Video game clothing emporium Meat Bun returns just in time for my Australian winter with a range of shirts based on that most timeless and unchanging of genres: racing games.

The four news shirts draw on everything from Ed "Big Daddy" Roth to Mario Kart to OutRun to a Daytona x Transformers crossover. My body isn't the only thing ready. My wallet is as well.

Note that one of Meat Bun's bossmen is four-time runner-up in the Kotaku facial hair jamboree Michael "Michael" McWhertor. So if you think the chin in some of these photos looks familiar, well, that's because it probably is.

peeling out soon… [Meat Bun]

Not in an advertising sense, "missing out" on pointless features. You will quite literally be missing out on some games, as EA has revealed that come 2012 a whole range of titles using DICE's Frostbite 2 engine - the one powering games such as Battlefield 3 - will need a 64-bit operating system to even run.

"We'll have Frostbite-powered games in 2013 that will _require_ a 64-bit OS," Frostbite 2 dev Johan Andersson said yesterday on Twitter. "If you are on 32-bit, great opportunity to upgrade to Windows 8."

If you've already got a 64-bit system and a 64-bit operating system, nothing to see here! But a lot of people don't. Indeed, Steam's latest user survey indicates that only 53% of gamers are running a 64-bit operating system. That's a lot of people who will need to buy at least a new copy of Windows, if not a new CPU, if they want to keep playing DICE's (and many of EA's) games.

Some Frostbite games will require a 64-bit OS in 2013 - DICE [Eurogamer]

It's a predictable tragedy, but a tragedy nonetheless: both of the recently-released Game of Thrones video games suck.

Those wanting to mess around with a virtual Westeros, though, know that all is not lost, because some mods for existing games are here to help soften the blow.

While these aren't official, standalone titles - and as such may be lacking slightly in the immersion stakes - they are modifications to excellent games in their own right.

So what you lose in things like soundtracks and proper voice actors you make up by playing some of the best PC titles ever made. Only now with added Game of Thrones flavour.

Note of course that these being mods, you'll need to own the original game first (though the mods themselves are free downloads) before you can get playing. Many of them are either old and/or cheap, so you'll even save money!

---

War of the Usurper

War of the Usurper is a mod for Crusader Kings, an excellent PC strategy title from Paradox. As much about family politics as it is the responsibilities of governing a realm, the mod adds the houses but more importantly the actual characters from the books. It can be a little twitchy, and prone to crashing, but for an experience that matches the back-stabbing tone of the series better than any other mod (or game!), you can't go past this.

Those put off by the dated graphics, know a similar project is underway for the more visually pleasing Crusader Kings II, which is currently my favourite game of 2012.

DOWNLOAD HERE

---

Westeros: Total War

A mod for the ageing (but still popular) Medieval II Total War, WTW lets you choose from the major houses of Westeros and lead them to victory, crushing any and all who stand in your way. Being a game that's mostly about military conquest, there's not as much politics to wade into as you'd find in War of the Usurper, but if all you want to do is play Robb Stark and kick the Lannisters up and down the countryside, this is your mod.

Sadly, it's still a work in progress, so not all the houses and armies have been converted from medieval Europe to the colours and styles of Westeros. Still, to have a go anyway, hit the link below.

DOWNLOAD HERE

---

Skyrim: Game of Thrones

Seeing as Skyrim owes a few tips of the hat towards George RR Martin's universe (compare Skyrim's place names to those found in Westeros!), and the two share many aesthetic similarities, it's understandable that there are so many GoT mods already available for the 2011 blockbuster RPG. While it's lacking a complete overhaul or story-driven mod, there are plenty of ways to spruce up your standard Skyrim game, such as adding authentic weapons and shields from the series and even importing some of Westeros' more notable warriors to serve as companions.

DOWNLOAD HERE

---

A Clash Of Kings

Mount & Blade: Warband is a PC action/RPG that's, well, a little rough around the edges. It's not for everybody. But if you can stomach the quirky UI and dated visuals, this is a game that basically lets you get a small army together and then roam the countryside doing whatever you want. Looting, pillaging, sacking, questing, whatever

If it helps, this mod actually brings a number of improvements to things like M&B's AI. It's also an astonishing achievement considering it's the work of just one man. Those looking for something a little more comprehensive, though, bookmark this grander (yet unfinished) project for the same game.

DOWNLOAD HERE

In 1988, Taito released Akira, cash-in on the hugely-popular animated film of the same name. Just in case you were wondering if Japanese developers somehow made better movie adaptations in the 1980s, no, they did not. The game was terrible.

Still, that's mostly second-hand information, as most Westerners have never actually played the game, since it was never released in English.

It has now! A fan translation means you too can experience the drudgery of clicking around static screens on a Famicom (well, your PC).

You can grab it below.

Akira [Romhacking, via Tiny Cartridge]

Before the internet, before people even really cottoned onto the idea of games magazines, publishers had to sell things the old-fashioned way: with TV ads and catalogues.

Most catalogues were simple affairs, all bright lights, screenshots and slogans, but sometimes publishers went a little left field. Like Activision did in 1984 when it basically commissioned an illustrated children's story.

With its fancy prose and Yellow Submarine-esque imagery, it's certainly a novel approach to selling video games. And hey, judging by the catalogue's strength - featuring all-time classics like Pitfall and Ghostbusters - maybe they just figured the games would sell themselves, so the creative types could go nuts.

Catalog - Activision [AtariAge, via Retroist]

You know what they say about Sex Panther...

Hi there Kotaku, and welcome to another week under the sun. Here now, some things to read and maybe talk about.

• "The Real World" has turned 20 - Well that is quite a while ago.
• Our Father's Not in Heaven: The New Black Atheism - Super provocative, thoughtful essay over at Gawker.
• Here's Nick Hanauer's TED talk about taxation that got pulled for being too political - He says that the rich aren't job creators—middle class consumers are, and so our tax structure is totally out of whack.
• Wicked cool new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie "The Master" - I am fairly certain this film will result in some blood.
• Charlie Kaufman is doing an HBO series starring Catherine Keener - What? Seriously? Awesome!
• I want this grammar nazi t-shirt - So bad. So badly? I want it a lot.
• There is an Anchorman sequel coming - BELIEVE.
• "The Tyrrany of Pageviews" - Unsurprisingly, some of this resonates!

And that's that. Have good chatting!

Sony has tasked German studio ACONY Games with the development of Bullet Run, an upcoming multiplayer shooter that's based on the premise of a reality TV series gone bad.

Taking a page out of properties like Running Man and Battle Royale, Bullet Run has players take control of contestants "in a fight to the death for fame and fortune".

While no specific mention is made of the platform it's intended for in the three-page report on Forbes, the fact it's revealed as being free-to-play suggests this is a PC title, though I guess a PS3 version wouldn't be out of the question either. It'll use Epic's Unreal Engine 3.

Publisher Sony Online Entertainment will make a proper reveal, with more concrete information (and screenshots bigger than postage stamps), during E3 next month.

UPDATE - Now with trailer. Enjoy? Or at least, try and make it look like you're enjoying it?

Sony Online Entertainment Goes For The Kill With Free-To-Play Shooter Bullet Run [Forbes]

It seems like Nolan North is in everything. If there is a video game, and that video game has a voice cast, he is somehow bound to be in it somewhere.

North is now best known for his starring role as Nathan Drake, in the PS3's Uncharted series. He's a smart-ass Indiana Jones for the modern era, wrecking ruins while chasing the artifacts they hold. And director J.J. Abrams, it seems, likes Nathan Drake just as much as the rest of us do. Speaking with Eurogamer, North confirmed that based on his work as Drake, Abrams had asked him to take a small role in the upcoming sequel to 2009's hit Star Trek reboot.

North credits the cinematic, narrative style of the Uncharted games as being "leaps and bounds" ahead of where storytelling in games stood even ten years ago, and insists that the ability of games to tell detailed, quality stories is "still going up."

Nolan North wins part in Star Trek 2 off the back of Uncharted [Eurogamer]

Populous, the original "god game," is a true gaming classic. Designed by Mr. Peter Molyneux (who, reminder, will be joining us on Spke TV to provide analysis during E3), it was simple and to the point—you've got a civilization of people. Sheperd them as you will.

Game designer and illustrator Jon Caplin is clearly a big fan of Populous, and has designed a free browser game called Reprisal as a tribute. Reprisal is a really neat little thing, totally free to play in your browser. It features a thick, pixel-art style and low-key wit reminiscent of Superbrothers' work on Sword & Sworcery, with some great music by New York musician/hacker Eric Skiff. I was playing this game today and left it on in my browser, and wound up listening to the soundtrack for a good chunk of the afternoon.

Good stuff. You can play the game here.

Reprisal Universe [Official page via EDGE]

A capable party of three was accidentally whittled down to one last night while playing Diablo III, an unfortunate event that predicated ten minutes of tension and anxiety unparalleled in any other game I've played.

My level 14 Barbarian, accompanied by another Barbarian, level 16, and a level 17 Witch Doctor, were just about to enter the lair of The Butcher, one of the classic Diablo villains reimagined for the third entry in the series. I had already fought the boss several times on my Demon Hunter, so I wasn't worried about taking him down with a team of three. Sure, he'd be three times as powerful, but these were experienced players; this would be a cakewalk.

As our parted descended the steps to The Butcher's lair, the Witch Doctor announced that he had to stop by home base to empty his inventory. As he did that, the slightly higher level Barbarian initiated the boss fight. Doing so brought up a pop-up, asking if I wanted to join. Figuring we'd just wait for the other guy, I declined.

This left the other Barbarian alone with The Butcher; a version of the boss tailored to a party of three, all by himself.

Did I mention we were playing Hardcore Mode?

In Diablo III's Hardcore Mode, the player's character only has one life to live. If your hit points reach zero your character dies — permanently.

Playing through Hardcore Mode normally is tense enough. At one point during the evening my screen flashed red (indicating severely low hit points) and I swear my heart started palpitating. It was only 14 levels, but the level of investment in this character — this survivor — was exponentially higher than that of a normal character with an infinite number of resurrections.

The Witch Doctor returned, but it was too late. We were locked out of the instance until either The Butcher or the Barbarian perished.

We sat there for ten minutes, watching the Barbarian's health bar emptying and then filling again in rhythmic fashion. When it dipped precariously low we held our breath. When it filled again we urged him on. We knew he couldn't see our text; he couldn't afford to look.

"This is probably worse for us," my non-engaged companion commented. I agreed. If the Barbarian fell, I would feel personally responsible for the death of another player. What would I do? Would I immediately log out in shame? Would I send the Barbarian a friend request followed by a heartfelt apology? My mind raced.

Eight minutes in the Barbarian earned a trophy, and the two of us cheered — until we realized it was the achievement for using healing wells 50 times. The Butcher's den features two conveniently placed healing wells. These are key to surviving the encounter, a fact our Barbarian friend seemed well-aware of.

The tension relaxed, but not much. Two minutes later, when the "quest complete" box flashed across all of our screens (we got credit for his kill), the feeling of relief was staggering. After congratulating my Barbarian hero for a job well done I excused myself, went outside, and lit up a cigarette.

Now my Hardcore Mode character sits idle. His sense of reckless barbaric abandon has been dampened somewhat by this experience. I'm sure it's only a temporary state of affairs. But the next time I step into those furry boots it'll be with a stronger-than-ever appreciation for my virtual life.