It appears thatS.T.A.L.K.E.R., the wonderfully flawed postapocalyptic action/rpg, is getting a sequel. PrimoTechnology (no relation toPrimatech Paper) recentlyannouncedthat thanks to “positive reaction[s] toS.T.A.L.K.E.R.all over the world,” the franchise will see a few more titles in the next few years. The exact nature of these titles will not be revealed until E3, but it’s comforting to know that this ambitious-but-flawed game will get another go-around. If Primotech is manufacturing a sequel, one has to hope for two main things: firstly, that the game’s major shortcomings (namely controls, weapon damage, graphics, useless sidequests that give you pointlessly weak weapons an armor, an awful PDA, and lack of diversity in missions) will be fixed, and secondly, that it won’t take another six years to make....

On September the 30th, THQ and Volition confirmed that the PC version ofSaints Row: The Thirdis scheduled to release when they said it would. It’s wonderful to hear that even PC enthusiasts will not have to wait any longer than promised to get their hands on what looks to be a magical package of wonder, fun, and kicks to the crotch. Other people’s crotches obviously. The PC version ofSaints Row 2was a horribly optimized port of the amazingly fun console version, and I would personally rather see a delay for a much smoother PC release....

Dragon Age: Originsis at San Diego Comic-Con and the BioWare crew has some new s–t to show off. The first and second of said s–t are character classes. Below in the gallery you can see the Dwarf Commoner and the Human Noble in action. Later in the gallery you can glimpse the Tower of Ishal and the (now bloodier) boss fight we’ve been talking about since E3 2008. Hit the break if screenshots aren’t your thing....

Some super-keen fellow has recently found a secret DS function called “Simple Wi-Fi Connection” that apparently has no use whatsoever at the time. Luckily, this handheld whiz has captured some video of his findings. We’re not exactly sure what this connection is for, but it’s certainly possible that it could be for some future Wii hook-up.Guess we’ll have to wait and see. Anyone got any decent guesses?[Update: Well, Siliconera sent us in the answer....

After a slight delay, we now have the precise date forSerious Sam HD: The First Encounter‘s Xbox LIVE Arcade arrival. January 13 has been pinned down as the debut, a day which will surely be full of shooting everything that moves and then firing off into the sky while screaming to declare glorious victory. It’s got four-person online co-op and costs 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) — did we already know that?...

Don’t get that excited. It’s not a new, mobile phone version ofShadow of the Colossus, it’sliterally a mobile. In fact, I think this might be a relief to most of you. You know, those things you hang over a baby’s crib to make them fall asleep better at night. Artist SaltyandSweet, who made the kick-assLeft 4 Deadmobile, has returned with two new mobiles that you can hang over your child’s crib, or maybe even your own bed....

The excellent side-game starringLost Planet‘s PTX-40A included on the disc is one of the reasons I gave the Japanese build ofTatsunoko Vs Capcoma9.0. It’s a 4-player shmup with three levels, three bosses, and multiple power-ups. It would be worth at least $5 as a downloadable title. It gets better. In the American build ofTatsunoko Vs Capcom, the PTX-40A shmup is way better. From the video, you can see that there are now at least six levels, branching paths, and four playable characters (including Ryu!...

While you may know of The Collective if you are a major Silent Hill fan (as they are developingSilent Hill 5,) you may not know of Shiny, the developers who worked onThe Golden Compass’smultiplatform release. Of course, it no longer matters which you know or don’t, since it was announced last October that the two developers would merge into one. Foundation 9 (parent of both companies) has now named the new organization, which will go under the name Double Helix....

Today, Silicon Knights, developer ofEternal Darknessand workplace of the very outspoken Dennis Dyack, laid off 26 employees. Silicon Knights released an official statement citing “attrition” as the reason the cuts were made. They also made mention that all of the company’s directors and other important people are still employed. Of course, it wouldn’t be Silicon Knights without a little word from Dyack. In the statement, Dyack assured that the company is still “working on several new” games that “will be announced to the public in the coming months....

It never ceases to amaze me just how far some “researchers” will go to “prove” that videogames are harmful. From blowing airhorns to electric shock tests, some truly wacky and rather unscientific tests have been conducted to show the effects of gaming,but this one— a study that claims to show how games make players “comfortably numb” — is stunning in its convolution. Let’s just look at the press release on the matter: 320 college students played either a violent or a nonviolent video game for approximately 20 minutes....

Destructoid has some cool swag to make you smarter and all you have to do is dress badly to get it. EA’s newest family trivia game,Smarty Pantsfor the Nintendo Wii has just launched into stores and Destructoid wants to get a few copies into the hands of some lucky Dtoid readers, along with some extra swag. Just our way of bringing families closer together … with trivia games for your family to fight over this holiday season....

Bored? Good, because here is a thing that you should definitely play. It’s calledSuper Mario Crossover, and if you haven’t already heard of it, prepare to be astounded. It basically introduces other 8-bit characters to the world ofSuper Mario Bros. and it’s rather fantastic. Bill, Link, Mega Man, Belmont and Samus can all be taken intoSuper Mario Bros., and all of them work exactly how you’d expect them to. Link can throw boomerangs, Bill can access the Spread Shot with a Fire Flower, and Samus can turn into a ball while planting bombs....

[Update:Sony has gotten back to us, noting that an error was made in the blog post and confirming that Sony does ask PSN users for a security code. However, it was noted that the numbers are not stored on Sony’s servers so there’s no risk. The PS Blog post has now been corrected and the erroneous information crossed out. JOURNALISM!] This week, Sony communications chief Patrick Seybold tried to put fears to rest with anotherPlayStation Network/Qriocity FAQ....