Wii Stuff - Super Mario RPG, My Aquarium and Spore Creatures and Mystery Case Files DS demos
This week's Wii update has some games, demos and marketing videos worth checking out:
- WiiWare: My Aquarium ($5), an inexpensive, interactive fish tank simulator
- Virtual Console: Super Mario RPG ($8), the SNES adventure platformer RPG where Mario and Bowser first teamed up, and NES puzzler Clu Clu Land ($5)
- DS Demos: Spore Creatures, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir and the usual array of repeats including Crosswords DS, Brain Age 1 and 2 and Flash Focus
- Game Videos: de Blob, Dokapon Kingdom, Helix, Mario Super Sluggers, Moon, My Aquarium, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir, NHL 2K9, Spore Creatures, Super Mario RPG and Tornado
The Penny Arcade Expo Swag Bag contains:
Only about 8 hours remain in the first ever 
If you're going to buy LittleBigPlanet this October, you have an important decision to make: which store to pre-order it from. Depending on your choice, you'll get a different exclusive item:
If you missed out on all of the high-kicking action of Dead or Alive 4 on Xbox 360, here's your chance to get it for free. The game is notable for introducing a female Spartan (her name is Nicole) from the Halo universe in a way that almost made sense (certainly more believable that Darth or Yoda). And it contains arguably the most attractive men and women in fighting games. And, now that series creator Tomonobu Itagaki has left Tecmo, it's probably the last one we'll see. We bought two copies of the game, thinking we'd play it on different consoles at the same time. We never even cracked the second copy, instead opting to both play together and separately on the "nice TV," and we forgot to return it. Our mistake is your gain.
You only have until midnight Pacific time to try to win a free copy of Dead or Alive 4 for Xbox 360. Enter now or miss your chance (the odds are only 1 in 6 at this writing!).
So it's not the PlayStation Home, but Sony released its also overdue Life With PlayStation today. The service isn't a PlayStation 3 system update but rather a replacement for Folding@home, that protein-processing program that's trying to cure cancer and other diseases. Now it also promises to deliver your Google News headlines, Weather Channel forecasts and other unspecified "content and channels" to "further enhance the world of entertainment made possible by PS3." We'll see if this glossier knockoff of the Wii News and Weather channels can live up to all the hyped up marketing speak. If the update seems like it's really small, that's because it's actually a two-step process: It only takes a couple minutes for the first patch to download and run, but then you have to go back to Folding@home and download the 126MB application. At least NOT downloading it won't block your access to the PlayStation Store, the way most PS3 updates do...
In a novel approach to game marketing, The Political Machine is offered in a free "Express" version and a $20 full edition. The free game lets you play as Obama, McCain, Biden or Palin with 21 weeks of campaigning, multiplayer mode, and a printshop for making buttons, bumper stickers and bobbleheads. The $20 version adds historical campaign mode where you can race against Washington and Lincoln, try different scenarios including an alien world, play as Hilary, Huckabee and others, randomize gameplay elements and even download updates as political events unfold. 
This week, here's a little something for the Halo fans: a sealed Bonus Box of Halo Trading Cards - six packs of seven, for a total of 42 cards. Since it's still sealed, I can't say for sure whether it contains any Motion Cards or Foil Cards, but the odds (1:12 and 1:6, respectively) are with you.
When the original Xbox needed a boost, Microsoft put together a bundle that included two killer games on a single disc: Jet Set Radio Future and Sega GT. Jet Set Radio Future is one of the most fun and innovative games from the last generation with rail-grinding action, cool moves, graffiti tagging, deep exploration and a great J pop soundtrack. Sega GT is a solid, challenging racing title. Both play on the Xbox 360 thanks to backward compatibility updates. If you missed these games, here's your chance to enjoy a nice slice of gaming history for free.
Grand Theft Auto IV is getting a PC release this November under the still awkward-sounding Games for Windows Live monicker. The good news is that Microsoft is promising service updates to coincide with the title's release including "a redesigned game interface, out-of-game client and marketplace." Wonder if this means you'll be able to buy the Xbox 360 episodic expansions on the PC as well. They are due, coincidentally, in November. If you're wondering if your PC is powerful enough to run the game, here are the recommended requirements: