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While Heavy Rain attempts to welcome both serious and more casual players, it's clear that many will find the unique controls and the story's slow burn a bit too jarring, unconventional, and even boring. Sony has already released so much (arguably too much) footage of Quantic Dream's adventure, and chances are that you've already passed judgment on the title. Perhaps more than any other game before it, Heavy Rain hopes that you want to like the experience. Why? It is -- at its core -- a role-playing game.

When people find out I've been playing Heavy Rain, the first question that generally pops up is, "Is it anything but a series of Quick-Time Events?" The problem with that question is that it inherently assumes that a QTE necessitates a lack of player control. While it's true that the majority of player input is done via on-screen indicators, to simply call them quick-time events is a bit derogatory, ignoring the innovations that developer Quantic Dream has made. Not all actions require players to press buttons as quickly as they see them. In fact, most of the commands involve a very deliberate pace: you may need to move the analog stick slowly, or hold down two buttons while transitioning to a third. Some inputs use the PS3's built-in motion controls, while others will use a combination of various inputs. There are many ways of interfacing with the controller, with each QTE trying to simulate its corresponding, real-world action.

However, variety is not Heavy Rain's greatest innovation. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the game to explain is its integration of inaction. You are often given the opportunity to do nothing -- and counter to your intuition, that can be the most satisfying option to pursue.

When the holidays roll around, the gamers who buy everything they want throughout the year might find themselves stymied asked for a wish list. Today, we put the Nyko Charge Base IC through its paces, and it looks like a great way to pad your list to Santa. The Wiimote charger uses induction, which not only alleviates the need to plug everything in, but -- as you'll see in the above video -- also looks really slick.

Also, to help justify this video's existence, we teach you how to make butter cookies.

Having not played Renegade Kid's first survival/horror-FPS on the Nintendo DS back in 2007, Dementium: The Ward, I had few expectations going into my recent hands-on with the game's sequel, the aptly titled Dementium 2. I knew that the first game enjoyed critical acclaim for more than adequately bringing survival/horror tropes to Nintendo's handheld, and ultimately scored pretty well with reviewers, but ever since Metroid Prime Hunters I've been wary of first-person mechanics on the DS.

Thankfully, when first faced with manipulating Dementium 2's main character, it became quickly obvious that the game's slow pace helps to account for any discomfort issues that might arise from the control scheme. Over the course of 45 minutes, I put together puzzles, traveled between two dimensions multiple times, and even fought a boss who tried to throw up on me from the ceiling (what a jerk!). Though its content and storytelling seems to be a carefully crafted amalgam of games from the three or so genres it mashes up (fps, adventure, survival/horror) – a handheld Half-Life meets Silent Hill on Monkey Island, almost – the time I spent with a preview build of Dementium 2 earlier today felt like the beginning of what could be a very interesting game.

There might be a game buried deep in the Modern Warfare 2: Prestige Edition box that showed up on our doorstep yesterday, but if so, we're not aware of it. See, we've been a little too busy harnessing the miracle of modern technology so we can see in the dark.

We've opened our eyes in the blackness and seen the green-tinted future, and now we want to share our vision with you.

(And yes, we'll be giving the whole thing away soon.)

Many Netflix subscribers will find a rather inconspicuous red envelope in the mail today. It may look like a standard Netflix package, but inside PS3 owners will discover the "Instant Streaming Disc" which enables Netflix's instant streaming service on Sony's console.

We've embedded a video overview of the service above. We'll admit that there are a few qualms with the presentation so far. First, the activation process is slow and requires the use of a computer -- there is no way to activate Netflix directly from the PS3. (You won't be able to use the PS3 internet browser for activation purposes either.) Second, the loading of cover art is suspiciously slow. Finally, there is no way to directly manage your Queue from the interface. While you'll be able to browse various categories, there is no Search capability. One benefit the PS3 has over the 360 in this regard is the built-in browser. You will be able to use the PS3's internet browser to manage your Queue. It's a baffling additional step, but it certainly is an added convenience. (ProTip: Use SELECT to add a bookmark to your PS3 internet browser.)

While the previous video we posted suggested otherwise, we can confirm that HD video works on PS3, and it works well. In fact, it's a bit faster than watching SD content, simply because you won't have to wait for the PS3 to switch between resolution modes. When browsing your queue, look for a tiny HD icon at the bottom of the screen to see if it will play in high-def. (The selection can be quite limited.) When judging the overall experience, however, we'd say starting movies required a longer buffer than when using the service on the 360 or PC. Netflix is a terrific value-add for the PlayStation 3, but minor interface issues make it clear that there's a lot of room for improvement -- perhaps when Netflix becomes a standard built-in feature of the OS next year?

From the Wii's Virtual Console to Xbox Live Arcade, there are all kinds of ways to play classic Genesis games these days. But the Firecore Classic Console offers something just a little closer to the original experience. Though this standalone console comes pre-loaded with 20 games, it also accepts all your old carts and comes packed with two dead ringers for the Genesis pad.

As you'll see in the above video, we recently put the machine through its paces and came away reasonably impressed, especially considering the $44 price tag.

Arguably the most anticipated game of the show, Final Fantasy XIII is prominently featured at Square-Enix's TGS 2009 booth. The newest demo for the game features two combat systems -- Optima and Driving -- absent from the demo included with Final Fantasy: Advent Children Complete. The two modes, while polar opposites of each other, do a great job of giving gamers a wider variety of strategic options.

Is it a Zelda clone? Yes. Is that a bad thing? We don't think so. EA Japan's Tsumuji will seem instantly familiar to anyone who have played any of the "Celda" games on DS/Gamecube. The art is not just reminiscent of Nintendo's classic: the main character looks nearly the same! (Granted, he wears a red tunic, not a green one.)

The story begins with generic JRPG convention #1: our hero wakes up in a small remote village. Inexplicably, the game wants you to throw a rock at your mom's precious china. It's easy, too. Just simply tap on a faraway item to throw a rock at it. None to pleased about losing a valuable treasure, your mom punishes you by giving you money to buy a delicious meat dinner (seriously). Your character takes the money and lifts it in the air in a motion that should be familiar to most Nintendo fans.

Beyond the presentation, most of the gameplay will also be more-than-reminiscent of the DS Zelda games. Your character is controlled entirely through the stylus: simply drag the stylus to where you want your character to go and click on people/items you want to interact with.

As anyone who's ever seen me tickle the colorful neck of a Guitar Hero guitar or keep impeccable time upon a Rock Band drum kit will attest, I've got a knack for rhythm games. I've never placed my hands on a peripheral that I wasn't immediately able to mentally deconstruct and use to its fullest rockin' potential [I'm only allowing this catastrophic failure of modesty because it's true. - Ed].

My first few minutes with the Xbox 360 version of DJ Hero, however, initially left me flummoxed. That's not to say the turntable peripheral therein is poorly designed or difficult to use. No, my inability to pick up and expertly play Activision's newest bundle of musical joy is due to the fact that for the average rhythm genre veteran, DJ Hero is a horse of an entirely different color.

Hi. I'm Joystiq writer Griffin McElroy, and those are my feet. They're attached to my shins, which attach to a long sequence of other appendages which stop at my brain -- which at the very moment this image was taken, was likely in a confused, panicked state. It's a reflex reaction I usually turn to when placed before an alien video game peripheral, although in most cases, it quickly subsides, and is replaced with a steely determination to figure out how it works.

By the time I'd reached the end of my brief hands-on session with Tony Hawk Ride, I had only just begun to deconstruct the hardware's machinations, and started determining how to deftly manipulate it in order to do sweet tricks. I was making progress in this endeavor when the demo came to a halt, but I'm still not sure my mind had completely wrapped around how I was supposed to manipulate the device. Is that indicative of the peripheral's weakness? No, I think it can be entirely chalked up to the fact that skateboarders move in mysterious ways.

You're going to buy and subscribe to Star Trek Online if you're a Star Trek fan.

I'm really sorry to be the one to break it to you. You might not possess the fungible assets required for such a commitment -- heck, you might not even like MMOs. These facts don't matter. Cryptic hasn't just made a game based on Roddenberry's magnum opus -- it has managed to create a flawlessly adapted interactive extension of the show.

There's a part of me that likes examining games' sub-superficial levels -- the lingering inspiration behind the art, gameplay, story and all the rest of its aggregate components. Behemoth's Game 3 is difficult to dismantle in this manner, largely due to the fact that, even when compared to past entries in Behemoth's bizarre repertoire -- it's an unabashed labor of madness.

It could also be due to the fact that the speed at which I was forced to play the Game 3 PAX demo could best be described as blistering. Still, it didn't take much time to get what the game's core components are all about: Frantic multiplayer platforming action, the likes of which you haven't seen since Super Mario Bros. 3.

I don't think I'm being too cynical or jaded when I say that it's hard for me to get legitimately excited for video games anymore. I love playing video games, and I heartily appreciate the good ones -- but the games that fill me with keep-you-up-at-night anticipation are few and far between.

After playing Heavy Rain for the first time on the show floor at PAX, something tells me my slumbers will soon be interrupted by Quantic Dreams' upcoming ... well, for lack of a better term, interactive movie.

I, like most people, have never participated in a 256-player virtual battle (or, due to its uncannily enormous amount of participants -- is it a war?). Though Zipper Interactive's MAG is built on incredibly strong first-person shooter foundations, incorporating fast-paced combat and a plethora of unlockable character modifications, the takeaway impression from my recent time with the game during a Sony preview event at PAX is, as you might guess, it is enormous.

The game does an excellent job of partitioning players off into smaller, 8-man squads. Though most of your contact is with your immediate teammates, there's a constant sense that you're part of something bigger. There's nothing intangible about the cause for that feeling -- you are a cog in a much larger military machine, rewarded for spinning in accordance with your higher-ups' orders.

Yes, it hasn't even been a week since we brought you some hands-on impressions of Diablo III. One might say it's too soon to add to those impressions, and one might have a good point. Allow us to offer a counterpoint: It's Diablo III. This game, at the very earliest, will not release until 2025 (Q4, of course). As such, we have to provide you with any and all possible coverage. It would be irresponsible not to. Besides, there's some new stuff to cover here, and it's good stuff.