After finishing Tabula Rasa, Richard Garriott decided to take a break from reaping the adoration of the game's dozens of fans to be (literally) shot into space. Video of his flight was released yesterday, and you can watch it just after the jump.

Just after liftoff (at about 2:15 into the video) Lord British holds a message up to the cockpit camera written in Logos, the language of Tabula Rasa. We'd love to make fun of him for doing something so incredibly nerdy, but we're ashamed to admit we actually think it's kind of cool. Sorry.

Microsoft has launched a new Fable 2 site that allows users to win in-game items after completing some of the content found within. Although Chicken Kickin' is amusing, it's The Hero's Tale puppet show, narrated by the amazing Zoë Wanamaker, that deserves some attention. The player leads their character through a little Fable webisode and receives a gift at the end, which is then tied to their Gamertag and becomes available when they get the game. There are apparently five possible prizes (we got the chicken suit).

As long as the site streams properly, The Hero's Tale is actually quite an enjoyable way of getting a little bit of that Fable 2 magic in before next week's release. We're now conflicted if Zoë Wanamaker or God of War's Linda Hunt is our favorite fantasy game narrator.

Deca Sports, Wii Sports, Carnival Games and all the other minigame collections on Wii had better watch their backs ... or at least join together, forming some kind of bargain bin Voltron to do battle against Big League Sports. Activision is bringing the new minigame collection to the Wii "this holiday season."

The collection will include 22 of the most "thrilling situations" from tennis, basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, and hockey. Also, there's character creation so (as we're sure they expected by now) it seems your Miis will miss out on the fun.

You have to hand it to Ben Kingsley: For an Oscar winner, that guy will be in just about anything. It's a well-known fact in the industry that if you say aloud "I've got a bunch of money to make a movie, but where will I find an actor?" Ben Kingsley will, within three to five minutes, appear to you as an astral projection to negotiate his share of the residuals.

Now, he's joined the cast of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and you can see him in his garb for the film just above (get this: He plays the bad guy). Yeah, his belt looks stupid, but not as stupid as his hair in BloodRayne, so at least he's making progress.

[Via CS]

It looks like US Presidential Nominee Barack Obama is seeking out the oft-overlooked "virtual maniac driver" voting bloc. Gamers who fire up their copy of Burnout Paradise for Xbox 360 will notice that some of the bilboards now feature an advertisement from Obama that says early voting has begun and features the URL of his campaign website.

Electronic Arts Director of Coroporate Communications told GigaOM, "I can confirm that the Obama campaign has paid for in-game advertising in Burnout," while also noting that they accept ads from "credible political candidates" and that such ads do not reflect the opinion of EA or its employees. As recently as yesterday, Obama is still citing video games in stump speech about underachieving kids.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

There're a few points of variation between the very highest and the very lowest scores, but the consensus on Dead Space seems to be this: You're in for a real treat. (That's with the exception of Eurogamer, which gave the game a 70, a full 13 points lower than the next lowest score.) If you require a bit more specificity (and we imagine you do), we've got a sampling of the reviews just below.

• GamePro (100/100): "It's easily the best survival horror game since the masterful Resident Evil 4 and it sets the bar high for graphics, sound, and scares in its respective genre. Dead Space is an artistic nightmare clearly designed for survival horror fans by a passionate and dedicated team of like-minded gamers. Just be sure to play it with the lights on..."
• Gamespot (90/100): "Dead Space is a remarkable game from a well-tread genre that manages to stand out from its competitors in almost every way, from visual presentation to engaging story, innovative combat mechanics to fright factor. Whether you're looking for a terrifying horror experience or a deeply story-driven adventure that will keep you engaged for 15-20 hours, Dead Space is a fantastic game that you should not pass on."
• 1UP (B+): "Apart from the lack of variety within them, the characters and environments are some of the best looking on the market, with blood splatters and rusted metals all over the place."
• IGN (87/100):"Call it science fiction survival horror, but Dead Space does the genre proud with an engaging story; action that's tense, fast-paced and extremely violent; as well as atmospheric qualities that will get under your skin and make you jump. It may be a newcomer, but the seeds of an incredible franchise have been sown, and EA's in a great position to reap a phenomenal franchise full of scares."

When we weren't taking photos, sitting in Starcraft 2 panels, or watching the closing ceremonies at BlizzCon, all of our available free time was devoted to Diablo 3. It was the first thing we played within minutes of the grand opening, and the game they had to pry us away from when the doors closed. Yes, it's just that good. Plus, we still have two character classes that haven't been revealed yet, so who knows what else this has in store for us.

We were happy just to be able to return to the world of Diablo after seven years since the Lord of Destruction expansion set was on store shelves, and it was worth the wait. Find out everything we could during our exhaustive hands-on after the break, and be sore to check out the galleries below that show off in-game screens and concept art. Plus we're sticking that gameplay footage in again, because it's the only way we can enjoy Diablo until there's a beta, or some sort of miracle occurs.

Tired of the pranks of Gamecock staffers, like rushing the stage when Ken Levine got his VGA or charging money for Hail to the Chimp? Well, it seems like you won't have them to kick around anymore: SouthPeak, the publisher of a slew of adventure games and some second-tier console releases, announced this morning that they had acquired the Gamecock Media Group.

With the frequency of consolidation in the industry, we're sad to see any independent company bought out, but this one sucks double, because CEO Mike Wilson is such an interesting character to have around. We only wish Gamecock had done their talking with their games instead of their comical hats.

Today, Blizzard will be releasing World of Warcraft patch 3.0.2, also known as "Echoes of Doom," the first major update since March's "Fury of the Sunwell" patch. "Echoes" marks the introduction of the Achievements System, sure to push the game into an even higher echelon of addiction. Expect also new locations, arenas, spells, talents, abilities, a barbershop, an in-game calendar and a new profession, Inscription.

Our MMO-obsessed (or "MMObsessed") friends at WoW Insider have the full patch notes and an archive of extensive coverage. The "Echoes of Doom" patch should be returning your calls around 2:00PM PT (or 5:00PM ET). In case you missed it (and then, of course, we must ask how?), check out Joystiq and WoW Insider's coverage of this past weekend's BlizzCon.

This week, we had the chance to enlist into the Call of Duty: World at War beta for Xbox 360, which features a handful of online maps to play. What follows is a back-and-forth discussion of our initial impressions after playing the game for a few hours.

Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute.

	Warhammer Online's party hits 750,000 players It seems like the forces of Order and Destruction have been busy recruiting, because Gamasutra is reporting that Warhammer Online is now partying hard at 750,000 subscribers strong.
	Champions Online announces Closed Beta signups Cryptic Studios has just announced that players can now sign up for a chance to participate in the first Closed Beta of their forthcoming superhero MMO, Champions Online, with the Beta beginning in mid-November 2008. Applications can be made at the official website. The Beta is for PC only.
	Mines of Moria gets a November 18th release date Mines of Moria, the first expansion for Lord of the Rings Online, has been given a release date of November 18th for both the NA and EU today. That means we're only about a month away from ten new levels, two new classes, legendary weapons, angry Balrogs and the under-mountain Dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dum.
	Massively in Metropolis: DC Universe Online goes beyond questing The folks at SOE Austin are looking to change the playing field fairly substantially with their superhero MMO title. In fact, in a number of ways they're looking to re-examine a lot of the basic elements we think of as part and parcel with the MMO package. One great example is the concept of questing.

Since the New Xbox Experience requires 128MB of free space, Microsoft is offering a storage solution for those who may lack the proper storage with either (a) a free 512MB memory unit or (b) a 20GB hard drive for $19.99. If you purchased an Xbox 360 console with no memory solution (i.e. no hard drive or memory unit), you can enter both the 12-digit serial number and the 12-digit Console ID here to see if you're eligible for the offer. We're not sure if there might be an issue with replaced Xbox 360s and proper serial numbers; if you're one of the eligible few, let us know your experiences in the comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

After we were tipped about "essential maintenance work" being conducted in Europe on the PSN, we contacted Sony to find out if North America would be shutting down for a time as well. Turns out, it is. The PSN is scheduled to be unavailable tomorrow, Oct. 14, during the following time:

• 11AM - 4PM Pacific
• 2PM - 7PM Eastern

Be sure to plan accordingly and get those petitions ready demanding a refund for the downtime.

[Thanks, James]

In a bid to avoid the lowest presidential approval rating in 70 years*, President Bush signed the PRO-IP Act into law today. While not quite on par with, say, an ultimate solution to the world economic crisis, the law will create new jobs, er, one new job: The Intellectual Property Czar.

Backed by the RIAA and MPAA, the PRO-IP Act has drawn criticism for its potential for extreme punishment. In its proposed state, the act could grant the government permission to seize all computers and compatible devices from a home if a single, pirated MP3 was discovered on one of the machines. So, about that approval rating ...

For a complete analysis of the PRO-IP Act as it applies to gaming, check out the latest LGJ column!

EA's Pogo division has opened a new studio in Austin, Texas, to work on the company's Hasbro licensed properties. In an interview with GameDaily, the company announced its first title will be based on visual acuity board game, Pictureka!, which the studio expects to be spotted in November for $20 on PC.

Pogo Austin's Studio Director Sean Clark says he "can imagine" the company's stable of Hasbro games (Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit) coming to XBLA, PSN and WiiWare, but no announcement has been made. It's actually quite surprising that Pogo hasn't made such popular franchises available for download on consoles yet.