The fix? I mean the official frickin' fix? The Register says an Ubisoft employee uploaded a fix to the company's support site that was actually a hack written by software pirates to defeat the disc-check. Yeah, Ruh-roh, Rubi. And presumably that guy has stepped in Ubi-doo, as the company removed the executable and is "thoroughly investigating the matter."

Users on Ubisoft's official forum — where discussion of these cracks is forbidden and punished — alerted the company to the fact that R6Vegas2_fix.zip was actually a cracked version of the executable modified by piratcy group Reloaded. That begat some ironic, if not amusing, responses.

We're looking into this further as this was not the UK Support team that posted this, however if it is an executable that does not need the disc I doubt it has come from an external source. There'd be very little point doing so when we already own the original unprotected executable. As soon as we find out more about this we'll let you know.

[Jeopardy music]

Then, later Friday:

The file was removed from the site over a week ago now and the matter is being thoroughly investigated by senior tech support managers here at Ubisoft.

Needless to say we do not support or condone copy protection circumvention methods like this and this particular incident is in direct conflict with Ubisoft's policies.

How about that! They used a freaking file that was, technically, someone else's IP. So they pirated from pirates to defeat their own copy protection. There's a hall of mirrors of irony here and, to say the least, it's some major stank on Ubisoft. It would be for any game company

Ubisoft Pirates Game Fix from Pirates [The Register via GamersReports]

• There are two new OctoCamo patterns available for download on Metal Gear Solid 4. Laughing Camo raises your enemies' laugh emotion when they spot you; Raging Camo boosts enemies' rage emotion when they spot you. They're out as of now, reports Gaming Bits.

• The new Rainbow Six Vegas 2 patch is out and available for download. We tipped you to it last week. This download gives you a map-pack and a game patch with lots of tweaks to gameplay and achievements. It is entirely free also. Enjoy.

• Reader Max W. writes to say that the demo for Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation: Troy is out on the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace. "And it's awesome." I'm not in touch with Bash right now to verify, but there's another freebie to play if you're on that network. Gundam did wonders for 360's June sales, as we wrote earlier.

New OctoCamo Patterns Now Available [Gaming Bits]

OK, so, Ubisoft about a couple days back sent out word on its forums about the DLC coming in the "early July" (not more specific, sorry) release of Rainbow Six Vegas 2's Fan Pack. There will be several new gameplay details and three maps. It's all free, and will all be available via Ubi's site, Xbox Live Marketplace, or Playstation Network depending on your flavor of platform.

Re: the maps (from Ubi's post).

There are three maps included in the free DLC: Murdertown – Dark, CQB Training – Dark and best of all the much-requested fan favourite Calypso Casino! The three map layouts have not been changed. The re-lit “Dark maps” have a very eerie atmosphere, and may require players to use night vision to spot enemies. Calypso Casino returns with updated lighting and textures. The three maps are playable in all Versus modes and Terrorist Hunt.

As for gameplay, there are new ranks, new A.C.E.S., some rebalancing of weapon characteristics, multiplayer tweaks, and a handy-dandy frag indicator to help you not get your ass blown off. The entire announcement is quoted after the jump, plus the video (hosted at Gametrailers) referenced in the announcement.

Hi everyone,

I am very pleased to announce that Ubisoft will be releasing a Fan Pack to all Rainbow Six fans. I am also here to give you better insight and clarification on what the Fan Pack contains:

The Fan Pack includes an Update for the game and DLC (downloadable content). The first thing that may come to mind is: “Is this free?” Yes it is, including the DLC. This pack will be available via Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network and ubi.com in July 2008. You can find out more about the Fan Pack in this video.

*** Update Features ***

New Ranks
An additional 99 Elite Ranks have been added for bragging rights. For those of you who are already Elite, you may have noticed that your XP continued to accumulate while playing. Once you have the update, your XP will automatically be applied towards the new Elite ranks, so it is possible that you have already ranked up multiple times past Elite.

New A.C.E.S.
A total of 100 A.C.E.S. are available for each category: Marksman, CQB and Assault. Each A.C.E.S. level past 20 will reward you with 5000 XP that applies to your rank. For players who have already reached A.C.E.S. 20 and continued to collect A.C.E.S. points, you will be happy to know that the update will automatically advance you to the level you have earned. For example, if you have enough A.C.E.S. points to reach Marksman 25, you will automatically be at Marksman 25 and earn 25000 (5000 x 5) towards your next Rank.

Grenade Indicator
When you are within the damage radius of a Frag or Incendiary grenade, an indicator will appear on-screen telling you which direction it is. The indicator can show multiple grenades at once.

Weapons & Gadgets Balancing
Here are a couple of notes about Weapons and Gadgets:
• Explosion delay of the incendiary grenade has been increased
• Detonation speed of the C4 has been slightly increased
• Increased the damage of Sniper Rifles at long range
• Increased the base accuracy of the Light Machine Guns
• Adjusted the rate of fire for some of the Assault Rifles, Shotguns and an SMG
• Sped up the time it takes to zoom in & out with weapons, making it more responsive

To better clarify: the zoom for all firearms have been significantly sped-up and you can now fire DURING the zoom transition.

Respawns in Team Deathmatch – Host Option
An added host option has been added for Random Respawns. Random Respawns OFF will play like the classic Versus style where each team spawns in their designated Alpha or Bravo base. Random Respawns ON will have your players spawn randomly throughout the map after they die the first time.

Voice Chat – Host Option
Added as a host option for Player Match & System Link, players now have the option to talk to their team mates while dead.

Score in Deathmatch
Displayed on the bottom left of the HUD in Deathmatch, players can now see their score along with the top opponent’s score.

Team Leader - Spawn Change
Players now respawn next to the leader by default, unless players specifically choose to spawn back at the base.

Show Dead Players in Lobby
Players who no longer have lives remaining will now have a skull icon displayed next to their name in the pause menu.

Terrorist Hunt Spawning
Terrorists will no longer spawn right in front of you or behind you, or in a room you just cleared.

* * * * *

High Stakes Setting
High Stakes is a host option for every Versus mode that really pushes tactical gameplay to the next level. Here’s a detailed description of High Stakes:

Limited HUD (High Stakes)
The Radar is disabled. Enemies will not be visible on the Tactical Map (back button on 360/select button on PS3). Grenade indicator is disabled.

Health System (High Stakes)
Health regen is disabled. If you are shot and close to death, you’ll enter a visual state of critical health (screen turns monochromatic).

Cover System (High Stakes)
The cover system as been changed in High-Stakes mode to encourage players to peek instead of pop-n-shoot. The camera has been moved so your character cannot look past their cover unless they expose themselves around a corner.

Weapons & Gadgets (High Stakes)
Aim Assistance has been completely disabled. Bullet spread has also been increased when not zoomed-in (you will notice your crosshair indicators are much wider when not in zoom). Realistically, a person holding a gun would have better aim when zoomed-in than when he’s walking around. This encourages players to really take aim instead of run-n-gun. Also remember that the zoom time has been sped-up and you can now fire WHILE you zoom in and out. Players now have less ammunition (1 for each gadget you choose and less clips for your guns) so you really need to play conservatively and rely on precision use of ammo.

Kill Camera & Friendly Fire (High Stakes)
Kill Camera is always disabled and Friendly fire is always enabled.

*** DLC ***

THREE FREE MAPS
There are three maps included in the free DLC: Murdertown – Dark, CQB Training – Dark and best of all the much-requested fan favourite Calypso Casino! The three map layouts have not been changed. The re-lit “Dark maps” have a very eerie atmosphere, and may require players to use night vision to spot enemies. Calypso Casino returns with updated lighting and textures. The three maps are playable in all Versus modes and Terrorist Hunt.

This Fan Pack is dedicated to all of you in the Rainbow Six community. Everything in this update and DLC comes directly from you on the forums, private messages to us and even matches the team has played with you all online. We’d like to sincerely thank you for your continued support and feedback. See you online!

Update by Ubi.Vigil:

We're sure some of you are wondering when it will be available on platforms other than UK PS3s. This early release was a result of a miscommunication with Sony, we apologise for any confusion or frustration this sudden release caused. Until the release of the update in other PS3 territories, UK PS3 players will only be able to play with other UK players.

The full Fan pack, including all maps, fixes and changes, will be available on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in early July.

Best Regards,
Ubi.LevelUp - Community Developer
Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Fan Pack Details [Ubisoft Forums via Blue's News]

Meanwhile the Gold Box deals have kicked off with Rainbow Six Vegas 2 for $29.99, which is going pretty fast, to be followed up with Scene-It at 10 Pacific, possibly Madden at 2, and possibly Frontlines: Fuel of War at 6.

The fact that Amazon keeps cranking these video game day deals out means that the gamer response has been overwhelming, so as long as we keep buying they'll keep discounting until we form a giant, writhing, perpetual sale engine, which sounds terribly sticky.

Amazon Deals Of The Day [Amazon - Thanks Ben!]

"We're pleased to have Call of Duty 4 leading the way in the FPS genre, with recent launches such as Army of Two and Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 failing to inspire. Call of Duty 4 has been a phenomenal success for us and reflects Activision's commitment to creating truly ground-breaking games."

Activision: Vegas, Army of Two "failing to inspire" [CVG]

To unlock the gun go to the main menu of the game and do the following:

(Hold RB) Down, Down, Up, Up, X, B, X, B, Y, Up, Up, Y

This is almost as good as that free Comcast map.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Free Best Buy gun code [Hushed Casket]

You can get complete instructions on how to load up this special map her on the GameInvasion website.

Vegas 2 can, at times, dip into the monotonous and the AI is spotty, but overall the game delivers a fun experience.

Loved
* Totally Tactics:The thing that separates Rainbow Six from other shooters is its heavy reliance on tactics and this game requires it in spades. You can use a snake cam to peek under doors and mark targets, clear rooms with flash bangs, grenades or smoke and almost have to slowly work your way from cover to cover to methodically clear a room.
* Deep maps All of those tactics would be for naught if it weren't for the incredibly detailed maps that let you find multiple routes into the same spaces, crawl through windows, and rappel, head first, down buildings. Vegas 2 has one of the most eclectic mix of detailed maps I've seen in a shooter.
* Multi multiplayer Not content to include just versus online multiplayer, Vegas 2 also has terrorist hunt which has you trying to find and kill a set number of bad guys in a time limit; and co-op play, which allows you to play through the entire game with a friend. And co-op Rainbow Six can be quite a blast.
* Customization This Vegas has all of the weapons, camo, clothing and gear as the last, plus a bit more, including 11 new weapons. Another nice touch is the ability to hop into an outfitting menu as you ride in a helicopter to the next mission, without having to stop the briefing. You can also now carry over the experience earned in single player to multiplayer, and vice-versa.

Hated
* Uneven AI: The game's artificial intelligence, both friendly and enemy, can at times be brilliant, flanking your position, laying down cover fire, clearing a room of bad guys with tactical sweeps. But just when you think you've met your match, you'll run up on an enemy who literally just stands there staring at you until you decide you should probably shoot him.
* A winding tale: There's something to be said for a game that delivers a lot of substance, but sometimes there's even more to be said about a producer who knows when to start cutting. Vegas 2's plot is so convoluted that it can feel monotonous. Worse still, it is so packed with false endings that the real one, which wraps up with an almost humorous monologue, feels flat and anti-climatic when it finally arrives.
* Finishing touches The game doesn't quite look and feel like a true sequel. The graphics aren't really improved, with draw distances that can be surprisingly short, and there is still a bit of slow down and stutter at pivotal moments.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a fine addition to the Rainbow Six library, giving gamers a lot of new maps to stalk through, hunched over, with a buddy or on their own. What it doesn't do, really, is introduce anything new to the formula. There are plenty of neat little tweaks and co-op play, while not fully drop-in, drop-out, is a fantastic addition. But in the end you're still playing Rainbow Six Vegas, with the same look and feel as the original.

If you weren't a fan of the original, then Vegas 2 probably isn't for you. If you were, this is a must buy if for no other reason than to go through the game with a friend in co-op.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 was developed by Ubisoft Montreal, published by Ubisoft and released on March 18. Retails for $59.99. Available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, reviewed on Xbox 360. Played single player campaign to completion, tested multiplayer modes. Did not create any baby heads.

My excitement was quickly deflated when I realized that while the disc does have some neat EndWar stuff, it doesn't include a demo. Dammit! You do get the announcement trailer, a GameTrailers special about the game called "the future of war" and an EndWar sneak peek preview, featuring the Frag Dolls.

Sucks about the demo, but it's free and still a neat idea.

[www.xbox360achievements.org]

First 10 minutes of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 video

We got five, count em', FIVE gameplay clips from Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Comment Baron Witzbold has some suspicions about the multiplayer mode shown above. Says Witz: " It has an EXP system now it seems, well to be more correct an EXP system like COD4 with showing how much exp you get from kills and what not. Plus seems like they also added "challenges" too judging by the message that pops up on the screen that says "CQB Level 2 Complete"

The above statements are those of Witzbold and do not necessarily reflect those of the Kotaku staff. In other words, if you disagree yell at him in the comments, not us. Just remember, he holds the ban hammer in his mighty fist.

The original Rainbow 6 Vegas holds a very special place in my heart, as it was the first time I had ever heard Crecente's voice, witnessing first-hand his habit of talking about everything but the game eing played over voice chat while mercilessly shooting people in the face. Mainly me, actually, but I take it as a sign of affection. I look forward to many more Crecente-inflicted gaping skull wounds when the sequel comes out this March.

UBISOFT STAKES FIRST DETAILS FOR TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX® VEGAS 2

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM— 20th December, 2007 — Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced the first details for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas 2, currently in production for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows. Scheduled for a March 2008 release and developed by Ubisoft's award-winning Montreal studio, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the sixth iteration of the multimillion-selling Rainbow Six tactical shooter franchise and follow-up to the highly successful and award-winning Rainbow Six Vegas.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the last chance for gamers to rescue America's sexiest city from an escalating terrorist siege that will impose heart-pounding action from beginning to end. The best are back and this time winner takes all. The highly-anticipated sequel to the recipient of numerous awards, including 2006's Best First Person Shooter and Best Online Game, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will push the top-selling franchise to new heights with new gameplay features and groundbreaking co-op and multiplayer modes.

Product Highlights:
• More Multiplayer - The highly acclaimed multiplayer mode in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas has been upgraded to include 13 new maps with more intense face-offs, two new adversarial modes, more rewards, and easier access to matches using the improved and intuitive matchmaking system.

• Unprecedented Customizable Experience - Create your own identity that persists through both the single player and multiplayer modes and progresses along with you. Reap the benefits of your single player rewards in multiplayer and vice versa.

• Vastly Improved Co-op Mode - Turn single player mode into co-op mode at any time, just by jumping into the game. Now you and a friend can jump into a single player game and assist without any change to the story. The single player maps and storyline were created with co-op in mind, meaning every map has multiple entry points and the story is unaffected.

• Challenging AI - The AI is more challenging than ever. Now, the terrorists are equipped with thermal vision, night vision, and shields - not to mention a multitude of varying tactics - all of which are guaranteed to give you a new playing experience every time you go into battle. As you progress within the game, you'll be able to outsmart your enemies by taking advantage of intelligence opportunities, such as thermal scanning.

• New Weapons and Armor - Take down the terrorists more effectively using 11 new weapons. New camouflage, clothing and gear allow for the ultimate customizations.

• More Vegas - Sin City is back and bigger than before. Explore all new Vegas hot spots and the gritty back streets creating a visual experience that is as challenging as it is breathtaking.

When Spike TV said they were going to have a bunch of game trailer premieres I thought they meant we'd get to see some gameplay, and for some games that was the case, but the game I was most interested in catching an early glimpse of was a pretty huge disappointment. The trailer for Rainbow Six Vegas 2 turned out to be a cheesy live-action commercial with very little foreshadowing what the actual game will be about besides, you know, Rainbow Six and Vegas. Why even bother?

Word has it that this year's Spike TV Video Game Awards, set to air on Dec. 9 at 9 p.m., will feature a cornucopia of new trailers and other goodies.

Among the list is the first footage from the new downloadable content Halo 3 Maps hitting next month, the world premiere of the first trailers for Borderlands and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2. There will also be new trailers for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, TNA iMPACT! and a few other surprises that haven't leaked out yet.

Standard exposition: Details are scant on the new project at this moment, but Ubisoft promises better graphics, new gameplay features and updated settings.

Intelligent reflection: Man, the original Rainbow Six Vegas sure was good. We know because we played it.

Quip: We're just happy Ubisoft isn't dumbing down the franchise with Rainbow Six Atlantic City.

Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 Announced [ign...who I just saw made a gambling allusion, which makes us making fun of ourselves all the sweeter]

The bad news for gamers, however, was that the Xbox 360 exclusive game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction will miss its original winter '07 release, instead arriving in the company's fourth quarter, sometime between January and March of 2008. Far Cry 2 will also be released within that three month window.

Moving Splinter Cell Conviction into next year was probably a good move on Ubi's part. It would have been eaten alive alongside this year's pre-holiday '07 releases. Plus, it will give fanboys a good rival in Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PLAYSTATION 3, which makes for fantastic nitpicking.

Ubisoft reports first-quarter 2007-08 sales Results

First quarter sales up 90.5% to €134 million ($180.66 U.S) and forecasts revised upwards for 2007-08 sales and current operating income1, Ubisoft and 20th Century Fox team up for the video game based on James Cameron's "Avatar," Calyon carries out its first sale of Gameloft shares.

PARIS, July 24, 2007 - Today, Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, reported its sales for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2007.

Sales for the first quarter of 2007-08 came to €134 million ($180.66 U.S.), up 90.5%, or 94.5% at constant exchange rates, compared with the €70 million ($94.37 U.S.) recorded for the same period of 2006-07.

First-quarter sales for 2007-08 exceeded the forecast of approximately €120 million ($161.78 U.S.) announced when Ubisoft released its sales figures for fourth-quarter 2006-07. This performance was primarily attributed to the following:

o The continued success of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® Vegas on Xbox 360™ as well as its launch on PLAYSTATION®3 and PSP™.
o The release of Surf's Up™, Prince of Persia®, Oblivion™ and Call of Juarez™.
o Back catalog games, which accounted for over one third of total sales for the period, particularly thanks to the Petz® series and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™.

In first-quarter 2007-08, 79% of the Group's sales came from games for new-generation consoles, compared with 42% in the comparable prior-year period. This increase particularly reflects a sharp rise in sales of games for the PLAYSTATION®3 (21% of sales) and the Nintendo DS™ (16%, versus 3% in the first-quarter 2006-07).

Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft stated "Ubisoft has made a solid start to the year, and continued to win market share. Momentum was particularly strong during the period for European sales, which climbed 109% thanks to the ramp-up of new-generation consoles and the impact of PS3 game sales, including Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas and Oblivion. Our performance during this quarter has once again proved the relevance of our early positioning in the casual gaming sector, as demonstrated by the success of our DS and Wii games. Lastly, we were able to present one of the best game line-ups in the industry at this year's E3, in terms of both quality and diversity. Assassin's Creed, Brothers in Arms, Haze, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction and Tom Clancy's End War are some of the most highly anticipated games of the year. At the same time, our portfolio of upcoming casual games will enable us to strengthen and broaden our current offering, and to reach new consumers."

Outlook

Ubisoft expects second-quarter 2007-08 sales to remain stable at approximately €105 million ($141.56 U.S.) . The period will see the following main releases:

* Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter®2 on PLAYSTATION®3, PC and PSP™.
* The Settlers®6 for PC.
* Jam Sessions™ on Nintendo DS™.
* The European launch of the game based on the animated movie Surf's Up™.

Future games releases

* Far Cry® 2: The multi-million selling brand will be back for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2007-08, as announced on July 19, 2007.
* Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Conviction™: originally scheduled for the third fiscal quarter of 2007-08, this game will now be released in the fourth fiscal quarter.

Outlook for full-year 2007-08

In light of our first-quarter performance, which exceeded forecasts, as well as the positive feedback for our games at this year's E3, Ubisoft has raised its performance targets for full-year 2007-08. The Group's 2007-08 sales target is now approximately €825 million ($1,112.27 U.S.), and it expects current income before stock options to represent at least 9% of sales, compared with the previously-announced forecasts of €800 million ($1,078.56 U.S.) and at least 8% of sales.

Ubisoft and 20th Century Fox team up for the video game based on James Cameron's "Avatar".

In a separate press release, Ubisoft announced today that it will develop and publish the video game based on Twentieth Century Fox's "Avatar," the upcoming feature film written and directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Cameron, whose previous films include "Titanic," "True Lies," "The Abyss," "Aliens," "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." The game is expected to release in conjunction with the movie's planned opening in May 2009.

First sale of Gameloft shares by Calyon

On July 17, 2007, Ubisoft announced that it had sold its 18.89% stake in Gameloft (13,367,923 shares) to Calyon. At the same time, Ubisoft entered into an equity swap agreement with Calyon under which Calyon has 24 months to sell the shares on the market and any and all changes in the Gameloft share price will be recorded in full by Ubisoft. This transaction will only impact Ubisoft's income statement and generate cash inflows when Calyon sells the Gameloft shares on the market.

As of July 24, 2007, Calyon had placed 4,167,923 Gameloft shares on the market at a price of €6.064 ($8.17 U.S.). This initial transaction led to a €25.3 million ($34.11 U.S.) cash inflow for Ubisoft. The Group will record a related net gain of €14.5 million ($19.55 U.S.) in its 2007-08 income statement under "gain/loss from operations of discontinued business segment", representing the difference between the share sale price of €6.064 ($8.17 U.S.) and the value of the Gameloft shares on Ubisoft's balance sheet (€2.54 ($3.42 U.S.) per share at March 31, 2007), after deducting 1.65% in taxes.

Recent highlights

Market share: In the first six calendar months of 2007, Ubisoft was the number 3 independent publisher in the United States with market share of 6% (compared with number 5 and 6% one year earlier); number 2 in Europe with 8.4% market share (compared with number 2 and 7.3%), number 2 in France with 7.9% market share (compared with number 2 and 7.3%); number 2 in the United Kingdom with 10% market share (compared with number 2 and 8.5%); and number 2 in Germany with 6.9% market share (compared with number 3 and 6.4%).

Strategic expansion of the casual games offering: Ubisoft has invested in the expansion of an internal development structure dedicated to the creation of Games for Everyone. Among the new team's first projects are the launches of two new product lines - "My Coach" and "Imagine™" - as well as the expansion of the already successful Petz® franchise.

Creation of Tom Clancy's EndWar™, a new brand in the Tom Clancy series: Led by strategy veteran Michael de Plater, Tom Clancy's EndWar™ is being developed by a world-class team at Ubisoft's Shanghai studio whose members have experience working on Ubisoft's hit franchises including Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon®, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six® and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell®.

Ubisoft to develop the video game based on the motion picture "Beowulf": Ubisoft, Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment have announced a partnership to create video games based on "Beowulf™", the upcoming feature film from Robert Zemeckis, starring Angelina Jolie, Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich. The movie is scheduled to open in late 2007.

Planned expansion of Ubisoft's Moroccan studio, with the aim of creating 150 new positions by 2010.

• The Darkness (X360, PS3) Gangsters and demons are a lethal combination.
• Overlord (PC, X360)
  Which side will you choose, evil or evil?
• Transformers: The Game (X360, PS3, PS2, WII)
  More than meets the eye. We hope.
• Driver: Parallel Lines (PC, WII)
  Everyone loves a good car chase.
• Pokemon Battle Revolution (WII)
  Get your Pokemon ready for the battle of the century on the Wii.
• Grim Grimoire (PS2)
  a young magician goes to a school for magicians...hmm, sounds vaguely familiar
• The BIGS (X360, WII, PS3, PS2, PSP)
  The new baseball game hits one out of the park.
• Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition (PSP)
  Get back to your RPG roots with a revamping of the game that started a franchise.
• Ratatouille (PC, X360, DS, WII, PS2, XBOX, PSP, GC, GBA, MOBILE, MAC)
  Rats in your room! Or at least your console, handheld, computer or phone. Did I miss any?
• Hour of Victory (X360)
  Another WWII epic.
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (WII, X360, PS3, PC, PS2, PSP, DS)
  Put your wand up in the air and wave it like you just don't care.
• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (PC)
  Battle big bugs in icy landscapes.
• Hitman Trilogy (PS2, PC)
  The entire Agent 47 saga all in one tidy box.
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (PS3)
  The game the Mayor of Vegas doesn't want you to play.

Some Ninja action this week, a movie franchise game, a race game, a couple of ports and yet another Sims add on. Not a very exciting week all in all, but I'm sure someone, somewhere will enjoy something on this list. Could it be you? Flynn De Marco

• Tenchu Z (X360) Stealth Ninjas invade your 360.
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 (PS2)
  More Naruto, more ninjas, more fun!
• Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (X360, PS3, PS2, WII, DS)
  Another sure to be awesome movie franchise game. Because they always are... right?
• Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (WII)
  Your brain really is in your Wii.
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (PSP)
  Kill the terrorists that have taken over Vegas...again. This time on the PSP.
• Scarface: The World Is Yours (WII)
  Use your Wii to rule the mob.
• TrackMania United (PC)
  Win the race. Take the trophy.
• The Sims 2: Pets (WII)
  Now you can not only make your Sims pee, you can make their pets pee too.

Two new game modes and several new maps hit for Rainbow Six Vegas today.

The 800-point Red Edition Pack includes the Assassination Mode and Total Conquest Mode as well as new maps the Doscala Restaurant, Marshalling Yard, Roof, Border Town — Redux, and Killhouse — Redux.

In Assassination you have to escort a VIP to a designated extraction point. In Total Conquest you have to control three locations on a map. Brian Crecente

The update also sees two new modes. Assassination, in which one team guards a target while the other tries to kill it, and Total Conquest, which is all about controlling strategic points. Ubisoft hasn't released a price yet for the Player Pack, but since it contains brand new content for my second-favorite shooty game on the 360, I'll say it should be worth whatever they charge. Michael Fahey

R6: Vegas DLC detailed [GameSpot]

• Ghost Rider (PS2, PSP, GBA) He of the flaming skull rides in to your heart and your PS2.
• The Warriors (PSP)
  Can you dig it?
• Wii Play (WII)
  A collection of casual games including billiards, air hockey, tank battles, table tennis rally, Mii poses and a cow-riding race. Comes bundled with a Wii remote!
• Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP)
  No matter what they tell you, bigger is better.
• Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar (PC)
  The expansion pack for Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords laser blasts it's way to your PC.
• Test Drive Unlimited (PC)
  Racing reinvented. Or so they tell me.
• Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure (PSP)
  Use a magical drill to bore your way into this cutsey-poo action RPG.
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (PSP)
  Viva la Rainbow Six! Viva la PSP! Viva Las Vegas!
• Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner (PSP)
  Become a Jewel Summoner and fight The Abomination.
• Dreamlords (PC)
  Another MMO enters the ring.
• Chulip (PS2)
  Kiss the girls, but don't make them cry.
• Disney's Kim Possible: Global Gemini (DS)
  Disney's teen spy in an all new DS adventure.

I'm not sure how I feel about this video. On the one hand it's in-your-face in-game advertising for Axe. On the other hand, it's pretty damn funny and not really that intrusive. Brian Crecente

Amy "Valkyrie" Brady, Emily "Seppuku" Ong, Nelly"Psyche" Morel and Alyson "Calyber" Craghead won after taking down the previously undefeated team The Unknown.

"There were a few good teams that we were worried about especially with the team compete team but we were confident about our team work," said Nelly Morel "Psyche." "It was a very long tournament that started at 7:00 p.m. and ended at 1:00 a.m.. I kept counting down the clock, we were up by a good amount of kills and after we won it was such a relief - it was an amazing feeling."

Team captain Morgan "Rhoulette" Romine said the team has been playing Vegas up to 12 hours a day since it came out.

"We have been getting more experience with competition and playing under pressure by playing in pro-circuit tournaments like MLG and WSVG over the past year," she said. " Being able to come here to play Rainbow, always our favorite multiplayer series, and bring our experience with both online and live event competition made for an ideal combination. We played as a team, communicated well, stuck to our strategies and won."

That's it, Team Kotaku totally has to get their asses kicked by the Frag Dolls, it's written in the stars. Brian Crecente

With the exception of a few titles, almost everything this week is is something that's already out on other systems. Not really much in the way of new stuff besides Elebits, although I'm hot to try out Super Swing Golf.

Super Swing Golf (Wii)
Watch Kasumi and her boobs play golf!

Elebits
Wreck everything in pursuit of cute little blobby things!

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (PC)
Rainbow Six action now for the PC!

Metal Slug Anthology (PSP)
The full collection of the arcade classic title lands on the PSP.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy (DS)
The popular manga and anime series gets it's first DS game.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GC)
Zelda fans who couldn't get a Wii, rejoice!

Star Trek: Legacy (Xbox 360)
Experience the entire history of Star Trek all in one game!

The Shield (PS2)
Michael Chiklis in polygons!

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (PS3)
More World War II simulation from Aspyr.

Flynn De Marco

I'm still busy trying to get my cat Rufus to sit still long enough to test out non-human head mapping. You know, for the furries. Michael Fahey

The Frag Dolls, Ubi's marketing/gamer vixens, have been running a little competition on Rainbow Six Vegas this week.

Starting on Monday four of the Frag Dolls have been playing 4X4 matches from 7 to 10 p.m. pacific nightly. Any team that beats them wins $2,000 cash. Rhoulette says the random match-ups could result in Ubisoft giving away $100,000.

While you might think you have little chance against the FDs, so far the team has lost ten of the last 21 matches, giving away $20,000 to some often skilled, but sometimes lucky gamers.

I hit team leader Rhoulette up earlier this week and asked her to do some 'splaining.

She was pretty straight forward, pointing out that sometimes a good team wins and sometimes a good team loses.

"Tthere are a lot of good players out there and anything can happen in team sharpshooter. It'll be exciting to see how the next few days unfold," she said, adding: "We're just glad it's not our money on the line."

Cheeky monkey.

I tried joining one of the matches Tuesday night but wasn't lucky enough to catch one. If you're interested in trying your luck here's how:

Put the following setting into Custom Match search -
(NOTE: the Game Mode is subject to change. They may play some objective modes as the series goes on. Refer back the Frag Dolls site each day before 7pm to see the match settings)

Game Mode: Team Sharpshooter
Min players: 2
Max players: 10
Type: Player Match
Language: German

The game will be hosted by one of the following:
IGN niteStar
Valkyrie FD
Calyber FD
Rhoulette FD
Jinx FD
BrookeLyn FD

And to make things a bit easier, the group intends to try and play three games an hour. So to catch a game you're best chance is to look around these times:

7:00pm
7:20
7:40
8:00
8:20
8:40
9:00
9:20
9:40

Brian Crecente

Rhoulette [Frag Dolls]

The voice chat bug, which Penny Arcade so excellently documented, as well as other "critical issues" are about to receive a metaphorical headshot from Ubisoft. A patch, the development team says, is in the works. Brian Crecente

Rainbow Six Vegas 360 Patch Inc

The genie is out of the bottle and I'm liking what I'm seeing. Brian Crecente

Hit the jump for plenty more courtesy of FourZeroTwo.

I just realized that in the excitement of posting about sticking Sopranoes characters into Rainbow Six: Vegas I forgot to walk you fully through the process of creating your own celebrity in-game faces for the shooter.

This all comes via Will, who actually took the time to put my wild ruminations into practice, and DigiMask the people behind the technology.

The first, and often hardest step, it seems is finding two really good shots of the celebrity you want to face map. They need to be clean, clear, up close pictures showing a head-on and side pose.

Here are some tips for what to look for in a photo:

The image should have a neutral expression, eyes open, mouth closed. No smiling if possible.
Make sure you can see both ears in the face-on image.
Make sure the hair isn't covering the ears or forehead.
No glasses.
You should only be able to see one eye in the side-on shot, not even part of the other, and the whole ear.
Make sure the profile faces to the left.
Even lighting with no shadows or bright highlights is important.

Once you find your celeb pics, photoshop them if necessary to get the brightness and contrast right.

Will pointed his Vision Camera at his computer screen to do the capture, which probably explains Gandolfini's angelic glow. I'll try to do some off of prints later this week.

Good luck and happy photo hunting. Make sure to send in any particularly good faces. Too bad Vegas doesn't let you save multiple custom faces.

I've been playing a lot of Rainbow Six: Vegas lately. Mostly because it just plain-out kicks ass. But what initially drew me to the game was the cool little face-mapping feature it has built into it.

If you want, you can use the Xbox 360's Vision Camera to map your real face onto a character in 3D for all to see during multiplayer matches.

After doing two or three face grabs and coming up with a frighteningly realistic Brian, I started thinking about the process. All it does is take a head on shot of you and a profile and them use some magic and math to turn it into a very realistic 3D face.

Couldn't you just get sharp pictures of people, one head on, one profile, and use that to create faces.

Fortunately, when I was babbling about this I happened to be in the middle of a series of matches and one of the gamers, a reader named Will, decided to test out my theory.

The result was amazing. He took two pictures of James Gandolfini (Sopranos) and turned it into a fairly realistic 3D face map. Oh, the possibilities. First up? Paris Hilton, that is if I can find any pictures that aren't of her turned slightly to the side.