To: Geoff
From: Ashcraft

WELCOME.

With Crecente in Australia on vacation, we're happy to have you on the S.S. Kotaku for the week! Just know, the hamster that powers the Kotaku thunderdome started acting up last night. Meaning? Posts weren't going up when they were supposed to. Tech problems right after Crecente leaves? Chalk that up to him being genetically glued to the site. He being separated from Kotaku 'causes the place to come apart at the seams. Also, I've been feeling shitty all day and think I'm getting ill. Hooray!

Enjoy you're first day guest editing! Fahey will be around to answer questions and what not in the morning. Mark will be around, too. McWhertor comes in the evening. He'll bring impeccable grammar with him. Luke and I will be back in the evening. To, you know, bust shit up and all.

What you missed last night
Truly insane Japanese Fighter
Good PS3 ad
Our wonderful contest has started!

Parker and Stone have gone videogame MAD. For the past year or so you haven't been able to watch a single episode of South Park without tripping head-first over some gaming joke, and this week's episode is no exception. Especially since it's built entirely around a single videogame: Guitar Hero. Or, Guitar Queer-O, as they've so subtly re-badged it. Episode synopsis is as follows:

Stan and Kyle are hooked on Guitar Hero. But Stan's superior skills on the video game damage his friendship with Kyle.

No doubt it's all based on actual events. No doubt involving the show's creators. I know I've lost a friend or three over my superior Guitar Hero skills...namely that I can play on medium and they can't.
Guitar Queer-O [South Park, thanks Drew!]

This is the last one, we promise. (That is, unless someone sends us a Team Fortress 2 cosplay with J Allard! We are sure it exists!!) Here, the gang from Industrial Light and Magic do what all the hipster did they Halloween: Group cosplay as Team Fortress 2. Looking forward to the exciting dress-up trends Halloween 2008 brings.

Thanks VillageOoOldiot!

Just because you like to dress up like video game or anime characters does not mean you are a second class citizen! Oh, no no. You are entitled to the same rights that those who are not "in the life" get. Japan's first non-profit cosplayer support organisation Cosengokai officially began this month to "raise public awareness of wholesome cosplay culture and provide consultation for cosplayers who have been victims of crimes."

Crimes? Yikes! Due to a minority of sexual explicit costumes, the organisation states that cosplayers are misunderstood and victims of stalking, criminal indecency and, somewhat ironically, voyeurism. Cosengokai hopes to raise awareness that there is a person in that costume. And in that person there are feelings! We can only hope one day that the cosplayers will one day be a sizable voting block and then, and only then, will Japan finally get the way overdue National Cosplay Day. Can't wait!
Official Site [Cosengokai via AnimeNewNetwork via Dark Diamond]

For all the gun-waving good times we've had with its predecessors, Time Crisis 4 seems to be skulking along towards release with little or no attention being drawn towards it whatsoever. Shame, that. It may not feature crotch-punching, but we're still betting this game will be as much fun as you found Time Crisis 3. So here's some new screens.

Singer Kelly Rowland is a successful recording artist. She's rich, attractive and has big muscles. She should so have the pick of the litter! Who's she dating. Rowland says:

The only thing I'm dating is my Nintendo DS. We have an amazing relationship and it's a great boyfriend.

OH BOY. Cue the mini-games and touching jokes!
Rowland Talks DS [The London Paper via Absolute Gadget via Go Nintendo
AP Picture [BBC]

Microsoft and ESPN just signed a deal whereby select ESPN programming (mainly sports games) will be made available over the 360's Video Marketplace. To get the ball rolling you'll be able to buy NCAA football and basketball games, X Games programming and other relevant shows such as Madden Nation and World Series of Poker. The NCAA games will be available up to 48 hours after the game's finished, and will cost you $US 3 for SD and $US 4.50 for a HD version. All other programming will be $US 2 for SD and $US 3 for HD. In addition, ESPN say they're looking at ways to "incorporate the Xbox Live online gaming community into its telecasts", though they haven't gotten as far as letting us know just what that means, exactly. The first content available will be a download of Saturday's Oregon State v LSU football game.
[via ESPN]

Today, SEGA announced that upcoming Wii title NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams will take advantage of the console's Weather Channel. Not part of the singular player game, NiGHTS features a section called "My Dream" that features artificial life called A-LIFE. It's part of the dream world, and it seems to be an area where players can chill and enjoy mini-games. With not so hot graphics.

Perhaps these are just early renders, because the graphics in NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams are quite solid for a Wii title. Perhaps!
Wii NiGHTS Weather [Game Watch Impress]

Sure, the screenshots were bad. No. The screenshots were awful. But maybe, just maybe, they were rough, early shots, taken from a prototypical build and were in no way indicative of the final quality of the game. There's always that hope, right? No. No there is not. This is everything wrong with third-party development on the Wii in one easy-to-follow 38 second clip. [via Aussie Nintendo]

Last month brought an endless flow of game pumpkins and the PC Engine's 20th anniversary. On October 30 twenty years ago, the PC Engine first went on sale in Japan. Three Germans posted fliers and a birthday message on a Mandarake temporary construction barricade in Akihabara. The sign wished the ill-fated console a happy birthday, thanked NEC and Hudson and listed fan site PCE Daisakusen. The police appeared, asking if he worked for that company. One of the Germans replied, "No, I'm a big PC Engine fan". The three were put in the patrol car and driven away from the scene. Hardcore. So let that be a lesson: Japan isn't your personal fanboy billboard! Just be happy with wearing gaming T-shirts!!
PC Engine Arrest [Akiba Blog via Insert Credit]

Some enterprising types over at fan site Relic News have gone patent-digging. Unearth anything interesting, then lads? YES. They've found that THQ, who now own original Homeworld developers Relic, have picked up the rights to the series from former owners Vivendi (ie Sierra). This isn't confirmation that any new Homeworld titles are in the making, of course, but then they'd hardly go to all the trouble of getting the rights if they weren't going to something with them. As someone who only last month was playing the original and remarked aloud "could really do with another of these fantastic games", this is truly exciting news.
THQ DO indeed now own Homeworld [Relic News, via Shacknews]

3D Fighter Maker lets people make their own 3D fighters. Yes, the title lives up to the name! A recent unearthed clip shows the zany fighters possible with this title. The game was published by Famitsu publisher Enterbrain for the PS2 and the Dreamcast. This clip is something like seven or eight years old. Zaniness like this is timeless, though!

Thanks muu!

Never played Maniac Mansion on the NES, and haven't played the original in so long that I'd fail to spot the differences anyway. But a fantastic article penned by former Lucasfilm/Lucasarts employee Douglas Crockford shows just how many changes they had to make to the adventure classic to get it published on the NES, and how batshit loco some of those changes were.

Howie Rubin of Jaleco (the company that was going to publish the game under license) advised us the that the baddest bad word is Kill. The central activity in most Nintendo games is killing things. The image and the act are good, but the word is bad, even if the word does not suggest the image or the act.

The mansion contains a number of arcade video games. One was called KILL THRILL. The name had to be changed. Doug Glen, our Director of Marketing, suggested that we change it to MUFF DIVER, which I thought was a pretty good idea.

See? Good reading.
The Expurgation of Maniac Mansion for the Nintendo Entertainment System [via Dtoid]

It. Just. Won't. Stop. Sure, Halloween is so last month, but Team Fortress 2 company cosplays are still cool. That up there is how PC Gamer and Maximum PC Magazine spent their All Hallows Eve — in, you guessed it, matching Team Fortress 2 outfits. Well, at least four of them did. The others worn things like flannel. For those who missed our Team Fortress 2 group cosplay fever mode, here's a round-up: Volition, Blizzard, NCSoft, Bioware, EA and Nihilistic Celebrated. Hey, Gaming Industry, next year send us the memo, dammit!
Perfect Line-up [Flickr, Thanks Norm!]

Word's coming in that Target have pulled Manhunt 2 from their shelves, and won't be stocking it. At all. Seems the ESRB clearing it for release means squat, with Target bosses playing censor and deciding off their own backs the game shouldn't be offered for sale. While there's no official confirmation on this from Target or Take-Two, there are numerous reports coming in from both customers and Target employees indicating this is indeed the case. Someone, anyone care to put this game out of its misery?
Target Pulling Manhunt 2 [Evil Avatar, via GamePolitics]
More confirmations on Target's removal of Manhunt 2 [Go Nintendo]

Games, games and more games. (Oh yeah, Blu-ray and Home, too.) This new Sony ad packs in a lot of info in a short amount of time. Best part? It doesn't annoy the crap outta us.

Thanks Alex!

It's hard to imagine a game like Civilization working on a console. Sure, there's nothing technically stopping it from functioning, but tweaking the controls and interface so they can be managed almost effortlessly using nothing but the limited selection of buttons on your average gamepad has to pose a bit of a problem.

It'd have to be extra painful for a developer so intimately familiar with the PC. Yet, Firaxis has taken up this exact challenge. Civ: Rev represents the first time the series has ventured to other platforms.

Last week I had a chance to play the Xbox 360 version of Civilization: Revolution up at Take 2's HQ in Hornsby. I was hesitant to pick up the control pad, feeling that it would somehow taint my love of the series, but then I wouldn't have been able to write this hands-on.

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

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

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

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

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

Specs after the jump.

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

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Anthony over at EcoGamer has let us know that Big W will be having a one-day sale on November 10, where thrifty gamers will be able to pick up any of the Guitar Hero III game plus guitar combos for a tasty $98.

I don't think I need to explain how awesome a deal this is.

So find the willpower to wait three days after the official release on the 7th, and save about $50!

Big W One Day Sale November 10th [EcoGamer]

To: Ash & Luke
From: Flynn
Subject: Road Trip

Hey guys. It was an odd weekend this one. Saturday seemed to be filled with news and fun stuff to write about while Sunday seemed to open up a black hole that sucked in everything around it including anything terribly interesting to write about. Odd how it works that way sometimes.

I'm in NYC again, this time to celebrate a friend's birthday and I'm starting to get quite used to the idea of being here. Of course, I will be leaving soon for SF so I'm trying not to get too attached. Speaking of moving, as it turns out, I will be taking a week long journey across the country with a friend, my dog and all my crap in a U-Haul so I will probably be away for a couple weekends come the beginning of December while I get myself settled. Gonna try and hit some sights along the way as well and I'm really looking forward to seeing the world's largest ball of twine in Muncie, Indiana.

Some things you may have missed this weekend:

• This week's Arcade Flyer Art Saturday came with a special treat.

People are crazy for the L-block

Our own Crecente has a kind and generous black heart

Well, with that I'll leave you to your late night doings. Hope you have a good week and I'll see you next time!

The flood of amazing game titles seems to have ebbed a bit this week which my beleaguered bank account is most thankful for. Silent Hill: Origins will be my purchase this week as I try to plow through the last two week's worth of purchases. Anything on the list catch your eye?

Silent Hill: Origins (PSP)
Take a prequel visit to creepy Silent Hill and see how it got so creepy.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360, PC, PS3, DS)
World War II is finally over.

Empire Earth III (PC)
take your empire from humble beginnings to outer space.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (WII)
A dubious pairing. But who will win?

Gears of War (PC)
Marcus Fenix and his scarred legions arrive on the PC.

The Simpsons Game (PSP)
D'oh! Just a week behind.

Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War (X360, PS3)
Think Dynasty Warriors in medieval Europe.

Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (WII, X360, PS3, DS)
Relive Star Wars through the blocky world of Legos.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (WII)
Charge of the Dawn Brigade.

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (PC)
I fear another expansion is in the works.

F.E.A.R. Files (X360)
Both F.E.A.R expansion packs in one fancy package

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance (PC)
If the original wasn't enough for you.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (DS)
Hunt for monsters and make them do your bidding.

Bee Movie Game (WII)
Ok, let's be honest. Does anyone really care?

Another little treat from RetroGameVideos.com. Back in the days when they used to advertise magazine subscriptions on TV comes this seizure inducing commercial for Nintendo Power magazine. I've said it before and I'll say it again the eighties may have sucked in a lot of ways, but the video game (and related) commercials are the stuff dreams are made of however twisted those dreams may be. Get the power!

Hey, if Melbourne can hold gaming events, then there's nothing stopping Adelaide from following suit.

We received word today that the southern city will host the Reloaded Festival during January 26-27. According to Reloaded Events, the company running the festival, it will be "the biggest gaming event in Australian history and the largest LAN Party event ever held in the southern hemisphere".

While I can't vouch for the validity of that statement, I can say there will be more than just a LAN occurring at the festival. Running parallel will be PC/console tournaments, art competitions and tabletop gaming (less Chess, more what Warhammer was before Relic turned it into an RTS).

Reloaded Events expects attendance numbers of 1200-1500. Will you be going?

More info at www.reloadedlan.com.

At least that's how it, uh, appears. Over at GameBrink, there's a nice comparison video (embedded here for your enjoyment) between the US version of Resident Evil 4 and the Japanese version. In the latter, Capcom has removed the physics rigs on Ashley's upper chest, stopping her sweater bunnies from dancing to gravity.

Apparently this video has been around for a few months, but it's the first time I've seen it.

Boobs Bounce In US Resident Evil 4 But Not In Japanese Version [GameBrink]

I was pleased as punch to receive a little package from Nintendo in my mailbox yesterday with my feather stylus. My Nintendo members who registered their copies of Phantom Hourglass were treated to this free prize from the Big N. I still say Japan gets all the best swag, but this is pretty sweet and will add one more to my ever growing stylus collection. I can hardly wait to whip this one out on the subway and touch it thoughtfully to my lip, looking like a modern day Oscar Wilde as I attempt to solve the latest New York Times crossword puzzle on my DS.

In case you missed it, Auran released an update for its MMO Fury late on Friday. According to Auran, the patch includes improvement to server and client performance, and a tweak to the matchmaking system to prevent newer players from being thrown against more experience combatants.

Nothing major by the sounds of things, but then, I think it's good news when a game's first patch has no big problems to address.

Full details after the jump.

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In comparison to most of the stuff I read about improving story telling in games, which includes lots of literary theory, some pie-in-the-sky "Wouldn't that be nice?" ideas, and formulas more complicated than many chemistry formulas, this week's HDR Knowledge over at GameSetWatch is practical and unpretentious. I especially liked the points about the perils of cut scenes - a number of games I've played in the past year or so have suffered seriously from an overload of cut scenes (nothing encourages me more about the potential of game than wanting to sleep through the first ten hours). Probably the most egregious violator of the cut scene issue that I'm really familiar with was the Xenosaga series - in the first instalment, I dreaded the prospect of yet another cut scene that would take up half an hour of my life.

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Rubik's (Companion) Cube
Everything you need to know to make your own!

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles Weapons Trailer
Can't survive survival horror without guns and ammo!

Kotaku Originals: From Halloween To Manhunt 2
A nice, fat wrap up to soothe your wrapping needs.

Mass Effect Shootin' Shit Up
Just because it's a role-playing game doesn't mean you don't need to kill stuff.

Devil May Cry 4 To Feature Sexy Plant Boss Battles
It's a hot-looking game, and it gets even hotter when the plants come out.

How Volition Celebrated Halloween
Game devs the world over love Team Fortress 2. And dressing up.

It's the beginning of the month and once again it's time for another Arcade Flyer Archive update. This month's update includes a rare Pac-Man flyer that makes no bones about Midway's stance on copyright infringement, some more classic flyers, a swwet Paul Bunyon pinball machine and this week's Arcade Flyer Art Saturday feature, Death Smiles (complete with "blow up skirt" game). Don't forget that starting in January, TAFA will have a boatload of their flyers up for sale for a paltry $US 1 a piece. So, be sure to save up those pennies, Susan B. Anthony's and Sacajawea's!

Here at Kotaku, we've been inundated with Companion Cube stuff: Companion Cube flash cartoons, Companion Cube cakes, Companion Cube papercraft, Companion Cube parodies of current films, Companion Cube costumes (I don't think we posted any of those), Companion Cube fuzzy and cute plushies ... and now, those of you who are Companion Cube crazy can make your own Companion (Rubik's) Cube! Stephen at Live Granades has complete instructions for making your own custom Rubik's cube, with printable graphics for your very own Companion Cube. The materials list is pretty simple.

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A nice little present for Call of Duty fans. In Circuit City's weekly ad, they are advertising an offer of a free copy of Call of Duty 3 when you purchase a copy of Call of Duty 4. Also included in the deal is a Call of Duty 4 poster. Great opportunity to fill out your collection if you missed out on the last title or need something to hang over that hole in your wall where you punched it. (I'm looking at YOU, Crecente)

Circuit City weekly ad [Circuit City]
[Thanks, Islandkiwi]

Reader Gareth M. let us know that there's an alternative to the creepy Swiss right-wing xenophobic games that we mentioned yesterday, initially mentioned over at Ian Bogost's Water Cooler Games: there's Boch Buster, which allows you to kick those creepy right wing Swiss politicians outta Switzerland and into somewhere that looks suspiciously like the American southwest. You have three tries to whip Christoph Blocher - the politician dressed as a goat and one of the Swiss People's Party's big fish - as far away from Switzerland as you can, in a game with simple two click mechanics. There's no love for Blocher amongst some Swiss citizens as evidenced by anti-Blocher protests back in September (never mind the game); it's a nice wee counterpoint to SVP's little minigames. Boch Buster

Kotakuite Presto117 sends in this picture of an Animal Crossing charm he/she got from a gashapon machine found in an "Asian buffet" named appropriately Asian Buffet. Animal Crossing aficionados will recognise the six character styles available:

• Boy
• Blanca
• Mabel
• Mallary
• Brewster
• Elvis
• Aurora

Having returned from Japan with a sick "charm" obsession, seeing this makes me want to search every Asian buffet I come across until I find these. Hopefully Presto 117 will save me the trouble and just let me send him/her a check to go and get them for me. I only wish there was a KK Slider available.

The Ashoka Changemaker's health care-related gaming competition is winding down, with 14 finalists having been selected by a panel of judges and voting now open to the public (through 7 November). Some of them aren't games per se, but there are several of those on the list, too (including an entry from Ian Bogost's Persuasive Games). Raise obesity awareness! Combat domestic violence! Chase away health troubles with ... a Bollywood inspired dance game? It takes all kinds, I guess. You can see what's up in the world of deadly serious games at the Why Games Matter: A Prescription for Improving Health and Health Care website.

Let's face it, not everyone on the planet has access to high speed internet. Some people living out in remote areas just can't get the kinds of service us fancy, city dwelling folk do. Such was the problem for D15AV0W3D over at The Hushed Casket. After exhausting every available resource to get a high speed connection, he thought he was doomed to dial-up for the rest of his life, never being able to catch up with our rapidly changing modern world. But, with some ingenuity and the help of a Samsung i607 Blackjack phone with AT&T's Edge connection he was able to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

After some trial and error, he was eventually able to host a Halloween Halo 3 LAN party at his house with ten Xbox 360s all run through his cell phone's internet connection. I don't pretend to understand all the technical aspects of this amazing feat, so if you wish to learn more, go check out D15AV0W3D's explanation with a little how to guide so you can do this yourself. Ah, the marvels of the modern age...

HowTo: Play on XBOX Live thru your Windows Mobile cell phone [The Hushed Casket]

While perusing GameSetWatch, I hop skipped my way through a couple of blogs and found myself at a very interesting article in T.H.E. Journal on using MMORPGs in educational contexts, specifically on their use in second language acquisition. And here I've been doing it the old fashioned way all these years! It's a lengthy article, but worth a read through - author John K. Waters talks about a number of studies and approaches to the topic, but all of them are focused on use WoW and its ilk for educational purposes:

... the results do suggest that EverQuest, and possibly MMORPGs in general, reinforce language acquisition for a number of reasons. The pursuit of quests, for example, requires players to become what Rankin calls "active learners" who engage with other players and the gaming environment. The study also supports Schneider and Zheng's conclusion that the games are inherently motivating.

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Amazon's video game Deal of the Day is as cheap as I've seen. You can pick up Rockstar Games' The Warriors for the Xbox for a mere $US 5. That's 50% off of the already low, low price of $US 10. (I should note here that this game for some reason has still not made the 360 backwards compat list) If you can piggy back it on with some other stuff it is eligible for free shipping as well. If you want to go for the whole package deal, they are offering the game and the director's cut of the popular cult film the game was based on for $15.98. A fine gift for any Warriors fan (who's still using an old Xbox). Can you dig it?

The Warriors [Amazon]

Zhengtu Online - one of the most popular MMORPGs in Mainland China (so popular the government even labelled it dangerously addictive last year!) - isn't content with mere Chinese dominance, oh no. The Zhengtu Network is partnering with Taiwanese and Malaysian companies to expand service into Southeast Asia. In typical fashion, the companies couldn't just leave praise of their game to 'It's so awesome we're more popular than Warcraft,' but have to put a particularly positive spin on things: it's not just an MMO, it's a tool to teach Chinese philosophy! I can't figure out the particulars, but I would run screaming from any game that heavily involved the teachings of Kongzi. Maybe it's just me:

"Game mission can teach gamers Chinese philosophy," said Tan Teck Seng, CEO of iG-Interactive Sdn Bhd, adding that the quizzes in the game will also be localised for the local gamers.

Chinese online games have developed speedily in the recent 10 years, which are benefit from the hardworking personnel of science and technology and the support of the government, said Gu Hongxing, first secretary and head, cultural office of the Chinese Embassy in Malaysia.

I love poorly translated press releases. The interesting part about all of this is that Chinese developers are really ramping up international efforts - it was a big week for several companies. I wonder when this stuff will hit the US, if ever?

Chinese online game to be launched in Malaysia [Xinhua]

More Resident Evil goodness for you today. This time we have a trailer featuring the arsenal of weapons at your disposal for doing away with the zombie hordes. Most of the weapons here will be familiar to RE fans but for you newbs it will be a lesson in mass destruction. If this video (and years of RE playing) has taught me anything, it's "get the grenade launcher as soon as you possibly can" followed swiftly by "always keep plenty of green herb on hand." Emphasis on the latter.

For those of you who can't stand to be away from your beloved World of Warcraft for even a minute can now carry the magic with you to the shower. Etsy crafter ladykildare has created these awesome Hearthstone soaps for your hygienic pleasure. They are made from Shea butter and are 100% natural. These particular ones smell like coffee, but you can request other scents with your order. The cost is $US 14.87 for two average sized bars plus a buck for shipping. Thank you, ladykildare, for keeping our WoW-ers clean and stink free after endless hours of raids. We thank you and their significant others (if any) thank you too.

Hearthstone Soap [Etsy]
[via Wonderland]

A friendly reminder from your Kotaku Weekend Team that in the U.S., Daylight Savings Time ends today and that you should be setting your clocks back an hour. So if you're sitting here trying to get the last bit of fun that you can out of the internets before you go to work/church or what have you, surprise, you have a whole extra hour! Now, sit down and play a game or something in all that additional time you have, it's good or you!