Dragonball Movie's Bulma On Gaming, Bunnies

. I've never been much of a video gamer, but I like the adventure games and the shooting games might help my hand/eye coordination for the gun sequences in the film. I picked up a few games not really knowing what I was buying and when I started playing one I realized I had picked up "Stranglehold" starring Chow Yun Fat! Based on the John Woo movie "Hard Boiled," the graphics are incredible, he jumps, flies and shoots in slow-mo, very John Woo, very cool. I feel a little shy to tell him I'm playing him on a video game, to tell him how cool it is!

Along Came An AMD Spider

Back in late December, AMD saw fit to send me one of their new Spider systems, which combines the AMD Phenom Quad-core processor, the new ATI Radeon 3800 series of graphics cards, and AMD's 790FX chipset to create what AMD considers a complete gaming platform, with the processor, chipset, and graphics all created by AMD and designed specifically to work in conjunction with each other. Over the past several weeks I've been putting the system through its paces, playing copious amounts of Stranglehold and Crysis—both of which were provided with the system—along with a selection of my own games, including World of Warcraft, The Witcher, and for some stupid reason, Second Life. Yeah—not a game, I know.

What follows is a look at what it's like using this particular system, how it feels to have one at your disposal, and ultimately if it is worth spending upwards of $1200+ for a similar set up. What you won't find are benchmarks and technical specifications. If you're into that sort of thing, you already know where to go and most likely can look at the system specs and guess how the AMD Spider is going to perform.

Speaking of which...

Midway Planning "Fewer, Bigger, Better" Games In 2008

Chicago-based Midway Games hasn't posted a profit since 1999. This year wasn't so hot either. That may have something to do with publishing broken, puerile crap like Hour of Victory, Game Party, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am and Cruis'n. Delays for Stranglehold, Blacksite: Area 51 and Unreal Tournament III aren't helping matters either, but it may have more to do with Midway's close association with software diarrhea that could prevent it from returning to glory. Maybe that's why Midway CEO David Zucker is promising that the company will produce "fewer, bigger, better" titles next year. Fewer Cruis'ns? Yes, please and thank you!

Zucker points to games like Vin Diesel vehicle Wheelman and the next-gen debut of Mortal Kombat as some of the "bigger" titles, the latter of which is planned for the end of 2008. There's also mention of more John Woo games, now that Stranglehold is somewhat of a success. Yay? Maybe Zucker and crew should focus less on publishing shovelware crap and try to make the Midway name less of a punchline in the coming years. It might just be crazy enough to work.

Midway resets for 2008 [Chicago Tribune via Game|Life]

Stranglehold Collector's Edition (PS3) Is $40 On Amazon

Amazon has a nice deal going on Stranglehold Collector's Edition for PS3. It's just $40 if you order today (which is $30 off retail). Some of you may remember this as the version with a Blu-ray movie of John Woo's "Hard Boiled." And some of you may also remember that the movie was original region protected, but Midway gave and made the movie region free after fans complained.

So in other words, this deal may be decent for our UK friends as well (and even you Ash, to pick up while you're in the States). It's odd not to hear from Ash in his night notes, isn't it? Not that Luke "kangaroo boxer" Plunkett isn't great, but I for one am eagerly awaiting the tales of Mini-Bash experiencing Tex Mex cuisine, American Santa and buxom Texas ladies.

Amazon [via cheapassgamer]

Stranglehold Map Packs Coming Soon

$3,000 Computer Contest Reminder

Don't forget! We are totally giving away a BlackSite: Area 51 gaming PC from Alienware. The winner will also get an Area 51 t-shirt, an "eyeblack" patch and a copy of Midway's Stranglehold PC. The computer is a $3,000 dollar machine, making this one of the most expensive things we've given away, so any bitching about the TOTALLY FREE AND AMAZING PRIZE will be met with the blunt end of the Ban Hammer.

Wanna win that computer? Read this. Do it. Contest closes to entries November 12th at midnight EST. Specs after the jump:

Ahoy! We're giving away a BlackSite: Area 51 gaming PC from Alienware. The winner will also get an Area 51 t-shirt, an "eyeblack" patch and a copy of Midway's Stranglehold PC. The computer is a $3,000 dollar machine, making this one of the most expensive things we've given away, so any bitching about the TOTALLY FREE AND AMAZING PRIZE will be met with the blunt end of the Ban Hammer.

The contest is based on Crecente's sadistic treasure hunts. Long-time readers will know what we're talking about. Basically, we give you a clue about a post we've done, and then y'all must go find it. If you find the correct post, there will be another clue, which you'll need to track down. And so on. This contest will have ten questions, or "Missions" as I call them. These missions are unnumbered, but if you are doing the contest correctly, they show flow into the next question, etc.

Anyone who posts answers on Kotaku or anywhere on the internet will be banned and made an example of. Here's your first mission:

While Crecente wasn't able to see out of his Halo 3 helmet, this guy was — and added an awesome visor. Thumbs up all around. Find him!

Send your answers, your address and ten correct links to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Specs and some very important info after the jump.

Compete for $3,000 BlackSite Computer [Update]

Contest start! So, we're giving away a BlackSite: Area 51 gaming PC from Alienware. The winner will also get an Area 51 t-shirt, an "eyeblack" patch and a copy of Midway's Stranglehold PC. The computer is a $3,000 dollar machine, making this one of the most expensive things we've given away, so any bitching about the TOTALLY FREE AND AMAZING PRIZE will be met with the blunt end of the Ban Hammer.

The contest is based on Crecente's sadistic treasure hunts. Long-time readers will know what we're talking about. Basically, we give you a clue about a post we've done, and then y'all must go find it. If you find the correct post, there will be another clue, which you'll need to track down. And so on. This contest will have ten questions, or "Missions" as I call them. These missions are unnumbered, but if you are doing the contest correctly, they show flow into the next question, etc. The contest ends Monday November 11 at midnight EST. Send all your answers with links to kotakucontest@gmail.com with the word contest in the subject line. The winner will be randomly selected from the correct entries and announced Friday November 16.

Anyone who posts answers on Kotaku or anywhere on the internet will be banned and made an example of. Here's your first mission:

While Crecente wasn't able to see out of his Halo 3 helmet, this guy was — and added an awesome visor. Thumbs up all around. Find him!

Spent literally hours putting this together, trying to make this as hard and difficult as possible. Remember, nothing is free, so if you want this pricey loot, get to work!

Specs after the jump.

Eds Update: Quick note about the contest. Three things: Be sure to include your name and home address. Also, to enter this contest, you must be 18 years old and up. Also, if you are only sending us one link, you are wrong. Very, very wrong. Send us TEN links and correct answers.

What do we love giving away more than games? Gaming systems. So, for our next contest we are giving away the computer version of Midway's BlackSite: Area 51 plus (yes, plus!) an Area 51 machine from Alienware (geddit? Area 51). That's right, our next contest will have a high-end gaming PC up for grabs. There's more! The winner will also get an Area 51 t-shirt, an "eyeblack" patch and a copy of Midway's Stranglehold PC. The computer is a $3,000 dollar machine, making this one of the most expensive things we've given away. Like, ever. Hit the jump for the machine's specs:

Stranglehold PS3 Finally Goes Gold

Remember Midway's Stranglehold? The PC and Xbox 360 versions of the shooter shipped over a month ago, but the PlayStation 3 edition—some might say the ultimate edition—has finally gone gold, due to ship out next week on October 29. PS3-only gamers can take comfort in the late arrival of the John Woo authorized Stranglehold with its included, full-length version of the Hong Kong cinema prequel, Hard Boiled, stuffed on the Collector's Edition Blu-ray disc. A regular version, sans Chow Yun Fat movie and 10 dollar collector's tax is also available. More proof that above average things come to those who wait.

The prez and CEO of Chicago-based publisher Midway explained in a conference call today exactly what was behind the delay behind two of its marquee holiday titles bound for the PLAYSTATION 3. Both Stranglehold and BlackSite: Area 51 will ship later than their Xbox 360 counterparts in North America and Europe respectively, largely due to "bumps" the development teams have experienced along the way. Both are cross-platform games built on Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3.0.

Citing technical issues that have "taken more time to finalize than expected", David Zucker says that the delays for each will materially affect Midway's 2007 revenue. On the plus side, Zucker says those technical issues are now "complete at a core level in our engine" and that "now that we have the systems working, looking ahead to 2008 we expect the PS3 versions of our titles to ship day and date with other versions."

PC Gamers Get A Stranglehold Demo, Too

Stranglehold System Requirements May Not Require Second Mortgage

PlayStation Store Update: Tequila Time

The latest update to the PlayStation Store has gone live, hosting a digitally rights managed smörgåsbord of new content for PLAYSTATION 3 owners. In addition to new demos for Midway's Stranglehold (1337 MB) and EA's NBA Live 08 (661 MB), a slew of add-ons for already released games are available.

MotorStorm owners can pick up the Revenge Weekend add-on ($5.99) which consists of one new track, five new vehicles (including a school bus!), a new online mode and nine new events. Four of those vehicles may be purchased individually for 99 cents each, if you're so inclined. For Ninja Gaiden Sigma players looking for more punishment, the Weapons Master pack adds five survival modes for $2.99. But wait, there's more!

How soon? This week. How this week? This Thursday! As in tomorrow. Less than 24 hours at this point.

For those who own PS3s and are upset that 360 owners get the real thing while you just get a lousy demo, just remember: Strangehold really isn't all that great. You'll see for yourself when you download the demo. Which comes out really, really soon.

Confirmed: Stranglehold Demo for PSN [gamerscreed]

Week in Games: Stranglehold Edition

With all the traveling I've been doing lately it's been hard for me to play any new games and probably won't get much of a chance for a few more weeks. Some good titles coming out this week though and I'm sure you'll be able to find something on this list that strikes your fancy. Personally I'm rather intrigued by the Sherlock Holmes title which has been getting decent reviews. Sherlock Holmes and the Cthulu mythos? Sounds like a winner to me.

Stranglehold (X360, PC)
All the fun of a John Woo film on your 360!

Medal of Honor: Airborne (PC, X360)
It's WWII as seen from above.

The Sims 2: Bon Voyage (PC)
Send your little Sims on a dream vacation.

Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles 2 (PS2)
The Naruto machine keeps on pumping.

Worms: Open Warfare 2 (DS, PSP)
Worms you can carry with you in your pocket.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (PC)
Holmes vs. Cthulu in a fight to the death.

Seven Kingdoms: Conquest (PC)
Lead your army of soldiers of demons to victory.

Pool Party (WII)
The kind with balls and a cue not the kind where you throw your keys in one.

Anacapri - The Dream (PC)
Take a trip to the Isle of Capri.

Legends of Norrath: Oathbound (PC)
The world of EverQuest gets a card battle game.

Garfield's Nightmare (DS)
Nightmare indeed.