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I finally got around to downloading my first title direct-to-PSP. Considering how smoothly it went, I'd have to say that Sony was completely smoking drugs when they decided to come up with the Go. Although I performed the process on one of the original UMD-compatible models, if it's even remotely analogous, then their new download-only handheld is sunk before it's even started.

I finally got my hands on Scribblenauts and I have to say, I'm quite divided on it.

On the one hand, it's an absolutely fantastic idea. Write any word and the game will produce that object to be placed at the player's discretion anywhere in the level. I mean, how brilliant is that? Need a flyswatter? Write FLYSWATTER and you've got one. Want to summon the dread god Cthulhu? You can do that too, and he actually shows up. Major brownie points there. The downside to the game is that I think the developers kind of bit off more than they can chew, especially in regard to the level of production that's possible on the DS.

Electronic Arts' been cool enough to share another new Developer Diary for their forthcoming action game Dante's Inferno. This one is entitled "Anger", and as you might have guessed, it's all about how Dante will bring the pain to Hell's minions.

I'll let the clip speak for itself, but the crew behind the game spends roughly five minutes talking about Dante's Death Scythe melee weapon, how they came to choose it over a more traditional sword, and the benefits of the Cross magic combat system. Interspersed with that is a lot of gameplay footage to whet your appetite.

Things seem to be moving along quickly on the newest Resident Evil film (this one's subtitled Afterlife). We've gotten a lot of casting announcements over the past few weeks, and now Sony Screen Gems brings us a few more–as well as the official synopsis for the Paul WS Anderson film.

First, the casting. We already knew Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter were returning (and being joined by Wentworth Miller and Boris Kodjoe, amongst others), but now you can add Norman Yeung and Kacey Barnfield to the list if you're keeping score at home.

So I finally got around to playing half an hour of Halo 3: ODST last night, and while I'm not planning to write a review of it any time soon, I wanted to comment on the weird experience I had with the game.

I was playing a friend's game, so I just sort of dropped in medias res, and had no idea what was going on plot-wise, so I'm not going to bother commenting on that aspect. What I will say is that for the first fifteen minutes of my playtime I had a blast. So much fun that I couldn't remember why I'd hated Halo 3 as much as I did (by which I mean "not really that much at all").

Been out of action for a while, so I'm catching up on some old news. I did the pre-order deal for Left 4 Dead 2 with three friends, which nets us a discount and the Scout's bat from Team Fortress 2 as a melee weapon. I'm genuinely impressed with what I've seen so far, so hopefully my purchase is justified. In effort to quell some the unrest over the release of the sequel so soon after the original, Valve recently flew two of the most prominent boycotters out to their headquarters for some hands-on time with the game. Now if I'm understanding this correctly, if I complain loudly enough about one of their games Valve will fly me out to their secret bunker and let me play it before anyone else. And so, I'd like to announce my boycott of Half Life 2: Episode 3....

For people who haven't played it yet or might not really care: It's a fantastic, superbly-designed game that has officially knocked my socks off. One of the best PS3 titles available, and at this point, my Game of the Year.

For those who have played it or who do care: My character was a level 80 Temple Knight focusing on Attack and Defense for melee combat. My endgame weapons were a +7 Halberd, a +4 Dragon Sword, and a Lava Bow. All told, it took me about 35 hours, give or take. Too bad there wasn't a death counter, I would've been curious to see how many times I was revived.

My 360 RROD'd yesterday, bringing my grand total to three Microsoft console deaths. Even the PS1 (known for its failures in the early models) never died as often as the 360, making it the most fail-prone console in history. I mean, going through four units in one generation? Come on. The result? No 360 titles for my son while he's here and my review schedule just went out the window.

With Demon's Souls nearing release, it's all things Atlus! We welcome Atlus USA's Manager of PR Aram Jabbari to the show. Localization strategies, digital distribution, aggregate sites, and much more are covered, and we take our best shot at getting you some Persona scoop! The back half of the show brings some of the most in-depth Demon's Souls discussion around. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "Tim Spaeth" Spaeth.

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Topic and Game References:

• Atlus
• Shin Megami Tensei series
• Trauma Center series
• King's Field series
• Cubivore
• Demon's Souls Review

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