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Shinji Mikami didn't just have a hand in bringing the Viewtiful Joe and Devil May Cry series to gamers. He also helped create the survival horror genre in 1996 through Resident Evil -- so the dude has a pretty impressive resume. Now, he's working with Platinum Games on Vanquish, the upcoming sci-fi shooter set in a fictional future United States in the grip of a cold war with Russia.

According to an interview in this week's Famitsu magazine (via 1UP), Mikami's also working on opening a new independent studio called Tango. His current studio, Straight Story, was formed in 2006 (shortly before Seeds shut its doors and became Platinum Games) and is currently contracted to work on Vanquish and that action-horror project with Grasshopper Manufacture. Upon completion of Vanquish, Straight Story will "fold up" and Mikami will focus on the now 13-strong Tango. Mikami wants to see Tango "grow to 100 people or so in five to seven years."

After Vanquish, Mikami will relocate from his current digs in Osaka to Tokyo, where he hopes to recruit some of the young up-and-comers Japan has to offer. As for Tango's first project, that's still up in the air. "I'd like to make a choice with the rest of the team as we grow our numbers," he said. "I've been speaking with a number of publishers as well, but we haven't signed any contracts yet."

There's a neat throwback to the first time Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield went stomping around a creepy old mansion in "Lost in Nightmares," the new DLC episode for Resident Evil 5. By going to the front door of the mansion and attempting to open it a few times (remember what happened the first time you tried that?), you'll eventually get a "?" message and the camera will shift to Resident Evil's classic, isolated point of view.

More than anything, the Easter egg is a nostalgic reminder of the olden days of survival horror, before Chris Redfield had to juice up just to get out of bed in the morning.

Update: The entry period has ended.


Not only is Capcom setting up Resident Evil 5 fans with the "Lost In Nightmares" DLC this week, it's also marking the occasion with 100 of these adorable "Chibi Majini" tees (pictured). Better yet, through some sort of bizarre clerical error, your buddies at Joystiq have ended up with five of them, plus download codes for the Lost in Nightmares episode on your platform of choice, PS3 or Xbox 360.

If you want a closer look at the precious little majini featured on the shirt, you'll find one after the break. Otherwise, to enter for your chance to win:

• Leave a comment on this post telling us the best way to defeat a majini
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec)
• Limit 1 entry per person
  
• This entry period ends at 2:00PM ET on Thursday, February 18
  
• We'll randomly select five winners at that time to each receive a green "Chibi Majini" T-shirt [ARV $20] and a "Lost in Nightmares" DLC code [ARV $5] -- please check your emails!
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

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What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. For more info on our policy, click here.

As expected, the first of two Resident Evil 5 expansion episodes, "Lost in Nightmares," has been released today on Xbox Live (tomorrow on PSN) for the unterrifying price of 400 ($5). An additional Costume Pack, also the first of two, has hit the Marketplace as well, for 180 ($2), and joins the free Extra Figures DLC that appeared on Monday.

Capcom has also confirmed that the second episode, "Desperate Escape," previously dated for March 3 and 4 on XBLM and PSN, respectively, will also launch at the 400 / $4.99 price point and be joined by Costume Pack 2 (180 / $1.99).

Finally, on March 9, Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition will hit retail, combining all of the aforementioned DLC (on the PS3 disc; through vouchers in Xbox 360 copies) with the original game for $50; a not-so discounted bundle for anyone who hasn't picked up the original RE5 (now $30), which was released last March. So, if you're not too interested in piloting air ships and wranglin' chocobos that week, Chris and Sheva have got your back. Will you have theirs? Hmm?

Shortcut: Purchase Lost in Nightmares, Costume Pack 1 and/or Resident Evil 5 (full game download) [via Xbox.com]

Capcom isn't exactly known for its generous support of DLC. But with the impending release of the very first Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition DLC this week, Capcom is giving everyone a free surprise on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Available for download now, the "Extra Figures" pack will add figures like Barry and Rebecca to your in-game statue collection ... "all for the affordable price of a free download!"

We've learned from plenty of schoolyard beatings that the only thing worse than being caught playing with action figures ... is being caught playing with action figures that aren't even real. We'll be doing this discreetly.

Download: Resident Evil 5: Extra Figures

[Thanks, Cj! Via Hell Descent]

For some, the true horror of Resident Evil 4 is never getting to see what happens past the first scene. For those unfortunate would-be Leon Kennedys, Capcom has released yet another version of RE4 to the iPhone App Store -- the second for iPhone and the third for mobile in general.

This version adds a new "beginners" difficulty mode, in addition to four other difficulties. It also adds a new "Mercenary Mode," a "Coin Shoot" mode, and a new tutorial. And if you're such a Resident Evil neophyte that you don't even know if you want to play it, you can buy it in chapters. The initial pack includes two chapters for 99 cents, with the rest of the game available via in-app purchase.

Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition for Beginners ($0.99):

[Via Siliconera]

We're not really sure we understand the impulse to stop playing one of your favorite game series long enough to build some cool tschochke devoted to it -- but we're certainly glad it exists. For without it we wouldn't have amazing items like Nicholas Endean's Resident Evil: Monopoly, the creation of which is laid out completely right here.

We'd love a copy of our very own, even if we'd hate to see the friendship-ending, nuclear-level arguments at Joystiq HQ over who gets to be the shopkeeper.

[Via Capcom Unity]

click to lose yourself in the galleryIf you're a huge Resident Evil nerd and a huge Gears of War nerd (a nerd squared, if you will) and are considering pre-ordering Lost Planet 2 solely for fan service, your head is about to explode. In these latest screenshots out of X10, the downloadable Albert Wesker, Marcus, and Dom appear together for the first time.

It's like seeing all of your favorite Hanna-Barbera characters interacting with each other in the Laff-a-Lympics, except instead of Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear, it's a bunch of giant dudes with guns.

The latest issue of Famitsu reveals (via IGN) that two of the series' classic characters are coming to Mercenaries Reunion in Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition: Barry Burton and Rebecca Chambers. Both characters made their first appearance in the original Resident Evil game, but haven't exactly been strangers to the series ever since.

Rebecca co-starred in Resident Evil Zero, while Barry enjoyed an extended role in REmake and was Leon's sidekick in Resident Evil Gaiden, the Game Boy Color game. Barry also played a pivotal role in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

Frankly, we're all for bringing these two back, but only if we get oddly apologetic Rebecca and soft-spoken Barry.

Of all the characters we can imagine playing in the new Mercenaries Reunion mode in the upcoming Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition, Excella Gionne is probably at the bottom of the list. Well, Ashley -- Leon's little tag-along in Resident Evil 4 -- might rank lower. While the press release assures us that Excella's "mercilessness contrasts with her beauty" and that she has a "strong fighting instinct backed up by superior martial art skills," it seems just a little suspect. She's a CEO, not a warrior. Can you imagine Steve Ballmer and Howard Stringer teaming up to fight their way through the zombie apocalypse?

Actually, that sounds completely awesome. Why don't you check out some screens of Excella -- and some new screens of the "Desperate Escape" episode -- while Joystiq Publishing works up a development document for Ball and String in Zombie Town.

The Gold Edition DLC will be available February 17, followed by a retail release in March.

After numerous trailers for the upcoming Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition's zany costumes, Capcom has finally released a trailer focusing on both of the extra DLC story chapters. "Lost in Nightmares" takes place before the events of Resident Evil 5 and includes a mansion inspired by the setting of the very first RE game. "Desperate Escape" takes place during the end of Resident Evil 5, as Jill and Josh race to save Chris and Sheva from the endgame's exploding volcano.

With Jill serving as the "main character" for the additional content, the Gold Edition expansion looks like a genuine sequel, a la Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Most importantly, we're glad to see Jill's masterful unlocking skills put to good use in this trailer. The first batch of RE5 DLC will be available on February 17.

The badass chopper you see above was custom-built by the team at Savage Cycles for Capcom, and unveiled during the publisher's Dark Void launch party at CES this weekend. It's lovingly crafted, and comes equipped with a shotgun, grenade launcher, grenades, first aid spray and herbs -- all the essentials a zombie genocider needs. Check out this Capcom Unity blog post to see a few more pictures of this undead-slaying hog.

Now, that being said -- is a motorcycle really the best form of transportation in the middle of a zombie onslaught? We mean, it's not exactly secure, you know? It also kinda lacks that ramming power we expect from our apocalyptic means of travel. Give us a Volkswagen Type 2 over that two-wheeled crotch-rocket any day of the week -- this is about survival, folks!

Though we've yet to see official numbers on November's Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Capcom France head Antoine Seux told Gamekult in a recent interview that sales of the game were "below what we had hoped." The English translation of the interview indicates that just 16,000 units were sold worldwide as of December 23, something that has Seux feeling "concerned" as Capcom continues to develop for Nintendo's consoles.

"Indeed, the Wii is becoming complex," he says. Seux believes that high-profile games like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and New Super Mario Bros. Wii -- games that were "strongly supported" by "massive advertising campaigns" -- are the only ones that stand a chance. "For us, Capcom, the future is the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360," he finishes up with, couching that in his belief that "This will be a difficult year for the handheld in general, DS or PSP." Perhaps he's been borrowing Pachter's sorcery ball?

[Via Nintendo Everything]

Flower
This year had a number of terrific downloadable games (this list is a testament to that), however no game -- retail or digital -- connected with me like Flower. Jenova Chen's flOw was an interesting experiment, but Flower is an actual game. In fact, Flower is one of the few experiences I can think of that show the true potential of games as a unique storytelling medium. No other non-interactive art form will ever be able to replicate what thatgamecompany has managed to create.

Resident Evil 5
I've long been a fan of the Resident Evil series, and while the campaign here has problems and should never be played solo, the Mercenaries mode is what kept me coming back. Those action-packed levels spent trying to survive while running low on ammo and health were some of my most chaotic, yet highly enjoyable, experiences of 2009.