The Week in Review

On this week’s edition, pirates defeat assassins, and a boy tattles on comic book boobs.

Respawn Bulks Up

The ranks of Jason Ward and Vince Zampella’s newly-formed development studio Respawn Entertainment have swelled this week as eight former Infinity Ward staff members joined the company. Activision is apparently unsurprised at this turn of events however, and said it expects more departures from Infinity Ward. “[It’s] not over yet,” said Activision rep Dan Amrich. “More people will probably go too, looking for new situations. Maybe they will join Respawn, maybe not.” (link)

Assassin’s Creed 2 DRM Defeated

Assassin’s Creed 2’s copy protection, which requires gamers to be connected to the internet at all times in order to play the game, has allegedly been defeated by a group of hackers calling themselves “Skid Row.” The group thanked Ubisoft, saying that it had been “quiete [sic] a challenge”. Does the cracked version work properly? I have no idea, but even if it does, it’s quite impressive how long the DRM withstood hackers’ efforts. (link)

Autobots, Deflate and Roll Out!

It’s not a phrase you expect to hear yourself say, but a man has created a seven-foot tall sculpture of Optimus Prime out of balloons. The statue has moving arms and is able to stand up on its own, without needing to be supported in any way. Balloon Optimus was a 28 hour labor of love for creator HappyCabbie, and there’s a video you can watch detailing its construction. Hit the link to watch it. (link)

Boy Tattles on Comic Boobs

When I was ten, if I’d found a comic with nudity and violence, it would have instantly become my most treasured possession.Sheldyn Conley is clearly a purer soul than I, because he took the offending comic to his mother, who went to the press to get some answers. Hit the link to read the whole, strange tale. (link)

Splinter Cell PR Stunt Goes Predictably Wrong

There have been plenty of boneheaded PR stunts, but an attempt to promote Splinter Cell: Conviction in New Zealand seemed to be trying for some kind of award. The stunt involved an actor waving a gun around in a bar and threatening people, which most people would think was a bad idea. The advertising agency involved apparently didn’t, however, and had to explain to police that it was all just an act. (link)