I’ll never cease to be amazed at the passion displayed by some videogame fans. Recently, we tossed up a few select screenshots ofEarthBoundcreaturescreated inSpore. They were splendidly done and elicited a smile from more than a few us here. Not to be outdone, our very community memberfree touchhas created his own uniqueEarthBoundcreation – in the form of an Xbox 360 faceplate. As you’re able to see above, it’s a delightful rendition of the main characters and logo of the game....

Earthworm Jimcreator Doug TenNapel is, apparently, a living parody of American bigotry. Recently, the artist madeseveral amazing commentson the subject of Christianity, gay marriage, and whyAMERICURRRRis the best damn country in the world. When asked on what grounds he opposed gay marriage, TenNapel said, “The same argument I have against letting a man take a dump in the ladies room. And (sic) office appropriate for one sex isn’t automatically appropriate for another, no matter how much a man loves taking a dump in the ladies room....

EA may have stepped on a few toes with the announcement of its Origin service and, depending on how you interpret some of the recent activity surrounding their games, you may think them entirely sinister. Regardless, it’s a business and even if you have no intention of giving Origin a chance, you’ve got to respect a solid effort. In what is easilythe service’s most appealing sale, just about all of EA’s more antiquated titles can be had for a measly $4....

We’re only three months away from the release of the biggest PlayStation 3 title of 2011 and you would be forgiven for already being caught up in the hype. EB Games Australia, however, seem to want to burst that bubble of excitement by slapping a price of never-before-seen insanity on the “Explorer Edition” ofUncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. It is, if you can believe it,priced at AUD $208. While game prices in Australia being unusually high isn’t a new phenomenon, this sets a new standard of overpricing....

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been really excited forEnslaved: Odyssey to the West. Ninja Theory demonstrated it could tell a great story with Heavenly Sword, but the gameplay was a little lacking. Enslaved aims to provide both the story and the gameplay, andfrom what I played, both aims are met with aplomb! The game has now been given an official North American release date of October 5, so if you’re hyped for the game, save the date....

The Entertainment Software Rating Board is about to embark on one of the silliest ventures this industry has ever seen, as it’s planning to automate the rating of videogames. Starting with XBLA, PSN and WiiWare titles, the ESRB is going to let computers decide what ages videogames are suitable for. Publishers will soon not need to show their game to a human, instead filling out a questionnaire to determine how much sex, violence, swearing, gambling and foul bodily function is in a game....

We’ve known for a bitthat Square Enix’sKane & Lynch 2would be getting its own comic book. The game story’s comic, which further explores the duo’s past, is getting its adaptation from DC’s Wildstorm label, and is written by Ian Edginton. Chris Mitten, who also works on the seriesWASTELAND, is the comic artist, but Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night, Fell) is the cover artist. Today we have the exclusive first look at Templesmith’s work for the comic’s first issue cover....

While Anthony’s been on aviral marketing goosechase, the rest of us just want to get our hands on Monolith’s upcoming first-person shooter,F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. If you’re too lazy to even play the demo, we’re sure to have a nice preview ofF.E.A.R. 2: Project Originup soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

I just finished readingThe People of Paperby Salvador Plascencia, and it gave me a pretty unusual (but hopefully interesting) idea for a short, independent game. Initially charting the picaresque adventures of a bed-wetting father and his lime addicted daughter as they make a new life together,The People of Papertakes a sharp narrative turn about a quarter through the book. Tired of being forced into absurd, depressing situations for the entertainment of the reader, the characters literally revolt against the author who has created them....

Poor, poor PS3 owners. While you’ve been stuck in Washington, DC Xbox 360 owners have taken trips to Anchorage Alaska, Pittsburgh, Point Lookout State Park in Maryland and outer space. Yes, while 360 owners have been running across post-apocalyptic America inFallout 3‘s DLC you’ve been waiting. However, you patience will pay off. In fact Bethesda has been saying that the first DLC, “Broken Steel,” should come some time in September, but they’ve lied to us before....

First the good news — the previously mentionedResident Evil 4 Wii remakeleaked by retailers has been confirmed by Famitsu. Not surprisingly, Wii remote functionality has been added. Players will be able to aim with the Wii remote; reload by holding B and shaking the controller; and wave the controller without holding B to swing your knife. The game will also contain the extra Ada missions from the PlayStation 2 version of the game, as well as a trailer for the upcomingUmbrella Chronicles....

Square-Enix is planning to release a non-traditional beta forFinal Fantasy XIV, but the PS3 version isn’t set to be the pilot platform. In an interview withGameWatch(spotted byRPG Site), game producer Hiromichi Tanaka revealed that Windows was to be the platform of choice for an unusual beta. According to RPG Site, the beta won’t be constant — instead, play time is to be constricted to hourly chunks. In addition to this, the amount of people let in to the beta may be small....

Surprise!PixelJunk Shooter 2is happening! Actually, we kind of knew about it already. Q-Games’ Dylan Cuthbert has been mighty talkative lately, and he’s only just beginning to discuss the sequel to last year’s most fluid-filled game in-depth. “We still have a ton of ideas on the drawing board and the engine has lots of potential we want to use before moving onto our next idea,” Cuthbert told G4. “It would be a waste not to use it to try out more stuff....