The Champions Online Winter Event is go. Dubbed “Attack of the Misfit Toys,” this bit of seasonal content brings ushers in a new villain named Black Harlequin and an equally villainous (and mechanical) teddy bear toy. We’re not ones to linger on basic MMO enemies, but damn, this dude looks f’ing hardcore.

But this isn’t all that is going on in Champions Online. According to an official release sent out last afternoon, developer Cryptic Studios have kicked off a referral program that allows referred players to rock out in the MMO for ten days without dishing out coin. When a recruit buys the game, the referrer nets an extra costume slot and 400 Cryptic Moon Bucks. Sounds like it’s time to push your crack on your buddies.

Speaking of crack, a free and branded iPhone App is slated to hit in the future. If you need to stay in contact with this game at all times -- and who doesn’t -- give this thing a spin: it collects Champions Online news, and apparently allows cross-platform communication.

Chances are you won’t be able to talk to mecha-teddy, though. Too bad. This guy looks like he has a lot to say.

Tecmo has confirmed that its third-person action title, Quantum Theory, will hit Japanese store shelves this March for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

As for the rest of the world, Tecmo isn't saying. We noted that retailers, including the all-mighty GameStop, aren't listing Quantum Theory... period. So we checked in with Tecmo to see what was up.

"The March release date for Quantum Theory is confirmed only for Japan," a spokesperson simply said.

The whole thing is a bit odd, as Quantum Theory seems to be designed for North American audiences, heavily borrowing mechanics from titles like Gears of War. It's surprising to see that Tecmo is being so "hush hush" on a North American release, which has previously been slated for "Spring."

In any case, there's little doubt the game will make its way to North America. We'll just have a wait a bit longer to find out when.

Dante's Inferno is still squeezing out as much crazy PR as it can, and with Christmas just around the corner, what better way to celebrate than with Visceral Games completely grossing everybody out? Just hit this link right here to receive a special gift from the Dante's Infernal team. Go do it now. 

Yeah ... that's just f*cking grotesque, right? 

Happy Holidays from Hell, and may we all have a better Christmas than the poor jerkoffs in those videos.

Eurogamer is reporting that Disney Interactive will be releasing Split/Second in May of 2010, and this upsets me.

Why? Because that's so long from now. I'm not sure I can wait that long, especially after having just drooled over the latest trailer. For those not acquainted with Split/Second, it's a racer which focuses on "Power Plays," acts of destruction triggered by the player to change the track. Examples? How about making a plane crash onto the race track? Yeah, that happens.

GameStop is listing Split/Second for a general "May 2010" release date as well, without committing to a specific day. It is, however, offering up a pre-order bonus -- an in-game car plus a physical die-cast model to play with in real life!

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is the first Might & Magic game to hit the DS. Developed by Capybara and published by Ubisoft, the game is a mix of combat and puzzle style action. Ubisoft has sent us two copies to giveaway in our 25 days of giving contest series and winning is simple.

Just leave a comment saying "I want Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes for the DS!" Yup, that's all this time. I'll be picking two random commenters to give the games away to after the contest closes at 11:59 PM CST tonight! Contest open to US and Canadian residents only! You can enter as many times as you'd like, but you have to space out your entries so that at least three other people have left a comment before you can enter again.

If the state of Avatars in my Xbox Live Friends list is any indication, all my friends are apparently closet Master Chiefs, attendees of PAX 09, steam punk aficionados and Halo Waypoint award whores. Seriously, that floating ball thing is attached to almost every other person on that list.

However, you may want to hold back buying anymore doodads for your little digital likeness, according to 1UP through a recent Microsoft patent called "Avatar Individualized by Physical Characteristic." This patent is the ultimate form of corporate digital "guilt tripping," in which player's Avatars are designed to reflect the weight and shape of the people they are representing. Nevermind that their console exemplifies the ultimate in a sedentary life by not only promoting lazy living, but presenting products that grant wish-fulfillment of being more active human beings.

It's like watching Nickelodeon on a Sunday afternoon, only to be told in some patronizing condescending PSA to go outside and play. "No disingenuous corporate watchdog group," we will stand up and say, "We will not be patronized!" Does Jim Sterling want to be told that his Avatar thinks he's unhealthily overweight? No! Does Brad Nicholson want to be reminded that his obsession with physical fitness borders on pathological OCD? Maybe!

Of course, we all know this is probably tied to some WiiFit-like game for Project Natal. The patent says it functions by "Linking the avatar to a physical characteristic of a user provides leverage to provide incentives or constraints that can encourage good behavior (e.g., healthy behaviors, virtuous behaviors, etc.)" There's some other third party trickery going on, such as blood and glucose monitors, so this service will probably work like the Miis do in WiiFit, which really isn't so bad, especially if they don't force it on players. But do they really have to tell us we are fat? This is America. We like being fat, just not told so. Jeeze.

Serious Sam is hard. We all know that. But one thing it's never been considered is complex. You have a gun, you run around, and you shoot waves upon waves of slobbering monstrosities. However, if you call Serious Sam simplistic, Croteam may have something to say to you, like what studio founder Roman Ribaric said to us when we asked why the game's simplicity was so profound.

"Yes, simplicity is our thing. There are lots of players to enjoy that kind of gameplay. Seems that almost everyone played the original Serious Sam. And with Left for Dead 2, there is a huge base of players that like wandering around and shooting like crazy at the same time," states Roman. 

"[However] people seem not to realize how complex Serious Sam gameplay actually is. Most of the time you can hear them saying you just run and shoot or it's a brainless shooter. However, I would like to see them play on some higher difficulty than Tourist or Easy. Not to mention on Serious difficulty. I bet they would survive only for a few seconds there in some mid-sized fights with just 3-4 enemies on scene. If of course they use cheats, which they mostly do and then comment on easy, boring or not challenging and complex enough.

"Serious Sam is a game that requires precise movements, choosing the right weapon at the right time, knowing how many rockets or bullets can kill each specific enemy or wound him or interrupt his attack, so you can switch to other weapons and dispose of another bunch of enemies charging from behind and get back to the original enemy. Enemies do appear dumb, but in large numbers they are deadly if you are not careful or don't think quickly. Our game sometimes generates hundreds of enemies charging, shooting or flying from above. To further add to that situation, you are running at ten meters per second. So, it gets very hard to stay alive. However, once you master the situation, you then think that was pretty easy. You just needed the right combination of clicks, maneuvers, shots and weapons."

So there you have it. Serious Sam is pretty bloody strategic if you think about it. Let it never be said that the game is just a dumb shooter ever again. It shall be you who appears dumb for saying such a thing.

2K Play and developer The Odd Gentlemen sent along their holiday wishes this past weekend with this "Pie-tacular" The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom holiday card.

Because I simply can't wait for the game to hit Xbox LIVE Arcade next year, I was instantly smitten and had to share it. Of course, it doesn't help that Anthony pitched a fit over it when he saw it at GDC earlier this year. Or that it was in the running for our PAX 2009 "Game of the Show," among other nominees like Borderlands, Mass Effect 2, and Left 4 Dead 2.

Confession -- I haven't even played it yet. But based on what I've seen and what I've heard, it's definitely among my most anticipated titles for next year. I'll be spending some time with it over the holidays, so expect plenty of details and impressions after the New Year.

[As posted on Japanator]

And now that I know this fact, I have decided, before playing it, that Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is going to suck. It's going to suck because it is coming out on January 12th, and I won't be in a position to actually play it until at least January 16th. And after watching the film, I've never been more excited about getting my hands on this Wii game.

Of course, this raises questions as to why I'd actually want to play the game following the film, as its existence is ostensibly a great exercise in missing the point, but to that I respond with this question: "Weren't those dogfighting scenes totally sweet?"

Because they were. And that's exactly what I would want from a Sky Crawlers video game. Watching a kid carefully fold his newspaper for fifteen seconds is best left to the film. Besides, from what I hear, the game's narrative setup places it in a comfortable niche, mercifully spared with the burden of being meaningful.

Still, it's going to suck. The only way now that they can convince me otherwise prior to my actually playing it is to confirm the presence of a Basset Hound, as shown in the picture above.

That is your challenge, Project Aces and XSEED. Confirm the Basset Hound.

Earlier this week, I gave you a first-look, hands-on preview of MLB 10 The Show. In it, I discussed some of the improvements and additions that Sony San Diego is bringing to the game, including the new Catcher Mode, a better Road to the Show experience, and a replay editor called Movie Maker. In case you didn’t believe me, here’s something that may put some weight behind my words: Pastapadre obtained an image of the game’s back cover, and it advertises all the features I mentioned in my preview. (Check out the full-size image for yourself in the gallery below, along with a new screenshot of Alex Rodriguez.)

Of course, this may not be the final back-of-the-box image. It gives a rundown of why Sony thinks people should buy MLB 10 -- classic stadiums, improvements to online play, and All-Star break additions. Of note is the unfortunate listing of a five-gigabyte hard drive installation, which is the same size of the install that MLB 09 required. You’d think the load times would be a bit better since the game doesn’t have to stream all that data from the disc; hopefully we’ll be doing less waiting in MLB 10.

MLB 10 The Show, with the Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer on its cover, will be making its way to store shelves in March for the PS3, PS2, and PSP.

[Via Pastapadre]

[_{Editor's Note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.}]

Caution: Minor Dragon Age: Origins spoilers ahead for one of the many endings!

I've so rarely been enraged by a videogame as I was near the end of Dragon Age: Origins. I was a good girl! I didn't sleep with anyone else but Alistair (though Zev and Lelani were temptations). Hey, my boyfriend is probably going to be king so why blow it -- I could be Queen!

I went the safe route and stayed faithful. I was sooo nice to him. I managed to get him made King, and then he gives this little speech about how he has to break up with me now that he's going to be King. WHAT?! You bastard! 

What's that in the sky? It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Destructoid's 25 days of giving! ... It's also a plane. A plane in the form of IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey for the PlayStation 3. We have four copies of the game to giveaway thanks to 505 Games as well as four Thrustmaster T. Flight Stick X compatible for the PS3 and PC.

In order to win the game and flight stick, we want you to take a picture of yourself giving us your best flight combat pose. Basically, pretend that you're sitting in a cockpit in the middle of a very heated battle. Make sure something Destructoid related is in the picture you take and no photo editing is allowed. Bonus points if you dress up and/or use a real plane/cockpit.

You have until December 20 at 11:59 PM CST to submit your entry in the comment below. We'll be picking the four best entries to give the game and flight stick to. Contest open to US residents only. Good luck!

_{[Weekend Destructainment is a collection of funny videos brought together from all across the Internet to bring you entertainment on these slow and boring weekends.]}

So this guy, named Dr Zeus, performs the Legend of Zelda theme on Tesla Coils. It's .... it's different.

Ain't no party like a Destructainment party. After the break, Dtoider Mr PORC and friend sing some game music sadly. Then it's the Kirby theme played with just Windows XP error sounds. Next, some Modern Warfare 2 myths get busted.

Then check out the secret mode in Tiger Woods 10. After that, it's an old Dr. Mario ad. Followed by a promotion video for the UK launch of the PlayStation. The Destructainment ends with Mega64 and aggressive caroling.

_{[Editor's Note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.]}

There's been plenty of talk about the Citizen Kane of gaming, as "experts" attempt to validate and justify the medium of games by comparing it to a classic movie in increasingly tenuous and bizarre ways. Most of these Kane comparisons are totally off-base and usually make the "experts" in question look silly. 

When you try and compare one medium to another, you always run the risk of making yourself appear ludicrous in the process, but I feel that one link can be made between a certain game franchise and a certain movie franchise. It's not Citizen Kane, but a series of films with its own iconic and undeniable impact on human culture. 

If you really must hold up a videogame and say "this is like a movie," then I believe I have found the perfect one. Instead of linking Metroid Prime and Citizen Kane, try Final Fantasy and Star Wars. I think you'll find that the similarities between the two are quite astounding.