Snagged on the showroom floor of last week's Comic-Con. It's...certainly looking a lot like Battlefront, which is mostly a good thing. Battlefront with arrows. A lot of arrows. And while everything looks quite lovely, we're still a tad unsure over the choice of levels: in RotK, that battle had thousands of bad guys. This level has a few dozen. Which makes it look like you're on mop-up duty, instead of war-winning duty.

According to Forbes, Electronic Arts is expect to report losses of $US 111 million (33 cents per share) for the quarter ending June 30th. It's apparently not the company's performance, but investor expectations as this is the first quarter EA hasn't provided "financial guidance". Speculation swirls that launching new IPS like Spore, Dead Space and Mirror's Edge and concern whether EA can actually get them out the door on time. Because of this, Forbes states, analysts earning estimates are all over the place — from 10 cents per share to a loss of 46 cents per share. The second quarter results will be posted this Tuesday.

EA Faces A Bumpy Ride [Forbes.com]

Bionic Commando: Rearmed has been pushed back. It was supposed to be out at the end of this month, but Capcom says it won't be. This delay has made some people sad — others disappointed. But relax! The Japanese Xbox page pencils the game in for August 13th. No idea if it's just a placeholder. But it's a date, and it's on Microsoft's Japanese site. Make of it what you will.

Hit the jump for a pic.

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Oh, he's playing Max Payne in the upcoming movie, but he won't be playing Max Payne in either of the games. Not even for research. Why? Because the dude has an addictive personality, apparently:

I got more responsibility now than I've ever had with the kids and everything else. I don't want to be spending 14 hours on the videogame and then eight hours on the set. It's not going to work out.

Before you get all huffy, I don't think you need to have played Max Payne to know how to prattle on in a low voice and dive sideways in slow motion. Mark Wahlberg can do that just fine already.

Mark Wahlberg: Why I'm Ready for Marriage [People]

We like Uncharted. As website Action Button points out, it's the best game ever made about a dude in a T-shirt and jeans. The cutscenes were pretty good, too with sharp dialogue and everything. David Cage from French studio Quantic Dream explains how PS3 Heavy Rain is different from PS3 exclusive Uncharted:

Honestly, I loved the game. I thought Uncharted was very interesting. There was some very, very interesting aspects to it. The big difference between Uncharted and what we're doing here is that Uncharted was still structured like a video game. It gives you a bit of story, then action, then a bit of story, then action — like porn movies, when you think about it.

More adult film musing after the jump.

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You familiar with Blackwater Worldwide? They'll call themselves all kind of fancy names, but really, they're a mercenary group. Being an American mercenary group, a lot of their manpower comes straight from the US Army, making that the perfect place to recruit from. And what's a good way to recruit? By spreading good will. Which is spread quite easily when you plan stuff like this:

Blackwater recruiter James Overton is working on packing a Microsoft Xbox video-game console, modem, TV projector and "Guitar Hero" video game into a kit that can be kicked out of a Blackwater cargo plane and dropped to troops in Afghanistan.

Ah, 21st century warfare.

Controversial Blackwater Worldwide Using Guitar Hero, Xbox 360 in Recruiting Efforts [GamePolitics]

That job listing was correct. City of Heroes developer Cryptic Studios is working on a Star Trek MMO, and its got the screenshots to prove it. Dubbed Star Trek Online, the game will be based on the Star Trek franchise. Says Cryptic chief creative officer Jack Emmert:

Star Trek was never about a single character, ship or even planet; Star Trek was always about an entire universe. And MMORPGs are uniquely suited to create such a thing and allow players to explore every inch.

First gameplay footage as well as more details about the game will be unveiled at the annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas on Sunday, August 10th. Those unable to attend can check out the live webcast at the game's homepage.

To whip up a little fervour amongst the faithful with regards to the upcoming comic adaptation of Mirror's Edge, free preview issues were handed out during Comic-Con. They were only seven pages long, but they still give us an idea of what to expect. And what can we expect? A visual style that matches the game fairly well and a sparsity of dialogue. Which could be a blessing or a curse.Guess we'll find out soon enough! More pics below.

Here's the Comic Con exclusive Mirror's Edge mini comic [Siliconera]

Over at website Wii Fanboy, they've done a nice job of comparing how Dead Rising will look on the Wii versus the Xbox 360 original. While obviously it doesn't pack the horsepower that the Xbox 360 version does (well, duh), Capcom appears to have done a nice job as making the Wii experience look as close as possible to the Xbox 360. Big props for that.

Dead Rising: Compare 'til you drop [Wii Fanboy]

Remember Slide Adventure: Mag Kid? DS game, had a unique slide controller, will never be released outside of Japan. Anyways, coming bundled with a sliding controller, and being a game for a Nintendo console, there are things you can do with the unit, and things you can't do with it. What can you do? Well, uh, you can play with it on a card table! What can't you do? Loads of things. You'll want to be especially careful when using it in your Victorian manor home.

Metal Gear Solid 4 hasn't even been out a month and a half, but according to Japanese sites, it's hitting the Sofmap "wagon sale" bargain bins where it joins the likes of Virtua Fighter 5 and SEGA's PSP brain trainer. The Konami stealth game was originally released for ¥8,800 ($US 82), making it one of the pricier PS3 titles. (Expensive third party PS3 titles tend to book for around ¥7,800 or $US 72.) Here, what seem to be new copies of MGS4 are going for ¥3,980 ($US 37). We're not sure if this is an isolated Sofmap store or if other shops in the Sofmap chain are picking up on this price slashing or if this is just a Sofmap summer sale thingy. Amazon Japan has new copies going for slightly above ¥7,000, while the Special Edition is going for ¥5,980. Who knows.

What we do know is that the game sold a ton when released, already placing it in the top sellers of 2008. And it got great reviews in Japan. And it is a great game. So don't think of this as a bad thing! Even if Konami is losing money on these remaining copies, Japanese gamers have less of an excuse to pick up the title. Could help the game sell a million copies eventually. So this is all good, really.

Hit the jump for a wider pic.

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More Capcom sequel hostage-taking. Last time it was Phoenix Wright fans in Capcom's blackmailing sights, this time, it's Okami fans. Responding to questions bugging them over a new brush-shaded adventure on Capcom's boards, Christian "Sven" Svensson said "I think we need a lot more people buying the current version before we seriously consider a sequel". A harsh statement on the game's combined sales figures, perhaps, but also probably an accurate one. Still, we can dream, no?

The Question That Was Inevitably Coming [Capcom, via GoNintendo]

Back in 2006, Ubisoft was one of the first companies to release a Wii-mote title with Red Steel. Now the company is saying that it will take advantage of the upcoming Wii Motion Plus. Explains Ubisoft's Alain Corre:

Red Steel 2 has been in development for many months now, and this new device will help us be even more precise in what we do with the product. The Red Steel brand is strong — I think we released it on year one, and that people understood that it was a first try on new technology, technology that wasn't completely finished.

And our game tried to grab the best out of it, and was a bit rushed to be sure to offer something in year one to Wii consumers. But Red Steel is still selling well — at a lower price of course, but still it's in the top 30 or 40 in every country on Wii.

So Red Steel is a brand, and as with every brand we have, we now have to reach the top quality possible. What was missing was the preciseness of the sabre — and with this new device I think it will change the experience.

By "change the experience", Corre must mean "make Red Steel not sucky".

Alain Corre - Part One [Games Industry]

We're bored with our Wiis. They sit there, don't get played, just flash blue at us every now and again. Know what would get us very interested in Wiis again? Wiis that come in different colours. Colours to match our moods, our decor, our favourite summertime hats. It's a shame, then, that Nintendo still aren't thinking about making good on their 2006 tease, with Cammie Dunaway telling IGN "when you've got something that's still selling out about as fast as we can put it into the market, we're not thinking about further colours at this point". All well and good, Nintendo, but you won't be selling any more around here, until we see a Wii in lime green.

Interview: Cammie Dunaway [IGN]

Here's your chance to own a piece of internet "celebrity"! eBay seller ii22ac is auctioning off a Wii Fit signed by The Wii Fit Girl. You remember her? That marketing lady who did Wii Fit in her underoos for her marketing guy boyfriend, but then claimed it wasn't a viral ad for Nintendo — the company has denied any connection at all. The eBay seller writes:

Here is a rare, limited, unopened Nintendo Wii Fit signed by the viral video celebrity 'Wii Fit Girl'.At a recent visit to EB Games here in Miami, I unexpectedly recognised and approached her and asked if she would kindly sign my Wii Fit. She was extremely friendly and had no problem signing it.

Wow. That's great. This online retailer just happened to recognise The Wii Fit Girl who just happened to be a his local Miami EB Games. That's amazing, because we're pretty sure the last thing The Wii Fit Girl is recognised for is her pearly smile.

Hit the jump to re-see (but not unsee) what made this marketing lady famous.

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Games classification in Australia is in a bad place at the moment. It'd be in a better position if someone gave Michael Atkinson a reality check, but failing that, having even one informed politician throwing their weight around would ease our pain. Well, if you live in the ACT, Greg Tannahill could provide you with that opportunity. Tannahill is the Democrats' electoral candidate for the seat of Molonglo in the ACT. It's not exactly the seat of Croydon, but it's better than nothing.

From the release:

"There's good reason for people to be angry about the way games are treated by our parliaments, our media, and our classification board. I think gamers want to see leaders who have real respect for what they are passionate about, both as a pastime engaged in by millions of Australians from all walks of life, and as a multi-billion dollar industry which our governments should be attracting and nurturing".

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EA's release of the Spore Creature Creator was an odd one; the publisher made the program available to most of the world... except Australia. When asked why this was the case, we were told to brace ourselves for an exciting announcement. It was eventually discovered that Australians could indeed buy the program, as long as they were willing to go to the NZ EA Store.

Now, I hope this isn't the exciting announcement EA was talking about, but it appears readers of the Saturday Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun will be able to get their hands on the full version of the Spore Creature Creator on August 2. It will be free with the former, while the latter will "give it way" for $2 and a coupon.

That's all we know for now. You can check out the offers yourself using the links below (thanks Parabol).

Get your free video game [The Daily Telegraph]
Spore [Herald Sun]

Metal Gear Online sure hasn't gone as smoothly as Konami (or anyone else for that matter) had hoped. And it's even worse if you live in one of the countries on Konami's list. Kotaku reader Nasser explains:

I am a Metal Gear solid diehard fan & was so happy to play MGO... I'd tried to purchase the gene expansion of Metal Gear Online but first...the server was 'down' (as usual)...then when they 'fixed' it...u can only purchase the expansion from only selected countries...I live in the Middle-east, & they don't except any online credit purchase in their site from my country...

I tried to create an American Konami ID use so I can purchase the expansion...and...doesn't work... I tried to contact Konami for help.. But I couldn't find any. I mean... why can't they just put it on the PSN... it's much easier & we will not face any server issues like we usually see in on MGO servers

After Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Online disaster on the PS3... And these MGO problems... I began to believe that Konami sucks when it comes to online play.
So guys... if there any way to purchase the gene expansion... any trick any thing... please... tell me...I am so desperate

Apparently, there are thirty countries that Konami will not accept credit card purchases from. Hit the jump for those:

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Steam currently has 2K Games' BioShock going at a discounted price - about half its original. In the US, this puts it at a tidy $US 14.99. In Australia, however, it's $US 24.99. After you've suppressed a groan, consider the fact it's not such a bad price for BioShock and, if you haven't picked it up yet, now would be a good time.

BioShock™ on Steam [Steam]

It looks like most, if not all, traces of the game have been removed from the retailer's website. Typing "fallout 3" into the provided search box returns no results, and trawling through its online catalogue turns up nada also. Direct links to the product go straight to the home page, though the banner advertising the limited edition exclusive can still be found.

It's not entirely unexpected, considering Fallout 3 was refused classification earlier this month because of its portrayal of real-world drugs. My guess is EB doesn't want to take any more orders until it's sure the game will actually be sold here.

Bethesda and Red Ant continue to remain silent on the issue, as well as their next course of action, but I'm confident they'll find a way to get the game into the country, be it by appeal, editing or that intercontinental cannon from Secret of Mana.

FYI, GAME still has the title and the preorder bundle up on its site.

Rumour: Warhammer Online Gets a Release Date?
Great, but we all know how EA is with release dates... *cough*Rock Band*cough*.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Hands-On
It's ghost-busting fun! Well, that's my impression.

GTA IV for PC Briefly -- Briefly -- Listed on ESRB
Oh, come on now Rockstar... just put out a press release already.

Looking at SCIV Customisation and Gameplay
If you're done staring at chicks in underwear, you might want to check this out.

Resident Evil: Degeneration Comic-Con Trailer
An animated Resident Evil flick? Sign me up!

Kotaku Originals
Last week was busy as hell... make sure you didn't miss anything.

The always droll Games Radar has come up with a list of the "mediocre" women of gaming -- if by mediocre, you mean "somewhat sensibly proportioned and no gratuitous jiggle". In other words, "girlfriend material", a "compliment" that has gotten millions of insensitive, fumble-tongued 20-something males backhanded by their angry SOs.

So, sorry, no bursting-at-the-cups Ivy from SCIV in this one, just good ol' 2D renders, and maybe some cabinet art. The list features Marian from Double Dragon (seriously, they punched her in the stomach at the beginning of Double Dragon. And no one batted an eye!) Carmen Sandiego and Meryl Silverburgh from MGS. But leading off is Pauline from Donkey Kong, who's dressed like she belongs in a polygamist cult. Pauline was sort of the George Lazenby of the Mario franchise. Made one big appearance and that was it, although she did get some TV work out of it. I hope Pauline's still cashing royalty checks, spending them on cheap whiskey and ranting about Princess Peach.

Mediocre Game Babes [Games Radar]

During my practically nonexistent downtime, I wandered down to check out the offerings at the E3 installation of Indiecade 2008. Indiecade is, as the name implies, a celebration of a variety of indie games ranging from 'art games' to more mainstream-type titles. We've covered at least two of the games here on Kotaku — Jason Rohrer's Gravitation and The Odd Gentlemen's The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (begun as an MFA thesis at the University of Southern California). I had a chance to check out some of the games, talk to the people behind Indiecade, and watch the goings on — which included a surprising amount of hubbub and talent scouts from several companies lurking around. And there was more than just games: art prints were featured from various games (I even spied a screen from Blueberry Garden), plus videos of ARGs and installation games. My impressions and some pictures after the jump.

The playable games at this year's exhibition spanned an incredibly wide range:

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OK, this is hard to run down exactly, because there's a Live Weekend going on right now, which means you can play online for free on Xbox Live. But reader Draco, a Silver level gamer, says that he's been playing cross-platform multiplayer games for free since Wednesday night, which precedes the Live Weekend (which started at midnight Friday.) I checked his Gamercard and, yeah, he played Shadowrun online on Thursday.

It seems that ending the gold/silver distinction in Games for Windows Live (effectively making it free) might have had the same effect for those who game on titles that are both PC and 360. A commenter on Xbox Live forums found that Shadowrun online play was free, for example. Reader Draco, who spotted this, says it works for Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition and Universe at War: Earth Assault, too.

We'll have to check back after the weekend ends. But bigger picture, could this -- don't get your hopes up, but it's gotta be on everyone's mind -- mean that Xbox Live may eventually convert to a free model for all multiplayer gaming too?

Live Silver for Xbox Allowing Online Play? [Xbox Forums, thanks reader Draco]

I really like the idea of turning classic literature into games, mostly in the form of parodies (but moderately thoughtful ruminations are welcome, too). Over at GameSetWatch, Emily Short looks at the literature/game combination in the one genre that churns out book-related games at an alarming pace: the dreaded hidden object game. She concedes that it sometimes works really well (as in the case of Agatha Christie novels, or Sherlock Holmes), but the disconnect between the narrative and gameplay in examples such as The Count of Monte Cristo is frustrating (she does offer the caveat that she's not a fan of the genre in general, but her criticisms still stand):

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You get a glimpse of the non-Hitleriffic Master-D around 1:30 or so of this Japanese trailer to Bionic Commando: Rearmed which, helpfully, also provides us with dubbed sing-along lyrics. No toothbrush mustache, but Master-D looks like Grand Moff Tarkin wearing a breather or a surgical mask, so there's still some traces of insane murderous despot in him. And I'm not sure what they're singing, other than Go! Go! Go! and Yeah!. But I feel strangely compelled to buy a neek.

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Are the ridiculous, wild goose chase puzzles of classic adventure games obsolete? Michael Abbott at the Brainy Gamer grudgingly says they may be — "A revealing slap in the face awaits the - shall we say "veteran" - gamer who hands an old adventure game to a young gamer with a hearty recommendation and an assurance of blissful gaming in store". The response is likely to be 'Is this supposed to be fun?' Now, I know plenty of people who still remember fondly games like Monkey Island and other classic adventure games, including their oftentimes bizarre and lengthy puzzles, but:

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Comic-Con 08 definitely wasn't lacking in cosplaying Jokers — all of the Heath Ledger variety, naturally — or cosplaying Marios. But a Bee Suit Mario spotting was truly a rare thing. This one, seen buzzing about Microsoft's Too Human dedicated booth, wouldn't let us take a picture until he'd asked us some questions.

"Do you know who I am?" Bee Suit Mario. "Do you know what game I'm from?" Super Mario Galaxy. Duh.

Obviously someone's never matched wits with a video game journalist before!

So on the bio on the new TF2 baseball card for Pyro (updated Thursday on the Team Fortress blog) there are five masculine pronouns and one reference to Pyro being a dude. And then the kicker, "if he even is a man". And now let the bitching and bickering begin again. Valve knows what it's doing here, and isn't going to stop. Well played, Valve. (Full size on the jump.)

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Bored this summer? GamesRadar has an appallingly expansive (10 pages!) listing of a wide, wide variety of games available for free, with just about every genre under the sun represented (including the classic 'Victorian slap-fighting game'). Many have videos and most have screenshots, so you can just scroll down and see what catches your eye. Organised into thematic groupings ('King of Pain,' 'Polychromatic,' 'Suburban Drama'), there's plenty of options to please any palette and more than enough games to keep just about anyone busy for a long, long time.

365 days of free games [GamesRadar via IndieGames]

Sideshow Toys always brings some serious sculpts to Comic-Con, catering to fans of horror, sci-fi and, of course, video games. The Pop Culture Shock label has a few Capcom licenced products for the second half of the year and beyond, including an excellent Morrigan and Cammy, each in two styles, plus a very sweet looking Vega.

Heads up, though. Unless you're willing to part with about $US 300 American for one of these mixed media ladies, you may not want to even look.

Electronic Arts' own Web site sure says so. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition will drop Sept. 23, even though there's been no official word yet. Quick, run look at it before they change their minds. Massively has reported that several retail sites have updated with the Sept. 23 date, too, so there ya go.

Rumour: Warhammer Online Set to Release Sept. 23 [Massively, via Joystiq. Pic from Joystiq.]

Ian Bogost has an interesting editorial over at Edge Online entitled 'The End of Gamers,' a title which he admits doesn't really capture the main argument: "["The End of Gamers"] is lurid but might not capture the main argument of the piece, which is more like "Things People Do with Games". Much of his point is that other media has a wide variety of applications, and isn't shoehorned into a few limited types of uses ('entertainment' vs. 'serious' and so on). Bogost isn't arguing for 'games as art' or 'games as useful' or anything else, just pointing out that some perceptions about the industry start to break down when one considers the wide range of applications current games can have:

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Arstechnica reports that the so-called "Lullaby Trailer" above, is verboten for US release per the ESRB. Said Electronic Arts to Arstechnica: "This is called the Lullaby Trailer, and is banned here in the US (well not banned, but wasn't approved) by the ESRB because well, it's pretty gory. EU was allowed to have it and Gametrailers posted it up."

I know I've been really sweet on Dead Space lately, but vids like this earn it. So what's the verdict here gang? There's a decapitation, and a de-legging, and a buncha bodies, and floating blood and gore, and a zombiefied Isaac. The worst part of this, for me, is the pained singing of the lullaby. Please, pairing bloody violence with a child's song? So overdone.

Granted, this is intense (for a trailer anyway) and I can't imagine it being shown on television. But why is this trailer a no-go for U.S. release, but OK for Europe?

Two Dead Space Trailers, One the ESRB Doesn't Want You to See
[Arstechnica]