It's official: I'm now 100% behind the new art direction. I'm not hating on the old style, I've just...grown to accept and love the new designs for what they are. So when you consider I was already 100% behind any and all further Advance Wars DS games, you can see I'm in a mathematically-impossible position of support for this game.

To: Flynn
From: Crecente
Re: Bad Taxi Drivers Totally Suck (And Should Quit)

How weird that Ash is staying in the hotel in Korea that I lived in for a month or so when my family and I first moved to the country back in the early 80s. At least I'm pretty sure he is.

I'm not sure, exactly, why but I've had some serious insomnia going on since yesterday. Last night I went to bed around midnight and then woke up about 2:45 a.m. or so and couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided to come do some work in the loft... until 4 a.m. or so, at which point I went back to bed and struggled to try and catch some sleep until 7 a.m. or so. If that weren't strange enough, I've been up all day without a yawn... or a drop of caffeine. And now at 8 p.m. I not only don't feel sleepy, I feel energized. I dread the bed tonight. This reminds me a bit of a college when I went through a phase of not sleeping at all, for days. I stayed awake so long that I started hallucinating and was convinced that sleep was totally unnecessary and that being tired was just another form of withdrawal. It all ended with me passing out in my car... fortunately it was parked at the time.

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Meet the New GeForce Graphics Card
Nintendo: Full DS Games Not Coming to Wii After All
Do You Believe That MGS4 Will Be On Xbox 360
How to Spend $2,000 on Games in One Afternoon
Uwe Boll on Larry King Live?
PSP Skype Could Come This Month
Microsoft Hit With Class Action Suit Over Xbox Live Outage

That's what the latest issue of EGM says in its Quarterman rumors section, indicating that an unnamed "first party sequel" is already in development for whatever console Microsoft has planned after the Xbox 360. That could mean a next-gen—yes, that next-gen—Halo, Perfect Dark or Viva Pinata is just a few years off, as is the next step in the Xbox hardware cycle. Seems a bit early, doesn't it, given that the 360 is only two years and change old? Given that the Xbox and Xbox 360 were born just four years apart, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility—and these games do take quite a bit of time to cobble together—but we doubt that another short lifecycle on the current generation box would sit well with gamers.

Microsoft Already Working on Game For Next Xbox? [1UP]

A trio of Texan gamers are looking to capitalize on the service disruption that Microsoft has been experiencing with Xbox Live over the past fortnight, writes the Seattle Times. A class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft alleging breach of contract over connection issues and server errors many were experiencing when trying to play online. The three plaintiffs claim that MS "failed to exercise reasonable care or competence in communicating information regarding the nature of services offered through Xbox Live" resulting in damages suffered. I'm no lawyer, but I bet there are some Twitter server logs that will argue otherwise!

The complaint, which is available for download via the Seattle Times, doesn't mention what damages are being sought by the group, but does point out expenses associated with Live subscription costs and attorney fees. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen!

Xbox Live holiday outages prompts class action lawsuit [Seattle Times]

Valve has welcomed Rockstar Games into the fold today, with the publisher's catalog arriving on the Steam digital distribution platform. We'd heard rumors about it from a few Steam users over the past couple weeks, but now it's confirmed. That means Windows gamers can enjoy titles like Manhunt, Max Payne, Midnight Club II and the Grand Theft Auto series from the comfort of their broadband connections. There are some very solid deals to be had, with a 10% price break on the available titles during launch week.

What kind of deals? How about both Max Payne games for $13.45 US? No? What about every GTA PC game for $26.95? If bundling is your thing, you may want to check out the Rockstar Collection, which features ten titles for the price of one (give or take). It's fun and financially sound.

Rockstar Games On Steam [Steam]

Over the holidays, the gaming community lost one an influential member in Martin Sikes, one of the founding members of Black Box Games. Black Box was probably best known for creating titles like NHL 2K and Sega Soccer Slam before being acquired by Electronic Arts in 2002 and helming the Need For Speed franchise. Sikes and other former Black Box staffers later went on to co-found United Front Games, a start-up studio that formed in the summer of 2007. Sikes, who died suddenly on Christmas Eve, is survived by his daughter, parents Rita and John, and sister Belinda.

Details on memorial services are available at the Vancouver Sun.

Martin Sikes co-founded Black Box Games [Vancouver Sun - thanks, Victor]

Perfect Dark Zero and Viva Pinata developer Rare looks to be targeting Xbox Live Arcade for its next release, according to Xbox 360 Fanboy. The site reports today that it has details on the Microsoft-owned studio's The Fast & The Furriest, culled from presentation materials on the XBLA game. The sporty minigame collection would feature heavy Xbox Live Vision cam support, allowing for face (read: balls) mapping and EyeToy-style control. Classic Rare characters, like that clock from Diddy Kong Racing and dozens of fuzzy, googly-eyed woodland creatures, would feature prominently.

The presentation materials also point to a Wii-like motion control system that didn't make the final cut, which could lend more weight to Microsoft's interests in a simplified waggle scheme.

The Fast & The Furriest: Rare's latest XBLA project [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

PQ Crash dropped us a line to point out that The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's playoff preview for the upcoming Seahawks' this weekend. The spread shows quarterback Matt Hasselbeck transformed into an 8-bit sprite in a landscape ripped from a Super Mario Bros. title.

The latest batch of rumors from EGM's venerable Quarterman character/column points to a mysterious "major Japanese third-party publisher" signing on for a series of classic remakes to be delivered via the PlayStation Network. Who? EGM won't say, but 1UP head Sam Kennedy tosses out a few ideas—Konami, Capcom, Square-Enix. No word on graphical overhauls or Xbox Live Arcade-style releases featuring both visual updates and original versions, but we're hoping that they're not just upscaled

It reminds us of that other EGM rumor from last summer that pointed to a Mega Man remake coming to PSN, one that has yet to materialize. Capcom would make the most sense of the three names bandied about, as Konami has already delivered on a number of remakes—Contra, Gyruss, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, et al.—and Square-Enix doesn't know what the hell to do with digital distribution yet. Of course, there are plenty of other candidates, but we'll keep our fingers crossed for that HD Forgotten Worlds remake.

Major Japanese Publisher Working on PSN Remakes [1UP]

Sony's low-key announcement that peer-to-peer calling service Skype would be coming to the PSP was vague on details, but a recent report from Japanese outlet Nikkei Net helps to shed some light. According to Gamespot's retelling of the account, the service, free for PSP users and limited only to those in possession of the PSP Slim revision, may be launching as early as January.

There's no charge for PSP-to-PSP and PSP-to-PC calls, but a microphone accessory and dedicated phone number service will both carry a fee. The Nikkei Net report priced out PSP-Skype plans strictly for Japan, but we suspect Sony will have more to say about the calling service at next week's CES. Who else is psyched for some sidetalkin'?

Report: PSP Skype launching this month [Gamespot]

By John Gaudiosi

The year 2008 is going to be a very busy year for controversial film director Uwe Boll, who has a legion of detractors in the gaming community after films like Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne and House of the Dead. The prolific filmmaker, who independently finances every one of his movies, has a slate of movies in the can. He talks about what the coming year brings in this exclusive interview.

First up for Boll is his $60 million fantasy epic, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. The movie, which stars Ray Liotta, Jason Statham, Leelee Sobieski, Ron Perlman, Kristanna Loken, Matthew Lillard and Burt Reynolds, will open on 2,500 screens across North America on January 11--making it Boll's biggest film release yet.

"In the Name of the King is tracking well," said Boll. "Eighty percent of the TV spots for the film will begin January 1. The film opened in Germany and other foreign territories already and remained in the Top 10 for the first three weeks in every territory.

Boll concedes that In the Name of the King is by far the best movie he's ever made with the best cast and the best script he's ever worked with.