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Clips: Goodbye, TGS
newVideoPlayer("FarewellTGS_gawker.flv", 475, 376);We'll still be finishing up our impressions of Tokyo Game Show throughout the rest of the week, but with most of our staff back home nursing their hangovers, we thought it a fit opportunity to say goodbye with heavy amounts of TGS fandom and over modulated bass.

NYC Halo 3 Launch: Darkness Falls
It's gotten dark in New York City, and I sit in a Starbucks down the street from the Best Buy, having officially drunken more coffee today than in the past five years in ordefr to secure this as a Kotaku field office. The crowd is growing thick as the hour draws closer, with as many curious onlookers as there are people actually waiting for the game. So far the celebrities have been limited to NY Jets football players, whom I couldn't name if I tried though there was a large blonde man we have nicknamed Thor. Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb are on hand to cover things for G4, so I took a picture covering them covering the event, as well as a pair of interesresting shoes and Bungie's Frankie concentrating furiously while taking a turn at playing the game. galleryPost('nychalo3b', 4, 'In The Heat Of The NIght');

Tgs07: Arkanoid DS Hands-On Impressions
Taito's classic brick-breaking arcade game Arkanoid is some twenty years long in the tooth, with the latest iteration, Arkanoid DS, bringing little to the table in the way of evolution. Instead, Arkanoid DS simply brings itself to another platform, taking advantage of the Nintendo DS touch screens for stylus control and using the Game Boy Advance slot for an arcade accurate dial controller. The cross-pad and button controls work fine, but stylus controls and the custom controller are the ways to go.The dial controller, in particular, brings back that arcade feeling, as the add-on has real weight to it. You'll feel the ball bearings spinning as you move Vaus, the space ship at the bottom of the screen left and right. Stylus controls aren't twitchy and felt very accurate.The only complaint that DS fans may have is losing track of the ball as it crosses the top and bottom screens, obscured by plastic. It's not a game killing problem, but you may find yourself annoyed.Arkanoid DS...

NYC Halo 3 Launch: Brought To You By Orange Sick
It's weird. Everyone at the Halo 3 launch here in NYC pretty much agrees that Mountain Dew Game Fuel is the most hideous thing to ever come out of the Mountain Dew scientists. At best, it's a mix of Code Red and Livewire. At worst, regurgitated original Mountain Dew mixed with Hostess cherry pies. Even so, they show up at the event and start handing out free shirts, doling out shot glasses full of the insidious liquid via marketing temps with ginormous backpacks, and suddenly everyone's going crazy. I had two cups myself. Two! I think you need to drink at least four to rank a free t-shirt, honoring your courage in the face of adversary. They even had 'Respawn' stations set up, where women were available to rub the kinks out of your hand, a statement that seems somehow jumbled, but really isn't. galleryPost('nychalo3dew', 4, 'Ew Ew Ew Ew Ew');

Tgs07: Metal Gear Solid 4 Hands-On Impressions Plus
When Metal Gear Solid 4 assistant producer Ryan Payton honorably justified his team's video game, many of you wondered "Who?" and "Where can I get that hat?" To simplify it for the masses, while Metal Gear figurehead Hideo Kojima is the great river from which all ideas flow, Payton may be the dam that controls the flow of insanity. Yes, there are moments of surreality in Metal Gear Solid 4, such as soda addicted monkeys, hilarious send ups of irritable bowel syndrome and a woman in a giant wolf mech exoskeleton. But there are also plenty of technical ideas that must be implemented, with Payton aiding to implement a simplified control scheme and further addressing Western tastes. Based on the hour with spent with the game in a private meeting, MGS4 retains not only the series' artistry, it's technical implementation is reaching mad-genius levels, too.But let's focus on one thing first: the controls. What has grown to become a complicated control scheme that requires great finger...

NYC Halo 3 Launch: Not Entirely True
Meet Alex. Alex is the second guy in line at the Halo 3 launch here in NYC. If you remember from earlier, I told you the first guy in line got there at 6PM yesterday. Those of you mathematically inclined might have already pieced this together. Alex was standing there, minding his own business, when someone handed him this orange sign and asked him to hold it up. It's been photographed, videotapes, and has appeared on the giant monitors outside of the Best Buy. The image will probably appear in local papers and on TV news stations later this evening. It's not entirely a lie, really. Alex has almost been in line for 24 hours, and 50% is totally considered almost in some countries. Silly PR peoples.

NYC Halo 3 Launch: Oh Hell No
Screw this. I didn't sign up to have my soul devoured by a marauding hell-beast masquerading as a creepy-ass fast food mascot character. You guys can just imagine the rest of the NYC Halo 3 launch. I'm getting the hell out of here before it eats me.

Wiikly Update: Kirby, Tonma and Streets of Rage
This week's Wiikly Update hit at noon Eastern today, bringing with it a bit of Kirby Avalanche, Streets of Rage 3 and the Legend of Hero Tonma. Kirby's Avalanche (Super NES, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Everyone's favorite round, pink hero takes a break from swallowing his enemies to put your brain to work in this fast-paced puzzle game. Players take control of Kirby and match wits with well-known enemies from the Kirby series (including his archrival, King Dedede) in an effort to win the First Annual Dream Land Avalanche Competition. The simple-but-addictive game play revolves around brightly colored blobs and boulders. When the right amount of matching blobs are stacked, they explode and rain down on your opponent's field of play. Repeat this until your screen is clear to move on to the next round. But be careful--the farther you advance, the faster the blobs fall and the smarter the opponents get. Are you good enough to help Kirby become the avalanche...

Not Halo 3 News: Valve Announces Pre-Purchase for Orange Box
The only thing better than a pre-order is a Valve pre-purchase, where you get to download, but not play, the game before it officially goes on sale.Starting today Valve and GameStop have teamed up to pre-sell the PC version of The Orange Box to gamers interested in that whole pre-purchase concept. Anyone who pre-orders the game before Oct. 10 gets 10 percent off the regular price plus they can download and play the beta version of Team Fortress 2.Hit the jump for all of the tantalizing details. VALVE AND GAMESTOP ANNOUNCE PRE-PURCHASE PROGRAM FOR THE ORANGE BOX Pre-Purchase The Orange Box for Special Price and Join the Team Fortress 2 Beta Now September 24, 2007 - Valve and GameStop today announced that those who pre-purchase the PC edition of The Orange Box at GameStop, the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, before October 10th will save 10% off the regular price and gain access to the beta version of Team Fortress 2 for the PC. The Orange Box,...

NYC Halo 3 Launch: A Best Buy Transformed
At first I wasn't sure I would be able to find the Best Buy that was holding the Halo 3 launch event in New York. After all, it is very big city, and I am a southern boy at heart. As you can see from this gallery, Microsoft and Bungie made it very, very hard to miss. Every window in store is emblazoned with Halo 3 pictures and logos, with one window sporting a selection of Halo action figures. The line itself, containing all of seven people when I got here, was set up outside the store, partially blocking a normally busy street. The other side of said street was also partially blocked by trailers and Halo 3 The Ride: The Car: Pontiac Special Edition. Inside the store is a mess of stages, lighting scaffolds, video cameras and monitors as Microsoft and G4 take over a corner of the Best Buy, hosting competitions for fabulous prizes. Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb is on hand to help host the festivities and generally pretty up the place. If you squint your eyes and imagine the smell...

Lol: Halo Car Red Rings, Wii Car Takes Second in Race
With the release of Halo 3 just days away the ultimate faceoff went down over the weekend at the Dover Speedway: Halo 3 took on the Wii in the form of a NASCAR racing pitting Greg Biffle versus David Stremme.Exactly 306 laps into the 440 lap race Stremme's number 40 car blew its engine and sidelined the racer. No, I'm not making that up: The Halo car got a red ring of death.Meanwhile Biffle's Wii mobile landed a respectable second place. Ouch.Dover 440

New Zealand: Halo Fever
If you couldn't tell, Halo Fever is in full force right now. The game may not be perfect (sorry Eurogamer) but it certainly has its selling points and I think Microsoft's boast that they want to dethrone Spider-Man 3's mammoth opening weekend with a mammoth Halo 3 launch day aren't that outlandish.We've sent our very own Fahey over to New York City to check in on the Halo-mania going on later on tonight. Remember at the stroke of midnight you can pick up a copy of the last in the Halo trilogy... unless you picked it up at one of the many places that seemed to have sold the game early. Once you play through the entire game I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.In the meantime sit back and check out these pictures from New Zealand, the first place in the world where Halo 3 launched. Nicole Sinclair and Ryan Marsden, both 19, were the first two in the world to pick the game up from a retailer.... who didn't break embargo.New Zealand Microsoft also celebrated the launch by freezing...

Justify Your Justify: The Justify Files
I am a huge fan of Mark Wilson's Justify videos, and I'm not just saying that because he makes them for Kotaku. They are genuinely funny and still manage to impart some information. This time around Wilson managed to churn out quite an eclectic mix of Justify Your whatevers including Mark Rein justifying the Epic engine... right after it crashes, Tetsuya Mizuguchi having a nervous break down as he tries to justify his Rez and a Kotaku reader justifying his cosplay outfit.Justify Your MGS4 CosplayJustify Your Engine Mark ReinJustify Your Game, MGS 4Justify Your Xbox Holiday Lineup Takashi SensuiJustify Your Game Everyday ShooterJustify Your Game LittleBigPlanetJustify Your Game, Rez

NYC Halo 3 Launch: First!
This fine young man is the frist in line at the Best Buy on 5th Avenue in NYC, the site of the official Halo 3 launch in the northeast. He arrived last night around 6PM, spending the night in happy Manhattan for the chance to be the first to get his hands on Bungie's opus. He's also a regular Kotakuite, who goes by the comment handle Unndunn. With such outstanding Kotaku representation at the event, why am I even here? The answer is simple. Volume. Unndunn probably won't be seeing this for awhile, as he's busy being interviewed, reinterviewed, photographed, and videotaped by various media outlets. Then after midnight he will be dissected on live television to help us understand the Halo phenomenon. Go UnnDunn!

Tgs07: Docomo Cellphone Exercise Game, Dominated
newVideoPlayer("DocomoExercise_gawker.flv", 475, 376);Our own Luke Plunkett got some hands-on with Docomo's cellphone exercise game (following his bowling excursion from earlier that day). And I'll tell you, when the respect and admiration of cute Japanese booth attendants is on the line, Luke brings it.

Tgs07: Ninja Gaiden: The Best Damn Swag on the Planet
The Tecmo press party enticed us with the promise of maid waitresses in a pirate-themed bar, but made us happy by slapping these amazing DS styluses in our hands as we walked out the door.And the Ninja Gaiden stylus doesn't just look cool, it's also serious deadly. Check, for instance, the "usage notice" on the back of the pack:This stylus tool is only to be used for touching screens.Do not pole or swing this stylus tool when near other people.Do not use this stylus tool if the tip is broken or becomes dirty.Do no over-stretch the strap.Please close tightly after using this stylus tool.I am so ignoring every one of those rules, well except for the dirty one. galleryPost('ngdss', 4);

Clips: Valkyrie Of The Battlefield Comes To Life
newVideoPlayer("valkyria_big_gawker.flv", 475, 376);Here's a trailer for Sega's Senjou no Valkyria, or Valkyrie of the Battlefield in English, which is a mix of strategy RPG and third-person shooter, apparently influenced at least in part by Gears of War. I don't know about anyone else, but they had my money as son as the hand-drawn tank started rolling. It looks freaking amazing. It's odd how my favorite games of this generation so far have got nothing to do with hyper-realistic graphics, despite that being the target of each successive leap in technology.

Movies: Resident Evil: Extinction Eats Weekend Box Office
No matter what your personal feelings are about the Resident Evil franchise, it is nice to see a movie based on a video game come in tops at the box office over the weekend. Resident Evil: Extinction took in $24 million this weekend, beating it's nearest competitor, Good Luck, Chuck by a clean $10 million. This almost makes it the best weekend pull of all three RE movies, beating Apocalypse's $23 million despite selling less tickets, a testament to ticket prices pushing past ridiculous into 'no f***ing way' territory. You win this time, Milla Jonovich, but don't think this makes up for Ultraviolet.'Resident Evil' Infects Top Spot [Box Office Mojo]

Tgs07: Japan's Cell Phone Obsession
I always thought the phenomenon of cell phones had reached monumental proportions in the U.S., but it's nothing compared to what it's like here in Japan. A ride on the train will have you seeing at least ten to fifteen people on each car with phones out presumably texting or playing games on them. The there's the cell phone charms. They are HUGE over here. Practically everyone has one or two or thirty dangling off their phone. Some are so large they are bigger than the phones. For example, one gal I saw had no less than three small plush animals attached making it impossible to put in a pocket or the tiny purse she was carrying.Of course, all these phones means a huge market for cell phone games. Almost every booth I went into at TGS had some sort of cell phone game in it and in most cases five or six. Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill and Square Enix all had multiple mobile games attached to them. There were also booths dedicated solely to cell phone games and nothing...

Tgs07: TGS' Biggest Fans
galleryPost('tgscrowd', 4);OK, maybe not the Tokyo Game Show's biggest fans, but certainly the most useful.

Tgs07: Touch Me? The Cheekiest Shirt of TGS
There was an entire hall chock full of merchandise at Tokyo Game Show: dolls, figures, toys and shirt. Mostly shirts though, tons and tons of T-shirts. While I love gaming shirts, they really have to be something special to get me to buy one. Mostly because I don't have the room in my house for anymore. When I was walking the halls last week checking out the merch this black Doki Doki Majo Shinpan shirt caught my eye. Not only was it down right bizarre, it was for a game no one in the U.S. will probably ever seen. So yes, I bought it. What I didn't buy, though, was that shirt next to it. I mean, that's a finger there sneaking up her skirt and check out those freaked out eyes.

Tgs07: Japanese Gamers Really Care About Halo 3
We don't expect the lines in Akihabara or Den Den Town to reach the impressive levels of home, but don't think that Tokyo Game Show attendees are turning up their noses at Halo 3, just because it's on the Xbox Somethingorother. They waited, for hours—okay an hour at least—to get their hands on the game just a few days early. That 60 minute wait sign was quickly updated to 90 minutes after everyone in Microsoft's booth grew tired of playing Zoids Alternative and Dynasty Warriors 6. Respect, Halo 3. Much respect.Sure, the waits for Biohazard: The Umbrella Chronicles (3.5 hours) and Devil May Cry 4 (just about all day) were a bit nuttier, but maybe the Japanese are warming up to Master Chief. We'll know at about 10 AM on September 27th if Halo 3 will be the 360's savior in Japan.

Tgs07: Onee Chanbara R (Like, For Wii) Hands-On Impressions
D3 Publisher's slash-hit series Onee Chanbara does cowgirls in bikinis right. The amount of zombie eviscerating is arguably perfect. The gameplay? Ehhhh... So why not add an extra layer of sloppy controls to the Onee Chanbara formula courtesy of the Wiimote and nunchuk controller? That was, I assume, the thrust of the white board concept meeting at Onee Chanbara R's developer Tamsoft. The TGS demo certainly gets the core elements right, there's loads of pink juicy blood squirting at the camera and plenty of opportunities for our hero Aya to perform fan service acrobatics. But the Devil May Cry Lite action doesn't impress. At all.It sounds great on paper, perform slashing and stabbing motions with both halves of the Wii controller, using each hand to control an arm. It quickly grows tiresome when battling not only hordes of creatures, but fighting the craptastic camera as well. Many sword moves were interpreted liberally resulting in plenty of pantie revealing cartwheels. Yes,...