Sto- motion animation series Gameover by NOTsoNOISY delivers some pretty cool video game interpretations created with stop animation and a bunch of people sitting in seats. Sure, they can do retro gaming, but I want to see some NOTsoNOISY GTA, then I'd be impressed.

Hit the jump to watch low-res human Pong. Brian Crecente

We got a tip from some joker calling himself Skylab about this here indie game, KUDOS, which touts itself as a "turn-based life simulator".

Gaming is all about simulating life, really. But it's all about simulating a life you want to lead, if only for the short time that you're in the game. When I'm headshotting filthy Russian mobsters as Gabe Logan, international man of mystery, that's a life I can get into! Complicated algorithms about when I need to feed the cat, or what TV channel I should be watching, or how that date went with the whitecollar guy who lives in the next suburb... these things are infuriating.

Cliff's notes: Saving the world? Fuck yeah. Feeding the cat? Fuck you.

Even in the Sims, the level of fantasy was fairly high. High enough that once every few years I can stand to play it for a week or so, make some skins for some truly disfunctional homunculi, try and summon that horrible Social Bunny and get some hilarious screenshots.

But Kudos just seems to make you work, and work, and work, with no reward but your hideous and poorly-dressed denizen of the Uncanny Valley staring straight back at you from behind your myriad mundane menus, boring into your soul. And I do mean boring.

There's a free demo on the site, so go ahead and give it a try and report back. I'm on my Mac today so I wasn't able to run it. Eliza Gauger

From here [BunchofNerds]

GameFly's latest top ten rental game requests list has a very distinct Xbox 360 flavor to it. Only two games on the list aren't for the Msoft next-gen console: NCAA Football 07 and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow both for the Playstation 2.

I can't believe Chromehounds is number two. Trust me, it won't be on the list next-week. The game's far too spotty. I just got a copy of Prey like five minutes ago. Far too late for me to review for the Rocky Mountain News, but I can still play the hell out of it. Anything missing from the list, do you think?

I've been following the development of Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream with vague but persistant interest since it was announced, but I cannot for the love of god figure out why. Maybe it's the absolutely bizarre premise (that composer Chopin goes on an adventure in a magical world in his head that's populated with other sick children who have magical powers), maybe it's the gosu rori ensemble the heroine is sporting, maybe it's sheer girlish delight that, in my wrinkled dotage, I simply cannot recognize for what it is.

Maybe I just want to burn your eyes out with overwrought cute.

In any case, these are from Destructoid. They are brand new, high-res screens of the game, showing the usual landscape and also what looks like a combat round against some sort of terrifyingly shiny ringbeast. Eliza Gauger

Trusty Bell Brings Cel-Shaded Chopin to the 360 [Destructoid]

It looks like Microsoft's whole Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday's is just the heart of a huge push for Live arcade games this year. In a recent interview, Greg Canessa said that he hopes to have 30 new Arcade titles on live by the end of the summer and another 20 by the end of the year. That's 28 50 new titles in less than six months.

Wow, I hope the live folks are up to reviewing and approving all of those titles in such a short period of time. I'm not positive, but my sense is that the hang-up has been in the approval process. Maybe they've streamlined it. Brian Crecente

MS: '50 Live Arcade games by year end' [Computer and Video Games]

1up reports that art firm Massive Black is pursuing legal action against the head and a former employee of its Shanghai devision, James Xi Zhang and Jenny Chen, respectively.

A job at Massive Black is a student illustrator's wet dream; they handle art for high-profile games and movies, and their roster of character and environmental artists is second to none. I go to their forums and stare at the threads crammed with 16-year-old Corel Painter prodigies whenever I really want to feel like shit about my own drawing ability. The image at right is by Massive Black boss Jason Manley.

But enough about my trembling self-loathing, let's see what those crazy Massive Black peeps are up to:

Massive Black Inc. vs. James Xi Zhang is a civil complaint for injunction and damages. The complaint outlines 11 claims alleged against Zhang and his co-conspirator, Jenny Chen. The other named defendant in the case is "Studio Takeover" -- a term the court instituted to indicate the studio Zhang and Chen planned to form from Massive Black Inc.'s clientele. The case also names Does 1-50, preparing for the inclusion of other conspirators, if the ongoing investigation yields more than just Zhang and Yiqiong behind the alleged plot. Among the claims: Fraud, Unlawful Access to Computer Network/Tresspass, Interference with Contract, Breach of Contract and Interference With Prospective Business Advantage.

To sum up, Zhang and Chen skimmed money via "expenses accounts", secretly accepted clients personally that had contacted the company itself, and hired their own artists to work on the sniped properties, using Massive Black's own studios and equipment. Now THAT is ninja'ing most foul. Eliza Gauger

Read the entire article here [1up]

Check out this new Tony Hawk's Project 8 video. It features footage from Steve Williams' latest mo-cap session. Brian Crecente

Originator of ALL YOUR BASE and producer of fine flash cartoons the world over, Something Awful occasionally posts something game related and it's usually gold. Sunday's front-page article was an expose of the all-time worst video game title screens.

This title screen is proof positive that the ESRB rating system is ineffective. You really want to keep kids away from violent video games? Just put some horrifying mascot like this one on the title screen. Hell, "College Slam" isn't even a violent video game and I know for a fact its logo worked - my little brother used to be terrified of it. He wouldn't even go in the living room when I was playing PlayStation for fear that I'd turn the game on just to scare him. Not many people can claim they made a five-year-old piss his pants by chasing him around the house with a basketball they found in the garage, but by god I can.

I can actually share this claim to greatness, as I too chased Evan "Pantsfish" Wade's tiny brother with sports equipment and yes, eventually he squirted.

Other victims of this almight List include the Genesis' Shove It! The Warehouse Game, Mission Impossible for the N64, and Dennis Miller: That's News to Me for the 3DO. Thanks for the tip, Dorcas. Eliza gauger

Shove It! The Dredd of Sgt. Slaughter's Basketball with Teeth [Something Awful]

I've never quite been able to keep up with the schizophrenia of Mario's girlfriends. Princess Toadstool became Peach? Wasn't she Daisy at one point too? Not only that, but way back in the early 80's, wasn't Princess Peach a trick named Pauline?

Press the Buttons has set the record straight. Pauline was Mario's first girlfriend, only ever seen in 1981's Donkey Kong and 1994's Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. She was quickly replaced by Toadstool/Daisy/Peach in remakes and other iterations. But good news for those who admire Pauline's saucy and casual trampiness! She's coming back as the heroine in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2. Florian Eckhardt

Donkey Kong's Pauline Set To Return [Press the Buttons]

This year marks Space Invaders' 25th Anniversary. Game maker Taito is celebrating with a bleep bang with a special Space Invader goodies on sale at Idea Frames in Tokyo's trendy Omotesando neighborhood. Space Invader-related products include Casio G-shock watches, Vans shoes, cell phone straps, guitars, messenger bags, notebooks, cufflinks and rings. Crap like this doesn't last forever as these will be on sale only 'till the end of August. Brian Ashcraft

If you tried commenting today you may have noticed that our hamster has finally given up the ghost and been replaced with that gerbil I've been eyeing for the past few months. The commenting improvement is actually part of a much larger back-end upgrade that should make our posts go live much faster and fix some of the lag and image issues we've been having. Of course with every "improvement" comes a slew of lesser issues. So if you notice anything hinky going on, please drop tips@kotaku.com a line. Make sure to include your OS, what program you were using to view the site and, if possible, a screen shot. Much love. Thanks. Brian Crecente

Ps. Notice how I managed to work both gerbil and back-end into one post. I crack myself up.

Magiquest is a holiday that... sounds pretty lame. A Renaissance fantasy, vacationers wander around spouting 'thees' and 'thous', tapping buttons on a controller that opens treasure chests, winds clocks and create music.

It's all run by Holiday resort chain Great Wolf Lodge, and the entire vacation package involves magic quests inspired by World of Warcraft. Quoth the GM...

We're changing the face of family resort entertainment with the launch of MagiQuest... It is truly amazing to see how this game brings families together. It's a game that is as much fun for the parents as it is for the kids and it achieves our goal of creating lasting family traditions - one family at a time...

Yes yes, it sounds magical: a vacation where you sit on your ass and play video games like 'wind the alarm clock' and 'get me my Pepto Bismol, hon...' Florian Eckhardt

Videogame-Style Vacation Launches [Next Generation]