So says Ghostbusters: The Video Game developer Terminal Reality. After enduring a long and painful process to get this game published, I suppose they’ve earned the right to some hyperbole – and it’s not really hyperbole if the game turns out to be as awesome as Tom Hanks, right?

I started my first ever hands-on with the PS3 version of Ghostbusters at about halfway through the Library level. I’d already seen previews and clips of the areas before this point; where our heroes are heading into the library to chase down the Gray Lady from the movies. The “levels” in Ghostbusters are extremely long – more like areas with many levels within them. The Library has about eight “levels” total and takes anywhere from one to two hours to complete (depending on your gameplay style – run and gun versus stop and smell the roses).

So, I’d say I was about an hour/hour and a half into the game – long after the everyman “Rookie” character has been introduced and at some point after Winston had separated from Egon, Raymond and the Rookie to do some research on the Gray Lady. The journo before me had inverted the PS3 controls, so when I tried to get the hang of moving, I walked into a trap, pointed my gun at a wall and immediately blew myself up with one of the fire-spraying weapons that had been debugged for my use.

When you go down in Ghostbusters, one of your teammates can revive you if they’re still on their feet and nearby. But if all three or four of you go down, it’s game over and you load back at the last checkpoint. The checkpoints are pretty generous throughout the Library level – and I’m glad because if the levels are all two hours long, I’m going to need points during each where I can quit out so I can keep feeding my normal life.

The running dialog (written largely by Dan Aykroyd) between Egon and Raymond (and sometimes Winston from what I saw in the Library level) keeps you up to date on what you’re supposed to be doing, where you’re supposed to be going and what’s going on in the story. This makes for a seamless gameplay experience as well as a hilarious movie/game. When asked to describe Ghostbusters in terms of genre, the Terminal Reality guys said: “Third person action comedy.”

Both Egon and Raymond bit it following my ill-fated button press. We immediately spawned back at the checkpoint just before the trap and I had time to change the control scheme to something less bitched. The lack of a HUD in-game was a little hard to get used to, but once I learned which guns made the proton pack change which colors, it was surprisingly easy to switch between rays during boss fights where you need to use combination stun-and-wrangle tactics.

The ghost-capturing was tricky to master at first. You’ve got to target the ghost, start shooting your proton ray at it and once it’s in your grips, mash a button or trigger (depending on whether it’s the PS3 or 360) to send a blast its way and stun it. Then you can drag the ghost over to the trap on the floor and move on to the next book-flinging thing from another dimension. This requires both excellent timing and knowing which buttons to press exactly when; Terminal Reality says the controls aren’t a hundred percent hammered out yet – but hopefully the number of buttons or triggers you need to press to capture a ghost will stay below three.

After picking up our ghost-filled trap, we headed down deeper into the library. Little blips of static would cue me into turning on my ghost-vision tool (I know it has a real name in the movies – forgive me for being too young to remember what it is). This tool lets you see all kinds of stuff the naked eye would miss; children’s handprints on a wall, hidden doorways and clues, and – of course – ghosts.

The Gray Lady led us deeper and deeper into the library where a Necronomicon-looking book appears to have killed/possessed the old woman at some point in the past (y’know, before she became a ghost). Once discovering this, the Gray Lady morphed from harmless-looking librarian into screaming banshee of death. Like all bosses or mini-bosses in Ghostbusters: The Video Game, there’s a dominant strategy to beating a foe and hers involved smashing book stands from which she generated her shield.

I died before I managed to figure this out; but mercifully, the game lets you skip the static cut scenes. So instead of watching Egon argue with Raymond about not touching the book, I got to listen to them do it in real time while I positioned myself in the best part of the room for book-stand blasting.

Once her shield was down, it was fairly simple to finish off the Gray Lady. This concluded the Library level and following a series of events, we wound up in the next level – which I’m supposed to talk about. Sufficed to say, there’s a perfectly reasonable scientific explanation for why the sky can be both pink and doom at the same time and Peter will explain it to you while the level loads.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game is designed to be easy to learn (straightforward, at least), difficult to master (thanks to weapon upgrades and dominant strategies), and always – always – fun to play because it’s Ghostbusters. Really, Acti-Blizzard doesn’t know what they’re missing.

The game is out this June. There will be about 50 Trophies/Achievements, spread out between multi- and single-player; and you can count on a demo – although nobody seems quite sure when. Expect it to sync up with the 25th anniversary Blu-Ray release of Ghostbusters.

Of course it wasn't long before we heard from Zune owners, hoping to get their portable Kotaku on the Microsoft media player.

Today we've invaded the Zune Marketplace as well. So now if you must, must listen to Fahey as he talks about the economy while getting whaled on by a Left 4 Dead tank, now you can with your iWhatever, Zune or other media devices. Appropriate links to follow.

We'll be putting up all of our new content on Zune and iTunes and are continuing to dig through Kotaku's golden oldies in an attempt to convert and upload some of them as well. And while you're at it, drop a review on our podcasts on iTunes. We're ranked in the top ten right now, but we have a paltry nine reviews.

Zune Marketplace.
iTunes
Direct Mp4 Downloads

Don Mattrick, senior VP of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, said that his company anticipated Black Friday sales with "cautious optimism," according to a statement, but has seemingly thrown caution to the wind with a bold press release. Mattrick says sales have "laid the groundwork for continued global sales momentum in 2009." Oh no, they're takin' all the momentum!

Microsoft also boasts European Xbox 360 sales are "up as much as 400 percent" since its September price drop. Man, they're taking Europe too? Greedy.

Xbox 360 Registers Biggest Black Friday in Its History

Xbox 360 consoles and games sell at record levels; outsells PlayStation 3 by three-to-one ratio.

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-K/ — Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system kicked off the holidays with record- breaking console sales on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year in the U.S. Retailers reported Xbox 360 console sales over the Black Friday weekend were on pace to beat previous years, outselling the PlayStation 3 by a three-to-one ratio and estimating a 25 percent increase from Xbox 360 Black Friday sales figures from 2007.

Strong game sales rounded out a historic Black Friday for Xbox 360, with record-paced software sales continuing for key Microsoft titles, such as "Gears of War 2," "Fable II," and "Lips." Xbox 360 continues to have the highest game attach rate of any console at 8.1 games per console.

"We entered into the Black Friday sales period with cautious optimism, knowing that dollar for dollar, Xbox 360 offers more social entertainment value than any other console on the market," said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. "Record Black Friday sales in the U.S., coupled with our existing global install base of 25 million and an online community of more than 14 million Xbox LIVE members, have laid the groundwork for continued global sales momentum in 2009."

Xbox 360 sales have also surged worldwide since the September price drop, outselling the PlayStation 3 week over week across Europe. Console sales in Europe are up as much as 400 percent, with sales nearly double year over year and reaching 7 million consoles sold this generation.

With a mass-market price point starting at $199.99 worldwide (estimated retail price) for Xbox 360 Arcade, a games lineup of more broad-appeal social titles than any other platform, and the recently launched New Xbox Experience, Xbox 360 is leading the industry and inviting everyone to play.

About Xbox 360

Xbox 360 is a premier video game and entertainment system. It is home to the best and broadest games plus more entertainment than any other device connected to the TV. The digital center of the living room, Xbox 360 blends unbeatable content, including personal pictures and music, with a unified online social network to create a limitless entertainment experience that can be shared at home or across the globe. More information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/xbox360.

About Xbox LIVE

Xbox LIVE connects more than 14 million members across 26 countries to each other and the entertainment they love. Home of more entertainment from one remote than can be found from any device connected to the television, Xbox LIVE is also a unified online social network bringing friends together, no matter where they are — in the living room or across the world. More information and Xbox LIVE membership can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Requires Xbox LIVE Gold Membership and a Netflix unlimited subscription plan. More details about the Netflix service are available in the Netflix Terms of Use.

Gone are the sunny environs of Uncharted. Uncharted 2, from what we can guess after watching this exceptionally short teaser, will feature more snow than sun and sand. Is that some sort of Aztec sacrificial knife? We're told we will be seeing more of the game during the airing of the upcoming SpikeTV Video Game Awards.

A few enterprising gun enthusiasts have gone the extra mile for their bayonets, strapping on 14 inches of chainsaw for proper eviscerating. They call it the "Firearm Mounted Anti Zombie Device" but we know it better as the standard issue Lancer from Epic Games' third-person shooter.

Yes, it works, as proven by the video of the thing in pumpkin-slaying action.

Here is just one of a half-dozen videos of these things laying waste to squashes and tree limbs. We'd definitely recommend not trying any of this at home, especially if you don't have the health regenerative powers or biceps the thickness of Marcus Fenix's.

More videos and pics of folks in "Get 'R' Done" hats at the AR15 forums.

Firearm Mounted Anti Zombie Device WITH VID!! [AR15.com Forums via Gizmodo]

You’re in the Movies uses the Xbox Live camera to capture all of what you do and splice it with pre-rendered videos in its extensive library of genre-based clips to create your very own, very wacky, home movie. At the more “hardcore” level, the game works like video editing software, letting you record music and dub tracks and edit together clips to create incredibly long – and incredibly wacky – movies of you running, arm-waving and generally embarrassing yourself in the name of fun.

Despite my viral handicap, I made the most of what developer Zoe Mode had to offer, choosing the Ninja School clip from the massive movie clip library. The clips ranged in genre from Western to film noir. Then I followed orders barked at my by both the game’s simulated director and the PR reps who kept shoving hot tea down my throat to keep me going.

You’re in the Movies doesn’t seem as straightforward to me as “Lights, camera, action.” That’s probably because most of what you’re doing to create the action is motion-based mini-games. So instead of slicing and dicing ninjas, like I thought I’d be doing, I got to throw a paper airplane, run in place, and pull up a bucket full of treasure on the end of a rope. My “co-stars” were doing the same things too, and each mini-game doled out a score towards an overall total. This competition would have been more interesting if all the bugs had been worked out such that we didn’t keep getting the same score.

Besides the mini-games that seem more appropriate to the Wii than the Xbox 360, there were also “acting exercises” where the little in-game director demands that the player get pretty close to the camera (close enough to clearly make out your face) and act out emotions or mime coughing, etc. My favorite was the one where they had us strike a kung-fu pose – it reminded me that soon there’d be ninjas and then I could stop flailing around like a moron with a sore throat.

I lost track of time during the motion-capture phase – I want to say this was because I was having so much fun, but realistically it’s because the cold medicine wore off and time became an endless haze of sick. But at some point after about ten acting exercises and mini-games, I was allowed to sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I was a little disappointed to find that you couldn’t take your homemade movies horrors with you everywhere and that you don’t have complete control during the editing process. For example, you can compile your clips and email them to yourself from your Xbox Live account so that you’ll have it on your computer.

But why would you want to do that? You can’t even edit it on any conventional software, and I’m not really sure you can post it to YouTube (and even if you did, what’s the point when you could post it Xbox Live?). The editing software will let you use different clips from different hard drives (so your friend could record a scene and bring it to you on a memory card), but but unless you’re all in the same room at the same time, you and your friend can’t be in the same scene.

The thing to remember is that You’re in the Movies is the kind of game you’d bring to a dinner party with your extended family – particularly if they don’t know jack about games. You can lie to them and say You’re in the Movies isn’t a video game, it’s a home movie maker – or you can stress that it’s a casual game meant for everybody. When you get to the editing part, it may be a little too complex to stick with the casual game argument – but watching Granny flinging shuriken at your little step-cousin in the final cut will definitely get a laugh from the whole family.

You’re in the Movies came out November 18 – right in the middle of my death cold – and it looks like it comes with the Xbox Live Camera.

More than 900 people entered and almost all of them had the right answers, but only one of them was able to win our imported DSi.

Who was the lucky reader? Hit the jump to find out:

Congratulations, and probably more than a few dark thoughts from readers, go out to Reginald Mark Emil Wood. Just think, one last name in there and he could have been a serial killer!

I've emailed Reginald to let him know he won. If I don't receive a reply to that email from him in the next week I'll randomly draw another reader. (I use Random.Org for that by the way.)

So what should we do for December do you think? It is the season of giving and all of that. I'm going to have to sit back and think of something special this time around.

One featuring my hackneyed attempts at simultaneously cooking and talking... about DS title Personal Trainer Cooking. The other featuring Fahey, McWhertor, Adam and I running through Death Toll in Left 4 Dead and talking about stuff, like the economy, the future of the Wii's Balance Board, our favorite holiday games.

Poor Adam, who was our in-game video man for Left 4 Dead, got an awful lot of heat for sucking at the game. Actually we all did. In Adam's defense, he had never played the zombie shooter on the 360, and was trying to simultaneously handle the "camera" and make sure he was capturing the audio and video correctly. So he's not THAT bad. Sure he let a hunter pummel me into the ground. Sure, he was shooting up at the sky, sure he TOTALLY didn't have my back when I was manning the machine gun.... OK, so maybe he does suck.

I kid because I care.

If you missed out on the videos (and finger-pointing) hit up the posts and check them out. We plan to keep up the in-game video podcasts, switching up the platforms and games we do them in. Heck, we might even open it up to guests on occasion, maybe even YOU! Then we can mock you for sucking while you try to play a game and have an intell... a conversation.

Kotaku Video Podcast (Now With Zombies)
Intestines-On Personal Trainer Cooking (Or Why You Don't Eat Bay Leaves)

You have untiol midnight tonight, when the clock strikes Saturday, to go through my scavenger hunt to gather up all of the clues and email them to kotakucontestATgmailDotcom with DSi in the subject line. Remember you can only enter once. We'll announce the winner Monday morning. I'm so excited!!!

Start your quest here.

Sure, we've seen the steady trickle of new screenshots, new trailers, playable convention demos and downloadable demos over the previous months — or often, much longer — but that's only half the story.

It's not only a waiting game for us, it's also a waiting game for the folks who toil away on a title. They've got so much more invested. While the consumer's aim is to buy a solid game, the aim of developers is two-fold: produce a solid title and then sell it. After all that time spent working on a game and then releasing it "into the wild" must be a nerve-racking, thrilling and maybe even somewhat bittersweet. It's out of the developer's protective cocoon and must fend for itself.

As we close into another holiday season chock-a-block with eagerly anticipated game releases, we asked some of the industry's most noteworthy game developers what they did during their game launches. More specifically, we wanted to know what game devs the day before their games are released, the day of and the day after — for previous titles, current titles from seasoned vets and, yes, even upcoming titles from devs just cutting their teeth.

We were curious to know if any have superstitions or rituals or whatever. In short, what's on the other side of the fence. The replies, which follow below, don't simply shed light on the industry at large, but also on the individual developers themselves.

Dylan Cuthbert (PixelJunk Racers, PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden)
"The only 'ritual' I have is taking a long deep relaxing bath when I need to solve a game play problem, or when I need some inspiration. I just sit back and stare at the tiled wall (tiles are important for the process), and chase the patterns with my eyes whilst thinking hard about whatever the problem is. Usually I come up with pretty good solutions and ideas that way, things just fall into place.

I'm not superstitious, I'm Aquarius, the star sign of logic. (see what I did there!) :-) "

Todd Howard (Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls franchise)
"I’ve had a 'release day' ritual forever, which is I go to the store and watch someone buy the game. There’s a real sense of pride and closure when you actually see your game on the shelf. Like it’s “out in the wild” and there’s nothing you can do about it anymore. Now that the question’s been asked, I find myself looking back and it’s kind of fun to track how those release days went, from Terminator: Future Shock, where I think I waited several hours until someone bought a copy at EB, to Daggerfall, and Redguard, both of which only had a person or two come in to buy it while I hid in the corner. With Morrowind, there were several people lined up, and probably double that with Oblivion. Oblivion was to the point people would recognize me and ask me to sign stuff, which really makes you feel extra proud.

Fallout 3 was an entirely different experience, since we did a midnight opening at Best Buy here in Rockville and hundreds of people showed up to buy the game, at midnight! I was pretty stunned. The extra highlight with Fallout’s release was that my brother is a writer at Disney/Pixar and he wrote the Tinker Bell movie which came out the same day as Fallout 3, October 28th. A really amazing coincidence that they came out the same day, so I went back to Best Buy again to watch people buy both things — Fallout 3 and Tinker Bell, which sounds odd, and hard to explain, but pretty amazing for me."

Keiichi Yano (Lips, Elite Beat Agents, Gitaroo Man)
"I usually have a tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork cutlet) lunch or dinner. The word ‘katsu’ means to win in Japanese. So sometimes in Japan when you want to gain some extra luck, people will have tonkatsu."

David Jaffe (God of War, Twisted Metal)
"The Day Before: I tend to be lucky enough to find myself in PR whirlwinds the day before our games come out. Lots of on camera, internet, and phone interviews during the 2 weeks before and the 2 weeks after your game hits. So you're really just out there trying to get people aware that your title is about to hit. Late at night I will scour message boards to try and get a sense of general excitement for our game. By the time the game is a day away, you tend to know how the critics are going to respond as you've seen most of the print reviews or had PR tell you the score you will be getting. But the waiting on the net publication reviews is killer and often times they hit the day before the game hits. So you're sitting there refreshing the big and the small gaming sites until your review comes up...and then you kind of try to judge from the headline (before you click on the actual story) if it's a good review or not...and then you just go: screw it and click it and hope for the best. So far, we've been real fortunate with scores. So that's the day before.

The Day Of: Kind of a let down. Unlike movies, there is no big premier and you can't drive around town to see if the theaters are packed with people who love your stuff. You visit some game stores to get a sense if the title is moving. I used to have my ex-wife call EB and ask about games I had worked on (i.e. Did you guys get Twisted Metal: Black in? You did? Is it selling, do you need to hold a copy for me or are there plenty? Is it supposed to be good?)...and then you hit refresh ALL DAY LONG on some of the key message boards like NEOGAF and EVIL AVATAR to see the player reviews come in. It really becomes an obsession that takes about 2-4 days to wear off because it tends to take that long for a real consensus to build over how good/average/bad your game is. I wish there was a big TA-DAH moment for the game day launch. The closest we have is when we are lucky enough for Sony to deem our game worthy of a Metreon launch party in San Fran...then at least there is a sense of a big party.

Day After: More PR and screwing around at the office...long lunches, leaving a bit early. Because you can't really jump right into work mode this soon and need a few weeks (at least) to get back on the horse. We've been lucky enough to be able to take time off after all the games we've made so the day after is prepping for what I'll be doing on those vacation days.

Hope that helps-really not that exciting. Reality is, the MOST exciting parts about making games to me are having the ideas, being there the day the idea actually comes to life and is fun, and watching people- usually in focus groups- play the game and respond to those ideas with big smiles. The rest happens so out of your realm of experience that it's not really happening to you or the team and so everything is second and third hand experiences you hear about from the net, from PR folks, stuff like that. And man, the excitement is even cut down by about 50% when you are talking a digital distributed game where you can't even go to a store to see your baby on the shelf. Cause then it's like you do all this work and there's not even tangible evidence of it! Ah well! Still the best job around! :) "

Masaya Matsuura (PaRappa the Rapper, Vib-Ribbon, UmJammer Lammy)
"Hrm. When the project's done, I don't really do anything special. But, I guess that's not a very interesting answer."

American McGee (American McGee's Grimm, American McGee's Alice)
"Oddly, we don't have any rituals surrounding the release of Grimm episodes — outside of the long checklists that go with ensuring that the thing is ready to be launched. We've sent so many 'Final' builds to GameTap that the thrill of it has kinda gone out.

On the week/day of a release I do make sure to post about the episode on my blog. And then after a release we're all curious to hear what the reviewers have to say.

Doing the episodic thing definitely makes it all feel different. We have a tremendous amount of 'ritual' — process, schedules, priorities, and routines to ensure we're finishing content on time. But for the actual release, day of, and after... we're still too focused on the 'making' to really pay much attention."

Cliff Bleszinski (Gears of War 2, Gears of War)
"Just catching up on sleep after all the PR...

Well, I'll be in LA at Citywalk for the [Gears of War 2] midnight launch event and then in meetings the following day...

Sure, I get nervous. Nothing is ever a slam dunk. Regarding blogs and boards — I read as much of it as I can."

Ben Judd (Bionic Commando: Rearmed, the upcoming Bionic Commando)
"The day before the BC launch:

Is invariably filled with lots of E-mails and phone calls. Checking with each of our sales branches to make sure everything is going according to plan. For the PC version [of the upcoming Bionic Commando], checking torrent sites to see if any pirates (Yee-argh me hardies!) have already done their inevitable damage. Online checking to see how big the buzz is. And of course blogging on our community site to say thanks to the fans for supporting the game. As far as rituals go, I will probably wear my lucky magadama charm and pray that fate is on my side. To be honest, there are some games that don't get the love that they deserve and there are some games that seem to ride the hype wave straight to success even though they are crap. (If I had a dollar for every time I've seen reviewers and gamers fall into a "honeymoon" period where they absolutely think the game is pure gold, only to look back on it a month later and realize it aint all that...)

The day of the BC launch:

Without a doubt I will be online waiting to pwn some newbs! The older I get, the slower I get. And this is probably the one day where I will actually be able to do some serious damage (Van Damage?) thanks to being familiar with the game and the multiplayer maps.

During the night I will no doubt go to my local izakaya (Japanese bars where you go their to eat and drink) to grab some chicken shishkebabs, fries, and all the over-priced Japanese draft beer I can drink. Warm sake is nice in winter too so I'll probably throw that in the mix. I would love to wear the bionic arm to a bar and act like a fool but since it costs as much as a some cars, I think the company would frown on that.

The day after the BC launch:

Since you don't really get the sales data in on the very first day, I won't know whether to celebrate good times (Come on!) or to cry in a corner by myself but the one thing I will know for sure... I need a vacation and dammit, I'm taking one. I need to find a place where I can get into trouble! Any suggestions?"

Media Molecule (LittleBigPlanet)

Paul Holden (Programmer): "Surely the day before the release we're frantically putting patches together to edit out offensive song lyrics?"

Martin Lynagh (Producer): "Sacrificing testers."

Mags Hardwick (Company Accountant): "We ate an awful lot of jelly beans."

Anton Kirczenow (Senior Programmer): "I spent most of the day playing 'the daddy game' with my kids, then going round the shops and them pointing out "the daddy game" is in the shops now so everyone can play it!"

Alex Evans (Technical Director): "I mainly stared at the big led sign on the wall that says how many people were playing online..."

James Fairbairn (Server Programmer): "Day before: Fix servers, champagne; Day of: Fix servers, wrap party; Day after, to date: Fix servers"

Kenny Young (Audio Designer): "Not to forget that on the day of [UK] launch we took Sackboy out to Guildford’s finest purveyors of interactive entertainment to show him just how popular he is (see attached photo of Mark, Kareem and Sackboys). Then we took him to the pub. Best not say what happened after he’d had a few – my wounds are still weeping."

Daniel Leaver (Level Designer): "What i did (and for many days after launch), was sit in the pod, refreshing the story mode to see how many concurrent users were playing the story mode levels! The most I saw was 1300 in Get a grip!"

Rex Crowle (???): "I have a large framed picture of a owl on my desk, I like to stare into the black void of its giant eyes until it weirds me out and I get back to work."

Michelle (Assistant Producer): "Day before I prepare for the excitement of the day of release; Day of release we all go to game and celebrate with Sackboy dolls and drinks in the pub. Then chill out and move on with the next chunk of work — my head gets back into the schedule!"

Siobhan (Exec. Producer): "I like to mark special moments with some champagne and acknowledgment of whatever it is that we have achieved. I then held my breath, allowed a small brood of butterflies to nest in my tummy and & then watched the start of a whole new LBP chapter begin. It’s been pretty nonstop for the team since then ;)"

[Pic]

What. The. Hell. Filled with creepiness, no? Not only did they have my mailing address, the storage facility was but a 2 minute drive from my house, so following my traditional Thanksgiving dinner and the accompanying nap, I drove out into the cold, dark night to an empty storage facility in a part of town that certainly wouldn't win any awards, just to see what the hell was going on here.

As any regular watcher of supernatural television fiction - The X-Files, Fringe, etc. - empty storage facilities are extremely spooky. Just rows and rows of locked doors under flickering florescent lighting. The ride to the second floor in a giant freight elevator would have been harrowing, but recent games have taught me that elevators, once devices used for high drama, are now simply used for seamlessly loading new areas.

Entering the new area I quickly found the correct door, unlocked the padlock (which is still in my possession because hey - free padlock), and discovered a tiny, locked silver case sitting in the center of the cold concrete floor.

Go go dramatic effect!

I brought the case home, and realized that the letter had also been packed with a DVD. On it, the following video message:

Attention Mr Spookyman: It's very hard to tell no one about any of this while still posting an image of the case. Besides, no one goes to that much trouble masking their voice and appearing all shadowy when they don't want attention.

Anyway, all we know so far is:
1. This has something to do with F.E.A.R. 2, previously known as Project Origin.
2. There is something going on in New York, which is a great deal north of where I live.
3. Shadowy figure is all shadowy.
4. Someone associated with this project knows how to use Google Maps.
5. The case has a three-digit combination, which I theoretically could crack way before December 5th, though it would ruin the dramatic tension.

For now, we wait. I have the case sitting next to me, and every once in awhile I turn the tumblers randomly, just to see if it opens. I suppose I could start from 000 and work my way up to 999, but they know where I live, so it might be wiser to simply leave well enough alone.

Tune in next week for the hopefully dramatic conclusion to the Case of the Case Case. Cue dramatic cliffhanger music!

Now that you're standing, coffee in hand, in front of some store, or maybe in your robe preparing to go to some store, now might be a good time to refresh your memory on what to buy and what to avoid, where to get what you want, and when.

You can check out all of our reviews here, and our most recent reviews here.

Some handy-dandy gift guides:
The iPhone Gaming Gift Guide
The Playstation 3 Gift Guide
The Wii Holiday Gift Guide
The Xbox 360 Gift Guide
The Portable Holiday Gift Guide
The PC Gift Guide
The Import Gaming Gift Guide

And of course, all of those Black Friday deals.

If you come across any super great deals make sure to drop in and tip off your fellow Kotakuites.

There's a word that sums this up for many PS3 owners who bought the console specifically to play FFXIII. That word is "betrayal." Square Enix Corporate Director Shinji Hashimoto doesn't see it that way at all, saying:

I'd rather they not think of this as a "betrayal" or disappointment. It's not like we're canceling or delaying the PS3 version at all! It's more of an added bonus for 360 fans. We won't be putting them at a disadvantage in any way.

Producer Yoshinori Kitase explains that the team is currently working on the PS3 version and is at a point where the developers can put the build on BRD. After the PS3 version is completed, they'll focus on the Xbox 360. And then it'll be on the Xbox 360. Kitase ensures that just because Square Enix is doing an Xbox 360 port, it doesn't mean there will be a drop in quality or a reduction in scope for the PS3 version.

"The fact is, the PS3 version is what's in development right now, and the team is working to specialize that version to the very best of the PS3's abilities," says Kitase. "After that, we'll do the 360 port and optimize it to that particular hardware." These guys are pros, they should be able to wring the best out of both hardware.

Still, people have been waiting for this game for years now. Expectations are high. No matter how good this title is, Square Enix does have a formidable challenge ahead of itself. "We would have loved to have had it ready sooner for the console, but with the development of new hardware," adds Hashimoto, "it's become more and more complicated to develop software."

Bet Sony would've loved to had the game at launch, too.

Final Fantasy XIII: Square Enix Interview [Kikizo]

Sit back, digest your Turkey and enjoy us... trying... to carry on... a conversation... while zombie hordes.... attack... and we wait for the.... boat. Dammit, I'm dead again.

Remember to check out the Cooking with DS video from this morning if you're hankering for a second helping of Kotaku video today. You can also browse the Kotaku Video library over on iTunes which is packed full of time-wasters and nonsense.

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Many of the online deals are yours for the taking right now. If you want to score some of the Black Friday deals in-store, you're going to have to contend with some interesting, extremely dedicated characters. The people above, for example, have been in line at a Culver City Best Buy since early this morning. Oh, they'll cut you if you get between them and their $15 DVD player.

Hit the jump for a location by location breakdown of some of this year's best gaming deals.

Amazon.com
Animal Crossing City Folk w/ WiiSpeak bundle (Wii) - $39.95
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360/PS3) - $17.95
Dead Space (Xbox 360/PS3) - $29.95
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360/PS3) - $39.95 [Friday Only]
Fallout 3 (PC) - $29.95 [Friday Only]
Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360/PS3) - $49.95 [Friday Only]
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) - $14.95
Far Cry 2 (Xbox 360) - $49.95 [Friday Only]
Far Cry 2 (PC) - $29.95
God of War (PS2) - $9.95
God of War II (PS2) - $9.95
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) - $19.95
Guild Wars Eye of the North (PC) - $9.95
Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Wii) - $25.95 [Friday Only]
Heavenly Sword (PS3) - $19.95
Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360) - $18.95
Left 4 Dead (PC) - $19.95
LEGO Batman (Xbox 360/Wii) - $29.95
Metal Gear Portable Ops (PSP) - $9.95
Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (PS2) - $14.95
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (PS3) - $39.95
N+ (PSP) - $9.95
Persona 3 FES (PS2) - $29.95
Personal Trainer: Cooking (DS) - $9.95
PlayStation 2 Limited Edition LEGO Batman bundle - $99.95
Pure (Xbox 360/PS3) - $29.95
Resident Evil 4 (Wii) - $9.95
Resistance: Fall Of Man (PS3) - $14.95
Soulcalibur IV (PS3) - $39.95 [Friday Only]
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360) - $39.95
The Club (Xbox 360) - $14.95
The Last Remnant (Xbox 360)- $39.95
Too Human (Xbox 360) - $19.95
Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii) - $29.95
Warriors Orochi 2 (Xbox 360) - $29.95
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller - $29.95

Best Buy
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (PS3) - $19.99
Far Cry 2 (PC) - $37.99
PlayStation 3 80GB with Ratchet & Clank Future and Casino Royale Blu-ray- $399.99
Soulcalibur IV (PS3) - $37.99
Tom Clancy's EndWar (Xbox 360) - $37.99
Turok (Xbox 360) - $14.99
Xbox 360 60GB Pro Bundle with NBA 2K8 and Tony Hawk's Proving Ground - $299.99

Circuit City
Opens 5:00 AM - Store Locator
BioShock (Xbox 360) - $19.99
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360/PS3) - $19.99
Cooking Mama (DS) - $9.99
Dead Rising (Xbox 360) - $9.99
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (PSP) - $9.99
The Orange Box (Xbox 360) - $19.99
World of Warcraft Battlechest (PC) - $14.99

Dell.com
Xbox 360 Arcade Holiday Bundle w/Rock Band 2 Game - $199.00

Game Crazy
Opens At 7:00 AM - Store Locator
Alien Syndrome (Wii) - $9.99
Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360/PS3) - $9.99
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360/PS3) - $19.99
Far Cry 2 (Xbox 360/PS3) - $39.99
GRID (Xbox 360) - $39.99
Pure (Xbox 360/PS3) - $39.99
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (Xbox 360/PS3) - $9.99
Soulcalibur IV (Xbox 360) - $39.99
The Darkness (Xbox 360) - $4.99

GameStop
Opens 12:01 AM - Store Locator
Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360) - $29.99
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360) - $19.99
Civilization Revolution (DS) - $19.99
Civilization Revolution (Xbox 360/PS3) - $49.99
Crysis Collector's Edition (PC) - $19.99
Final Fantasy XII (PS2) - $9.99
Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Wii/PS2) - $19.99
Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Xbox 360/PS3) - $29.99
Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360) - $49.99
Resident Evil 4 (PS2) - $9.99
Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2 for $.99 (with purchase of Rock Band) [7 AM.-11 AM]
Samba de Amigo (Wii) - $19.99
PlayStation 2 with $30 gift card and free game ($19.99 or less) - $129.99
Soulcalibur IV (Xbox 360) - $49.99

K-Mart
Opens 6:00 AM - Store Locator
Guitar Hero III bundle (Xbox 360/PS3/Wii) - $54.99
Limited Edition Ratchet & Clank PSP Bundle - $199.99
Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - $49.99

NewEgg.com
Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) - $49.99
Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3) - $39.99

PlayStation Store
PixelJunk Eden - $4.99
The Last Guy - $4.99
echochrome - $4.99
Novastrike - $4.99
Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 - $4.99

RedOctane.com
Deals Currently Running
Guitar Hero III bundle w/ second guitar controller (PS2) - $59.99
Guitar Hero III bundle (PS3) - $59.99
Guitar Hero III bundle (Xbox 360) - $29.99
Guitar Hero On Tour 2-player bundle (DS) - $89.99

Sam's Club
Opens 5:00 AM - Store Locator
Wii with Mario Super Sluggers and King of Clubs, two extra Wii Remotes - $425
Nintendo DS Metallic Rose with Nintendogs and Purr Pals, a Princess Peach "Bling Kit" and a Princess Peach case - $200

Sears
Opens 5:00 AM (varies) - Store Locator
Guitar Hero III bundle (Xbox 360/PS3/Wii) - $54.99
Limited Edition Nintendo DS Colors
Xbox 360 bundle with wireless controller - $199.99-$399.99

Target
Opens 6:00 AM - Store Locator
Boom Blox (Wii) - $19.99
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360/PS3) - $19.99
Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360/PS3) - $19.99
Call of Duty: World at War (XBox 360/PS3) - $49.99
Dead Space (Xbox 360/PS3) - $29.99
de Blob (Wii) - $39.99
Guitar Hero III (Xbox 360) - $19.99
Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - $29.99
Lego Batman (DS/PSP) - $19.99

Toys 'R' Us
Opens 5:00 AM - Store Locator
Nintendo DS Ice Blue with Brain Age [5 AM -1 PM] - $149.99
Nintendo DS Mario Red with New Super Mario Bros. [5 AM -1 PM] - $149.99
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway (Xbox 360/PS3) - $17.99
Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed (Wii) - $14.99
Guitar Hero III Bundle (XBox 360/PS3/Wii) - $49.99

Walmart
Opens 12:00 AM - Store Locator
Bully (PS2) - $9.99
Guitar Hero III with Guitar Hero, II, and Rocks the 80s (PS2) - $50
Guitar Hero Aerosmith with Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360) - $50
Guitar Hero Aerosmith with Guitar Hero III (Wii) - $50
Madden NFL 09 (Xbox 360/PS3) - $30
NASCAR 09 (Xbox 360/PS3) - $30
NBA Live 09 (Xbox 360/PS3) - $30
NFL Head Coach 09 (Xbox 360/PS3) - $10

Xbox Live Marketplace
Rez HD - 500 Microsoft Points
Arkadian Warriors - 500 Microsoft Points
Assault Heroes - 400 Microsoft Points
Catan - 500 Microsoft Points
Brain Challenge - 500 Microsoft Points
Boogie Bunnies - 500 Microsoft Points
Golf: Tee It Up! - 500 Microsoft Points
GH3 Metallica “Death Magnetic” Full Album - 1000 Microsoft Points
Forza – March Car Pack - 400 Microsoft Points
Crackdown – Getting Busy Bonus Pack - 500 Microsoft Points
Rock Band All That Remains Pack 01 - 290 Microsoft Points
Lips – The Remedy (Jason Mraz) - 100 Microsoft Points
Gears of War 2 – Last Day theme - 180 Microsoft Points
Sonic Unleashed them - 180 Microsoft Points
Castle Crashers Premium theme - 180 Microsoft Points

That's what EA is hoping for with Skate It, the Nintendo Wii iteration of their Skate series of skateboarding games. Taking the gameplay of the original and adding support for the Nintendo Wii Balance Board controller, EA had the chance to create the most realistic skateboarding experience to ever come to a home gaming console. Let's ask the assembled video game critics of the world how that all turned out.

1UP (Pre-Revision)
The slightest twitch or turn of the Wii-mote creates a wholly new effect — and frequently, it's one you don't even want. It's even worse on the Wii Balance Board; by default, the turning is overly responsive, even after reducing the board's sensitivity. However, this makes it harder for the device to register a trick. It worked better when I stepped off the board and then tapped a specific area to pull off the desired move. This isn't skateboarding — it's crappy aerobics.

1UP (Post-Revision)
The Balance Board is no longer oversensitive (although it's still hard to turn), and executing tricks no longer requires lifting a foot off the board and tapping a specific section — it does an adequate job of sensing when you touch an area with your heel or toe. It takes awhile to get the hang of, but it's certainly possible to play the game this way. Additionally the Wii Remote responds accurately to repeated motions 80 percent of the time. It's still not perfect, but it gets the job done to a much better degree than what we originally experienced.

NZGamer
Although the game flows with a beautiful filmic quality and some great features like slow-mo wipe-outs (complete with eye-watering crunches) and the Thrasher “Hall of Meat” which catalogues your injuries (broken pelvis? Get up you girl), the graphics really let the game down. While your character’s shadow is pretty slick, we’re talking distance shimmer and floating tree foliage. There are 2D sprites making up the backgrounds and times, and the whole thing, while looking almost-good-enough just comes off as amateurishly designed. PlayStation 2 at best – and I know the Wii’s not known as an eye-candy powerhouse… but come on. This is scrappy.

Game Informer
Skate It’s ease of use comes at a cost. The developer has (wisely) papered over some of the vagaries of interpreting player motions by sometimes giving you tricks you had not intended. At least the game’s challenges don’t often ask to perform specific moves. Still, I miss the satisfaction in the original Skate of mapping out a series of tricks in your mind as you approach a curb and then executing them perfectly. Furthermore, the game requires you to pull tricks earlier than you’d think due to slight lag. This makes judging rails trickier and your combo strings shorter.

IGN
Skate It comes highly recommended. The original Skate rejuvenated skating games with a new control scheme and a real sense of freedom, and that success carries over to the Wii. If you already played the 360 or PS3 version you won't find much new here, but it's great to have it on Nintendo's platform. This is a big package, including a long story mode, a huge variety of challenges, multiplayer games, a great soundtrack, and balance board support. It's too bad the balance board controls aren't friendlier, but I'm perfectly happy just using the remote and nunchuk. Aside from the sleek menus it's not much to look at, but the gameplay is engaging enough to overlook the visuals. Scanning your environment, plotting a long line of tricks, then figuring out how to pull it all off is very rewarding. Buy it.

Kotaku
To say I was deeply disappointed by this game would be an understatement. But, I'll be the first to admit that I had unreasonably high expectations both for what Skate It would do with the board, and (I'm starting to think) what the board itself is capable of delivering. Perhaps four digital scales coated in plastic just aren't meant to be able to measure precise shifts in weight. Maybe the balance board is something better suited to the sorts of games that it shipped with, titles that only need binary responses. Left, right. On, off. Forward, backward. It's probably too early to tell, but maybe after I check out the Shaun White sitting on my coffee table I'll know.

Did they ship two different versions of the game or something?

Initially I was just going to review the game, but then I decided it would be fun to video myself using the DS to cook a meal... while drinking... heavily. So maybe it wasn't such a great idea, or maybe I should have read the recipe all the way through before I started to cook a meal for that night. Oh well, live and learn.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving (or just a great dinner for those of you out of the country), and think of my aching gut when you take that first bite.

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The categories are broken down into Bargains, Essentials and Hardware. Those interested in the "Things To Buy For Bashcraft" category, feel free to email.

Bargains:

Gears of War 2 (Asia Version - Region Free)
Price: US$42.18
Rating: Mature
It's already being called Game of the Year by some. Instead of paying full price for Gears of War 2, pick up a new copy of the region free Asia region version. Title has full English support.

Aquanaut's Holiday: Hidden Memories (English/Chinese Version - Region Free)
Price: $49.90
Rating: Everyone
Hidden Memories is the latest in the entry in Aquanaut's Holiday series. Players take the role of an underwater explorer and dive into the depths of deep blue. Currently, the game does not have a Western release slated, but the "English/Chinese version" has localized language options. Better yet, it's cheaper than the Japanese original.

Fable II (Asia Version - Region Free)
Price: $38.33
Rating: Mature
One of this year's biggest action RPGs, Fable II lets players chose between being good or evil. You know what's evil? Paying full price for Fable II. You know what's good? Getting the (cheaper) region free Asia version.

Mirror's Edge (Asia Version - Region Free)
Price: $48.99 (with free international shipping)
Rating: Teen
Do you like running? What about jumping? Kicking people? Then first-person-parkour game Mirror's Edge is for you. Hate paying full price for new games? Then get the Asia version.

Hakuna Makata (Afrika) (English/Chinese Version - Region Free)
Price: $49.90
Rating: Everyone
PS3 exclusive Afrika is out this month in North America, but Sony does not have plans to bring the title to Europe. What does that mean for European PS3 owners who want to take in-game pictures of wild animals? It means they've got to import. The Asia version has full English support and a new title to boot: Hakuna Makata. Makes us want to watch The Lion King. Over and over and over again.

Essentials:
Ketsui Death Label (Region free - Bonus DVD Japanese Region Only)
$58.90
Rating: Everyone
Ketsui isn't just a shooter, but an environment shooter! Set in the global warming ravaged future, the vertical scrolling shooting game has players join a United Nations elite squad to take down a rouge arms dealer. Akira's port of bullet hell shooter from venerated Japanese arcade dev Cave . Ketsui Death Label offers different skill level modes — some ideal for pick up and play. This special box set includes a Superplay DVD as well.

Ikkitousen: Eloquent Fist [Limited Edition With Original Figure Set]
$87.99
Rating: CERO C (15 years old and up)
PSP schoolgirl beat 'em up Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist offers more than fan service. It offers knuckle sammiches *and* fan service. Based on the popular Ikki Tousen manga/anime, Eloquent Fist is a brawler adventure game mash-up and boasts over 4,000 animated cutscenes to boot. Cutscenes are in Japanese, but the clothes-ripping-off parts should be universal.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Japanese Nintendo Wii Only)
Rating: CERO B (12 years old and up)
$70.99
Japanese game company Capcom dishes out knuckle sandwiches to Japanese animation studio Tatsunoko in this Wii port of the arcade title Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Think Marvel vs. Capcom but with Casshern and Yatterman! The title is not likely to get a Western release due to licensing issue, but Capcom USA is working on that. In the meantime, import, import, import.

DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black Label Extra (Japanese Xbox 360 Only)
Rating: Everyone
$65.90
The Xbox 360 port features the original arcade version of Cave's manic arcade shooter as well as the "Black Label" version — identifiable by its black title screen. There's also a beginner's mode called "X Mode," which is perfectly for those not quite accustomed to maneuvering through a blanket of projectiles. More extras for DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black Label Extra is online ranking, a replay function so you can watch your own play and a new green outfit wearing character named "Piper."

DJ Max Portable Emotional Sense — Clazziquai Edition [Special Package]
$49.90
Rating: Everyone
First question: Like DJ Max rhythm games? If yes, continue. Second question: Like Clazziquai? If yes, this is your game. (For those who do not know Clazziquai, check this and this and this. Delights!) The Korean group teamed up with developer Pentavision for this more casual DJ Max title — “casual” is not a pejorative term here. DJ Max is reason enough to own a PSP, and Clazziquai is reason enough to own this title.

Thunder Force VI (Japanese PS2 Only)
$59.90
Rating: Everyone
No doubt horizontally scrolling shmup Thunder Force VI is one of the PS2's last great swan songs. It's been a little over ten years since Thunder Force V hit the SEGA Saturn and when developer Technosoft was purchased by a pachinko company, it didn't look like we'd ever see another Thunder Force. We here we are! Thunder Force VI was directed by SEGA's Tetsu Okano, best know for Japan only title Segagaga.

Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles (Region Free - Dreamcast)
Rating: Everyone
$39.99
Would it be Christmas without a new Dreamcast game? Probably. But Costa Rican developer Yuan Works does its best to offer holiday cheer with this DC title. The puzzle game has players match elements to clear blocks from the board. Featuring English and Japanese language support, the Dreamcast release is being handled by European publisher redspotgames.

Hardware:
DISSIDIA: Final Fantasy [20th Anniversary Limited Pack]
Rating: CERO C (15 years old and up)
$349.90
Unless you are proficient in Japanese (or decent enough at navigating it), the main draw here isn’t necessarily the Japanese language fighting game, but the DISSIDIA PSP — and the pretty box it comes in! Included is a copy of the game and a limited (and classy) DISSIDIA PSP-3000.

Hori Classic Controller
$29.90
Just in time for all the GameCube games Nintendo is re-releasing for the Wii comes this Classic Controlled. Made by Japanese peripheral maker Hori, the controller features autofire switches for every button on the controller. It's available in three colors: Black, white and light blue.

Nintendo DSi (Region free for DS games, locked for DSi games)
$249.00
Nintendo's latest edition to the Nintendo DS line-up brings a 17 percent larger screen and two embedded digital cameras. It's smaller than the DS Lite and is lighter than the Lite, too! While it does not play GBA titles, the portable does have a SD card slot. It does not feature English language support, however. Comes in white and black.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam [PSP Bundle]
Rating: Everyone
$379.99 (with free international shipping)
One of the big, hot popular titles in Japan this fall is Namco Bandai's Gundam vs. Gundam, which brings thirty plus Gundams from various series together in one game. Originally an arcade game, the PSP version includes several bonus mechas. The PSP bundle includes the game and a Gundam vs. Gundam PSP-3000. Game is, like most things in Japan, in Japanese.

Otomedius Gorgeous + Hyper Stick Pro (Japanese Consoles Only)
Rating: CERO C (15 years old and up)
$389.90
It’s always nice to see incredibly pricey game hardware designed specially for one game. Famed Japanese peripheral maker Hori worked with Konami to created this stick designed to recreate the Otomedius arcade experience at home. The Hori hyper stick pro boasts a touch pad just like the original arcade version. The bundle includes the game as well as a set of six tin badges.

And in fact even made a valiant attempt at doing just that. But as the flood of games continued, not just remaining steady, but increasing, I quickly realized that it's probably better to try and find the gems among the thousands of shovelware, rather than reviewing everything.

This is meant to be just that, a quick snapshot of what I think are some of the better games out for the iPhone and Touch currently, broken down into four categories. Keep in mind that while you can certainly use this list for yourselves, you scabby bastards, you can also use this as a great way to deliver affordable presents to your friends and relatives. Just buy them a iTunes gift card and include a few solid recommendations of which games you think they would most enjoy. Heck, I'm pretty sure that's what my dad's getting this Christmas for his Touch.

Now hit the list, and keep in mind some real gems, like Puzzle Quest, just aren't out yet, so I couldn't include them

Bargains:

MazeFinger
Price: Free
Compatible: iPhone and Touch

Maybe the fact that it's free has something to do with why this game has been downloaded a million times. But my gut says the real reason is because all you need to play it is a finger, a mind for mazes and the time to go through the 200 levels mindful of the timer and all of those traps.

Frotz
Price: Free
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Text adventures have a special place in my heart, and they should have one in yours as well. Frotz gives you a chance to revisit, or visit them on your iPhone or Touch free of charge. This cool little program is just a shell for running existing text adventures on. Not only does it come pre-loaded with 25games (yes, including Zork), you can browse the Interactive Fiction DataBase to load up on more. All for free.

Adventure
Price: Free
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

It's friggen Adventure, the Atari 2600 classic revisited with new and improved touch controls, but not new and improved graphics, or sound, or plot. Which is exactly how I like it. I haven't spent quite enough time with it yet to find out if the game also includes the Easter Egg with the original programmers names. I sure hope so.

Trace
Price: Free
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Trace has you drawing lines on the screen to create a safe path for your stick figure to travel to get him, her or it to the sun-like exit hole. The graphics are something you'd expect to see in a 7-year-old's homework, in a very good way. The last of the games 100 levels, for instance, featured a fire spewing dragon and a hill of lava. So awesome. Controls are pretty simple. You draw lines, then you touch the right or left arrows to move and the triangle to jump. You can always draw lines in the middle of your walk and you can even erase stuff. Fantastic fun.

Lux Touch
Price: Free
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Lux Touch is pretty much a straight copy of Risk. You play again four computer-controlled colors, all vying to take over the world through strategic troop movement. To play you tap around on the countries you've conquered, either beefing up troop placement or deciding to move them into enemy territory. The only major complaint I have about this free game is that there is no save function, so if you get a call or lose power you're going to need to restart your bid for world conquest.

Essentials:

Spore Origins
Price: $5.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

I've been playing Spore: Origins on and off since the game launched. It's definitely the most played game on my iPhone. What starts out as a tilt-to-control game of flow, quickly builds into something much more like a side-scrolling platformer... without platforms. In those early levels you worry just about eating things smaller than you. Than you have to start worrying about avoiding the bigger creatures in the pool of water that the game takes place. As you make your way through the game you get to add pieces to your bit of life, giving it weapons, and things to make it swim faster. You can even use real pictures to decorate it. Giving it, for instance, the head of your son. The later levels includes ones that just have you trying to find an exit. There are even well-disguised boss battles. This is a must for owners of the iPhone or Touch.

Fieldrunners
Price: $4.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Mobile gaming needs Tower Defense games, because they're so pick-up-and-play. And there are plenty to choose from for the iPhone and Touch, but only Fieldrunners gives you a PC experience that you can carry around in your pocket. Packed with detailed graphics, a nice variety of weapons and an assorted batch of bad guys, Fieldrunners is, hands down, the best Tower Defense game on the platform. With the latest patch, adding a new level, another bad guy and endless mode, Fieldrunners maybe be the best game on the iPhone hands down.

Super Monkey Ball
Price: $9.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

At just under $10, Super Monkeyball may be a bit overpriced, but it does deliver a fantastic adaptation of the popular Monkeyball series to your iPhone and Touch and it does so with fun graphics, great level design and some pretty polished controls using the platform's accelerometer to allow you to tilt your way through the levels. The one draw back is that the built in angle is a bit too sharp, making it necessary to lean over the screen a tad to see what's going on as you tilt your way through the game.

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
Price: $5.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Despite being an early release, Crash Bandicoot is still one of the best racers on the platform. In the game you guide Crash, or a slew of other unlockable drivers, around a course by tilting the iPhone back and forth. You brake the vehicles by tapping under the kart and drift by tapping above and to the right or left as you turn. You can also collect power-ups which you use by tapping their icons. The races I've run through on the game were seamless and even managed some fairly fun graphics. But still no multiplayer. Someone needs a patch.

Trism
Price: $2.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Trism continues to keep me interested, despite the fact that I've owned it for month's now. Trism's slight tweak on the Bejewled game play is so profound that it changes the way you have to think about puzzle gaming. The basic premise, as with most puzzle games, is really simple. You have rows and columns of mutli-colored triangles. You slide them around to line at least three up and clear a space. The twist? The iPhone can detect which way you are holding the phone and drops the triangles into recently filled holes from the proper direction. So now you have to think carefully about which way to hold the phone before making a move. The fun basic play is backed up by five game modes, 22 unlockable achievements and an online international ranking board. They even included a colorblind mode. You can even challenge a friend in the game.

Socializers

Guitar Rock Tour
Price: $7.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

It may not be licensed, but it sure feels like Guitar Hero on the iPhone. The game comes with two instruments to choose from and 17 songs, all of which I suspect are covers. To play through a game using the guitar you just tap your way through the notes on the four-fret guitar as they fall toward you down the neck of the virtual instrument. The songs drop sustained notes and lines of notes at you as well as a number of double notes. If you come across a line of notes you can slide your finger across them as they scroll down. Once you build up enough rock power you can activate the familiar power-up by sliding your finger up the gauge to go into a power-up mode that doubles your points. The drum mode isn't nearly as fun, but it's still worth a bit of time.

Galcon
Price: $4.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

While Lux Touch is great for the price (that's free). Galcon gives you the full-on Risk like experience in space... and with other people. That's right Galcon lets you vie to take over other planets with hordes of spaceships both in real-time and against real opponents using WiFi. The single player mode includes five missions, and the multiplayer mode is ranked on Galcon.com. To play you tap on planets and touch where you want to send your armada. You can even send ships from all of your planets to a single target. Then watch as the screen floods with tiny colored triangles. For $5, it's absurd not to buy this game. So stop being absurd.

Ocarina
Price: $.99
Compatibility: iPhone Only

Maybe this isn't a game exactly, but since it features a Link-friendly Ocarina I just had to include it. For a penny shy of a buck you get a program that turns your iPhone into an honest to goodness musical instrument. By blowing into the mic and pressing buttons on the screen you can replicate the haunting music of a 12,000-year-old, or so, instrument. Tilting the iPhone changes the sounds vibrato rate and depth. Ocarina also lets you listen to others play their digital Ocarina and even identifies where in the world they are.

Uno
Price: $7.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Gameloft really hit the nail on the head with this portable version of Uno. Not only does it do a good job of delivering the full Uno experience for single player gaming, including nine different rule sets and all of the action cards you remember, there's also amazing multiplayer support. First there's pass the iPhone play, where you can play with your friends on a single device. This is great for long trips with the kids or other buddies who love Uno. The game also includes WiFi multiplayer, allowing you to play Uno against people from around the world with your device. This is an absolute must have for fans of card games or people who like a bit of short pick-up-and-play fun.

Blue Defense!
Price: $.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

This may not be a classic social game. It doesn't support multiplayer gaming, in any form. But it's such a great example of how accessible the iPhone can make some traditionally hardcore genres. In this case it's those screen-filling, horrifically hard bullet-hell shoot-em ups. Shmups aren't for the light of heart, but in Blue Defense! you just have to tilt the phone or Touch around to direct a constant stream of bullets at the oncoming horde of red space ships. The game lists the number of lives on your planet, starting at 6.7 billion, and drops the number whenever you let someone sneak through your stream of bullets. The super easy gameplay and silky smooth frame rate make for a game that's easy to hand off to a someone new to gaming and absorb them instantly.

Epics

Kroll
Price: $4.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Kroll is the platform's first honest-to-goodness high-end action title. In it you play as Delon, a barbarian in search of Kroll, the Lord of Life. You play the game holding the iPhone sideways. To move you touch the transparent arrows at the bottom of your screen. To attack you touch one of four transparent hammer icons, two on each side of the screen. The top icon delivers a heavy attack and the bottom a regular attack. Touching the left ones attacks to your left and the right attacks to your right. I found that by tapping between the two types of attacks or repeatedly tapping the same attack you can pull off a couple of mini combos. You can also pull off a special attack, if you save up power earned through kills, by either tapping Delon or shaking the iPhone. This is a straight-up, old-school button masher, so don't expect any twists or innovation in play. But it certainly satisfies a very specific itch.

Bomberman Touch: The Legend of Mystic Bomb
Price: $7.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

Bomberman, a classic looking, classic feeling Bomberman, can only be a good thing, no matter what platform it shows up on. In this case, it's a great thing. The crisp graphics, the upbeat music, the hand-drawn looking cut-scenes, it all comes together nicely on the iPhone. You control Bomberman, once he whips off his Jungle Adventurer costume, by holding a finger on the screen, anywhere on the screen, and moving it around. You drop bombs by touching a bomb icon and use special abilities, like kicking a bomb or remotely detonating a bomb, with other action buttons.

Aurora Feint II: The Arena
Price: $7.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

This is essentially Puzzle Quest with a bit less plot and a bit more emphasis on character leveling, special weapons and magic. In the game you mine for elements which can later be used to build weapons or increase your skills. You also craft weapons and battling your way through a tower. Like in Puzzle Quest, everything is done by playing a varied form of Bejeweled. You have to match up like symbols and clear the screen before the symbols reach the top of your screen. New to The Arena is the ability to create a ghost version of yourself to upload to the game's server so other players can challenge you. You can also do a form of live chatting while playing and track high scores. The games certainly a step up from the original Aurora Feint and adds a lot of interesting elements for your $8, but I'm still hoping the game comes together a bit more to deliver an experience that feels a bit less disjointed. Despite that one reservation, the game is a blast to play and can certainly suck up huge chunks of your time.

Toy Bot Diaries 2
Price: $3.99
Compatibility: iPhone and Touch

In Toy Bot you control a diminutive toy robot that can grapple onto metal objects and then either pull them to him or use them to swing to hard to get places or across dangerous spots. The side-scroller uses the iPhone and Touch's title controls to great effect, turning the game into more of a puzzler than a traditional platformer. The thing that makes this game such a joy to play is that the developers didn't just stop with a neat concept, they delivered it with a polished look. While both the first and second game are a bit short, they are relatively inexpensive, and the second outing does include longer levels.

Turns out that some people playing through the Wii version find themselves in Thailand without a lever, a lever that, I assume, opens something that lets you continue through the game.

Eidos confirms that the bug exists and sends their apologies:

"We are aware of a bug which is present in the Nintendo Wii version of Tomb Raider: Underworld. We would like to stress that this is an extremely infrequent bug, however on the rare occasion that it occurs; it affects the presence of a lever in the Thailand level of the game and prevents progress beyond this level. Eidos sincerely apologies to anyone who has experienced this frustrating problem.

The quality of our games is paramount to us and the Nintendo Wii version of Tomb Raider: Underworld went through three separate QA testing departments prior to release. Regrettably anomalies such as this do occur occasionally in videogames despite the best efforts by publishers to avoid them. The good news is that it is not an unsolvable bug, so if you encounter it and it persists please visit www.eidosinteractive.co.uk/support/worldmap.html ."

What happens when you go to that website listed? You see a sea of support numbers to call. When you do I'd assume they tell you to revert to an earlier save or hit you up with one of their saves right past that point. Hmmmm, does anyone else smell a recall?

The crew emailed me this morning to apologize for the missing DS-related price cuts and, to make up for that, they've given us a short list of some of the DS deals and also dropped a few more deals that will be hitting come this Friday. Anyone up for getting a free game when you buy a 360, PSP or PS3? Hit up the jump for the details on the new deals. Also a bit of explanation on some of yesterday's that may have been a bit confusing.

Also, if you're in the spending mood now, hit up Amazon for two deals they've started today.

Nintendo DS
*Available now through December 1st at 11:59pm PST: Nintendo DS Lite Limited Edition Red Mario with New Super Mario Bros - $134.95 (Reg. $149.99)
*Available now through December 1st at 11:59pm PST: Nintendo DS Lite Limited Edition Ice Blue with Brain Age and Carrying Case Bundle - $134.95 (Reg. $149.99)
*Friday Only - Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - $19.95 (Reg. $34.99)
Build-A-Bear Workshop - $9.95 (Reg. $19.99)
Touchmaster - $9.95 (Reg. $19.99)
MySims Kingdom - $19.95 (Reg. $29.99)

“Friday-only” deals
( As these deals end, Amazon will reveal new deals throughout the weekend so stay alert, because it’s going to be a long weekend.)
-Buy a PSP 3000 Limited Edition Ratchet and Clank Entertainment Pack and get one of these PSP games for free:
Daxter
Spongebob Squarepants The Yellow Avenger
Tekken - Dark Resurrection
Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
Star Wars Battlefront II
SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo
Patapon
Medal of Honor: Heroes
Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories
Mortal Kombat Unchained
WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008

Buy a select Nintendo DS console and get Disney Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force for only $5

Buy an Xbox 360 Arcade Holiday Bundle and get Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 with Dance Mat for free

Buy a PlayStation 3 80GB console and get Resistance 2 Collector's Edition and a PlayStation 3 Component AV & USB cable free

Buy a PlayStation 3 80GB console and get Wall-E Blu-ray (2-Disc set) and Disney Sing It! Bundle with Microphone for free

And now for your clarifications:
First, our “Friday-only” deals will be live at Amazon.com on November 28th (Black Friday) from 12:00am PST (3:00am EST) until 11:59pm PST (2:59am EST on Saturday morning) OR until we have depleted our promotional quantities, whichever comes first.

The non-“Friday-only” deals will go live at Amazon.com on November 28th (Black Friday) from 12:00am PST (3:00am EST) until December 1st (Cyber Monday) 11:59pm PST (2:59am EST on Tuesday morning) or until we have depleted our promotional quantities, whichever comes first.

We would also like to note that we will be having Monday-only deals that will go live at Amazon.com on December 1st (Cyber Monday) from 12:00am PST (3:00am EST) until 11:59pm PST (2:59am EST on Tuesday morning) or until we have depleted our promotional quantities, whichever comes first.

Check out the rest of Amazon's Black Friday tease here.

Make no mistake. Seven Million Wiis sold in Japan is impressive. However, humor us as we put things in perspective:

Back in January, we reported that the Wii sold 5 million units in Japan. Then a couple months later in May, Nintendo sold 6 million Wiis in The Land of the Rising Sun. And now in November, the company has sold 7 million Wiis in the same region.

January to May? Not so long. May to November? Long. In internet time, that's several lifetimes, eons.

Still, 7 million Wiis sold in Japan is nothing to sneeze at, so don't. Slowing sales isn't a bad thing either, because it means we're that much closer to getting different colored Wiis.

Wiiの国内累計販売台数が700万台を突破 [Famitsu]

The press release reads:

Liebe Medienpartner,

die Nintendo-Welt, die seit einigen Jahren mit Wii, Nintendo DS und einer neuen Generation von Spielen entstanden ist, schmückt sich schon seit einiger Zeit mit einem neuen Logo in dezentem Grau.

In einzelnen Veröffentlichungen ist aber weiterhin der frühere, rote Schriftzug zu sehen. Für den Fall, dass Sie es nicht längst getan haben, möchten wir Sie sehr herzlich bitten, ab sofort nur noch das aktuelle, graue Nintendo-Logo zu verwenden.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Ihr Team von Nintendo und Popular PR

Which, calling upon the vast resources of my university German classes (and a little help from Google Translator), reads:

Dear Media Partner,

For several years, a new generation of Wii and Nintendo DS games have adorned themselves with a new logo, in discrete grey.

In various publications the former logo, with red lettering, can still be seen. In the event that you have not already done so, we would like to sincerely ask you to now only use the current, gray Nintendo logo.

Yours sincerely,

The team from Nintendo & Popular PR.

Yes, the grey one's been around for a while, but still. To completely kill off the traditional red one is strange! The red logo was synonymous with fun. A grey logo is synonymous with boring. Hopefully this only affects Nintendo Europe, and we don't see the same presser being issued from Nintendo of America or, worse, Nintendo Japan, as part of some global crackdown on fun.

While the peek is a pretty substantial list, I'm told that all said there will be more than 200 price cuts on gaming stuff this Friday. I'm hoping to get the full list up Thanksgiving day. For now, hit the jump to whet your appetite.

Xbox 360
*Friday Only - Fallout 3 - $39.95 (Reg. $59.99)
*Friday Only - Far Cry 2 - $49.95 (Reg. $59.99)
*Friday Only - Call of Duty: World at War - $49.95 (Reg. $59.99)
Pure - $29.95 (Reg. $59.99)
LEGO Batman - $29.95 (Reg. $49.99)
The Last Remnant - $39.95 (Reg. $59.99)
Infinite Undiscovery - $18.95 (Reg. $59.99)

PlayStation 3
*Friday Only - Fallout 3 - $39.95 (Reg. $59.99)
*Friday Only - Soul Calibur IV - $39.95 (Reg. $59.99)
*Friday Only - Call of Duty: World at War - $49.95 (Reg. $59.99)
Pure - $29.95 (Reg. $59.99)
Heavenly Sword - $19.95 (Reg. $59.99)
Resistance: Fall Of Man - $14.95 (Reg. $29.99)
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe - $39.95 (Reg. $59.99)

Wii
Wii and Wii Fit will be in stock on Black Friday starting at midnight.
*Friday Only - Guitar Hero Aerosmith Wii - $25.95 (Reg. $39.99)
DeBlob - $25.95 (Reg. $49.99)
LEGO Batman - $29.95 (Reg. $49.99)
Wario Land: Shake It! - $29.95 (Reg. $49.99)
Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree - $19.95 (Reg. $29.99)
Animal Crossing City Folk Bundle - $39.95 (Reg. $69.99)
MySims Kingdom - $19.95 (Reg. $29.99)