As I'm sure most of you have heard, the Resident Evil 5 demo became available on XBL in Japan today. If you've followed big filth's blog or neogaf among other sites, you'll have heard about a trick about using a hotmail/windows ID account with a location set to Japan to trick your 360 into thinking you're in Japan and then just creating a temporary account to download the demo.

Well, it seems that Microsoft has wised up to the trick and when you attempt to download the demo you'll get a message along the lines of "This download is not available for your location." So unless you jumped on the opportunity right when it became available, you won't be able to to do this. BUT, if you still want to play the demo, there are other methods:

1) Download the 5 rar files here.

2) Click on any part and Winrar will automatically combine their contents. Extract the product to your hard drive.

3) Burn the "Contents" folder to a CD. (Note: When you burn the CD make sure the "Contents" folder is the first thing you see on the CD, not the "Resident Evil 5 demo" parent folder the contents folder is in or else it will not work.)

4) Insert into your Xbox and the disc will appear as a "Mixed Media" disc. Just go into your Games Library and Biohazard 5 will appear under your recently played demos.

5) Enjoy!

I thought I was lucky when I bought a 60gb PS3, an extra controller, Madden 08, and NFL 2K8 from my cousin for $300 when she found out her boyfriend was cheating on her under the farce of traveling to and from New York to visit his daughter. Xbox 360 failure rates had kept me from buying one (until recently) and the PS3 price was the only deterrent keeping me from getting one of these so naturally I graciously volunteered to fan the flames of infidelity inspired revenge and take the shiny black reminder of a failed relationship off her hands.

A year later and my PS3 and I are enjoying our relationship but then life decided to piss in my Cheerios. My PS3... undone by the very reason I had abstained from buying a 360 for years. Only about a half hour into Mirror's Edge, I took the last of many falls off of buildings when my PS3 decided to not load the previous checkpoint. Restarting the console, it then refuses to even read any of my discs, occasionally giving me the error code "80010514," which I'm almost certain translates to DISC READ ERROR.

My 1 year warranty was invariably over since it was a launch unit leaving me with a dreadful inkling that repairs were going to cost me. Initially I was going to tell the customer service rep that I had cancer and worked a 50+ hours a week factory job to feed my three handicapped children and that paying for repairs would ruin Christmas but the woman on the phone sounded like she was so unenthusiastically reading the fine print off of a user agreement that I didn't get a chance to haggle. It was a cold lifeless conversation. She broke my heart and took 150 dollars of my money. So much for Fallout 3, Motorstorm, and Left 4 Dead. I'll just resort to imagining what the rest of Mirror's Edge is like and not finishing my LBP level that I've been toiling away at. DAMN YOU SONY!!!!!!



Did I just compare crucifixion to a console failure? Heh...

One of the coolest draws to controlling the little endearing Sackboy is that in addition to the typical run, jump, and grab platforming fare, Sackboy's body, arms, head, mouth, and expressions are posable. Granted this may be a bit of a novelty, but being able to slap someone off a cliff or moving vehicle will often result with hilarity. The arms are easily mapped to the analog sticks with a press of the shoulder buttons and the head and body can be manipulated using the sixaxis motion control. What most people don't know is that Sackboy's mouth will actually mimic whatever sound is heard through a player's headset.

The creator of this video took that idea, played some music into the headset, and added a little choreography. The rapping segments in particular really impress. The ending is awesome as well but I won't ruin that for you.



Is this "gay" enough for you, Mr. Sadistic?

Greatest video game mash-up poster ever? I do think so. I apologize for the shitty image quality. (Here's a cleaner look at the image.)

I happened across this little gem way back in the beginning of summer at the Philadelphia Wizard World convention. There's a section of the convention floor reserved called "Artist's Alley" where people will try to hand out their cards and attempt to their peddle amateur comic books to you for a nominal fee, regardless of whether you look interested or not. If you manage to survive the onslaught with false sincerity and promises to "come back later," you'll be rewarded with the opportunity to browse and buy posters and prints from other artists.

This being primarily showcased for comic book related art, I was pretty surprised to see any gaming art, let a alone a piece with Mega Man and Earthworm Jim, that is if you don't count the smattering of Samus art work. When I spotted this poster, like a mosquito to a bug zapper, I wandered up to the table and started flipping through the guy's art book. Out of curiosity I asked him what made him decide to put Earthworm Jim and Mega Man together and he told me "because they were characters that should have been in Brawl." I laughed, paid my 10 dollars, and went on my merry way.

I think I've wasted enough time talking about this as MM9 beckons to be played. Now if only Earthworm Jim's revival goes as smoothly...

Just in case you missed the $299 sale, Dell is now offering the Xbox 360 elites for $349 with free shipping over here. Be sure to enter "V8Q199$GCXJWL$" in the coupon code box when you check out to get the discount. Considering the rumored price drop for the 60 gig model will be $299 in September, I'd be willing to say $349 for an elite is a bargain.

I jumped all over this for my first venture into 360 gaming amidst my concerns of defective consoles. May the red ring of death reaper have mercy on my humble home and shrinking wallet. Rest assured though, many of the $299 sale recipients claim that the models they received have the latest chip-sets in them.

The coupon is allegedly good till August 20th, or at least until Dell pulls the deal.

[via CAG]

The more I see of this game, the more I want it. However, if the way NOA handled Mother 3 tells us anything, I would be hesitant to get my hopes up. Even more so after seeing the translated trailer featuring Birdo, aka Catherine the transvestite in Japan, as he struggles over finding love interests. I'm not too sure how NOA would touch this matter, since here in a America gratuitous blood and violence is OK but a little sexual ambiguity or controversy will have Fox News pounding away at your front door.

While simply asking for a localization will probably only give us a vague answer or some bullshit marketing spin, I have to admire the possibilities for this game. In case you were unaware, Captain Rainbow is a game centered around protagonist Nick who wishes to restore his grandeur as a super hero. From the looks of things Nick travels to an island inhabited by has-been and overlooked Nintendo characters including Birdo, Little Mac, Takamaru, and even the NES Golf guy as they struggle with their problems much like himself. Check out the translated trailers below:

EDIT: To see the translations, you'll need to view the videos on the Youtube page. Youtube has some kind of subtitling option now but it doesn't appear to work on embedded videos.







This looks like it may be a weekly video release so we may very well be seeing more obscure characters pop up from the Nintendo archives. Sukapon anyone?