Sega's Tokyo Joypolis is not Sega's best arcade. That does not matter. What it is, however, is Sega's biggest spectacle. It's less a game center and more a video game inspired theme park. Still, for a hyperbolic arcade experience, few can compete.

And as of this week, Tokyo Joypolis has a new coat of paint.

Sega recently completed remodeling Tokyo Joypolis, keeping some of the amusement center's most well known attractions, like the half-pipe and the Initial D set-up, and adding some new ones, such as a Ring inspired haunted house and a new roller coaster called "Veil of Dark".

There's also a stage set-up, which now hosts mini-live events by virtual idol Hatsune Miku.

While Tokyo Joypolis does nickel and dime visitors, charging them between ¥500 (US$6.30) and ¥800 ($10) for each attraction in addition to the ¥800 entrance fee, visitors can check stuff out for free: there's a PS Vita demo corner and interactive "digital real" walls and tables for people to touch.

Or you can just gape at the life-sized Initial D set-up. That's what I usually do.

The newly renovated Tokyo Joypolis opens to the general public on July 14.

Photos courtesy of Dengeki Online, Famitsu, and 4Gamer. More in the links below.

リニューアルオープン目前の東京ジョイポリスにて『初音ミク -Project DIVA- f』ライブステージが開催！ [Dengeki]
伝説のライブをいつでも――"東京ジョイポリス"リニューアルに合わせて登場の"初音ミク ミニライブ DAIBA de DIVA"を先行体験 [Famitsu]
「東京ジョイポリス」リニューアルオープン直前。内覧会で最新アトラクションからライブステージまでをチェックしてきた [4Gamer]

Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here.

So Sideshow Collectibles' half-scale Catwoman statue isn't technically alive. I've dated worse.

She's not available for preorder. She'll likely cost you or me an arm and a leg once she is up for sale, but when you're dealing with Batman's finicky female counterpart, a certain amount of financial loss is to be expected. You pay to play with the pretty kitty; that's the law of Gotham's concrete jungle.

I would protest, of course. I would stomp my feet and raise my voice. I would demand recompense. And then she'd fix me with that smile.

That damn smile. She knows she's already won. It's her confidence that gets me. Her face isn't otherworldly beautiful — she's just a normal, attractive woman.

Her body isn't some unattainable ideal. She's just a woman that knows how to make a catsuit work. She's sure of herself, and it shows.

She may be only half a human high, but she's a full serving of wonderful.

Not content with digging up the corpse of classic RPG series Ultima once, EA - who now hold the rights to the franchise - are doing it all over again.

The publisher has tonight announced Ultima Forever, a cross-platform, free-to-play RPG that's being developed by BioWare and which will be published under EA's Play 4 Free label, the same place you find games like Battlefield Heroes.

Boasting a cartoon aesthetic, having you control the "Avatar" and mentioning "Lady British", it's at least closer to the source material than the ill-advised Lord of Ultima. Whether or not EA's claim that "the first great Western RPG has been lovingly restored in Ultima Forever" rings true or not, we'll have to actually play it to find out.

You can sign up for the game's beta at the link below.

Ultima Forever [EA]

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Ukrainian designer German Ljutaev has come up with this design that uses traditional video game imagery like life hearts and drops them on a cigarette. The further down the cigarette you smoke, the more hearts you burn though until you hit the inevitable "CONTINUE?" screen.

It's cute, but yet, urgh, so morbid at the same time.

No games for smokers [German Ljutaev, via Ian Brooks]

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If I say the word "Zynga" to you, you probably think stories of shoddy work practices, of ruthless non-games like FarmVille, or allegations that they essentially rip other people's games off.

So it's understandable that the social games juggernaut is looking to broaden its horizons a little, and move into more serious territory. That's why Zynga is publishing Horn, an iOS game by developers Phosphor that, for a phone game, looks pretty damn great.

Though...a little less "borrowing" from Team Ico's art direction might have been advisable...

Zynga's iOS Blockbuster Horn hopes to "replace consoles" [Hookshot]

Star Command has long been my most-anticipated iOS game. It may now also be one of my most-anticipated PC games, especially since this planned bigger edition will feature more content.

Get past the corny intro and there's a ton of gameplay footage to sift through.

STAR COMMAND: Kickstart Part 2 - The PC/Mac Space Adventure [Kickstarter]

If you haven't seen 1990's Robot Jox, well, stop reading. Go get a copy. Because it's just about the best thing ever. A combination of Cold War politics and stop-motion giant mech combat, it told the story of a future in which international disputes were settled not with wars, but with gladiatorial battles between...giant mechs.

Props specialist Rocketbobs has spent four years recreating the "hero" of the movie, Achilles. What's awesome is that this isn't a replica toy. It's a restoration job of one of the "puppets" used in the filming of the movie, meaning its fully poseable, lights up and was even patched up using parts from models used in the finished film (assisted by an original blueprint used in the production of Robot Jox).

Restored Robot Jox Achilles [RPF, thanks Argh!]

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Markus Neidel is a German concept artist who most recently worked on Black Prophecy, a sci-fi MMO.

You won't find too much sci-fi in this gallery, though. What you will find for the most part are some epic fantasy images that look so delicious you'd be forgiven for thinking you could slice them off your screen, put them on a plate next to some fancy cheese and then enjoy every damn bite.

You can see more of Markus' work at his personal site.

To see the larger pics in all their glory (or so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on them below and select "open in new tab".

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In one of the most touching stories of the year, the fighting game readers of community website Shoryuken banded together to help disabled Japanese gamer Osamu Ichikawa get to this year's EVO tournament in Las Vegas.

Ichikawa, who suffers from cerebral palsy, only just got to play Street Fighter in an arcade for the first time thanks to the difficulties he faces getting access to them in Japan. Over the past weekend he got to do a whole lot more, though, as he was indeed able to attend EVO - thanks to donations from Shoryuken readers - and go face to face with serious opponents.

This interview, done by Cross Counter TV for Shoryuken, is just...great. A really great watch.

Osamu Ichikawa Talks About His EVO 2012 Experience, Thanks Everyone for Their Support [SRK]