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Game Update 27 hits today, and it's bringing Aquaman, updates, and more. Get the full rundown right here.

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: GranArcanum talks about why, for him, story and plot matter more than anything else in a game. PyramidHeadCrab wants to know what your favorite boss battle music is. And, sticking to sound-centric musings, GiantBoyDetective offers up his best video game music memory and asks for others to share theirs. And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic and in the TAY: Open Forum.

With its 6.4-inch 1080p display, Sony's latest Android handset is bigger than even the Samsung Galaxy Mega.

Talkin' 'bout them toolsets, yo.

I didn’t like Man of Steel as much as some people, but I have to admit that it was good seeing a Superman streak across the big screen again. As I watched Kal-El punch Zod across the giant screen, one thought blared through my brain: how the hell is it that it’s been seven years—almost this entire console generation—since there’s been a fully-featured video game starring the Last Son of Krypton?! (Sorry, Man of Steel mobile game. You’re not quite it.) Superman has been a tough character for video games to get right. But I think if there’s any hope for a halfway decent big-deal Superman game to crash onto our planet, then it can’t be tethered to the release schedule or marketing plans of a Hollywood movie. Having a Batman game come out on its own worked for Batman: Arkham Asylum, after all. Nevertheless, our prospective Super-game could be inspired by existing stories in the comics themselves. And 2007’s Superman and the Legion of Superheroes would be a great place to start. Written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Gary Frank, the storyline finds 31st Century super-team The Legion of Super-Heroes coming back to the past so Superman can help them squash a xenophobic metahuman and his squad of flunkies. Here’s why I think the time-traveling saga would make a great playable experience: Moments: When the Man of Steel says, “I’m for everyone,” this story arc delivers, in my opinion, one of the best moments in recent Superman canon. And S&TLOSH gives readers a good explanation as to the whys and wherefores of the tight bond between Kal-El and the extraterrestrials in the Legion. Cast: With its huge membership rolls, the Legion of Superheroes could give you the opportunity to play with co-op or multiplayer design. Imagine a Horde Mode-style where you get to deploy Shadow Lass, Phantom Girl and Wildfire against an invading army of Khunds.Legitimate threats: The storyline has a plot twist that robs Superman of his insane, nothing-can-stop-him power levels. Not to mention, The Legion’s rogues gallery has a few villains capable of providing Superman with real challenges. Setting: From the future version of Superman’s Metropolis stomping grounds to alien planets like Colu, the 31st Century of the DC Universe should make an amazing environment that could let artists go wild. But those are just my thoughts. What Last Son of Krypton story arc do you think would be a good foundation for a video game? Drop some art and some thoughts into the comments below. Who knows, maybe the powers-that-be at WBIE will get some inspiration.

Someone just built a really amazing, functional replica of the three-dimensional maneuver gear from the popular anime series Attack on Titan. All the cool parts—the handgrips, the grapple-hooks, even the gas powered mechanisms—are working and demonstrated in the video. In the series, the device was developed by humans to fight the Titans, so the builder now only has to find one of those creatures roaming around somewhere and fire those hooks to make his (and our) dreams come true. Shingeki no Kyojin Cosplay Weapons [YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write to gergovas@kotaku.com

All the innuendos and fourth-wall breaking in the world can't improve this game's clunky controls.

Social game developer Klab is working on a "mobile version of Microsoft Studio's Age of Empires franchise" for iOS and Android. The news follows a Nikkei report that claimed Microsoft agreed a deal with Klab for various mobile versions of the former's games, including what Nikkei specified as a free-to-play version of strategy series Age of Empires.

However, in a statement issued to Polygon, Microsoft only confirmed the iOS and Android version of Age of Empires. The statement also noted certain reports "included incorrect information about additional Xbox Live-based games on iOS and Android," before adding that "there are no further announcements beyond Age of Empires at this time."

While that leaves the door ajar, at the moment Age of Empires is the one confirmed to be headed for mobiles. Microsoft's statement added the game will be initially made in English for iOS and Android, but there are plans for other languages, as well as a Windows Phone version down the line.

This past week saw the release of the first chapter of the newest iteration of the Ghost in the Shell franchise with Ghost in the Shell: Arise border: 1 Ghost Pain. While the changes in the character designs have caused many to worry, let me assure you, the changes are only skin deep. Ghost Pain is a worthy addition to Ghost in the Shell. Good – A Stand Alone Story That Packs a Lot In I was worried when I first learned of Ghost Pain's 50-minute running time. I feared we were in for a serialized epic that would leave us facing cliffhanger after cliffhanger with months in between each chapter. Luckily, this is not the case as Ghost Pain delivers a complete, stand-alone adventure. After her superior officer is killed, it's up to the Major to solve the mystery behind his murder—though as is par for the course with Ghost in the Shell, it is far from a simple task. Good – Classic Origin Team Story There are more than a few ways to write a team origin story, but Arise portrays one of the best. Instead of someone swooping in to form the team, the various characters are each following up an independent lead before all their stories come crashing together. Thus the team—in this case, the Major's Section 9 team—is formed by chance as much as anything. It also gives the characters other than the Major a chance to show off just how good they are on their own, showing that her way, with all its hacking and fighting, is not the only way to solve a mystery. Good – A Cyberpunk Mystery Ghost Pain does a great job of exploring the implications of future technology with respect to a murder investigation. Sure there's the good old brain diving and optic camouflage we’ve come to expect in this series along with the hacking of computers. But one of the most interesting uses of technology is when the Major is watching the security camera footage leading up to the murder while simultaneously walking the exact same path as the victim. This practically puts her in the shoes of the victim. On the action side of the story, watching how mid battle hacking affects a fight—be that controlling a giant robotic crane arm or hacking false images into your opponent’s eyes—is always a thrill to watch. Good – What is Real? The question of reality has always been one of the major themes explored over the course of the franchise. After all, what is reality in a world where your eyes and even your memories can be hacked? We've seen “ghost hacks” several times before, but what is interesting about the one in the film is seeing how the subconscious battles against the manufactured reality. The film also does a great job of showing the isolation you must feel when you're unable to find out if what you remember—or what you're presently seeing, for that matter—is reality or not. Good – A Strong Yet Vulnerable Protagonist The Major, as portrayed in Arise, is an expert fighter and one of the world's best hackers. The problem with a characters like that is that if they are too strong, there is no tension or compelling drama as they never seem to be in any real danger. The titular “ghost pain” that the Major experiences during the film serves to give her an unpredictable weakness—balancing her unprecedented strengths with something out of her control. And it is how she deals with this weakness that speaks volumes about her as a character. Mixed – New Continuity From what I can tell (mainly by Togusa's presence in the film), it seems that Arise is not part of any past Ghost in the Shell continuity. This means it is not the same world as the manga, the movies, or the TV series. Fans of Stand Alone Complex may be upset that this is more a reboot than a prequel, but let's be serious: The continuity of Ghost in the Shell has already been reset twice before and it's always turned out okay. Final Thoughts With a fun cyberpunk mystery and a well-thought-out setting, fans and newcomers alike will find plenty to enjoy in Ghost in the Shell: Arise border: 1 Ghost Pain. However, if it has one problem, it is that much of what you see here—i.e., the themes and technology—are things you have at least somewhat seen explored before in the other iterations of the franchise. That said, the plot is original and entertaining and it allows us to explore the Major's character in ways we have never seen before. That alone is worth the price of admission. Ghost in the Shell: Arise border: 1 Ghost Pain was released in Japanese theaters on June 22, 2013. Funimation will be releasing Ghost in the Shell: Arise in the United States but if you can't wait, the Japanese Blu-rays, which include English subtitles, will be released on July 26, 2013. The second chapter of this series Ghost in the Shell: Arise border: 2 Ghost Whisper will be released in Japanese theaters on November 30, 2013. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. To contact the author of this post, write to BiggestinJapan@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @BiggestinJapan.

Earlier this month, a criminal gang was arrested by Shijiazhuang police in Hebei province, China. The gang was arrested for dealing in black market organs. One of those organs supposedly belonged to a Chinese gamer. You might know the story of the Chinese boy from Anhui province who sold one of his kidneys (most of us were born with two) to buy an Apple iPad back in 2011. The aftermath of the kidney sale created a terrible wave of PR for Apple; in fact it's still being held against them today. Now, Tencent is reporting that a young Chinese man surnamed Zhang from Gangsu province also sold his kidney. Zhang, recently 18, had come into some money troubles — money troubles because of video games, apparently. Needing to come up with some quick cash, Zhang reached out to an organ dealer to sell his kidney. Zhang was matched up with a dealer online, the dealer who had Zhang go to Shijiazhuang and sign an pre-sale agreement. The agreement stated that Zhang sold his kidney of his own volition and that all consequences and issues are his to bear. Zhang signed the note and was wheeled into surgery. Zhang sold his kidney for $6,510. The supposed going price of a kidney in China according to Havocscope is $47,000. So why did Zhang need to sell his kidney and why did he only get a measly 13 percent cut? According to Chinese media, Zhang had incurred up to $3,255 in debts related to video games. How Zhang racked up this debt is unknown, but it seems rather drastic that he had to sell his kidney to pay it off. For all intents and purposes, Zhang might not have been a gamer but instead a gambler. It seems unfair for China and the Chinese media to blame video games for Zhang's debt. Just like how Apple was blamed by the Chinese media that sold his kidney in 2011, it seems video games as whole is getting blamed for Zhang selling his. Top Photo: Tyler Olson / Shutterstock[18岁少年迷恋游戏欠2万元债 4万卖掉一只肾] Tencent Kotaku East is your slice of Asian Internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. Eric is Beijing based writer and all around FAT man. You can contact him @FatAsianTechie@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @FatAsianTechie.

Google Street View trolling is not new. People around the world love pulling hijinks when they see the Google Street View apparatus rolling down the street. Folks in Japan did some truly epic trolling. As IT Media points out, writers at Japanese humor site Daily Portal Z got the drop that the Google Street View would be making its way through Tokyo. So, a while ago, the DPZ writers showed up near Mitaka Station, all carrying masks so they could turn themselves into "human pigeons". The result has recently appeared on Google (see for yourself here). They even watch you even as you make your way down the street. *shudder* This kind of stuff isn't new for the site: Last February, PDZ did a story on wearing a pigeon mask in public. Here were the results: Googleストリートビューに謎のハト人間集団　その正体は... [IT Media] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Outside Japan, the perception is that all Japanese people love Sony. Sony's a Japanese company, so everyone must support the home team, right? Eh... Some people in Japan love Sony. Other people hate it. Then some really don't care at all. And over the years, there have been a series of nicknames for the country's biggest fans. In the past in Japan, Sony diehards were called "GK", which was short for "Gate Keeper" (ゲートキーパー・ジーケー). The origin referred to a proxy server used by Sony and its various companies. So, if the proxy address "gatekeeper.sony.co.jp" appeared above a bulletin board comment, then a Sony employee might have made the comment (Gokipedia has examples from the early part of this century). That's why Sony fanboys and fangirls started being dubbed "GK" online in Japan, with the implication that they "worked" for the electronics giant. Prior to this, Sony fans were called "Degawa" (出川) after an annoying comedian, Tetsuro Degawa, wore a PlayStation 2 shirt on television. Degawa is not cool, and by association, the term suggested that Sony fans weren't either. The "GK" derogatory term, however, evolved into "GK no furi" (GKの振り), which means "GK behavior". That term then also evolved into "GK-buri" (GKブリ), which can mean "GK-esque" and looks kind of like "gokiburi" (ゴキブリ), the Japanese word for "cockroach." And thus, Sony fans had a new mean moniker. Some in Japan also say that Sony's hardware, which is traditional black or glossy, looks "roach-like". The origin of the put-down isn't simply based on hardware appearances. Here's ASCII art of a Sony gokiburi: The character says, "Don't call me cockroach. Is there something wrong with liking PlayStation..." As NicoNico points out, the "gokiburi" nickname for Sony fans started appearing online in around 2010. The term still exists and was thrown about Japanese message boards and forums during this month's E3 gaming expo, with Microsoft and Nintendo fans as well as those who simply hate Sony firing off the insult. (Note: Fans of Sony's rivals also have derisive nicknames, and yes, Kotaku will be covering those at a later date). No doubt, "gokiburi" will get more use as the console war heats up. Like real roaches, this isn't an insult that's likely to go extinct anytime soon. Photo: Elliotte Rusty Harold | Shutterstock To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

GameSpot is reporting that Saints Row IV has been "banned" (or more likely refused classification, which is as good as a ban) in Australia. Which is strange. Australia used to see such "bans" because of the lack of an adults-only rating for video games. The country now has such a rating, however, labelled as R18+, restricting the sale of rated games to those over the age of 18. GameSpot [Twitter]

American McGee's Spicy Horse studio just launched a Kickstarter for a new game where you play as Dorothy going up against the Tinman. And it looks a lot cooler than it sounds. Well, what there is looks cool. Sadly there's only really art to go on, and nothing more substantial, but unlike indie startups on the service at least there's the knowledge that, as an established studio, Spicy Horse will probably actually get this game done. Provided it hits its $950,000 target, anyways. Which, boy, is a lot. Designed for PC/tablets, OZombie is a predominantly singleplayer game with "an emphasis on role-playing, tactical combat, exploration and story telling", which imagines Oz as a remote Pacific island, with Dorothy teaming up with Tinman and Lion to bring down Scarecrow's army of...zombies. It's clear the team are drawing a ton of inspiration from all of Robert Heinlein's Oz work, not just The Wizard of Oz, which you can really see when you check out their complete fiction guide below. OZombie [Kickstarter]

It may not be forever in the way a tattoo is, but this is a kid. And as far as kid statements go, getting an enormous Mario head shaved onto the back of your noggin is about as big as they go. No idea who it is, or who the barber was, but as someone who shaves his hair short all the time anyway, I'm super jealous. this guy has got skills with a razor [reddit, via geekologie]

You read that right. Develoepr Klab will be bringing a mobile version of Age of Empires to both iOS and Android devices later this year. A report on Nikkei says the game will be free-to-play, so it's likely a port of the recent PC reboot of the series. It's also merely the first in a line of Microsoft properties the Japanese developer will be porting to mobile. Weird that a Microsoft franchise would be coming to phones that aren't Windows phones. Weird, but smart. If Age of Empires is first, I wonder what's next. Halo Wars might be in line for a second wind, and Project Gotham is due for some re-release love as well... マイクロソフト、他社スマホにゲーム配信　iPhoneなど 囲い込み戦略転換、日本勢にも影響か [Nikkei]

It's a tale as old as the iPhone itself. Kid picks up parent's iPhone, kid plays game, kid accidentally buys a ton of in-app junk without their parent's knowledge. Parent goes bananas, complains to Apple. Those complaints got too loud to ignore for Apple, so in February it agreed to a large settlement. That settlement is now live, via a special website Apple have launched, where parents making small claims can opt for either iTunes credit or, in cases where the amount claimed was over $30, cash. Apple aren't handing out money for nothing; parents will need to prove their kids made the purchases without their knowledge, and only games listed as "qualified" apps will be covered (though that list appears to cover all the main culprits, like Smurf's Village and Angry Birds). Home Page [Apple Program][image: Examiner]

What. The. Hell. I've seen a video demonstration of NeverWet before, but never a demonstration as all-inclusive as this one, posted about a week ago. The product, which is arriving (or has already arrived) in Home Depot and Red Rose Commons, will turn anything it touches into an magical water-repellant material. More info here. Watch the video. You may find yourself asking the same sorts of questions we were asking today in Kotaku chat. What if you sprayed yourself? How would you get it off? Would it make you sink immediately to the bottom of the ocean? Can we make it work with bullets? What about for birth control? (I know, ew. But also... right?) Is this all some sort of elaborate hoax? How far are we, realistically, from force-field technology? And on, and on. Anyway. Everyone doing well? Have a good weekend? Play any good games lately? Talk games, weekend activities, and magically subverting the rules of science, here or at TAY.

Not to mention Ryback lifting two dudes into the Shell Shocked. What a show-off.

And here we have it; a final version of Max Factory's ass-cheek happy 1/7th figure of Tharja from Fire Emblem: Awakening. You can find more detailed shots over at Mikatan's blog. Believe it or not, I've played a lot of Fire Emblem and I've never even met Tharja. I never recruited her, and am pretty sure I killed her on my only full playthrough! My second character is gonna have to meet her, just so I can see what all the fuss is about. So, Tharja's done... now it's time for an equally bootylicious figure of Chrom, right? (Via Plastikitty)

I am head over heels for the Animal Crossing: New Leaf soundtrack. Kazumi Totaka's music is so graceful and sparse, relying as much on suggestion and space as it does on melody. But one of the best musical aspects of the game is the one you can compose for yourself. Early in the game, you'll stop by the mayor's office to talk with New Leaf's resident Leslie Knope, a chipper poodle-person named Isabelle. She's your assistant in all things mayoral, and through her, you can issue town edicts, check your approval ratings, and make a new town flag or town tune. Town tune? Yep, town tune. The town tune is one of my favorite things about New Leaf. You've got one scale and 8 beats, the equivalent of two measures of 4/4 time, to dictate the musical identity of your town. And believe me, that music really will become the town's identity. Every townsperson will sing the song to you (in their own voice, naturally) when you talk to them. Your town clock-tower will chime the tune every hour. Even the "new customer" bell on shop doors plays (unless I'm hallucinating) a super-rushed version of the tune. And when someone visits your town or sees you in their Happy Home Showcase, your two-bar musical masterwork will greet them. So. Sixteen notes to construct the aural identity of your entire town. No pressure! A few people have asked me for tips for writing a good town theme, so I thought I'd offer whatever advice I can, and also put together snapshots of a whole bunch of famous melodies that you can re-create in the game's composing tool. Here goes: Trust your ear. The composing tool in New Leaf consists of a C major scale, starting down on G and going up to E. That means you have just under two octaves to work with, and no flats or sharps. Not counting the (highly enjoyable) "x-factor" notes that we'll get to in a minute, it's pretty easy to make good-sounding melodies if you only have the C major scale, and depending on what note you decide is "home" for your melody, you can actually re-create a ton of melodies. So, trust your ear. It'll usually get you at least halfway to where you're going. Don't forget about rests and held notes. If you're trying to re-create a melody you like, don't forget that you can choose rests (the grey note at the bottom) or held notes. Count the melody in your head and try to divide it up into notes of the same duration as the notes on the screen. Remember to count the spaces if you're having trouble with the timing. Choose a "home" note based on what mood you want to impart. The two easiest moods you can impart are major and minor. Major melodies sound happier, and minor more sad or contemplative. Think of each scale as having a "home," or, the note you start on. With the notes on hand, the major-sounding scales you can create start on C, F and G. The two easiest to use minor-sounding keys start on A and D. So, if you want to make a bright/happy melody and can't get it to fit in the key of C, try starting on F and it might work out. If you can't make A minor work, see if you can make it work if you move it down to D. They're all a little bit different, so you'll have to mess around with them a bit to find the right one. The question-mark notes are amazing. I love the question-mark notes, which will sometimes play an atonal sound effect and other times will play a note from outside the C major scale (it has a fondness for high Eb, which has a nice, bluesy ring to it). Go nuts and use these, and be sure to experiment and move them around—they're different every time, and add a nice degree of unpredictability to things. Work your way backwards. If you really want to compose your own melody, the most useful tip I can offer is to pick a beginning and an ending first. Actually, pick your ending first—if, say, you want to write a happy melody in C, end it on C. Then walk backwards, figuring out where your melody will start and how it'll get where it's going. Pick a shape. We're getting into kinda abstract melody-writing advice here, but if you want to write a good melody, think of it as a shape. Maybe it starts low and draws a line upward, ending on a high note! Or it does the opposite, and works its way down. Or maybe it starts low and ends low, with a peak in the middle? You don't have a lot of space, so you've got room for maybe three "points" on the melodic line. Look at the melodies you like, and try to trace them as a line in your mind. "Joy to the World" starts high and goes straight down. The Jurassic Park theme is a series of steps climbing upward, then angles down a bit. The Zelda theme quickly drops, then climbs up, up, up. What do your favorite melodies do? Can you come up with a similar shape but different notes? Don't Be Afraid To Approximate. Back to mimicking your favorite melodies. It's good to remember that not every melody is going to fit within New Leaf's limited scale. Sometimes you'll have to get creative, or approximate melodies. Other rhythms won't fit—you can't do triplets or sixteenth notes, so you'l have to fake it. Just remember, it may seem impossible, but if you wing it, chances are it'll still sound pretty funny/recognizable when Kat the cat meows it at you every morning. EXAMPLE TIME Okay, okay, enough music tips from me. Everyone just wants to put their favorite famous melodies into the game anyway, right? Here are some songs I've put together in the ACNL composing tool, for your enjoyment. You can try them out on your computer over at QRCrossing, and save the ones you like! (^ via Jeff Grub) (^ via Dillon Wilson) and of course... There are many, many more. Some suggestions when I tossed this question out on Twitter: Super Metroid, Fire Emblem, Roslin and Adama's theme from Battlestar Galactica, the opening to New Bark Town in Pokemon Gold and Silver, the intro to "Dueling Banjos," Jurassic Park (or really, any John Williams anthem), "Moonlight Sonata," "Elegy of Emptiness" from Majora's Mask, and perhaps best of all, the sax theme from Men at Work's "Who Can It Be Now." The possibilities are almost endless. With that, I turn it over to you guys. What music do you use for your theme? Bonus points if you can post a photo of how you did it. To contact the author of this post, write to kirk@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @kirkhamilton.

A pocket full of tactics.

John Szczepaniak's Kickstarter to tell the untold stories of Japanese game development is just a few yards away from the finish line. Here's hoping he pulls it off.

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Slayer. Deathmatch. Arena. Free-for-all. The mode has many names, but your aim stays the same: kill everyone, as many times as possible. Maybe there's a time limit or a kill limit, but it usually comes down to some variation of "the person or team with the most kills wins." Simple, seductive...and kind of mindless. Now, don't get me wrong. Deathmatch can be a ton of fun, especially if you're looking for something quick and straightforward. The shooting genre as a whole—when it comes to multiplayer gaming, at least—largely rides on this particular play style. I'm willing to bet that you can pick out a game, any shooter, and if the game shows you how many people are playing online, chances are most of them are populating the team deathmatch servers. With good reason: a game must have a solid mechanical base to rely on nothing more than "let's just shoot each other until one of us stops moving." Still, I've found myself straying from deathmatch-like modes more and more in recent years—instead opting to play modes with added objectives or special conditions. Part of it is weariness of experiencing the same thing over and over again, sure; I'm kind of bored of team deathmatch. I've also found that deathmatch often doesn't ask much of me—not in comparison to say, playing Rush in Battlefield or Payload in Team Fortress 2. These are modes that require you to attack or defend points on the map depending on the team you're on, and doing so often necessitates strategic thinking and teamwork. Blessed, blessed teamwork. It all comes down to preference; I realize that. And my cup of tea is one that doesn't blend well with gametypes that are overrun with the lone-wolf player. For one, I live for the high of having a bunch of different moving parts come together, the high of perfectly orchestrating a complex attack on the enemy team. You can work as a team in deathmatch, sure, but it's often not necessary in order to win. Teamwork-centric modes require players to be crafty, clever—not just quick on the trigger. Teamwork-centric modes require players to be crafty, clever—not just quick on the trigger. But beyond that, in my experience, a mode that focuses solely on kills attracts the worst kinds of players—namely, those obsessed with their kill/death ratios. Or, if the mood in the lobby is feeling particularly salty, kill-stealers. The type of players who don't care if you lose so long as they don't tarnish their precious ratio—and I mean, who can blame them? Modes like these are all about self-preservation and personal gain (hello, kill-streaks). I'd rather play something that asks people to not be selfish, to work toward a greater good—but more importantly, I'd rather play something that challenges me. Sometimes, it might just be that I'm in the mood for something novel. Party games are great here, like Call of Duty's Gun Game—which requires you to get a kill with every single weapon. It's a mode that demands versatility; I can appreciate that. And who can forget Sticks and Stones, the mode where you can only use crossbow, ballistic knife and a tomahawk? I also gotta give a shoutout to Halo's Infected mode, which has one player starting out as a "zombie"—when they kill a "living" player, that player also becomes infected. Last man standing wins...if they can survive. The tension is delicious. Modes like these make normal team deathmatch seem utterly boring. What it comes down to for me is this: I know can kill other players just fine, else I wouldn't brave the cutthroat multiplayer waters. I like it when games ask me what else I can do. I'm curious though: what are some of your favorite game modes? The Multiplayer is a weekly column that looks at how people crash into each other while playing games. It runs every Monday at 6PM ET.

It's a three-alarm kung pao week around here!

In the whack-y world of the fictional mafia, right down the street from the jolly singing pirates, enthusiasm for climbing the corporate ladder is both good and bad. You need that hunger to stay ahead of the pack, but push too hard and you might find yourself riddled with bullets or, in the case of mobile MMO Pocket Mobsters, bugs. Massive Damage's idea for the game is pretty special. Using location services, the game transforms your real-world base of operations into a pixelated mobster playground. The businesses you shake down are real-world locations. There's a certain pleasure in extorting money from the digital representations of the managers of the apartment complex I pay rent to every month, even if it is just a simple screen-touching mini-game. Shaking down business is one of two major means of advancing in Pocket Mobsters, the other being beating up rival mobs. Random NPC gangs roam the streets of your town, and it's up to you to gather a group of digital deadbeats to take them out. This is done via a fighting mini-game (above, center) which seems to involve selecting the icon of your most powerful party member over and over again until the other gang goes down. There's a sort of combo system, and you can level up your mob members with cash to make them more powerful, but the most effective tactic seems to by just choosing the most powerful guy time and time again. Pocket Mobsters is a massively multiplayer game, and the idea of building up my own mob and battling against or together with other players was what drew me to the game in the first place. It's also a buggy mess right now. I can only seem to battle other players when they're five levels above mine, which makes for some tense fights. The other option, using reputation points to hire another player to fight in your crew for a short period, crashes the game every time I choose it. There is some promise here. I enjoy the leveling aspect. I can't wait to take my mob on the road and see if I can mix things up in other locations. And as far as the MMO aspect, chat seems to be working fine, and the developers are right there in the room, assuring players the patches to fix problems on on the way. Pocket Mobsters made its big-time debut before it was ready, and it got hit for it. Luckily the bullets didn't hit anything vital, and there's still a chance for a full recovery. Pocket Mobsters Genre: Mobster MMO Developer: Massive Damage Platform: iOS Price: Free Get Pocket Mobsters on iTunes

Late Night host Jimmy Fallon wanted to set some new video game world records. So, apparently, he made some up. I mean, really, how else can you explain the categories that Fallon and guests notched achievements in? A bunch of (admittedly charming) people impersonating Ryu from Street Fighter? Come on. Still, as side-eye-worthy as these are, they're not as bad as the ones that recently went into last year's Guinness Book. And, yes, it’s entirely possible to let ‘the most games played at the same time’ slide, though, as it requires a freakish set of skills and/or circumstances. The others are suspect. Also, there’s no way that ‘most Nintendo cartridges blown into’ record isn’t getting broken in, like, a week. Love you, Kamal, but stick to keyboards.

Fold some new puzzling action into your game time, target zombies from a safe distance and hack your friends for free.

Sorry, generic and off-brand creme-filled sponge cakes — your days are numbered. On July 15, the prodigal snack returns. An image on the Hostess Facebook page leads to HostessCakes.com, where someone with absolutely dreadful design skills has placed a countdown to July 15. That's some quick work from Apollo Global Management and Metropoulos & Co, who confirmed a winning bid for the brand name back in March, following the tragic closure of the original company last fall. In the wake of Hostess' closure, several prominent snack cake players stepped up to close the sponge cake gap. Their exemplary performance will be noted in the public record, but we won't be requiring their services anymore come July 15.