I am offended that Kirk thinks I always post cat pictures and videos. Appalled, even. I never do that.

So to make up for all the lack of cat and animal related things I absolutely never get away with posting here, allow me to introduce a video of a bunch of animals getting really confused by looking into mirrors. The video was compiled by none other than the compiler known as Compilariz.

Why did I never get this amount of hilarity with my own cat? I used to pick her up and put her face in front of a mirror, but she'd just look at me for a while and then headbutt my face. And then I'd go all "awww I love you" and forget about the mirror thing. Oh well.

Hope you all have an awesome, laugh-filled Wednesday evening while Kirk is doing video gamey things. Head over to the Talk Amongst Yourselves forum for more conversations, off and on-topic.

Animals Confused by Their Own Reflections [YouTube via BuzzFeed]

For those wondering what publisher would pick up a Major League Baseball license this coming year, it's Konami but, alas, it is not for any console title. MLB Dream Nine is now out on Facebook, and it's about what you would expect—a rigored click-this player-management simulation that has very little to do witb the sport itself.

When you check in to MLB Dream Nine you get to pick a favorite team, and then your first big star comes from its existing roster—meaning this has the blessing of the MLB Players Association as well as Major League Baseball. I got Johnny Gomes, who tonight wore a bathrobe out to the field for Oakland's celebration of its remarkable divisional championship. He went up against New York and the A's won 3-1, I think. I don't know, I was just clicking where it told me to.

MLB Dream Nine will compete with World Series Superstars by EA Sports Facebook division. There will still be no Major League Baseball game on the Xbox 360 next year.

MLB Dream Nine [Konami]

... was be visible. "So what," you might say. "Isn't that part of his job?" Actually, it isn't.

In his role as Design Director at Epic Games, all the man sometimes known as Dude Huge really had to do was work on the developer's games. He could have brainstormed, play-tested and guided the Unreal, Gears of War and Bulletstorm games in relative obscurity. Instead, he became the face of the development studio he just left, helping articulate the philosophy and ideas of Epic's game-making for a long, long time. And yes, Epic execs Mike Capps, Mark Rein or Tim Sweeney also do that all the time. But, Bleszinski linked his job to his personal passions in a way that remains rare in the video game business.

He's talked about the plot of the Gears of War games as being partially inspired by his own so-called daddy issues. He's described shooting—one of the most taken-for-granted actions you can do in a game—as a way of feeling your way through a virtual world. He didn't laugh off the growth of casual and mobile games. He's discussed how games trump, in his opinion, movies or TV as a creative medium that connects people. He's done all of that while knowing full well he could come off like a jerk.

The thing I've always appreciated about Bleszinski is that he knows that the video games industry needs faces that don't get controlled by a gamepad. Faces that invest a human personality into releases that sometimes seem like just so much product. Some naysayers say that it was ego and a thirst for the spotlight driving Bleszinski's visibility. "Guy just wants attention," they'd grouse. But, when people who don't read game websites everyday want to know when some game is coming out, the question is never framed in a way that inquires about the people that made that game. And it's people that make games and that pour their sensibilities into them. It's a truism that's commonly understood with regard to movies, books or TV shows. But the mainstream perception is still that EA, Activision or other companies pull new video games off of some assembly line in the ether.

That's not true, of course. And if you've ever gritted your teeth when some sensationalistic news report about video games airs on TV or the radio, then consider the fact that the brush of generalization is easier to wield when a medium looks like it's only a bunch of characters or corporations. Without names or faces to call on to speak to both triumphs and controversies, video games—and the people who play them and make them—get easily reduced to trite bullet points.

We don't know how long Bleszinski's break will be or what he'll be doing when he comes back. (There's no way he's not coming back.) But if you want your uncle, significant other or college professor to understand that games can have as much depth or ambition as any other kind of entertainment, they need to hear some other voice in addition to yours telling them that. So, let's hope that when Bleszinski comes back, he keeps on talking. Whether you like what he says or not, the fact that he chooses to do so is a very good thing for video games.

One of the coolest (and okay maybe kinda darkest) things about Hitman games is the fact that you can kill your targets in any of a dozen or more possible ways.

Real pros can pull off a "silent assassin," sneaking in, killing, and sneaking out without being spotted. But as we can see in this trailer, it'll be easier than ever to go full-on guns blazing.

Also, I see that Hitman has gotten itself a shiny Inception horn!

BWAAAAAMMM

Brad Keselowski, the current No. 1 driver in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series, and winner in two of its first three postseason Chase for the Cup events, met his match on Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. when Josh Bralley of Hickory, N.C. outgunned him to the finish in Activision's NASCAR The Game: Inside Line.

The two dueled on the speedway's enormous high-definition video board, which at 200 feet wide by 80 feet tall, is currently the largest in the world, though some other screen is sure to take the title away soon.

Bralley isn't a complete novice at racing nor a video game-only expert. He also drives a Chevy in the Limited Late Model division at Hickory Motor Speedway up 321 from Charlotte. Bralley finished ninth in the series this year. He beat seven other gamers in a preliminary series earlier in the day to win a shot at Keselowski.

Keselowski, the current Sprint Cup points leader, presented Bralley with a trophy after suffering the loss. NASCAR's championship series movies to Talladega this weekend with Keselowski in front by five points over five-time series champion Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR the Game: Inside Line is on shelves Nov. 6 for PS3 and 360.

The images of the Mushroom Kingdom warfare you see above and below are the work of Hakashidnrc, inspired by the Mario Warfare video released a few months ago.

The retextured skins of military combatants turned into Mario and Luigi will apparently be released for Garry's Mod, according to the artist. You might even recognize the retexturing of ghost people from Fallout: New Vegas in the image above.

My favorite, though, is the second one you see below. Toad is dressed as a soldier and is riding a dinosaur (Yoshi). Your argument is invalid.

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Mario Warfare [deviantART via Ian Brooks]

This Wednesday edition of Kotaku's The Moneysaver catches all the offers, promotions and bargains that can't wait until the weekend. The Midweek Moneysaver is brought to you by Dealzon.

Software

• Yesterday's release NBA 2K13 (PS3) is $44.99 plus $2.95 shipping from Overstock.com. Elsewhere $56 and up. Best deal for Xbox 360 is $59.99 with $15 Award Card from Kmart. [Dealzon]

• Yesterday's release Resident Evil 6 (360, PS3) is $49.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $59. [Dealzon]

• New low on Guild Wars 2 Standard Edition (PC download), $45 from Green Man Gaming. Previously $48 and next best is $60. [Dealzon]

• NewEgg has a coupon for $12 off pre-orders of games priced $49.99 or higher. Ends Thursday. Several upcoming titles are below, and there's a larger list of eligible titles on Dealzon. [Dealzon]

• Oct. 9 release Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 (PC download) is $22.43 from Green Man Gaming. List price is $30. [Dealzon]

• Oct. 9 release Dishonored (PC download) is $45 from Green Man Gaming while (Xbox, PS3) is $47.99, free shipping from NewEgg. List price is $60. [Dealzon]

• Oct. 9 release XCOM Enemy Unknown (360, PS3) is $47.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $54. [Dealzon]

• Oct. 9 release Harry Potter for Kinect (360) is $37.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Elsewhere $50. [Dealzon]

• Oct. 9 release Fable: The Journey (360) is $37.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $49. [Dealzon]

• Oct. 16 release James Bond 007: Legends (360, PS3) is $47.99, free shipping from NewEgg. List price is $60. [Dealzon]

• Nov. 20 release Hitman: Absolution - Professional Edition (PC download) is $33.75 from Green Man Gaming. List price is $50. [Dealzon]

• Feb. 5 release Dead Space 3 Limited Edition (PC download) is $45 from Green Man Gaming. List price is $60. [Dealzon]

• Feb. 26 release Crysis 3: Hunter Edition (PC download) is $45 from Green Man Gaming. List price is $60. [Dealzon]

• Best Buy has a "Buy 2 Pre-Owned Games, Get a 3rd Free" sale through Saturday with over 5,000 eligible titles. Example combo: Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, and Gears of War 3 would be $90, saving you about $26 off buying separately elsewhere. [Dealzon]

• Band Hero featuring Taylor Swift - Super Bundle (PS3) is $44.99, free shipping from Best Buy. Next best is $60. [Dealzon]

• Borderlands 2 (360, PS3) for $59.99 comes with a $15 Award Card from Kmart. Elsewhere $58 and up, no bonus. Best deal for PC is only $37.50 from Green Man Gaming. Next best is $54. [Dealzon]

• Dead or Alive 5 (360) is $44.99 plus $2.95 shipping from Overstock.com. Next best is $56. [Dealzon]

• Dynasty Warriors 7 (360, PS3) is $24.99, free shipping from GameStop. Next best is $28. [Dealzon]

• Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3 (360, PS3) is $24.99, free shipping from GameStop. Next best is $35. [Dealzon]

• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (360) is $19.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $30. [Dealzon]

• Game of Thrones (360) is $19.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $30. [Dealzon]

• FIFA Soccer 13 (PC download) is $30 from Green Man Gaming. Next best is $40. [Dealzon]

• Battlefield Bad Company 2 Ultimate Digital Collection (PC download) is $9.99 from Amazon. List price is $30. [Dealzon]

• The Storming, Burning, Reflecting, Flaming, Sabotaging Pack (5 PC downloads) is $9.99 from Amazon. Usually $75 for these titles separately: Bulletstorm, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Mercenaries 2: World In Flames, Mirror's Edge, and The Saboteur. [Dealzon]

• PopCap Bundle with Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies (2 PC downloads) is $7.49 from Amazon. Separately $30. [Dealzon]

Hardware

• Xbox 360 Elite Slim 250GB Console is $249.99, free shipping from Best Buy. List price is $300. [Dealzon]

• PS3 Slim 250GB Console with Uncharted 3 GOTY and Dust 514 voucher is $269.99, free shipping from NewEgg and Amazon. List price is $350. [Dealzon]

• Xbox 360 4GB Console w/ Kinect Bundle is $249, free shipping from Amazon. Next best is $300. [Dealzon]

• Xbox 360 4GB Slim Console (Refurbished) is $189.99, free shipping from Best Buy. List price is $200. [Dealzon]

• Plextor 128GB M5 Series SSD is $79.99 after rebate, free shipping from TigerDirect. Next best is $95. [Dealzon]

• Acer Aspire V3-771G-9697 17.3-inch laptop with Core i7-2670QM, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, GeForce GT 640M is $829.99, free shipping from NewEgg. That's cheapest ever by $20 and $120 off the list price of $950. [Dealzon]

• Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 20934EU 14-inch laptop with Ivy Bridge Core i5-3210M, 6GB RAM, GeForce GT 640M LE is $599.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $748. [Dealzon]

• Acer Predator AG3620-UR20P desktop with Ivy Bridge Quad Core i7-3770, 12GB RAM, 2GB GeForce GT 630 is $899.99 plus $14.80 shipping from TigerDirect. Cheapest ever and $50 off the next best of $950. [Dealzon]

As always, smart gamers can find values any day of the week, so if you've run across a deal, share it with us in the comments.

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The use of paid models to advertise inside of conventions—better known as hiring booth babes—has been contentious for many years. E3 is chock full of hired promotional models; PAX (and PAX East) ban the practice.

The Eurogamer Expo, which takes place in London every autumn and attracts roughly 50,000 visitors, is now following PAX's lead. Eurogamer head Rupert Loman explained the ban, which begins with the 2013 Expo, on the site's forums today.

Loman described the origins of the Expo, and said "We want the games to do the talking and we want to present games and gamers in the best possible light." The Expo, he explained, has always had an informal stance discouraging exhibitors from hiring booth babes, but after this year—where three companies ignored the guideline—it's becoming an explicit rule. "Of course, exhibitors need to bring staff to the show," Loman acknowledged, "but they should be interesting, cool and exciting (Master Chief was /amazing/!) and knowledgeable (developers and publisher staff) rather than pretty girls in revealing outfits just for the sake of it. We want the show to be friendly, and all 50,000 attendees to feel comfortable."

The companies who disregarded the guideline and brought promotional models with them this year were reassigned to the 18+ area of the convention floor. Next year, the policy will be a blanket, "Booth babes are Not OK."

In another post on the site, columnist Rab Florence added that, "it's important in life to look not only at what things are, but also at what they do and what they mean," and highlighted that from his point of view, "women's place at any tech-related event can only be as an attractive decoration to sweeten the event for the men. It says that women aren't truly welcome in that world, because the moment you objectify something it isn't part of anything. It's just there. It's just something else to be consumed. Fundamentally, it depicts a woman as a product."

The same old arguments come up every time any talk about conventions, models, and the combination of the two does. It's not just about seeing women in revealing clothes, and banning the practice isn't some kind of ultra-conservative censorship. Companies who hire models solely to attract visitors to their booths, without involving those workers in any other capacity of design or sales, are sending negative messages to nearly everyone. They're telling men that the product doesn't matter, only the pretty ladies do. They're telling women that their presence as consumers—their time and money—aren't wanted. And they continue to perpetuate a stereotype that can do real damage to the perception of women working in the games industry.

By having (and using) an age-gated, 18+ zone at the convention, and by banning exhibitors from using booth babes, Eurogamer is taking positive steps toward making their event more welcoming and accessible not just for one narrow slice of the population, but for the entire wide diversity of people who play games.

Booth Babes and the Expo [Eurogamer]

Lost Humanity 15: Booth Babes [Eurogamer]

Appreciating the commentary in NBA 2K13's All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest, a first for the franchise, requires a little breaking of the fourth wall. Play-by-play man Kevin Harlan and analysts Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr—Steve Kerr? Commenting on dunks? Really?—had to sit in a recording booth and imagine all kinds of bombastic dunks, and humiliating misses, and be still be conversational in appraising their quality—or lack thereof. And they do it very, very well.

For example: Bill Russell is one of the NBA's greatest players and arguably its greatest center ever, but he wasn't known for dunking—not by modern standards, at least. He retired seven years before the first contest, first held in another league. So I took Russell and landed a very soft-by-modern-standards one-handed throwdown—something that would still scandalize every white sports writer in the 1960s. And Kellogg didn't blink. "That's a nice dunk, that's a good dunk if it's a dunk with other people on the court," he deadpanned, patronizingly. "But if you're dunking against nobody, like in a dunk contest, it's not so good."

I was dying on the couch. Then Russell tried another basic dunk, like he's flying through the air, and we're treated to a wicked-witch-of-the-west sound effect as Harlan, Kellogg and Kerr fail to stifle their laughter, like ninth-graders in study hall.

The All-Star Weekend festivities, which appear to be on-the-disc DLC, were granted by download code to anyone who preordered NBA 2K13 (through any retailer). It appears that after the NBA's All-Star Weekend happens in February 2013, regular consumers will get everything. The Slam Dunk contest differs from the notoriously tough dunk contest in the game's Blacktop mode, but it's still very, very hard. The dunks are performed Rock Band, style, with the key inputs coming at you on a note highway. Some require holds and multiple key presses. Others require winding motions on the analog sticks. It is tough unless you know the precise key sequence, which will take some practice.

Here's a dunk contest among Russell, my MyPlayer player Gordon "Silk" Gartrelle (yes, named for the shirt designer coveted by Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show), the Denver Nuggets' lovable JaVale McGee, and the pride of N.C. State, Spud Webb, the 5-foot-7 dunk contest champion of 1986. I controlled every dunker and tried to pick some hard-level dunks for all of them to showcase the Statler-and-Waldorf quality of NBA 2K13's commentary. Enjoy.

Straight out of Japan, via German gaming site NTower TV, it's a playthrough of the new downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. 2. The new levels will be released on the 3DS' American eShop on Thursday, for $2.50 per level pack.

Let's Play New Super Mario Bros. 2 - DLC-Special - Geld, Ruhm, Frust [NTower TV]