• Nothing against Lady Gaga, honestly, but if anyone on Facebook invites us to Zynga’s GagaVille, we will “unfriend” them in a millisecond.
• A Valve fan has created a homemade Portal turret. We really, really need one of those.
• Nolan North has told Edge in its latest issue he will “burn someone’s house down” if the Uncharted movie sucks. Get the matches and gas ready there, Nolan.
• Anonymous has been hacked. Is that the definition if irony? We’re unsure.
• Good news everyone! Marvelous Entertainment is merging with Bullet Witch’s AQ Interactive.
• There’s an inFamous 2 video interview through here.
• Screens from the Warlords remake hitting PSN and XBL this summer are here.
• Android has reached its 100 millionth activation, and 400,000 Android devices are activated daily.
• Interested in Plants vs Zombies figurines? Sure you are!
• Cryptic is handing out 250 emblems to folks who’ve played Star Trek Online for the 500 days of its existence.
• The Loto Wiki is getting a list of all items available in the Lotro Store together.
• Daishi Odashima has provided the exact breast measurements required to be a female fighter in Soul Calibur. How very, er um, titillating of him.
• Guess what? Conduit 2 was patched. We missed it. Sorry.
• The US Army and Air Force have certified Unity development technology for its secure networks.
• Namco has released the first trailer for Naruto:Narutimate Impact for PSP this fall.
• If you click here, you can see what Wii games would look like on 3DS.
• LEGO Pirates is out in the US today, and here’s a new cute trailer for it.
• Thor: God of Thunder is also out, and here is the opening sequence.
• NPD reports that the consumer PC market may be weak, but don’t you dare blame it on iPad.
• Child of Eden is the next step in the evolution of Rez Studios, says a 1UP preview.
• There’s a new Runes of Magic video out showing off the new zones.
• Naughty Dog is once again chatting about refining multiplayer for Uncharted 3.
• Demian ‘Ryu Ichinose’ Smith apparently didn’t like a few things about the Japanese to English translation of Yakuza.

If it’s true that the dying gasps of a console produce the best games of its lifespan, then I can only assume the Wii is on its death bed. Just check out this gorgeous new trailer for Hironobu Sakaguchi’s latest RPG, The Last Story.

Despite mysterious claims that the game wouldn’t have been possible on another platform, you’d almost think The Last Story belonged on a more grunty platform.

The Last Story isn’t expected to receive localisation and Western release, but GoNintendo have flagged an already 5000-strong petition got up by a fan to that very end. It may be a dim little candle of hope, but that’s better than cursing the darkness, amirite.

Check out the new trailer below. Thanks, GoNintendo.

Hironobu Sakaguchi’s latest saga takes the Final Fantasy creator into the murky world of online multiplayer. Details of this rather daunting prospect have emerged at last, outlining the game’s two online modes.

The latest issue of Famitsu contains a bevy of new intel on the game’s multiplayer, helpfully extracted by Andriasang.

Accessed via a distinct main menu item, The Last Story’s online play includes two modes. Both are serviced by chat-ready multiplayer lobbies, and players can choose between ranked matches, random match-ups, or sessions with known friends.

Raid is a co-operative boss fight mode utilising your story mode characters’ equipment and customisation, with all players levels equalised.

In Versus mode, a standard or team death match, all character parameters and kit are equalised. Rewards earned are tiered depending on performance. Characters and races which appear only as NPCs in the story mode may be playable in this mode. Pick ups and special bonuses, like “Prank Banana Ammo”, can be used to gain an advantage.

The Last Story is the seventh release from Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker studio following his departure from Square Enix in 2004. It releases on Wii in Japan on January 27.

Thanks, Go Nintendo.

AQ Interactive’s Wii horror title, Ju-On: The Grudge will make you jump a little. That’s according to Joystiq that sat down with the title at last week’s E3.

Also, for those unfamiliar with the game, there’s a trailer to hide under the covers to and a few screenshots to turn the stomach.

All through the link.

AQ has released a video for Feel, director Takashi Shimiz’s first foray into videogames, and to say it’s a bit creepy is an understatement.

Looks as though your trusty flashlight will be your only companion through a decrepit building full of ghostly apparitions and doors with bloody hand prints.

Still no exact details on the Wii game, but we do know it is based on The Grudge.

Video’s below.

After the break you can see what appears to be the first English Blue Dragon Plus trailer for Nintendo DS.

It’s all very serious business with the promise of cataclysmic consequences if you put a foot wrong.

The cut-scenes also look very impressive for a DS game.

AQ Interactive’s Blue Dragon Plus is due out next month in NA. No Euro date as yet.

By Mike Bowden

Happy New Year. We’re glad we shut down over Christmas. You didn’t miss a whole lot.

By far the most important story over the break was news that Free Radical cut its workforce by 140 to just 40.

The developer was confirmed as being in administration just before the Christmas holiday.

Speaking to 1UP, Cameron Gunn of administrators ReSolve Partners said, “We made around 140 employees redundant yesterday, effective 31 December (the date up to which they had been paid). We’re still trading on with the remaining 40 or so employees, have advertised the business for sale and have received some strong interest.”

News broke mid-December that staff had turned up for work only to be locked with a notice on the door telling them to adjourn to a nearby hotel.

Free Radical aside, other noteworthy Christmas news included confirmation that Mistwalker JRPG Cry On has been cancelled.

“AQI decided to cancel the project after analyzing the current market environment and forecasts for the future. We deeply apologize for troubling those who were awaiting its release,” said a company rep.

Cry On was apparently part of “Hironobu Sakaguchi’s triumvirate of Xbox 360 titles,” says this 1UP piece (the other two being Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey), and for those of you who don’t know, the game “was to be an action-RPG featuring a Nobuo Uematsu soundtrack [and] character designs by Kimihiko Fujisaka.”

Full round up below.

A Lord of the Rings Conquest multiplayer demo hit Xbox Live over the Christmas period, and it was also confirmed that a Skate 2 demo was be available this Thursday.

PlayStation 3 owners weren’t left out in the cold, however, as PSN got a bumper Yuletide update, including the previously announced Wipeout HD demo.

Capcom announced that PSP will be given its undivided attention in 2009, with a spokesperson writing on the PlayStation Blog, “So what’s in store for 09? Well, I’m working with Grace and Ro at SCEA to come up with some innovative ways we can offer games and programs on the PlayStation Store. You can expect to see a whole slew of downloadable PSP and PSone titles from our vault next year.”

Staying on the PS3 tip, Media Molecule’s Alex Evans told IGN that the team has got LittleBigPlanet running in first person mode, if you can believe that.

And just to keep the Sony first-party end up, Uncharted: Among Thieves creative director Amy Hennig told Edge magazine that Nathan Drake will be romping around Tibet, have a love interest and use ‘action stealth’ in the upcoming sequel.

In more action adventure news, Eidos and Microsoft said it would give away a wetsuit to Xbox 360 Tomb Raider: Underworld owners, while everyone could download the entire soundtrack for free from the Tomb Raider Chronicles website.

Famitsu reported that publisher Spike is porting Way of the Samurai 3 to 360, the game to be released in Japan on February 26.

Square Enix said it will assess the re-use of Epic’s Unreal Engine only if its developers feel a game warrants its use. Last Remnant’s art director, Yusuke Naora, told Edge, “The decision on whether to use Unreal for future projects will be decided on a case-by-case basis; we’re not going into game productions thinking we want to use this or that middleware.

“Rather, we’ll examine what it is we want to achieve with a game and then decide on the best tools to use in reaching that goal.”

Last bit from Japan: Kotaku has translated this Dengeki piece listing the country’s best sellers in 2008. Suffice to say Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G won, with Pokemon Platinum (DS) and Wii Fit coming second and third respectively. Full top 30 through the link.

Bungie released some Halo ODST concept art over Christmas, showing mostly marine garb. BioWare got in on the screenshot action too, releasing new images and concept art of upcoming Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic.

Last, but not least, the BBC published the thoughts of gaming luminaries such as Will Wright and Peter Molyneux on games and gaming in 2008.

A fitting end to the year. Thanks to Kotaku, 1UP and IGN for all the stories.

By Mike Bowden

Very little is known as to what the game is about, in fact absolutely nothing whatsoever apart from that it’s developed by Feelplus and Brownie Brown and published by AQ Interactive in Japan.

Video looks good but still reveals next to nothing as to how it will play. More info as we get it.

By Mike Bowden