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Editor's note: I think we missed Chris's initial announcement for this episode of the community-organized Bitmob Writing Challenge -- but the good news is, it's not over! -Demian

The This or That Writing Challenge ends on Friday, April 30. The plan: Pick two well-received games of the same genre and describe why you prefer one over the other. The details:

1. Write a 500-800 word article comparing two games of the same genre. Back up your choice with reasons, making sure that anyone can understand where you’re coming from. 

2. Approach the topic from any angle you want. It can be a basic article, a breakdown by subject, a first-person account, or even a screenplay. Go nuts. 

3. Post your article as "This or That – (Game 1) Vs. (Game 2)." Include “This or That” in the title and tags so that I can find it in a search.

If you need some inspiration for the challenge, please check out this submissions list for ideas as well as my example using BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger and Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom. Brendon Morz's submission on breasts in  God of War 3 and Dante's Inferno transcended the challenge and was promoted to Bitmob's front page.

I'm not going to hold it against anyone for taking liberties like I did with the First-Person Writer challenge, but I do recommend sticking with a comparison between two games. It brings a sharper focus to the article and forces you to dig deeper into the games to make your arguments.       

I look forward to reading the results!

This challenge is now over. Thanks to everyone who participated.

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I'd like to see the electronics journalism industry receive a stern admonition from John Bunnell about the dangers of exclusive stories.

News Blips:

Police have raided Gizmodo editor Jason Chen's home after the website's exclusive reveal of Apple's next iPhone. Members of California's Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team seized four computers and two servers under a warrant issued by the San Mateo Superior Court. Predictably, the Internet was in uproar shortly after the raid, with Gizmodo COO Gaby Darbyshire and the Electronic Frontier Foundation proclaiming the warrant illegal due to a California shield law which protects any property used by journalists and reporters from being confiscated. The punch line to this whole ordeal? Just days before, Apple had sent the Gawker offices an exceedingly polite letter requesting the return of the iPhone.

A group of former and current Infinity Ward employees have filed a mass lawsuit against Activision for its failure to pay royalties owed to Modern Warfare 2's development team. The lawsuit charges the publisher with a staggering $500 million in punitive damages, in addition to upwards of $125 million in unpaid bonuses earned from sales of the game. The lawsuit contends that Actvision's real reason for reneging on payment of bonuses is quite sinister: "Activision withheld the property of the [Infinity Ward employees] in an attempt to keep the employees hostage so that Activision could reap the benefit of the completion of Modern Warfare 3." [G4TV]

The SyFy Channel plans to release a straight-to-TV film based on Red Faction. The two-hour-long movie will hopefully serve as a springboard for a potential TV series, according to SyFy Ventures senior vice president Alan Seiffert. "It is the kind of content that fits our genre," he said. "It is a great fit for a big Syfy Saturday movie, and if it really works, it is a great back-door pilot." If the movie possesses any shred of quality -- which I doubt -- then it will star best-actor-in-the-world Casper Van Dien. [BroadcastingCable]

Kotaku reports on the rumor of a sleek black version of the Wii appearing in U.S. stores very soon. Tips from major retailers such as Target and GameStop have hinted at the $199 console showing up as early as May, packaged into a bundle deal that includes Wii Sports Resort and the MotionPlus add-on. A formula for success: Coat anything in black paint, and gamers will eat it up.

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

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It's that time of the week again, Bitmobbers: We need your answers to the Pixel Revolt community question.

This week's question is probably our most topical and focused to date, so we want to hear what you have to say:

Did the recent exodus of employees from Infinity Ward change your feelings about the next Modern Warfare game?

Or, for those of you who don't play Modern Warfare:

Would key team members leaving your other favorite development studio affect your decision to buy their next game?

By the way, as of this week we have a new way for you to respond: over the phone! Now those of you without computer mics can call in your response. No more excuses!

So send on over your email and audio responses by 6 p.m. PST on Thursday to be featured on Pixel Revolt.

How you can respond to the question:

1) Record a sound clip on your computer, then email it to us at PixelRevoltDL@gmail.com (Preferred)

2) Call us on our new voicemail line! (626) 37-PIXEL

3) Send an email response to PixelRevoltDL@gmail.com

4) Leave a comment in this post!

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One of the most...hmmm...that's no way to start an article about walkthroughs!

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#########  #########                                   .com
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# ##### #  # ##### #
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That's better.

One of the most popular forms of video game writing is the walkthrough, FAQ, or guide. While you could distinguish between them, most gamers use the terms interchangeably, and they all have a similar purpose -- to help you get through your games.

In fact, I would guess that walkthroughs represent a large percentage of games writing.

What you don't see, however, is writing about walkthroughs.

We want to hear your thoughts about them. We want you to explore every gamer's dirty little secret -- walkthroughs, FAQs, and guides. It is a writing space that has largely gone without commentary. Now's your chance to provide some! (Please note: We don't want you to write a walkthrough for any specific game).

You can take any stance and answer any questions, as long as it's about guides, walkthroughs, or FAQs. We're going to collect the best submissions and compile them into a walkthrough of our own: Bitmob's Walkthrough to Walkthroughs. (And yes, it will be 100% text-based with kick ass ASCII art!)

Here are the official rules to participate in this week's callout:

1. Write any article about walkthrough, guides, or FAQs. Keep it concise -- about 200-400 words should do it, but you can go longer if you choose.
2. Tag that article with the following tag "Walkthroughs" -- we'll use it as a catch all for this activity.
3. Submit your article to the Mobfeed by May 12, 2010.

Check out my sample article to get you started, and here are some questions for you to think about:

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This week's edition of the Jukebox features community-submitted songs from every type of game imaginable. Don't believe me? Tropico 3, Super Mario Land 2, BioShock, and Silent Hill 2 all make appearance -- and that's just for starters.

Make sure to check out Bitmobber Michael Rousseau's pick from the as-yet-unreleased Super Street Fighter 4. Community members Alex Martin and Michael Pangelina duke it out Grand Theft Auto style with tunes from San Andreas and The Ballad of Gay Tony. Finally, don't miss the selection from Patchwork Heroes that this week's featured community writer, Daniel Feit suggested. He mailed it in all the way from Japan!

Everyone is welcome to suggest their favorite video game tunes. Hit the jump to find out how.

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The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess came out way back in 2006, so I'll forgive you for not remembering, but the Zora costume that Link wore in it sure did look cool. But would it still look cool in real life? Yes. Yes it would [via Geekologie]:

Plus, that's a girl in there. So, you know...rawr.

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Editor's note: This author has a fascinating thought process while critiquing critique-able media. He knows Avatar (the movie) and Dante's Inferno (the game) have problems -- but does that ultimately matter? The answer to that may seem obvious, but trust me -- it's worth reading Brendon's story to see his point of view on how we all "review" movies, games...just about everything. -Shoe

It’s become a running gag.

After a solid five minutes on the phone extolling the virtues of Avatar to my indulgent friend, I can hear her knowing smile: “So, is it The Best Film Ever?”

I pause. I want to say yes, because to me, in the hour since I returned from Pandora, Avatar has set up camp in my heart. I am invaded, overcome. I close my eyes and see the welcoming arms of a thousand blue cat people calling me home.

I compromise: “Yeah. For now.”

We both laugh. We’ve been friends for 10 years. She knows me well enough to know that, in the moment, I am completely honest; through her, I know myself well enough to know that I’ve been here before. I get caught up. My fancy is a tramp.

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Naked Snake: So bad ass, even glowing praise about him causes strife.

News Blips:

Konami lashes back at Kotaku after the blog's claim of corruption involved with Japanese gaming mag Famitsu's clean-sweep score of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The original story called the magazine's (admittedly diminished) integrity into question after its perfect 40/40 review, citing an underhanded agreement between Konami and Enterbrain (Famitsu's publishing company), including Peace Walker ads featuring former Famitsu Editor-in-Chief Hirokazu Hamamura and the appearance of Famitsu magazines -- along with a slew of other product tie-ins -- within the game. Konami, in a fit of cordiality becoming of such an established company, has yanked Kotaku's invitation to the launch event for Peace Walker. I wonder if there's any aspect of these games that doesn't cause head-splitting confusion.

The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a previously tossed California ban on violent video game sales to minors. Originally signed in 2005 by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the law -- which was thrown out by a San Francisco court last year --  would deny the sale or rental of violent video games to anyone under 18. Opponents of the law claim a breach of constitutional and free speech rights, along with the inclusion of the existing rating system as a suitable deterrent in preventing violent games from reaching minors. Conveniently enough, the report failed to mention the Governor slinging his shotgun onto his back before climbing into his Apache helicopter after signing the law. [NYTimes]

Speaking with HeyUGuys, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time film producer Jerry Bruckheimer discusses the increasing synergy between video games and movies. When asked about his sudden interest in becoming more involved with video games, Bruckheimer posited that in the next 10 years "you won’t be able to tell the difference between movies and games. Games will be so realistic. They are a form of storytelling and we love to tell stories in movies and on television." Perhaps Bruckheimer has forgotten that games typically serve as an escape from reality.

Michael Pachter, the video game industry's resident fortune-teller, is "certain" that future Mass Effect titles will appear for the PS3. In a new entry into the Pach Attack series, the Wedbush Morgan analyst suggested that while the first Mass Effect and its sequel won't be showing up on the PS3 anytime soon, the same shouldn't be said of any upcoming releases. "I have heard from Microsoft and I’ve actually heard from EA that we probably won’t see Mass Effect 1 ever on the PS3; I’m not sure that’s true of Mass Effect 2, and I’m certain it’s not true of Mass Effect 3, 4, 5 and 6." I want to see quotes from Pachter in my next fortune cookie. It would be strangely fitting.

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

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If you don't already write for Bitmob, we need to talk.

You don't need to want to break into games writing to contribute. You only need a passion for games and the ability to articulate that passion in the written word. While we have a great "About Us" page to get you started, I wanted to appeal to our non-contributing members.

I've been writing for Bitmob for a year and have recently become community manager. It is hard to express what the experience has meant. I can tell you why it has been so important, but how it has affected me is hard to put into words.

Why it has been important: I have found like-minded video and pc game players for the first time in my life, I have had my articles read hundreds of thousands of times, and I know that my opinion is appreciated.

It all started with a very silly article. I posted a fictional story about a Funky Kong, whom I supposed was an openly gay video game character. Bitmob featured it in a spotlight, and it has received over 6000 hits to date.

I'll describe how it has affected me in one word. It has been powerful. "The pen is mightier than the sword" is a phrase that has been kicking around the English language for over 150 years for a reason. You probably won't change games by writing for Bitmob. You will change people, however, and they will change you.

Need more convincing?

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Seeing the unbridled chaos of a Halo: Reach multiplayer game in full swing brought a tear to this deathmatch fan's eye.

Video Blips:

• Some of the new weapons featured in this Halo: Reach multiplayer footage are quite hefty. Well, not so hefty as Halo 2's mammoth Energy Hammer. [GameTrailers]

Continue after the break for some strangely armored women in Lost Planet 2, the surprisingly appealing Toy Box mode in Toy Story 3, and a Starcraft 2 kart race. Yep, you heard that right.

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Area 5's Matt Chandronait joins Bitmob's Demian Linn, Dan Hsu, and Brett Bates to discuss the ethics of journalism, developer clout, spring releases, microtransactions, and which games they'd trade to see new titles in a franchise that got cut short.

Have a community topic you want to hear the crew discuss? E-mail your suggestions to letters@bitmob.com, subject: Mobcast.

By the way, we're now using a technology called photography to capture the Mobcast in action. Check out our first photograph after the break, and find it and all future photographs on our Facebook page.

Zune Link (must use Internet Explorer)

Direct Download (right click save as)

Subscribe via RSS

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Confession time: I suck at the original Castlevania game.  Well, I suck now.... I used to be quite good. Never in a million years did I expect someone to attempt to play the game with a DDR mat, largely because I didn't realize that they could be used like that [via Tiny Cartridge]:

Man that guy is annoying. That could just be my wounded pride talking....

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