Terrorists will use any tool available to them. Even MMORPGs? Yes, a new presentation given at the Director of National Intelligence Open Source Conference in Washington gives a scenario on just how an MMO can be used to practice terrorist plots. First the White House... and then... the World! ...of Warcraft?

Let's start this week early, shall we? Coming up on retail shelves starting July 27 all the way to the first few days of August is another hailstorm of PC games from the independent front, though you'd probably love this week for the release of Namco Bandai's SoulCalibur IV and its limited edition kits. But if there's anything more significant this time, it's the appearance of more Olympics-themed games as the week heralds the eve before the World Olympics in Beijing. We take them all at the full story.

 

What seems to be another contender to the survival-horror scene is Rainy Woods, a spine-chilling title set in a creepy town with the same name. Sounds familiar? You could be wrong, because this isn't your casual Japanese horror fare; it's coming from Marvelous Entertainment, known as publishers of brutally addictive yet painfully cute Harvest Moon.

According to IGN's coverage of Famitsu's revelation, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 owners are in for a ride. When the body of Anna Graham suddenly appears outside Rainy Woods, commotion starts and the FBI gets involved. To the rescue comes David Young Henning, FBI agent sent to investigate and find out if the legendary Raincoat Killer is behind the incident.

Unlike other survival horror titles that squeeze players into tight hallways and force them to walk a scare-filled path in linear fashion, Rainy Woods takes the sandbox approach. This isn't Grand Theft Auto, but you can freely move and even take your car for a ride around an open-ended town clearly inspired by modern west American houses.

  

More details and screens after the jump!

Last week, Jack Thompson had spoken on FOXNews about the Virginia Tech shooting, saying that video games were somehow linked to the worst shootout in U.S. history. Later on, upon catching a video of ace attorney's said stint on the new channel, Brian Crecente of Kotaku did a bit of analysis and dissected Jack Thompson's statements on TV.

And with that article, Crecente seemed to have gotten the attention of Jack Thompson himself. It goes that Thompson asked Kotaku to pull down Crecente's "dissection" article, but Kotaku declined to do so. The following note was then faxed by Thompson to the FBI in Colorado:

Dear FBI:

This web site at the below url is targeting me:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/virginia-tech/

breaking-idiot-thompson-blames-va-shooting-on-games-252702.php

I ask that something be done by the FBI to stop this or prosecute it:

Kyle81 says: Actually the VT shootings are now the biggest mass shooting in US history with 31 dead, not just school shooting. Jack should be shot for taking the opportunity to leech off a tragedy to push his own agenda 04/16/07 03:25 PM

Regards, Jack Thompson

Crecente has contacted the said agency and was told that "it was unlikely they would handle such an investigation, if one was even needed, but that the local police might look into it."

Photo from Kotaku reader Torokun.

An 18-year-old teenager walked into a Utah shopping mall this week and shot nine people, killing five and wounding four. The suspect, a Bosnian immigrant named Sulejman Talovic, walked into the Trolley Square shopping mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, armed with a .38-caliber pistol, a shotgun, a backpack full of ammunition, and fired blindly into the crowd. The FBI said that there was no reason to believe that the suspect was motivated by religious extremism or terrorism.

Talovic lived in a tiny ranch house with his family; parents Suljo and Sabira Tolavic and three younger sisters. Neighbors describe the lanky Talovic as a loner who's always dressed in black. The Talovic family fled Bosnia for Utah in 1998. Sulejman's aunt, Ajka Omerovic, in retaliation to people tying their religion to her nephew's acts said, "we are Muslims, but we are not terrorists."

Citizens freely trade their views on the issue. It must be remembered that throughout the years, the issue of teenage gunfiring has stirred up some quite contrasting opinions. Outspoken citizens have expressed their concern, also, that the issue might be used by some politically-inclined individuals to advance their agenda.

Some gamers and non-gamers alike are only happy to put out that the blame must not be placed on the computer game industry and on computer games, but rather, on the suspects themselves. The gaming community now holds its breath over a possible barrage of blame to be poured on their industry.

There's a reason why you shouldn't threaten to bring guns to school, even on Xbox Live. There's a pretty good chance someone's going to be proactive and have you arrested for doing so.

An unnamed middle school student from Teays Valley Middle School/High School in Ohio was arrested for inducing a public panic as a result of something he mentioned during Xbox Live chat.

According to the report, the student mentioned bringing a 9mm pistol to school to a Californian he was talking to. The father of the Californian teen found out about the chat and proceeded to call the FBI. This probably wouldn't have gone too far, had not another student made a similar comment about bringing a weapon onto his school bus.

The result of the two seemingly unrelated events was a lockdown of both the middle school and high school, as well as increased security rounds along the school, making the atmosphere around the school rather tense. Police also searched the house of the student mentioned at the top of this article, and seized his Xbox, "a firearm (not a 9 mm) and other 'items of evidentiary value'".

On another note, the student was released eventually. The one thing you can really be happy about here is that no none actually got hurt.

Here's one of the potentially great games that has left a lot of us in the dark. Details are scarce, no scans nor screenshots floating around, none of the Digital Extremes people even risked a teeny leak. But now, we finally score some details on Dark Sector (Xbox360, PS3) and the alleged concept changes they'll be making in the game.

Storyline: Contrary to our earlier reports, Haden Tenno, the protagonist, is not an FBI agent. Rather, he is an assassin hired by an American government agency to look into "strange happenings" in Balkin, Lasria. Upon starting the game, you'll discover that Dark Sector is a codename for a bioengineering experiment at Lotus Complex. The catch: the experiments go awry and bad as a virus capable of morphing humans and animals to monsters spreads throughout the city.

Haden's job is to seek out the sinister scientists responsible for unleashing the virus, but eventually he gets infected by the virus himself. But instead of turning into a partially metallic lifeform suffering in pain, as most of the infected organisms become, Haden is able to control the virus because of an unprecedented formation of Familial Dysautonmia -- a genetic defect that makes him unable to feel pain.

Read on for more info on animation, powers, and weapons!

With just a few days to go before Halloween, we thought it'd be a good time to kick back and enjoy this season's scarefest, with a few choice games and an equally spooky game room atmosphere to get your heart pumping, and your feet jumping out of their boots.

For the gaming atmosphere, we recommends the following things to do before your spook-trip:

1. Turn off the lights - This should be a no-brainer. There's a big difference between playing the likes of RE5 or Silent Hill in broad daylight, with the blinds up, and playing at 12 midnight, in your house...alone...on a stormy night...you get the idea.

2. Pump up the volume: From the juicy, squishy sounds of zombies, to the faint, barely-audible whispers of malicious spirits, horror games are just more fun when the sound setting's maxed.

3. The Phone: No need to disconnect it. Rather, park it next to you  as you play, and remember to max its volume too, so you'll be sure to get a coronary the next time it rings while you're at a tense gaming moment.

On to the games after this jump!

Test Drive Unlimited is looking to be a solid contender for the top driving game on the XBox 360. As our previous coverage of the game details and possible achievements shows, it intends to keep you in the driver's seat for quite a while.

Shacknews was able to get an interview with Test Drive Unlimited's producer, Ahmed Boukhelifa, and it shed some light on their plans for multiplayer racing and challenging, as well as the police system they'll implement in-game.

Besides making their Oahu setting as realistic as possible, TDU's development team also made sure that multiplayer was more or less a simple affair. Challenging people to a race would be as easy as finding a fellow racer on the map and then asking him to compete with you. You can also set preferences as to what types of players or cars you would like to see on the map, making it easier to turn down challenges you don't want, and find the ones you'd love playing.

Challenges are the driving force behind game progression, and they do not disappoint in their potential scope.

In-game standings will be ranked on both single and multiplayer versions. As Boukhelifa mentions, "Every challenge will have a specific ranking: per week, month, overall, etc. as well as general rankings. Every solo and multiplayer challenge is ranked, and overall aggregated rankings are also available. There will also be themed competitions, of which the info will be sent via the ingame mailbox."

A challenge editor will also be a part of the game, allowing you to completely take over the reigns of making your challenge, which include setting the path and physical conditions for your race, as well as how much you intend to bet in each challenge. That will definitely come into play when people start playing the game, as we're certain that more conservative players will want to take the heavy gambles off their list of visible challenges.

Lastly they've tweaked the whole idea of mapping and GTA-styled policing to be friendlier to players. In this game, they've improved the map interface from previous demos, making it easier to know where you want to go, and how to get there. That's going to be especially useful in disorienting spin situations that can slow you down. Their law enforcement is also a lot more lax. As the producer mentions in the interview,

"Police vehicles will give chase if the player is speeding, and will give fines if caught. The fine is deducted immediately from the player’s money. Police are either parked alongside the road or are patrolling their streets. The player can outrun the police. They will give up the chase and return to their previous location. The player has a radar detector that warns of nearby police. Police vehicles also appear on the map."

That's definitely going to be a lot easier than being chased by the FBI if you run over people.

Test Drive Unlimited is scheduled for a September 5 release, and is made bv Atari and Eden Studios. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to brush up on your racing tactics.

MLG Anaheim took place last weekend and the results are in! Who took home the prize money in the league that's pushing the realm of competitive gaming forward? Read on!

Halo 4v4
1. Final Boss - $12,000 ($3,000 each)
2. Carbon - $8,000 ($2,000 each)
3. Str8 Rippin - $5,000 ($1,250 each)
4. XiT Woundz - $3,000 ($750 each)
5. Triggers Down - $2,000 ($500 each)
6. FBI Michigan - $1,500 ($375 each)
7. MoB PowertripBev.com - $1,200 ($300 each)
8. XGC Zone 6 - $1,000 ($200 each)

SSBM 1v1
1. Ken - $2,000
2. PC Chris - $1,200
3. Chu Dat - $800
4. Isai - $500
5. Mew2King - $300
6. KoreanDJ - $200
7. HugS - $150
8. Dope - $125

SSBM 2v2
1. Ken and Isai - $2,000 ($1,000 each)
2. Dope and FastlikeTree - $1,200 ($600 each)
3. Taj and Forward - $800 ($400 each)
4. Chu Dat and ManaCloud - $500 ($250 each)
5. Rob$ and Caveman - $300 ($150 each)
6. Husband and Wife - $200 ($100 each)
7. Mew2King and King - $150 ($75 each)
8. Tink and Chen - $125 ($62.50 each)

Halo 1v1
1. Karma - $2,000
2. Walshy - $1,200
3. Hali - $800
4. StrongSide - $500
5. Ogre 1 - $300
6. Ogre 2 - $200
7. Legit - $150
8. TimeliestBrute - $125

Again, the main event for Halo 2 is 4v4 while the main event for for Super Smash Bros. Melee is the 1v1. Final Boss took first place in the Halo 2 4v4 yet again, but for the first time since their contract. It must feel very good to win under this new pressure! Ken and Isai took first yet again in SSBM 2v2. Final Boss has only lost a tournament once while Ken and Isai have never lost a tournament match, ever. Very impressive work by both teams in their respective games!

Karma took first place in Halo 2's 1v1 yet again .That man is a beast! As is Ken, the winner for the 1v1 for SSBM. The guy who lost to Ken was PC Chris, someone who was able to beat him once this year back at MLG New York. PC Chris continues to improve so it should be interesting to see how they do next time they meet. MLG Chicago takes place July 21st to July 23rd, so check back then!