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The fifteenth annual Ludum Dare competition, in which indie designers have 48 hours to create a game based around a particular theme, came to a close on August 30th. This year’s theme was “caverns,” and the entries — all 144 of them — have been posted atthe official site, in order of assumed awesomeness. ChevyRay’sBeacontook top honors, with Matt Thorson’sBroken Cave Robotcoming in second.Beacon‘s not bad (albeitreallyslow going at the start), butBroken Cave Robottakes the cake, as far as I’m concerned....

2K Games has discovered social media and wants to verify you don’t miss the fact thatMafia IIis coming out later this month. The publisher has announced not only a Facebook game, “Mafia II Hit List,” but a partnership with online music streaming service, Pandora. “Hit List” appears to be avery basic Facebook applicationwhere you act as a “mob boss” and you put a hit on your friends. The goal? To become the most destructive boss, and get ranked on the “Top 5 Hitmen” and the “Top 5 Most Wanted” hit lists....

Yesterday,Shacknewsreceived notice from Valve vice president Doug Lombardi that no more “major” updates will happen forTeam Fortress 2untilLeft 4 Deadis completed. According to him, that means a complete lack of new crazy weapons or achievements until next year. Here’s what Lombardi said when asked about the nextTF2update: Well, it won’t be this year … But we’re going to keep evolving TF2. Once Left 4 Dead wraps, you’ll hear us clamoring more about [the next TF2 update]....

McFarlane Toys’HaloSeries 6 line is coming out this October but you can check out all of the figures right now over onSpawn.com. The new figures will include: Each figure will come with an assortment of weapons and multiplayer medals such as the Incineration! and Double Kill! medals. I’m glad toys don’t have the same effect on my as they used to. Otherwise, I probably would get every singleHalorelated toy that’s out just as I did with theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtletoys....

Apparently Japan is full of those “I’m waiting” guys you always run into. Either that, or these gamers have one-track minds. What were they waiting for?Street Fighter IV. With the release of Capcom’s new fighter, both the Xbox 360 and PS3 have enjoyed increased sales, with a weekly increase of over 4,000 units combined. According to the Media Create numbers, the PS3 got the larger boost, with over 2,500 consoles added to this weeks total, bringing it to 16,656....

One year ago today,Mega Man 9was released onto the world, and people arestillplaying the damn thing. Though many found the game’s 8-bit style to be ridiculous and alienating, others (such as myself) thought it was one of the best releases of 2008, and one of the best 2D platformers ever made. Retro sensibilities aside,Mega Man 9was an important game in many ways.It was the first game to ever be released for download on all three major consoles, and it marked Capcom’s first (and thus far, only) excursion into WiiWare....

Just in case your living room wasn’t ugly enough, Microsoft is happy to help you out. The company has announced that Limited EditionHalo 3Wireless controllers, a Halo 3 headset, and the long awaited Xbox 360 Messenger Kit will hit stores on September 4. The two Limited EditionHalo 3Wireless controllers wear the art of Todd McFarlane, feature the Covenant Brute and Master Chief, and will cost you $59.99. If you want to look even sillier while playingHalo 3, you’ve got to get the Halo 3 logo emblazoned green and gold wireless headset, which also will cost $59....

Secret of Monkey Island: Special Editionis slated to hit Xbox LIVE and PC (via digital download) this summer. But don’t hold us to that: it seems that one lucky platform is getting LucasArts’ sloppy thirds. Speaking withThe Guardianabout the choice to bring the title to LIVE instead of PlayStation Network or Wiiware, the producer teased the announcement of yet another platform for the remake. “Well, we never said we wouldn’t be on Wiiware or PSN now did we,” Derrick asked....

When I break faces, it’s usually to the sounds of hundreds of cash-waving onlookers. Before you ask: yes, I’m an underground cage fighter. But when Electronic Arts shipsFaceBreaker, we’ll all be cracking skulls to the sweet sounds of The Hives, From First To Last (uh, three of their songs, actually), Gogol Bordello, and Tone Loc featuring Peaches. Wait, what? Tone Loc featuring f**king Peaches on a remix of “Wild Thing”? Has the world gone mad?...

“Planetary (Go!),†a track from My Chemical Romance’s upcoming album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, will be the lead song forGran Turismo 5. And seeing as how the album doesn’t drop until November 22nd, the game will likely be the first time MCR fans will hear this new track. I had a chance to chat with band member Frank Iero, who said that he has spent a bit of time with the game....

NanaOn-Sha is one of my favorite studios. Ever. I even tried to enjoyMajor Minor’s Majestic March. Tried.UnJammer Lammyis one of my favorite games, so I’ll always be loyal. I was quite excited to hear about their upcoming Kinect horror game at Tokyo Game Show last year, but we haven’t heard much about the title since. Now theAustralian ratings boardlists NanaOn-Sha titleHaunt. It doesn’t give much more information, but to me a rating means it’s closer to coming out....

There you have it, folks: 2K Sports’ representation in their upcoming basketball videogame,NBA 2K11, of the most self-absorbed, obnoxious, callous, and oblivious athlete today — LeBron James. (Too soon, 2K. Too soon.) Last night, in a clusterf*ck of a one-hour special on ESPN, “The Decision,” James essentially gave a giant middle finger to the entire city of Cleveland by announcing that he was joining his friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami to try and win a championship with the Heat....

As usual, there are too many interesting games to keep track of this year, and I keep forgetting aboutDead Space 2. Fortunately, Electronic Arts is not a company that keeps itself out of mind for long, and these new screens should help to jog everybody’s memories. The Necromorphs are out in full force with these shots, and they look even more disturbing than last time. The female ones are especially unsettling, but it’s the babies with giant glowing bellies doing the crabwalk that really take home the prize....