Look, I knew I would be seeing Puzzle Quest 2 today, all day. My scheduled meeting was later in the afternoon, but  leading up to that time, I became increasingly nervous about finally getting my hands on the game. You see, the first Puzzle Quest made a sizable dent in my remaining lifespan. I have given too large a portion of my existence to this videogame. And the second one was supposed to be an even more focused version of the first? Oh no.

And then I finally played it. I played it for too long. They had to run me off. Oh no.

Destructoid and GameStop have teamed up for three weeks of God of War III giveaways! GameStop is currently holding their own contest called "Be the Envy of the Gods" where over 2,000 prizes are being given away until March 15. Along with the daily prizes, they're doing some weekly promotions and this week's GameStop contest is a MMA VIP Experience in Las Vegas.

This is the final week of our God of War III contest series with GameStop and we're going out with a bang as one lucky person will win a PlayStation 3 and a copy of God of War III. To enter, we want you to submit a photo of Kratos taking on a MMA fighter. Use any photo editing program you have and submit your creation in the comments below by March 14 at 11:59 PM CST.

We'll be picking the best image of Kratos battling with an MMA fighter to give the PlayStation 3 and copy of God of War III to. Be creative! One entry per person and contest is open to US residents only.

Iconic game designer Will Wright has described the Wii as more of a toy than a gaming console, and believes the system should be considered as such. Before you get your torches and pitchforks though, bear in mind that he doesn't mean that as a bad thing.

"I think the Wii is a very unique platform, and that's kind of its core value," he explains. "That's why it's been so successful -- because it's pretty clearly different than the Xbox or the PlayStation. I think the Wii provides very fun experiences for the most part, but it's kind of a different level of experience; it's not like these 40-hour involved RPG games as much as it is like these fun toys to pick up and start playing in five minutes.

"And it's really fun with a group of people sitting around... It really is more into what I would call the toy market, because most of the Wii games I've enjoyed felt more like toys than like games."

Funnily enough, the Wii is starting to get quite a few involved RPGs and there are plenty of traditional games if you know where to look. I totally see what he's saying though. The Wii is a gimmick and a toy, but that's not a bad thing at all. It is, after all, why Nintendo is so effing rich right now.

Wii Belongs In Toy Market, Says Will Wright [Industry Gamers]

The names Brenda Brathwaite, Brian Reynolds, Noah Falstein and Steve Meretzky may not be instantly recognizable, but their gamemaking pedigrees are more than enough proof of their service to core gamers. Meretzky created, among other things, the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy computer game alongside Douglas Adams. Brathwaite started her career in the videogame industry by working on the Wizardry series. Reynolds worked with Sid Meyer on the Civilization series, and Falstein was one of the earliest team members at Lucasfilm Games (now LucasArts).

People like these are the ones you would least expect to have hopped onto the Facebook game train, but during this GDC panel, they took the time to explain why they've done exactly that. Hit the jump for a summary of their talk; their motives may suprise you.

What if you were to build a full-on third-person shooter from the ground up, with the controls and action that you're used to, and then work the world of Transformers on top of it? That's exactly what they did with Transformers: War for Cybertron. This way, the design focus was on control, and the end result of this is a game with third-person shooter controls and concepts that you're already familiar with. Exploration of the Transformers world is like icing on the cake, especially for fans that would like to fully explore the lore.

So, think third-person, like Gears of War, but you're controlling Autobots and Decepticons. Yeah, it's like that, and it looks pretty sharp so far.

Allan McCullough is a man with a very noble quest. He wants to help educate children so that they know how to deal with violence. How does he plan to do it? Videogames.

As someone who loves to see developers use the power of games to do good, his GDC session, titled "Violence Prevention - Playing a Video Game Can Make a Difference", stuck out at me right away. I had to go and see what this man had up his sleeve. If you're interested in that sort of thing too, hit the jump for a summary of the talk.

Well, the console wars are officially over. Electronic Arts has announced that cynical "me too" fitness game, EA Sports Active 2.0, is coming to multiple platforms, but will skip the Xbox 360 for some reason. The Wii, PS3, and even iPhone are getting a version, but Microsoft has been left in the cold. 

The PS3 version looks like it'll be the best, since EA has also revealed that players will get to download new workouts via the PSN. This news comes after EA announced that PGA Tour 11 would support Sony's motion controller but wasn't being planned for Natal. Mayhaps it's a case of EA being more familiar with the PS3's new controller than Project Natal? Who knows?

In any case, it would appear that EA isn't supporting Natal right now. Microsoft will want to look into that. 

EA Sports Active 2.0 Skips Xbox 360 [Edge]

If you like obscure Japanese strategy RPGs, then you best dust off your PSP. Atlus is publishing a new SRPG that acts as a prequel to Yggdra Union called Blaze Union: Story to Reach the Future. Yes, that sounds like the kind of name a Japanese SRPG would have. 

Blaze Union will have players step into the boots of female warrior Garlot, a red-haired lady who leads the Blaze Knights against the evil forces of the Bronquian Empire. The game works in pretty much the same way as Yggdra Union, with tactics cards returning, along with classes and "unions" with allied characters. 

Blaze Union will have brand new tactics cards, as well as a tutorial so people can, for once, penetrate one of these games without feeling like their brain got molested. 

Atlus and Sting Bring Yggdra Union Prequel to PSP [Andria Sang]

Did you know that Final Fantasy XIII is kind of a big deal? Apparently it is, because Square Enix has revealed that five million copies of the thing has shipped worldwide. Three million of those games have infiltrated North America and Europe. Yeah, this game is rather large.

XIII is still selling really well in Japan, having launched for the PS3 only on December 17. Also, the entire Final Fantasy franchise has reached a cumulative 96 million shipments worldwide. That's more than your brain can actually conceive. 

So yes. Final Fantasy is quite popular.

Final Fantasy XIII has shipped 5 million worldwide [Videogamer]

With Final Fantasy XIII finally releasing in North America, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada has touched upon the always controversial decision to port the game to Xbox 360. According to Wada, it wasn't a hard decision to make. His team wanted to do it, and the install base was such that it was essentially a no-brainer.

"The Xbox team has been asking us to have a [Final Fantasy] game developed on our platform," explains Wada. "Also, the Xbox 360 console is available in many homes in US and European markets so that was not really a hard decision to make."

Many zealots accused Square Enix of treachery after the fateful 2008 E3 conference when XIII was revealed to be multiplatform, and the subject has been a sore point between opposing gamers ever since. Comparison videos, technical specs, the number of discs, and all sorts of other squabbles have been had over the past months. Now that the games are out, we can all just sit back and be glad that we're actually playing the thing, right?

Square Enix CEO Explains How Final Fantasy XIII Got On The Xbox 360 [Siliconera]

Okay, this is a game I have not seen before. It's a game many people have not seen before. This makes no sense whatsoever, as it looks exactly like the kind of game that should be slapping Wii owners in the face and demanding their attention.

Flip's Twisted World has an open platforming design and visual style that draws out memories of Super Mario Galaxy, but adds in an awesome gravity-flipping mechanic just to keep things spicy. This is the kind of classic cute platformer that appeals to all ages and demographics, so why is nobody talking about it? 

Fortunately, it's now caught my eye. Flip's Twisted World is on my famous "things other blogs won't talk about that I will cover incessantly and to the point of nausea" list. I will do this, even though one member of the game's developer, Frozen North, seems to hate my guts and regularly Tweets about what a scumbag I am. He seriously does that!

The open-world genre is getting a kick in the pants with the new True Crime from developer United Front Games. We're used to this type of game being set in the United States, but the new installment of the series is taking us across the ocean to Hong Kong.

This is the third installment of the open-world franchise from Activision, but it's being "treated as a new IP." New features are being introduced and the art direction goes in a whole different direction from what you're normally used to.

Follow on through the break for an early look at the new True Crime.

The Sonic the Hedgehog 4 details just keep pouring in, and it all seems to be good news, too. Some fresh details have surfaced from that hub of information known as NeoGAF, providing more insight into what keeps promising to be a terrific title. 

Here's the latest gossip:

• The game will be a platformer only: No mini games and extra crap (although classic bonus stages are on the cards).
• The level design is said to be inspired by Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
• Episode one will have four zones with three acts each.
• Jun Senoue is the sound director/composer.
• The classic "wrecking ball" boss fight at the end of Splash Hill will involve new attacks, such as a ground smash and 360 degree swing.
• Future episodes may have new skills for Sonic.

I'm not saying Sonic 4 will definitely be great, but as a lifelong fan of classic platformers, I'm saying it definitely can't hurt to have a little faith. Even if this didn't star Sonic, it looks like the exact kind of game that I'd want to play and I can't wait to finally get my hands on it. 

[Via NeoGAF]

At a special GDC edition of "Street Fighter Fight Club," Capcom announced that the iPhone version of Street Fighter IV should be available on the App Store... now. Or soon. 

I know this because I watched as Capcom clicked a mouse to set the app live, telling a crowd that the game would be available within a few hours. Sure enough, it's available now. The game, which will cost $9.99, will feature eight characters: Abel, Blanka, Chun Li, Ryu, M. Bison, Dhalsim, Guile, and Ken.

The game sports some pretty stunning graphics for an iPhone game -- viewing it on the small screen, the game was detailed and colorful, with little notable distinction between the full console game. Controls on the "phantom analog" were a bit iffy (pulling off a fireball motion was possible, but hit or miss), but the game features an "auto special" option, as well -- yes, that means one button plus a direction to launch special attacks.

We'll have our full review of the game up soon enough, so if you're not feeling dropping ten bones just yet, sit tight.