The Rock Band Network is a service that allows people to turn listenable music into music that is playable in Rock Band, empowering any musician or fan with the proper rights to expand the Rock Band music library and make some money off sales to gamers of the songs they work on. The Network is currently in closed beta.

The November launch of the service on the Xbox 360 that was suggested by Harmonix to Kotaku this past summer isn't happening.

An MTV Games spokesperson broke down the current roll-out plan:

"We're working hard to get the Rock Band Network open public beta release of tools up before the end of the year, with our RBN storefront launching in early 2010. Exact dates still TBD. The tools necessary for bands to start authoring and prepare their content for review are already live on Creators.rockband.com/tools/download. The open beta launch will add access to the currently private website where all of the RBN community activity and peer reviewing of tracks will take place. People who join the Rock Band Network (bands, fans or otherwise) will be able to play and preview any song before it hits the store, so they should stay tuned for the official launch."

So the closed beta continues and it sounds like it will open up to the rest of the public by New Year's. If you want to buy the songs people are coding, however, you'll need to wait until 2010.

The RBN is planned for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Originally, the 360 version was supposed to launch first. There was no word today about whether that is still the plan.

[PIC]

Square Enix and Microsoft set up the Register - Tweet - Win event earlier this month, and the retweeting goal has been reached, unleashing an Xbox 360 Final Fantasy gift for everyone to enjoy. Yes, it's a chocobo toy for your Xbox Live Avatar! Joy of joys!

Kicking yourself now that you didn't participate? It's okay, you don't have to participate to partake. Simply head over to the special Final Fantasy XIII splash page on Xbox.com, register, and watch for your chocobo code to arrive later in the holiday season.

In a brief e-mail interview with Kotaku in advance of the release of next month's The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Aonuma explained that Link's latest adventure takes an unusual route to satisfying and challenging veteran gamers:

"One of our lead planners for the game is a programmer, so he has a different, more scientific or mathematical approach, so to say, to creating puzzles," he wrote to Kotaku. Aonuma is the producer on Spirit Tracks.

"Development team members, including [senior Nintendo developer] Mr. [Takashi] Tezuka and myself, actually got stuck in several places. So the dungeons and puzzles pose a different type of challenge than what we have utilized in previous games, and will certainly require longtime Zelda fans to approach each challenge differently. "

Getting more specific, he noted: "I believe that the latter half of the Tower of Spirits dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks — [which] players will revisit throughout the game — has puzzles which require a different type of approach from those of previous games,"

The chief architect of most of the major Zelda games, Aonuma has talked with your Kotaku deputy editor before about how to balance the creation of a new Zelda game to satisfy veteran fans and newcomers.

A couple of years ago, I suggested that his team consider giving the player their boomerang and bow-and-arrow from the get-go. that might be a way to make new Zeldas more alluring to veteran series gamers.

But never has he admitted to being stumped by some of the puzzles his designers have created.

The game won't all be harder.

Controls, for one thing, will be easier, Aonuma said.

I had asked him what his team had learned about the touch-screen controls implemented in the previous DS Zelda game, The Phantom Hourglass. That prompted this reply: "The one consistent piece of feedback we received about the controls in Phantom Hourglass was that it was too challenging to execute the roll move. You had to draw little circles at the edge of the screen to make Link roll. This is actually something we felt similarly about during development, but ended up not having enough time left in the schedule to implement another solution. In Spirit Tracks, this move is done by tapping anywhere on the screen, so hopefully players get more use out of it. "

Another tweak for the new game is in the Zelda character herself. In a change for the series, the Spirit Tracks Zelda takes on the game's adventure alongside Link, in the form of a spirit. She's not a damsel in distress just waiting to be saved. She's an active adventurer. Aonuma said she was designed out of a desire among both Zelda fans and developers to have a stronger princess.

"We recently received information from a survey conducted in the US that indicated that, among our female characters, users had a preference for those that were more on the independent side, such as Shiek and Tetra," he wrote. He was referring to the Zelda-in-disguise incarnations of Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. "Making Zelda a more integral part of the game was also a goal for our Director, Mr. [Daiki] Iwamoto, so we set out with this element in mind when we started making the game."

Link's different in this new game too, of course. He so often is. Aonuma didn't divulge if or how Link will behave differently. Visually he looks like the Link in the GameCube's Wind Waker and the DS' Phantom Hourglass, but with the new game set 100 years after Hourglass, it's no surprise that this Link is at least a new hero.

"The Link character in Spirit Tracks is different from those featured in previous games," Aonuma said. "He's a brand new Link. The game does share ties with Phantom Hourglass and Wind Waker though. This is mostly communicated to the player through the Niko character, who appears in all three games. Of course he is much older in Spirit Tracks, and his aging conveys to the player that much time has passed across the timeline of all three games."

Niko? That's the stripe-shirted guy, not the GTA guy.

The new Zelda, Spirit Tracks, will be released in North America on December 7 for the Nintendo DS.

While Assassin's Creed II tells the story of Renaissance nobleman assassin Ezio, Bloodlines brings players back to 12th century and the story of the original Assassin's Creed's Altair. The game picks up where Assassin's Creed left off, and Altair must hunt down the remaining Templars who have fled to the Island of Cyprus. It also serves as a link between the first game and the second.

Bloodlines is not Ubisoft's first stab at bringing Assassin's Creed to handhelds. Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles appeared on the Nintendo DS in February 2008. It was later ported to the iPhone in spring of this year. Unlike the DS game, the PSP's Bloodlines features gameplay similar to the home console versions of the game. Players can roam around Cyprus, blend into crowds, jump into haystacks and sneak up on targets to snub them out. But just because something works on a home console, that does not mean it will work on a portable system.

Loved
Combat, Cool Combos...: The most fun to be had in Bloodlines? The combat. Players hone in on their target and go in for the kill. Counter attacking, likewise, is fun and the first twenty or so times you see the mini cinematic for a finishing move is also satisfying.

Once Upon A Time: For fans of the series, the real draw here is not the gameplay, it's the story. What is the connection between Altair and Ezio? Are they related? If so, how? The game touches on those issues, and those who have been following the AC plot will be interested in picking up bloodlines if only to fill in some of the blanks between AC1 and AC 2. Maria is also a stand-out story wise in Bloodlines.

Graphically Impressive: Bloodlines looks solid for a PSP title. While the brown color palette of Cyprus is largely drab, it's very cool to see Altair running around on the PSP's screen. The frame rate is generally smooth. Like with many PSP games, however, this look great from far away, but not so great close up. That's simply hardware issue, and all and all, the game's pretty.

Hated
Not So Intelligent: The A.I. in Bloodlines is, sorry to be frank, dumb. Enemies are not very smart! Sometimes guards notice when you are slaying your prey, and sometimes, even when they are standing close by, they are blissfully unaware. On other occasions, they'll draw a sword for no apparent reason. Bosses aren't too bright, either.

Setting: The game's developers picked Cyprus to set the game. There's lots of brown! Okay, fine. I can live with that. The real issue is the way the city is divided up into sections. It's impossible to get an expansive feel when there are invisible walls and divides. It's hard to build up any real rhythm moving around. Then, Cyprus itself is mostly barren and empty, and it seems like guards outnumber the regular population — maybe that's how it was in the 12th century! But it doesn't make for the most seductive game environment.

Confusing: Let's say, you've never played Assassin's Creed. Who is this Altair? Who are the Templars? What's with this Maria lady? Animus, wha? The tutorial is suitable, but more story exposition is needed to bring this title to a wider audience. If you are familiar with the series, dive in, enjoy. If not, this is not the game for you. Go play one of the console games. Pronto!

Camera Issues: The developer makes a valiant effort at addressing the camera controls in Bloodlines. I applaud what they tried — more importantly, I respect it. Thing is, it doesn't work. To access the camera, players must press one of the shoulder buttons. Then that allows them use the triangle, square, circle, etc. buttons to look up, down, right, left. Players must stop dead in their tracks, and access the camera. It kills the flow — rather, it ensures that there really is no flow.

Hoping to repeat the commercial and technical success of something like God of War: Chains of Olympus, Bloodlines leaps high, but ends up falling flat on its face. Just because Assassin's Creed can be developed on handhelds, that doesn't mean it should.

Assassin's Creed is a big title — it needs the power of home consoles to fully play up the strengths of its gameplay. The developers did attempt to reproduce the console version on portable systems, but perhaps, retrenching for the PSP could lead to more satisfying gameplay.

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Griptonite Games, and published by Ubisoft for the PSP on November 17. Retails for $39.99 USD. A digital copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed single player.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Let's understand each other: I have nothing against Warcraft or Warcraft gamers, or MMOs. I don't fear addiction to them, because I've built my life around deadlines and never missing them, and I'm fortunate to have some every single day to keep me honest. It's not the fantasy setting or the stigma, either - I was trundling AD&D books to my seventh grade classes and suffered enough teasing that I truly don't care about such things, now that I'm older. Maybe it's the fact that I've never been a serious PC gamer. Maybe it's my lack of comfort with WASD and mouse controls.

I think mostly it's how I was raised on RPGs. When I play a fantasy role-playing game I expect dice. I expect dice chalk. I expect character sheets. I expect stacks of hardbacked manuals. I expect a dungeon master screen. I expect rainy Saturdays with nothing to do but read "Unearthed Arcana." I expect going over to a friend's house on a Friday night. I expect paying the DM $20 to let me re-roll at name level. I expect everyone telling Eric to shut the fuck up, we're not letting him name his drow paladin-bard-illusionist "Zartan."

While I can't say these things have no analogue in WoW (except for paying the DM), the experience does seem to me to be a little less social. Yeah, you can form a raiding party at 3 a.m. and battle both sleep and orcs. For me, nothing beats lurching into one last cavern full of bugbears, and watching your pal, laying on the floor with his eyes closed, confidently tick off his weapon and spell choices to save the day, and then finding him the next morning asleep in exactly the same posture.

Again, nothing against Warcraft, but back in the day, that's just how we rolled. Literally.

Stephen Totilo, Deputy Editor, Kotaku

I don't play World of Warcraft. Haven't touched it since a single Saturday a few years ago when I brought a Tauren Druid to his 12th level and had a player, controlling a Tauren-turned-bear, approach my character and lick him. I believe this was the same player who, earlier in the day, went on a quest with me and didn't actually disconnect when I needed him most — he just had stepped away to change a load of laundry. I get what's appealing about WoW: The leveling, the oddities that occur when you're playing a game full of real people. But I quickly decided that I feared the game. I feared its monthly drain on my budget. I feared the sense of obligation to keep playing a game I continuously paid for. And I feared the amount of other games I wouldn't have time to play in order to play this single one. I like to play games that people consider to be great. I like to try to understand them. But with some disappointment, I stay away from World of Warcraft. I think it's better for me that way, that I gain more than I lose.

Juan Perez, Editor-in-Chief, Perez Start

Easy answer, addiction. MMO players are a different type of gamer. They live for the grind. Previously, I played Star Wars Galaxies - the first release - not that "revamped" watered-down version. There were not enough hours in the day to rank up my Twi'lek Bounty Hunter, join the Imperials and raid Anchorhead looking for Rebels who took the battles a little too serious by "reporting" other players. World of Warcraft then came along and swooped all those who still had the itch to game MMO. Macro nerds really pissed me off. You know the type, the ones that made all their actions a damn script. What enjoyment did they get from that? Sure, it was practical but gaming should be fun not a job. I already know gaming is an addiction that some can handle, while others become infatuated. WoW changed lives and kept some living like hermits. Monthly fees forced them to play "more" because of the "Geez, I'm paying for this crap so I'm going to use it" mentality. WoW is a cult I may have missed thanks to SWG setting my standards for MMOs, but I'm glad it did. Not sure how much time a week a WoW player plays but I bet it's close to 20 to 25 hours. No Thanks! Oh yeah, and that South Park episode helped keep me away. "Make Love, Not Warcraft". Staaaaaaan!!!

Fergus Mills, Senior Editor, The Koalition

Many people have tried to get me to play World of Warcraft, but it never appealed to me. Playing a game like WoW consumes so much time and all WoW players that I know play for hours on end everyday. There isn't enough time for me to have a social life, go to college, get enough, sleep, and play WoW the way they seem to. I have nothing bad to say about WoW players in general. Now that I am older I realize that people are just passionate about things that increase their quality of life. I just don't see why WoW is worth my time, so I stay away from it. It seems like just another game to me.

Overall, I think World of Warcraft has an extremely niche audience. I might be wrong, but WoW seems to take a certain amount of time and resolve to really get into it. It's not a game that you turn on and start to have fun right away with. My roommate DeJarvis Oliver says that he never got into WoW because it takes too long to build a character, level him up, and enjoy the action. I never got into it because of its monthly subscription. I have an internet bill, Netflix, Gamefly, and a cell phone bill to pay to name a few things. World of Warcraft does not have priority over any of that. I can cop a few console games and have satisfied experiences without any additional cost (besides XBL hitting my wallet up once a year). I realize that some of this additional cost is perceived and justified to some aspect, but I like variety in my games. Playing one game for too long is not my style. I don't think World of Warcraft has done a good job in letting people know why this is the game that they should playing. The commercial with Ozzy Osbourne is cool and all, but c'mon. Ozzy isn't going to convince me to play this game. He looks like he doesn't play it himself.

Brian Miggels, Editor & Graphic Designer, GameSpy

I don't play World of Warcraft at all. I never have and I never will. There's something that makes me cringe whenever co-workers start talking about raids, loot, and whatever level their blood elf is. I find it easy to sit back, relax, pick up a controller (not a keyboard with strategically popped out keys) and be labeled a "con-tard" by a number of people here at the office that specifically play PC games. Point number 1: Whatever the minimal difference is between my computer screen and my HDTV, it's enough to make me separate my worlds as far as a life is concerned. The symbolic gesture of closing my laptop at the end of the day is a brief reminder that it's game time or going out time. Point number 2: WoW is one of the most obviously addictive games there is. I have a full time job that I largely owe to me getting my shit together and doing away with some of my tendencies of being a highly addictive person. If I started playing it I know I would like it so much that my entire career would fall apart and I would go back to living in my parents' basement — although they never really even had a basement to begin with, but you get the point. Not for me, and no thank you.

Marc Normandin, Baseball Prospectus

Most of my close friends played WoW a few years back. They would play at a LAN center we visited often, and eventually would only play WoW. I still went to hang out with them, but that became harder to do as they morphed into hot-key-striking zombies.

Thanks to watching all of the riveting non-action as they stood around for hours waiting to organize themselves for daily raids, and what I can only assume are the same feelings a resentful, scorned girlfriend would have towards the game, I have had no interest in giving it a shot.

Shaun McIlroy, U.K./European Editor, One Last Continue

There's a simple reason why I no longer play World of Warcraft, I've got too much to lose in my life. Back in 2006, as a lowly college student, I managed to justify my then-addiction by claiming it was a way to unwind after a busy week. It was then that grades began to suffer. After a time I decided that enough was enough and the increasing workload was definitely more important than collecting animal pelts.

In short, life had, and has, more to offer than a trip across a virtual land for a nominal fee each month. I'd much rather use that money on a night out with my girlfriend, or a book for my games design degree, or even something more basic such as rent. I'm not sure how many hours I'd need to invest into that world again without risking my University degree or my wonderful relationship, but I know it wouldn't be worth it.

To contrast, my older brother (38) spends a hell of a lot of his personal time on WoW. Then again, and I say this with the utmost love and respect, with a lack of a real social life outside of Azeroth he can afford to.

Kreyg Dezgo, Editor, Hot Blooded Gaming

To this day, I have never played or so much as tried World of Warcraft. Some might say, "what kind of gamer are you?!" and I would reply sarcastically with, "a smart one?" While the game seems fun and like something I would greatly enjoy, the price of addiction is not one I wish to pay. It seems that everyone I knew who played WoW became addicted to it in some way. Working at a gaming LAN center/retail store didn't help either. Co-workers would play at work instead of working, friends would rather stay in and when asked to hang out, they would "not feel like it" It seemed like everyone just wanted to play World of Warcraft.

Instead of jumping on the bandwagon, I stayed away from the game. Co-workers and friends tried to peer-pressure me into playing many times. It was almost like those situations they told us about in [anti-drug program] D.A.R.E. Luckily I remember the "eight ways to say no," "broken record" and "say no and walk away" seemed to work best. Over time, my friends stopped playing, but periodically they would relapse and all their old patterns were back. The South Park episode later came out and I said to each of them, "at least you weren't as bad as that guy" Ultimately my friends are the reason I do not play WoW.

Josh Robinson, The Blue Banner (University of North Carolina Asheville)

The first time I tried World of Warcraft was when I was in the 11th grade. My buddy let me try the "friend trial" that came with the game. I gave it a try, but I was just so bored with the repetitive nature of the game. The never-ending leveling up, or "grinding," wasn't fun to me – I'm still not sure how it is for everyone who plays that game.

My friends were obsessed with the game from about the 11th grade until somewhere around the end of my sophomore year of college. I've still go friends who play it, but none that play it nearly as religiously as they did.

I don't have the time to play most of the video games I'd like. I don't see how people have the time to dedicate to a game like that. I definitely understand the appeal of the community aspect. I played EverQuest: Online Adventures for the PlayStation 2 while I was in the ninth grade and then Final Fantasy XI on the PlayStation 2, as well, in the 10th grade. I made some relationships with people that I still keep in contact with today.

But these days, I don't have the time to give to an MMO. I'm a full-time student and I have a job, as well. That alone ties up most of my time. I'm a senior, which means no rest, even in death, haha. Any spare time I have isn't going to be spent on a game that requires a monthly fee.

To me, WoW was not as fun as the other two MMOs I had played before. Can't really put my finger on what it was, but WoW lacked something the other two had. But obviously there's something there that appeals to a much larger group of people than the two MMOs that I played before it.

Your turn. If you don't play, now or ever, why not?

Check back all week for more stories related to World of Warcraft's fifth anniversary.

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Take for instance, The Cradle, a dock used to both charge your PSPgo and hold the portable while it is connected to your computer or television. How can you go wrong with something like that? Right? Right?

Loved
Design: The cradle for the PSPgo is a neat little bit of accessory that not only can be used to quickly and easily charge your PSPgo, but also lets you sync with your computer or connect to your television. When freed of any case, the PSPgo pops straight onto the cradle effortlessly. When not in use, the stand has a pretty low-profile, small footprint.

PSP AC Adaptor Support: Unlike just about everything else to do with the PSPgo, the cradle actually lets you use the AC adaptor that came with the PSP 1000, 2000 or 3000 to charge your PSPgo. Not a big deal if you never owned one of these, but pretty nice if you did.

Hated
No Included Cables: While there's a lot you can do with your Cradle, from synching to charging, all of them require you to already own or go out and purchase cables. That's a little annoying. It would have been nice if the thing came with a spare power cable that you could leave at home and connected to the cradle. I'd also love to see a, perhaps more expensive, version that comes with the AV cables you use to connect the cradle and PSPgo to your television.

I'm a big fan of charging stands for my electronics. I don't like screwing around with cables. I prefer to slap the device into something that holds it and go about my business. The cradle's design is exceptional in this case, but only if you don't have anything attached to your PSPgo. I tried using the cradle with the faux-leather go case, which is fairly skin tight, and it was a no go. That's a pretty big disappointment for me. If Sony can't plan ahead on their own accessories and ensure they will work together, can we expect outside companies too?

Ringing in at $30 or so, the cradle is probably a worthwhile investment for those of you who like charging stands and those who plan on using the PSPgo connected to your TV a lot.

The Cradle was developed by Playstation for the PSPgo. Retails for $29.99 USD. A unit was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Used the cradle over the course of a month or so.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

This is not a scientific comparison! And, of course, a baseball is round. The DSi LL is not round, making it hard to compare — but not impossible.

The PSPgo launched on Oct. 1, kicking off an impressive glut of download-only games on the Playstation Store. It also marked Sony's promised push for new, triple-A games for the Playstation Portable including MotorStorm, LittleBigPlanet and Assassin's Creed titles.

Take a gander at some of the big games that hit the PSP this year. What titles would you recommend as a gift?

Fieldrunners

Price: $6.99
Genre: Tower Defense
Subject Matter: The popular iPhone Tower Defense game brought to the Playstation Portable.
Value: This was one of my favorite downloadable minis when the PSPgo launched. It's a great port of the original.
Buy it for fans of tower defense titles.
Read the Full Review

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action
Subject Matter: A arcade-style shooter loosely based on the live-action G.I. Joe movie.
Value: G.I. Joe is a movie tie-in strangely reminiscent of Konami's Contra series. One or two players take control of their favorite Joes from the movie and take on Cobra across multiple levels of run-and-gun action. There are a few unlockables catering to fans of the old cartoon series, but other than that this is strictly a movie-lover's affair.
Buy it for: Really, really big fans of the G.I. Joe live-action movie.
Read the Full Review

Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars

Price: $39.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Open world action-adventure
Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game.
Value: There's a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested.
Buy it for: PSP owners looking for a chunky, fun-to-pay adventure.
Read the Full Preview

Gran Turismo

Price: $39.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Driving Simulation
Subject Matter: Gran Turismo offers players over 800 cars to purchase, customize and race on more than 35 tracks in a realistic setting, testing their driving skills with real-world physics.
Value: Gran Turismo offers nearly limitless replayability, thanks to the numerous cars, tracks and Driving Challenges stuffed in to the game. Long time Gran Turismo fans may be turned of by the lack of a Career Mode and Leaderboards, but this is a solid pick up and play racer.
Buy it for: The car-obsessed portable gamer who prefers a passenger seat in the real-world.
Read the Full Review

Half-Minute Hero

Price: $29.95
Rating: E10+
Genre: Across four mode: Hyper-speed role-playing game / hyper-speed scrolling shoot-em-up / hyper-speed real-time strategy game / hyper-speed top-down dungeon-crawler
Subject Matter: A winning send-up to the genres and technology of 16-bit Japanese-made games, there's actually a lengthy adventure here that spans eras and tells the comedic/dramatic tale of heroes who repeatedly face the challenge of saving the world in 30 seconds.
Value: High, as the game offers short-session bites of play that combine into a lengthy adventure that has none of the brevity suggested by the game's title.
Buy it for: RPG fans, fans of the Super Nintendo era, and fans who are looking for something original and smart on the PSP.
Read the Full Review

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival

Price: $14.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Platformer
Subject Matter: The LocoRocos are up past their bedtime and rolling and bouncing their way through a Halloween carnival-style levels.
Value: The stages might be short, but they are hard. A more satisfying (and less stressful) gaming experience was found in some of the mini-games.
Buy it for: Gamers looking for a challenge who get music stuck in their heads easily.
Read the Full Review

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge

Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Racing
Subject Matter: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is an over-the-top, semi-open world off-road racer.
Buy it for: fans of arcade race games who spend a bit of time commuting or can't afford a Playstation 3.
Value: With 12 maps, two directions to race them on, multiple courses and vehicle types, MotorStorm Arctic Edge is packed with content. Online play rounds out the experience giving you a chance to test your skills against five other players at a time.
Read the Full Review

PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe

Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Tower defense
Subject Matter: Classic tower defense mechanics and gameplay mixed with delicious PixelJunk aesthetics.
Buy it for: fans of the original Playstation 3 title, tower defense games or developer Q Games.
Value: Featuring new maps, enemies and towers, this is worth the cash.
Read the Full preview

PSPgo
Price: $249
Rating: NA
Genre: Hardware
Subject Matter: Sony's latest portable platform ditches the need for a UMD drive and instead gives you a 16GB harddrive and the ability to download all of the games directly to the system.
Value: At $249, the portable platform is quite pricey, coming in at the cost of several home consoles.
Buy it for: anyone interested in being able to load up their portable with movies, TV shows, pictures, music and games without having to carry a single disc around with them.
Read the Full Review

PSPgo Traveler Case
Price: $19.99
Rating: NA
Genre: NA
Subject Matter: This fauxe leather case protects and beautifies your PSPgo.
Value: For just under $20, this is a heck of a deal.
Buy it for: PSPgo owners looking to protect or upgrade the look of their portable.
Read the Full Review

Rock Band Unplugged>/strong>

Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Rhythm game
Subject Matter: Harmonix' insanely popular Rock Band on the go.
Value: For just under $20 you get a full-fledged World Tour and about 40 tracks. You also get the ability to download new tracks to your PSP.
Buy it for: fans of rhythm games, Rock Band and good music.
Read the Full Review

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: RPG
Subject Matter: A remake of the original Persona for the PlayStation.
Value: A more faithful translation of the original Japanese Persona has never been seen in North America, making Persona PSP the definitive first entry in a series that's been enjoying increased popularity these past few years.
Buy it for: Any Japanese RPG fan.
Read the Full Review

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron

Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Adventure
Subject Matter: You are X-2, a Jedi clone out to help the Rebels take down the Empire and stop your brother X-1 before it's too late.
Value: Elite Squadron mixes gameplay, story and clips from the Star Wars films as it tells the story of X-2. The real replay value comes with the game's online multiplayer.
Buy it for: Star Wars fans or those looking for a PSP multiplayer experience.
Read the Full Review

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a follow-up to 2007's Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. Both Wii games are lightgun takes on gaming's most famous horror series. The first presented Resident Evils 0, 1 and 3 in an on-rails shooting-gallery format. The new game remakes Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica, wrapped with a short new pre-Resident Evil 4 adventure called Operation Javier. All three scenarios star returning Resident Evil icons — Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy, Redfield and Steve Burnside, Kennedy and Jack Krauser — allowing a player to pick one to control or to have a friend shoot as the other one.

The new game has not just its Wii predecessor and the older Evils it remakes to which to be compared. It can handle that. But it also unwisely invites comparison to Resident Evil 5 and unavoidably to the ribald 2009 Wii lightgun game House of the Dead: Overkill (reviewed here) and the brief but bold 2009 genre peer Dead Space Extraction (reviewed here). That's quite the swarm of comparisons.

Loved
Three Tales...: Darkside Chronicles and its predecessor present a pleasant way to re-visit gaming's past without forcing dull re-hash. If you want to experience Code: Veronica or RE2, your previous options have been to play through the original games or read a Wikipedia summary. I enjoyed the middle path of playing them as re-imagined on-rails shooters. The Duck-Hunt-on-wheels format trims a lot of the creeping and snooping from the re-introduced Resident Evils, for better or worse, but it also helps compress some full-size games into eight-level experiences. That allows players to experience three narrative arcs, three culminating boss battles, and observe the connections across the three adventures in one fat-free game. That offers plenty more for the dollar than the comparatively skimpy Dead Space Extraction.

... With Just The Right Cheese: Someone is going to scold me if I admit to laughing at the giant alligator attack of Resident Evil 2, the awkward flirting of Steve Burnside and Claire Redfield, the proto-Arkham-Asylum menace of Alfred Ashford, the absurdity of crying boss monsters, and so on. If you take Resident Evil seriously, then, be sure to not unlock The Darkside Chronicles bonus mode that allows you to fend off rampaging chunks of tofu. And be forewarned that the game isn't preoccupied with scares but rather the pleasures of shooting lots of monsters, preferably in their weak spots. If you don't take it seriously... if you get a kick out of seeing whether you will next fight little man-frogs or next listen to your partner character curiously brand a boss fight as "whack a mole" nonsense, then, hey, Darkside Chronicles has got it. This game isn't as gleefully aware of its excellent wrongness as House of The Dead: Overkill, but its own brand of mad horror adventure is colorful and entertaining.

Lots To Shoot With: Ammo scarcity is itself scarce in Darkside Chronicles. You always have lots of guns and lots of bullets, all very helpful because there are so many bad guys to shoot. Gold found in levels can be spent to upgrade guns. There's nothing too crazy to fire in the game. Pistols, shotguns, magnum, etc. But it all works. The sense of empowerment achieved once you start improving the guns makes the temptation to replay the levels quite strong, another perk this game has over Dead Space.

The Dark And The Giants: In levels enshrouded in darkness — and, oddly, when the scenario calls for large-scale combat against giant enemies — the game looks very good. Darkside's designers have had a lot of fun with the monsters they've re-purposed and the new ones that conclude Operation Javier. The game has some significant graphical problems (mentioned below) that keep it from reaching the surprisingly high bar of technical achievement and art direction of Dead Space, but the best of Darkside Chronicles' levels look terrific. There are times (not in the first level) when a Resident Evil 5 gamer might forget that they are playing the latest RE on a less powerful console.

Control Options Galore: You can play this game with the Wii Zapper and try it in co-op. I preferred a Remote and Nunchuk set-up, minus the Zapper. You aim your targeting reticule with the Remote and pull the Remote's trigger to fire. I could change weapons on the d-pad but preferred using the analog stick. I could reload with a shake of the Remote but preferred to do it with the Nunchuk. The controls were comfortable.

Hated
The South American Sun: The game's first level, the one I previewed several weeks ago, makes a poor first impression. It is in this level that Darkside Chronicles tried to be Resident Evil 5, placing Kennedy and Krauser in a sun-splashed south-American village and using nothing of the darkness or clever art direction to hide how much worse — less detailed, more jagged — this kind of scene looks on a console that isn't an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. In the sewers, in the shadows, in mansions and in plant-filled greenhouses this game looks quite nice. But outside in the sun, it looks like last year's model. The problem is exacerbated by the game's limited enemy types and animation routines. In the sun, you will notice that the same handful of zombies keeps coming at you. And it will be more obvious in the bright outdoors that the little man-frogs all flop in the exact same way, sometimes, if there are two of them that are shot by the same shotgun blast, synchronized.

Breaking Their Own Rules: The rule is that video game bosses have health bars and that players, who shoot weak spots, can drain color from those bars. That's how bosses die (never from old age, except in one Metal Gear). But in Darkside Chronicles, you better not be shooting that weak spot and expecting that health bar to drain if the boss hasn't animated to the proper state yet. The boss has to writhe and attack you some more, and you — you who shot that bar too low, too quickly — will just have to wait.

Lots To Shoot At: Let no one protest the number of the undead that need to be given metal fillings the hard way in this game. But let's discuss the way money is earned in this game: By shooting up the scenery. Shoot the picture frames. Shoot the lamps. Shoot the white cardboard boxes. Shoot these things when you're supposed to keep quiet. Shoot them — and oops, sorry I hit the non-reacting character I'm talking to who was standing slightly in the way. As game design, it's not a problem to have to shoot all over the place to find the money you'll want to spend on weapon upgrades, which in turn make the game more fun. But as mood killer, this design is just deadly. There's no stealth and creeping horror in a game in which I'm encouraged to blast every pixel and polygon in sight to find some cash.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles makes the wrong first impression, but gets better from there. I understand that purists don't love the liberties taken with the edited presentations of Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica, but as someone who isn't so devoted to the canon and enjoyed taking three rides through a Resident Evil arc in one game, I was satisfied.

The Year of the Wii Lightgun Shooter is ending now, with a trio of enjoyable games. Overkill is the craziest. Dead Space is the most innovative. Resident Evil offers the most content. They're all good.

Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles was developed by Cavia and Capcom and published by Capcom for the Wii on November 17. Retails for $49.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through on normal mode in a shade under nine hours. Unlocked tofu mode and uttered profane language during several boss battles, though not the last one.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

The new game is in development at EALA, the studio where a core group of Pandemic team members were relocated following last week's closure of Pandemic's offices and departure of its top executives.

EA offered no gameplay detals, release date or platforms for the new game.

The existence of Mercs Inc — which EA refers to as a "working title" — first surfaced yesterday on website Bitmob, which ran a video of the in-development game and referred to the game as a multiplayer project.

The video showed classic shoot-em-up-for-cash Mercenaries paramilitary action, though it did not display much of the environmental destruction that was the original trademark of the series.

"We are very excited to announce a new instalment [sic] in the popular Mercenaries series because it demonstrates our continued commitment to Pandemic's rich catalogue of intellectual properties," EA group general manager Nick Earl said in a statement. Last week, Earl had the less pleasant duty of announcing the fate of Pandemic to EA employees.

Earl noted that a "core creative team is forging new ground and conceptualizing new ideas for this exciting franchise."

The first Mercenaries was released in 2005, developed by Pandemic and published by LucasArts. A sequel, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, was released last year, again developed by Pandemic but published by new studio owners EA.

[UPDATE: EA declined to provide any more details about when the game is coming out our what it will be about. As for whether the company announced Mercs Inc today as a reaction to the leaked video of the game that surfaced online yesterday and started the rumor of its existence, an EA spokesperson said, "We don't comment on rumors." The company has not responded to a follow-up regarding whether anyone who worked at the Pandemic offices as of last week is currently involved in the new project.]

Ten days ago Kotaku obtained and published a confidential marketing survey showing that Longoria, the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year, was 2K's choice. Today's announcement confirms the decision but also shows the covers leaked out were mock-ups and not at all the final design.

"Being on the cover, right now, it's a process, and we're working on the game and trying to get things going, we're focused on bringing out the best in it." Longoria told Kotaku today. "I won't get to step back and really appreciate this until down the line, when maybe a 10-year-old kid brings a 2K Sports box to the field and asks me to sign it. Then it'll hit me."

Longoria's selection is somewhat of a departure for the series; from 2002 to 2008, its cover athletes were all New York players, including the Yankees' then-first baseman Jason Giambi, and Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter three consecutive times each. Last year's cover athlete was Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants, still a large-market franchise in close proximity to 2K's Marin studio.

In Longoria, MLB 2K10 is selecting an up-and-comer from one of baseball's smaller market clubs - albeit one that stunned bigger spenders in 2008 to win its division and the American League pennant. Longoria has been selected to the AL All-Star team in both of his first two years in the league, and two weeks ago picked up his first Gold Glove award.

His role is not purely promotional; Longoria, an avowed sports gamer going back to Ken Griffey Jr. Major League Baseball on the Super Nintendo, will consult on the game's development and work on components such as its situational authenticity.

"When we met with Evan at the (2009) All-Star Game, we hadn't gotten to the short list about who we wanted on the cover," said Chris Snyder, the 2K Sports director of marketing. "When we met with him, he said he loved the (MLB 2K9) commercial with Tim Lincecum, but he said, 'You know, in it, I hit this home run and Torii Hunter robs me. Can we maybe cut back on that a little?' He was joking, but we caught notice of the fact that he paid close attention to detail, that he saw it was him in the footage int was Torii who robbed him."

Below is a gallery of all the cover options. Don't vote on them here in our comments; head over to the 2K Sports official site if you want to be heard. The game is scheduled for a March 2010 release.

Truth be told, I did actually take a stab at WoW a few years back at the behest of an ex-boyfriend. I was willing to go to hell and back for that man at the time, but it turned out I wasn't willing to go to Blackrock. Also, I never did get over my scorn for total strangers who demand to know if I'm really a woman before partying with me – and I was never very good about following directions, anyway.

Luckily, you never have to look very far to find someone who does play WoW. They might be only casual amateurs as opposed to level 60 devotees. However, as people who keep coming back to play World of Warcraft, I think they're every bit as qualified as a social scientist to explain the phenomenon.

Dan Amrich, Editor-in-Chief, World of Warcraft: The Magazine
I am an altaholic so I have many, but my main is a 74 blood elf rogue. I play for the social aspect. WoW has become more about the people I play with than the game itself. Although I really enjoy the stories and the spectacle, I find it much more enjoyable because I get to share it with my family. I play with my wife and brother-in-law every week; we live in different states and it's a lot more fun to chat on Skype about what happened in our lives that week while simultaneously slaughtering murlocs wholesale. It's three hours of online quality time. We've been trying to convince my mother-in-law to play but I don't think even WoW is that powerful.

Katrin Auch, Freelance Graphic Designer
I have 10 characters from 77 to 35, mostly horde, but I have Blood Elves, Tauran, Undead, Human, and Dreani. I play because I love that it is cooperative. I almost never solo. I play with different groups of friends, with different types of characters at different levels-we usually voice chat, and we find ways of using our skills together. Most of my characters are healers of some class, priest, shaman, pally-I get great pride out of keeping my party alive. And we talk about all kinds of things, so it's fun and social-like having a game night, but not having to clean up afterwards.

Casey Lynch, Director of Public Relations, Reverb Communications
Explaining why I play WoW is like explaining why I like to go out and eat pizza, drink beer and hang out with my friends all night. Obviously, because it's hella fun to me. And come to think of it, when I play, I'm usually eating pizza, drinking beer and hanging out with my friends all night, except we're wired into Vent and running Naxx instead of carousing at our favorite pub.

Compared to other games out there that have quantifiable replay value, i.e. something I could potentially sink 100+ hours into, WoW just seems to have more variety to offer. Between running endgame instances, PvP, Arena, Battlegrounds, and leveling new classes of toons I haven't played before, to the more obvious introduction of new content via expansions and updates, just when you feel like you've done it all, you try something different and it feels like a new game. I heart wow!

Reginald Rhoades, Corporate Support Associate, Viz Media
Why I play? Zombies. Also I played the original [real time strategy] games when I was a no good punk kid back in middle school. Being a delusional adult who gets obsessed with false realities, interacting with these long-known characters has been immensely entertaining.

I have additional reasons such as bonding with friends that live far too far away and flirting with married women in a safe environment.

My favorite character is a level 80 Forsaken warlock hotty named Arisu.

Just to summarize… In WoW, you can play as a zombie! And eat people!

Anonymous GameStop Employee
I play World of Warcraft to unwind – that's my "me time" after work. I play as a Hunter, which is a solo class, so I don't really party up with friends. But, yeah, I can go anywhere and do anything I want. It's the one time of day when I feel like I can do that. It's so relaxing.

Feel free to share your World of Warcraft motivation down below. And for all you haters out there who don't play WoW, stick around. Old Man Owen Good is cooking up something for you tomorrow.

Check back all week for more stories related to World of Warcraft's fifth anniversary.

The Ubisoft guy who preceded them? Maybe joking.

He was talking about smashing people into urinals in next February's Splinter Cell: Conviction. He was getting big laughs when he set up one of the game's interactive interrogation scenes by saying, "You might have several moments in the game [when] it's like a choose your own adventure, but it's choose your own torture." Chuckling and guffawing from the crowd. He was showing Sam Fisher bashing a guy into a urinal and noting that there was a deodorant ad next to that urinal.

"You will see a deodorant ad," he said.

You will be bashing a bad guy into porcelain.

And you will wonder, he said — joking? — "Is that the new Degree deodorant I want to buy?"

More laughter. And his kicker: "It's going to be very effective."

Credit the man, Jeffrey Dickstein, head of digital advertising at Ubisoft, for getting a reaction from a crowd of ad buyers. They were gathered in midtown Manhattan at a Lincoln Center theater space usually used for jazz performances. This wasn't the most game-savvy crowd, though they were there to be coaxed into buying ads for placement in the video games supporting Massive's in-game ad network. The buyers didn't seem to get the Big Daddy joke. They chuckled when descriptive ESRB ratings warnings appeared on a big screen, as if they'd never seen them before.

This was the second "Upfront" hosted by Massive, an attempt at an annual event.

I've attended both and look forward to, I guess, the fifth or sixth one. In theory, they'll get really good if they follow the model of more established media.

Upfronts for TV networks sound like wondrous things. NBC shows off its fall line-up to advertisers and does everything it can to dazzle its audience of prospective advertisers. They bring their stars on the stage. Maybe Conan O'Brien or Jay Leno does a stand-up routine.

Video games? Not quite there with the upfront yet. We're past the awkward first one from last December, when an Activision representative stood up at this press-invited event and blabbed the existence of Modern Warfare 2 and a new hands-free Tony Hawk.

At the second one, held earlier this month, the messaging was more disciplined. Straight-laced, you could say. As in when Dave Anderson, head of business development at Activision, talked about ad placement opportunities in Guitar Hero, described how new ad-showcasing camera angles were introduced into this year's DJ Hero, and mentioned something we may not have mentioned here on Kotaku yet, that Tony Hawk Ride is primarily targeted at 10-14 year-old boys. He also said that "I've wanted to be here since I was a small boy," assumedly referring to the jazz hall at Lincoln Center we were in, which was opened five years ago. Joking?

The Take Two people were the most entertaining. They threw free t-shirts to the seated ad folks. They aired a mock ESPN segment that showcased ad placement opportunities in the virtual arenas and fields of 2K Sports' hockey, basketball and baseball franchises. Their segment ended with the BioShock joke, which went over the heads of most of the people there.

The Massive folks, affected as they may be by some department cuts this year, can still cite some strong numbers. They've served 1000 ad campaigns in the last year and a half, an executive announced at the presentation. Massive research indicates that 63% of gamers recall the ads they've seen in games, a number Massive says is on the rise. People see in-game ads, and they send text messages the numbers the ads encourage them to. They visit product websites. They buy cars.

Massive is selling packages to these ad buyers. Advertise in the biggest games that third-party publishers have allowed to be in the Massive in-game-ad network. Or just advertise in the sports ones. Or be the only advertiser in an entire genre category. Or take over the entire Massive network for a day.

The Massive people and the game publisher people mostly say things that wouldn't horrify gamers. Even at a conference like this, in-game advertising doesn't sound like the mood-killer gamers have been wry that it could become.

The THQ exec talks about putting ads on the mat of a virtual UFC ring. The Blizzard person talks about keeping ads out of that company's games, relegating them to surrounding websites, log-in pages and the like.

Our Ubisoft man explains how the Splinter Cell team has generated heat maps to determine where players look in a level, and ensured that ad-placement locations are situated in those lines of sight — which might sound potentially irritating, but he's the one talking about making advertising in games as innovative as gameplay. And he's the one talking about selling deodorant to players as they make a bad guy tumble into a urinal.

Or was that part a joke?

Nostalgia-craving gamers who couldn't quite embrace Wii-fangled updates Excite Truck and Excitebots: Trick Racing will pop a wheelie over this decidedly old school-flavored entry.

Loved
Ah, the Memories...: Make no mistake, this is Excitebike as you remember it from back in the day. Okay, so you're no longer tethered to a gamepad, and the visuals are more 64- than 8-bit, but by and large the gameplay and presentation will warp you to an era when Back to the Future dominated the silver screen and Madonna's Like a Virgin blared from boom boxes. Racing against the clock, you'll side-scroll your dirt bike over hills, ramps, and passed computer-navigated competitors. Additionally, rough patches will slow you down, while passing over power-strip arrows will keep you from overheating. Super simple bike controls boil down to switching lanes, accelerating, and turbo-boosting. And a selection of increasingly challenging tracks test your reflexes as you time jumps, stick landings, and avoid obstacles. It's fast, addictive, arcadey fun that's a total throwback to a time when a D-pad and two buttons was all you needed to have a good time.

A Few New Tricks.: While playing World Rally will almost have you forgetting you're not clutching a NES gamepad, some minor tweaks have improved the classic formula. Wheelies can now be popped with the D-pad (or by tilting the WiiRemote, if you forgo the "classic" scheme), overheating can be remedied faster by shaking the controller, and item pick-ups will suddenly deform the terrain and erect ramps in your path. Even cooler, a satisfying "vroom" rumbles through the WiiRemote when you rev your engine. Additionally, the visual upgrade supports world-spanning tracks that sport small differentiating touches like cacti and red rock outcroppings in Mexico, and blue waters and palm trees in Fiji. Like the original, there's also a track editor, but now novice game designers can share their creations online. World Rally also allows you to race friends or around-the-world competitors through the Wii's Wi-Fi connection-an awesome feature we'd love to see adopted by more Wii titles .

Hated
Lone Local Racer: In a baffling decision I can only assume was made while exhaust fumes were being inhaled, the designers didn't include local multi-player. Nothing screams old school gaming like a little couch-side competition, so it's shocking a title that so stubbornly sticks to classic design concepts has omitted this simple feature. As much as the online mode is appreciated, up-to-4 player local play would have actually better complemented Excitebike's pick-up-play appeal.

The NES classic outfitted with a few new bells and whistles is a welcome addition to the WiiWare line-up. It's a shame local split-screen play didn't make the cut, but the addition of online multi-player, and the ability to create and share content makes this one worth at least a few laps around the track.

Excitebike: World Rally was developed by Monster Games and published by Nintendo for WiiWare on November 9th. Retails for $10.00 (1000 Wii Points). A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Completed the game and played online mode.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

The DSi, sporting two cameras and the ability to download games, hit in April. The DSiLL (XL to folks outside of Japan) is all of that a more, well more in the sense of size, super-sizing the screen and mondo-sizing the stylus.

Of course, there were also games, plenty of games. Here's some of the top titles we reviewed on Kotaku.

What DS or DSi games would you suggest picking up for friends or family?

Art Style: Digidrive

Price: $5 (download for DSi only)
Rating: E
Genre: Puzzle
Subject Matter: The world's only game based on directing traffic, but fun
Value: Not many modes, but very deep gameplay, Tetris-like.
Buy it for: People who want an engrossing puzzle game for their commute — and the only puzzle game built well for one-handed play (good for shaky subway/bus rides.)
Read the Full Review

Art Style: Boxlife

Price: $5 (download for DSi only)
Rating: E
Genre: Uh, puzzle box-folding?
Subject Matter: Work in a factory, fold boxes, live the American dream
Value: Second-best of all DSi Art Style games, based on a clever, deep mechanic, and a bevy of modes and unlockables.
Buy it for: Fans of innovative game design.
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Art Style: Pictobits

Price: $5 (download for DSi only)
Rating: E
Genre: Block-dropping puzzle game
Subject Matter: A Tetris twist with an artsy retro style
Value: Highest of all downloadable DS games, offering many levels, great nostalgia for old pixel art, and a high-quality full chiptunes soundtrack that re-mixes classic Nintendo themes.
Buy it for: Anyone with a DSi, anyone who is nostalgic for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Read the Full Review

Art Style: Precipice
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strong>Price: $5 (download for DSi only)
Rating: E
Genre: Puzzle
Subject Matter: Endless Tetris-style game featuring a man climbing falling blocks
Value: Doesn't have any modes, but its core gameplay is long-lasting.
Buy it for: Puzzle game fans and those who enjoy the DSi's innovative Art Style series
Read the Full Review

Bakugan Battle Brawlers

Price: $29.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Marble-shooting, creature-battling action game.
Subject Matter: Based on the wildly popular collectible toy game and cartoon series, Bakugan follows in the footsteps of Pokemon but adds transforming marbles to the mix. The game does a good job of capturing the essence of the franchise.
Value: With a relatively robust single-player campaign and ability to battle up to three friends on one screen in a slew of interactive arenas, this game is a pretty good deal.
Buy it for:fans of Bakugan and maybe even curious fans of Pokemon.
Read the Full Review

Domo Games

Price: $2 each (five games - download for DSi only)
Rating: E
Genre: Music, Sports
Subject Matter: The NHK TV mascot, Domo, stars in five re-purposed mini-games that were originally made in 2002
Value: Low, because the games are not fun.
Buy it for: Only people who love Domo and whom you don't love.
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Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter

Price: $29.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Action/Adventure
Subject Matter: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter is a relatively simple adventure game with similarly simple side-scrolling platforming levels and a touching, sometimes sad story. What makes it unique are its drawing features, which let the player customize their hero, what weapons they use and various elements of the game world all via the DS's touch screen.
Value: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter's main adventure is brief, but the option to create new heroes, which can vary from flower people to ninjas to robots, extends the life of this charming 2D adventure.
Buy it for: the creative kid who may be too young for a more challenging Nintendo DS game.
Read the Full Review

DSi

Price: $169.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: N/A
Subject Matter: The next step for the DS Lite features two cameras and the ability to download games from the Nintendo store.
Value: While the price isn't exorbitant, more than half a year after launch the Nintendo Store is still lacking in quality downloadable titles.
Buy it for: gadgetophiles, people who love Nintendo, children who don't own digital cameras, anyone interested in a DS but who hasn't taken the plunge yet.
Read the Full Review

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Turn-based role-playing strategy
Subject Matter: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a thoughtful, modern day remake of an 8-bit medieval fantasy classic, telling the turn-based tale of Marth, heir to the throne of Altea who leads a band of soldiers in a tactical revolt against the Shadow Dragon Medeus.
Value: Over twenty five chapters, loads of characters, ample upgrade options, rare weapons via the online shop, and an excessive six levels of difficulty should ensure that your purchase of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is money well spent.
Buy it for: the fan of fantasy, strategy and epic adventure.
Read the Full Review

Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars

Price: $34.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Open world action-adventure
Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game.
Value: There's a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested.
Buy it for: the Nintendo DS owner sadly lacking in over-the-top violent content.
Read the Full Review

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action RPG
Subject Matter: An action RPG that bridges the gap between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Value: While those not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts franchise will find themselves a bit lost story-wise, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a lengthy game that fans will love for the back story and RPG fans will enjoy for its depth.
Buy it for: Anyone who is a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series.
Read the Full Review

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Price: $34.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Action RPG
Subject Matter: Mario, Luigi and their nemesis Bowser band together to fend off a common foe in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. As role-playing games go, it's heavy on the action, light on the story and packed with memorable, humorous characters.
Value: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story offers a lengthy adventure, about 20 hours worth of play time, but after the story's complete, there's little incentive to return to the game.
Buy it for: the younger gamer looking for a long, not too challenging experience (or anyone with a Nintendo DS and a sense of humor).
Read the Full Review

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again

Price: $8 (download for DSi only)
Rating: E
Genre: Lemmings-like puzzler
Subject Matter: Mainpulate girders and gadgets to enable Mario toys to march to their goals.
Value: Very high due to a generous amount of levels and a level-editor that supports downloaded user-made maps.
Buy it for: Fans of brain-bending puzzle games, as the solutions to some of these levels are hard to engineer.
Read the Full Review

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Price: $34.99
Rating: E
Genre: Adventure/Puzzle
Subject Matter: The Professor and his protégé, Luke, are out to solve a mystery surrounding a man who never ages and box that kills all who open it.
Value: With a crazy amount of puzzles and a new puzzles to download every week, this is one game that won't ever be very far from your DS during those long commutes.
Buy it for: Yourself and anybody you actually want to give a good gift to.
Read the Full Review

Rhythm Heaven

Price: $29.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Music/Rhythm
Subject Matter: Rhythm Heaven is a loosely connected series of rhythmic and musical challenges with very simple controls, requiring little more than good timing and simple touchscreen tapping. Simplistic though it may be, Rhythm Heaven is inventive and fun.
Value: There are dozens of mini-games to unlock and play, with sound toys and more serious challenges for the player who masters Rhythm Heaven's main mode.
Buy it for: anyone with Nintendo DS that can keep a beat or longs for more WarioWare style mini-game fun.
Read the Full Review

Scribblenauts
Price: $29.99
Rating: E10+
Genre: Open world, spell-checking puzzle action game.
Subject Matter: Scribblenauts brings just about anything you can spell to life in the game, backing up a stunningly large visual dictionary with a web of interactions that can surprise and amuse as you work out how to solve puzzles.
Value: With 150 puzzles and 150 action levels, and the ability to use more than 22,800 words to figure out what to do, this is one of the best values this year in gaming.
Buy it for: children learning to spell, people who love lateral thinking and anyone with a sense of humor.
Read the Full Review

The portable moved 103,524 units in Japan.

In comparison, the DSi sold approximately 170,000 units in its first two days on sale in Japan. In its first day on sale in The Land of the Rising Sun, the PSPgo sold approximately 28,000 units.

ニンテンドーＤＳｉ　ＬＬ：２日間で１０万４０００台　ＤＳｉには及ばず　エンターブレイン調べ(まんたんウェブ) - 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞) [Mainichi]

The A40 Audio System is comprised of Astro's A40 Headset and A40 MixAmp. Released last year, it's a petite but powerful package that supports gaming on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, offering 5.1 Dolby Surround and combined voice audio. But you certainly don't need to be a "professional" to partake in the sweet sounds of the A40.

Here's what we thought of our month-long ears on time with Astro's audio system.

Loved
The Headphones: These things sound glorious. It wasn't until I was forced to take them off so that other people in the room could participate in the listening experience via my antiquated receiver and surround sound set up that I realized how meaty the A40 Audio System was. The A40 headphones deliver sharp, crisp and powerful audio, which I credit with helping to improve my performance in some recent Left 4 Dead 2 and Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer gaming. And while aural advantage is great, it was while playing Dead Space with these things on that really sold me.

The Mixamp: The compact, densely constructed A40 MixAmp packs plenty of connections and power into a tiny package. It's simply and beautifully designed, with one large dial for controlling volume, a smaller dial for controlling the mix of game audio and voice chat audio. Popping cables in and out and storing the MixAmp out of site makes the wee amplifier an easily portable option.

USB Powered: I like things that are USB powered, as each of my currently hooked up consoles and the PC on which I play games come equipped with USB ports. The device can also be powered by a quartet of AA batteries, an option I haven't found a need for yet.

Comfortable, But Hefty: I'm not used to wearing headphones, so my initial experience wearing the A40 headset was not an altogether comfortable one. But my head adjusted, eventually feeling comfortable with the light pressure the A40 put on my skull. It's a solid set of headphones—324 grams/11.4 ounces—so some adjustment doesn't seem out of the ordinary, but at this point, I use these things for nearly every solo gaming session.

Hookups Aplenty: Astro doesn't skimp on the cables, including just about everything you'd need in the package from a connection standpoint, way more than I needed for my own personal use.

Hated
Boy, That's Kind Of Expensive: Purchased together, the A40 Audio System, will set you back $249.99. And that's not cheap. The package is much more expensive if the headset and MixAmp are purchased separately, so don't do that. But they're a great, well-built option for late night gaming or for those who move their gaming sessions around the house.

One Cord Too Short: The one cable that's lacking is the Xbox 360 controller communicator cable, which plugs into the MixAmp and at the bottom of the pad. My own set up has just a little too much distance from couch to console and your mileage may vary. But the shorter cable, much shorter than the headphone cable, means I'm forced to play leaning forward. And to suffer this minor discomfort is the kind of thing wimps like me prefer to nitpick.

At $249, the A40 is an investment, pricier than some of the consoles, but also a sound one. I've mostly made the switch from my home audio set up to the A40, and not just because the other residents in my household have become annoyed with the constant din of zombies, terrorists and space aliens being aerated and liquefied by heavy gunfire. It's not without its shortcomings, but the warm, powerful audio experience more than makes up for the minor inconveniences it's saddled with.

Would we suggest that everyone go out and grab an A40 and make it their primary audio option? Absolutely not. If you're already good on sound, more power to you. But if you're in the market for a new audio option, either out of consideration for your housemates or for a better headset/mic combo, give the A40 an earful.

The A40 Audio System was developed and release by Astro Gaming. Retails for $249.99 USD. A unit was provided at a video game review event. Played through through portions of Modern Warfare 2 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Left 4 Dead 2 on the Xbox 360 and Dead Space on the Xbox 360 with the full A40 Audio System. Played through portions of Batman: Arkham Asylum on the PlayStation 3 using a dedicated receiver and A40 Headset.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

"LittleBigPlanet" being mentioned in the same sentence as "Barack Obama" — and of video games being included in the President's push for new ways to inspire kids to learn science, technology, engineering and math — sat well with Entertainment Software Association chief Michael Gallagher today.

"This is a very, very good day for the gaming industry," he told Kotaku. "This is a significant leap into maturity and toward acceptance."

Earlier in the day, Gallagher literally sat one row behind former astronaut Sally Ride and right near the former chairman of Intel and the current head of Sesame Street at a Washington, D.C. press conference where Obama announced plans for "Educate To Innovate," a series of mostly privately-funded initiatives to improve kids' knowledge of and enthusiasm for math and science.

The new programs could be the gaming industry's reach for the stars, to build on an astronomical analogy Gallagher said he used with White House officials as the new programs were taking shape. "Much as the space program inspired a generation of children to go into engineering," he said. "Today's learners are inspired by video games." Those who make games, in other words, have the capacity to influence America's youth toward scientific and technological greatness.

The gaming aspect of the Obama program involves two contests, both geared toward making games that will help children learn science, technology, engineering or math, so-called STEM topics. One contest involves the design of LittleBigPlanet levels. The other challenges developers to make browser games for children of different ages. Both embody what Gallagher says are the two defining characteristics of the gaming industry: Innovation and Competition.

But today was unusual. The video game industry doesn't often get a call from the White House, as the ESA did three months ago, to launch the programs announced today. Rare is the Administration that refers to games at all in a positive way.

Perhaps equally rare is an Administration that even understands games. Gallagher, who worked in the George W. Bush White House said that the "communication gap was a lot smaller" dealing with Obama officials. Some of the current President's speech writers, after all, recently stopped by an ESA reception to play The Beatles Rock Band, he said.

The ESA has also worked to promote the reputation of games and has enjoyed the findings of groups such as the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, which announced earlier this year that it saw games playing a key role in the future of education.

All of this may have helped produce a climate that led the White House to think positively about games.

"There is a preponderance of belief that we're a force for good and quality, as opposed to being stigmatized," Gallagher said.

So it wasn't a complete shock to the ESA that, three months ago, the White House contacted the group to invite the gaming industry to get involved in the President's education initiative.

From that request emerged the STEM National Video Game Competition, the browser game challenge, which will involve not just the ESA and the Information Technology Industry Council (an advocacy group for tech companies), but also Microsoft and Games4Change, a group dedicated to supporting games that serve a social good.

Anyone will be able to make games for the contest, vying for a portion of the total prize of $300,000. Even more alluring may be Gallagher's belief that the winning entries, which will be announced in June at E3, could become part of school curricula as soon as next school year. "We could be reaching and saving today's learners," he said, not waiting for a future generation and giving up already on today's kids.

"The objective is learning, not teaching," Gallagher said of the games he hopes people will make. He explained that a popular belief among educators is that teaching — the dispensing of information — is over-emphasized in school programs and that more attention needs to be paid toward learning — what goes on in a child's mind. It's learning where games have such strong potential, Gallagher argued, because the medium already has proven it has the ability to captivate a child's imagination and tap his or her curiosity.

The other program announced today involves Sony providing 1,000 PlayStation 3s and copies of LittleBigPlanet as part of an effort backed by the MacArthur Foundation to encourage learning through digital means.

Despite what Gallagher referred to as commendable efforts by Sony and Microsoft to get involved, they are just two gaming-related companies, the only two that were part of today's news. Gallagher says that is merely a function of how quickly the new programs came together and is confident that other gaming companies will get involved in similar efforts.

"We should be proud of this moment because it shows a maturity of our industry," Gallagher told Kotaku today. "It shows an acceptance of our industry as vital to our country's ability to meeting significant challenges." If video games can help America get better at science, technology, engineering and math, Gallagher would consider that a job well done.

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