Straight out of the mouths of Tycho and Gabe (Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins) to Joystiq: The first East Coast PAX is coming to Boston in 2010. Check back later for our full interview with the Penny Arcade duo!

THQ has revealed to Europe the Saint's Row 2 Collector's Edition bundle, which appears to come with the game, some posters, a 1GB USB stick in the shape of a bullet and some kind of ... gun. Eurogamer explains that "the box is shaped like a gun," but we can't tell from the picture above if the gun comes out of its casing, or if it's molded to the box. The publisher also tells the site this special edition is only for Xbox 360.

We're not exactly sure about the SR2 Collector's Edition for North America, so we'll have to wait and see if THQ announces this same bundle for the region. Sadly, nothing involving porn star and "special producer" Tera Patrick will be included in the box. The boys and girls of Saints Row 2 are expected to shoot up the streets of Stilwater in October.

Now ... now we're afraid. EA announced today that its sci-fi survival-horror game Dead Space is hitting retail a week before its originally scheduled Halloween release in Europe. Doesn't EA understand what it's doing?! The natural order of this industry is being torn apart by such shifts in the timeline. Games are meant to be delayed, not ... um, what's the word for "undelayed"? See, we don't even know because we never use it!

The game will release in Europe on Oct. 24 for PS3 and Xbox 360, while the PC will still receive it on Halloween (Oct. 31). We're still waiting on an official release from EA in North America The game will release in North America on Oct. 21.

Update: Looks like the NA date change was announced during a trailer last month.

This week's PSN update continues the trend of quality downloadable content going with the addition of The Last Guy and Warhawk's Fallen Star expansion. The Last Guy mashes up the eventual Zombie Apocalypse (it's coming) and Snake into a hectic old-school arcade-style action game. The other big piece of content this week is the latest expansion for online fragfest Warhawk at $8. All three Warhawk expansion packs are also available for $16.

PS3 Fanboy has the European PSN update over on their site. The list of the full North American update can be found after the break.

Taking the stage and stepping in this week for the delayed Rush album, Moving Pictures, is American rock 'n' roll band, Locksley. They're certainly not as well known (at the moment) as Rush, but check out the videos after the break before automatically passing judgment on the DLC replacement band.

Locksley Pack 1 (240 / $3)

• "She Does" - Locksley (80 / $1)
• "Dont Make Me Wait" - Locksley (80 / $1)
• "All Over Again" - Locksley (80 / $1)

The songs should be available soon for download on Xbox 360 and PS3.

[Thanks to those who sent this in.]

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the industry's lobbying group, sent out a press release a little while ago applauding the prison sentences given to two convicted game pirates. Kevin Fuchs of New York and Kifah Maswadi of Florida were sentenced to eight months and fifteen months in prison, respectively. The men also face multiple years of supervised release after that, with Maswadi having been ordered to pay $415,900.

Before freaking out and thinking the FBI and Justice Department are "in your internetz, ready to send you to prisons," it's worth noting the two men sentenced were pretty hardcore software pirates. Maswadi sold consoles with illegal copies of titles on the internet and made $390,000 on his business. So, if you made hundreds of thousands of dollars last year off illegal game sales ... might we suggest a new vocation?

It's been a long time coming, but VG247 quotes Sony Worldwide Studio head Shuhei Yoshida as saying Team ICO's next project may be revealed "soon." The anticipated next project by the team behind Shadow of the Colossus and Ico has merely been teased with some nondescript screenshots.

Yoshida tells the site that plans for the Tokyo Game Show have not been finalized -- presumably, the show would be the last major opportunity this year to reveal the project. It's about time this game made its public appearance, don't you think?

Castle Crashers has invaded Xbox Live Arcade and, unless you're having connectivity issues, chances are you've discovered the charm in this homage revolution modern iteration of the beat 'em up genre. The game seems to be receiving positive reviews for its ambition as an XBLA title, but those pesky connection issues are causing reviewers to shave points off "Castle Crashes'" overall score.

• IGN (90/100): "Castle Crashers takes the best elements of traditional side-scrolling beat-em-ups and adds lots of flair. There's some great humor here and some nice surprises that will please most. ... The bulk of Castle Crashers is an enjoyable ride and one every 360 owner should experience."
• GameSpot (85/100): "Even at a price of 1,200 Microsoft points, Castle Crashers provides great value. The main storyline offers hours of bad-guy beating and princess-rescuing fun that it is sure to please. The ability to play with friends should make the experience richer, even if it is limited to a more local experience. As a testament to its entertainment, feature losses and some disappointing online play hardly slow this juggernaut of amusement down. This is an absurdly hilarious romp you won't soon forget."
• VGT (60/100): "Castle Crashers is an entertaining brawler, but the replay value is chopped into little frustrating bits by a horrifically painful online experience. I'm left wondering why I spent $15 (1200 MS points) on a five-hour single player game. Multiple playthroughs will unlock new characters, but the repetitive nature is a bit tiresome. Avoid purchasing Castle Crashers until the developer sorts the major online problems out."

X3F in Brief and GameTrailer's video reviews can be found after the break.

American McGee's Grimm continues on GameTap this week with The Girl Without Hands -- yup, it's getting darker. Same as every week, the episode is free to non-subscribers for the first 24 hours after release. The service also gets into the drug trade by adding the addictive Puzzle Quest.

• Grimm: The Girl Without Hands (Windows) - Katamari Grimm-acy do your thing!
  
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of Warlords (Windows) - It's time to finally play this game if you've somehow missed out on it.
  

There aren't any additions to GameTap's gratis games lineup this week, but the full list of free-to-play titles can be found after the break.

The issues with this week's Rock Band DLC were worse than we first thought. Rush's Moving Pictures album will not be available for purchase on Xbox 360, nor PS3. Apparently some guy called "unforeseen technical difficulties" has screwed everything up. Wait, it gets worse. According to the announcement post on the official Rock Band forums, the problem may keep the album from being available for a couple weeks.

Harmonix is currently shifting the release schedule around to have some tracks out this week, keeping its streak of new content since the game's launch alive and well. We'll be sure to post when we hear something about Harmonix's plans.

The Last Guy, a mash-up of Google maps and "follow the leader" (or Snake, if we can talk super old-school), will be available tomorrow on PSN for $10, according to the PlayStation Blog. The 15 stages of zombie-dodging gameplay takes place in several cities across the globe, which use aerial photography as "levels" -- the demo, which takes place in Asakusa, Tokyo became available last week on PSN. Check out the video after the break for a taste of what The Last Guy has to offer.

When a company has one of the most successful MMORPGs games of all time, the last thing anyone there wants to do is throw a wrench into what the customers' rigs can handle. To that end, the Blizzard team explained in a few interviews last week that World of Warcraft's graphical updates will happen over time with expansions. Don't go expecting something like World of Warcraft 2 or a major graphics overhaul, which might hurt the customer base.

In an interview with VideoGamer.com, Blizzard's Rob Chilton explains that "usability" has always been more important to the company than technical prowess. Obviously, Blizzard's judgment on how to run Azeroth, compared to those who yearn for a full-blown graphics overhaul, has paid off in million billions for the developer.

Source -- Brack clarifies graphical update plans (WoW Insider)
Source -- WoW graphical reboot may never be necessary (VG)

Although no official details about the PS3 wireless keypad's pricing or launch date (beyond "late November") have been released, Amazon.com is shedding a little light on the situation. The online retailer currently has the peripheral listed at $49.99 with a ship date of Nov. 30.

Although the date may be a placeholder, an Amazon representative informs us, "Pricing details come from our vendors. So that is the price that Sony gave us." Once again, Sony hasn't made any official statements about pricing, but retailers seem to be getting some details.

A recent poll on PS3 Fanboy showed that 46% of responders would pay no more than $20. Only 4% of participants would actually pay the current listed price for the peripheral.

Far Cry 2's Narrative Designer Patrick Redding informs VG247 that Ubisoft Montreal has started work on the next Far Cry game. He tells the site that Africa still has a "huge amount of promise" and there are still things they'd like to do with the setting, but he hedges it all by saying that the team is still in "preliminary stages" of development.

Redding expresses that the Far Cry 2 engine could be used to make other locales, but that to save time the team will probably build on the sequel's African setting. He wants to stick with the series' exotic settings, but feels that jungle islands aren't as exciting as when the original Far Cry released four years ago.