As previously announced, developer Monolith Productions is back with a new F.E.A.R. game, but it's not called F.E.A.R. 2. And we had a chance to check it out at this year's E3. Since publishers changed during development, the game is now called Project Origin. Different titles aside, this actually is the sequel and is set in the same world F.E.A.R. was — though the game does follow Delta Force sergeant Michael Beckett instead of the mysterious Point Man. The devs are giving Beckett the same slow motion that Point Man had in the original game.

British Industry Group Not Impressed With The R4

Enjoying your R4 carts, Britain? I bet you are. Designed as they are to run code on a DS, many use them for homebrew, but some, obviously, also use them to pirate legitimate DS games. And it's those folks attracting the attention of the authorities, spoiling it for everybody else. The ELSPA (Britain's industry body) reckon that the sale of R4 (and other, similar) carts "is an infringement and an offence under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Trade Marks Act 1994", and from here on they'll be investigating any and all retailers stocking the units. It's important to note that at this stage this is more of a warning than a direct threat, as they haven't come out and called for an immediate, blanket ban, but I imagine a stern warning is all it will take for many small retailers to quit stocking them anyway.

DS: The Shocking Truth [MCV]

SOE Awards First G.I.R.L. Scholarship

Sony Online Entertainment has announced the first ever Gamers In Real Life (G.I.R.L.) design contest scholarship winner. Nearly 100 applicants submitted their video game concept art and essays for the contest, which kicked off in early April, and from those entries Julia Brasil of San Francisco was chosen to win a $10,000 scholarship at The Art Institute of California and a paid internship at Sony Online Entertainment.

“I am shocked and overjoyed to be the first G.I.R.L. Scholarship recipient,” said Brasil. “I’m really looking forward to my internship with SOE, and getting some hands-on experience at such a well-known company. It’s such a great opportunity.”

Shocked, Julia? You need to believe in yourself. Dreams really do come true; you're living proof.

Test Out SEGA-AM2's New Arcade Racer

This Friday (today!), SEGA is location testing new street racing game from its famed AM2 division. Dubbed R-Tuned: Ulimate Street Racing, the arcade game runs on SEGA's Lindbergh arcade system board and supports up to four players. Apparently there is also a home version in development, but that's unconfirmed. The location test kicked off today at 10:00AM Japan Time at the Shinjuku Club SEGA and will wrap up next Monday. Stop by, check it out. Tell 'em Kotaku sent cha!

R-Tuned [Official Site via Game Watch]

Hudson only released their WiiWare title Star Soldier R last week in North American, and already they're holding a tournament and sweepstakes that could see you crowned the top Star Soldier R player in the nation, nab you some nifty prizes, and maybe - just maybe - get you recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada.

The Star Soldier R "Shoot Now, Win Prizes Later" kicks off today and runs through June 24th, when players with certain scores in five-minute mode being awarded prizes. The reason I say certain scores, is that Hudson, attempting to be crafty, is awarding prizes to 1st, 10th, and 16th place, with ten users chosen at random out of the remaining players who register to win random prizes.

Up for grabs? The grand prize is 16,000 Wii points and "Hudson's Top 5 Wii Games", which pretty much equates to 16,000 Wii points, give or take a few bucks. Head over to Hudson's web page to sign up for the festivities, and don't be afraid to use the death blossom maneuver if you find yourself in a pinch.

Well I suppose we can't call it the Virtual Console update anymore, seeing as WiiWare is now added to the mix. We'll just go with weekly Wii update for now until we think of something snappier. This week sees two new additions to WiiWare from big-name publishers and one tiny game for the virtual console.

On the WiiWare side of the fence we have Konami's Critter Round-Up (1,000 points), and action puzzle game that has you mending fences til the cows come home, or the penguins, dingos...the game has several exotic locations included. 50 different levels plus mini-games like Snowball Soccer and Predator Rampage.

Joining Critter Round-Up is Hudson's Star Soldier R (800 points), offering you classic shooting action in 2 and 5 minute chunks.

Finally we have more scrolling-shooter action with Sky Kid for the NES (500 points), the original bird-flying-a-biplane game.

I know, it's a lot to take in, and with my Wii memory dwindling perilously I'm not sure if I can get any of these games this week. I suppose it's nice to know they are there.

From who? Why, the internet, of course. When a bunch of cosplaying S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans decided to hit the woods and engage in some wargames, re-enact some of the game's battles, fucking around was not on the schedule of events. They brought real weapons. Real uniforms. Real armoured personnel carriers. To real Chernobyl. The results (and resulting photgraphy) is a sight to behold.

Сталкер в реале [via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Last night we had a bit of a gaming bender at Kotaku Towers West, a night filled with Wii Fit, We Ski, and Rock Band. The highlight, of course, was a two hour Cruis'n session—the Wii shitware title that was finally freed from its shrinkwrap confines last night to much amusement. It's absolutely the most unintentionally hilarious game I've ever played, with some of the sloppiest game design ever... even for a Cruis'n title. Rarely has a game brought me to tears with laughter, so Cruis'n should at least be lauded for that. Highly recommended for your next game night, especially if booze is available.

This weekend I'll be ditching the Cruis'n as I get back to R-Type Command and continue my Rock Band duties, now with added Boston. How about you? Weekend plans?

My son has one of those cool remote control R2D2 robots, the one with a little cup holder that is absolutely perfect for holding an ice cold can of beer.... and it sits under a thick layer of dust in the corner of his room, housing his one very cool hat. McWhertor would be proud. Me? I'm just bitter.

And now even more so when I see what could have been. Someone took one of those babbies and turned it into a projector that supports a whole slew of inputs including game consoles. That's right, you can play the Force Unleashed on a 260-inch picture coming from R2's head. Gets no cooler than that.

R2D2 DVD/games projector [Wonderland]

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

With Ma and Pa McWhertor swooping in to LA this weekend, my attempts to get some Grand Theft Auto IV time in are most assuredly thwarted. I can't have my mother hearing that kind of language, seeing her favorite son act like a callous criminal and enjoying every salacious second! Perhaps I'll be able to squeeze in a bit of time with R-Type Command, scheduled to ship May 6 and arriving at Kotaku Towers West yesterday. The review is planned for an appearance next Friday, if you're looking for an opinion on the PSP game.

Outside of some strategic Bydo empire dismantling, I'll be playing "Entertain The Folks" with my weekend. How about you? What are you playing this weekend?

PO Powered Armor Makes It All Better

Hudson's classic Star Soldier series has already appeared in four different iterations on the Wii Virtual Console (Super Star Soldier, Soldier Blade, Blazing Lazers and Star Soldier), so now it's time for the next step. Introducing Star Soldier R for WiiWare, the tournament-style rebirth of the classic series. What's tournament style? Well players can compete in three modes - 2-Minute, 5-Minute, and Quick Shot. Gamers are challenged to get the best (or fastest) score in any mode, with online leaderboards keeping track of things. You still collect power-ups and take on waves of enemies...just not as long as you normally would. It's an interesting idea...promoting bite-sized snippits of gameplay over a full, multi-level experience, but it could work. If anything it'd be perfect for that quick morning gaming fix, and Hudson could very well offer more downloadable challenges in the future. We'll see once the game comes out whether the concept works out or it proves to be a little short for a Star Soldier.

Atlus just sent over this batch of fresh new R-Type Command screens. R-Type Command is set to hit the Playstation Portable on May 6, but you can grab a demo (which includes a taste of ad-hoc multiplayer) for free on the PSN store. I don't know if it's a good idea for me to own an R-Type on a system that I can easily either throw through a window or smash on the ground. Not that, that would happen, but it is R-Type.

Project Origin Is Scary

Flynn wasn't super impressed by the GDC unveiling of Sony Online Entertainment's G.I.R.L. (Gamers In Real Life) program, but that didn't stop SOE from kicking off their first game design competition for the program.

The GIRL Game Design Competition scholarship is only open to current students of any The Art Institute schools and will reward one winner up to $10,000 towards tuition for his or her education at The Art Institute school at which he or she is currently enrolled. The winner will also receive a paid internship of up to ten weeks at one of the Sony Online Entertainment studios (located in Austin, Denver, San Diego and Seattle; room, board, transportation and living expenses not included).

To enter you need to complete an application and submit three pieces of concept art, a 500 word essay decribing the art, another 500 word essay describing why you want to work in the video games industry, how you could improve the image of women within video games and how your improvements could facilitate the creation of games that more women will play.

I strongly suggest pitching work on more IMAGINE games, just not the one's we've talked about.

G.I.R.L. Scholarship

Nintendo Spooks Retailers Into Pulling R4 Carts