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So much has happened since the last time Colette Bennett, Stella Wong, and I got together to recordEpisode #1of our new podcast: My dog Luna and I rescued some miners in Chile, Colette directed a movie about Facebook, and Stella continued her campaign for Delaware senator, despite harsh controversy surrounding her association with Morrigan ofDarkstalkersfame. Oh, and the podcast has a new name! Since we had to say goodbye to “Fingerbangcast”, we asked you, the community, tocome up with some ideas for a new name....

So, how is everyone doing withmaking their Big Daddy costume for ourBioShockhot contest? Here’s what’s at stake: – A sweetBioShockt-shirt– A sweetBioShock, limited edition faceplate And all you have to do is dress up like one ofBioShock‘s Big Daddys, and then take a picture of yourself. Simple enough, right? I assume everyone is working up until the last minute, as we’ve only received a handful of entries, and everyone down here in Rapture is very, very sad....

It always spoils the illusion somewhat when you realize that, no matter how well you’re doing in certain racing games, the opponents arealwaysmagically just behind you, seemingly able to catch up and overtake one at a moment’s notice like some gang of crazed, dedicated stalkers. Black Rock, developer ofPure,believes thatsuch “rubber banding” is unfair. “Players want to feel like they’re playing with the same rules as their opponents, and if they see the opponents adjusting what they’re doing based on the player, they’ll feel like they’re only along for the ride,” explains lead gameplay programmer Iain Gilfeather....

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be obsolete just ask Blockbuster. The one time giant of the movie rental industry is now running a distant second to a little thing called Netflix. Their fix? They may start renting games as part of their media-by-mail programming. This is according to an email aConsumeristreader received that stated customers would “be able to choose from over 3,000 different games, including many popular new releases....

[When we’re looking for blogs on a specific topic, we’ll put out a Bloggers Wanted call. Check out the blog prompt, write your own response in the Community Blogs and tag it with the “Bloggers Wanted Essay Response” tag, and you may see your blog promoted to the front page.— JRo] We had another great week of responses — thanks again to everyone for participating. While you work on this week’s topic, I’ll be promoting a Digital Distribution blog from last week every day until this Friday....

In case you’ve forgotten, let me remind you aboutCartoon Network Punch Time Explosion XL, which is the upgraded console version ofthe fighting gamethat came out for the 3DS this past spring.Punch Time XLwill be out this holiday for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii and will have more playable characters, combo attacks, modes and levels. Make fun of this game if you want to, that’s okay. I don’t care because I am going to play it....

When Capcom invited us up to its suite to check out their new wares today —Street Fighter IV,Resident Evil 5, andDark Void, among others — we didn’t know we’d get a gift. Yup, Capcom handed us aResident Evil 5collector’s edition tin. But don’t get excited like we did at first — really, it’sjustthe tin. While it’s just your typical collector’s edition tin, constructed exactly like the tins Capcom produced forResident Evil 4for the GameCube and the PlayStation 2, it’s pretty enough to share....

The recent announcement ofVirtua Fighter 5: Final Showdownfor Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network during the summer of 2012 was great news to many fans in the fighting game community. TheVirtua Fighterseries is regarded by many to be one of the most balanced and hardcore fighters out there, and it garnered even more attention whenVirtua Fighter 5champion Fuudo took the championship inSuper Street Fighter IV: Arcade EditionatEVO this year. Final Showdownhas actually existed in Japanese arcade since 2010, but there was no way for American fans to check it out besides flying around the world....

Zombie Studios has announced that its download only first-person shooterBlacklight: Tango Downwill feature a cooperative mode called “Special Ops” when it’s release later this year. In this mode, up to four players take on the role of a Blacklight soldier as they fight their way through the war-torn streets of Balik. The mode will allow players to upgrade characters, as well as receive a “scenario” score (based on difficulty and performance) and a leaderboard, which Zombie hopes will encourage players to replay the missions....

We’ve heard rumorsthat the first composer and then director of Konami’s Silent Hill games might be leaving Konami. NowOriginal Sound Versionconfirms it with the man himself, Akira Yamaoka. He’s out the door, they say. He left after about 16 years of dedicated service. If you ask me, he made Silent Hill what it is. I can’t imagine Silent Hill with a different soundtrack. Now, that said, I’d be happy to take over....

Crytek has announced its latest engine, the “the all-in-one game development solution,” CryENGINE 3. It will be the first development platform for use with Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, MMO, DX9/DX10 and is said to be “Next-Gen-Ready.” And by that they mean the consoles and PCs you’re not even using yet. There’s a press release with some technical mumbo-jumbo after the jump, all of which boils down to “our engine is really easy to use and it’s going to kick some serious ass....

In case you’ve never visited sister siteTomopop.com, here’s a brief rundown of the concept of a Munny: they’re small (usually about 3″) toys made out of vinyl, vaguely shaped like a monkey, and created by a company calledKid Robot. KR often commissions famous artists to create designs for their Munny line, but regular Joes can buy blank ones and make their own customs. As you can see above, customs can get quite detailed: Exhibit A is aShadow of the Colossus–inspired custom by Matthew “servotron” Ellison....

David Jaffe says that they’re going to miss the date of October 4, and thatTwisted Metalhas to be pushed back. They need time to polish the title, he says. “Thing is, you gotta trust me when I tell you that – with this extra time for tuning and polish – the game is going to be so much better than it already is.” From this fall to early next year is a long-ass delay for polish and tuning, wouldn’t you say?...