Hi, my name is Shawn and I’m a recovering Magic-aholic.

Magic is like paper crack to me. I find it consumes my life when I’m playing it. It becomes my goal in life, I will forsake food, personal hygiene and even intimate relations when I’m on a bender. It’s a sad part of my life but I thought it was behind me.

Struggling through Magic addiction is a daily challenge. I fight to avoid the Magic cards at the grocery, I refused the free Magic tournaments at the local game store. I’d been clean for almost a year when it happened.

I’m ashamed to admit my weakness but here, amongst a gathering of others with my problem I feel relieved to admit it. I had a moment of weakness and I slipped up. It wasn’t with that shiny foil packaging, I wasn’t huddled in the alley behind the game store.. no, I gave in to Magic last in my home and there was no physical evidence left afterward, just a note on my bank account for the purchase of 2500 Microsoft points. ( I only needed 800, but I wanted some extras on hand to buy cards later)

There is something so insidious about the digital version. It’s too perfect a translation in fact. While currently I can’t sidle up to the counter and pay for my next fix of booster packs and I don’t have access to the thousands of cards in my physical library I have little doubt the masterminds behind my addiction already have the plan for my digital downfall in the works.

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On February 3, New York Times bestselling author of Halo: Ghosts of Onyx blends will be releasing his latest book Mortal Coils, an urban fantasy mixed with ancient mythology and published by Tor Books. This will be the book one of five for his epic new series.

Eric Nylund is best known as a writer and story consultant for Microsoft Game Studios ans was instrumental in developing the Halo franchise and for Epic with the Gears of War franchise. In the past, he has also worked with BioWare, and Ensemble Studios and is the author of three of the five Halo novels which sold over two million copies which are: Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: First Strike, and Halo: Ghosts of Onyx. Together, his novels have sold over two million copies.

His upcoming projects, which should be of interest to gamers and graphic novel/comic fans alike are a mini-series called Battlestar Galactica: The Cylon War which is a prequel to television show due out in January 2009. Also, a graphic novel titled Halo: Genesis will be published in the spring of 2009, and will appear in the Limited Collector’s Edition of Halo Wars.

Storyline for Mortal Coils is listed after the jump.

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Sorry, Nintendo. You can try and try to hype up a game as being family-friendly and do whatever you can to keep it that way, but it still only takes one wayward employee to flush all that down the toilet. Apparently, some members of the press have received copies of the new DS title, Animal Crossing: Wild World, that comes with some content already unlocked…including one very out-of-place racial slur. One of the features of the game is that you can teach characters to say certain messages to you, and it seems someone at Nintendo decided to train one of them to call the player “N—a.” So now when you talk to the adorable sheep named Baabara, she greets with phrases such as, “How are you, N—a?,” “So got any juicy gossip for me, N—a?,” and “Want to get crunk tonight and pour out a forty for our fallen homies, N—a?” (okay, so that last one was totally made up).

It should be noted that this word was only allowed to appear in the game thanks to an “N” symbol with a tilde in front of it. Nintendo has put in several checks and measures in the game to ensure certain words and phrases can’t so easily be used, not to mention the usual Friend Codes to ensure you don’t find such content appearing in your village from total strangers.

Still, could this be a sign of a new gangsta Animal Crossing on the way? I’m thinking GTA, but with cute bunnies doing drive-bys. Of course it’s either that or a surprise visit from the ACLU.

Next week is Thanksgiving for us turkey lovers in the U.S., and that means three things: 1) getting together with family and friends to stuff your gullets, 2) officially starting the Christmas season, a time of sharing and giving, and 3) marking all of this by stampeding over strangers in a mall to save a few bucks on a Simpsons DVD box set. Yes, Black Friday — as it has come to be called — will soon be upon us. For those adventurous enough to hit the stores that day, you’ll be in for some mighty fine deals. But of course, you’ll want to be prepared before you start setting up camp in front of your store of choice the night before, lest you end up like Mr. Schwarzeneggar in his Oscar-nominated (note: not really) Jingle All the Way.

Luckily, Cheap Ass Gamer has your back, as they’ve put together a pretty comprehensive list of just about every gaming-related sale going on that day. They’ve got most of the major chain stores covered already, and they’re updating the list as more information becomes available. Granted, fighting through the hordes of shoppers that day probably isn’t going to be worth it unless you you’ve got a big purchase in mind. Still, if you wanted to get an Xbox 360 anyway, it might be nice to know which store is bundling them with copies of Tony Hawk Proving Ground and which one is giving away wireless controllers.

You can check out the full list here.

If the simultaneous release of games like Devil May Cry 4 on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 wasn’t enough evidence, Capcom has laid out its strategy for “all major titles launched during the next fiscal year” to be “developed as multiplatform games” in its annual report for its 2008 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2008.

Outlining its strategy to increase market share in regions outside of Japan, the report (via Joystiq) stated:

“[W]e will be promoting business expansion mainly centered on 1) Completing implementation of multi-platform development on major titles; 2) Expanding our development lines; and 3) Reforming our European sales structure.

‘Completing implementation of multi-platform development on major titles’ means that all major titles launched during the next fiscal year or thereafter will be developed as multi-platform games. We will aim to increase revenue and dramatically increase the number of users by launching, for example, Resident Evil 5, the newest addition to our biggest franchise (projected 2.3 million units), Street Fighter IV (projected 1.7 million units) and Bionic Commando (projected 1.5 million units).

…we are also planning on expanding into new genres as well as refining and improving home video games intended for overseas markets by collaborating with important foreign development companies. We will also bolster the recruiting process of new developers as well as staff education and training and improve the Development Department in order to respond to the demand of the market experiencing a growth period and increase the number of titles.”

It’s hard to be surprised by the news; moving towards multiplatform development on big-budget games is more of an inevitability than anything else. Even so, it’ll be interesting to see how the Wii factors into this strategy. Nintendo’s console continues to sell extremely well worldwide and if the trend continues it’ll be interesting to see if shareholders push for Capcom to release Wii versions of heavy hitters like Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV. It seems unlikely, but stranger things have happened. If nothing else, the Wii’s unique development challenges (like developing on an interesting control scheme rather than creating cutting-edge graphics) should provide Capcom with some interesting internal debates.

It should come as no surprise that WoW would be number one in sales on the PC charts, but for one company to have five titles in the Top 10? That is a testament to the popularity of the games it creates. Blizzard is no stranger to being the dominant company in the NPD charts though, and as you can see below, the week of August 17-23 was no exception:

• 1. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
• 2. The Sims 2: Double Deluxe
• 3. World of Warcraft
• 4. Spore Creature Creator
• 5. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
• 6. The Diablo Battle Chest
• 7. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
• 8. Call of Duty 4
• 9. The Orange Box
• 10. The Warcraft III Battle Chest

It is also no surprise that the Spore Creature Creator is up there, nor CoD4 or even The Sims 2 for that matter. I have even stopped batting an eye at the Nancy Drew game because despite what we choose to believe, even little girls like PC games too. However, what is shocking to me is that The Orange Box is still in the Top 10 after all this time- maybe this is because of all the Team Fortress updates and the like, because I would think that Portal and Half-Life 2 would be old hat by now.

Amazing as it may seem, Bethesda’s executive producer Todd Howard actually had to clarify that the release of Fallout 3, which takes place in a post nuclear holocaust Washington DC, isn’t any kind of political stance or statement. There’s no connection with the impending presidential election at all.

Having put that outlandish rumor to rest, Howard did have a few enlightening things to say about Fallout 3. He talked about everyone’s favorite canine companion Dogmeat and about the tongue in cheek perk upgrade system.

“I think leveling up in this game can be funny and you always get kind of cool [abilities],” Howard told me, as we discussed the franchise’s Perks system. “My current favorite one — and this was one of my favorites in the old games — it’s called Mysterious Stranger. And what that perk is is basically a mysterious person comes and helps you every once in a while. In the early games he would just pop up behind a barrel and shoot somebody. He’s a guy in a trench coat and a fedora. The way we do it in this game is: you go into VATs, and you go to shoot somebody, and if you miss for some reason and you have the perk, the mysterious stranger may show up. This guy in a trench coat just goes — BAM! — and kills somebody. And you go: ‘Where did that guy come from?’ It’s really funny.”

Howard also gives details on the game’s controls, combat and camera as well as life inside and outside the vault. He also explains more about the massively multiple endings that are generated by the game. you can get the full scoop on MTV Multiplayer.

Cryptic’s latest Champions Online Meet the Team Feature introduces gamers to Victor Wachter. As the Community Relations Manager for Champions Online, Wachter is guy who gets to plan all the events and release new assets to the forums.

Wachter worked community for Dungeons & Dragons Online and PlanetSide before joining the Champions Online team. He’s no stranger to the system and has “bought just about every fourth edition sourcebook.”

Here’s some advice from Wachter for those of you who thinks his job might be an interesting career choice:

The most important thing is to be a part of the online community. The best community managers I know got into the field after they wrote a blog, designed a great fansite, ran their own in-game events, etc. I don’t know that it helped me get the job that I have today, but I was a very active participant (flamer, even) in the newsgroups for the games I played before I got into the business. I think I took a lot away from that experience that helps me today.

Wachter will be at PAX next month showing off Champions Online and giving gamers a chance to play.

via Champions Online

Keep yourself calm until this set-list for Guitar Hero: World Tour is confirmed folks, otherwise you will blow a gasket like I did when I saw Tool on the list.

Some of the songs listed are a bit too good to be true in my humble opinion, not that they are false, but until Activision says otherwise just keep your fingers crossed.

OMG OMG OMG!! TOOL! (calm down Steffy, calm down)

Eagle Rock High School Tour:
“Dope Nose” by Weezer
“The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World
Encore: “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins (yay!)

Big City Kids Tour:
“Roland” by Interpol
“Santeria” By Sublime
Encore: “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers (hooray!)

Feelin’ Nostalgic Tour:
“Take It on the Run” by REO Speedwagon
“Hold the Line” by Toto
Encore: “Rebel Yell” by Billy Idol (this one has already been confirmed via the video)

Vixens Tour:
“Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar (her best)
“All Around Me” by Flyleaf
Encore:”Misery Business” by Paramore

Undertow Tour: (omg omg Tool!!!!)
“Stinkfist” by Tool
“Lateralus” by Tool
“Schism” by Tool

Synchronicity Tour:
“Guitar Battle Vs. Sting” (Guitar Career Only)
Encore: “Every Breath You Take” by The Police

Fight the System Tour:
“The Kids Aren’t Alright” by The Offspring
The Good Left Undone” by Rise Agaisnt
Encore: “Bleed it Out” by Linkin Park

QQ Tour:
“Face Down” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
“The Kill” by 30 Seconds to Mars
Encore: “Thank You for the Venom” by My Chemical Romance

Rockin the Carnival Tour:
“Dammit” by Blink 182
“When You Heat Stops Beating” by +44

Neva’ Forget Tour:
“Jumpin Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones
“Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Öyster Cult (any cow bell in this one?)
Encore: “Light My Fire” by The Doors (grrrr)

We Want the Funk Tour:
“Take it Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Renegades of Funk” by Rage Agaisnt the Machines
Encore: “No Sleep till Brooklyn” by The Beastie Boys Feat. Kerry King (cool!)

Rockin’ the Joint Tour:
“Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz
“I Don’t wanna Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith

On Top of the World Tour:
“Man in the Box” by Alice in Chains
“Kickstart My Heart” by Mötley Crüe (kickstart… MIATA!)
Encore: “Spin the Black Circle” by Pearl Jam

G. Stinger Tour: (very awesome)
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
“Car Chase City” by Tenacious D
Encore: “Everlong” by Foo Fighters

Lands End Tour:
“Animal” by Def Leppard
“Runaway” by Bon Jovi
Encore: “Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses (yay)

Doin’ it Different Tour: (good set list)
“Song for the Dead” by Queens of the Stone Age
“Vasoline” by Stone Temple Pilots
Encore: “Assassin” by Muse

Hootin’ and Hollerin’ Tour:
“The Boys Are Back in Town” By Thin Lizzy
“Life in the Fastlane” by The Eagles
Encore:”Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd

All Pissed Off Tour:
“Here to Stay” by KoRn
“Dragula” by Rob Zombie (oh hellz yez!!)
Encore: “Bat Country” by Avenged Sevenfold

Here Me Roar Tour:
“10,000 Fists” by Disturbed
“Duality” by Slipknot
Encore: “Toxicity” by System of a Down

S.D.M.F. Tour:
“Guitar Battle Vs. Zakk Wylde” (Guitar Career Only)
*Encore: “Demise of Sanity” by Black Label Society

Fathers of Metal Tour:
“Don’t Talk to Strangers” by Dio
“Heaven and Hell” by Black Sabbath
Encore: “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne (can you imagine?)

Making Progress Tour:
“The Spirit of Radio” by Rush
“Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd
Encore: “Pull Me Under” by Dream Theatre

Eruption Tour:
“Beat it” by Micheal Jackson Feat. Eddie Van Halen
“Hot for Teacher” by Van Halen (yay)

Tooth Fang & Claw Tour:
“Guitar Battle Vs. Ted Nugent” (Guitar Career Only)
Encore: “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent

Decades of Metal Tour
“Warriors of Time” by Black Tide
“Leather Rebel” by Judas Priest
Encore: “Hallowed be Thy Name” by Iron Maiden (hooray)

Livin’ in a Nightmare Tour:
“Angel of Death” by Slayer
“Tornado of Souls” by Megadeth
Encore: “Master of Puppets” by Metallica (master!… master!)

Legends of Rock Tour:
“Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry
“The Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi Hendrix
Encore: “Purple Haze (Live)” by Jimi Hendrix

Bonus Tour:
“45? by Shinedown
“96 Quite Bitter Beings” by CKY
“Bombshell” by Powerman 5000
“Clavado en un Bar” by Maná
“Enjoy the Silence” by Lacuna Coil
“Feuer Frei” by Rammstein
“Fury of the Storm” by Dragonforce
“Never Too Late” by The Answer
“Nottingham Lace” by Buckethead
“One Armed Scissor” by At The Drive-In
“Satch Boogie” by Joe Satriani
“Schrei” by Tokio Hotel
“Soul Doubt” by NOFX

“We’re An American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad
“Guitar Battle Vs. Sting” by Sting
“Guitar Battle Vs. Ted Nugent” By Ted Nugent
“Guitar Battle Vs. Zakk Wylde” by Zakk Wylde

Sample Songs:
“Untitled Drum Sample” created by Chad Smith
“Untitled Drum Sample” created by Dave Grohl
“Untitled Drum Sample” created by Travis Barker
“Cliffs of Dover” created by Neversoft
“Misirlou” created by Neversoft
“Walk This Way” created by Neversoft
“YYZ” created by Neversoft

Thanks: GONintendo

CD Project RED has announced that The Witcher: Versus is out of open beta and ready for combat. Versus, formerly known as DuelMail, allows players to duel friends or strangers in one-on-one combat. Choose to play as a witcher, sorcerer or frightener. The winner earns experience and money to buy character and weapon upgrades.

The game comes with its own warning marking Versus as NSFW:

The Witcher: Versus should be considered a serious hazard to productivity for anyone with computer access at work, due to its “just one more fight and then I’ll quit for today” nature.

Having participated in the beta, I can say the game is a lot of fun… too much so for work. You can play The Witcher: Versus for free online.

via Press Release