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

• Best Buy offers "Buy 2 Video Games, Get a $40 Gift Card" on a selection of 35 games for Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii. Popular titles include Skyrim, Assassin's Creed III, Dishonored, and Hitman: Absolution. [Dealzon]

• Best Buy also offers "Buy 2 select Nintendo 3DS Games, Save $20" sale. Choose from six eligible titles: Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Style Savvy: Trendsetters, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario 3D Land, and Mario Kart 7. [Dealzon]

• Several Nintendo 3DS games are $29.99 + $0.99 shipping from Kmart. Nice discounts because most sell for $39 or $40 elsewhere. Titles include: Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Tennis Open.

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (360, PS3, PC) is $44.99, free shipping from NewEgg. PS3 version includes bonus Nuketown 2025 multiplayer map. Next best is $50. [Dealzon]

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (Wii U) dropped to $49.99, free shipping from Best Buy. That's a new low by $10. Amazon is price matching at $50, but elsewhere it's $60. [Dealzon]

• Darksiders 2 (Wii U) is $49.99, free shipping from THQ. Same price at Amazon and Best Buy but normally $60. [Dealzon]

Green Man Gaming offers a coupon code for 35% off 1 title. Ends 7am EST Friday. Below are the new lowest-ever prices this coupon can get you for pre-orders and recent titles. After using the 35% coupon once, for other orders use the next biggest coupon for 25% off.
• Yesterday's release Dishonored: Dunwall City Trials (DLC) is $3.25 (list $5)
• Dec. 14 release Super Chain Crusher Horizon is $7.80 (list $15)
• Dec. 18 release Battlefield 3: Aftermath is $9.75 (list $15)
• Dec. 20 release Company of Heroes 2 is $39 (list $60)
• Jan. 15 release Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 is $19.44 (list $30)
• Feb. 5 release Dead Space 3 Limited Edition is $39 (list $60)
• Feb. 12 release Aliens: Colonial Marines is $32.50 (list $50)
• Feb. 26 release Crysis 3: Hunter Edition is $39 (list $60)
• Mar. 5 release Tomb Raider is $29.25 (next best $45)
• Mar. 31 release Metro: Last Light is $39 (next best $45)
• Apr. 23 release Dead Island Riptide is $26 (list $40)
• Borderlands 2 Season Pass (DLC) is $19.50 (list $30)
• Guild Wars 2 Digital Edition is $37.70 (next best $60)
• Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition is $26 (next best $40)
• Scribblenauts Unlimited is $19.50 (list $30)
• Max Payne 3: Painful Memories Pack (DLC) is $6.50 (list $10)
• Risen 2: Dark Waters is $6.43 (next best $30)
• Police Simulator 2 is $4.87 (next best $30)
• Batman Arkham City Game of the Year Edition is $4.87 (next best $30)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is $4.48 (next best $20)
• Magicka Collection is $3.25 (next best $20)
• Eve Online Starter Pack is $3.25 (next best $5)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is $3.12 (next best $17)
• Mortal Kombat: Arcade Kollection is $1.95 (next best $10)
• Tomb Raider: Anniversary is $1.30 (list $15)

Gamefly launched their "Not So Scary End of the World Sale" with new game download offers starting every 48 hours through Dec. 21. Here are three actually good deals in the batch for today and Thursday.
• ANNO 2070 is $19.99 (next best $50)
• Sleeping Dogs is $16.99 (next best $50)
• Far Cry is $2.49 (list $10)

• March release Don't Starve (PC download) is $11.99 from Steam. List price is $15. [Dealzon]

• Hitman: Absolution Professional Edition (PS3, 360) is $59.99, free shipping from Best Buy. Amazon is price matching at $60, but elsewhere list price of $80. [Dealzon]

• Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse (PS3) is $49.99 + $2.98 shipping from Target. New low by $4. Next best is $59. [Dealzon]

• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Wii U, 360, PS3) is $49.99, free shipping from Best Buy. Next best is $60. [Dealzon]

• NBA 2K13 (360, PS3) is $49.99, free shipping from GameStop. Next best is $59. [Dealzon]

• NCAA Football 13 (360, PS3) is $44.99 + $2.98 shipping from Target. Next best is $56. [Dealzon]

• James Bond 007: Legends (360) is $39.99, free shipping from GameStop. Cheapest ever by $8. Next best is $59. [Dealzon]

• Darksiders 2 (360, PS3) is $39.99, free shipping from THQ. Same price at Amazon and Best Buy but elsewhere $47 and up. [Dealzon]

• Halo 4 (360) is $39.99, free shipping from Microsoft Store. Next best is $50. [Dealzon]

• Angry Birds Trilogy (PS3) is $29.99 + $2.98 shipping from Target. Next best is $40. [Dealzon]

• Fable: The Journey (360) is $29.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $40. [Dealzon]

• Assassin's Creed: Ezio Trilogy (PS3) is $29.99, free shipping from Amazon. Cheapest ever by $10. Next best is $40. [Dealzon]

• Just Dance Greatest Hits (360 Kinect) is $19.99 from Kmart. Next best is $30. [Dealzon]

• Playstation All Stars Battle Royale (Vita) is $19.99 + $3.49 shipping from GameStop. Cheapest ever by $7. Next best is $40. [Dealzon]

• Mass Effect 3 (360) is $15 + $1.97 shipping from Walmart. Next best is $20. [Dealzon]

• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Future Soldier (Pre-Owned: 360) is $9.99, free shipping from GameFly. Cheapest ever by $5. Next best is $25. [Dealzon]

• uDraw GameTablet with uDraw Studio (360, PS3) is $9.99 from Best Buy. Next best is $16. [Dealzon]

• Scribblenauts Unlimited (Wii U) is $49.99, free shipping from Best Buy. Elsewhere $60. [Dealzon]

• Wreck It Ralph (Wii) is $19.99 + $3.49 shipping from GameStop. Cheapest ever by $7. Next best is $35. [Dealzon]

• Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure (Wii, 3DS) is $19.99 from Amazon. Cheapest ever by $15. Next best is $30. [Dealzon]

• Gamestop has a couple nice $19.99 deals for PS Vita games: Little Big Planet and Spy Hunter. Next best price for each is $40. Shipping is $3.49.

• Diablo 3 (PC/Mac) is $34.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Next best is $54. [Dealzon]

• Street Fighter X Tekken (PC download) is $12.49 from Steam. Next best is $40. [Dealzon]

• The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition (PC download) is $11.99 from GOG.com. Next best is $26. [Dealzon]

• Iron Front: Liberation 1944 (PC download) is $9.99 from Steam. Next best is $30. [Dealzon]

• Velvet Assassin (PC download) is $4.99 from Steam. Next best is $6. [Dealzon]

• Metro 2033 (PC download) is FREE when you 'Like' the game's Facebook page. [Dealzon]

• Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition (PC/Mac) is free from GOG.com. [Dealzon]

Hardware

• Xbox 360 Live 12-Month Gold Membership card is $39.99, free shipping from Buy.com. Next best is $45. [Dealzon]

• Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Holiday Bundle with Kinect Adventures and Kinect Disney Adventures for $249.96 comes with a $50 credit from Amazon. [Dealzon]

• PS3 Slim 250GB Console with Uncharted 1 & 2 and Infamous 1 & 2 is $199.99, free shipping from Toys 'R' Us. Next best is $240. [Dealzon]

• Nintendo 3DS Flame Red with Super Mario 3D Land is $129.99, free shipping from Best Buy. Cheapest ever by $50. Next best is $199. [Dealzon]

• Plantronics GameCom 777 Gaming Headset is $29.99, free shipping from Buy.com. New low by $4. Next best is $49. [Dealzon]

• Optoma GT720 HD Gaming Projector (Refurbished) is $449, free shipping from BuyDig.com. Next best is $500. [Dealzon]

• Samsung 256GB 840 Pro Series SSD is $239.99, free shipping from NewEgg. Cheapest ever by $17. Next best is $268. [Dealzon]

• HP Envy dv6t-7200 Ivy Bridge laptop with Quad Core i7-3630QM, GeForce GT 650M 2GB, Windows 8 is $824.99, free shipping from HP. Cheapest ever by $30. List price is $1,055. [Dealzon]

• HP ENVY Phoenix h9-1300t Ivy Bridge desktop with Quad Core i5-3570, Radeon HD 7670, 8GB RAM, Windows 8 is $749.99, free shipping from HP. Cheapest ever by $50. List price is $900. [Dealzon]

• HP ENVY h8-1420z desktop with AMD FX-8140, GeForce GT 620, 8GB RAM, Windows 8 is $654.99, free shipping from HP. Cheapest ever by $50. List price is $805. [Dealzon]

• HP ENVY h8-1360t Ivy Bridge desktop with Quad Core i7-3770, Radeon HD 7570, 8GB RAM, Windows 7 is $649.99, free shipping from HP. Cheapest ever by $40. List price is $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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Far Cry 3 does a lot of things right. It's fun to play, the island setting is beautiful, sneaking around is a lot of fun, gunplay is solid, and everything works well. But the story… well, the story has some issues.

As I pointed out in my review, the unevenness and general kinda dumbness of the narrative is the thing that holds Far Cry 3 back from "we'll still talk about this in five years" glory. I'm midway through my second playthrough, and the problems with the story are more apparent than ever.

It's never terrible (and at times is perfectly enjoyable), but the storytelling is often lazy, sometimes irritating, occasionally offensive, and never manages to come together into a unified vision. And the ending just flat-out stinks.

However, with a single change to the story, Ubisoft could have addressed almost every problem the game's story has. Not only that, Far Cry 3's story could have gone from "forgettable romp" to "everyone is calling this the best story of the year."

"Oh, god," you may lament, "surely you aren't going to engage in this worst sort of Monday-morning quarterbacking! Surely you aren't about to suggest your own ending while ignoring all of the development hurdles that make writing a video game so uniquely difficult?"

Yes, I'm afraid I am. Indulge me for a moment, and let's imagine what might have been.

We're going to have some big ol' Far Cry 3 spoilers in here. Okay.

First, the problems. Here they are:

• It's tonally inconsistent. Far Cry 3's tone is all over the place. We've got serious business going down, Jason's brother gets killed, there's a super-dark rape subplot, people are being subjugated, murdered, and sold into slavery. But then there's Jason's stoner friend cracking drug jokes, the out-of-place Quentin Tarantino references, the ridiculous (though awesome) pot-farm burning mission, and all manner of wacky CIA hijinks. Generally, the story's tone is all over the place.
• The heroes are assholes. There's an argument to be made that we're not supposed to like Jason and his motley band of attractive white kids. But that's never really explored by the story… we just sort of leave them after a certain point, and they return for the ridiculous, tacked-on conclusion. They're all assholes, including Jason. I wanted them all to die, including Jason.
• The race stuff. Far Cry 3 handles race in some pretty problematic ways. Far too often it relies on the "Magical Negro" trope, and Jason is given tribal tattoos that allow him to "access his inner warrior" and become a badass. Particularly in sidequests, the native people of the island are portrayed as helpless simpletons who are just thrilled that this untrained white boy from California has decided to come and save them all.
• It's not believable. There's a big difference between realistic and believable, and games generally can skip the former if they're nailing the latter. But Far Cry 3, when you step back and think about it, never feels realistic or believable. Why is this kid suddenly able to save everyone on the island? How is he any more qualified than any of Citra's many tattooed warriors? Why is everyone behaving the way they are? Why does Vaas go to such Bond Villain-like lengths to kill Jason in elaborate ways? Why are we being asked to accept that rich white Americans can be kidnapped and sold into slavery?
• It ditches the best character. The best character in Far Cry 3 isn't Jason, nor any of his friends. It's not Citra, it's not any of the other questgivers, and it's certainly not Hoyt. The real star of Far Cry 3 is Vaas, the manic, menacing pirate overlord who so entertainingly pursues you for the first 2/3rds of the game. And yet after a certain point, you simply go and… kill him. In a dream-sequence? And he's never heard from again. What a waste!

So, those are the main problems with the story, as I see 'em. But here's the thing: The entire story could have been salvaged by a simple decision, a plot point I felt was telegraphed throughout the entire game, and which I was perplexed never came to pass:

Halfway through the game, it's revealed that you're not Jason. You never were. You're Vaas.

OMG.

TWIST.

This could've been made to work with the existing content in a number of ways. Let's say the entire first half of the game is an elaborate hallucination brought on by, I don't know, torture and imprisonment. How about this: Vaas was a successful worker for Hoyt until his power over the island grew too strong, and he pissed Hoyt off by failing to kill an American kid who escaped him. An American named... JASON BRODY.

Hang on, hold on, okay. Back up. That image is from the handbook in the game. Let's see here. Here we've got this guy:

and this guy:

One looks like a bad mother, probably crazy enough that he could cause some damage. The other looks like a grade-A doof. I don't mean to say that the doof's story can't be interesting, but it'd be more interesting to tell us the doof is the hero, then pull the rug out from under us.

Anyway. Back to making stuff up. The particulars of this aren't really that important; there are a handful of ways that the twist could be made to work. Here's one: Hoyt had Vaas tortured and imprisoned, where Vaas relived his downfall through the imagined eyes of his nemesis, recreating Jason's exploits and greatly exaggerating his prowess. As it turns out, Jason just sort of got lucky and evaded Vaas—but in Vaas' twisted mind, Jason was granted magical powers by Vaas' sister Citra and became an all-powerful Rambo. How else could he have eluded Vaas for so long?

At the point in the story when Jason kills Vaas, instead of dying, Vaas re-awakens and it's revealed that Vaas actually killed Jason, and you take control of Vaas. You break out of Hoyt's prison and spend the remainder of the game taking down Hoyt and conquering the island. Maybe there's a sequence where you kill Jason's friends. Sweet.

Not only would this be one of the boldest, most talked-about narrative twists of the last few years, it would solve so many of the problems listed above. We wouldn't have to swallow the idea that an untrained twentysomething rando could take down an entire army. The disdain shown to the islanders would make more sense, given that we're seeing everything through Vaas' eyes.

The tonal inconsistencies would be turned on their heads, and it'd match with the kinda cheesy, pop-dark vibe of the game. The moment we assumed the role of a gleeful villain, it would be much easier to shoot, burn, and pillage our way through the Rook Islands. The white savior thing from the first half would dissolve into irony. The asshole main characters would all get killed, thank god, and our vendetta against Hoyt would feel less abrupt. And best of all, the game would really feel like it was about something: About insanity and dominance, about taking what you want and using it to take more.

The more I think about it, the more I'm surprised Far Cry 3 didn't go this route. Even the menu and loading screens play with the idea of duality: Fading, Rorschach-like inkblots of Vaas and Jason blend into one another. The "characters" screen of the game's handbook shows Vaas standing behind Jason, with a gun pointed at his head. Even the cover of the game prominently features Vaas, with Jason (or someone?) buried up to his nose in sand.

I don't know about you, but if I saw that cover and knew nothing about the game, I'd guess it was about the guy in the red tanktop.

Every time the two characters meet, there's this weird tension, like we're not being told the whole story. How is Jason surviving all this, again? Why is Vaas talking about the definition of insanity, and how that means doing things over, and over, and over? As Vaas lectures Jason about family, love and madness; as Jason wanders through hallucinations and sees Vaas at every corner, every Fight Club alarm in my brain went off. Surely I am this guy, right?

But nope. Apparently Vaas is just some jerk who sort of dies in a dream sequence.

Putting my pie-in-the-sky imaginary endings aside for a minute, my broader point is that many games, even good ones like Far Cry 3, could be taking more risks and telling more interesting stories. Games like Red Dead Redemption and this year's flawed but ambitious Spec Ops: The Line have toyed with similar ideas, and I hope to see more big-budget games taking on similar notions in the future. Considering the high level of across-the-board talent responsible for Far Cry 3, it doesn't seem out of line to have hoped for more.

"The whole game is about subverting video game cliches," Far Cry 3 lead writer Jeffery Yohalem told me when I spoke with him back at E3 . "It's a psychological adventure. We're definitely trying to question what a game is, and I think that's what Far Cry 2 did as well, where they tried to explore the limits of video games. And our game is about video games to a huge degree, and about what you expect from video games, and how we change things up."

When I heard "change things up" and "subverting video game cliches," I was expecting something truly surprising. What I got were some well-written characters, a couple of quality drug trips, a helicopter minigun sequence lifted from Apocalypse Now and a final moral choice that made no sense.

Oh, well. At least the game is super fun.

Well, if you live in or visit New Zealand, that is.

The Green Dragon pub located in the tourist town of Hobbiton is now open for hairy bare-footed business. Just in time for the release of The Hobbit. It's modeled to look like The Green Dragon Inn that Frodo and his small-statured friends frequent in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it looks amazingly accurate.

Granted, there's undoubtedly some image tinkering involved with the lighting of some of these, but they still look fantastic. I would definitely drink many beers in this establishment.

(Via io9)

Wednesday morning last week I woke up feeling like I had been dragged behind that truck from Raiders of the Lost Ark. It felt like I had actually, like, worked out, which is stupid. I let my month-to-month gym membership expire once review season began.

Then I remembered: I played that goddamn Red Bull ice skating game last night.

You're going to think I am nuts but I swear to God I have added mass on my biceps doing nothing but swinging my arms for a solid 90 seconds like one of those cymbal-banging monkey toys. That's both the genius and the foolishness of Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect, which I don't recommend as a game, but I can say provides a hell of a workout. For me, anyway.

I'm about 215 pounds and you can see a nice spare tire under my sweatshirt in that video above. But my routine has gone from six straight races to now nine, so I can say this thing has improved my cardio, however modestly. And then there's that manly bulge I feel—in my biceps, you stupe—when I take a shower afterward.

The video explains how you play the game: Swinging your arms supplies the skating motion; swinging them faster accelerates you. You'll need to crouch, block, and jump to get around certain course features.

I probably don't need to be in a skater's crouch but I instinctively do that anyway, so why the hell not. I'm sure it's possible to play this game and win with less effort, but I don't want to know that, either. What I want is to believe that this, plus a warm-up and cool down with Fruit Ninja Kinect, will give me a Men's Health body in 30 days.

As a game, you have to remember this is a $5 title through the Xbox Live Marketplace. You always race as yourself, the AI racers are all the same and always terrible. You can easily defeat them once you learn how to time your jumps and the turbo start. The courses are interesting, but you're racing the same five, and the only online feature is racing against a ghosted friend's time.

Here's why Red Bull Crashed Ice Kinect works for me: It takes full advantage of my approach to an arcade racer, which this is, technically speaking. Whatever the maximum speed is, I want to go that fast at all times. I sit on the trigger. Well, here, sitting on the trigger is flailing your arms like goddamn crazy. And if that's what it takes, I do it without question.

Right now I race the four courses in which I am lowest ranked in "Event" mode, which gives you a preliminary heat and a final back-to-back. I'm getting about 15 seconds of rest in between heats, 30 to 45 between events. Then I race my best course in a single-time trial.

So, fitness science experts, what's the call. Is this really doing anything for me? Placebo effect only?

Some games are great. Some games stink. Some game reviews are great. Some of the scores of them stink, too.

As 2012 draws to a close, let's take a pause from all the holiday cheer to officially gnash our teeth over the worst reviews—no, the worst review scores—of the year.

These aren't the games that scored the worst on the merit of them sucking. These are the game review scores that seemed so out of whack that they made you wonder if we'd moved off the base-10 counting system.

I'll go first.

I've got my incredulity-sense targeted at the gents at IGN and GameSpot, who scored the innovative, fun, super-hard, and smartly quasi-online Wii U launch game ZombiU with scores of 6.3 and 4.5, respectively. Say what?

IGN's what-numbers-actually-mean guidelines state that games that are 6.0-6.9 are OK: "No one should settle for "just OK." When games cost as much as they do, then it's up to publishers to deliver some bang for our buck. And while this game is passable, it's probably only worth a rental. Example: Tom Clancy's HAWX 2."

Hey, I'm not disputing that HAWX 2 score!

GameSpot's review guidelines state that games that get 4.0-4.5 are "games that just don't work right and maybe didn't spend enough time in production tend to fall in to this category. They simply lack the cohesion and quality that make other games fun."

Surely those aren't the only crazy scores of the year...

I was ready to rip Tom Chick's 1-out-of-5 stars review for Halo 4, since I liked that game in the way I liked New Super Mario Bros.' the-classics-with-better-graphics-and-one-or-two-new-things approach. Then I read the review and agreed with a lot of it.

And surely we can take a beating ourselves. We don't score games numerically, but I'm sure some will say that my Yes for Assassin's Creed III was equalled in lunacy only by Owen's No for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

And then there were all those perfect scores for Diablo III. Really?

But enough from me...

If you're a gamer who wants to complain about one of 2012's worst review scores... if you're a game developer who wants to rant about a score your game didn't deserve or wants to unburden the guilt of getting a score that was just too damn high... chime in below.

Note: One thing I'd like to make sure is clear...it's not how any of these reviews read; it's the number that these reviews have on them. It's tricky to boil a game's quality down to a number. And often enough those numbers are what get all of us talking. It's the numbers, not the words, that are the focus here.

Rantmedia games and ION have given me back a substantial portion of my childhood — the early days when I could be found sitting in front of an odd black box playing simple vector-based games with a controller connected via coiled telephone cord. So the controller isn't corded this time around. Between the Vectrex Regeneration app and ION's iPad arcade cabinet, I'm 11-years-old all over again.

As I mentioned in my initial post about Rantmedia's mobile rejuvenation effort, I lost my Vectrex to a game of Russian Roulette. Every game, every colored plastic overlay gone in a tragic flash of teenage stupidity.

I've pondered purchasing the console on eBay, hunting down all of the games and then constructing a shrine. Perhaps one day I will. Until then, the combination of the iPad app and the iCade will do quite nicely.

Vectrex Regeneration, a free app available now on iTunes, features nearly every game made for the original system (Minestorm is free, a mega pack containing everything else is $6.99), as well as several fan creations that weren't. The system is emulated perfectly; even the hot spots where the vector lines meet are intact. You can even turn the colored overlays off to simulate an irresponsible original Vectrex owner.

The app also features a collection of original commercials for the doomed system, full of promise never realized. It's a lovely tribute.

The iCade Bluetooth arcade controller, reviewed by Mr. Brian Crecente last year, is a sexy little bit of retro goodness, built on technology that's catching on among iOS developers. It's amazingly solid for its size. The buttons are loud and the stick a bit stiff, but that's nothing that won't work itself out over time. ThinkGeek has the iCade on sale right now for $69.99 ($79.99 for shop-exclusive retro side art). Even at the regular price of $99 it comes highly recommended.

Put the two together and what do you get? A beautiful harmony that instantly transports me 18 years into the past.

Via Blair Herter, here's the cast and crew of G4's X-Play saying goodbye as they shoot their last episode.

G4 cancelled X-Play, along with their other gaming-related shows, as part of a network-wide rebranding that will see G4 turning into an Esquire channel.

The next big game from Microsoft will let you earn Achievement points on your phone. And your Xbox 360. And even your Microsoft Surface. And it's not a shooter.

After all, gamers nowadays are drowning in a sea of shooters. Fans who like that sort of thing have an embarrassment of riches but strategy fans haven't as much as a bounty for a while now. The man behind Skulls of the Shogun feels your pain.

"They were a huge genre for many, many years," says Jake Kazdal, founder of 17-Bit Studios. "It would be great if we started seeing a comeback." You could say that a bit of a renaissance is happening already, with the buzz around indie release FTL and the successful re-invention of X-Com in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Kazdal hopes that the game that he and three other core creators have spent three years making will be as successful. One reason Skulls of the Shogun might win over hearts and minds? You'll be able to play it wherever you are.

SotS has a lot going for it, already. A great art style. Music that sounds like lost tapes from a Wu-Tang Clan recording session. Newbie-friendly design. But cross-platform asynchronous play might be the secret weapon that helps Skulls find a broad audience.

Yesterday, I watched Kazdal take on 17-Bit engineer Ben Vance in a few rounds of Skulls. Vance made his moves on a hotel room HDTV connected to an Xbox 360. That sequence then got sent to Kazdal who responded to Vance's attacks via the Surface's touchscreen. You can watch the back-and-forth in this video I shot with my iPhone.

With Skulls of the Shogun living on multiple Microsoft platforms, a cross-buy option—like what Sony does for certain games that have both PS3 and Vita versions—seems like a no-brainer. But, Kazdal says that discussions are still happening on that front. "We would like to. So far, Microsoft doesn't really have anything in place," Kazdal told me. "That being said, we're the first gaming project to fulfill this new initiative of theirs, to have this cross-platform play. We've had plenty of meetings where we're like, "Hey, we really want to have some package or bundle deal where you get all of them for a little bit more or whatever.' It's not there yet. They do want to do it, though."

Aside from the Xbox 360 and tablet version, Skulls of the Shogun will also be playable on Windows 8 PCs and smartphones. Does this ubiquity mean a greater chance that Skulls of the Shogun will break out? It's a tough thing to predict. "The thing is, it's a lot of work to do a port," said Kazdal. ‘If I was doing a PS3 game it would be like, "Hey you need to do a PS Vita port.' Well, how many sales am I going to get out of it? It's a big commitment for something that you don't know is going to deliver."

"We have people ask, "How many sales have you seen [of the Microsoft Surface?]' I don't know. How many do you see?," Vance quipped. "It's a brand new platform. This could be a runaway hit. It could even not be a big hit but there aren't many games on it. But there's going to be one really awesome game."

"Maybe we sell a gazillion units. You never know. I don't really know what to expect. I do know that people who are Microsoft gamers are looking forward to stuff. A lot of gamers have bought [Windows 8 phones and the Surface tablet] with the promise of all the potential it has. But there hasn't been a lot of original content yet."

Because of the Surface's higher pixel density, SotS looks really impressive on Microsoft's tablet. "We worked really hard to make this happen, to make it look flawless [across different kinds of hardware]. It was tough. Windows RT is different than regular Windows 8 on PC. This is a more watered-down OS; it's not a full function version. The processor and everything is meant for higher battery life and stuff. It's less about sheer horsepower."

But, both men agree that tech comes in the service of gameplay. "Pretty much our biggest focus with The Skulls of the Shogun has been, ‘How can we get the fun of strategy games into more hands where it's easier for people to just pick up and play?," Kazdal said. "It's a different kind of gameplay that we hope looks and sounds fresh. We want it where even the most jaded gamer can be, "Oh, this is familiar but different. I haven't experienced anything like this before."

"Strategy games are awesome, especially for mobile," Kazdal continued. "The async has been huge for us., because it's all about the idea that you can play this on any platform you have. It's perfect for short stints, like when you're going on the road. It's perfect for long stints, because it ties with an Xbox game and a Surface and Windows 8. It's been really good for us." If you're a gamer with a Windows device, it might be really good for you, too.

The problem with most slot machine video games is a failure to capture the thrill of winning big in the middle of a crowded casino. Launching soon on Facebook, Zynga Elite Slots communicates that feeling by placing you in a room with up to 149 fellow gamblers and challenging the group to take down a raid boss.

In an interview earlier this week, design director Josh Gause walked me through a basic round of the game, explaining how his team transformed a basic game of chance into a community adventure.

A player begins by selecting a pet to represent them in the game. Gause choose Puss in Boots, one of the 24 pets available when the game launches. Upon entering a room the pet appears in long and skinny window atop a standard slot machine, the iconography on the reels determined by which of the six themes the player is adventuring through—Enchanted Forest, High Noon, Pet Park, House of Fangs, Treasure of Anubis or Aurora Dreams.

As the player spins, the pet progresses along the adventure strip, collecting experience points and gems. Experience points are used to level up pets, unlocking special powers specific to the character. Gems are used to purchase in-game items. Spinning also slowly fills a progress bar that marches steadily towards a confrontation with the stage's boss.

The Enchanted Forest boss, the witch Griselda, is a daunting foe, but the player isn't alone in this fight. He or she is in a room filled with up to 150 spinning simultaneously, each adding their progress to the meter. There's a chat room on the screen where these players can socialize as their relentless pet mob zeroes in on the big fight. Score a big payout and the whole room will know it, a portion of your winnings sprinkled across their screen. In response they can drop "props", launching their Facebook picture onto the screens of every player in the room. Gause referred to it as "social fireworks."

The full power of the room's community spirit comes into play once the meter is filled and the boss fight begins. Occupants have a limited amount of time to spin and win as much as possible in order to vanquish their great enemy. Should they lose, the meter resets. Should they win, they'll get a chance at scoring some epic loot, incredibly rare items and rewards. That's always nice, but in this case their acquisition will be broadcast to the entire room.

"That's what gets people talking," said Gause.

With a daily stipend of 1,000 coins bolstered by an item collecting mechanic that exchanges sets of rare kibble for an increased allowance, the frugal player can spin all day long. With most of the game's more powerful and interesting items available through play I imagine the addiction factor to be quite high.

The name Zynga Elite Slots doesn't do the game justice, but it serves a purpose—folks that don't want to concern themselves with the fantasy and social elements of the game are welcome to just pop in and spin some slots. Players looking for something a bit deeper are in for what looks like a damn good time.

Well, someone had to go first. As far as history will be concerned, Nintendo did one thing and one thing only in 2012: they released a brand new console, putting the first of three nails into the coffin of a seven year old generation. That sounded weird. Whether they have Leeroy Jenkins-ed their way into the next generation with Wii U remains to be seen, but for now we have something shiny and new. And boy do we like shiny.

New hardware is always exciting, and is probably quite stressful for the people at Nintendo, who now have four major pieces of hardware on the market and ostensibly competing with each other. There were so many updates to their lineup this year, both big and small. The 3DS XL, the CirclePad Pro, Wii Mini, and Wii U... phew! Should Nintendo pump the brakes, or keep spewing forth devices until we have a whole drawerful that can combine into a mini-game Voltron? A kid can dream, can't he?

Smartest Moves

Wii U GamePad
Ignoring questions about the console's dubiously flavored innards, the Wii U's actual killer app — the GamePad controller — is a smashing success. Any doubts about this "weird" looking new form for a console controller were erased once we got our hands on the lovechild of an iPad and a DualShock. Not only is it well made and comfortable to hold, but the second screen really does open a new door for game mechanics. Perhaps best of all: the ability to console game privately on your couch while someone else uses the idiot box. Mmmmm, uninterrupted gaming.

Nintendo Direct
The fact that almost all gaming announcements are consolidated to one or two industry events a year is absurd. Some of that love is now spread to the VGAs, but as video games are a yearlong business, wouldn't it be nice to have formalized and incremental updates on what major developers are up to? Yes, yes it would be. Nintendo are at least trying to be more open with their nigh monthly Nintendo Direct broadcasts. Sure, not every one contains a jaw dropping announcement, but between these and Iwata Asks, we're getting a better look into the opaque company than ever before.

Dumbest Moves

Wii U System Issues
Nintendo did a poor job of proofreading their newest console. While the broad strokes are working (see above), there are several niggling problems with the Wii U experience that are both frustrating and confusing. The massive day one patch, the sluggish UI (17 seconds to get to settings? You could chug a Dew in that time!), the inability to play Wii games without going into Wii-mode, and not being able to play Wii games on the GamePad at all? That's some cold shit Nintendo.

Three Marios, Three Months
Why, exactly, would you want to spend well above $100 on Mario games in the span of three months? Add in the fact that two of them are "traditional" Mario platformers, and I think Nintendo went too HAM on the plumber this fall. New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Mario Bros. 2 were both rhyming and redundant. If you consider Paper Mario: Sticker Star to be a part of this moustache party (ew), then that's one Mario for every dimension that Nintendo wishes to conquer.

What did you think were Nintendo's best and worst decisions in 2012?

Key Releases

All games were published, distributed, or developed by Nintendo

Rhythm Heaven Fever - February 13th

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - February 14th

Mario Party 9 - March 11th

Kid Icarus: Uprising - March 23rd

Mario Tennis Open - May 20th

Pokémon Conquest - June 18th

Xenoblade Chronicles - April 6th

New Super Mario Bros. 2 - August 19th

Kirby's Dream Collection - September 16th

Pokémon Black & White 2 - October 7th

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - October 28th

Pokédex 3D Pro - November 8th

Paper Mario: Sticker Star - November 11th

New Super Mario Bros. U - November 18th

Nintendo Land - November 18th

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge - November 18th

SiNG Party - November 18th

For these Year In Review segments, we'll be taking a look at what major gaming companies did in 2012, with summaries of their biggest news and releases, best and worst decisions, and lists of the notable games they were a part of. Check back tomorrow for another company. It'll help you relieve some pressure.