum Hits." We realize you probably weren't asking yourself this morning, "What price reduced games from 2008 sold pretty darn well in Japan in 2009?" but Famitsu is here to answer that unasked question.

The two bestsellers are Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on the PS3 side, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation on the 360 side. And that's where the race is closest, as the PlayStation brand is clearly winning the budget priced war in numbers, according to Famitsu.

Here's the list.

PlayStation 3 the Best
01. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - 88,753
02. Everybody's Golf 5 - 88,346
03. Valkyria Chronicles - 81,625
04. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - 59,092
05. Yakuza Kenzan! - 55,226
06. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - 39,679
07. Grand Theft Auto IV - 33,202
08. Devil May Cry 4 - 23,770
09. Mahjong Fight Club - 20,656
10. Way of the Samurai 3 Plus - 20,593

Xbox 360 Platinum Hits
01. Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation - 86,534
02. Beautiful Katamari - 74,166
03. Halo 3 - 25,508
04. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - 24,567
05. Left 4 Dead - 12,988
06. Armored Core 4 Answer - 10,974
07. Idolmaster Twins - 6,621
08. Devil May Cry 4 - 6,360
09. Grand Theft Auto IV - 6,210
10. Fable 2 - 6,151

年末年始はPS3&Xbox 360廉価版で遊ぶのもあり！−−2009年廉価版ソフト販売本数TOP10 [Famitsu]

There were two ways to market this game in the states. Either Aksys could play up the fighting system and gloss over the more adult bits, or they could release a trailer that basically says that the game itself doesn't matter as much as the scenery within. That's not the sort of message that makes me want to rush out and spend my money.

Very nice use of 70's porno guitar though.

What does one get for the 800 Microsoft Points investment? The all-new Riot Mode challenges, offering new things to loot and a bank in which to store all that loot. It may not sound like much for ten bucks, but the description "like Smash TV in coop FPS" seems to actually have some truth to it, making the DLC potentially priceless.

You can read our impressions of the new downloadable content if you're on the fence or, if exceptionally cautious, wait for our upcoming review.

Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot hits the PlayStation Network beginning January 7, 2010 for $9.99 USD and Windows PC in "early 2010." Anyone grab it yet?

In reality, they play more like isolated firefights than all-out war, according to CJ Heine, lead designer at Zipper Interactive.

"The scale has always been missing," he says.

For example, when you see tracer fire and hear gunshots in other games, it's usually simulated by the computer "to make the player feel like they're in a larger battle than they really are," says Heine.

So he and his team have built what they believe to be a better mousetrap; one that places a human command behind every bullet, air strike, and commotion taking place on screen.

"It's actual combat between real players," Heine explains, speaking of MAG, the upcoming multiplayer-only shooter for PlayStation 3. But not only are the game's actions authentic, the number of simultaneous players it accommodates is staggering: 256 to be exact, a figure that dwarfs the size of previous console shooters.

But my Modern Warfare 2 plays just fine. Why, then, would I want more numbers? What's in it for me, I ask the designer. Added purpose and broader scope comes the reply. "I think MAG is an evolution of the shooter," Heine responds. "Running with 256 players actually allows us to recreate the scale and intensity of widespread combat without relying on artificially placed sounds or effects."

Okay, but what about lag? Some games stutter with only 16 or 32 players online. Sounds like Sony will need a Google-size server farm to manage that many players for a single session. Either that or compromise the gameplay.

While the answer to enable more players would seem to be more hardware, Zipper Interactive says their "new server architecture" allows them to meet the demands of 256 players without the need of costly additional servers.

It's unclear exactly what they've done to ensure stability. And geographical latency is inevitable. But many early previewers have reported surprisingly smooth connections. "Whatever Zipper did with their servers, it's
working," said one beta tester.

There is no "I" in team
If you're one of those independent types or bratty tennis stars that hates team sports, MAG probably isn't for you. With so many players on screen at the same time, games would quickly spiral out of control without organization, making Unreal Tournament played in a tight corridor look like child's play.

To provide the much-needed structure, players are divided into 8-person squads, with 4 squads forming a platoon of 32 players, and 4 platoons forming a company of 128 players. Accordingly, group leaders are critical to the success of the team, says Heine-especially a company's Officer in Charge.

"In many ways, the OIC is similar to a platoon eader in that they cannot personally assign any objectives (like a squad leader)," he says. "But they do control powerful game-changing abilities that can turn the tide of a battle when used properly, such as altering the respawn rates of friendly or enemy forces, communicating the tactical abilities used by squad and platoon leaders, or preventing opposing tactics from being used."

Translation: In MAG, you're forced to work as a team. Since there's no computer-aided actions to guide you to victory, you'll live or die on the decisions made by your fellow gamers. And if your commanding officer is a douche, your team is screwed. It sounds bad, but it makes for some crazy good unity.

"Just watching the reactions in the beta over the last few months, each company has a vocal set of players, all declaring that their faction is the best or easiest to play with," says Heine. "It's great to see the players latching on and creating their own rivalries."

To advance the ranks into leadership roles and create your own company, you'll need to earn the trust of your peers by completing objectives, making valuable contributions, and earning experience points over time. This isn't to say you can't go on solo missions, such as sneaking behind enemy lines and sabotaging their supplies. You just can't be bohemian about it.

"Well-organized squads with good leadership and communication are going to make the difference between a win and a loss more often than the efforts of any one individual player," asserts Heine.

In the year 2025
Set 15 years in the future, MAG takes place in a fully globalized and diplomatic planet Earth.

But greed and utopia can never co-exist, so the demilitarized world quickly sees a rise in demand for enterprising mercenaries known as Private Military Companies to do its killing.

At first, these companies bade for contracts in a civil manner, much like a commercial firm would, explains Heine. At some point, however, "competitive tensions and minor conflicts escalated into full scale war," he adds. How convenient for you, Mr. or Ms. gamer.

With the world in turmoil, and weaponry in the hands of opposing private contractors, players will need to choose which company-otherwise known as factions-they wish to fight for before. For veterans, there's Valor Company, which outfits its troopers with standard-styled military gear. For James Bond lovers, there's Raven Industries, which relies on high-tech gadgetry to win its battles. And lastly, the S.V.E.R. company-a group of misfit militia-
men with a chip on their shoulder.

But not only do factions give the game a sense of individuality, according to Heine, they dictate how aggressive or defensive teams are in their attack. "Each faction has a unique visual style and reason for fighting, but the differences in weapons, equipment, and missions have the biggest impact on gameplay," he says. " Ultimately, factions create a sense of allegiance within MAG, which is rare for a shooter."

What exactly should you expect from the gameplay then? Look no further than SOCOM, Zipper's previous breakthrough series for PlayStation 2. "At the core, MAG and SOCOM are similar in that they're both squad-based military shooters," Heine admits. "Players already familiar with SOCOM will understand the importance of teamwork and have a set of skills, such as fire discipline, which translate over to MAG pretty well."

But as previously mentioned, it's a much bigger party this time-not to mention being a first-person shooter as opposed to SOCOM's third-person perspective. "MAG takes team based gameplay and elevates it," says Heine. "As seen in beta, most objectives are fiercely contested by full squads, and some level of teamwork is usually required to have any success with the objectives."

More specifically, you'll be destroying enemy bases, ordering commands on the fly with the d-pad, or engaging the front lines using standard first-person shooter controls. For a bird's-eye view of all 256 players on screen, you can hit the map button to survey individuals battles and assign new objectives or counterattacks.

Slower is better?
First-person shooters are traditionally known for their quickness. Turn a corner. Bust a cap in some guy's melon. Move on. If it wasn't already obvious, MAG is not that kind of game.

Your deftness with a firearm is still required, and headshots are still present. Only here you'll need to plan your attack, since you'll be commanding or working with upwards of 127 teammates as your opponents do the same.

Aware of how daunting that task may initial seem to some, Zipper has prepared concentrated modes to acclimatize new comers. "If players aren't quite ready to deal with this many players or levels of leadership, we have other gametypes for 64 or 128 players," Heine reassures.

The irony here is that MAG's huge numbers will either make or break the game for some. Since users dictate pace, as opposed to the game itself, MAG plays slower than most. To put it nicely, methodical. As a result, enthusiast gamers seemingly aren't jamming the pre-order lines to play once the game debuts next month.

"For a shooter-based console game just six weeks prior to launch, MAG's popularity numbers are a little lower than desired," says Scott Mucci of GamerMetrics, which tracks interest levels and behavior of some 46 million online gamers. In fairness, this could be because of a recently released juggernaut, Mucci adds.

"Fans of the shooter genre are most likely still focused on Modern Warfare 2," he offers, also noting that the highly anticipated Mass Effect 2 releases the same day.

Whatever the reasoning for the so-so anticipation, it's hard not to notice MAG's draw: filling spacious maps with 256 simultaneous players. MMO without the RPG. Or "massive action game"-take your pick.

Just don't blame me if you get stuck with a broken team.

MAG arrives Jan. 26 exclusively for PS3.

Blake Snow is a freelance writer from Crecente's neighboring state of Utah. His curious work has appeared on MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and GamePro among others. He is currently reading Game Over by David Sheff and thinks you should too.

But it's also attractive for the option of placing Santa hats on Nathan Drake, a timely nod I've been a sucker for since first coming across Christmas Nights for the Sega Saturn. So if you, like me, enjoy seeing characters who wouldn't normally wear bright red hats with fuzzy white poms and brims, you'll want to play some Uncharted 2 multiplayer this extended Christmas weekend.

Double cash deals run from 12/24 to 12/27, a time when I'll sadly be away from my own PlayStation 3. If you have your PS3 nearby, you may want to read up on the minute-specific details on this weekend's double cash deal.

Deck the Halls with Uncharted 2 Double Cash [PlayStation.blog]

GameInformer has the first comprehensive look at Clarke in his newer, sleeker, more jetpack-accessorized space suit, and at least one unfamiliar necromorph. Fight against the Silverlight and Photosynth-powered screenshot viewer a bit and you'll also get a peek at some of the environment from the sequel and what appears to be a flood of teenaged necromorphs bearing down on poor Mr. Clarke.

What do you think of Isaac's new duds?

Dead Space 2 In 3D [Game Informer]

That's according to the PS3 game's official site, which should explain just what Last Rebellion is, for those who don't remember it. It should also shed some light on heroes Nine the Blade and Aisha the Sealer and why the game's character switching mechanic is needed to slay all those undead Belzeds.

Other things to learn about this PlayStation 3 exclusive: who and what Lorvin, Arzelide, Junovald, Meiktilia, and Formival are. Your best pronunciations are welcome in the comments.

Last Rebellion [NIS America]

The first of four avatar packs, each featuring three or four LittleBigPlanet-themed icons that can represent you on the PlayStation 3 cross media bar and friends list, are going for $8.00 HK in Hong Kong, which translates to about $1.00 USD. In Europe, individual premium avatars are priced at £0.20/€0.25 each. Not a bad deal, should you have a dollar or two rotting in your Wallet.

On the other hand, it's a formerly free thing now monetized, something Sony seems more and more interested in doing lately. Good for business, bad for people who want things given to them gratis.

The God of War: Blood & Metal digital EP will feature exclusive, sometimes God of War inspired tracks from Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater, Trivium, Opeth and Taking Dawn. If you follow any or all of those bands, you're likely aware that they're Roadrunner Records acts, Sony's partner in giving God of War fans something heavier to rock to.

"This is the first time in 24 years that we've written and recorded a song for anything other than one of our own albums, so we're up for the challenge and excited to have been asked," said prog metal act Dream Theater's drummer Mike Portnoy.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm more than interested to hear just how God of War inspired any of these previously unreleased songs are.

Roadrunner Announces God of War EP [Roadrunner Records]

We've heard from tipsters here in the U.S. and in Europe—Switzerland, specifically—that the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game have already shipped to retail and are waiting to be snapped up. Kotaku reader Bryant just snagged a copy at a Wisconsin Toys 'R' Us. We've reached out to some of our local retailers, even the ones that generally sell to us early, but have come up short.

You may have better luck, though, and may be able to secure a surprising Christmas or Hannukah gift for a friend if you do.

Yes, both versions appear to be regional, not import copies. Two good gets for a game that's not supposed to be released for another two weeks or more.

Thanks to Ivan and Bryant for the heads up. And have fun.

The three winners of the PS3 part of the contest are:

Arex, posing as Jin Kazama

Bigbadpenguinmaster, also posing as Jin Kazama

OmegaSpartan08, posing as Ganryu

The two winners of the Xbox 360 part of the contest are:

TwoToedSocks, posing as Lili

Omega Corn, posing as Devil Jin

All winners must send me their full name, e-mail and North American mailing address by the end of Wednesday. Send that information to me via a private message to my Kotaku username, stephentotilo. (Just click this link to get there. Don't make the message public.)

Thank you to all who entered. Congratulations to all who won! Your Tekken 6 bundles will be in the mail.

In newly released artwork for the PlayStation 3 game, the Fat Princess cast is now playing with a full hand, each class sporting five fingers instead of the previous four. While not officially blamed for the game's release, a four-fingered hand is often linked to referencing yakuza culture, the Burakamin Japanese social minority group and the the numeral four as an unlucky number.

The old Fat Princess artwork for Japan, for comparison sake, is below.

Pocchari Princess [PlayStation.jp via Andriasang / Hatchimaki]

Enterbrain puts Final Fantasy XIII sales at over 1.5 million over the course of the game's first four days on Japanese store shelves, selling through a major portion of the reported 1.8 million copies shipped. About 1.1 million of those are apparently from day one sales.

The boon to the PlayStation 3? Some 240,000 plus consoles sold in one week, including that fancy Lightning Edition PS3 released alongside the exclusive-in-Japan role-playing game. That's a considerable spike, as the previous week's figures, according to sales tracker Media Create, shows some 75,000 PlayStation 3s sold in Japan the week before FF13 hit.

ファイナルファンタジー13、発売初週で実売150万本　PS3本体も週間24万台販売＝PS3歴代1位 [Yahoo! JP]

Well, if you play Demon's Souls casually, oblivious or indifferent to the game world's "tendency," a Pure Black or Pure White setting has an effect on many things in the game. Enemy strength, availability of certain items and luck of the drop are all affected by tendency, a setting that can be manipulated by certain world events.

But Atlus is forcing a change to the world to Pure White for the next week—similar to the Pure Black World Tendency event that hit this Halloween—something that's not easy to do by oneself. The online game server goes white right about now, specifically at noon Pacific Time and ends next Monday, December 28, also at noon Pacific Time.

What does pure white world tendency get you? Lots of stuff, including non-player characters that wouldn't normally appear, access to certain portions of the map, all kinds of stuff! In fact, you can't get certain PlayStation Trophies without a Pure White World Tendency in effect. The unofficial Demon's Souls wiki has a handy explanation of what's different.