Along with a USB stick containing the opening of the upcoming Nintendo DS title The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Nintendo sent me a wooden train whistle. Oh, and there were also some pretty neat pieces of artwork on the USB stick, too. 

But what you're interested in is the train whistle. So I put the rest of today's work aside to spend some hands-on time with the train whistle, just for you guys. We'll have an updated preview of Spirit Tracks soon, but you want your train whistle coverage as soon as possible, and far be it from me to keep you from it. 

Once you're confident that you've acquired enough wooden train whistle knowledge, hit the jump for the opening "cinematic" from The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, which hits stores on December 7.

_{[Music credit: "Hyrulian" by djpretzel]}

I can't hear you guys over all of the shouting about the reveal of No More Heroes: Hero's Paradise for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This updated version of the once-Wii-exclusive was announced recently for release in Japan, featuring updated high definition graphics and set for release as early as February. 

Bad news, though -- looks like it doesn't have a US publisher in Ubisoft, who will publishing No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle for the Wii in 2010. 

"Ubisoft will not be publishing either of these versions," a company spokesperson told G4 in regards to the updated PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the original. 

Sad news, indeed. That doesn't mean, however, that it won't be coming to North America. Another publisher -- one that likes gamers, I'd imagine -- may pick it up. Cross your fingers.

Wal-Mart's big attractions for Black Friday shoppers are easily their console bundles. They'll have a Wii bundle that comes with Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympics, one other game and an extra set of Nyko controllers for $249.00. This deal will only be on Wal-Mart's Web site Their PS3 Slim deal will come with inFamous, Batman: Arkham Asylum and The Dark Knight on Blu-ray. This bundle will be $299, the same price the 120GB PS3 Slims go for by themselves. As for their Xbox 360 deal, well it's going to be perfect for the kids. For $199, you'll get the Xbox 360 Arcade with Madagascar 2 the game and the first two Madagascar movies on DVD.

Other awesome deals include Nintendo DS Lite for $98, Rock Band Special Edition for $50 (comes with drums, mic and guitar) and over 100 titles starting at $7. Check out the rest of Wal-Mart's deals over on Black Friday info. Anyone hitting up Wal-Mart for a PS3?

What is it about this obese Mario mask that makes it so damned terrifying?

My immediate thought was the tongue. Oh God, the tongue! But then my eyes were drawn to the bulbous red nose. Has Mario ever had a red nose before? He does now. Finally, I figured out what made the mask so creepy -- the raised eyebrows. Those are what tie the whole thing together, no question.

It's been said this getup was used in an official capacity at Nintendo events, but knowing this eBay auction will likely result in someone with a weird fondness for Mario using the mask to live out their fantasy is even more disturbing.

Please, I beg of you. Someone else buy the mask and throw it into your fireplace so that the demon occupying it may be released.

[Via Bitmob]

I'm starting to feel legitimately bad for giving Jurassic: The Hunted so much positive attention. Some people seem to be mistaking our affection for the game as completely sincere, thinking it's good-good when it's actually bad-good. You know, the kind of bad that makes you giggle? Yeah!

Anyway, if you're looking for some laughs or find yourself in dire need to get some dinosaurs into your life, take note: a demo for Jurassic: The Hunted went up on Xbox LIVE today. You do have to be a Gold subscriber for the time being, as per usual.

No signs of a PlayStation 3 demo yet, but who knows. It could happen.

Despite all the complaints, controversies and nerd rage surrounding PC version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward has officially declared that it sold more than the original game, indicating that the lack of dedicated servers was not a huge deal to most consumers.

"The PC version of Modern Warfare 2 has actually outsold the PC version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in its first week," confirms Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling, "making it the most successful PC version."

It seems that Infinity Ward could have done no wrong with Modern Warfare 2. It managed to alienate a huge section of the PC gamer community, earn nothing but negative press about the PC release, and yet still eclipse the sales of Call of Duty 4. In any case, it would appear that dedicated servers are not quite as important to most PC gamers as some of them make out.

Of course, it doesn't help that most of the supposed boycotters are playing the game right now.

_{Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin is a Dtoid-created comedy series about videogames and cupcakes.}

This week's episode may initially seem the stuff of tired conversations and unimaginative theories, but stick with it -- it gets better.

And way more violent.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: I really, truly didn't expect to enjoy Uncharted 2 as much as I did. I wonder if it's got something to do with the fact that I had an entire game to get to know the characters beforehand: I didn't actually realize how much I liked Elena and Sully until they showed up in Among Thieves, in much the same way I didn't realize how much Dog and Alyx mattered to me until Episode One.

But I digress -- watch the Uncharted 2 episode of HAWP, and, if you like it, please feel free to tell your friends.

Following on from our discovery of a Midnight Riders teaser site, we've just been tipped offLeft 4 Dead 2's resident rock band now has a blog, as well as a Youtube channel. Check it out because it's brilliant stuff! The blog reveals that despite the "Green Flu," the Riders are still touring because America needs MUSIC!

"So I’m sure y’all have heard by now that yer ol’ pal Dusty said a few controversial things at the Waynesboro, Oklahoma show last night, coming down pretty hard against cancer research," says one blog entry. "I just wanna say that we totally support our pal, even though officially the Midnight Riders do not endorse any of the opinions voiced by Dusty last night, nor condone his actions afterwards, when a journalist asked him why he loved cancer and Dusty knifed him between the ribs."

Quite what all the promotion is for, we cannot say, but it seems like Valve is definitely going to be pushing The Midnight Riders in some capacity. Since fake rock bands are nearly always great, this is something we won't be complaining about. Even if The Midnight Riders' second album was released a year after the first one and was just a glorified expansion that we should boycott.

We're quite excited to see where this all could lead. Hopefully all sorts of fun things are in store.

[Thanks, Entrager!]

Drat your headline character limit, Elephant! I was one letter away from squeezing "next week" in there. You haven't seen the last of me; I know where you live.

On Tuesday, November 24, Games on Demand will see a few new additions to its decent catalog. That would of course be Saints Row 2 (except for Japan), LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (except for Japan and Mexico), and Battlefield: Bad Company (only for Japan).

Microsoft wasn't willing to give out specific prices quite yet, but it's safe to assume these will range in the $19.99 to $29.99 area. We can only hope it shall be the former rather than the latter.

It's really painful to see Games on Demand get all of these games I'd gladly pay for, but only if they were competitively priced. And they never are. I figure if I mention how Microsoft should do significant sales every once in a while, it may eventually happen. Seriously, it'd do wonders for 'em.

You know that old trope about kids who play videogames that are actually secret government evaluation programs designed to draft quick-witted children into secret adventures? British intelligence organization GCHQ has taken that a little too seriously, and is planning to use videogames to attract new blood.

GCHQ, which works with the MI5 and MI6, will use Xbox Live to reach potential employees, where it believes that gamers exhibit the traits they look for, "such as quick thinking, problem solving and team work." If they also needed racists and homophobes, I'd say that Xbox Live users were indeed the perfect recruitment material.

"As well as tackling 'traditional threats' GCHQ's work is also about helping government departments, such as the Ministry of Defence, to protect their information and communication systems," states a GCHQ rep. "This means we can offer excellent training and careers for people with specialist technical skills. However, the fact remains that many potential candidates remain unaware of GCHQ and what we do. Using video on Xbox LIVE helps carry our message to the right people in a creative and innovative manner."

The irony of an "intelligence" organization recruiting through Xbox Live has been lost on none of us.

There's a problem with a lot of Xbox LIVE Arcade Games -- their online communities tend to die off before too long. Even the good ones can suffer from this, simply because there's so many competing XBLA games and people often will pick only a few multiplayer games, usually retail, and stick with them.

As noted on Team17's Facebook of all places, Worms 2: Armageddon received a major patch today. Hopefully there are people still actively playing it who will appreciate the work that's been done. Based on how specific some of the comments were to the list of fixes, I'd say their community is still kicking.

A ton of stuff is addressed in the update, many of it game-changing material. If you were ever going to do so, now would probably be ideal time to jump back into Worms 2 while everyone else is seeing what's up with patch.

Plus, the studio says DLC will be out next year. Someone must be playing this still, right?

Sony bossface Kaz Hirai has stated that the PlayStation 3 will top 13 million sales in 2010, helped along by a bevy of new features. He believes that the target will be met before the financial year is over in March.

Next year will see Sony jump on the whole "it only does everything" tag, as it plans to distribute content over net-work capable TVs, Blu-ray players and, of course, the PS3 itself. Unfortunately, today has been a horrible day for news, and this is literally all the information that Reuters has on Sony's 2010 plans. We were so desperate for stories that I took this awful piece of crap "story" and am now regretting it.

Oh well. PS3 is doing well. News story had.

A surprise announcement at E3 this year, PlayStation 3-exclusive ModNation Racers looks to redefine the kart racing genre with its ridiculous level of customization and community features.

With a beta being launched soon, developed Sony and developer United Front Games invited us out to its Vancouver-based studio to get an early look at what players can expect. As it turns out, a whole hell of a lot. Kart racing fans, you are not prepared. 

More after the jump.

Black Friday and all its horror will soon be upon us, and the Internet has gotten its talons on GameStop's list of ludicrous offers. The list is absolutely huge, some great bundles such as a PS3 with God of War: Collection and LittleBigPlanet for $299, and tens of dollars to be saved on all sorts of games.

While we're here, how many of you are planning to venture out and brave the crowds of braying imbeciles next week? Is the lure of cheap stuff you've never needed enough to make you part of the dignity-sucking problem, or are you going to be like me and hide under a pile of coats until it all goes away?

While you answer, hit the jump for the list of GameStop chicanery.