Two must-buy titles grace the PSN update this week. First up, for PS3, the Castle Crashers are finally set to rescue some princesses using classic 2D brawlin' -- you've put $15 aside for it, haven't you?

Also, PSP-owning fans of strategy titles shouldn't miss out on Valkyria Chronicles 2, the worthy follow-up to the overlooked PS3 gem.

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Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Matt Gilgenbach, co-founder of 24 Caret Games, the developer behind upcoming PSN release Retro/Grade. We always dreamt of having our own game studio. In the summer of 2008, the game business was booming, the sun was shining, and birds were chirping, so the time seemed right to venture out on our own. Unfortunately, soon after we started, we were caught by surprise by the great recession of aught-eight. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to start after all! Despite that setback, we decided to follow our dream against innumerable odds. We are hoping to option the true story of 24 Caret Games to Hollywood for one of those feel good triumph of the human spirit movies. I was thinking Rpattz could play me. He had the appropriate game developer complexion in Twilight. So far, no studio has gotten back to me about it ...

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Much in the vein of Wii Play, it seems the European version of Wii Party will come with an additional, savory bonus: an extra Wii Remote. According to Siliconera, every copy of the game (which drops in Europe October 8) will come with a new controller -- a slight departure from the game's Japanese release strategy, which offered a controller bundle for 6,800 yen ($81), and a controller-less copy of the game for 4,800 yen ($57).

The game will be out in North America on October 3, but we still haven't heard whether we'll also be able to choose between different Wii Party SKUs. Sometimes you feel like a Wiimote, but sometimes you don't, you know? (Particularly when you already have four.)

As Guild Wars 2 preps for its US hands-on debut at PAX this weekend, we followed up with NCsoft about the current state of the series. The publisher informed us that the original Guild Wars has now sold over 6.5 million units. Roughly half of those copies found homes in Europe, with Germany making up the largest fan base, which is why the publisher debuted hands-on gameplay for the sequel at this year's Gamescom.

As for Guild Wars 2's speculated release window, NCsoft is taking the Blizzard approach to the game's launch status and saying "when it's done." A representative for the company told us an MMO -- even one like Guild Wars 2 that is going down a different path -- can't be released nowadays until it's finished. It's a lesson NCsoft learned harshly through Tabula Rasa. Hopefully the eventual launch of Guild Wars 2 will wipe the slate clean of that painful memory.

Mom: Hi there, my son was asking for a new Wii game. Meteoroid or something.

GameStop clerk: He's probably looking for Metroid: Other M, the hot new action game from Nintendo.

Mom: Yes, that's the one! I'll take a copy, please.

Clerk: Ma'am, you're in luck, because we're offering $20 off the Wii Remote MotionPlus bundle with every purchase of Metroid: Other M.

Mom: That's okay. Geoffrey already has a remote.

Clerk: But this is MotionPlus. It adds a whole new level of sensitivity to the Wii experience!

Mom: Oh, so this meteoroid game needs that then?

Clerk: Well, no, but ...

Mom: It enhances it somehow?

Clerk: Not really.

Mom: Then why would I want that?

Clerk: ...

Mom: ... Just bag the game.

There's a bit of a rash of games breaking other games or DLC breaking games these days, especially when it comes to Achievements. Issues like these often leave a lot of people asking, "Where's my refund?" but, as my colleague Alexander pointed out, no one really knows where to direct that question, if anywhere.

Downloadable content isn't something you can simply take back to GameStop or sell on eBay. And even if you know where to ask, can you get a refund for broken content? That's the issue we'll set out to resolve in this LGJ. To examine this, let's imagine a hypothetical: You buy "Fabled Halos" from the Xbox Live Marketplace, and at a later date, you buy the "Broken Code" expansion DLC. Broken Code not only causes Fabled Halos Achievements to stop working, but it also causes save game glitches with another title, Fallin: New Scottsdale, and somehow gives you access to the full version of yet another game Fortress Fighters. You're mad. The developer of Fortress Fighters is mad. Whose fault is this and who has obligations to fix what?

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Embark on a quest for booty in the upcoming DLC, "Barnacle Bay," for The Sims 3 -- er, wait, we're mixing up our content here! Rather: You'll get to explore a tropical paradise in the Barnacle Bay, available for download this fall. Whether you decide to be a lowdown, dirty pirate on the hunt for treasure and grog, or a sightseeing tourist looking to soak up virtual sun, is up to you.

The Barnacle Bay area will be sold exclusively through The Sims 3 Store. Within, you'll discover new locales such as Founder's Beach, Goldbeard Galleon Gallery and Pirate's Hideaway -- plus several other locations and NPCs that await your inner Magellan. The expansion pack will also include "nearly two dozen" new items.

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It's been a while since you last attended an exclusive soiree, hasn't it? Our compatriots over at AOL Music have invited you to a "Listening Party" for the Anamanaguchi-crafted soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game. Yes, that's fancy internet-speak for "the whole album is now available to stream for free, on the off-chance you're too much of a cheapskate to buy it."

So, it may not be the most exciting party you've ever attended in your life, but at least you can attend it sans pants and not get any funny looks from your contemporaries.

We'll be honest, we somehow let the Kinect title Adrenalin Misfits -- known as Crossboard7 outside of North America -- slip by during both E3 and Gamescom. We're not sure how it happened, because the trailers are priceless. They instantly evoke the memories of Wii launch titles, starring incredibly enthusiastic children and families just having a grand old time.

The "crossboarding" game offers several modes of play, including both single-player and multiplayer races and minigames. It also features unlockable boards and the ability to play as either an in-game character or your Xbox 360 Avatar. Also, if you can believe it, YOU are the controller.

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At a recent preview event for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Activision had all versions of the game playable but, for the life of me, I just couldn't put the DS game down. Developed by Griptonite, the DS version is heavy on the exploration and features a light, fluid combat system.

The DS game features only three different dimensions: Amazing, Noir and 2099. Lacking the Ultimate realm, the game also puts less emphasis on the differences between each dimension. Spidey's abilities at the outset of entering each dimension are a tad different, but the mix of climbing and combat remains the same.

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When fans of Valkyria Chronicles on PS3 heard the series would continue on PSP, it's likely they all asked the same question: How much will the game's epic feel be watered down to fit on a handheld? Valkyria Chronicles 2 may lose some scale in the battlefield gameplay due to the technological limitations of the PSP, but it still delivers a grand sense of everything else that fans expect. This isn't Valkyria "lite," it's Valkyria "light enough to take with you."

VC2's narrative doesn't realize it's supposed to be simplified for on-the-go gaming. There's a lot of story (both personal and political) going on in Valkyria Chronicles 2, as the country of Gallia deals with a bit of Nazi problem. Okay, so they aren't "Nazis" per se, but well-funded, aristocratic bigots from the south of the country set to ignite a Gallian civil war by scapegoating the minority population for the post-war economy. The Gallian militia (of which Squad 7 from the original game was a part) can't be deployed to fight fellow citizens, so members of the Lanseal Military Academy are pressed into service to defend the country.

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Mac users, it's time to brush the caked-on dust from the once-shiny pauldrons of your Dragon Age: Origins party. We know you've been forced to wait patienty for months while BioWare readied the massive RPG's similarly sizable expansion, Awakening, for your particular gaming platform of choice. Your wait is over -- the add-on is now available on major digital distributors for the price of $30.

Of course, it's probably been close to eight months since your Warden's seen any combat action. We strongly suggest you do some stretches to avoid damaging your atrophied Darkspawn-slaying muscles.

In the mood for explosive news about explosions? Treasure's multi-scrolling, fruit-collecting shooter series Bangai-O is heading to XBLA this fall, published by D3 Publisher and priced at 800 Microsoft Points. Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury features over 100 levels of omnidirectional blasting. Like its DS predecessor Bangai-O Spirits, it also features a level editor, though presumably the XBLA version won't require levels to be traded as sound files.

The game will be on display this weekend at PAX for attendees who feel like hitting giant soccer balls into ninja robots -- with a baseball bat, in exchange for giant fruit.

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Pinball games might not seem highly sought after anymore. Whether you blame it on the death of the arcade in America or the ever-increasing complexity of modern games, you're probably under the impression that the average gamer just isn't aching to flip a ball around a flashy cabinet.

But according to Zen Studios, its last XBLA game, Pinball FX, was one of best-selling games on Xbox Live Arcade. Come October 13, the studio will launch Pinball FX 2.

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EA officially announced this morning that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition will be available at retail for $60 on Xbox 360 and PS3 ... um, today. Leaked by retail sites earlier this month, the package includes the main game, Onslaught mode, Battlefield 1943 and items originally included in the limited edition.

The "ultimate edition" moniker gives this package a feeling of finality we aren't exactly comfortable with. Battlefield Bad Company 2 Vietnam, the multiplayer expansion for the game, is still allegedly scheduled for Winter 2010. So, if that ever gets bundled in, what? It'll be Super Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Ultimate Edition Turbo HD Remix?

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In Australia, the OFLC has rated a game called "Aero-Cross HighAir" developed and published by Namco Bandai. At the same time, GamerBytes reports that the German USK rated an Xbox 360 game called "Metro Cross HighAir GP," though that rating has since disappeared. The similar names suggest these two ratings are for the same game.

The "Metro Cross" name in the German rating seems to indicate an updated (perhaps Pac-Man CE-like?) version of Namco's 1985 arcade game Metro-Cross, a side-scrolling foot race game in which players have to avoid giant rolling soda cans. However, it's hard to reconcile that concept with the name "Aero-Cross," so it should be interesting to see what Namco Bandai rolls out.

Two DLC packs are set to liven up Split/Second this week (as if it needed any livening up). The Elite Vehicle Livery Pack adds new liveries for the Brawn, Vixen and Raptor cars and, as a nice bonus, it's free. Meanwhile, the High Octane Supercar Pack adds three new supercars and a new livery for the Ryback Cyclone. The High Octane Supercar DLC isn't free, but it's pretty close, clocking in at 160 MSP or $2 on Xbox Live and PSN, respectively.

Both DLC packs should be available today on Xbox Live, though currently only the Supercar Pack is listed (along with an unannounced Ryback Cyclone Special Edition pack). The Livery and Supercar DLC are slated to hit PSN tomorrow, September 1.

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