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Some of these behind-the-scenes videos should tone down the exclusion a bit. Sure, showcasing the marquee talent always works, but where's the exposure for the voice actors providing the "ARGH" noises?

Video Blips:

• Familiarize yourself with Mass Effect 3's cast of voice talent beyond Shepard's go-to social action of punching their characters in the mouth. Such an enriched science-fiction setting screams for the talents of Patrick Stewart, but Martin Sheen already fills the "men who don't age" slot.

Continue after the break for the jetpacks and jutting walls of Hybrid, the burden of managing lazy royalty in Crusader Kings 2, and trouble down at the docks in Shank 2.

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When someone asks me if I'm a casual or hardcore gamer, I tell them I despise those terms. I take some titles more seriously than others, and sometimes I play games that I take less seriously (MMOs) more often than those I'm really passionate about (2D fighters, 2D platformers, Bastion). So the over-simplistic "casual" and "hardcore" labels don't really apply to my diverse tastes involving multiple genres and both sides of the Pacific.

Unfortunately, labels are exactly what these terms are, and like so many figurative names, they don't hold up to scrutiny. In fact, they're hurled as insults -- the so-called hardcore lambasting the so-called casuals for ruining and "dumbing down" (another often-misused term) their favorite games while the casuals laugh by saying that gaming is something not worth taking seriously.

It needs to stop. This casual/hardcore nonsense is everywhere.

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I'm a fan of silly video game commercials, but the French ad campaign for Resident Evil Revelations is just plain weird. Picture women going about rather tranquil (yet mundane) activities. Suddenly, the world grows dark and terrifying. Eating yogurt turns into an epic struggle against bio-terrorism and mad scientists.

I'd like to say I was making that up, but I'm not. So far, only two of these oddball ads exist. You can find the second after the jump. 

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One of the first things driving instructors teach us is to keep our eyes on the road. That advice can save your life, but it won't help you solve this Puzzler. Take a look at the following images of vehicles, and guess the racing games they're from.

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Shy Guys are the best kept secret in the Mario universe. We have little hard evidence with regard to their true nature, giving us almost no insight as to who -- or what -- they are. But with the few clues we’ve accumulated, it is possible to speculate. This article explores six theories concerning the possible origins of these so-called enemies.

Theory 1: International mercenary-spy conglomerate

This is a leading theory that would explain the variety of abilities Shy Guys have been known to demonstrate, as well as the various time periods they have occupied. This would also explain the apparent lack of allegiance Shy Guys hold, as they have been sighted in both the Mario and Zelda universes.

An artist’s rendering of a Shy Guy field
agent infiltrating Yoshi’s Island.

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Today, I saw a Circle Pad Pro, the peripheral that adds an extra analog nub to the 3DS, in person. It blotted out the sun and created a gravity well which engulfed all energy and matter. I looked deeply into it, and it looked even deeper into me. I know now, after looking at the Circle Pad Pro, what a small, insignificant little speck I am. What I’m getting at is that thing is a bit bulky.

News Blips:

38 Studios founder and baseball World Series MVP Curt Schilling defends Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’s online pass in the game’s official forum. Review versions of the anticipated fantasy title from the first-time developer recently reached a few critics. Those journalists discovered that some content on the disc would be hidden behind an online-pass code that will be included with new copies of Reckoning. Many gamers logged into the forum to complain about the choice to partition finished content on the disc. A frustrated Schilling hopped into the conversation to say that, “Day one [downloadable content], to be extremely and vividly clear, is free.” The former Boston Red Sox pitcher then explained that the team decided to implement this tactic as a reward for early adopters and not as a punishment for people who buy the game used. “Companies are still trying to figure out how to receive dollars spent on [the] games they make when they are bought,” wrote Schilling. “Is that wrong? If so, please tell me how.” [GamePolitics]

A rare-game collector promises to upload two different playable versions of the canceled Game Boy Color Resident Evil title if he receives $2,000 from interested fans. In the year 2000, Capcom scrapped plans to release this remake of the original PlayStation game. The likely reason for the cancellation is probably the same one you have in your head at the premise: How the hell do you remake Resident Evil for the lowly GBC? Well, we can finally see what the game looks and plays like if the fundraiser reaches its goal. As of this post, curious RE fans have contributed $1,598 for the chance to see exactly what kind of grainy, grimy mess this title ended up as. Typically it isn't legal, or even morally accepted in the pirating community, for a person to profit from an owned intellectual property in this fashion. Publicly, Capcom hasn't made any effort to condemn or endorse the fundraiser. As for anyone who plans to download the game to play on an emulator, that's a legal grey area, but I find it hard to imagine that the publisher would waste its money pursuing legal action against overly enthusiastic RE fanatics. Just don't tell the judge, "Jeff from Bitmob said it was all good, man," because I didn't say that. You can head to the Assembler Games forums if you wish to read the details about the two builds. [Destructoid]

The anti-gay group Family Research Council has taken umbrage with BioWare for its plan to include homosexual relationships in Star Wars: The Old Republic. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the FRC has a problem with equal treatment of the gay community. It’s this type of action that has earned the organization its designation as a “hate group” from the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a radio broadcast, FRC President Tony Perkins said, “In a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists!” Perkins went on to say that, due to complaints, BioWare would be adding a same-sex component to the romance gameplay in the massively multiplayer game. The Baptist Perkins then claimed parents were upset that their children would be exposed to this “Star Warped” way of thinking. Personally, I think Perkins is just doing this to get some Dark Side points in life's morality system in the hopes that he'll learn Force Lightning. [GamePolitics]

Got any hot news tips? Send 'em over to tips@bitmob.com.

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This article contains spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.

As Link, you’ve helped Romani Ranch owner Cremia and her energetic little sister Romani through some tough times in the last three days. Looking up in the sky, though, it’s clear to Cremia that she has bigger issues to worry about.

On the eve of the Carnival of Time, the two are milking the cows when Romani informs Link that she finally gets to enjoy the ranch’s signature drink, Chateau Romani.

“Until now, my sister always said, ‘Wait until you're an adult.’ But why now?” Romani asks.

“You've become an adult now, Romani,” Cremia says. “I see it in you. I'm acknowledging it.”

As they finish their work, the siblings head outside, Cremia bidding farewell to Link: “Good night...see you...tomorrow...OK?”

Cremia knows she won’t see you tomorrow, but she stays strong in order to comfort her little sister as the only world they know heads for oblivion overnight.

These little moments define the dark, underrated narrative of 2000’s The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.

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You know, I really thought that with games like Skyrim and Dark Souls, we'd be seeing a lot fewer space marines coming into 2012. I should've realized that any year with a Halo release will have its fair share of warriors in space.

Video Blips:

• Mass Effect 3's multiplayer is looking like a promising and entertaining option for those who want to take a break from the main game. Let's be serious, though -- once we're bored of that, we're going to want some Mass Effect Wars. Amirite?

Hit the break to get your dose of space in Aliens: Colonial Marines, uninspired cosplay for Soul Calibur 5, and pre-game excitement for Super Bowl XLVI in Madden NFL 12.

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Gaming sites across the Internet are reporting rumours first shared by Kotaku suggesting that the next XBox  console “may not play used games”. It rears an ugly and, in my opinion, pointless argument about pre-owned game sales and their effect on the video game industry.

I can categorically prove that pre-owned games actually boost developers' incomes. I would never have paid full price for Mass Effect. I knew nothing about it at its release; I was abroad and missed the launch PR drive, and it simply didn't appear on my radar. A friend tried to convince me to buy it, so I purchased a pre-owned copy at a reduced price.

I became hooked on what is still one of my favorite games of all time. It lead me to buy the second game at launch and my pre-order for the third instalment of the series sits in the system of my local retailer. Bioware didn't lose £20 by my pre-owned purchase; it gained £90. Pre-owned games aren't killing the industry; they supplement and boost it.

The argument is in vain, though. Despite the awesome buying power of gamers (we spent $1 billion in 16 days on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3) we do not wield our influence effectively to prevent changes to the industry that we, as consumers, don't want. The pre-owned games fiasco is one example. EA is dominating the war against the secondary market, implementing online passes as a way to double dip.

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You probably know amateur animator Egoraptor for his hilarious, gaming-themed videos, but he's recently taken a shot at reviewing classic games. The newest episode of his Sequelitis series takes a look at the Super Nintendo's Super Castlevania 4, largely comparing the Konami title to the original Castlevania for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The results are funny enough to cause even Dracula to chuckle.

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When you think of a oligopoly in video games, it’s a simple reference of EA’s Madden series. Not to say the publisher has bought out its competition, but it might as well have by cornering exclusive rights to the NFL license. Another example: THQ's rights to develop WWE games.

This practice already lies within cable companies and big-media conglomerates: Disney (who owns ESPN, ABC), News Corp (Fox, Wall Street Journal), CBS (CW, Showtime), Viacom (MTV, Paramount Pictures), and Time Warner (now merged with AOL). They own and make profits in every media outlet. The bigger they are, the tougher they are to knock down...or compete with.

That’s the issue I also see surfacing in the gaming industry. As local radio stations have trouble getting their names out there, indie and smaller developers have a similar unfair disadvantage: They face increased barriers to recognition.

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My first time was a blur. Memories of it are bittersweet because I know I can never quite recapture that magic, that spark. I was seduced by the newness of it all. I was touched liked never before. Why didn’t anyone tell me it could feel like this? That it could feel this good? This right?

It was with a dwarf named Reaban.

My introduction into massively multiplayer role-playing games is a familiar tale. Ask your guild mates, and they’ll likely share similar stories. Each of us has a special place in our heart for that first title. Despite the fact that almost all of us abandoned our introductory MMO, we think back only with the fondest of memories.

All you have to do is look in "general chat" to see that the honeymoon is over. Whatever game or digital universe we are in now is not making us as happy as that first one we experienced. People complain of class and faction balance, glitches, and poor drop rates. No one seems to enjoy MMOs like they used to.

It’s not really that current game’s fault that we’ve become harder to please. It’s not as if the newer releases aren’t as good as the older ones. In fact, they’re better. That’s why we moved on to them. Yet, we still feel unsatisfied. Why?

I’m afraid the fault lies with us.

What can we do? Where did it go wrong? How do we regain that loving feeling?

While we can never recreate our idealized past we can certainly have more fun with whatever we are playing now. Here are some tips on how to make the most out of your online-gaming experience.

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