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With great power comes great responsibility, and I use my Godly strength to cast light on some upcoming games that might be left on the dark. FromAlienstoHard Reset, I take a look at a few games that could really use your attention in the coming months. In all seriousness, things like this are what I love about my job. Using theJimquisitionto talk about games that aren’t getting the best promotion on their own is about the best one can do to give back to the industry, I think....

A demo forOwlboy, the much talked-about 2D platformer from Norwegian indies D-Pad Studio, is now available for PC — a good sign for a gamebeset my development trouble, despitewinning a visual design awardat the 2010 Independent Games Festival. In a sea of slick indie platformers, a few minutes withOwlboyis enough to mark it as a gem — Otus, the game’s avian protagonist, is a joy to control and D-Pad’s vision is well-realized, complemented by a handful of savvy design choices and a diet-RPG inventory and upgrade system....

Somehow we managed it, but we’ve constructed an entire show about how good it is to be a European gamer. Actually, that’s a total lie. Wardrox came up with fifteen reasons and we absolutely destroyed them because we are so awesome and really strong and the fastest race car drivers. Sterling, Wardrox, Atheistium and Professor Pew join up for another slice of stupidity and swearing. Tune in for the following highlights:...

If you’re a sucker for a new device simply because it changes color, then Sony has released something special for you — well, you meaning Japan. The good news though, non-Japanese people, is that the menus are in English and the $200 PSP will play U.S. games. Check it out: The new gold PSP is available now for $200, and while it’s made for Japanese audiences, you can still read the menus in English and play US games....

How do you make a full 3D open-world action for the App Store? You can’t. You can, however, make a 2D game based on the license for a full 3D open-world action title. Making good on plans created long ago, EA Pandemic’sThe Saboteurhas come to the App Store courtesy of another developer, Hands-On Mobile. The $2.99 downloadable has 7 “unique scenarios, environments, and themes,” as well as 12 levels and a light assortment of 1940sThe Saboteur-specific weapons....

Funcom’sThe Secret Worldis distinguished by the fact it’s an MMO that I actually care about. I was drawn to the title as soon as the early trailers rolled out, intrigued by the modern day setting and enthralled by some incredible creature design. Electronic Arts was presenting the game at PAX and gave us a look, so I snapped up the opportunity to dig a little deeper into a game that looks a little bit likeDragon Age, only with more guns and Cthulhu-headed squirmbeasts....

The DOJO week started off with the return of moreold stages fromMelee. Yoshi’s Island, Corneria, Onett, Brinstar, and Rainbow Ride all make it back toBrawl. Tuesday revealed the updatedMulti-Man Brawl mode. This time, the fighters are known as the Fighting Alloy Team which consist of Red, Blue, Yellow and Green Alloy fighters. There will also be Co-op Multi-Man fights this time too. We all already know Wednesday’s update, butjust in case you missed it, Pikmin and Captain Olimar from thePikminseries will be playable characters inBrawl....

This is it! The winner of Destructoid Game of the Year 2010 is about to revealed! Can you feel the excitement in the air? I wanted to throw a parade outside in the streets of Los Angeles to celebrate this major event, but I found out you need, like,permitsand stuff to do that. Boo. So instead, I just took off my shirt, bought a kazoo, and put on a little parade of my own in front of my local Trader Joe’s....

Like Walter Raleigh or Ferdinand Magellan before me, I awoke today at the crack of noon to brave the wilds of my local Toys R Us store in search, not of wealth or some lame fountain of youth, but instead of an ultra rare digital creature:the Pokémon Manaphy. Hit the jump for my harrowing tale, and every reason why I will never impregnate anyone (purposefully). Nintendo has made a habit of exploiting Toys R Us’ innate ability to suck children in with bright colors and foam giraffe mascotsmany times in the past, and today they did it yet again by offering up a legendary Pokémon for their Nintendo DS titlesPokémon DiamondandPokémon Pearl....

That is just a glimpse at what the hell happened last night. Microsoft rounded up a bunch of journalists, made them wear weird robes and had them sit through Cirque Du Soleil as they showed of what Kinect can do. Keep in mind that the performers weren’t really playing Kinect games. It was just video and the performers were acting out what it would be like using Kinect. So yeah,no wonder Jim Sterling and Dale Northwere absolutely pissed about last night....

Thank God. I can’t evenbeginto express how relieved I am about this. Apparently, theHitmanmovie has finally gotten the go ahead from Fox. More importantly, Vin Diesel isn’t playing Agent 47 anymore. Here’s the recent developments, straight fromAin’t it Cool News: I’ve played a bit of HITMAN, the Eidos game that inspired this film, and it’s fun. Like any game-to-film adaptation, though, there’s a lot of heavy lifting required to turn it into a narrative worth watching....

The above video is an interview with Tony Garrett, a 23 year-old mechanical engineering student who has been completely blind since age 10. Garrett has developed a system involving trial and error, game audio, walkthroughs and a bit of help from someone who can read menus or convey the occasional cut scene that has allowed him to play and complete games without ever needing to see them himself. Accompanying Garrett’s voice is gameplay footage of him playingOddworld: Abe’s Exoddus....

I’m one of those people who really despised the idea of digital content for games. In my heart, I’m a collector. If you head down to my basement, you’ll see racks of DVDs, several bookcases worth of books, a growing comics collection, and a smaller than I would like game collection. So naturally, the thought of not getting to visibly show off everything that I have is something that’s a big turnoff for me....