The Creator's Project series of videos continues, this time touching on the world of Far Cry 3. Specifically, they explore how a we've got the story—Jason Brody has to save his friends—and we've got the island's allure and beauty calling out like a siren. Both are intended; the video goes into why.

The effect is that the player doesn't have much guiding them toward the story—why should you care about people you don't really know? And in this way, Jason's inevitable decision to go out and enjoy the island is not only intended, but accounted for. No weirdness around what the story dictates versus what a player actually does.

Unless, of course, you played like I did, ignoring the island and sticking to the story. In which case this all kind of falls apart.

Still, they're interesting ideas.

Kill Screen Episode 4: The Open World of Far Cry 3 [The Creator's Project]

A whole bunch of people who pre-ordered Ni no Kuni are having all sorts of issues getting their copies of the PS3 role-playing game, which came out Tuesday.

We've been getting tons of tips about the pre-order issues for the past two days, and people have taken to publisher Namco Bandai's forums to complain. People who pre-ordered the special Wizard's Edition of the game from Namco's store tell us their orders remain unshipped, and in some cases, cancelled entirely.

There's even a big thread on the Namco forums titled "The (un)official 'What's going on with my order' thread." Check it out to see a big FAQ created by one of the Namco forum members, and plenty of angry complaints from people who have yet to receive the games they put down money for—or whose orders were cancelled with no explanation.

I reached out to Namco Bandai this morning to ask about these pre-order woes, but I have yet to hear back. I'll keep you updated as I hear more.

To paraphrase A League of Their Own, there's no molerats in pinball. But this game—filled with rolling, bouncing mammals—this is a pinball adventure. And that makes all the difference.

For some weird counter-intuitive reason, video-game versions of pinball fascinate me. Everything's essentially fake in games like Zen Pinball. There's none of the physicality that makes real-life pinball so fun. Yet, the ways that various developers approach the flippers-and-bumpers challenge can take you on a wild ride through flashy ideas and designs.

Momonga Pinball Adventures reminds me of the console games that would appear out of nowhere, with some member of a furry species as its star. The lead character here—a dwarf flying squirrel called Momo—stands as the sole survivor of his village after an attack by a flock of evil owls destroys it. He's looking to take out the foul flyers and goes on a journey to track them down, meeting up with other cutesy animals along the way.

MPA starts off feeling like it's almost too cute to bear. But the physics simulation—the heart of any virtual offering that wants to be take seriously as pinball—is sharp. The hits and angles feel real and bouncing around the level never comes across as inaccurate. Most of all, it's the swirling level geometry that will pull you in. Paths branch off into directions with tempting goodies, loop into hidden areas and vault you onto higher tiers of a level. The game essentially fuses the principles of an old-school 3D platformer into pinball, complete with boost strips, partner characters and mini-bosses that you'll need to take out to proceed.

I thought I was going to be turned off by the cloying sweetness of Momonga's visuals, but the level of challenge hooked me. Pinging off the geometry of levels is fun but it takes a mix of patience and twitch reflexes to send Momo where you want him to go. The flying segments interspersed with the pinball don't add much to the gameplay but they don't take anything away from the game's clever execution, either. Momonga Pinball Adventures makes for a surprising and welcome mutation of what you might expect from a video game version of pinball. Well worth a dollar to check it out.

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IGN, citing unidentified sources, says 2K Sports parent Take-Two Interactive will acquire the WWE license from THQ.

[Update] A source with knowledge of the situation tells Kotaku that Take-Two will acquire the WWE license.

Earlier rumors had said EA Sports acquired the license directly from WWE before the auction of THQ's assets. EA Sports denies this. An EA Sports spokesman told Kotaku the label has no plans to get into WWE-licensed games.

The Twitter feed for the WWE series also just published this tweet:

News has broken out about the sale of THQ's assets and it looks like many of the defunct publisher's signature franchises have been acquired. But, surprisingly, some seemingly bankable properties haven't been snatched up.

Many of the titles mentioned in a previously published assets list were sold off today. Most conspicuously, WWE isn't mentioned in the list of sold-off franchises mentioned in an official goodbye letter from earlier today. The pro wrestling license was the source of annually released games, which ranked among THQ's top earners for years. Another installment of the WWE franchise was said to be in development, presumably due to hit shelves later this year. But so far, no suitors for the video game slice of Vince McMahon's empire have emerged.

Vigil Studios, the wholly owned dev group of the two Darksiders games, also hasn't found a home yet. The future for any further Darksiders games was nebulous and updates to the dev team's work on the Warhammer franchise were unclear as of a month ago.

Add the Red Faction franchise to those two entities too. While Dead Island publisher Deep Silver has acquired Volition and that dev studio's beloved Saint's Row series, it's still unknown where Red Faction—also created by Volition—will wind up.

In the letter that circulated to THQ employees today, exec leaders Brian Farrell and Jason Rubin said:

Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.

That seems to hint that THQ may yet find companies willing to take on the WWE franchise and Vigil. Kotaku has reached out to WWE representatives for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

The company famous for making step one in setting up your new computer removing the WildTangent Games App takes its casual gaming show on the road with Polar Bowler 1st Frame, the iOS extension of the original inner tube polar bear bowling PC game.

WildTangent is the casual version of Steam, giving potential players access to a large library of puzzle, hidden object and family-friendly fare, along with the odd discounted hardcore title. It's actually a rather nifty little service—I'm just not all that fond of its position as bloatware (unsolicited software) regularly loaded onto new brand name PCs and laptops.

Polar Bowler 1st Frame is WildTangent's first mobile game, bringing the full power of one of its most recognizable characters to bear in an ad-supported pin-toppler, because fans asked for it.

"Our Polar Bowler fans have been asking us for a mobile version of the game," said Matt Shea, executive vice president of product development at WildTangent, via official announcement. "Polar Bowler1st Frame is a natural choice for our first mobile title. We think our fans will enjoy it and we look forward to bringing them more mobile titles in the future."

I'm down, just as long as they don't start coming pre-installed on my phone.

Polar Bowler 1st Frame [iTunes]

Today, THQ was officially sold and auctioned off. Within the next few weeks, the company will be no more.

The company's assets have been divided, pending final court approval: Sega agreed to purchase Relic (Company of Heroes), Koch Media has agreed to purchase Volition (Saint's Row) and the Metro property, Crytek has agreed to buy Homefront, Take-Two will purchase the unannounced game Evolve, and Ubisoft will buy THQ Montreal and the South Park game.

Here's the letter that THQ's CEO and president sent to all employees, passed along to us from a former THQ employee:

To All THQ Employees:

We now have the answers we've been seeking through our financial restructuring and
Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction
that occurred t:

• Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business,
  along with Clearlake's offer, and numerous offers for separate assets.
• During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was
  that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority
  of the company.
• Shortly, we will, present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must
  concur with our assessment.
• The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :
• Sega agreed to purchase Relic
• Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro
• Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront
• Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve and
• Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park

We expect these sales to close this week.

Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other
intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of
the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.

What this means for employees

We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered
employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may
intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the
new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new
owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new
employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of
your employment with THQ.

If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that
your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be
employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient
resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting
these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this
transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to
minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next
steps in their careers.

We know you will have many questions about this news. We'll be meeting tomorrow
when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you
have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions
that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.

A personal note

The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative,
artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have
accomplished despite today's outcome.

It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company
will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will
continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain
intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be
operating as part of new organizations.

For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we
are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you
take the next steps in your career.

Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We
wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Brian Farrell
Chief Executive Officer

Jason Rubin
President

THQ Is Getting Sold Off Today—Here's Everything We Know

The sale of THQ's assets in federal bankruptcy court will be finalized today. Word is that the hearing begins at 3 p.m.
Rumors already are spreading as to where THQ's studios and the series developed there have ended up. More »

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The sale of THQ's assets in federal bankruptcy court will be finalized today. Word is that the hearing begins at 3 p.m.

Rumors already are spreading as to where THQ's studios and the series developed there have ended up. A Relic Entertainment developer has said he's now an employee of Sega—which it should be stressed is so far unconfirmed by Sega, THQ or the court.

Relic, the studio behind Company of Heroes and many of the Warhammer video games, was currently working on Company of Heroes 2. Their most recent release was Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.

Additionally, Manveer Heir, a developer at BioWare in Montréal, said on his personal Twitter account that sources he knows within the industry said Ubisoft had purchased the THQ Montréal studio and the South Park license, which includes the upcoming South Park: The Stick of Truth.

[UPDATE: 3:14 P.M.] The sale of THQ's assets has been confirmed in both a letter to employees and in a document just now filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Here is a list of the winning bidders, the winning bid amounts, and the backup bidder (if any) for the assets sold during THQ's bankruptcy auction. The blog Distressed Debt Investing, which had been following the proceedings in person for some time, said no bids were made for Vigil Games, makers of the Darksiders series.

Relic Entertainment

Makers of Company of Heroes
Winning bidder: Sega, $26.6 million.
Backup: Zenimax Media, $26.3 million.

THQ Montreal

Makers of 1666 and Underdog, titles under development.
Winning bidder: Ubisoft, $2.5 million. No runner-up.

Evolve

(title in development at Turtle Rock Studios)
Winning bidder: Take-Two Interactive, $10.894 million.
Backup: Turtle Rock Studios, $250,000.

Volition, Inc.

Maker of Saints Row
Winning bidder: Koch Media, $22,312,925.
Backup: Ubisoft, $5.4 million.

Homefront

Released 2011; due for a sequel.
Winning bidder: Crytek. $544,218.

Metro

Series; due for the sequel Metro: Last Light.
Winning Bidder: Koch Media, $5,877,551
Backup: Ubisoft: $5.175 million.

South Park

License; South Park: The Stick of Truth is due for release March 5.
Winning bidder: Ubisoft, $3,265,306

Greg Zeschuk co-founded BioWare in 1995 and left it in September, after seeing his studio deliver Mass Effect, Baldur's Gate and some of video gaming's most notable series over the better part of two decades. What's he doing in his retirement? Well, he's drinking beer.

And producing videos about beer and brewing, and the people who make and enjoy beer. This is the second video in Zeschuk's series "The Beer Diaries," which in addition to featuring interviews and documentary shorts will also deliver apps and other beer-related interactive experiences at some point in the future. Zeschuk's starting with the craft-brewing community of Austin, Texas, but as he says in this interview, he hopes "The Beer Diaries" may someday take a bigger scope.

"Being in video games was really cool," he said (Zeschuk also was a physician, specializing in geriatrics, before founding BioWare). "I flew all over the world, talked to people, saw a lot of amazing things. I kind of want to do that for beer," he says.

YouTube video uploaded by TheBeerDiaries

Available free today on Google Play, Wiki Quiz (as seen on SlideDB) is as simple little Android app that randomly generates multiple choice questions from the digital repository of the world's accumulated knowledge, expurgated edition.

The questions and answers are all pulled from Wikipedia, and most of the time the correct answer is fairly obvious. What's nifty is that after you answer, you're given the option to learn more via a button that opens the corresponding Wikipedia page in your mobile browser. As a game it's fairly simple, but as a discovery tool it's quite lovely.

You can grab Rockbyte's Wiki Quiz here.