Saturday shorts – MLB11: The Show footage, Fable Coin Golf shakycam, more

By Patrick Garratt

Something new. We had a meeting this week and it was suggested there’s a better way of getting up all the little stories quickly. Could be better for everyone. Let’s see if it works.

• The first gameplay video of MLB11: The Show is on GameTrailers. Kotaku reckons the player’s using the baseball game’s newly-included analog controls.
• Kotaku ed Brian Cecente shot some shakycam of Fable Coin Golf running on iPhone at CES and stuck it on YouTube. It’s a skittles-type thing announced earlier this week that allows you to accrue gold for use in both Fable III’s 360 and PC version.
• SOE will release free-to-play card battler Magic: The Gathering – Tactics for the PC on January 18. Get the press release here.
• Someone’s used a Kinect hack to make a video of some guy typing with mental arms. Joystiq reckons this apes Aphex Twin. We’re not so sure.
• Q’s started publishing a podcast as an apparent precursor to the launch of PixelJunk Shooter 2. It’s a bi-weekly thing talking about life in Japan, making games and other giggle-laden stuff. Catch it on YouTube.
• Bigdownload’s interviewed Stardock’s Brad Wardell on continued work on Elemental and the just-announced hire of Civ V lead designer Jon Shafer. Wardell says to expect more hires related to the strategy game in the future.
• Stardock has released a patch for Elemental fixing the AI and some bug issues. It has allow announced a create-your-own-quest contest.
• Joystiq’s got a short clip from upcoming animation Dead Space Aftermath, showing a corpse floating in space and a “rescue crew” landing on an inevitably monster-strewn spaceship. The film’s set for release alongside Dead Space 2 on January 25.
• IGN’s upped some new screens of Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood! That’s the game’s exclamation mark, not ours. The actioner’s out for PSP this month, apparently.
• Gamespot’s got a few new screens of Trion MMO Rift. The game got a March 1 release date and pre-order program this week.
• The Rock Band 3 Midi Pro Adapter should be hitting retail shelves again “full force” according to Mad Catz’s VP of Marketing, Michael Greco. Now, folks will be able to connect their MIDI drums, keyboards and guitars up to RB3 finally. More over on D’toid.
• Mark Wahlberg has once again said he is playing Nathan Drake and that Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro are in the flick. “David O’Russell is writing right now and hopes to direct”, Wahlberg told Moviehole. “It’s myself, Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro”, which they’re “hopefully going to shoot it in the Summer time”. Great.
• Kalypso Media has announced its fantasy strategy-sim Dungeons has gone gold and will hit retail stores and digital download on February 8. To get you pumped and ready, developer RealmForge has made the official theme song to the game available for download. Get it over on BigDownload.
• IGN has a couple pages of screenshots for Koei Tecmo’s Warriors: Legends of Troy. Take a look here and here. Game’s out March 15 on PS3 and Xbox 360.
• ScrawlFX has a few new Samurai Warriors 3Z shots for you to feast your eyes on. The game is the extended version of the original Samurai Warriors 3 for Wii with the Xtreme Legends content, and will be made available on PS3 in Japan, February 10. No international date just yet.
• Mattel plans to release a board game version of Angry Birds in May, according to a post over on Pocket Lint. There’s also a video over on Evil Avatar. When it hits stores, it will run you $15. Thanks, humanfish.
• Fatale is free for the next 12-hours or so from Tale of Tales, if you are in the mood for something a bit this side of the norm. You can get it for both PC and Mac.
• Telltale has finally revealed a bit of information on its Jurassic Park game, via Game Informer. Shogungamer has the complete rundown for you. The game is so far confirmed for Mac and PC, but may hit XBL and PSN as well. We’ll ask.
• BioWare has updated the holonet over on its SWTOR website with bios for the Republic, Empire and Independents. Too bad we can only pronounce one of the names on the docket. Click here and try to guess which one we’re talking about. Star Wars: The Old Republic is out sometime after April 1, 2011.
• A spa in Yamanouchi Japan has decided that since it looks like a town in Monster Hunter, it would hold an event to lure fans of the game to the spa. According to the Mainichi Daily News, this is is part of a new Japanese trend, and other towns are trying to lure visitors to their towns by holding similar events. Love Plus events and Farmville promotions have been used to boost the local economy as well. We’re thinking a town near where we live should hold a Reckneck Rampage event to draw more tourists in. Wait. It already does that on a daily basis. Thanks, Joystiq.

Do you like this format? Be good if you could let us know below.