Today Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment announced (via 1UP) that a closed beta is beginning for Stargate Worlds on October 15. The slots for this round of the beta are apparently already filled, so the industrious lot who desire to get in on some Stargate MMO action will have to hound the official website and register for a future opportunity to see the game in action.

Stargate Worlds has been in development since mid 2005 and according to Cheyenne Mountain’s page, is based on the popular television series Stargate SG-1. The game will feature combat, stealth, crafting and pointless grinding for hours on end.

I haven’t the slightest idea what Stargate is all about. I know it has something to do with a time machine that looks like a wedding ring with Jello hanging out of back it. I also know there’s a mean looking alien with a moon tattoo on his forehead who carries some kind of lightning stick. Sounds exciting, but I don’t know if there’s much of a market for it. Are any of you interested in this?

[As originally posted on Tomopop]

I happen to know McFarlane toys have it in them to create great collectibles. The Manga Spawn series is an excellent example, and their Call of Duty figures are perfection down to the last detail. That being said, the frustration with the newest pics of this exclusive Slash from Guitar Hero III is not the quality overall -- obviously it's well made. But what is with that face, man?

Slash definitely hides under hair, that I would never question. It just stumps me at what point the bottom half of his face got so weirdly .. wide. You can see a full length picture in the gallery, courtesy fo the exclusive premiere over at MTV Multiplayer. Slash and the others in the line will retail for between $10 and $15 and you can expect to see this one available around February 2009. Sorry McFarlane ... I'm passing on this one.

You know what I really love about the concept of pre-order bonuses? There's no reason I should have to be bribed to buy a good game, but since these have become popular as of late, it seems like there is some free goodie that comes with everything. For Harvest Moon fans, they have this sweet little squirrel, which has deceptively long bunny-like ears and comes with any pre-order for Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for DS.

I also like the fact that Natsume offers such ridiculously cute things with no shame whatsoever (I have an adorable plush cat from E3 thanks to my visit with them). Yeah, it's pretty girly, but I dig it -- and I'll bet you the person who owns the whole Natsume plush collection is more likely make than female.

The new Prince of Persia has been a point of discussion between the Destructoid editors for its unorthodox approach to in-game death. I, like many of my colleagues didn't like the system at first, but I'm starting to come around now that I know more about it.

In the developer diary above, we're shown a cool speed drawing of the game's second boss, and the process involved in creating the animation for the beast.

The back-story is discussed a bit more thoroughly, including Elika and how you'll be able to upgrade her abilities by collecting glowing orbs (this is Crackdown all over again!).

I don't know what more I would need to share with you tantalize you to purchase Persona 4 -- the legacy of the Shin Megami Tensei library, ridiculously cool pre-order bonuses or the always-incredible soundtracks should have been enough to convince you that you need this title long ago. If you require more, however, Atlus has offered it up in the form of webepisodes.

Hit the jump to check out five more of the short clips, which show off different bits of the story and gameplay and fill in a bit more information about the characters.These videos also show off the first of the North American localization, and the voices sound pretty solid. I cannot wait to spend my holidays buffing up my Persona army.

Well, it's not like this is a big secret, but at least now we have an official date to rely on: October 21st will bring a press reveal at the LucasArts offices of the joint project between them and BioWare, widely believed to be an MMO set in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic universe. From Gamasutra:

The postcard, which proclaims "The wait is over" and promises "the official unveiling of the game that's been rumored about for years," makes no explicit reference to Star Wars. It is branded with the LucasArts and BioWare logos and depicts floating robots and hooded figures in futuristic interior locations reminiscent of the sci-fi franchise.

Well, at least we can start discussing it openly with more than scant details soon. EA CEO John Riccitiello has spoken of the project as "quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry", and while that sounds like Denis Dyack-grade hype, there may be some truth to it, considering the glut of Star Wars fans out there. What do you hope this MMO will offer?

[Thanks, Joe]

I'm not much for celebrating anyone's hard times, but let's face it, Jack Thompson has incited a lot of rage in the hearts of happy gamers who felt their favorite pastime could be threatened by his antics. With the recent news of his disbarment, some will certainly breathe a sigh of relief, but others may not experience quite the same joy until the actual day is upon us.

What better way to count down, then, than with a Firefox add-on that will remind you daily exactly how much time Thompson has left before his law career terminates? Created by GamePolitics reader and comment moderator E. Zachary Knight, it's free to download and may aid in your everyday sense of celebration.

[Thanks Joe!]