This is is a story in two parts. The first is how insanely hilarious is that video above. Every time I think of Chuck Norris, I think of Joe Bob Briggs and his tour de force review of Delta Force 2, and that game above deserves its own Joe Bob-style rundown: No breasts. No blood. No mushrooms. One hundred and four dead bodies. Shotgun fu. Chainsaw fu. Flamethrower fu. Shotgunned Koopa. Smoldering Koopa. Flying Goomba. Flattened Goomba. Exploding Flag. Exploding Castle. Exploding coin box. Exploding bricks. Exploding start screen. Gratuitous defoliation. Gratuitous dialog boxes. Drive-In Academy Award nominations for visual effects for loss of entire raster lines due to overwhelming awesome violence. Four stars. Kotaku says check it out.

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The Spore creators have started releasing prototypes, apparently modeled on certain parts of the title's overall gameplay, and now you can download and explore the first: "ParticleMan".

"ParticleMan simulates gravitational attraction between particles in a cloud. This system was used to study such gravitational dynamics as orbits, nebula formation, star formation and particle streams from sources like pulsars and black holes", says the official site.

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Am I the only one looking at this with an OCD urge to rip back the controller and go hit the first coinbox? Come on, this is World 1-1. And it's painted on a concrete wall, although Mr. Juandrful over at Kezins doesn't say exactly where.

I wanted it to be a self-esteem project painted by a group of at-risk Goombas, but no, it's the handiwork of an artist who goes by BPAK. It's a "Quikrete infused" mural that took three weeks to complete.

Super Mario Outdoor Wall o' Art [Kezins.com]

Because, I dunno, herding animals around is fun or something, there's an game coming soon via Capcom, called "Flock", first noticed this week when the developer unveiled its E3 lineup. More or less, you're manning an alien spaceship that's making off with flocks, gaggles, coveys, clowders, murders, cackles, prides etc. of animals. Your means of encouragement? Why, a death ray of course. PETA should love the shit out of this game. IGN describes it in very Lemmings-friendly terms. If that's your cup of tea, it'll be out via Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and for PC download, soon.

IGN: Flock Preview[IGN]

Here's the latest Rock Band 2 trailer and, whatever you think of the Foo Fighters (I happen to enjoy this particular cut) you probably agree that Harmonix is not fucking around. We've posted on rumours about their deep tracklist, free RB1 DLC and backwards compatibility, and also about the wireless instruments and improved standard drumkit, the insane $US 300 drumkit if you're so inclined. In other words, they'll definitely call Guitar Hero: World Tour's raise. Is it a re-raise though? Discuss.

Rock Band 2 Exclusive Gameplay Reveal [Gametrailers]

Over at the Escapist, they're taking a look at the future of gaming — Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association, looks at a number of 'maybe, maybe not' predictions with his own take. Ranging from the mundane ('Game prices will go down!') to the political ('Things will get better once gamers become politicians!') to the industry-focused ('Publishing structure is stuck in a rut and won't change!'). It's a fun read with some good points on the present and future directions of the gaming industry. On the publishing structure, Halpin has this to say:

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Two weeks ago saw an extraordinarily successful, more-than-72 hour Super Mario Marathon that raised more than $US 11,000 for a gamers' charity for kids. This week, four Mega Man enthusiasts are finding out how hard of an act that is to follow -- as a fund drive anyway. A new web site indicates that game marathons are a mushrooming craze, capitalizing partly on gamers who enjoy watching others fail at classic console titles. The question is, how long will it last?

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In China, it's the glitzy cities that get the attention — Shanghai in particular is the city that garners the most attention in scholarship (and frequently in the press). I was somewhat relieved to see that this is not confined merely to China specialists, but game industry watcher types as well — the most recent 'China Angle' column at Gamasutra looks at games outside of the publicized hotspots, where large portions of the user bases are found. Giant Interactive, developer of Zhengtu Online, recently purchased a stake in one of China's largest social networking sites, in an attempt to grow their market. But that's not the only way companies are trying to acquire ever greater number of players, oh no:

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Dragon Age: Origins gave Gametrailers TV (on Spike) its exclusive trailer in the latest edition of the show last night. Impressively rendered, sure, but it also looks like an outtake from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Zero gameplay is shown, so this is a teaser only. But this title has been under development for years and described by BioWare's Ray Muzyka as the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, and it will have a very big presence at E3 this week. McWhertor has an appointment to play it and will tell us if the gameplay is more inspired than the implied story.

Dragon Age: Origins -- Exclusive E3 Debut Trailer [Gametrailers]

I mentioned the Games, Learning & Society Conference in Madison, Wisconsin back when a call for papers was put out. Michael Abbott of the Brainy Gamer has some interesting notes on the conference, which was held this past Thursday and Friday. The wrap up of the keynote speech, delivered by James Gee of Arizona State University, is an interesting meditation on the role of games (and not just 'edutainment') in education:

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Reuters are reporting that a deal between Electronic Arts and MTV will make the Madden 09 soundtrack available in the weekly downloadable content update for Rock Band.

The nugget of info was couched in a broader report about the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the seminal sports simulation. Huge hat tip to reader Max for spotting and pointing it out to us.

Quoth Reuters:

Under the deal, "Rock Band" will feature music from the "Madden 09" soundtrack in its weekly downloadable songs update, a handful at a time, over several weeks, with each song carrying the "Madden" brand. Additionally, each soundtrack song will be available for sale via iTunes as part of a special "Madden" playlist.

Max provided a handy-dandy track list reminder (below), noting that two songs already are available as Rock Band DLC: "Inside the Fire" by Disturbed, and "Hammerhead" by The Offspring. The soundtrack:

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Korean games (non-Japanese games in general, actually) tend to get a lot of flack — 'They're all the same!' 'They're so badly made!' 'Just look at them!' — but Brandon Sheffield cautions that we ought to be keeping a closer on eye on the Korean market. With different development strategies, different working environments, and different players, there is stuff to be learned from Korean companies taking steps to expand westward:

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That guy is Seth Krauss, the less-public and certainly-not-recommended-for-disbarment other half of litigation involving Grand Theft Auto and Take Two. He's the general counsel for Take Two, and Gamepolitics ran across a profile of him in The National Law Journal. While it's not stocked with amazing conference room screengrabs or a discussion of next-gen subpoena-quashing physics, it does reveal some interesting tidbits about Take Two's legal muscle.

Whatever you think of the law or those who practice it, this guy's out there lawyerin' and lobbyin' for your rights to play -- well, Take Two games, at least.

According to the profile, Krauss came on board when Strauss Zelnick took control in 2002. Other fun facts:

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OK, so my big question after watching this -- Flash pummeling Scorpion as they both plummet into hell, is that a fatality/quicktime event, or something I can get in on? Because of all the fighting, that looked the best. Also how exactly do I get Catwoman to do that thing where she wraps her legs around me, but then stops without tearing my face off?

If you're only watching to see what new DCU characters are in this, I'll save you the trouble: nobody you haven't seen yet. Supes, Bats, Flash and Catwoman vs. MK's all-stars. But it's a fine edit and some nice eye candy to start the weekend.

Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe E3 2008 Trailer [Gametrailers]

Word started passing yesterday that Flagship Studios went caput, and now multiple sites are reporting word that the Hellgate developer is indeed no more.

We got an anonymous tipster who said Flagship shut down abruptly yesterday, and that developers for both Hellgate (San Francisco) and Mythos (Seattle) have all been pink-slipped. "But there's also hope that they will all have their jobs back at the end of next week at a brand new company", our tipster says.

But wait, there's more. Flagship's Korean partners/owners, Hanbitsoft, were said to be taking over. That sparked a foofaraw regarding who owns the Hellgate intellectual property.

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Epic week for the KO-riginals, friends. And this is just the runup to E3. Only next week could make this week's avalanche of fresh reported copy pale in comparison. Lots of pre-E3 leaks and reportage dominated Originals, not to mention Leigh digging into the bitchslap handed Jack Thompson to tell us he faces a fat fine, and Bash's hee-larious translation smash of the faek Wii HD. It was a lively half fortnight of reporting in Kotakopolis, refresh yourself with these highlights (and more after the jump.)

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