Surfing the listings at eBay, you’ll see hundreds of auctions that are just tricks to rip idiot buyers off. The favorite trick of… I’d say clever sellers, but if the buyers took a minute to read the details of the auction instead of just looking at the pictures, they would clue into the fact that the seller is trying to rip people off. The trick is to post pictures of a console and a misleading auction title like “Buy Playstation 3” and then put in the details that buyers are actually bidding on the Playstation 3 web site name domain and not the actual console....

Sony’s latest totally unsecret secret has been yet again exposed by a loudmouth at Electronic Arts. Senior Vice President Patrick Soderlund has admitted that the publisher’s had access, though of course he cannot say much more than that.  “Well, obviously as a developer we have had that — but I’m not allowed to talk about it,” he said when asked if he’d had any exposure to the handheld. “… We can’t talk about it because of our relationship with Sony obviously, which is… That’s just the way it is....

As you may have already noticedfrom our earlier story, Valve has announced a brand new campaign forLeft 4 Dead, known to the world as “Crash Course.” We were invited to Valve’s offices in Seattle to check the new levels out and give you the skinny on what to expect. Things are not yet completely finalized, so a few things I saw may be changed before release, but if you want some general impressions on this brand new campaign, you’re in the right place....

I feel sorry for people who did not haveThe Oregon Trailas a vital part of their education. Those of us who did learned so much about history, survival and dysentery that we all became better people for it. Clearly, the people behind this trailer had that benefit. It’s riddled with fantastic references to the game that you’re sure to recognize. As a bonus, those references are genuinely funny. I’m torn between my favorite bit being the son hunting buffalo and the inscriptions on graves of unlucky settlers....

3rd BirthdayandFinal Fantasy XIIIAgitodirector Hajime Tabata has stated that if he were to work on a 3DS title, he’d most likely remake theFinal Fantasy VIImobile phone spin-offBefore Crisis, complete with a snazzy overhaul. “If I were to make something for 3DS, I suppose it would be a remake ofBefore Crisis Final Fantasy VII,”he says. “I’d redo the scenario structure and game design for the 3DS. I think I’d like to make an action RPGBCFF7where a large number of Turks players play simultaneously....

Youmay haveheard ofFinal Fantasy XIII‘s version of Shivaby now. The classicFFsummon now turns into a motorbike by beingtwoflamboyant women who kind of scissor each other to become a motorcycle. I really want to call it a “Motordyke,” but I fear that would be offensive to lesbian gamers, for whom I have nothing but sincere respect. Still, that’s the best pun you’ll read this morning. As you’re able to see from the above image, Shiva’s “Gestalt” mode takes the idea of the Transformer and does something … confusing … with it....

Just days after Game Informer revealed their cover story exclusive for Eidos’Batman: Arkham Asylum, here we have our first screens, and the words “totally badass” come to mind. The images confirm the game’s “dark” and “gritty” feel, with an angry looking and ripped Batman pounding filthy thugs’ faces in with his dirty bat-gloves. The game is said to feature a number of Batman’s most notorious villains, and we can see at least two of them in these screens — The Joker and an interesting choice, the less-popular — but completely terrifying — Killer Croc....

Scot Bayless has done time at Microsoft as a studio manager, a senior producer at Sega, and has also held executive roles at Midway, Capcom, EA. He’s been around the block. And now he’s making the news rounds for calling out Microsoft’s upcoming Natal motion-sensing game technology, saying that it’s going to fail. “When I met with Microsoft in 2008 to look at Natal I asked: ‘When will you integrate this into the 360?...

Last week, we ran with a slightly modified version of the famous game debate in the movieBilly Madison, and sure enough, we had plenty of people telling each other that they sucked. While the debate was neck-and-neck at first, it didn’t take too long for a clear winner to break free and advance into the next round of this three-week Sega Genesis/SNES odd debate series. Here are the results: This week we have an even more odd matchup in store for us, as we argue over a sidescrolling platformer and an exaggerated sports game....

The Official Xbox Magazine, tired of covering games sober, has gone ahead andnotched the nerdiness level upa few degrees by getting some high-end drink creators to come up with some very special alcoholic drinking recipes. The drinks come from all over the Xbox gaming arena including faves likeLeft 4 DeadandBioShock.Looking at them, and then reading the instructions for making them, makes it very clear that most of these drinks are far more about the look then the “getting drunk and passing out on the floor....

If there’s one thing at GDC I love as much as listening to lectures by some of the most interesting established names in game development, it’s heading to the expo floor and playing games made by the indies and students who might one day follow (or better yet, completely disregard) the footsteps of those lecturers. One of the student finalists in tonight’s Independent Games Festival,Tag: The Power of Paintwas the first game I got to actually sit down with after hitting the show floor, and I was pleasantly surprised....

When Sucker Punch releasedinFamousin 2009, the open-world action title had fewer than 100 missions — 99, to be exact. For a game of its ilk, that’s nothing to sneeze at. But Sucker Punch has bigger ideas for the game’s sequel, which hits PlayStation 3 on July 7. The developer is assuring that in theory, there will be an unlimited number of missions throughout the game’s lifespan, thanks you to:inFamous 2will have a user-generated mission feature....

Word out ofKotaku, who demoedGeometry Wars Galaxieson the Wii, is that it is sure to bring a smile to your face. For starters, this version is about 60 times bigger than the one we all played on XBLA (Evolved). Also, borrowing a bit fromMass Effect, levels are found on different planets that you zoom in and out of, and you have the choice concerning just which galaxy you wish to journey to....