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[Editor’s note: unangbangkay talks about how playing with others isn’t always a good thing for hisMonthly Musingpiece. — CTZ] I’m really a single-player gamer, I have to admit.Left 4 Deadis one of my favorite multiplayer games because it plays a heck of a lot like a single-player game. To me, playing alone is something of a “purer” experience, allowing me to see the game the wayIwish to see it, rather than conforming to another’s notion of what a game “should” be like....

I honestly don’t care what anyone says: “skadoosh” is the funniest onomatopoeiaever. Not that I didn’t really, really enjoy having Topher, Chad, and Ashley on, but it’s nice to know that I’ll be able to trade barbs with Aaron, hear disgusting things from Jim, and tell Tiff to shut her whore mouth before she can get two syllables out of it. Feels likehome. Anyway, we record tonight, and need some questions....

PopCap, known for their simple yet addictive games, has signed a deal with Sony Ericsson. The Xperia mini and mini pro will come pre-loaded with ‘Games by PopCap’ which means that buying one of those specific phone models will get you a full unlock ofChuzzle.Their other titles, such asPlants vs ZombiesandPegglewill come in unlimited trial and be available for purchase using an integrated billing system. I am a fan of PopCap, and have enjoyed their games quite a bit, so I’m pleased to see that they’re continuing to do well....

So I had to scrap the first draft of myGrand Theft Auto: Chinatown Warspreview that a wrote a week or two ago. It wasn’t a bad preview, really. I thought it was written fairly well, contained all of the relevant game information, and some quick snippets of personal impressions. The problem was, it was too God damned long. Like, L. Ron Hubbard’sMission Earthlong. You see,Chinatown Warsis a big game, easily one of the biggest games on the Nintendo DS....

If you’ve been itching to kill countless waves of undead sand creatures, Ubisoft has got just the thing for you. The publisher has revealed a partnership with GameStop, offering up “Forgotten Arena” downloadable content as a pre-order bonus for the upcomingPrince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. This extra game mode will have you battling hordes of baddies that come in waves, with your health replenished between each trial. The GameStop listing teases that killing more than 100 enemies would indicate that you “have what it takes to become a real Prince of Persia....

For gamers, the Blu-ray functionality included in the PlayStation 3 might just have been a side bonus. But now it looks like those that chose a PS3 as their Blu-ray playing solution might be better off than those that chose a standalone player. BBC Newssays that some Blu-ray player owners may find that they’ll eventually miss out on new features as their sets are not upgradeable A new picture-in-picture feature was just rolled out, but the majority of Blu-ray players sold to date do not have the necessary hardware to support this....

The legendary R4 card, which allows gamers to essentially help themselves to the entire Nintendo DS library, has become officially illegal to import, advertise and sell in the United Kingdom. The R4 is used by thousands of UK gamers, but as of today it is outlawed. “Nintendo promotes and fosters game development and creativity, and strongly supports the game developers who legitimately create new and innovative applications,” states Nintendo. “Nintendo initiates these actions not only on its own behalf, but also on behalf of over 1,400 video game-development companies that depend on legitimate sales of games for their survival....

If an animated movie is coming out you can pretty much guarantee that it’s going to have a kid friendly videogame land alongside it. It appears that the Johnny Depp ledRangowill be no different as employees from Canadian developer A2M, who brought usNaughty Bear, arealready listing the gameon their resumes. Normally a game based on a children’s movie would hardly be news as they are a dime a dozen, butRangoreally looks interesting as a film and I’m hoping it tumbles over to the game....

GamerTrailers.combrought it upon themselves tointerview Ryan Stevenson, a concept artist for Rare. Some of the hot topics discussed includeViva Pinata 2,Banjo-Kazooie 3, and Rare’s history with Nintendo. There is serious potential forViva Pinata 2to be a solid experience. The first game was not bad in the least bit and as long as Rare continues to build theViva Pinatabrand, more people should be willing to give the sequel a fair chance....

Reggie Fils-Aime has once again addressed Nintendo’s stance on independent developers, expounding onhis previous pointto say that indie developers are great, but only if they have experience working with big publishers. “We’ve been clear that we want to work with independent developers who understand this business, who have experience in this business,” said the hamburger helper. “These are people who spent time working with larger publishers and larger developers, but had that idea in the back of their head that they needed to bring to life … and so that’s the type of entity that we want to work with....

Renegade Kid, developer of fine Nintendo DS titles likeDementiumandMoon, will reveal its new game tomorrow. Studio co-founder Jools Watsham has even been dropping hints on the next titleall over his Twitter account. Here’s what we know so far: Okay, so we actually know more than we’re letting on. In fact, we know what the game is — we’ve even played it — and we’ll berevealing it exclusively on Destructoidtomorrow. Check back tomorrow, December 6, at 3:00 PM PST, for the reveal trailer and first details on Renegade Kid’s fourth title....

Oh, it’s just filthy.Codemastershas released some new details on the next Colin McRae racer and confirmed that the game will be officially titledDiRT. What’s with the lowercase vowel? Who cares when thescreenshotslook this sweet? Scheduled to hit Xbox 360 and PC in June, (with the PS3 version trailing not far behind,)DiRTwill feature a new physics and damage system, and courses that will put players through several different schools of racing, all while keeping that excellent sense of handling the series has become known for....

Riot Games gave the Mac version ofLeague of Legendsa try, but that’s not always enough. Both Riot and TransGaming “have been exploring every possible avenue to ensure the Mac version is up to Riot standards,”according to a forum post. Unfortunately, the Mac beta client has been closed, at least for the time being. “We currently develop on the PC, but since the plan was for the Mac to share servers, we believed that a Mac version that was frequently unavailable was not up to Riot standards....