Video Game News at GiantBomb

Hands-On: Ridin' Zelda's Spirit Tracks

Brad — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0800

Duh, he's Link!

If you didn't notice the first installment of our Zelda trivia challenge earlier this week (still three chances to win!), you might not remember that there's a new Zelda game due out on the DS real soon now. It's Spirit Tracks , the direct successor to Phantom Hourglass , and hey, I just played it!

This new game directly follows the previous one. It's a hundred years later, and a new kingdom of Hyrule has been founded on the continent that the protagonists of Phantom Hourglass discovered sometime between that game and this one. Wait a minute, that would make Link and Zelda more than a century old, and--hmm, are we just assuming they're immortal at this point? Is there any sort of rationale at work in this timeline anymore?

You know, who cares? It's a Zelda game. The indigenous people of this new land tell of an ancient, legendary battle between the good spirits and the forces of the Demon King Maladus, whose soul was finally imprisoned in a centralized Tower of Spirits. Maladus is down but not completely out; the ethereal shackles that bind him are in fact stretched far and wide across the new land of Hyrule.

And those bonds just happen to be... train tracks! Convenient, since a train replaces Phantom Hourglass' ship as your primary mode of transportation in Spirit Tracks. The game opens with Link training to become an engineer, during which time he realizes that these train tracks are beginning to disappear. There's also a shady chancellor named Cole involved who may in fact be trying to revive Maladus (there's always one bad apple in these games), so Link starts to explore the land to find out what's going on.

You'll be choo-chooing back here often.

It looks like Spirit Tracks will use a similar framework to Phantom Hourglass, which had a central, recurring dungeon that you explored more and more of as you solved other, standalone dungeons and picked up new items and abilities. The recurring dungeon in this game is the Tower of Spirits itself. Every floor of the tower that you clear will yield a tablet that opens up a new set of tracks, which will lead you to a new area of Hyrule. You'll find a new dungeon in that area, and defeating it will arm you with a new item and send energy back up the newly laid tracks, which then opens up the next level of the tower, and... you probably see how this works.

I got to mess around a bit in the second dungeon of the game, which was--brace yourself--the Snow Temple! Yes, themed dungeons are back. I had an item here that let me unleash a targeted whirlwind that could stun enemies, flip some switches, and even propel me around when I was floating around on a block in pools of water. You'll play through these dungeons solo, but you'll be joined by a controllable phantom when you're playing the Tower of Spirits levels. (I wrote about playing with that guy back at E3.)

According to Nintendo, there will be plenty of things to do on the overworld in between dungeons. You can only hop off and run around at stations and towns, but there will be side activities and quests to undertake both at these larger population centers, and you'll run into some interesting characters as you ride the tracks as well.

The dungeons are looking like classic DS Zelda.

You know, it wouldn't be a latter-day DS game if it didn't make you blow into the microphone now and then. That was necessary not only to use that whirlwind weapon I mentioned in the Snow Temple, but also to play the Spirit Flute, this game's ocarina. You play the Spirit Flute by sliding its pipes back and forth across the screen and blowing, pretty much like a Pan flute. I just want to take the chance to thank whoever at Nintendo set the mic sensitivity on this game, because I barely had to breath on the thing to get it to activate. That means I can play this game on an airplane without looking like a loon.

Phantom Hourglass had a neat multiplayer mode that was sort of like Pac-Man , where one player controlled Link and the other directed some Phantoms around (like ghosts) to try to corner and take Link out. The multiplayer in Spirit Tracks is more of a four-player free-for-all where everyone is scrambling to pick up little Triforce gems and hang onto them till the end of the round. But roving Phantoms will chase you if they see you, unless you can get another player into their line of site. And other players can throw bombs at you or hit switches to drop you through trapdoors, as well as pick up some devilish power-ups to take most or all of your gems from you. The multiplayer seems like a neat diversion, and I'm glad it's not just a rehash of the mode from the last game.

The classic Zelda adventure is the thing that you ought to care about in Spirit Tracks, though. It's really just an iterative update to the core gameplay, controls, and graphics from Phantom Hourglass, but I have no problem at all with Nintendo iterating on a game that great.

Brad Pitt Plunges Into Dark Void

Ryan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

I'm tellin' ya kid, I'm gonna make you a STAR!

Uwe Boll and Paul W.S. Anderson better be sweating under their hacky collars right about now. Sure, they're currently the kings of game-to-film adaptations, but Jerry Bruckheimer 's involvement in the upcoming Prince of Persia movie is raising both the visibility and the stakes--if not necessarily the quality--for the much-maligned sub-genre. And now a proper movie star is getting in on the action, as it was today announced that Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment has optioned the film rights for Dark Void .

If you're not already familiar with Dark Void--which wouldn't be too terribly odd, as the game hasn't actually come out yet--it's got a premise revolving around the Bermuda Triangle, alien abductions, an unlikely hero strapped with a jet pack, and Nikola Tesla that seems high-concept and bizarre enough to make for a decent popcorn companion. My sensationalist headline aside, this deal doesn't guarantee, or even necessarily suggest, Pitt's personal involvement in a Dark Void film project. I like Brad Pitt and the weirdo roles he chooses well enough, but I'm plenty intrigued by the fact that Plan B is producing, having previously had a hand in Martin Scorcese's undeniably excellent The Departed , as well as the promising-looking teen superhero comic adaptation Kick-Ass . Optioning rights is a long way from actually making a movie, but getting people who seem to know what the hell they're doing is a promising start.

Capcom also used this announcement to casually mention that Dark Void would be coming out on January 19th, 2010, which is a week later than the previously announced date of January 12th. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, and it does nothing to mitigate what is shaping up to be an intense first quarter for new games.

New Resident Evil 5 Single-Player Content Starts Feb. 17

Brad — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Dude, Jill!

You know what I'd actually like to play more of? Resident Evil 5 . Despite having gone through the single-player story three times--something I never, ever do anymore--I would gladly sit down and blow away a few more big weird-looking bugs in that game, and not just because I'm still lacking a few easy achievements .

Well, forget about achievements. Capcom 's got some honest-to-goodness new content on the way for RE5, and it isn't more half-assed, bolted-on multiplayer modes. It's a couple of all-new single-player episodes, and some new costumes in which to swaddle your characters while you play through the new action. The first of the new episodes, called "Lost in Nightmares," is due on the Xbox 360 on February 17 next year, with the PS3 version following a day later. Here's the official description.

Previously only seen during cut scenes of the original RESIDENT EVIL 5, the first new episode titled “LOST IN NIGHTMARES”, finds BSAA agent, Chris Redfield , working with his partner, Jill Valentine , as they investigate Ozwell E. Spencer ’s hideaway. Spencer, the evil mastermind and co-founder of Umbrella Corporation , has been hiding a new evil deep within the basement of his mansion. Chris and Jill discover this grotesque evil standing in their way as the two enter deeper into the catacombs beneath the mansion.

Chris and Jill, together again! In a big, sinister mansion! It's 1996 all over!

But wait, there's more! The first round of new costumes for Chris and Sheva is due on the same day. The second, as-yet-untitled episode and costume pack will follow on March 3, along with a "refresh" of the Mercenaries mode called "Mercenaries Reunion" that, from what I can tell in the vague press release, will pack two new playable characters and two new weapon loadouts into each of these four

No pricing is listed for any of this DLC, but it's worth noting that if you don't have RE5 at all yet, Capcom will happily sell you a Gold Edition starting March 9 (or 12 in Europe) for $49.99 that includes the original game and all of this DLC action in one tidy package. While the PS3 version of the Gold Edition will pack the whole shebang onto a single Blu-ray, the 360 release will oddly consist of the original RE5 disc and a voucher for all of the new DLC. I wonder if all that content plus the base game is too much to cram into one DVD?

Anyway, here are some more screens of all the business. Who else is ready to play more RE5?

Most Popular Achievements (11/7 - 11/13)

Jeff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:00:00 -0800

Man, it's Tuesday! I usually write this on Sunday morning, but my weekend was squarely focused on getting our New Super Mario Bros. Wii review finished and on the site. Now, it's onto my next two assignments, Buzz: Quiz World and Tony Hawk: RIDE , both of which require the use of peripherals that don't really work with many other games. Buzz, at least, is a series with other releases in it. Actually, Robomodo has gone on the record as saying that they've got another game in the works with Activision , so we'll probably see something else that takes advantage of the RIDE skateboard.

Achievementally speaking, this data covers the release week of Modern Warfare 2. Unsurprisingly, it's taken the top spot on the most popular achievements list, snatching the top spot away from the still-rolling Borderlands.

Dark skies are so Modern right now.

Top Sets

I hope the upcoming Borderlands DLC adds some more achievements. That's actually coming out really soon, which is nice, because I'm just about ready for some more Borderlands, even if I'm not the world's biggest zombie aficionado.

The new sets this week are all new releases, including the Steam version of Modern Warfare 2.

Mr. Cashman has some easy points for you.

New Sets

Quick tip for you: don't buy NBA Unrivaled. It's $15 and it's terrible. As soon as I clear out some of the bigger stuff on my plate, I want to go back and review some of the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade releases we've had to skip this season. 0D Beat Drop is kind of neat and deserves a bit of attention.

OK, this brings us to the individual achievements. Modern Warfare 2 made some heavy inroads into our individual list, taking half of the spots away from Borderlands, which was running the show for the past couple of weeks. But Borderlands has held onto the top spot. It makes sense, really, that people would frequent the page of a secret achievement that isn't immediately obvious, rather than sink too deeply into the fairly plain achievements of Modern Warfare 2.

The Crimson Lance doesn't want you to find that boat you're looking for.

Top Individual Achievements

Borderlands - You're on a boat!
Borderlands - 12 Days of Pandora
Modern Warfare 2 - Drive By
Borderlands - Made in New Haven
Borderlands - My Brother Is An Italian Plumber
Modern Warfare 2 - Ghost
Modern Warfare 2 - Danger Close
Modern Warfare 2 - Look Ma Two Hands
Modern Warfare 2 - Pit Boss
Borderlands - Speedy McSpeederton

So, before I close things out, I've got some exciting news. This weekly article is probably going to change pretty dramatically before next week, because we'll have a new homepage on the site by then. That homepage is going to have some new gadgets and information on it, including some more-useful achievement data. This stuff I'm showing is purely traffic-based. But those dudes upstairs have been building stuff based on, like, the most played game for a given day or the most-unlocked achievement. Dave actually just IM'ed me a few things based on a 100-day old version of the database he's using for development purposes...

100 days ago fallout 3 was the most popular game played

then halo 3

splosion man had the top achievement

...did you play Fallout 3 100 days ago? Odds are you did, I guess. Anyway, we'll have to see if my most popular lists are still useful after the new page goes up. If not, well, then I guess I'll have to find a different set of information to use as a jumping-off point for what's essentially become a weekly column. No sense in stopping it now.

Atlus Bringing 3D Dot Game Heroes To North America

Jeff — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Atlus has announced plans to bring the incredibly cool-looking 3D Dot Game Heroes to North America. The From Software action-RPG has been out in Japan for a bit, but Atlus will be bringing it here on May 11.

As the game features all sorts of sly winks to gaming's pixelated past, it's drummed up a fair amount of online interest. Here's how Atlus is describing it:

About 3D Dot Game Heroes
A long, long time ago, the Dark King Onyx brought an age of darkness upon Dotnia Kingdom. Only by the bravery of a hero with a legendary sword was Onyx sealed in an orb, restoring peace to the world. But Fuelle, a powerful Dark Bishop, has stolen the orb, and with it, peace. Dotnia requires a hero once more! Can you live up to the legend?

Key Features

Ultimate retro love letter -- Seamlessly fusing new and old, the golden era of gaming is felt in every detail of this lovingly-crafted adventure. Eye-popping visuals capture the nostalgic charm of pixel graphics in cutting edge 3D. Simple, but deep action-adventure gameplay is a throwback to the 8-bit era. Veterans will find references and jokes that pay homage to the great games of yore.

Awe and adventure live again -- Embark on the next generation of classic exploration and discovery in a grand story-based quest. A hero sets out to gain the power of the six sages and the six orbs that protected the kingdom of Dotnia, which now stands on the verge of destruction.

Customize your hero -- When pixels are your building blocks, the possibilities are unlimited. Freely edit the look of your character, or design one completely from scratch, and then trade designs with friends via a compatible USB storage device. Your hero's blade is also upgradeable, letting you add length and width to create a sword that fills the whole screen!

The game will hit shelves at a discounted price of $39.99, which sure sounds reasonable. Here, look at some screenshots of this thing!

Hey, How's Your Knowledge Of Zelda?

Brad — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Speeding soon to a DS near you.

One month from today, the newest Legend of Zelda game, Spirit Tracks , will hit the DS. Choo-choo? Yeah, OK, I've got nothing (but I'm sincerely excited to play the game when it comes out).

And I hope a few of you are too, because Nintendo will be providing us four extra copies of Spirit Tracks to send your way, provided you live in the United States. We'll give away one copy per week for the next four weeks until the game's release, along with a few other goodies like a train whistle, T-shirt, and DSiWare points card.

But you'll have to work for this stuff! There's no such thing as a free lunch, or a free Spirit Tracks, either. Instead of our usual random-drawing format, this time you'll have to be the first one to answer these five obscure Zelda trivia questions in the comments on this story to win. And I warn you, these questions are not kind. Put on your thinking ( Minish ) caps, find the answers to these questions, and be the first to drop them in the comments to win this week's game. Of course, if you just want to discuss the game or talk about how hard these questions are, that's fine too.

What is the only Zelda game that Octoroks have not appeared in?
Which piece of the Triforce does Link earn in the original Legend of Zelda?
In what game besides Link’s Awakening did the Ballad of the Windfish appear?
At the beginning of A Link to the Past , where are all three pieces of the Triforce?
Who is the Oracle of Ages ?

That's it. I suspect some of these will take a little digging, so I'll let you get to work. The winner will be contacted via private message, so keep an eye on your inboxes here in the site once you enter.

And don't forget, you'll have three more chances to win, so come back next week for the next round of questions.

UPDATE: We have a winner! And that winner will be contacted via private message.

An important note: The three subsequent trivia challenges will post at 1pm Pacific Standard Time on the next three Mondays, so you won't have to worry about missing your next chance to win. Just make sure you've got your eyes on the forums or news feed at that time so you can take a stab at being the first with the correct answers.

Super Street Fighter IV Hands-On

Jeff — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

Oh, my car!

It's not going to hit shelves until next year, but it looks like work on Super Street Fighter IV is progressing nicely. I recently got the chance to head down to Capcom and take a look at the three characters who have been confirmed to appear in this SFIV update, and though it's still a little early to tell how the whole package is going to come together, Juri feels like an interesting addition, and the returning duo of Dee Jay and T.Hawk feel about how you'd expect.

Right off the bat, Juri feels like a more exciting character than any of the four that were introduced in Street Fighter IV. That's probably just my personal style talking, but I never found myself too interested in C.Viper , Rufus , Abel , or El Fuerte . Well, maybe a little Abel here and there. Anyway, Juri's a fast-moving character with a built-in counter move, as well as a delayed fireball that starts with a little kick animation, but the projectile doesn't actually appear until you release the kick button. Like some of the other projectiles in SFIV, Juri's comes at you differently depending on which kick button is used to perform the attack. This lets her throw them low, high, or at an upward angle. The projectiles don't live long enough to make it across the entire screen, but they don't move very quickly, making them a bit of a lingering threat. Juri also has a spin kick, and a mid-air dive kick, both of which can be spotted in the gameplay footage Capcom has released. Here's a look at Juri and Dee Jay.

Yes, that's a new announcer. He sounds like some kind of out-of-control robot that just says crazier and crazier things as the fight goes on.

Dee Jay, of course, first appeared in Super Street Fighter II , where I did my best to basically pretend he didn't exist. Let's be honest here: Fei Long and Cammy were the real stars out of the "New Challengers" added back then. But most of his action remains intact here. Dee Jay continues to be a charge character, throwing projectiles and offering a couple of charge kicks. The machine gun upper is currently done by pounding on punch buttons, much like Honda 's slap, and the EX version of it absorbs fireballs. T. Hawk returns with the same moves, including the devastating typhoon, his version of the spinning pile-driver. I was left with the impression that a lot of the gameplay specifics and properties of the different moves was still up in the air, so it seems like any of this stuff is still subject to change before release.

MAXIMUM

There will, of course, be more characters in the final product, but those three are all that anyone's talking about right now. The full roster of SFIV characters will also be available in some sort of updated and/or rebalanced form, and the publisher is currently committing to "about eight" new characters. There will also be an "enhanced Ultra Combo system."

All of this will come with a redesigned online mode that will offer some additional options, like a team battle mode that matches up to eight players together for a group throwdown, a quarter match-style mode where the winner stays on while other players rotate through, and a "replay channel" that lets players watch and discuss other matches. Bonus stages, where players bash apart a car or beat up barrels will also be added.

All told, this sounds like a really substantial update to the original Street Fighter IV, but a lot of that will depend on the quality of the characters that have yet to be announced and the specifics of whatever changes are made to the existing characters. With plenty of those left to announce, you can probably count on a very slow drip of information out of Capcom between now and the game's release this Spring.

Final Fantasy XIII: March 9 In North America

Brad — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

You can stop worrying: There are in fact games coming out early next year. One of them is Final Fantasy XIII , which Square Enix has just confirmed will release in North America on March 9. That's both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

The company also confirmed the game's requisite pop song will be performed by... Leona Lewis. Still scratching my head a bit over that one, though at least this choice will curry more favor in Western markets than the Japanese pop stars that have contributed to previous games in the series. This also marks the first time Final Fantasy and Simon Cowell have come together in a meaningful capacity.

Hey, Square put out a trailer to promote this announcement. This trailer has a host . They are serious about this.

While I'm throwing promotional business at you, here are three new shots of the game, along with the company pitch on the game's story and features (WARNING: STRAIGHT OUT THE PRESS RELEASE). Square would also like you to know that three new characters--Fang, Hope, and Serah--are now on display at the official site , too.

Story

Cocoon — a utopia in the sky.
Its inhabitants believed their world a paradise.
Under the Sanctum's rule, Cocoon had long known peace and prosperity.
Mankind was blessed by its protectors, the benevolent fal'Cie, and believed that tranquil days would continue forever.
Their tranquility was shattered with the discovery of one hostile fal'Cie.
The moment that fal'Cie from Pulse — the feared and detested lowerworld — awoke from its slumber, peace on Cocoon came to an end.
Fal'Cie curse humans, turning them into magic-wielding servants.
They become l'Cie — chosen of the fal'Cie.
Those branded with the mark of a l'Cie carry the burden of either fulfilling their Focus or facing a fate harsher than death itself.
A prayer for redemption.
A wish to protect the world.
A promise to challenge destiny.
After thirteen days of fates intertwined, the battle begins.

Features

Take Part in a Gaming Experience that Sets New Standards – The first in the series developed for a simultaneous release on multiple high-definition consoles, FINAL FANTASY XIII pushes new boundaries in cinematic presentation, sound and gameplay.
Experience the Unity of Speed and Strategy with the Ultimate Active Time Battle system – The familiar system has evolved, granting players the freedom of executing numerous commands in a single turn with the multi-slot ATB gauge. Whether inputting singular commands in each slot for consecutive attacks, or expending multiple slots at once to activate a devastating blow, it’s up to the players to respond effectively to the battle conditions at hand.
Adapt to the Ever-Changing Tide of Battle with Paradigms – A brand-new game mechanic enabling players to assign roles to their party members at any time during battle, shifting between combat paradigms. Consisting of various combinations of the game's six roles, ranging from Commando, the offensive specialist, to Medic, the quintessential healer, paradigms allow players to respond and adapt instantly to any given situation to turn the tide and seize victory.
Witness the Battle Scene Transform with an All-New Summon System – Introducing Gestalt Mode, a powerful dimension of the summon system that elevates the action to a whole new level. In Gestalt Mode, characters and their transformed Eidolons fight as one, dealing massive damage to enemies through simple button commands.
Delve into an Emotional Experience – An immersive storyline connects players to an intriguing cast of characters. Will they have the strength to confront their cursed fates, or will destiny prevail over all that they believe in?

Now that FFXIII has a release date and consequently is starting to feel more like a video game and not some nebulous idea, I'm actually kind of getting excited about this thing. Where's your hype level and what platform are you feeling for this one?

Here's Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare! On The Wii!

Brad — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0800

If for no other reason than to spray something Modern Warfare -related across every inch of our website here, I will now share with you the box art and screenshots from the Call of Duty 4 port to the Wii, Reflex Edition.

Better late than never, no? Any interest in trying this thing out? The shots don't look half bad, honestly.

The New Greatest Picture On This Website Of Ours

Jeff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:00:00 -0800

From Ice-T's Twitter :

Provided you aren't going to be in line somewhere, come back around midnight PST for our review... which I should probably finish writing, now that I think about it.

Most Popular Achievements (10/31 - 11/6)

Jeff — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

This is it. It's the last weekend before Modern Warfare 2 is released. For some of you, it's a weekend filled with anticipation. For others, it's a weekend of complete indifference as you watch the Internet explode around you as every little bit of the game leaks. Leaks? Oh, right, for some of you, it's a weekend where you're playing Modern Warfare 2, because there are plenty of shops out there that'll break the street date for just about anything. Apparently GameStop stores in the North East part of the US have been given some kind of corporate go-ahead to just start selling the game, probably since plenty of independent game stores in those parts started selling the game last week. Makes me wish there were more stores like that around here. I can't even think of one non-chain game store in my immediate area.

Look at these guys, acting all "modern" and stuff.

Regardless of how you feel about Modern Warfare 2 (and it really seems like no one is truly neutral about it, because even the ones who say they're indifferent want to go out of their way to TELL YOU THAT IN ALL CAPS), it's always exciting to see these big tent-pole moments, where huge games get released and people line up to get them. It's interesting to see publishers of other games sort of move their games out of a bigger game's path. That's why some stuff got pushed to 2010. Love it or hate it, Infinity Ward's latest is going to cast a long shadow over the rest of the year.

Anyway, on to the data. I've gotten out my interpreter hat and rolled up my not-actually-an-analyst sleeves, and by looking at the achievements page for Borderlands, I'm going to say that the people who play that game are playing the hell out of it. Its an interesting case, because it doesn't have any achievements that are especially difficult. You just need to put in the time to get them. And clearly, you guys are putting in the time. There are no more "rare" achievements for Borderlands, and only three of them still show as "uncommon." Two of those uncommon achievements are for hitting levels 40 and 50, so it's really just a matter of putting in the time.

Here's a quick, unsorted list of assorted releases and the number of people playing them as of Saturday morning. I think these numbers probably tell you more about the site's audience than any genuine sales trend, but I'm sure someone out there could cook up a formula that eventually tied these numbers to sales, if they wanted to.

I think I mostly wanted to show those numbers to note the following:

- LEGO Rock Band is outperforming Band Hero so far, but not by much.

- Jurassic: The Hunted was released with as little fanfare as possible and I think our Quick Look of the game is the only coverage anyone's done so far. After watching that video, I wouldn't buy Jurassic, either. Except I already bought it. Damn.

- If 1,500 people are playing the not-as-good-as-PC version of Dragon Age, how many people must be playing the PC version?

- My guess is that DJ Hero and Tekken 6 are moving some units based on their name recognition, but neither game really took off at launch.

OK, let's get into the traditional lists. It's not especially surprising that Borderlands has held onto the top spot. Also, predictably, Modern Warfare 2 has resurfaced as interest in actually playing the game begins to swell. And The Ballad of Gay Tony has reignited Grand Theft Auto IV's popularity quite nicely. The site's significant international readership is probably responsible for Football Manager 2010 making the list.

And hey, this zombie thing for Borderlands is still coming this year, too.

Top 10 Sets

We've got a new pile of unreleased games in the achievements system this week, including some 2010 releases. So if you want to start planning out your January, be sure to look at the Dark Void achievements .

Tesla tells Will that he'll need to jack more spaceships if he wants all the achievements in Dark Void.

New Sets

Wallace & Gromit #2
Wallace & Gromit #4
Winning Eleven 2010 (I think this is the Japanese version?)
Chaotic: Shadow Warriors
Polar Panic
Rogue Warrior
Madden NFL Arcade
Encleverment Experiment
Dark Void
NCAA Basketball 10
The Tale of Despereaux
Big Brain Wolf (Steam)

And, finally, the individual achievements list. Borderlands is still holding on tight, but it doesn't control all ten spots like it did last week. People are looking for specific help on how to freefall as much as possible in The Ballad of Gay Tony , and they're also trying to figure out how to score 100,000 points in a single Forza 3 drift lap. That Forza achievement is probably the only one in the game that qualifies as tough. The rest reward you for specific, easy behavior or for just putting in the hours and gaining all your levels.

Donkey Kong?

Top 10 Individual

Borderlands - You're on a boat!
Borderlands - My Brother Is An Italian Plumber
Borderlands - 12 Days of Pandora
Borderlands - Fully Loaded
Borderlands - Made in New Haven
Grand Theft Auto IV - TBoGT: Adrenaline Junkie
Borderlands - Speedy McSpeederton
Borderlands - Ding! Champion
Forza Motorsport 3 - Drift Lap
Borderlands - Can't We Get BEYOND Thunderdome?

OK, I'm going to go brace myself for the release of Modern Warfare 2. Actually, thanks to some retailers' inability to obey street dates and the notion of "overnight shipping," I'm just going to go play Modern Warfare 2. Review Tuesday.

Is This The First Teaser For Kane & Lynch 2?

Jeff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0800

It's blurry as hell, but those guys look enough like Kane and Lynch to me.

Kotaku 's Michael McWhertor got a line on a deliberately blurry video hosted off of MTV's German games site. The video isn't really surrounded by text that tells you what, exactly, it's supposed to be, but it sure as heck looks like Adam "Kane" Marcus and James "Lynch" Lynch , totally naked, and totally busting into a restaurant to escape gunfire and dogs. That could mean that this is the first piece of promotional material for the sequel to IO Interactive 's Kane & Lynch , which was released in 2007.

Here's a machine translation of the German text that's alongside the video.

Disturbing, confusing and a bit erotic. Thus one could describe the surveillance camera footage, which we make you this world exclusive access, if you wanted. Let's not.

It was pretty difficult to find the. I had several of my dubious and ill-smelling Contacts anhauen, (PR-people are truly the very worst) bribes changed their purses and a dirty piece of paper was signed with blood and sweat.

But now times butter for the fish: Does anyone have the two types identified in the video? What are they doing anyway? And why? And what has that to do with games? Give me your speculations, and Spiced gingerbread! Soon it's Christmas!

You do not even come on it anyway.

Yes, that's right. You do NOT even come on it anyway. Thanks , Google Translate.

While Eidos has stated that a sequel to the first game is in development, there haven't been many announcements about it, just trademark filings for "Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days." If having a pissed-off attack dog attempting to rip up a naked dude is IO's idea of "Dog Days," then I'm pretty interested in seeing more.

Actually, I'm super-interested in seeing what this game ends up being. The first one, for better or worse, will always hold a "special" place in my heart. I'll probably never be able to think about that first game without a rush of extremely mixed feelings, which, obviously, have very little to do with the actual game at this point. It's been my secret hope for some time now that K&L2 comes along and turns out to be completely amazing from top to bottom... basically everything that the first game wasn't. Something that actually capitalizes on the concept of "hey, what if we took Freedom Fighters and crossed it with Heat ?" instead of pissing it away with poor shooting and bad squad AI. Something with a script that doesn't make you feel like you need to take a shower after you finish it. Hey, better, more random AI in the online mode would be nice, too, while I'm making a list.

Anyway, if you want to see the video and missed the part where I linked to it already, click here to see it.

Netflix PS3 Discs Start Shipping

Jeff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0800

Looks like PS3 owners looking to get in on Netflix's instant streaming will be ready to go as soon as this week. This showed up in my inbox this morning:

Rad.

Garrus Returns! And Other Secrets About Mass Effect 2

Brad — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

Garrus! Buddy! What's up dude!

I got to play some more Mass Effect 2 earlier this week. And guess which familiar face I discovered? That's right! Garrus mother-effing Vakarian ! Everyone's favorite good-natured Turian will make at least a cameo appearance in this sequel, and it was good to hear his oddly soothing, gravelly tones as he picked off enemy mechs with a sniper rifle in a cutscene. Garrus is a smooth operator, you know.

BioWare has admitted several of your party members from the first Mass Effect will be back for part two, though some will have bigger roles than others. The only original character confirmed to be an active party member in Mass Effect 2 is Tali , the Darth Vader -masked engineer who for some reason I never, ever used. Hopefully other favorites like Garrus and (fingers crossed) Wrex will be able to join your space posse at some point.

The cutscene with Garrus afforded me a better look at the "dialogue interrupt" feature in Mass Effect 2's cinematics, which I've come to think of over the last few months as a violence option. It lets you hit the left trigger when an icon flashes onscreen that lets you speed up the proceedings, usually by pulling your weapon on someone or, say, throwing them out a window. In this case, Shepard trained his own sniper rifle on the mechs, and hitting the interrupt button made him pick one of these enemies off, meaning I had one fewer enemy to deal with once the combat actually started.

I get the impression that using the interrupt feature won't drastically change the outcome of a given situation, just tweak it a bit and bring it about a little faster. Some interrupts, however, will move your moral alignment one way or the other. Since you can't tell what your interrupt action will be and only have a few seconds to decide whether to use the option or not, BioWare says the final game will give you some kind of indication about whether the interrupt will generate Paragon or Renegade points. So if you're trying to do a full good-guy playthrough, for instance, you won't sully your record by unintentionally acting like a bad guy.

When I ran into Garrus, I was joined by the new playable Krogan party member Grunt (who ain't no Wrex, but gets the job done in combat) and Jacob, who was recently introduced in the Mass Effect Galaxy iPhone game. We were exploring Omega, a planet that's located outside of Citadel space and is thus outside the influence of the collective galactic government. BioWare says you'll be spending a good portion of Mass Effect 2 on these sorts of untamed border planets, which certainly opens up the potential for you to run into a lot of rough characters over the course of your mission.

Strange things are afoot on Omega.

Speaking of that mission, I was surprised to get more background on the core storyline in Mass Effect 2. The reapers of the original game are pretty much out of the picture this time around, as are the spindly, sentient robots the Geth (though there will be at least one important Geth character featured in the storyline). The big menace this time is the Collectors, an insectoid race that's trying to eradicate humanity colony by colony. You can see more about the Collectors in the new trailer BioWare just released. I was surprised that Mass Effect 2 seems to be more of a "further adventures of Commander Shepard" sort of story rather than a direct continuation of the events of the first game, though the total number of ways in which this sequel ties back into the original Mass Effect remains to be seen.

BioWare has been touting the technical improvements it's made in this sequel, and in this demo I finally started becoming convinced the developer will follow through on its promises. Inconsistent frame rates, popping textures, and intolerably long space elevator load times were the biggest offenders in the original game, and I was able to see the first two have been pretty much eliminated in the demo I played. The game ran perfectly smoothly as I fought off mercs and mechs, and saw complex environments like the seedy Afterlife Club (replete with Asari strippers and lots of neon lighting).

It was in this club that I ran into a Batarian bartender who poisoned Shepard when he served him a drink. Batarians have a longstanding grudge against humanity, see. The four-eyed Batarians were featured prominently in the first Mass Effect prequel novel, but then failed to make much of an appearance in the original game. For the nerdier Mass Effect fans among you, those guys will be showing up a lot more often in Mass Effect 2's border planets, since they tend to operate off the grid and outside the Citadel's influence.

Mass Effect 2 is looking like simply an improved, refined version of Mass Effect. Since I thought the first game was a great RPG with a few rough edges, a new version of the same game with those edges smoothed out is perfectly fine by me. The game is due at the rapidly approaching end of January, so keep an eye out for more on this sequel in the near future.

On a not-entirely-unrelated note, we also spoke with BioWare's Dr. Greg Zeschuk about Dragon Age: Origins hitting stores and the speed with which Mass Effect 2 is coming to shelves. Watch!

Go Watch Captain N (Actually, Go Watch Pole Position)

Jeff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0800

I want to know more about this girl's haircare regiment.

Oh man, I spotted this on Destructoid last night and it's been in danger of ruining my productivity for the rest of the week. It seems that someone's gone ahead and launched an on-demand video site for cartoons. It's called Jaroo, and it's got a load of third-rate cartoons from the '80s for you to "enjoy."

The gaming tie-in is that they've got episodes of Captain N, Sonic Underground, and episodes of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, which are presented with the live-action bits of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, so you'll get a little Captain Lou up in here (pour one out for the god, by the way).

But then there's Pole Position . Man, I forgot that Pole Position existed, but yeah, someone decided to license Namco 's driving game for use in a cartoon, then made it about a brother/sister duo who drive cars that can convert into hydrofoils and stuff. And they fight crime. And the cars have crappy computer faces in them that talk to the kids like it was a bad episode of Knight Rider. That's assuming, of course, that "a bad episode of Knight Rider" was actually possible .

The non-gaming stuff is even more obscure. The most relevant thing available is Inspector Gadget, though I'm far more interested in seeing if Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors is any good, since I vaguely remember that from my youth. There's also a database entry for something called "Siegfried & Roy," but hitting it loads up episodes of a Sherlock Holmes cartoon. Man, a Siegfried & Roy cartoon would be just about the most awesomest bestest thing I could ever imagine, but the Sherlock Holmes cartoon is set in the 22nd century, so... yeah, that's still pretty good.

Check out the site at jaroo.com .