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Adults forced to wait up to buy games Reports around the Internet, includingNeoGAF, have revealed an irritating age restriction on the European Wii U eShop. Regardless of whether you have a child account or not, you’re unable to purchase 18-rated games until 11pm. Nintendo of Europe implemented this restriction without telling anybody, confusing customers who tried to buy games likeZombiUduring the daytime and were given nothing but an error page. It has only been through prodding and poking that customers have worked out there’s an arbitrary watershed restriction, and evenwhenwarnings are given, the eShop doesn’t tell anybody what the times are....

I am less of a Final Fantasy fangirl than I used to be since Square’s decision to make everything other thanCloud Strife Orders a Quarter Pounderas a playable title, but I have to admit to looking forward toFFCC: The Crystal Bearers. Maybe I’ve been fooled by my own nostalgia, but something about it reminds me of the good old days of the series before Enix came along. Of course I could be wrong, and the feeling I’m having could be the same one that I get when I see a chocobo and squeak joyfully, but I hope I’m not wrong....

The last installment of the “Choose Your Side” videos from the developers ofStar Wars: The Old Republichas been released, pitting the Smuggler class against the Sith Warrior. You can watch it over on theofficial site. I think they have done a good job choosing the classes to pit against each other for these videos. In this case, we have one class (Smuggler) that focuses on ranged and tricky combat to take down enemies going against the Sith Warrior, a class that is almost entirely melee-based....

Friday Night Fights Video games come in and out of our life just like the seasons that flow by. There are games that stick around and fill your life with countless hours of joy. Then there are others that fall by the wayside and make you wonder if it was even worth it to start it up. Especially those games with the oddly numbered early achievement early so you feel slightly obliged to see it through....

Introducing the Gungoose When Microsoft revealedHalo: The Master Chief Collectionat E3, it mentioned thatHalo 2would get the anniversary treatment to commemorate ten years since its release. One of the ways this will happen is through the addition of one of the series’ signature vehicles. Oh yeah, and now it has a gun, too. Announced this past weekend atRooster Teeth Expo 2014,Halo 2will include the Mongoose inThe Master Chief Collection. However, 343 Industries took it one step further and slapped light anti-infantry weaponry on it....

It’s been a slow week Okay, so there issomenews worth talking about this week for Hardline. But I think I speak for Steven and Conrad when I say we’d love to take questions from you as much as possible for this episode and see where that takes us. We’re going live onTwitch.tvstarting at11:15am Pacificshould you want to participate in what will inevitably be a weird conversation. If you’re strictly in it for the news talk, however, here’s what I’ve got....

Whoaaaa I’m not the only one on staff who’s down for the metroidvaniaHeart Forth, Alicia. Darren graciously popped into chat today with a gif from the latestbacker updateand I was so enamored, I forgot to cull the post for notable tidbits. Hours later, I’ve finally remembered to go back and do that. There’s specific talk about what the team has been up to lately — touching up early areas, putting together the final two dungeons, revising character portraits — but the part that stood out to me most was how involved one of the cutscenes is....

It didn’t take long for an ex-Pandemic Studios staffer to leak an unannounced project after EA handed out pink slips. Our first glimpse ofMercs Inc. followed news of the closure, but to our surprise, it was later confirmed tostill be in pre-production. But that hasn’t plugged the leaks. Artist Ton Ianiro has a few concept images he’s created for the game viewableon his Web site. These aren’t dramatic, large images. They’re thumbnails, part of a “process,” he describes, that takes him “about two to three hours to complete....

Deep in the code of Valve’s Source Filmmaker software, references to what may be the company’s next-generation game engine are made. The folks atValvetimespotted multiple references to something called the “Source 2 engine,” and other hints, such as icons (pictured above) were also uncovered. Try on this line of code for confirmation: Line 1387: Return an str with the current engine version. If key doesn’t doesn’t exist, assume ‘Source’, otherwise invalid — assume next-gen ‘Source 2’....

RIP sweet prince I often film myself at random times during the day just in case anything cool happens — like a funny joke or catching a ghost on film. Yesterday, I found out live on camera thatSilent Hillswas cancelled, and boy has it hit me hard. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same. Many people are saying theSilent Hillseries is dead now. Do you agree? Was a Hollywood director, a professional actor, and a game designer who had over eight hours of cutscenes in his last game really what theSilent Hillseries needed?...

I want this. This and gamepad support for more mobile games. ThinkGeek unveiled a new iCADE device at the 2012 Toy Fair in New York City this week. The iCADE 8-Bitty is a retro-style d-pad controller for iOS and Android devices. It features a very NES-like layout, but has eight buttons, including a shoulder set. It’s battery powered and connects to your device wirelessly. ThinkGeek.comwill offer these controllers later this year for $24....

But they have a cooler commercial I love Japanese commercials. They’re produced with such unbridled enthuisasm that it’s hard to not get excited for what they’re selling — even if it’s McDonalds. Nintendo has partnered up once again with the fast food chain to release itsMario Kart 8toy line in Japan, so if you’re keen on picking up some cheap toys, head on over — you’re grown, I can’t tell you what to eat!...

Jimquisition happens every Monday! Games are racist. Games are homophobic. Games are sexist. And that’s okay! Well, maybe not OKAY, but it is alright to acknowledge that, sometimes, videogames get it wrong. Everybody gets it wrong, and games can’t be the exception. When some content is questionable or potentially offensive, pretending it isn’t and that anybody with a problem should shut up isn’t helpful, and reeks of insecurity. Instead, we should learn to accept the “isms” in gaming, while realizing that it doesn’t mean we have to hate videogames because of them....