This week's PSN update continues the trend of quality downloadable content going with the addition of The Last Guy and Warhawk's Fallen Star expansion. The Last Guy mashes up the eventual Zombie Apocalypse (it's coming) and Snake into a hectic old-school arcade-style action game. The other big piece of content this week is the latest expansion for online fragfest Warhawk at $8. All three Warhawk expansion packs are also available for $16.

PS3 Fanboy has the European PSN update over on their site. The list of the full North American update can be found after the break.

Taking the stage and stepping in this week for the delayed Rush album, Moving Pictures, is American rock 'n' roll band, Locksley. They're certainly not as well known (at the moment) as Rush, but check out the videos after the break before automatically passing judgment on the DLC replacement band.

Locksley Pack 1 (240 / $3)

• "She Does" - Locksley (80 / $1)
• "Dont Make Me Wait" - Locksley (80 / $1)
• "All Over Again" - Locksley (80 / $1)

The songs should be available soon for download on Xbox 360 and PS3.

[Thanks to those who sent this in.]

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the industry's lobbying group, sent out a press release a little while ago applauding the prison sentences given to two convicted game pirates. Kevin Fuchs of New York and Kifah Maswadi of Florida were sentenced to eight months and fifteen months in prison, respectively. The men also face multiple years of supervised release after that, with Maswadi having been ordered to pay $415,900.

Before freaking out and thinking the FBI and Justice Department are "in your internetz, ready to send you to prisons," it's worth noting the two men sentenced were pretty hardcore software pirates. Maswadi sold consoles with illegal copies of titles on the internet and made $390,000 on his business. So, if you made hundreds of thousands of dollars last year off illegal game sales ... might we suggest a new vocation?

It's been a long time coming, but VG247 quotes Sony Worldwide Studio head Shuhei Yoshida as saying Team ICO's next project may be revealed "soon." The anticipated next project by the team behind Shadow of the Colossus and Ico has merely been teased with some nondescript screenshots.

Yoshida tells the site that plans for the Tokyo Game Show have not been finalized -- presumably, the show would be the last major opportunity this year to reveal the project. It's about time this game made its public appearance, don't you think?

Castle Crashers has invaded Xbox Live Arcade and, unless you're having connectivity issues, chances are you've discovered the charm in this homage revolution modern iteration of the beat 'em up genre. The game seems to be receiving positive reviews for its ambition as an XBLA title, but those pesky connection issues are causing reviewers to shave points off "Castle Crashes'" overall score.

• IGN (90/100): "Castle Crashers takes the best elements of traditional side-scrolling beat-em-ups and adds lots of flair. There's some great humor here and some nice surprises that will please most. ... The bulk of Castle Crashers is an enjoyable ride and one every 360 owner should experience."
• GameSpot (85/100): "Even at a price of 1,200 Microsoft points, Castle Crashers provides great value. The main storyline offers hours of bad-guy beating and princess-rescuing fun that it is sure to please. The ability to play with friends should make the experience richer, even if it is limited to a more local experience. As a testament to its entertainment, feature losses and some disappointing online play hardly slow this juggernaut of amusement down. This is an absurdly hilarious romp you won't soon forget."
• VGT (60/100): "Castle Crashers is an entertaining brawler, but the replay value is chopped into little frustrating bits by a horrifically painful online experience. I'm left wondering why I spent $15 (1200 MS points) on a five-hour single player game. Multiple playthroughs will unlock new characters, but the repetitive nature is a bit tiresome. Avoid purchasing Castle Crashers until the developer sorts the major online problems out."

X3F in Brief and GameTrailer's video reviews can be found after the break.

American McGee's Grimm continues on GameTap this week with The Girl Without Hands -- yup, it's getting darker. Same as every week, the episode is free to non-subscribers for the first 24 hours after release. The service also gets into the drug trade by adding the addictive Puzzle Quest.

• Grimm: The Girl Without Hands (Windows) - Katamari Grimm-acy do your thing!
  
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of Warlords (Windows) - It's time to finally play this game if you've somehow missed out on it.
  

There aren't any additions to GameTap's gratis games lineup this week, but the full list of free-to-play titles can be found after the break.

The issues with this week's Rock Band DLC were worse than we first thought. Rush's Moving Pictures album will not be available for purchase on Xbox 360, nor PS3. Apparently some guy called "unforeseen technical difficulties" has screwed everything up. Wait, it gets worse. According to the announcement post on the official Rock Band forums, the problem may keep the album from being available for a couple weeks.

Harmonix is currently shifting the release schedule around to have some tracks out this week, keeping its streak of new content since the game's launch alive and well. We'll be sure to post when we hear something about Harmonix's plans.

The Last Guy, a mash-up of Google maps and "follow the leader" (or Snake, if we can talk super old-school), will be available tomorrow on PSN for $10, according to the PlayStation Blog. The 15 stages of zombie-dodging gameplay takes place in several cities across the globe, which use aerial photography as "levels" -- the demo, which takes place in Asakusa, Tokyo became available last week on PSN. Check out the video after the break for a taste of what The Last Guy has to offer.

When a company has one of the most successful MMORPGs games of all time, the last thing anyone there wants to do is throw a wrench into what the customers' rigs can handle. To that end, the Blizzard team explained in a few interviews last week that World of Warcraft's graphical updates will happen over time with expansions. Don't go expecting something like World of Warcraft 2 or a major graphics overhaul, which might hurt the customer base.

In an interview with VideoGamer.com, Blizzard's Rob Chilton explains that "usability" has always been more important to the company than technical prowess. Obviously, Blizzard's judgment on how to run Azeroth, compared to those who yearn for a full-blown graphics overhaul, has paid off in million billions for the developer.

Source -- Brack clarifies graphical update plans (WoW Insider)
Source -- WoW graphical reboot may never be necessary (VG)

Although no official details about the PS3 wireless keypad's pricing or launch date (beyond "late November") have been released, Amazon.com is shedding a little light on the situation. The online retailer currently has the peripheral listed at $49.99 with a ship date of Nov. 30.

Although the date may be a placeholder, an Amazon representative informs us, "Pricing details come from our vendors. So that is the price that Sony gave us." Once again, Sony hasn't made any official statements about pricing, but retailers seem to be getting some details.

A recent poll on PS3 Fanboy showed that 46% of responders would pay no more than $20. Only 4% of participants would actually pay the current listed price for the peripheral.

Far Cry 2's Narrative Designer Patrick Redding informs VG247 that Ubisoft Montreal has started work on the next Far Cry game. He tells the site that Africa still has a "huge amount of promise" and there are still things they'd like to do with the setting, but he hedges it all by saying that the team is still in "preliminary stages" of development.

Redding expresses that the Far Cry 2 engine could be used to make other locales, but that to save time the team will probably build on the sequel's African setting. He wants to stick with the series' exotic settings, but feels that jungle islands aren't as exciting as when the original Far Cry released four years ago.

Microsoft has won its claim against rumble licensor Immersion Corp., receiving $20.75 million from the company, Reuters reports. The particulars of the case revolve around a 2003 sub-licensing agreement between the two companies in which Microsoft was entitled to a portion of the cash that Immersion eventually settled on in its case against Sony.

It appears that everything is now ship-shake between all the corporations involved and we can continue enjoying the jiggles we get from our controllers.

Source -- Payback Time: Immersion To Pay $20.75 Million To Microsoft (Efluxmedia)
Source -- Immersion settles suit with Microsoft (Reuters)

[Thanks, laserboyjc]

Street Fighter IV is unlikely to have exclusive console-specific characters (like Soul Calibur IV) when it releases next year, the game's producer tells Videogamer. Yoshinori Ono believes the idea of exclusive characters is unfair -- and that extends to "downloadable characters" as well.

Yoshinori expresses that this is only his "policy," however, so we won't rule out the influence of the Capcom overlords. SF IV is expected on consoles around the time the Street Fighter movie releases in early 2009.

Hideo Kojima wishes that the inquiries about a Metal Gear Solid 4 port for Xbox 360 would cease. The man who the La-li-lu-le-lo answer to tells Eurogamer he longs for the day that he stops being asked the notorious question during every interview and public appearance. Ironically, Eurogamer goes ahead and asks him about the possibility of an Xbox 360 port.

Kojima reiterates for the umpteenth time that MGS4 was optimized for the PS3 and a port may not be possible. He expresses, in what we're taking as a moment of frustration and spite, that he feels MGS4 should be on PC just so people stop focusing on consoles and start asking him more questions about the game itself.

Hudson announced this morning that Bomberman Blast, an "all-new Bomberman," will release for WiiWare at some point in the future. The game will support the use of Miis and 8-player online multiplayer.

Don't expect this WiiWare version to be a totally awesome re-imagining of the Bomberman franchise like Act Zero -- the press release makes it sound like this is going to be the same iteration rehash of the formula we've seen for a few decades. There's currently no word on a release window or how online matchmaking will be handled. We've contacted Hudson regarding both matters.