Every morning I go over to Famitsu to see if there is anything in Japanese that you guys may or may not be interested in. Today I found out more information for you guys about the upcoming Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom game. Inside is video and information on one of the “bigger” characters going to fisticuffs in game.

Far be it for me to be the one to judge what characters get put into fighting games.  I enjoyed playing Juggernaut in the Marvel fighting game.  I like playing Rogue in the X-men Vs. Street Fighter game.  This guy in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, though, it just doesn’t seem fair.

Gold Lightan was the main robot character in a popular children’s anime in Japan from 1981 to 1982.  Okay, maybe it wasn’t that popular, but there are a lot of cartoons in Japan — not all of them can be a big hit.  I had no idea about the story of this Gold Lightan character so I dug up some info on Wikipedia about him.

The story is about a little boy named Hiro who accidentally found a gold lighter which turned out to be the giant Golden Warrior Gold Lightan with the mission to save the earth from every invasion of King Ibalda. Gold Lightan joined forces with his robot teammates to ruin the plots of King Ibalda and destroyed invading alien robots by using his surpassing hands and leg strikes. Hiro, the boy, also founded a group called the “One Pack Rangers” with his friends.

Yeah the kid fights a lighter and hes a magical giant robot that helps save the day.  Oh and this is my favorite part.  “Usually the robot ends a battle with a trademark golden hand stab move which drives a hand strike cutting the enemy robots body, pulling out and smashing the heartbox energy device.” – Wikipedia

Yep, he rips the heartbox from the chest of the evil robots. It doesn’t say if he eats it or shows it to them while it still mechanically beats before they die or explode, but he’s brutal to say the least.  Now, Gold Lightan can be seen giving a beat down to Morrigan and Chun-li.  For balance issues he isn’t allowed to have a teammate, but when you watch the video it still doesn’t seem fair.

Also, the Wii release is getting a lot of extra mini games to enjoy when you are tired of being beat up by a giant golden lighter.  One of the new mini games you can see at Famitsu stars Gold Lightan himself as you make his body shiny and gold, the more you clean him the more points you get.  The next one involves Morrigan carrying off a poor soul higher and higher for more points before she, I assume, drops him.  The last one looks like a button mashing mini game.  You have to get Chun-li to kick as fast as she can to carve Ryu in a giant stone — what talent!

This comes out on Wii in Japan December 11th and I may have to buy a Wii just for this.

Source: Famitsu Wikipedia

Left 4 Dead 411 reports that Valve’s much anticipated Left 4 Dead has gone gold, meaning that the game is finally ready to be shipped. Steam users will find that if they have pre-ordered the game, they can pre-load the game ready for it to be played the second it is released on the 18th of November. The game releases in stores on the same day.

In other news, Shacknews has news that Valve have released hi-res versions of the movie posters from each campaign’s loading screen. Fans of the game, and even nostalgic movie poster enthusiasts, will agree that they’re very well designed and add a lot to the game’s cinematics. Outside of the game, they’re simply good desktop material.

Today in WTF! news, Gears of War 2 is announced as having gone gold (which means the game has been finalized), and just a few hours after that, the game surfaces in the hand of a mysterious figure on the popular Neogaf gaming forum.

Coincidence? Bullshit? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that every time something like this happens the collective butt-cheeks of software executives clench in unison.

Eventually, games will come with remote detonators that sense a premature case ejection. Removing a game from its container before the specified release date will cause it to explode violently, and affected individual will have a hard time convincing anyone that they didn’t deserve every piece of gaming shrapnel they end up having to dislodge from their face.

Hey, I love reporting news and rumors as much as the next guy, but if continuously pushed, it’s not far fetched to think that developers will find better ways to protect themselves and the media they create at the expense of time and resources that could have been spent developing better content. Everything comes with a price.

EA announced today that their highly anticipated horror third person shooter “Dead Space” has gone gold and will ship in the US on October 14th for the 360 and PS3, with a PC version hitting stores on October 20th.

In addition to the gold announcement, EA has revealed two downloadable suit variants for PS3 and 360 owners that fork over their cash during the first two weeks of the games release. Gimmick yes, but if you are planning on buying the game, here is a little incentive to help pad their numbers.

If that isn’t enough, 360 owners in the US will also be granted access to an uber limited edition run of 1,000 “Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition” copies of the game complete with an art book, graphic novel, animated feature, and an exclusive illustrated lithograph signed by Australian graphic artist, Ben Templesmith.

Full press release available after the jump.

EA ANNOUNCES THAT DEAD SPACE HAS GONE GOLD

The Award-Winning Sci-Fi Survival Horror Game Ships to Retailers on Oct. 14

Redwood City, CA – October 1, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), announced today that Dead Space™, the highly anticipated new survival horror game, has gone gold and will ship in North America on October 14 for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The PC version will ship on October 20. Dead Space will be in stores in Europe on October 24 for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system and the PC.

Players who buy the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 versions of the game within the first two weeks of the game’s release will have the opportunity to download a platform exclusive suit. Xbox 360 fans can download the Xbox-themed Elite Suit* on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and PLAYSTATION 3 fans can download the PlayStation-themed Obsidian Suit* on the PLAYSTATION®Network. Both of these suits will feature new looks and increased toughness and inventory slots, to help players fight for survival in the Dead Space universe.

In addition, for Xbox 360 owners in North America, the EA Store™ is offering a very limited run of 1000 copies of the Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition. This package contains a copy of the game, Dead Space Downfall Animated Movie on DVD, bonus content DVD, 97-page art book, the 160-page graphic novel (which combines all six issues of the Dead Space comics), exclusive lithograph illustrated and individually signed by Ben Templesmith, and an Ishimura crew patch, all sealed in a limited edition Dead Space packaging. The Dead Space Ultra Limited Edition can be ordered through the EA Store and will ship on October 14.

The bold and often bloody Dead Space promises to deliver the ultimate in psychological terror and gruesome cinematic action. Set in the cold blackness of deep space, the atmosphere in Dead Space is soaked with a feeling of tension, dread and sheer terror. In Dead Space, players step into the role of mining engineer Isaac Clarke, an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. It’s not long before Isaac awakes to a living nightmare filled with vicious genetic mutations inside a dead, claustrophobic silence. Now Isaac is cut off, trapped, and engaged in a desperate fight for survival.

We all know the story of how many days it took God to make this and that, but what we don’t know is how  long EA kept Big G at bay before the process actually started. Well, the delays attached to Spore are officially a thing of the past, and the product, which at one point seemed destined to be called “Big Willy’s Penis Planet”, has finally gone gold.

Will Wright’s Spore will hit next month on multiple platforms and devices. The Apple iPhone application blazes the way on September 4th, while the Nintendo DS, PC, and Mac versions of the game will split cells on US store shelves a few days later on the 7th.

Full press release available after the jump.

EA AND MAXIS ANNOUNCE THAT SPORE HAS GONE GOLD

Long-Anticipated Game from Gaming Luminary, Will Wright, is Complete and in Production;

Hits Store Shelves September 7

Redwood City, CA – August 14, 2008 –The wait is almost over! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Maxis today announced that Spore™ the most anticipated video game of the year from the creator of The Sims(TM), has gone gold and will be available for the Mac and PC at retailers September 5 in Europe and September 7 in North America and Asia Pacific. Spore™ Creatures for Nintendo DS™ and Spore™ Origins for mobile phones will also be available globally September 7.

Players who preorder Spore or Spore Galactic Edition from participating retailers will receive a coupon good for $10 off their next purchase of custom merchandise at www.zazzle.com/sporestore. For the ultimate Spore fan, the limited Galactic Edition will contain the ‘Making of Spore’ DVD, ‘How to Build a Better Being’ DVD (a 50 minute National Geographic Channel documentary DVD hosted by Spore mastermind, Will Wright), ‘The Art of Spore’ hardback book, an exclusive Spore poster, and a premium 100-page Galactic Handbook.

“We are so excited to finally get Spore into the hands of fans and players,” said Lucy Bradshaw, executive producer of Spore at Maxis. “The Maxis studio has had an absolute blast creating Spore, but the fun is just beginning. The most engaging stories are truly the ones people create themselves, and we can’t wait to see how players not only craft and explore the Spore universe, but hear what stories they have to tell as a result.”

Spore gives players their own personal universe in a box, allowing fans to create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even spaceships. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world via the Sporepedia™ and explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers*.

In an attempt to get you more excited about Fable 2’s release, Peter Molyneux and the studly geniuses at Lionhead are giving you an early taste in the form of an Xbox Live Arcade game.

Keystone is a downloadable XBLA game that will release prior to Fable 2. It’s just one of the many mini-games found in Fable 2, but Keystone will let you gamble and win gold that you can then transfer into your Fable 2 saved game. You can be a rich bitch before you even enter the world of Albion!

No release date has been given for either Fable 2 or Keystone, but the stars are aligning for a Summer delivery. Keystone already looks ready to go, so it can up and surprise us at any time. Be on the lookout for that crafty bastard on the marketplace, or just stay tuned to Ripten and we’ll let you know when it’s coming out.