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The PSP Go must be a sad piece of hardware. In concept, it’s revolutionary. It’s the first dedicated, all-digital game platform (phones notwithstanding), with full support for the PlayStation Network, several PS3-connectivity features and all the power of the PSP itself. Unfortunately in practice it’s kind of miserable. It costs too much, is saddled with some of the original PSP’s flaws (where’s my second analog nub?), and digital PSP games aren’t cheaper or come out any faster, and in some cases don’t come out at all....

At least three PSP fans have been impatiently tapping their feet, waiting for news on the PSP Comics service that Sony boasted aboutten thousand years ago. Today, we’re one step closer to the service becoming real, with word of a Japanese release date. Of course, it wouldn’t be a new service without the system’s billionth Firmware update, so Japanese PSP users can look forward to that on November 19, in preparation for a December 12 launch....

We might not be gettingany free gamesfor the PSPgo in North America, but Sony’s making sure there will be plenty of stuff to spend our money on. It’sbeen revealedthat 16,000 pieces of DLC will be available for the PSP on October 1. That’s alot, by the way. The content includes 225 downloadable games (PSP titles, PSN exclusives, UMD legacy titles and Minis), 2,300 movies and 13,300 television episodes. In addition, game cards will hit retailers, allowing customers to make in-store purchases and then download the titles when they get home....

Red Dead Redemption‘s most exciting add-on yet (I know, that’s not saying much), the “Undead Nightmare” pack, is getting a timely release: October 26 for PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Marketplace at a reasonable $10 asking price. Additionally, Rockstar Games is putting out an Undead Nightmare standalone disc that includes the aforementioned zombie pack, the “Outlaws to the End” co-op mission pack, the “Legends and Killers” pack, the “Liars and Cheats” pack, and every last bit of the multiplayer Free Roam modes released so far....

Jose Gonzales, the singer/songerwriter responsible for the song “Far Away” which appeared inRed Dead Redemption, will be performing at the Spike VGAs this Saturday, December 11. Gonzales’ “Far Away” was nominated for the “Best Song In A Game” category, along with Nicole Scherzinger (yes, from the Pussycat Dolls) singing “GoldenEye” from the Wii title of the same name. Other songs in the category include Green Day’s “Basket Case” from Green Day: Rock Band; Soundgarden’s “Black Rain” fromGuitar Hero: Warriors of Rock; Eminem’s “Won’t Back” down fromCall of Duty: Black Ops; and the “Replay”/”Rudeboy” mash-up fromDJ Hero 2....

Some movie stills from the upcoming SyFy movieRed Faction: Originswere posted over at Comic Book Movie and it looks deliciously SyFy-y. The movie that bridges the storylines ofRed Faction: GuerrillaandRed Faction: ArmageddonseesRobert Patrick— who continues his recent run playing crazy guys in mediocre movies — asGuerrillaprotagonist Alec Mason.Brian J. Smith(Lt. Matthew Scott inStargate Universe) plays his son Jake Mason, who will probably fatherArmageddon‘s protagonist Darius Mason at the end of the movie or something....

[Here’s megaStryke’s E3 09 blog for theRegarding E3 theme. Along with this promotion, megaStryke is going to be getting some random swag we collected at E3! — CTZ] [RiotMonstertotally stole my thunder on this one. I’m going to soldier on anyway and attempt to offer a slightly different perspective.] E3 2009 has concluded and there have been many highs and lows, but the big thing to take away is that motion controls have truly arrived and that theywillbe a major fixture in gaming for years to come....

Remember playingRampagefor hours and hours and then finally, after all your trouble, all your hard work and determination, your only reward was the word “congratulations” on the screen or a few seconds? Yeah, that sucked, huh? Tonight we’re taking a look back at the very best and worst in retro game endings. Some were memorable for how great they were, some for how terrible they were, and some were so lame we don’t even remember them....

On paper,Castlevania: Harmony of Despairsounds like a dream. A Castlevania game with six-player co-op, bringing together an all-star cast from the “Metroidvania” style titles, all rendered in glorious high-definition sprites. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? What could go wrong? A surprising amount, apparently. Castlevania HDis by no means a bad game, but it is one of the most contradictory, unintuitive and downrightconfusingXBLA games ever made. Even as I write this introduction, I am struggling to recall how much of the game was fun, and how much was a repetitive, grinding chore....

Dynasty Warriorsgames aren’t exactly known for their critical acclaim, but at least one subset of the series has always managed to win favor with the press. Empires is a strategic expansion to the Warriors games, taking the assets from the main games and adding a political element. As a warlord of ancient China, players have to take over provinces, forge alliances and build armies to unify the land. DW6: Empiresmakes a few changes to the formula, but remains the same game at heart....

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Togetheris considered by many strategy RPG enthusiasts to be one of the best examples of the genre. Originally released on the Super Nintendo, then remade on the PlayStation and Saturn, it now finds itself on the PlayStation Portable. The story in this re-remake has been largely unchanged, but several new systems have been added to alter the manner in which it unfolds. Do the changes implemented justify this game’s existence?...

Kinect exclusiveRise of Nightmareshas come the closest of any upcoming release to actually making me purchase a Kinect. A good deal of that pressure to purchase comes from the fact that the game just looks fun, but I’d attribute the bulk of it to the way it takes shots at every other Kinect game. “It has many features like no dancing, no steering wheels and, as a bonus, no perky aerobics instructors....

Over the past decade, the classic board gameRISKhas undergone a lot of changes with the game seeing both a major streamlining of its rules in 2008 along with a number of licensed, rule-variant versions based on themes and popular licenses. Today,Metal Gear Solidjoins the ranks of those licensed products as the “game of global domination” takes on Hideo Kojima’s espionage-laden setting. As with all of these licensed releases, you’ll be able to play the standardRISKgame straight away....