Incoming 2! NEOGEO X Gold... GET!

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I couldn't help myself. Pre-order placed (thanks Best Buy!), as people are already trying to sell these for almost $100 more (and up!) on eBay. Lovely on them, but not when you can get it at its actual price and with free shipping to boot. Some in the industry think and keep going on about dedicated handheld systems being dead thanks to the glut of me-too mobile devices, but I say they're dead wrong if someone manages to do something as cool as this. I'll get a review up on one of the blogs sometime in mid-December after my system arrives. Now, go get one of your own, I say...

Or maybe get one for that gamer guy or gal on your Nice list - they'll thank you 'til the cows come home!

White Knight Chronicles II Goes Gold, Gets Pre-Order Goodies

OK, I'm a few days late with this news (oops), but hey, that backlog pile was a pain to dig out from under. D3Publisher of America has sent WKC II off to the presses and has announced a cool-looking armor set will be made available as a pre-order bonus (via DLC, of course) through participating GameStop retail locations or through the GS website. Don't ask me about what the armor does other than look nice and showy, but I'm gathering that once you hop online with it, you can expect a few compliments from live party members if they didn't score the bonus gear. WKC II is set to land in stores on September 13, 2011 (and remember, you get the remastered version of the first game FREE on the disc!).

Disgaea 4 Pre-Orders In Full Swing - Which One Is Yours?

Decisions, decisions, decisions! NISA sure isn't making it easy this time out, but no matter which of the three versions of the game you get, a winner is YOU. There's the $50 Standard Edition that comes with the original soundtrack on a CD, but ten bucks more gets you the Premium Edition in a nice box with a softcover art book and a cute Fuka fugurine. If you've got money to burn, you can blow $120 and get the Premium Figure Set which contains the PE box, art book, soundtrack, Fuka figurine AND nine more exclusive Disgaea 4 figures. It's enough to make an indecisive person really, really crazy, I say! Even worse, the pre-orders only go on until September 5 and the game ships out on September 6! Yaaaaah! All THAT and I haven't even mentioned all the cool stuff you can do in this latest installment (that's what the links are for)! I seriously can't decide, but methinks I'll stick with the Standard Edition just so I can eat a lot less cheap rice noodles later. Hey, I can get by on one meal a day if I really needed to...

Ace Combat: Assualt Horizon Phantom Pre-Order Bonus Trailer

Namco Bandai's latest high-flying entry in its seminal flight combat franchise gets a really cool pre-order bonus with a pretty recognizable plane. If you're a new or longtime fan of the series, don't forget the game's Facebook page can always use a few more of you top gunners. Strap on that emergency chute and get ready to rack up some killer frequent flier miles on your PS3 or Xbox 360 soon enough.

TES V: Skyrim Collector's Edition Announced At QuakeCon

Yeah, yeah - if you know me, you also know I have a love/hate thing about these big Limited Editions. However, as I'm supremely excited for Skyrim, that automatically translates to a few smooches directed toward this nifty CE, now available for pre-order at selected retailers. Details and pricing below the jump. Sure, It's not cheap and I'll probably just end up with a copy of the standard edition (if you saw my games library, you'd understand why), but if I get hit on the head with a bag o' cash, I'll be buying one of these right away and making space for it.

A Little Gifting Idea From Valve...

Er, Happy Valventine's Day (har har), Some hints from Valve on what and how. BTW, pre-orders for Portal 2 have started up all over the world (Yikes). Time to add your names to the list, I'd say...

Hyperdimension Neptunia Premium Package Pre-order Goodies Update - It's In the Cards...

So, you want MORE Hyperdimension Neptunia (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!) goodness? OK - NIS America has revealed an upcoming pre-order program for the PS3 exclusive that will net the first 1000 folks who sign up for a copy of the game through their online store a set of limited edition playing cards. This "Limited Edition Gamindustri Premium Pack" include the Premium Edition of Hyperdimension Neptunia and that fully customized deck of playing cards. Expect to see the game's super cute CPU Goddesses for all the face cards and with a customized Neptunia card back and perhaps a few special Jokers in the deck. This one keeps getting better and better...

Ys I & II Chronicles Gets Extra GameStop Pre-Order Extras (Thanks, Xseed!)

Xseed Games wants YOU to jump feet first onto the Ys I & II Chronicles bandwagon, so they've gone and done a great bit of pre-order coolness with GamrStop locations across the US. Slap down a deposit on the upcoming PSP game, follow the instructions below the jump and BOOM! Your choice of one of three excellent items will wing itself your way courtesy of Xseed! And yup, I get to post that hilarious Hair Metal trailer again, to boot!

Get that wallet out NOW and support Xseed!

Ys I & II Chronicles "Hair Metal" Trailer + Soundtrack Bonus Prove A Point...

Ys I & II Chronicles is coming on February 15, 2011, but Xseed Games wants you to start the party NOW. Dig the rockin' trailer above and pre-order the limited edition "Hair Metal Pack" and get your head-bangin' on while those classic game tunes (you may or may not remember depending on your age) are wailing away. Awe-some! Yup, Xseed is adding a CD soundtrack packed full of classic Ys tunes to the RETAIL version of the game ONLY. Oh, SNAP. Take that, digital downloads! Go Xseed!! (and nope, I'm not being sarcastic... some things are just better in a big ol' box and CD case).

Fate of the World Is In YOUR Hands (provided you pre-order, that is...)

Red Redemption Games wants you to help save the world... or destroy it (I guess it's nice to have a choice sometimes, isn't it?). Fate of the World, The developer's follow-up to BBC Climate Challenge is an intriguing looking global strategy game, is now available for pre-order on PC or Mac (which also nets you an option to beta test the game). The full press release lies below the jump. You have to love (or at least want to check out) a game with a logo that looks just like a tattoo design, that's for sure...

EA Fires Up Dead Space Ignition For Free (sort of...)

So, does EA love you or what? The good thing about the prequel (Dead Space Ignition) in my book is it's a multi-platform download. No Dead Rising Case Zero stuff here, folks. Er, then again... PS3 owners are getting their hands on an HD remake of Dead Space Extraction, as part of Dead Space 2 Limited Edition (or on PSN as DLC) but heck, you really don't want to play that game hands-free anyway, right? Press release below, by the way...

DreamCatcher Reveals Arcania - Gothic 4 Demo Date + Pre-Order PC Version Discounts

Well alright - I've been waiting for news on a Gothic 4 demo and here it is. Two hour PC and Xbox 360 trial versions will launch on September 24 in advance of the game's October 12, 2010 release date. Between the incredible looking Arcania and a certain other European-style RPG (Two Worlds II), I'm going to be in RPG nirvana. The Gothic series has always been great for plenty of challenging open-world thrills and quests galore (and hell, I liked the original Two Worlds, warts and all).

Anyway, press release and links below - click away!

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Hands-On

At Konami's Gamer's Nite NYC event, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was clearly the star of the show. My impressions were that Konami, developer Mercury Steam and Kojima Productions are sending notice that in the right hands, the Belmont lineage is going to be just fine as a big-budget, highly cinematic action game experience. Everything I saw, heard and played on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions was extremely high quality and extremely worthy of the Castlevania name. Yes, the game riffs on Shadow of the Colossus, the God of War games and a few other titles, but there are also visual and stylistic influences from Guillermo del Toro and some familiar Kojima storytelling elements that make the game highly engrossing right from the opening scene.

Lucha Libre: Heroes Del Ring GameStop Pre-Order Bonus Pics

I forgot to post these with my Heroes Del Ring hands-on a few days back, so here you go:

Shots of the rather awesome pre-order Luchador masks GameStop is giving away exclusively (one per customer) to those who plunk down a deposit. Very cool indeed and a well-made premium, to boot. If I'm not mistaken, they're made from nice and stretchy polyester (one size fits all unless you've a really tiny or really HUGE head) with vinyl detailing. They also lace up in the back like the actual masks for that extra touch of authenticity.

Sega Rolls Out Vanquish Demo for PS3, Xbox 360

Sega has finally unleashed the incredible Vanquish demo onto PSN and Xbox LIVE to-day, so you know what you need to do, right? If you're a supported of the retail rinse cycle, GameStop is offering up a nifty pre-order bonus in the form of an exclusive Tri-Weapons Pack, so you also know what needs to be done there as well (right?). Hell, based on the screen shots alone, methinks Sega and Platinum Games will go platinum on this one, folks...

Disney Interactive Announces Epic Mickey, TRON: Evolution Collector's Editions

With two of the most anticipated (and definitely two of my most anticipated) game releases this year, Disney Interactive Studios is definitely putting Disney Epic Mickey and TRON: Evolution fans on notice that they're in for some really cool collector's editions. There's also a cool TRON iPhone/iPod Touch app from Disney Mobile that's free and has a few fun features (that updated version of Tanks is pretty darn cool, by the way.

Click away below for press releases and nice photos. Now if only someone would get one of those fancy custom bike shop wizards to cook up a WORKING life-size Tron light cycle replica...

Enslaved To Take Over YouTube Tomorrow (And Yes, There Are Prizes To Be Won There)

Namco Bandai and Ninja Theory's upcoming cinematic action game goes supremely viral tomorrow over YouTube and gamers will have the chance to not only watch game footage and download lots of cool stuff, but pre-order the game from GameStop AND potentially score some REALLY slick Enslaved: Journey to the West themed prizes. You all like prizes, don't you? Well... read on, then!




(As for me, just get me a copy of the PS3 version and a working time machine so I can play through the game a few dozen times in a day. Hell, I don't ask for much now, do I?)

GameStop's HaloFest Gets Underway

Want a chance to get together with other Halo: Reach fans, enter a contest or two and WIN some cool Halo related swag? Well, read on, MacDuff!

Gallery: Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland

Nippon Ichi's US branch is still merrily publishing some of the most fun niche JRPGs available and their upcoming PS3 release of Gust Co.'s Atelier Rorona: the Alchemist of Arland should absolutely please fans of this style of game. As you can see from the gallery below, the game looks fantastic using an excellent mix of lovingly detailed 2D portraits with 3D characters and environments.

NISA has also announced that two slightly different Premium Box versions of the game will be available. The first version can only be purchased at GameStop where pre-ordering the game will get you a beautiful 32-page hardcover full color art book. The other Premium Box will only be available through the NISA Online shop where that particular pre-order gets you the art book along with the official game soundtrack CD.

Ys Seven Now Available At Retail

It's been absolutely the best year to date for the PSP in terms of high quality games and yes, here's yet another one well worth your hard-earned money. XSEED Games has announced that its latest RPG, Falcom's epic Ys Seven is now available at retailers across North America. The game comes in three formats: a standard UMD edition ($29.99), a Premium Edition ($49.99) or as a digital download from the PlayStation Network Store ($29.99). Below is a pic of the Premium Edition, which features the following items: