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Farbs — you know, the guy who madeROM CHECK FAILand quit his job at 2K Australia bymaking a game— recently released his newest work,Captain Forever. Well, sort of. It’s in a “prelaunch” phase, which primarily means two things: firstly, that it’s five bucks cheaper than its eventual launch price of $20 and secondly, while you’ll technically be given access to a slightly less complete version than what will eventually launch sometime in the future, one prelaunch purchase entitles you to every single subsequent version of the game....

I love the smell of years of experiential evidence finally gaining validity in the morning! Today, two researchers from Middlesex University are presenting the findings of a study involving 292World of Warcraftplayers, ranging in age from 12 to 83, at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference. Just what did they seek to determine with their study? Whether or not violence in games has a positive or negative effect on players....

Red China loves MMOs. It’s a proven fact. In surveys conducted last year, it was found that the Chinese only value backbreaking hard work and delicious noodles above wasting one’s life in an Internet Cafe, and Blizzard, the developer behindWorld of Warcraft, is working hard to funnel as much yuan into their coffers as possible. The9, the company that has been in charge of the localization and administration ofWorld of Warcraftfor the current Communist meccahas been tappedto handle the same duties for Blizzard’sWoWexpansion,The Burning Crusade....

There are some games that you focus whole-heartedly on, counting down the days until release, and absorbing every screenshot and video via subdermal injections until you’ve foregone your entire humanity in favor of the electronic world of your choice.Clive Barker’sJerichoisnotone of those games. It’s one that you vaguely notice out of the periphery of your vision while trying to find more info onFinal Fantasy Reverie: Moogle Hoedown, but what you do see of it iskinda awesome....

So, thatGotham City Impostorsgame which was announced yesterday sounds a bit strange. This bit of concept art helps to solidify that first impression a bit. I love the idea of these little armies of misfits — that probably neither Batman nor Joker would want to be associated with — wreaking havoc in the streets of Gotham. And we all make Batman costumes out of stuff lying around the house. That’s just part of being a healthy twenty-something, right?...

Last Friday, a retail listing forFlingSmashmade mention ofa new peripheralfor the Wii, the Wii Remote Plus. Despite the listing being pulled and Nintendo scrunching up its mouth to refuse comment, the publisher has decided to nowcome clean and admitthat the Wii Remote Plus is a real thing. The Wii Remote Plus is exactly what it sounds like — a Wiimote with the Motion Plus accessory built in. I’m surprised it actually took this long to be made, but there you are....

Hey, where have you been? In conjunction with Atlus, we’ve been running a sick contest that should have anyEtrian Odysseyfan drooling. The prizes? Get out your bibs: Grand Prize winner:One female protector figurine; one signed 3-disc soundtrack (signed by composer Yuzo Koshiro); one copy of rare preorder-only-in-japan piano arrangement soundtrack; one copy of orchestrated arrangement soundtrack; one signed copy ofEtrian Odyssey II(signed by director Shigeo Komori) Runners-up:Three folks would get a copy of the gameANDa copy of the 3-disc soundtrack...

Most of The Who’s greatest songs — or, the band’s greatest songs that work well in a rhythm videogame for four distinct players — have already appeared as downloadable content forRock Band. So then, do they deserve their own proper gamea la The Beatles? Lead singer Roger Daltrey, speakingtoThe Republican, says: “The game, yeah, yeah, they’re going to be doing a Who one next year,” in reference toThe Beatles: Rock Band....

Here’s one more look at that PSP game of “creepy voyeurism” in a new Japanese promotional video for the upcoming Tecmo titleDead or Alive Paradise. Nothing really creepy here. It’s all perversion as you’re introduced to all of the game’s girls. You’ll get a full rundown (in Japanese) of each. There’s also a quick look at the games you can play to buy the girls new swimsuits, like poker, blackjack and slot machines....

I may have to crank out another of our deal round-ups before it’s all said and done, but there’s already some good stuff to nab if you haven’t wasted all your money on fireworks. One of the best deals I saw was this Xbox 360 Elite Final Fantasy XIII Limited Edition bundle. The price is an insane $249.Newegg has the bundles in stockand lets you combine the normal price with a $100 discount with special code “XBOX625B....

Depthis an upcoming game being developed using Epic’s UDK toolset where underwater divers will be going up against sharks. The goal of the diver is to find and retrieve treasure while the goal of the shark is to prevent the divers from getting away with the treasure … BY EATING THEM! Yes, you’ll actually be able to play as sharks. Each side has different strengths and weaknesses, in the same vein as theSplinter Cellmultiplayer offerings....

Yes, the above picture is of me riding a mechanical bull at Gamecock Media Group’s EIEIO 2008 that took place in Austin, Texas last week. (You can see a picture of me falling off the same mechanical bull in the gallery below; thank you very much Jay Fitzloff ofSandbox Strategies.) Good times indeed, but I was also there to see and play a few games, as well. By now, you might have already seen our coverage ofVelvet AssassinandHail to the Chimp; if not, click on those links or go ahead and scroll down a few stories....

Aw yeah, a special Collector’s Edition for “select European countries,” New Zealand and Australia! Nope, this edition ofDeus Ex: Human Revolutionisnot comingto the U.S., Canada, or anywhere else. While some of the stuff is also included in theAugmented Edition, here is what you’re missing out on with this supposedly “very limited” C.E.: Adam Jensen action figure! The C.E. is 100 euro atAmazon.de, which will probably amount to around 70-80 GBP or something for the UK....