Three Words I Said To The Man I Defeated In Gears Of War That I'll Never Say Again 
New Doom 3 For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Supports Head-Mounted Displays 
Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land 
Why Robin Makes Batman Better 
Resistance: Burning Skies: The Kotaku Review 
Harley Quinn's Revenge Is Batman: Arkham City's Bad New Ending Hey, you like [insert your favourite franchise here] ? Well, [insert your favourite franchise here]don’t mean shit. Not next to the might of The Sims. Anyone who doubted Maxis and EA for releasing a game which simulated the more mundane aspects of everyday life, threw in some fashion design and amateur architecture then pumped out 1,543,769 expansion packs was going to succeed, boy, you backed the wrong horse. EA’s Rod Humble has today announced that the series has sold over 100,000,000 units worldwide. That’s one. Hundred. Million. And how are they celebrating? Why, with a free, exclusive outfit for your Sims, of course. No point straying from the course now, eh?
Bring your superfluous IDs and passwords! The Metal Gear Online beta is up and ready for download. Here are some pics from reader PlayingKarrde. The beta doesn’t kick off until the 21st, so even if you download MGO, the game won’t connect to the server. You can look at these title screens. There’s another one after the jump. You can look at that, too. If you like.
Definitely one of the classier attempts at game PR we’ve seen. 2K have commissioned Shepard Fairey to come up with a series of promo posters for the upcoming Civilization Revolution. There’s “more to come”, with the first featuring none other than the little Corsican himself, shaking his finger during a pronounced bout of little-man syndrome. If wallpapers of former French dictators sounds right up your alley, click for a bigger version.
Yup, just like we and pretty much everyone else thought, that blood red countdown clock was counting down to a PS3 Siren game. The upcoming issue of Japanese game magazine Famitsu confirms it. Dubbed Siren New Translation, the PLAYSTATION 3 survival horror title is currently 90 percent done and apparently a reworking of the first game. It will go on sale this summer on July 24th, and a demo will be released on April 24th. There’s still 45 hours left on the blood red clock. So… Not much of a countdown, huh? Siren Confirmed [Game at Futaba]
Hard to tell what’s going on besides blood and Sam Jackson’s voice. But really, what else do you need? Other things. Oh, right. Gotcha! The cell-shaded Afro Samurai game follows Takahashi Okazaki’s manga and will feature a hip-hop soundtrack with appearances by The RZA. Out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall in North America. Afro Samurai Game [GameSpot]
The Ace Combat 6 contest continues! Reader Jason sends along his entry. Here, look at it. He writes:
Here’s my plane! It’s made out of popsicle sticks! I included a nickel for scale! Cuz it’s tiny! Exclamation Point!
To bring everyone up to speed: Dress up as an aeroplane OR make a three dimensional aeroplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can’t make CGI planes! And you can’t draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it’s not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom by this Friday at midnight PST and, like all contests, don’t forget to add a “Kotaku” sign. Remember, we’re giving away two copies of Ace Comabt 6 and INTERNET FAME. One copy for the best plane cosplay, the other for the best crafted plane. In short, two separate contests.
Sony have gotten around to announcing that second PS3 SingStar game we’ve known about since March. It’s what you’d expect: 30 new songs, a new “Harmoney Duet” mode and the addition of PSP remote play compatibility, which they’ve added so you can “get your favourite party tracklist ready before you’re heading back home”. Heading back home? Look, if you can’t be arsed organising the tracklist for a SingStar party well in advance, you shouldn’t be having one. No word on price or launch date (for PAL, obviously, with the main game itself still not out in the US), or even a tracklist, but we’re assured it’ll feature The Killers, Eminem, Kaiser Chiefs, Gorillaz and…Paul McCartney & the Frog Chorus. No, really.
KING OF GAMES shirts. KING OF GAMES shirts. KING OF GAMES shirts. While these Sega threads have been available at the Japanese K.O.G. store for a while, they’re now available at the international shop. You too, can buy them! Yes, you. The After Burner, Out Run and Fantasy Zone threads are available for ¥5,775, ¥5,040 and ¥5,040. Later this year more Sega shirts will hit, including NiGHTS, Space Harrier and Mega Drive 16. You can then buy those, too. Yes, you. Sega Shirts on Sale [The King of Games via ALBOTAS]
Oh, so that’s why we got a new trailer today. Namco Bandai have announced that Soul Calibur IV will be released in North America on July 29, in both vanilla and metal-box-collectors edition varieties. Those throwing down the $US 80 for the premium edition will get the standard, afore-mentioned metal box, a comic book, a “tournament kit” (no idea what that actually is) and access to “extra customisation content”. Soulcalibur IV set for July 29 unsheathing [GameSpot]
The from scratch engine that’s powering Final Fantasy XIII was originally known as the White Engine. That’s all changed! Now it’s known as Crystal Tools. While Japanese developers like Square Enix and Capcom have created in-house engines, how do they stack up against their Western counterparts? Says Crystal Tools general manager Taku Murata:
