The game makers of China, not content to let the Koreans corner the market on Team Fortress 2 clones, have created their own in Final Combat, only this one is way, way more blatant than previous efforts.

Meet "the Rocket," part Team Fortress 2 soldier, part Chinese fireman, all unoriginal. He's just one of nine classes teased at the official Final Combat web site, each of which appears to be lifted almost directly from Valve's game. There's a Pyro with a guitar on his back, a Scout armed with a hockey stick, and a Demoman, distinguishable from his TF2 counterpart only by heavy armor.

It looks like Final Combat added at least one twist. The game's Medic and Sniper equivalents appear to be of the female persuasion.

Like many of the games on the Xunlei portal, Final Combat looks like a free to play PC shooter of lower than Team Fortress 2 or Battlefield Heroes quality.

Now, we haven't actually played Final Combat yet, so it may be a wildly different game than Team Fortress 2. I'm just pining my rip-off accusations to Final Combat's blatant swiping of Valve's character design, sound effects, voice over, interface, typeface and humorous class introduction videos. Well, I'm also just assuming these are humorous videos, that bee stings kill in China.

So maybe I'm way off. Judge for yourself.

Final Combat [Xunlei - thanks, D!]

Playing video games is normally a harmless hobby, but when a game consumes every single waking hour of your existence there's a problem. Commenter Wtfisthisidonteven is looking for help breaking his little brother's Team Fortress 2 habit in today's very special episode of Speak Up on Kotaku.

I'm having a problem with my 13 year old brother. Essentially, he is a computer addict. He literally plays AFTER waking up. He can stay there 10 straight hours without going to eat/bath. The guy just plays Team Fortress 2 all fucking day, checking out his stupid 'hat' business. My brother does have 'friends', but he never calls them or anything. Getting him out is a verbal fight every day. My parents tell him to turn off the PC when he is instructed, but when he gets the chance he turns it on anyway.

This addiction from him is driving me fucking nuts. Angel does not have a clear future. He lowered his grades this school year.

Can someone PLEASE help me? This is turning into a filthy discussion every single day.

(Also, please do not suggest a psychologist; they don't "work" with him)

Danish advertising firm Uncle Grey, in an effort to hire the kind of people they were looking for, decided against paying magazines and newspapers and websites for job ads, and instead paid some Team Fortress 2 players instead.

Those players had to change their names to that of the company, and while playing had to run around putting up posters advertising the vacant positions.

It's a neat idea as a one-off, sure, but I have to avoid enough spruikers as it is when I go out in the real world. If i have to put up with them in Team Fortress 2 as well, I will not be pleased.

[thanks Gaetan!]

Gamers work well in teams. We've slaughtered zombies, repelled rebels, routed RED (or BLU)—all with the help of our friends. Now we get to rob banks.

In a bit of pre-E3 flirtation, Sony Online Entertainment has announced Payday: The Heist for the PS3 and PC, a squad-based cooperative shooter that casts players in the role of a "hardened career criminal" attempting to orchestrate a number of dicey, large-scale heists. Developer Overkill Software promises prospective gamers the chance to raid a bank vault, manage hostages in a hijacked armored car, and infliltrate a top-secret, high-security facility.

The mission structure appears reminiscent of Valve's Left 4 Dead; law enforcement agents—rather than zombies—will spawn in waves, their deployment and behavior patterns guided by a "dynamic" and "adaptive" scripting system. SOE's press release describes "FBI agents repelling down on ropes through the skylights, SWAT teams crashing through the windows...special units crawling through the ventilation shafts," and emphasizes the importantance of cooperative teamwork in repelling foes.

Players will be encouraged to revisit missions in order to develop their character along a "massive progression tree," and will be given the option to select one of three specialties: assault, sharp-shooting or support.

Payday: The Heist is due to launch later this year on the PlayStation Network and PC via digital download, and, according to Sony, will run for "less than half the price of a retail game."

We've been told that we'll get a taste of the game at SOE's booth at E3— we'll try to keep you posted on the how the title shapes up.

Valve's competition to find the best short films based on Team Fortress 2 is now closed, and the finalists have been selected. As you would expect given the game's talented fanbase, many of those chosen are incredible pieces of work.

The one I'm highlighting above, by Sauctaliens, is nominated in the category of Best Cinematography, which is probably the best category to start in if you're after quick bursts of eye candy.

Note, though, that to vote on the finalists at the link below you'll need to be a Steam member who owns Team Fortress 2.

Saxxy Awards [Valve]

Unlike perhaps any game since the 16-bit era, Team Fortress 2 has a look that is almost timeless. To get characters looking that good takes not only years of development, but years of concept art as well.

The pieces in this gallery are all taken from those years of art and development, some of them clearly showing the way towards the game's iconic final designs, while others...don't.

What's really interesting seeing in the development of some of these characters is that the core concept was there early on in the process. The Demo Man, for example, may have changed outfits and even races more than once (at least when the "current" art style and direction was settled on), but he's always been Scottish and he's always been one-eyed.

You'll see that continuity in a lot of the characters and locations in this gallery. If you'd like to see what Team Fortress 2 looked like before it was the Team Fortress 2 we know today, head here. And if you'd like to read about the final game's art design, here's a great feature with some of the guys involved.

Paradox Interactive drops a dollar's worth of downloadable content today with Magicka: Nippon, three Japanese-flavored items (and a Team Fortress 2 Demoman cowl!) to aid your wizard's quest, with 50 percent of revenue going towards the Japan Relief Support program.

Turtle Rock Studios, the group responsible for the creation and much of the development of Left 4 Dead, has "got the band back together" after shifting away from Valve's ownership and will be releasing its next game for publisher THQ.

Having worked with Valve for years, first on the Xbox version of Counter-Strike and then Left 4 Dead, Turtle Rock was first acquired by Valve, renamed Valve South and then, after some staff movement, quietly just...faded away into the night as Valve's main studio worked on Left 4 Dead 2 by its lonesome.

Well, now much of the original staff is back at a revamped Turtle Rock, and THQ has picked up the publishing rights to its new, major title currently slated for a 2013 release.

It's some kind of multiplayer game, and is being shown at E3, so you won't have much longer to find out exactly what it is.

Women love jewelry. Women love large, shambling, goo-filled undead creatures. Combine the two and you've got a one-way ticket to a night of messy romance, thanks to this charming Left 4 Dead Boomer necklace.

Video game jewelry artist DeadlyPretty is a big fan of Valve's Left 4 Dead series, and as it happens she creates charms, rings, and necklaces for big fans of Valve's Left 4 Dead, along with Resident Evil, Kirby, Ghostbusters, and more. This particular piece caught our attention because who wouldn't want a ticking time bomb of virulent pus hanging about their neck? As DeadlyPretty herself puts it, "He's kinda lovable and who wouldn't want to give him a big squish."

If you're seeing the sort of woman (or man) that would appreciate this sort of thing then congratulations, you've won. I have no idea what you've won, but you've definitely won.

Left 4 Dead Boomer Necklace [Etsy via Girl Gamers UK]

This a nominee for "Best Replay" in Team Fortress 2's "Saxxy" Awards, designed to celebrate the game's new replay camera feature. With the entry period closing yesterday, voting has begun on a field of entries numbering "in the tens of thousands," according to Valve.

The panel of jurists is anyone with a copy of the game on Steam (PC or Mac), so you'll have to have that and log in to Valve under the account owning it. Virtual statuettes of Mann Co.'s iconic Saxton Hale are up for grabs (as are in-game achievements and bling). There are 20 categories, ranging from "Most Epic Fail" to "Best Revenge."

While only TF2 members may see the nominees, the good news is they're all up on YouTube. Do a search for "Saxxy" and you'll see plenty. If you spot one there that's impressive, feel free to share it in the comments. Those who get 1,000 YouTube views get a Director's Hat. Other goodies are up for grabs, too.

http://www.teamfortress.com/saxxyawards/vote.phpThe Saxxy Awards [Team Fortress 2 blog]