The Legend of Zelda titles stretch across the Nintendo systems, and they all come with different storylines and themes. You can sit down and try to figure out how they all fit together, or you can just enjoy them as they come. Spirit Tracks rewards both hardcore fans and players who are new to the series in equal doses—you’ll see references to other titles, and the game gives Link an excuse to don the famous green tunic—and the resulting game is familiar enough that fans can jump right in, while providing enough new challenges to keep everyone happy.

Yes, the game re-treads some ground, but the new twists and turns keep the familiar fresh, no matter how many times you’ve played as one version of Link or another. There is a reason these games are critical and commercial hits: Nintendo knows how to walk the line between fan service and quality. How do you bring back Link and Zelda on the DS without creating a stale, by-the-numbers experience? Let’s take a look.

Has it really been a year since last the 2008 Child’s Play drive? To date, you have helped us raise over $22,000, making Ars a platinum sponsor of Child’s Play 2008. Child’s Play is a charity run by Penny Arcade that brings video games, toys, and books to children who have the bad luck to be spending the holidays in the hospital.

Being sick is no fun; being sick when you’re a child and suffering from a serious illness can be downright scary. When hospitals have the equipment on hand to give a child a DS or a PSP with a game or two so they can pass the time, it can distract them from some of the hard reality of their surroundings. This is the unique power of video games, the ability to remove us from our daily life and bring us some place a little more fun.

Pandemic’s swan song, The Saboteur, comes with a code that allows you to unlock some new areas, a minigame… and the ability to show nudity. What’s the point of visiting the seedier part of town if you can’t see everything there is to see?

If you buy the game used, the code obviously won’t work, and you’ll be forced to buy the boobs for 400 Microsoft points, or $5. As a way to squeeze some cash out of gamers, this is pretty inspired. I wish I can say that we, as gamers, are above caring about the (most likely) sad and limited T&A included in this game… but let’s be honest, people pay for cheap thrills.

The Saboteur will be released on December 8, for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Image courtesy of Game|Life.

The Entertainment Consumer Association is supposed to help fight for the rights of those who buy and play video games, and the ECA’s President Hal Halpin always has interesting thoughts on how to make the industry a better place for players. Becoming a member of the ECA isn’t free, however, and some members are claiming that the organization makes it way too difficult to cancel your membership before your credit card is charged again. The ECA responds that its membership promotions are being used to commit fraud, and it’s merely trying to protect itself.

First, we’re going to look at why people are upset. Then we’ll hear from the ECA. Buckle up, it could get thick in here.

EA and DICE began a grand experiment in North America with Battlefield: Heroes, a free-to-play, casual shooter that would allow anyone to download the client and play for free. You could buy certain items to give yourself an edge, sure, but it was just as easy to earn in-game Valor Points (VP) to purchase weapons and widgets for use in the game. Many gamers did just this, earning VP in their regular gaming session without ever paying a dime. Others made a few purchases here and there to round out their items.

It seems gamers simply weren’t spending enough money, though, as a recent price restructuring destroys the ability to play without spending real money. The cost of all items in terms of the free VP has been increased substantially, while the cost of items in “BattleFunds,” which you buy with real money, has been decreased. In other words, it’s now impossible to earn or keep decent equipment simply by playing; you’re going to need to get out the checkbook to stay competitive on the servers. The game’s player base is, to put it mildly, enraged.