I spotted the green, yellow and purple Kinect rings from a distance while walking around in Montreal's Complexe Les Ailes today. At first I thought I came across one of those mall-type Microsoft stores, like the ones they have in Arizona and California. When I got closer (and through a large crowd of onlookers) I found that what at first looked like a mall boutique was actually an installation solely dedicated to showing off Kinect to the public. 

Inside they had several televisions in dedicated spaces, each with an Xbox 360 and a Kinect attached. They had many of all of the launch games there, and people were lining up to play. The walls were decorated with avatars and each station was manned by a staffer in a Kinect shirt. Strangely, it was mostly middle-aged men that seemed most interested in the new motion-sensing device for the Xbox 360. A few younger girls were playing Dance Central, but the rest of the stations were manned by guys that didn't really look the type. 

The installation didn't seem to be selling Kinects or systems, but they did have plenty of literature on hand. 

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WHA Entertainment's PlayStation Network-exclusive Kick Ass game is getting some improvements, and thank goodness… I sure didn't like it all that much. 

But Kick Ass New and Improved looks to add new features to the game, including new missions and enemies. The new mission, "Frank's Night Club," will have you fighting new enemies, which is a welcome addition — there were maybe four of them in the original game! Also added to the mix will be a new fight against Red Mist, where you'll be able to use new moves like a double hit spin attack and a toss attack team-based move. 

WHA is also promising updated AI, sound improvements, and "improved trophies," whatever that means. 

If you've already purchased Kick Ass, you'll get the upgrade to Kick Ass New and Improved for free on November 9. Everyone else can buy it for .99. 

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Dynasty Warriors Online, the MMO spin on Koei's popular hack n' slash franchise, has entered open beta with an incentive for any warriors who have a lot of time on their hands. Aeria Games is offering ,000 worth of prizes to their most dedicate beta testers, so you better keep your clicking finger well lubricated.

The grand prize is an  Alienware M17x notebook computer. That's ridiculous!

If you want to go hitting things online, you can download the game right here. I've given the closed beta a go, but haven't had time to really get into it yet. Hopefully I'll see some of you there this week!

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Now this is a collector's edition I can get behind! Sony has revealed the Killzone 3: Helghast Edition, packed with all sorts of stuff that any fan of orange-eyed space fascists will love. 

The centerpiece is the rather nifty Helghast helmet replica which opens up to reveal an art book, a Super Voucher and a copy of the game. You also get a 6.5" action figure of a semi-cloaked Helghast marksman, which comes fully articulated and will not be sold at retail. 

The Super Voucher contains yet more fun, with codes to download the game's soundtrack, a Dynamic Theme, the Retro Map Pack with two Killzone 2 maps and Double XP with full access to all weapons and abilities for the first 24 hours of multiplayer. Download codes will be available separately if you pre-order the standard edition at either GameStop, Best Buy or Amazon.

Yeah, the inside of my pants are basically wallpapered with jizz. 

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After what seems like an eternity of speculation regarding its development, Engadget has posted photos of what they claim is a genuine PlayStation Phone. This handheld features a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, and 1 GB of ROM, and it has a screen in the neighborhood of four inches.

As you can see, the underlay buttons are consistent with that of the PSP. But instead of an analog nub, we have what appears to be a touchpad in the center of the device. Engadget is reporting that this particular unit is still in the prototyping phase and has some bugs in it.

The PlayStation Phone [Engadget]

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You could go just about anywhere with that name. To me it sounds like just one of a collection of urban-made upskirt videos. But it's probably a videogame, and it's probably something from Clap Hanz, the folks that make one of my favorite games ever, Hot Shots Golf.

The sharp minds at Siliconera note that minigame collection Minna no Sukkiri came out in Japan last year for the PSP, so this could be the name for the western port. 

If they do release the game here, some of the original intent will be lost on US audiences. The title stars hosts from Japanese television morning show Sukkiri, which almost no one here will recognize. The twelve minigames should still be fun, though.

I'd expect to hear a title announcement soon.

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The iPhone is often looked down upon by ignorant gamers, disregarded as a legitimate gaming platform. Try telling that to the developers who have helped the App Store attain over 300,000 titles! 

In just two years, the iPhone, iPod and iPad have amassed that rather incredible number. I absolutely admit that at least 50% of those "games" are probably fart simulators, but there are also some incredibly accomplished titles such as Mega Jump, N.O.V.A, Chaos Rings, GodVille and loads of others. Not to mention the fact that most of them are pretty damn cheap, with some excellent games starting at .99 and sometimes even free. 

Like it or not, the iPhone has become a bit of a gaming triumph. They're not the kind of games you may like to play, and they may not all be "hardcore" shooting games, but Apple is starting to become a serious contender in this industry, and we'd all do well to keep an eye on it.

App Store now home to 300,000 titles [GI.biz]

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A few people have claimed recently that they want completely objective and unbiased reviews lacking personal opinion. I have been criticized for using my own feelings and thoughts when writing a review, which I am informed is actually a bad way to review videogames. My last Jimquisition video tackled this subject but the critics didn’t understand it. 

With that in mind, I have decided to actually put their “objective reviews can be written” theory to the test and am now re-reviewing a game in a manner that completely negates objective thought. I decided to use Final Fantasy XIII, one of Destructoid’s most controversial reviews, as the guinea pig, so please enjoy this brand new review — untainted by opinion, uncolored by emotion, and unclouded by my own personal thoughts.

Does it make for a better, more insightful, ultimately more useful review? I can’t say … I don’t have an opinion on the matter!

Final Fantasy XIII (Xbox 360, PS3 [Reviewed]) 
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: March 9, 2010
MSRP: $59.99

\Final Fantasy XIII is a videogame released on the PS3 and Xbox 360. It was developed by Square Enix. It stars characters. One of the characters is called Lightning and that is the main character of the game that can be played with a controller. The game’s story is about Lightning and a collection of other characters who must fight some other characters called Fal’Sie and save a planet called Cocoon. The story has a beginning and an ending and a middle bit.

Final Fantasy XIII belongs to the role-playing-game genre of videogames, more specifically a genre that some people dub “JRPG” with “J” standing for Japanese. Final Fantasy XIII was developed in Japan which would make this genre designation accurate. The game has things in it that other JRPGs have, such as leveling up and weapons and shops.

The battle system is a battle system. In this battle system players select commands for one character while other characters are controlled by the game’s AI. Players can manually designate commands or let the AI decide which course of action is best. There is a system called the Paradigm shift which is new to Final Fantasy XIII and it allowed players to pre-program how characters behave and the player can swap these behavior patterns whenever they want during a battle to deal with different circumstances. Many people enjoy the Paradigm system, but other people do not like it so much.

New to the series is the ability to restart a battle if it does not go well which you may or may not find useful depending on your personal preference. You might also find weapon leveling useful but that’s only if you find weapon leveling useful, so whether or not you find weapon leveling useful is down to how useful you ultimately find weapon leveling. 

You can save the game if you want sometimes. 

The videogame has graphics and sound. The graphics are seen with your eyes and the sound is heard by your ears. When you start the game the graphics and the sound will occur almost at the same time, letting you know that the game has started. There is also text which players can read. 

If you buy Final Fantasy XIII and like it, then you like Final Fantasy XIII. If you buy Final Fantasy XIII and don’t like it, then you don’t like Final Fantasy XIII. It has things in it that some people might enjoy but other people who have different ideas of what is enjoyable may not actually enjoy it. 

In conclusion, Final Fantasy XIII is a videogame. 

Score: N/A (Since a reviewer would use his judgment to give a game a score, a score cannot be given at this time)

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Castlevania: Harmony of Despair comes out in a scant two weeks! I can not think of the last time I was so excited to play a Castlevania game. I fully expect to see all of you online and available to play it with me when it comes out on July 28th.

In the meantime, some new screenshots have surfaced. These are focused on the characters Soma Cruz (Dawn of Sorrow, Aria of Sorrow) and Charlotte Aulin (Portrait of Ruin). One of these characters is a whiny bitch, and the other one is a Belnades.

Can’t wait. Cannot. Must play this.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Screenshots [andriasang]

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He who laughs last, laughs best. That’s what I always told myself whenever the Japanese would get a game months or years before I would get the opportunity to play it. I would hope, often against fate, that the version I got would have a special edition full of nifty stuff the Japanese didn’t get and then I could feel better about the wait.

Now the shoe is on the other foot. The difference is that Japan is getting a special edition that I’d actually want. Behold the No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Hopper’s Edition. It comes packaged with the game, a DVD featuring an all-new film and some other goodies, a soundtrack CD and an art book. Then, just to rub it in, people who pre-order in anticipation of the October 21st release will also get an “erotica comic.”

The whole package will be sold for 8,980 yen or just over a hundred US dollars. If I hadn’t already purchased the game once, I’d probably give some thought to importing this. But, honestly, I’m mostly just curious to see where they take that comic. 

Marvelous Makes Beefy No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Limited Edition [siliconera]

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