SC IV was on display for everyone to check out, but much like McWhertor's experience at GDC, there were only a limited number of characters to play with. My choices were a bit different than McWertor's however as I got to pick between Taki, Cassandra, Seung Mina and Hilde. I took Cassandra in hand and roundly bested my opponent (who's name I will leave out to save them embarrassment, but You know who you are!) in three rounds. I was also able to check out a little of Hilde and her shiny armor before i had to give up the controller to the next journo in the long line. I really like her fighting style and plan on exploring them more extensively when the final release happens. Something tells me she will be in my regular roster along with Ivy.

The controls for the PS3 version were tight and familiar and I was glad that they hadn't tried changing them up. The graphics were stunning as always and the really showed off the power of the PS3. A particular favorite was a large round arena with walls of gears and little mechanical men and carousel horses giving one the feeling of fighting in a giant cuckoo clock. The HUD has also received a makeover looking much tighter and sharper than it's predecessors.

So, mark your calendars for July 29th and if you want that Collector's Edition, be sure to pre-order it. I have a feeling they will be going fast. Be sure to check after the jump for a ton of new screenshots featuring Darth Vader and Yoda.

So, if you live near a K-Mart and can get there before the word spreads and Bioware makes them yank it of the shelf, you could be playing Mass Effect this afternoon. A check at my local K-mart saw me leave empty handed, but who knows, you may get lucky.

CAGs Score Mass Effect Early at Kmart [CheapAssGamer]

Kotaku reader Brian sends word (and photos) that his local CompUSA retailer has already started selling Crackdown. Let's let him explain:

Rang up for $220 dollors but the cashier just overroad it for me. Seems funny as there is a bright orange sticker that says DO NOT SELL BEFORE 2/20/07 on it.

Yep. That it does, that it does. Anyone else pick up Crackdown early? Brian Ashcraft

Retailers on at least two continents have been extremely lax about the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade's January 16th street date. While most major game outlets across the US have been sticking to the agreement, many smaller shops as well as some large retailers already have the games on the shelves for purchase. I found the game at a Target store in Atlanta over the weekend, but since I already have it fully paid for at a midnight launch locations I passed on picking up a copy.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that at least one major supermarket in Europe started selling the game once they received it on Saturday, causing many independent stores to go ahead and sell theirs in order to stay competitive.

As of this writing there are 463 auctions on eBay for the expansion, with 327 of the for the limited edition Collector's Edition, which is going for upwards of $200 on average...over twice retail. Some enterprising folks are selling the game with level 60 characters bundled in, letting you experience the higher level content ineptly with a character you don't know how to play.

Any of you fine readers get a copy of the game early, and if so, does it ache to sit there staring at the box with one eye while the other stares intently at the clock? Michael Fahey

Retail breaks street date for WOW expansion [GamesIndustry.biz]

From his post on NeoGAF:

My friend and i went to a local Sears this morning in hopes to buy a ps3. though the Sears turned out to only have 2 in stock. but for some reason they were telling us that the Wii was on sale. it was weird, so they had 6 Wiis in stock, my friend and i of course bought one! along w/ 4 other ppl that was there w/ us.

What a lucky break. This certainly wasn't going on at the Sears I visited today.

And, no, this doesn't mean you can storm your local shop and demand that they sell you one, just because a couple systems slipped under the radar, sadly. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Michael McWhertor

I Got a Wii on the Ps3 Launch date!!!! [NeoGAF]

Kotakuite Julien D. wrote from France, informing us the the FNAC series of megastores are apparently filling DS Lite pre-orders one day early:

Ok, it's just one day off, but this also means twenty-four more hours of gaming ! The interesting stuff is that it's been done in a semi-official way : yesterday people who had pre-ordered at Fnac received a message saying the order had arrived, but when you came to retrieve it you were told :"Hmm, in fact we can't give it to you now because Nintendo would get mad at us. We'll call them by tomorrow, maybe if you come back on the 22nd (today, one day before the official date) we will be able to do something." And so it was. Oh joy. Oh de(-s-)light. Anyway, they seemed to be willing to sell them even to people who hadn't preordered.

So, did Ninty willfully allow for the breaking of its own date? If so, then that means I'll have to take not one, but two or more days off for the release of the Wii.

In the Emerald Isle, at least, this appears not to be true. I called all the usual suspects who have been accepting DS Lite pre-orders over the past couple weeks, asking if they would fill my order today instead of tomorrow. With great consternation and voices quivering with holy dread, they marveled at the question, pointing in the direction of a vast legalistic specter who would swoop down upon them and swallow their company's soul if they broke street date. Given the national Irish penchant for saying 'fuck you' to authority, this is curious in and of itself: Nintendo must have really slathered on the threats.

Regardless, the breaking of street date in Europe appears to be a case of one rogue store, not a Nintendo backed initiative. But if you're a French FNACer, you might want to put down that croque madame and putter your Vespa over to your local store. Florian Eckhardt