Filed under: Online

GameTap's big news this week was that Fallout would be showing up sometime in the near future, but that future isn't now. This week's new additions for gold members are a pretty standard puzzle game and shoot 'em up; however, freeloaders should take full advantage of Deus Ex joining GameTap's gratis lineup.

• Astro Fury (Windows) - Arcade style top-down shoot 'em up with vibrant colors.
  
• Cradle of Rome (Windows) - A puzzle game.

Due to an overzealous spam filter or something, we didn't receive the updated list of free titles for the service this upcoming week, and therefore can't place the list after the break. For now, feel free to browse through the free section of GameTap's site and we'll add our list as soon as we get it.

Update: This week's free games list can now be found after the break.

Age of Conan's developer, Funcom, recently went on an accidental mass breast reduction spree within the MMORPG. The company writes on its forum (registration required) that a slip in the code from an earlier patch caused the "morph values" for character models to become altered. Apparently, the only body part -- at least, the only part anyone's complaining about -- to become amended were player's breasts.

The company posted that it is working to fix the error and informs players, "Your breasts should be back to normal soon." Thankfully, Age of Conan's mammary incident didn't have some reverse effect on men's pectorals.

[Via Kotaku, 1UP]

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. This big girl is Onyxia, once the 40-man raiding terror of World of Warcraft, and yet this past week she was downed by just one person not once but twice. Poor Ony -- with the current max level of 70 (and Wrath of the Lich King pushing players up to level 80), it's tough times out there for level 60 raid bosses. Learn more about Ony and all the other NPCs in the World of Warcraft at Joystiq's sister site WoW Insider. Here's our most popular posts from the past week:

News

• Druid solos Onyxia
  One Druid toppled a 40-man boss -- probably one of the first of many old raid bosses to be farmed for gold and items.
• SK Gaming releases Kil'jaeden video
  Live the death of the last raid boss... vicariously through SK Gaming.
• Paladin lays the solo smackdown on Onyxia
  Not to be outdone by a Druid, a plate healer also decides to crush the dragon that once took 40 people to drop.
• New exploits target Flash
  Some big Flash exploits could get your login and password in the wrong hands.
• Missing teen found after running away with 27-year old WoW boyfriend
  A 27-year-old ran off with a 14-year-old girl after they met in World of Warcraft.

Features

• How many endgames have there been?
  After Kil'jaden was downed last week, we decided to figure out just how many times the game has been beaten.
• How to make 10,000 gold in a month
  Adam Holisky lets you in on some of his best ingame monkey-making tips.
• Ask a Lore Nerd: You're how old?
  Our resident lore nerd answers your questions about NPCs and the stories of the Warcraft universe.
• Breakfast Topic: Do you pay attention to 25-man raiding progression?
  Should we care when groups like SK Gaming drop big endgame bosses for the first time?
• Tanking for Beginners
  Need a primer on being the meatshield? Here you go.

Sony has again trumpeted intention to get its virtual world Home out the door this year, though precisely what state it will be in when players are eventually allowed to log on remains another issue entirely. Speaking to Wired, PSN senior director Susan Panico referred to Home's initial roll out as "similar to Gmail," calling the online initiative's presumably fall release an "open, working beta."

These comments have not exactly filled our heart containers with confidence. Google officially launched its email service in 2004, and now, some four years later, it's still in beta.

A new stage. A new challenge. A new way to play Mario Kart Wii. Is this Nintendo doing DLC? Not so fast.

We're not certain if Mario Kart Wii's new "Galaxy Colosseum" stage is actually downloaded or simply unlocked from the game disc by downloading the latest Tournament update -- either way, you could argue it's "DLC." But what's its value as additional Kart content? If the stage disappears when the tourney expires on June 9, then the freebie ranks as negligible (currently, Galaxy Colosseum is only playable through the online Tournament mode). Even if it's archived in a single-player mode, the timed minigame (knock four Spiky Topmen out of the arena using mushroom bursts as fast as you can) is an incredibly dull use of a Super Mario Galaxy crossover. Keep trying, Nintendo. And we'll keep dreaming.

[Via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]

We're offended by the above joke. We tend to look up bunnies all the time, at odd moments, but we do not have A.D.D. Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics; voting after the break.

• The Unhorse (Penny Arcade)
• I just wanted to play it again... (Extra Life)
• Fwooosh! (Awkward Zombie c/o VG Cats)
• Wii Fit Training (Monday Night Crew)
• Wii Quit (2P Start)
• Historical Landmark (Digital Unrest)
• Knock Before Entering (Fanboys)

Video game collectors have just been given a golden opportunity (and another thorn in their significant others' side). Nintendo of Canada is cleaning out their warehouse and is auctioning their collection of brand new, sealed retro games, with all proceeds going to United Way charity. The auctions, totaling 421 games in 24 different auctions, break down as follows:

• 70 NES games over 4 lots
• 169 SNES games over 13 lots
• 182 GameBoy games over 7 lots

As of this writing, the highest bid in any auctions is US $1,013 for a collection of NES games that includes Mario's Time Machine, Dragon Warrior IV, The Great Waldo Search and – this is the big draw, folks – George Foreman's KO Boxing. There's some great games in the other lots, too, with Addams Family and Lost Vikings activating the most synapses in our nostalgic minds.

Joystiq got in touch with Nintendo of Canada to confirm the auction is legit, so what are you waiting for? Bidding for all lots ends June 5.

Hey, remember when McDonald's and Nintendo teamed up to offer free Wi-Fi access for Nintendo DS players? No? Really? We thought it was kinda cool. Anyway, they're not doing it anymore, so just forget it.

The contract between Nintendo and Wayport -- the internet provider for McDonald's in North America -- actually came to an end late last year, though the termination of the agreement wasn't made well known. Well, now you know. DS-playing Mickey D's lovers can still get their fast food game on using a laptop and Nintendo's Wi-Fi dongle. Or, you know, not.

[Via DS Fanboy]

OK, last week's PSN update was lacking, but this week ... well, this week we're just not going to comment on it. There's a couple of Prince of Persia wallpapers and the weekly Rock Band content. Beyond that, there's not much else. Check it out after the break if you don't believe. We'll take this opportunity to mention that PixelJunk Monsters is awesome -- particularly on two player local co-op -- and we recommend at least trying the demo.

Europe got a little somethin-somethin, which can be found over at PS3 Fanboy.

• Ducati World Championship (Windows) - It's sort of, but totally not, like Gran Turismo with bikes.
  
• Tortuga Pirates of the New World (Windows) - Pirates! or Tropico are much better games.
  

If you're really looking for something different to play (and probably learn), Brian Lara Cricket 2007 joins GameTap's free lineup this week.

Dueling Analogs artist Steve Napierski's tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the Penny Arcade duo took top honors in this week's webcomic wrapup. Don't worry, we're sure Tycho and Gabe are in on the joke. After all, PA Adventures is number 3 for all-time best Xbox Live Arcade launches ever.

Second and third place go to VG Cats and, well, Penny Arcade, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!

Zero Punctuation discovers The World Ends With You this week. This sudden realization has caused him to send his vast internet army to your house and kill you. Really! Run!

Actually, The World Ends With You is a JRPG that's been getting some strongly supportive reviews from several outlets that do that reviewing sort of thing. As any disciple of Yahtzee knows at this point, he hates JRPGs and Nintendo -- the jury is still out though on which one he hates more. TWEWY gets off easy in this review by confusing Yahtzee to the point where he can't form an opinion and leaves it up to the audience.

Find this week's NSFW ZP review of another Japanese game with kids who have gravity defying hair after the break.

GameTap is shutting down its relatively new editorial department and the entire staff has been given a couple of weeks notice. GameDaily reports that GameTap's Read and Watch sections, which are less than a year old, had a strong stable of veteran industry writers, but those sections will now be dismantled and integrated into the site's actual game pages.

GameTap VP Rick Sanchez writes on the community boards that the service has been happy with the editorial team, but has decided to focus on the company's main business, which is its game catalog. Details are still lacking about what the new vision for GameTap is, but being an all-purpose mega-site with games and news to rival Gamespot or IGN is obviously not it.

Update: We've placed GameTap's official statement on this issue after the break.

Attention, soldiers! It looks like the Bionic Commando Rearmed remake is going AWOL for a little bit longer. According to a message on the BC website's Communicator, the game is complete but missing its scheduled May release date. The game is reportedly done but has a few bug fixes and submissions procedures to battle.

To spare you the hassle of clicking through a whole lot of retro text boxes (and it was a pain), we've provided transcription of the message after the break.