Electronic Arts promised 48 hours of earlyBattlefield 3beta access to customers that pre-ordered the game through Origin or registered their copy of theMedal of Honor Tier 1 Editionvia an EA account. While many gamers got their beta keys, a significant number didn’t, and they’re not happy. The beta is now open to all, so those who met EA’s “early access” demands and received nothing have lost the opportunity completely.One forum threadis taking names and details of those who got jilted....

Looking for a way to impress that special lady in your life? Well, maybe after watching this video, she’ll be awed by your 1337 claw skills and give up that snatch like her life depended on it. Thanks to Braniac (thatshow on G4that doesn’t suck), now you’re able to pwn that stupid claw and victory shall be yours … forever! Pretty soon you’ll be swimming in stuffed animals and cheap watches....

Yeah, that’s the same face I made, too. According toBloomberg, Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto says the company is looking at its highest profitability in seven years by the end of 2009, thanks in no small part to its arcade operations. In Japan, of course. The report notes that arcade earnings make up 18 percent of Capcom’s sales, and that the company will be adding 8 new arcade centers by this March, the end of its fiscal year....

Any PS3 controller charger is enough to win me over. Having to directly connect USB cables to the console and power it on to charge the SIXAXIS is quite the hassle, and it’s not as quick as it could be. Nyko took things one step further, and I’m sure you’ll agree that the packaging and design of the Charge Base 2 for PS3 is as charming as could be. As you can see, the packaging bears a strong resemblance to the iconic mascot of the web’s finest gaming community....

Some of you might recall an unannounced “Xbox Game Room”from a surveyback in October. The basic idea behind the supposed virtual space is that it would allow Xbox 360 owners to access a bunch of retro games presumably varied enough to make it worthwhile with Xbox LIVE Arcade still — you know — existing. There’s been a lot of speculation as to whether or not this thing will be blatantly similar to PlayStation Home in terms of walking around with your Avatar and choosing old-school games rather than picking them from a basic menu....

Considering how Naughty Dog has gone on the record to say thatUncharted: Drake’s Fortunewas developed with a franchise in mind, this teaser trailer forUncharted 2shouldn’t come as a huge surprise — except for the chilly setting, of course.Quite a change of scenery, huh? While not much aboutUncharted 2: Among Thievesis revealed in the short trailer above,Game Informerhas a few tidbits of info to supplement the announcement.Excited? You should be. The full game debut will take place at the 2008 Spike TV Video Game Awards on December 14....

These days, we find ourselves in a world where the word “cinematic” is frequently thrown about in relation to videogames. While classic titles likePac-ManandDonkey Kongrepresented the fun, unrealistic entries in a new art form’s infancy, today the notion seems to be that videogames should, for some reason or another, strive to bemore like films. In a way, this philosophy is not wholly unwarranted: the medium of film has had more time to hone and perfect its storytelling and visual craft, so whywouldn’tvideogames borrow some of its mechanics?...

Earlier today, game designer Cliff Bleszinskitold MTV Multiplayerthat he’s opted to drop his world-renowned nickname, “CliffyB.” The reasoning behind this controversial decision? He says it’s “time to grow up a bit.” While I respect Cliff’s choice (itishis name after all), I can’t exactly see gamers calling him by his full name any time soon; nicknames are easily earned, but nearly impossible to lose. That’s why I’m proposing we meet him halfway by instead reffering to Cliff as “The Designer Formerly Known As CliffyB....

With a roar of the engine… with flame belching from the exhaust pipe… with the grill work glinting like the blood hungry smile of some Great Red Shark, a crimson Cadillac will explode through the walls of the Tokyo Game Show next Thursday, scattering in its wake a broken chaos of scoop-hungry journalists and polite, nervous-looking Japanese businessmen. As the rear axle collides with the show floor, the bulging trunk of the Great Red Shark will burst open, sending the contents of what can only be described as a mobile police narcotics lab flying through the air like the evisceration of a pinata at a Mexican junkie’s birthday party....

I know what you’re thinking — “Goldarnit, another blastedGTA IVcomparisonpost?!” (And if you are thinking that, well, the 1920s called; they want their mild oaths back.) But I’m happy to report that this post has nothing to do with differences in howGTA IVlooks or runs on the PS3 and 360. Instead, it’s about Flickr userMatthew Johnston, who has done a bang-up job (there we go again with the anachronisms) on a set of comparison shots featuring photos of real locations in New York City alongside images fromGTA IV....

Good news, loyal followers of Gaijin Games! We now have a launch date for the studio’s latest,Bit.Trip Runner. May 17 is the day of arrival, with a European release expected to follow soon thereafter. As catchy as the music is, I rarely ever am able to force my lazy self to boot up the ol’ Wii and give WiiWare a nice perusal. Not this time. I have my novelty-sized calendar all marked and ready to constantly remind me to purchaseBit....

Ifour review is any indication(and it is), we really liked this week’s Xbox LIVE Arcade title,Twisted Pixel’sThe Maw. Personally, I can’t help smiling thinking about when the game’s little alien, Frank, squeals “Mawwwww?” when separated from his jelly-like pal. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, no problem. We’re looking to give three lucky readers codes to downloadThe Mawfrom Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Winning is going to be relatively easy and painless....

Here’s a trailer for Abylight’s DSiWare titleCosmo Fighters. It’s a four-player brawler which looks to be heavily inspired byRiver City Ransomwith just a smidgen of art direction cribbed from Akira Toriyama. The coolest feature about this one is that it will accommodate four players with only one copy of the game via Download Play. Doesn’t look to shabby for a 500 Point game.Cosmo Fightershits the DS Store in North America on December 20th....