"Nothing but a playerʼs decision and a tactics of using various weapons are important than anything that you really need to think to play." This line, taken from the official Demon's Souls site blurb, should make you feel as scared and confused as I felt when I got my hands on the game. My first thought, "ouch," remains scrawled at the top of my notes and, sadly, it's all downhill from there.

It's a testament to the excellent platforming of N+ that we haven't gotten sick of playing it yet. And by that, we mean we haven't grown tired of plummeting to our dooms and watching our lithe ninja bodies succumb to gravity in the worst of bone-crunching, limb-mangling ways.

Though developer Metanet suggests it has "tried to tone down the difficulty" in the free level pack hitting Xbox Live Arcade today, we're certain millions of gruesome fates await us in the 150 new single-player levels, 50 new race levels and 50 new co-op levels. That's a lot of new for nothing, no?

How big is Patapon 2? Well, take the original game ... and then multiply it by two. The upcoming PSP-exclusive sequel will feature a staggering amount of content which makes the original seem rather diminutive. While the first featured 37 levels, Patapon 2 Don Chaka will feature over 80. There were 187 weapons and items in the original -- and over 500 in the new game. Not only that, Patapon 2 will also feature a new multiplayer mode.

While critics and fans have embraced Patapon's unique gameplay, the new content expansion should make the sequel much more appealing to newcomers and veterans alike. The core gameplay remains largely untouched -- each of the face buttons represents a certain sound, and pressing button combinations to the beat will command the Patapon to march, retreat and attack. However, they've added a new twist to the formula. Enter: the Hero Patapon.

Players wanted a more personal interaction with their Patapon. With the Hero Patapon, they'll get just that. The Hero has an expanded set of moves and greater HP, making it far deadlier than the standard Patapon. While Patapon were fairly expendable in the original, players will want the Hero to stay alive. As it can be named by the player, many may think of it as their own unique "pet" in the game.

[Via GameSpot]

The Conduit may still lack a publisher, but what it does have is a sad little king of a sad little hill. High Voltage announced that it has cast Firefly's Badger, Mark A. Sheppard, as the voice of Mr. Ford, the lead role in the upcoming Wii-exclusive shooter. The Conduit is the latest line item on the British actor's resume, following work in Battlestar Galactica and In the Name of the Father, though to us he'll always be a petty thief with delusions of standing.

The game's credits will include another Sheppard as well. William Morgan Sheppard, whose voice can be heard in such games as Metal Gear Solid 2 and Escape from Monkey Island, will voice John Adams, while Olympian man-cake, Kevin Sorbo, will take on the role of the title's bad guy, Prometheus. There continues to be no word on what company will bring The Conduit to store shelves in early 2009, though with High Voltage forking over enough cash to secure Hercules, we have to believe an announcement isn't far off.

[Image credit: RavenU]

If you've ever drummed your fingers on a table, whether in a physical display of impatience (where is that waiter?) or an attempt to capture an elusive beat, you'll probably be able to understand where Let's Tap is coming from. Specifically, it's coming from Sonic creator Yuji Naka's post-Sega studio, Prope, and hopes to win gamers (and their moms) over through sheer simplicity. Let's Face It: games don't get much simpler than tapping on a cardboard box.

Evaluated as a typical Wii game, Let's Tap does little to distance itself from the cavalcade of effervescent minigames swarming the system. But as an experiment in using the Wiimote differently -- that is, to not use it at all -- it certainly warrants further attention. As it requires the Wii controller to be placed on a flat surface, face down and buttons obscured, Let's Tap is a game we can see ourselves introducing to those wracked by a morbid fear of buttons and flailing.

We hope at least a few of you are old enough to remember Defense of the Ancients, the very best mod for Warcraft 3, which allowed you to pit two forces of champions from the series against each other. Now some of the team from the mod have revealed their next project: League of Legends: Clash of Fates, a session-based action-strategy game that will have some of the persistent elements of an MMO. You can see the first trailer released by newly-formed Riot Games above.

There's not a whole lot of info on the game available at the moment, but you can be one of the first to get a closer look by signing up for next year's beta right here.

There're a few points of variation between the very highest and the very lowest scores, but the consensus on Dead Space seems to be this: You're in for a real treat. (That's with the exception of Eurogamer, which gave the game a 70, a full 13 points lower than the next lowest score.) If you require a bit more specificity (and we imagine you do), we've got a sampling of the reviews just below.

• GamePro (100/100): "It's easily the best survival horror game since the masterful Resident Evil 4 and it sets the bar high for graphics, sound, and scares in its respective genre. Dead Space is an artistic nightmare clearly designed for survival horror fans by a passionate and dedicated team of like-minded gamers. Just be sure to play it with the lights on..."
• Gamespot (90/100): "Dead Space is a remarkable game from a well-tread genre that manages to stand out from its competitors in almost every way, from visual presentation to engaging story, innovative combat mechanics to fright factor. Whether you're looking for a terrifying horror experience or a deeply story-driven adventure that will keep you engaged for 15-20 hours, Dead Space is a fantastic game that you should not pass on."
• 1UP (B+): "Apart from the lack of variety within them, the characters and environments are some of the best looking on the market, with blood splatters and rusted metals all over the place."
• IGN (87/100):"Call it science fiction survival horror, but Dead Space does the genre proud with an engaging story; action that's tense, fast-paced and extremely violent; as well as atmospheric qualities that will get under your skin and make you jump. It may be a newcomer, but the seeds of an incredible franchise have been sown, and EA's in a great position to reap a phenomenal franchise full of scares."

When we weren't taking photos, sitting in Starcraft 2 panels, or watching the closing ceremonies at BlizzCon, all of our available free time was devoted to Diablo 3. It was the first thing we played within minutes of the grand opening, and the game they had to pry us away from when the doors closed. Yes, it's just that good. Plus, we still have two character classes that haven't been revealed yet, so who knows what else this has in store for us.

We were happy just to be able to return to the world of Diablo after seven years since the Lord of Destruction expansion set was on store shelves, and it was worth the wait. Find out everything we could during our exhaustive hands-on after the break, and be sure to check out the galleries below that show off in-game screens and concept art. Plus we're sticking that gameplay footage in again, because it's the only way we can enjoy Diablo until there's a beta, or some sort of miracle occurs.

We finally have some news on the long-awaited patch for Castle Crashers. According to a post on developer Behemoth's site, the problems (including connectivity issues) have been "knocked out" and the team is currently verifying the updates before sending it off to Microsoft for certification.

In perhaps one of the biggest understatements, the post states, "we are aware that many of you are unhappy about the wait" but explains that they had to fix all known issues at once, as opposed to release incremental updates. Certification can take a few weeks, so don't hold out hope for seeing the patch before Halloween. There should be more than enough titles to keep your attention in the interim.

Here's a great object lesson in why PR people get so nervous about letting the talent do interviews: While speaking with AusGamers, Prince of Persia animation director David Wilkinson was heaping praise on Alex Drouin, who worked on animations for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, as well as mega-hit Assassin's Creed. When asked what Drouin is up to now at about 14:28 in, Wilkinson said "He's busy making Altair even more beautiful. Last thing I saw him do was getting Altair to swim."

This off-handed comment seems to suggest (1) New Assassin's Creed game is in the works (shock). (2) It will at least be partially focused on Altair. (3) He will swim, which, considering his bulky cloth duds, could be the most surprising part of all.

[Via TVB]

Australia's high-strung ratings board, the OFLC, notes that 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand will be published by THQ -- at least in that region. The game received an "MA 15+" rating last Friday. Holla atcha boy if you happy it ain't banned.

The 50 Cent sequel had previously been dropped by Activision during its merger with Vivendi, which caused rumors to spring up that the game had died. But much lite Fitty getting shot, Developer Swordfish Studios got back up and announced that the game was still in development and trying to make a holiday release. THQ was previously speculated to be a publisher for the game, but the OFLC rating is the first piece of evidence of that claim's validity.

Source - THQ picks up 50 Cent game (GI.biz)
Source - 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand is Dead, Dead, Dead [update] (Kotaku)

We don't have much to say about this week's WiiWare release of World of Goo (2D Boy, 1-4 players, 1,500 Wii Points) because, quite frankly, it might actually be good. While great for Wii owners, it makes the weekly announcement post quite boring.

We have even less to say about this week's other WiiWare offering Art Style: CUBELLO (Nintendo, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) since, much like last month's Art Style: ORBIENT, there's virtually nothing on the internet about it that we can find. From the official description, it sounds like Cubello might be a remake of the bit Generations title Coloris. Is this and Goo enough of an incentive to finally give Mega Man 9 a break?

Blizzard's Vice President of Game Design Rob Pardo wants us to think about Starcraft 2's two followups, containing the Zerg and Protoss single player campaigns, as expansion packs, so does that mean they won't contain as much gameplay as the Terran-based initial game? Plus, you'll have to wait at least whole year between "expansions." Said Pardo, "With any luck, it would be like a year for each successive one, but that's going to be a target date, that's not a promise."

Since SC2 won't be out until 2009, you won't be able to play the Protoss single player until at least 2011. That's a long time to wait. Check out what Rob said after the break, and start yer speculatin'.

Story guru Leonard Boyarsky and background artist Chris Donnelson spoke at yesterday's Diablo III Lore & Art panel just before the closing BlizzCon eremonies, and they detailed how the background of the previous two Diablo games will tie into this one. Check out the highlights after the break, and find out how the gameplay has been changed to emphasize the story and art in this title, and what's been happening in the 20 in-game years since the events of Diablo II.