The O’Brien variety, not the Barbarian one. So “LATE NIGHT’S BACK!!!1” and with it are some strike beards, some striker-sanctioned hilarity, and a whole bunch of filler. Of the filler, we follow Conan as he lets us know what he’s been up to the last two months (with hilarity ensuing all the while. eh), which has been hanging around his office. One of the office activities that his underlings participate in is a rousing game of Rock Band. One activity that one Conan O’Brien participates in is bringing his guitar and portable amp around the office to annoy people. Put those together plus the beard and you get something that resembles … hmm. Also, you get a special cover of the Beastie Boys’ Sabotage by Edith Bunker (of “All in the Family” fame). (!).



You ever have a beer and watch people play Guitar Hero or Rock Band with the clickity clicks loud enough to compete with the song and singing and whatnot? It’s truly a moment of funny and very recommended! Or just watch the South Park video review.

Finding someone who doesn’t adore either of the Team ICO games is a hard-pressed endeavor, so any clues toward their next project are welcomed with open arms. One diligent forum poster by the name KS did what we all did when we saw the job ad in Famitsu, just better. In the post KS handles the concept drawings one section at a time, delivering insight as apparent as continuing platforming elements to specific as exponential rotation. KS is also careful to point out that this is simple speculation, as commentor dieubussy* brings up, and the advert may very well be simple scraps you’d find in the offices of any videogame development house used for aesthetic purposes. Either way, it’s still interesting to read someone’s honest effort into an area that’s going to be shrouded in mystery for far longer than anyone would like. Translation: “MOAR UEDA GAEMZ PWEEZ!”

*dieubussy happens to be the author of the excellent “Antagonism and Continuity”, a piece on videogame expression and a comparison of Fumito Ueda’s ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Definitely a recommended read for anyone at all interested in Ueda’s creative mind.

More insight on the ad from the bookmark-worthy Team ICO Gamers blog here.

We've had a lot of laughs. Some people got it. Some people didn't. Some people did, used sarcasm, and then got crushed by the YLCS2TP anyway. Some got UR MR GAY hot flashes. Either way, the Dtoid fam came together. What does that mean? I don't know. I'm feeling a lot of emotions right now. I need some man ticks.

By slowly, I of course mean very quickly.

Yesterday, I posted about the first evidence of the possible North American version of Persona 3: FES. Today, another English-speaking voice actor has done the same, posting Persona 3: FES under his online resume. It seems it’s only a matter a time now before we get official confirmation from Atlus.

Just as Steve Prince (messiah-posturing Strega leader Takaya) had done, Liam O’Brien (confident and reserved Akihiko) has revealed yet another possible Nippon-to-‘merica game; the first being Baroque and now Disaster: Day of Crisis. It seems the place to get the scoop on the latest translations is a professional voice actor’s online résumé.

Now, I need to get back to my own Persona 3. It's December and finals are coming. Also, death.

I don’t know about any of you, but I’m still not finished with Persona 3. The game tends to pace like a racehorse and lasts like an innocent cold sore. When it came to the states, Japan already had their hands on it for over a year and the FES version had already been released. It was always a possibility (thought the hopeful) that they’d bring the FES version over depending on Persona’s reception. Well, I guess it did pretty well, because rumor has it that it could be in the works. Siliconera sums up the whole story of this first FES rumor, where some diligent gamers had spotted the new project on voice actor Steve Prince’s (Takaya) résumé under “GAMES TO WATCH OUT FOR”. Not long after the news spread on the internetz, that listing was removed, along with the listing of Baroque. Thanks to supernerds everywhere (NeoGAF), visual proof was captured:



The new add-ons include such additions as an expected additional +30 hours to an already long story, interchangeable clothing to sate your Barbie doll fixations, and another campaign called Episode Aegis, which centers around a certain character my brain certainly couldn’t fathom being Aegis. So if you managed to not buy Persona 3 thinking it was some superfluous dating sim (wrong), the pseudo-suicide summoning felt weird and gimmicky (get over yourself), or it was just another generic JRPG (parenthesis), here could be your chance to make amends to your pleasure centers next year.

The Orange Box came out yesterday, so I hope most of you took a breather from your gloriously fun Halo 3 matches to pick up this little bundle of joy. Among the several games that fully justify the purcahse, you have Portal, a mind-rackingly enjoyable puzzle game. Over at Wired they had a diagram to help you understand how to manage the mindfuck, but if you need further guidance, there’s a well-done flash version over at MoFunZone.com. Try it out and see if you can get through all 40 levels before punching a hole through your wall!