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WHA Entertainment's PlayStation Network-exclusive Kick Ass game is getting some improvements, and thank goodness… I sure didn't like it all that much. 

But Kick Ass New and Improved looks to add new features to the game, including new missions and enemies. The new mission, "Frank's Night Club," will have you fighting new enemies, which is a welcome addition — there were maybe four of them in the original game! Also added to the mix will be a new fight against Red Mist, where you'll be able to use new moves like a double hit spin attack and a toss attack team-based move. 

WHA is also promising updated AI, sound improvements, and "improved trophies," whatever that means. 

If you've already purchased Kick Ass, you'll get the upgrade to Kick Ass New and Improved for free on November 9. Everyone else can buy it for $9.99. 

http://publishers.springboard.gorillanation.com/admin/videos/new_edit/357/210057

Where do you store your console controllers? Me? Anywhere I can. I  have this closed shelf in my living room that holds some. In my office there’s a basket on the floor that holds more. In my closet there’s a bucket of the less used things, like Mario Kart Wii wheels and SingStar mics. Beyond all of that, there’s several controllers that are “on display,” sitting out in my living room, on the fireplace mantle and on end tables. I’d guess that if I weighed them all, I’d have about 50 lbs of game controllers, and I’m not counting anything like Rock Band or Guitar Hero.

I know you all are in the same boat. I wonder if any of you have any better storage ideas. Laboratory 424 has an idea, though I don’t know if it’s a “better” one.

They’ve hung their controllers on the wall, much like a recording studio would do with their cables. Wall clips hold whatever you throw at them, and is ready to re-hold your controllers when you’re done. Also note that games are stored on disc mounts stuck to a poster. These are pretty neat ideas, but they don’t account for volume. I’d need many walls for these controllers, and I’d need bigger clips for the really big stuff. And the games? This poster thing would never work. And where to you put the boxes and instruction manuals?

Sony caused a considerable stir last week when it revealed that an upcoming Firmware update would eliminate the “Other OS” option that allowed consumers to install and run Linux. It turns out that we did not have all the facts, as Sony has announced that there will be a replacement option. That option, however, will be exclusive to Netscape Navigator. 

“We know Linux is a popular product, but there were a number of security issues,” explains SCEA president Jack Tretton. “Based on consumer feedback, we will be switching to a more stable experience when we roll out Firmware 3.22 later this year.”

Netscape Navigator has pride of place as one of the most important tech products to have hit the Internet. Nevertheless, this quite a controversial decision for Sony to make, especially considering the immense popularity of Linux fans. That said, Netscape Navigator support is at an all-time high, so hopefully this will appease many gamers who lament the passing of the “Other OS” feature. 

Netscape’s basically for people who don’t know how to type with two hands, which adequately describes the PS3 user base HIYOOOOOOOO!

The full name of the talk was “Tripping the art fantastic: A beginner’s guide to the brains of these here artists”. It featured Edmund McMillen (Super Meat Boy), David Hellman (Braid) and Derek Yu (Spelunky). As a fan of all three and an artist, you couldn’t drag me away from such a panel!

These three talented fellows willingly had their brains picked in front of a live audience. There was laughter, tears, drawings of boobs and artistic wizardry abound. The awesome was a bit hard to keep up with, but I did my best to condense it into written word for you all to enjoy. Hit the jump for the summary of the journey into these three artists’ minds; it’s a great read even if you’re not an artist (but it might help).

Ben Ruiz of Flashbang Studios (you know, the guys who made Off-Road Velociraptor Safari) acted as the moderator for the discussion. His first question to the panelists was, “Which of your works are you most proud of?”

McMillen’s answer was Aether because of the way the game flowed from him. It was easy to make, very personal, and it turned out better than anything else he’d made so far. Hellman looked back fondly on Braid and his old comic, A Lesson is Learned, But the Damage is Irreversible. Yu picked Aquaria because it was the hardest game he’d worked on. The difficulty caused him to grow as an artist.

Ruiz jokingly asked Yu how much of the Seumas McNally Award that Aquaria won was because of its art, but he did feel like it made a big difference. “Graphics are the first thing people see. They tell a story by themselves.”

The next question was, “Which of your works are you most ashamed of?”

When working on Lesson, Hellman sometimes had to “get through some crap so [he] could move on to the better stuff”. Even so, he didn’t mind that they’re a part of his body of work. “It’s interesting to see the contrast,” he said. McMillen had a not-so-fond look back on a poetry book he wrote in high school. It was pretty self explanatory why that would be something to be a bit ashamed of.

Hellman then pulled out a little orange booklet. It was a small, homemade comic that Yu had created several years earlier, which was “full of boobies”. He felt it was appropriate to pull out for this question, but Yu assured everyone that he wasn’t at all ashamed about the weird, tit-filled ‘zine.

Ruiz then asked the panelists, “What is the most inspirational thing you’ve ever experienced?”

In response, McMillen told the audience a story about an independent artist who visited his class in high school. “I thought he was the coolest guy in the world,” he said. He saw so much freedom in the man that it pushed him to try and lead the same kind of life. Hellman’s inspiration comes from no one person or thing; he is inspired by the wrold. He feels he needs to answer his reactions to things he sees or hears by making something.

Yu’s mother and father were his biggest inspiration. “I drew before I could write. My mom would spend time making up stories for the things I drew, and my dad was the first person I drew with.” He still talks shop with his dad and shows his work off to his parents.

“How often do you feel deprived of inspiration, and how does it affect your game making?”

McMillen simply said, “I don’t make them.” “I can’t work on things if I’m not invested,” added Yu. When he’s in a creativity funk, he often switches from art to coding because it forces him into a different mindset. Hellman states that one of the hardest things about being an artist is figuring out what you actually like and creating that, as opposed to creating something you want to make. Sometimes, what you want to make is outside of your capabilities, and pursuing something like that will result in art that is not your own.

The next question regarded the feedback they receive from their audiences. While Hellman looks forward to feedback and McMillen uses it as a part of creation, Yu feels like it’s something completely separate from that. He enjoys getting it, but he feels it’s too impersonal to fit into his creative process like the others do.

The panelists were then asked how they deal with rising expectations for their games as they work on them.

McMillen said, “Respond with more content. If impressions are already positive, make it better.” On the other hand, high expectations make Hellman excited to defy them. “I don’t worry about the expectations of others because I have my own,” he said. “When expectations are met, it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Yu said, “Though, I would like it if people were more willing to be surprised.”

In an attempt to get some interesting answers, the next question was, “Drug of choice?” The panelists laughed, and both McMillen and Hellman responded with “caffeine”.Yu said that he injects snake venom into his eyes, but he didn’t really convince anyone so he gave up and answered “sleep.” He sleeps ten hours a day if he can help it.

“What types of creative mistakes do you see others make that you’ve already made?” was the next question.

“Using abstract formulas in games where the user gives up their own interpretations of things as a crutch,” McMillen answered first. He reflected back on Coil, a game where he attempted to tell the audience something about himself. But he had left it so open-ended that players filled in the blanks and unintentionally changed its intended meaning. Hellman spoke about clarity, and how walking the line between ambiguity is difficult. Many fall on either side instead of trying to stay near the middle.

The mistake Yu sees other artists make is a lack of exaggeration in their works. Making something or someone look super realistic has the opposite effect; the exaggeration of certain features can do a better job of making a character seem more alive. He makes an example of caricature art and how they are often a better reflection of the subject than a photograph.

Ruiz then asked, “Do you make art for yourself or others?”

Again, each panelist had a very different answer. McMillen makes his art for himself, but he doesn’t feel validated until it reaches others. It’s his personal way of communicating with people on a large scale. Yu feels that his art is always created to entertain, whether it be making a game for other people or doodling to pass the time for himself. Hellman had a few wise words to share: “Give people something that’s true, not something that was cooked up for them.”

The talk ended on a funny note when Ruiz prompted Yu to talk about how Internet Rule 34 (which states “if it exists, there’s porn of it”) of videogame characters, especially his own, makes him feel. He’d been sent Spelunky porn recently and has seen plenty of weird Aquaria stuff since its release, but he has never taken offense to any of it. In fact, he thinks it’s funny.

“The nature of art can’t be spoiled by someone else taking something you’ve made and perverting it.”

Thus ended the short trip into the minds of these three videogame artists.

You’d think that EA would be doing its best to separate Medal of Honor from the pack in a very crowded first-person shooter market. The team at EA Los Angeles is, indeed, working to make the game stand out, but the experience is not likely to be the most innovative shooter you’ve ever played. Executive producer Greg Goodrich explained that the intent is to build a highly polished game:

What we’re focusing on is making a great first-person shooter. [If we don’t] put out [a game] that revolutionize[s] the genre, so be it, but we’re showing up to do a great game — a great experience that fans will love.

He went on to express his belief that Medal of Honor will innovate in the way it tells its story, and by including the experiences of a Tier 1 operator, the game is already doing something no other shooter has done. In addition, as seen in the debut teaser trailer, your enemies will employ “unexpected” and unconventional tactics. “But at the end of the day,” Goodrich told me, “it’s all about making a great shooter, and not necessarily pushing the genre forward.”

That said, the developers are certainly aware of the competition and that the stakes are high, and they’re aiming for the top. “Nowadays, especially in the shooter genre, if you show up to the table, you have to show up with quality — you have to show up with a product that’s meant to be at the forefront of this genre,” said Goodrich. “Because if you show up with a product that’s not of quality, you might as well just not show up — there’s no point.”

For the lowdown on Medal of Honor’s single-player campaign, check out my full preview, which is going up at 9:20 AM EST.

You know the part of the academy awards where you haven’t seen any of the movies and you stop paying attention? Well, those movies have a name and they’re called shorts and this year had some really amazing ones if you ever get a chance to actually seem them. One of the most amazing, in fact the one to win best animated short, was Logorama. It’s good and with that academy award two talented film makers have gotten their foot into the door of Hollywood film making. So what are they doing? Turning to videogames.

The pair are returning to the short form film, but this time they’re adapting Ghost Recon. Francois Alaux and Herve de Crecy will be working with writer Tim Sexton (Children of Men) to create a 20 minute short for Ubisoft. The short will act as a prequel to the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Ubi has put aside $8-$10 million dollars for the film, and if they’re anywhere near as well done as the Assassin’s Creed film we are going to be in for quite a treat.

Oscar-Winning Duo Working On Ghost Recon Movie [Kotaku]

Developer LucasArts isn’t settling for the same list of features for the second Special Edition release of their coveted Monkey Island franchise. In a conversation with me earlier this afternoon during the debut event, Lucas producer Craig Derrick said all should expect a few subtle additions on par with the Spiffy the dog insert in MI: SE.

Of course, that’s on top of the core set of new features that might make the more memorable, perhaps reflective piece. It was suggested at the event that one feature in particular, the developer commentary, might star Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert. If that happens, it’ll put me in tears harder than that time I spotted a Armani jacket on sale.

If MI: SE 2 is a thing you want to see, look no further than the gallery. Or wait until the game hits every platform under the sun this summer. Your choice.

Paradox Interactive’s latest Mount and Blade, Warband, might tickle KOEI fans in their special hidden place. The combat in particular has that breezy, disconnected feel of a hollow Dynasty Warriors title. But Warband has its share of differences. Foremost is the choice of its medieval setting, and of course, the class-based MP mode that support up to 64 players in a single match.

I saw Warband earlier this afternoon and left the demo unimpressed. The long and sweeping attacks of either melee class made for several uninspired battles against players participating in the game’s beta. And while I think the tactical options are there to exploit (for example: hold this castle), it’s nigh impossible to get 32 players on the same page without a robust reward system like MAG. And that’s not to mention that the maps felt dead. A lone castle in a sea of green grass was all that I could find. I need, and want, more time with this one. Give it a spin before I can if you’re interested.