Who is waging the public opinion battle between anti-gay "family values" groups and the video game creators who dared to allow same-sex romance in their massive new Star Wars game? The anti-gay crowd says the Star Wars defenders are getting help from spam-bots. (Would they be spam-droids?)

Anti-gay controversy over The Old Republic began in January, with the Family Research Organization targeting EA with letter-writing protests. The pro-family group claimed that EA bowed to pressure to include a story path that would let characters of the same gender get into a romantic relationship. Then, the Florida Family Association jumped on the same bandwagon and urged like-minded individuals to write more correspondance. The goal of these letters to EA is to get the company to stop putting LGBT characters into Star Wars games, as they'd supposedly damage the minds of any young people playing them.

EA has responded to these campaigns by calling them "political harassment." In response to the EA mail-attacks, LGBT activism organization AllOut launched a counter-offensive in the form of an online petition. Celebrities like Stephen Fry have rallied people on Twitter to go onto AllOut and sign the petition, which needs 75,000 signatures to send iconic Jedi master Yoda to EA's corporate headquarters to deliver a message in support of LGBT characters and relationships in the company's games .

However, Kotaku has received multiple e-mails claiming that EA has tried to spam its way to the required number of signatures, with screen caps of repeated comments and suspicious Javascript code provided as evidence. But it's impossible to tell by these screens alone if it was EA actually spammed AllOut. A morning update from AllOut told visitors that the Yoda petition suffered a hack attack that shoved thousands of signatures onto its rolls.

UPDATE: AllOut.org has temporarily disabled the campaign page of its website due to a cyber attack by hackers. In the attack, hackers added roughly 3000-5000 comments and signatures onto the petition. AllOut.org is currently in the process of removing those signatures, but can verify that over 60,000 members have sign onto the petition and continue to urge Electronic Arts to stay away from the dark side.

AllOut's statement also indicated that the organization's had no contact with EA so far. Complicating matters further, EA has been accused of using the anti-homophobia statements as a smokescreen to distract people from unpopular business practices and their recent naming as the Worst Company in America in a Consumerist poll.

Kotaku has reached out to Electronic Arts, the Family Research Council and the Florida Family Association for comment and will update the story if we hear back.

Who is waging the public opinion battle between anti-gay "family values" groups and the video game creators who dared to allow same-sex romance in their massive new Star Wars game? The anti-gay crowd says the Star Wars defenders are getting help from spam-bots. (Would they be spam-droids?)

Anti-gay controversy over The Old Republic began in January, with the Family Research Organization targeting EA with letter-writing protests. The pro-family group claimed that EA bowed to pressure to include a story path that would let characters of the same gender get into a romantic relationship. Then, the Florida Family Association jumped on the same bandwagon and urged like-minded individuals to write more correspondance. The goal of these letters to EA is to get the company to stop putting LGBT characters into Star Wars games, as they'd supposedly damage the minds of any young people playing them.

EA has responded to these campaigns by calling them "political harassment." In response to the EA mail-attacks, LGBT activism organization AllOut launched a counter-offensive in the form of an online petition. Celebrities like Stephen Fry have rallied people on Twitter to go onto AllOut and sign the petition, which needs 75,000 signatures to send iconic Jedi master Yoda to EA's corporate headquarters to deliver a message in support of LGBT characters and relationships in the company's games .

However, Kotaku has received multiple e-mails claiming that EA has tried to spam its way to the required number of signatures, with screen caps of repeated comments and suspicious Javascript code provided as evidence. But it's impossible to tell by these screens alone if it was EA actually spammed AllOut. A morning update from AllOut told visitors that the Yoda petition suffered a hack attack that shoved thousands of signatures onto its rolls.

UPDATE: AllOut.org has temporarily disabled the campaign page of its website due to a cyber attack by hackers. In the attack, hackers added roughly 3000-5000 comments and signatures onto the petition. AllOut.org is currently in the process of removing those signatures, but can verify that over 60,000 members have sign onto the petition and continue to urge Electronic Arts to stay away from the dark side.

AllOut's statement also indicated that the organization's had no contact with EA so far. Complicating matters further, EA has been accused of using the anti-homophobia statements as a smokescreen to distract people from unpopular business practices and their recent naming as the Worst Company in America in a Consumerist poll.

Kotaku has reached out to Electronic Arts, the Family Research Council and the Florida Family Association for comment and will update the story if we hear back.

Check out these new screenshots from DmC: Devil May Cry, the new action game developed by Ninja Theory and shown off at Capcom's Captivate conference in Rome earlier this month.

It looks bloody and action-packed, much like every other game in the gory, surreal series. Although this time protagonist Dante is apparently a terrorist. And a sexual deviant. So there's that.

As the credits rolled I place my iPhone on the table, leaned back in my chair and attempted to work out in my head how to present Sunside Games' Crow. I was having an incredibly difficult time of it, and now I realize why: Crow is much more than my Gaming App of the Day.

It's the most uniquely captivating experience I've had on the iPhone.

Crow tells the story of one of those titular avians, caught up in an ancient battle between good and evil. Through four magical settings it flies, its magical powers growing with every secret discovered. Those powers, granted by opposing light and dark spirits, are used to engage in stunningly cinematic on-rails battles against massive mythical foes. Along the way the crow must make important decisions, unlocking new skills while changing the final outcome of this magical tale.

The gameplay is simple and satisfying, with gesture-based spell casting and fingertip flight. It's not the most complicated game I've played, but it is one of the prettiest. Sunside's proprietary Radiance platform renders fantastical 3D worlds flawlessly, and with graphics optimized for the new iPad's retina display I cannot wait for my unit to arrive from China (any day now).

Crow's most striking feature, however, is the atmosphere it creates. The silent crow gliding through the clouds, a wordless pawn in an ancient battle; the mist-covered fantasy world, dressed in warm fall colors; the dramatic orchestral score; I completely lost myself in the experience. It was overwhelming. It was wondrous.

So much so that I almost couldn't figure out how to put it into words.

Crow will be available on iTunes on April 12 as a $4.99 universal app.

Crow [Sunside Games]

I've yet to see a trailer for Capcom's Kinect-and-controller Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor that didn't impress me. I've even seen people play this game and it doesn't look dopey (it seems that you don't use the Kinect all that much.)

Today we've got two clips of the game's four-player, online co-op. It looks as good as the rest of the game, which will be out on the Xbox 360 in mid-June.

Our usual noon diversions will have to hold off today so that we can make room for all of the new trailers spilling out of Capcom Captivate.

Heading to the PlayStation Network this June, Resident Evil Chronicles HD takes Wii rail shooters Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles, bundles them together, and makes them look like this.

I never got a chance to play these two Resident Evil side stories, so I'm quite looking forward to a chance to get my PlayStation Move on this June. Remember back when we were worried the PlayStation Move would spawn a slew of HD Wii ports? Man, we were so stupid back then.

News of Lost Planet 3's announcement leaked earlier today, but here are the official screenshots, revealed by publisher Capcom at the Captivate event in Rome earlier this month.

Development studio Spark Unlimited (best known for the poorly-received Turning Point: Fall of Liberty) is helming the title, a prequel to the first Lost Planet game. You'll play a pilot contractor named Jim, swapping between first-person combat in his utility rig and third-person shooting while on foot among the frozen tundra of E.D.N. III.

Capcom says the insectoid Akrid aliens will be back in full force for the third Lost Planet. In addition to fighting those nasty creatures off, you'll have to wade through "an ever changing climate that will affect the way you play," Capcom says.

Lost Planet 3 is slated for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 in "early 2013."

News of Lost Planet 3's announcement leaked earlier today, but here are the official screenshots, revealed by publisher Capcom at the Captivate event in Rome earlier this month.

Development studio Spark Unlimited (best known for the poorly-received Turning Point: Fall of Liberty) is helming the title, a prequel to the first Lost Planet game. Which might not bode well for its success.

You'll play a pilot contractor named Jim, swapping between first-person combat in his utility rig and third-person shooting while on foot among the frozen tundra of E.D.N. III.

Capcom says the insectoid Akrid aliens will be back in full force for the third Lost Planet. In addition to fighting those nasty creatures off, you'll have to wade through "an ever changing climate that will affect the way you play," Capcom says.

Lost Planet 3 is slated for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 in "early 2013."

Bundled with the Resident Evil 6 demo this May is Dragon's Dogma, a game as brown and green as Skyrim and, Capcom execs surely hope, just as interesting for fantasy game fans.

Well, we can confirm from one of two new gameplay trailers released to day that the game includes large rats. Check that box off.

It also seems to have intense combat with the undead (as seen in this first clip)... and against phantoms and ogres, as seen in this second clip in the gallery above.

One of the hooks for this game is that, even though you play alone, you can recruit computer-controlled pawns and have up to three fight at your side in your very own fellowship. If you play online, you can lend your pawn to other players which will level your pawns up.