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You've gone loot crazy with World of Warcraft, Champions of Norrath, Diablo, Phantasy Star Online, and more. Our own Jason Wilson's even called his wife ugly names over her greedy ways in Sacred 2. Searching for treasure, leveling up your characters, and getting that just-slightly-better weapon can get awfully addicting, and soon we'll get to experience all that in the mother of all genres.

2K Games and developer Gearbox call it a role-playing shooter. Loot addicts can call it trouble. Borderlands -- due out this October 20 for the 360, PS3, and PC -- combines simple RPG elements with a first-person shooter set in a Mad Max-style badlands world.

A lot of gamers have already experienced the allure of incremental upgrading. Good thing, because it's hard to explain to an outsider the appeal of finding an assault rifle in Borderlands that does an extra two points of damage with slightly less recoil. But this game also brings new, smart ideas to this "co-op looter" genre that's going to make it really hard for addicts to stay away....

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Shame Rock Band isn't selling too well. Hmm, wonder what this means for Trumpet Hero...

News Blips:

• Rock Band no longer knocking socks off at retail, Viacom misses bare feet. Seems like the slowing sales of Rock Band are hurting parent company Viacom's profits, as revenues are down 41 percent. In other news, apartment clutter is apparently stalling. [Joystiq]

• Atari glad they called Ghostbusters, Vin Diesel. For a while, Atari was losing loads of money, but with the recent releases of Ghostbusters and Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, the company has boosted profits. Guess they can hold off on the inevitable E.T. HD Remix. [GameSpot]

• NBA 2K10: Draft Combine packs all the excitement of waiting with waiting. Oh, and we guess you can play some drills and 5-on-5 games, too. But the upcoming XBLA and PSN game lets you build up your ballers and then later upload them into the full NBA 2K10 game. Man, we can't wait for the sit-on-your-ass-until-your-name-gets-called minigame! [Shacknews]

• Build bigger and better crap in LittleBigPlanet soon. Looks like the creation tools in Sony's cutesy user-made platformer will be expanded upon soon according to developer Media Mocule. Maybe the community can help make all the Ubisoft games that got delayed yesterday. [VG247]

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Editor's note: Davneet argues that the morality systems that game developers have come up with thus far really don't allow players to make real choices. Do you agree? -Jason

I needed to convince the Council of Saren's treachery, and a Quarian had the necessary evidence.

Unfortunately, the Quarian had also decided to place her trust in Fist, the owner of Chora's Den and former employee of the Shadow Broker. What she did not know was that Fist had decided to break out from under the Shadow Broker and work for Saren.

The Quarian was in a lot of trouble, and getting to her would not be easy.

When I headed into Chora's Den, a number of thugs decided they did not like the way that I looked. With gall that could only come from ignorance, they opened fire, and I was forced to take cover. After taking a moment to collect myself, I decided to educate them on exactly who they were shooting at. In a matter of seconds, they were definitely smarter. But considering their lack of movement, I did not think they appreciated my efforts.

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A quick follow-up to a couple of recent posts relating to Wii Sports Resort...

Nintendo was recently in New York City promoting the game, turning the Military Island section of Times Square into a small beach. Here is a short video showing you how they did it using 50 tons (!) of sand. Warning: After the tranformation bit, the rest of this video is basically a big commercial for the game.

Also, congratulations to the winners of the Wii Sports Resort beach towel giveaway: Juan Letona, Tyler Thomas Moen, and Jonathan Hunt. May these things keep sand out of your swim trunks for years.

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Holy crap, Modern Warfare 2 has multiplayer! Amazing. OK, not really. Sorry for the false excitement.

Video Blips:

• Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer features guns, killing. Peace, hugs sadly absent.

Continue after the break for a Xbox Live dashboard walkthrough, Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. T Street Fighter 4 battle, and a Red Steel 2 doc.

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Editor's note: Seems like a lot of gamers I know are coming across the very problem that Daniel brings up: How should you introduce your young children to video games? Perhaps no right answer exists, but read on for Daniel's take -- and some questions. -Greg

The recent birth of my son has sent my mind leaping into the future and wondering about the decisions I will have to make that will shape his outlook of the world. How will I explain religion to him? Will he accept my general abstaining from spirituality or will he start preaching to me? What kinds of questions will he ask me about sex, death, morality, and politics? Will either one of us be satisfied with my answers?

Then we have the matter of pop culture: Which Star Wars trilogy should he watch first? Who should be his first captain of the USS Enterprise? And whatever shall I do about video games?

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With a franchise as storied as the Battlefield games, it's only natural to believe that rehash, even at a discounted price, would seem little more than a nostalgic cash-in. But, if it works on us for every classic Nintendo property ever, why not one of the lauded and favored of the Double-You-Double-You-Eye-Eye era of multiplayer mayhem du yesteryear? While Bitmob's own Dan "Shoe" Hsu finds Battlefield 1943 to be less-than, the greater-than team of Kat Bailey and Tyler Barber from RebelFM, and GameSpy's Will Tuttle and Anthony Gallegos (Anthony, of course, also of RebelFM fame), and our own Jason Bertrand form up a squad to storm the beaches of awesometown.

Yes, I know Wii Sports Resort was a recent feature on CO-OP, but now that we've had a chance to really dig into the final, retail version it's clear which events are successful and which lack imagination. Shoe stays on to talk with JayFresh and Matt about the could-have-beens. Watch it after the break!

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Trying to keep up with all of the downloadable games and content that's out there these days is enough to make a person cry. But cry no more, because Download Lowdown is here to help. Each week I'll sift through the good, the bad, and the weird to help you get the most from your game system of choice without leaving your house. Plus, if you read now I'll also toss in some choice (usually less-than-helpful) quotes from folks around the Internet at absolutely no extra charge!

This week I play me some Madden, get fast and furious with Wipeout HD Fury, blow stuff up with Splosion Man, and shed tears over a busted version of Mega Man 2.

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We've always dug talented musicians who can play video game tunes. Uh, even guys like this.

Cultural Blips:

• This lady is a hardcore ocarina blower. Watch as she toots her way through Saria's Song from The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time.

• Game Boy ad keeps it classy. Here's an old UK Game Boy ad that shows how Tetris is way more enticing than a tied up chica. Through personal experience, we have to agree. [TinyCartridge]

• Pac-Man papercraft is making us wanna wakka wakka. It's kinda scary seeing Pac-Man chow down on a live ghost, but what do you expect from a pellet addict. [Offworld]

• WoW, this My Little Pony is nerdy. How nerdy? Well, it based on a World of WarCraft mount. Yeah, told you. [wow.com]

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Editor's note: After two layoffs this year, I thought I had a good understanding of today's job market. But I really don't have a clue. Steve's been looking for 9 months after losing his game development gig in Chicago, and he fears his cerebral palsy makes it easier for employers to pass on him. I wish you the best of luck, Steve. -Jason

Sitting sleeplessly at my PC at 5 a.m. on a Saturday gives me time, welcome or not, to reflect on my current situation. It's been a frustrating year, and I've frequently felt the urge to throw up my arms in disgust and defeat.

For the first time in my life, I find myself on unstable footing, entirely unsure of my future and looking into my past, and trying desperately to figure out how I arrived at my current situation in an attempt to somehow figure my way out.

I'm a game developer, and I've been unemployed for 9 months.

Or am I still a game developer? If someone has been out of work for as long as I have, can they still be considered a professional in that field? Especially when that person has only been in that field for a relatively short amount of time (in my case, three years). And this is where I'm at...am I still professional game developer, or is it time to move on?

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Editor's note: Changing the stakes changes the game, as Brian discovered in this personal account of user error, global spice production, and a game of 1 vs. 100. -Demian

Along with video games, game shows have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up, I simply could not get enough of them. Press Your Luck, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Tic-Tac-Dough -- the list could go on and on. My love for game shows has not abated as I've grown up, either, and my wife thankfully turned out to be as much of a junkie as I am. Let's just say that it got a little dusty in my house when Bob Barker retired.

So naturally, I followed the news of 1 vs. 100 coming to Xbox Live with great interest, and have been playing the beta every now and then since its release. I definitely enjoy it -- it's relatively fast-paced, the questions are pretty good, and there's a fun sense of competition among the four people in your lobby. Best of all, as far as I'm concerned, is the ability for a local player to join the game for free (as this way my wife and I can play together), and we've had fun thus far.

Now as many of you probably know, two weekends ago the beta "season" officially started, which meant that for the first time, actual prizes -- download codes for Live Arcade games and Microsoft space bucks -- were at stake for the Mob and the One during the live sessions. We missed the first prize weekend, but managed to get in on the action this past Saturday.

The first round wasn't particularly exciting, as the One made it a few questions in and then used the toxic "Trust the Brain" help (usually, the high scorers in any 1 vs 100 round are those who randomly pick an answer before they're revealed and button-mash like crazy, hoping to maximize their speed bonus and actually get the question right, if they're lucky). While the new Mob and One were being chosen, I went to the fridge to get a drink. When I sat back down, I noticed that instead of the purple stripes of the Crowd behind my avatar, I had the blue dots of the Mob!

"Holy crap, I'm in the effing Mob!" I exclaimed. The odds of being selected were so remote that I had never even considered it as a possibility, and as the realization that I could actually *win something* hit my brain, I could feel the thumping of my quickening heart rate reverberating through my chest. The first few questions were pretty easy, and despite my shaking hands, I found myself getting back into my normal pattern of play -- poising my thumb over the button for each answer as it was revealed, ready to strike at the first possible moment -- and I was doing as good as I usually do. Then...it happened.

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Editor's note: In the grand tradition of Folgers instant coffee commercials, I plan to switch out the innards of this multimillion dollar medical device with a Boong-Ga Boong-Ga arcade cabinet. Let's see if he notices the difference! -Demian

Pilots are one thing -- you know, since they shoot the "enemy" -- but now doctors will benefit from video game playing, as well? I came across the above scan in a promotional flier at a local hospital in Redlands, CA earlier today. Personally, I don't know if I'd trust a doctor looking into the first iteration of Nintendo's Virtual Boy to cut me up...would you?

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