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I had nearly forgotten it was Presidents Day in the U.S. today, until Nintendo reminded me that it was “packing a presidential punch” with today’s downloadable titles. The fact is, however, that not a single one of these titles has anything to do with presidents, and it’s rather upsetting. DSiWare Virtual Console See? Nothing to do with presidents. Disappointing. Interesting selection this week though, with an older Game Boy Advance title making its appearance on DSiWare (Prehistorik Man), and a curious Nintendo-published title (Spotto!...

By now you should all be aware of Suda 51’s latest cel-shaded gore-fest,No More Heroes. While completely outrageous violence and showers of blood have made up the vast majority of the game’s promotional material, it seems that only America is getting what has been advertised — if you live in Europe (like I do until I get off this stinkin’ rock) then you can enjoy the Japanese,censored version. Yes, censored. Following the BBFC’s rejection ofManhunt 2, publisher Rising Star Games seems to have become frightened and decided that a “black spray” should replace blood for those of us in the PAL territories....

Some days, the seemingly eternally cynical attitude of some gamers really gets me down, but today is not to be one of those days. I don’t care what people have to say about this game, because I am so excited to hear it’s getting a US release that I’m about ready to run out on my balcony and do some crazy interpretative dance (whatever that would look like in the form of excessive joy for a horror game, I don’t know, but I am thrilled either way)....

It seems the Internet is like one big super Democracy lately because we’ve all been flooded with sites trying to promote themselves with massive votes for certain categories — most of the time it has to do with hotness, or lack thereof. So, Next Generation has thrown theirballot in the ringwith a call for the “Next-Gen Person of the Year.” How can you vote? What are the criteria? Glad you asked....

Bottlerocket Entertainment — developer ofRise of the Kasai(2005) andXialoin Showdown(2006) — is no more. In a recent e-mail sent to industry folks, the founder of the studio, Jay Beard, announced that his studio has closed. Broken, but not defeated, Beard also announced plans to create a new studio in the same electronic letter. “It is with deep regret that I have to inform you of the closure of Bottlerocket, the e-mail reads (viaGI....

When Blizzard announced thatStarcraft IIwould beditching LAN support, people got upset. Local play has been a staple ofStarcraftfor centuries, and it was quite shocking to see that the sequel would not allow for that most ancient and noble of nerd traditions, the LAN party. Naturally,an online petition started up. Futile as I may find online petitions, I still admire the willingness of gamers to make their voices heard, especially as they’re usually a ludicrously apathetic bunch....

Hey look! Another PlayStation 3 firmware update! Looks like we’re up to version 2.60, which Sony just announced is on its way to consoles this week.Available on January 21 (tomorrow!), 2.60 adds support for the new Photo Gallery application, which gives users a fancier way of organizing and viewing photos stored on the PS3. Additionally, the new update includes support for DivX 3.11, so you may sleep well knowing those movies and television shows your pirating will play nice with your PS3....

This has been one hell of a week for me. First, I heard a multitude of really badasscodecconversationsbetweenChadConcelmoandthecastofMetalGearSolid. Then, I saw severalfriggin’ awesomeillustrations of Gentleman Dinosaur (the above concept art comes courtesy ofAshley Davis, whileAgentMOOactually added a GD character to AMMO). Finally, right before the show began, I had the pleasure of reading some hilariously clever dino-related poetry. So, yeah. Good week to be a podcast host. Anyway, this week’s episode (which can be foundhere) was another random collection of news and skullduggery....

I can’t believe how amped I am to play1 vs 100Live. It’s been teased time and time again, and my interest in the game has yet to be swayed for some unholy reason, which is why I am so happy to announce that the U.S. beta starts on Monday. To be exact, the first show is taking place at 7:30 P.M. PDT. This means we will finally be able to stop talking about the damn thing and instead get some actual play time with it....

Next Tuesday, February 17, Rockstar Games is going to be dropping the first episode of downloadable content forGrand Theft Auto IV, calledThe Lost and Damned. For $19.99 (1600 MS Points), gamers get an unprecedented amount of gameplay for their cash. There’s the entirely new story that puts players into the leather biker jacket of Johnny Klebitz, the Vice President of the Lost motorcycle gang, and an incidental character fromGTA IV. InTheLost and Damned, Johnny is the new spotlight, and that means new dialogue, new music, new weapons, new vehicles, new mini-games … yeah, it’s a lot of “new” game....

Activision and Infinity Ward were kind enough to host an event in Hollywood last night to give us a first look at the multiplayer inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Infinity Ward’s Vince Zampella kicked off the event with a quick briefing. He opened with an admission that the company has been tight-lipped on the game’s multiplayer aspect. And then he yelled to the room: “Well, we’re f*cking talking about it tonight!...

Yes,thatPac-Man. Namco Bandai and Merv Griffin Entertainment are creating a reality television series for one of gaming’s oldest icons, Deadline reports. Perhaps most shocking of all, there’s the potential for this show to be — dare I say it? — enjoyable. MGE’s president of TV, Roy Bank, describes it as a “big, crazyWipeout-type event with a lot of energy. The idea we have is to take what Pac-Man is and bring it to life, to bring what is essentially the world’s biggest game of tag to television....

In before “slow news day.” Capcom has revealed the cover art for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS title,Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. It features Chris Redfield with his back against a wall as he’s hunted down by the token scary executioner axe guy. But the real question is: will it be printed on an awesome lenticular 3D sleeve like Capcom’s launch 3DS title,Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition? Video evidence of said awesome can be found below; as for whetherThe Mercenarieswill get the same treatment, Capcom tells me it’s “to be determined....