Shame on you, Pete Hines. Claiming that your latest game, Fallout 3, contains only the mildest form of DRM was a lie. A big fat lie. Not only does the PC version of Fallout 3 contain DRM, it contains the most infamous of all DRMs: SecuROM.

Remember what happened to EA for releasing Spore with SecuROM? It got hit with a class action lawsuit. It’s no mystery that SecuROM permanently stays on your computer, even after an uninstall, leeching precious resources from your PC. The only solution is reformatting your hard drive. So far, the only problems caused by the Fallout 3 DRM has been conflicts during installation for a small group of users. Just wait, much like the Master Control Program in Tron, SecuROM will take over.

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CrunchGear’s intrepid pedophile Peter Ha spent some time with EA’s latest survival horror title Dead Space. While I’m sure Ha was on a junket getting pumped full of cocktail shrimp and Budweiser, he actually managed to put the seafood down long enough to review the game. The verdict?

So, should you buy this game? You’re going to need something to keep yourself occupied before Gears of War 2 comes out. Heh. Honestly, I enjoyed Dead Space and it lived up to my expectations. If Bioshock creeped you out then you better wear a diaper when you load this game into your console. Pick it up today for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Yes! Dead Space manages to keep the spirit of the press junket alive!

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Applause all around for Electronic Arts. The gaming company managed to fuck up big time, this time with Spore. As you’ve heard, Spore contains draconian DRM that limits you to three installs of the game and no more. Now a California class action suit has been formed in an attempt to recoup $50 + damages for everyone who bought Spore. The SecuROM copy protection program will install itself on a computer without notifying the user and stays on said hard drive even after an uninstall of the game. To boot, the SecuROM phones home to EA and hogs up system resources without alerting the user.

I truly hope EA gets hit hard with this suit. Of all the gaming companies that need to pull their head out of their ass, Electronic Arts takes the cake. Maybe next time around you’ll quit fucking around with DRM.

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So looks like we’ve all got a nice gift from Santa this year in the form of Spore, the much awaited game from Will Wright. Sure, it’s due out on Monday, September 7th but who wants to wait the entire weekend? Hop on your favorite Bit Torrent site like I did and grab a copy. RELOADED is the only scene group that’s released a working copy and crack right now, so buyer beware.

My torrent is still downloading despite being on a private site, so I’m afraid I can’t let you know if it’s a decent game right now. If it is and you really end up enjoying it, buy a copy of the Galactic Edition.

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I sure hope you’ve tried out that creature creator for the upcoming Spore, otherwise you’re going to be left in the dark. Having to settle for randomly generating creatures simply because you weren’t creative enough to come up with your own does not please Will Wright. After all, the full game is just around the corner. That’s right, Spore has gone gold, meaning the code has been completed and it’s ready for the slated September 7th release!

You can either pick up your Galactic Edition or just get the regular version like any other normal kid who cares not for precious art books and behind the scenes footage. Oh and Mac users (for once) get a Maxis game that’ll ship on the same day as the PC version. Spore is changing the world in more ways than one.

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This just in, we’re getting reports that with the release of Madden ‘09, Jesus Christ is no longer needed. Teens across the country who once believed that Jesus was the next messiah have been lining up outside Gamestops across the country at midnight and proclaiming that the game is “off the fucking chain, yo.”

“I ain’t got no time for God an’ shit” says Anthony Dominguez, 22. “I’m tryin’ to, ya know, buy this motherfucker for the 360 then play it all fuckin’ day, ya feel me dawg? I even took off work tomorrow and called my shorty to make my b-fast.”

With the inclusion of Brett Favre as a NY Jet, rumor is it a 2.4 magnitude earthquake will occur outside the Circuit City in Pasedena, CA. $60 and your pride Madden ‘09 will cost ya.

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In a move from EA and Hasbro to create a shooter game peripheral, they’ve joined forces to create the Wiimote Nerf Blaster. Soon to make a launch in the UK, the Blaster can be used as a typical Nerf gun, while also offering a new peripheral to strap your Wiimote onto.

In addition to looking super cool, the new peripheral will also work with the upcoming Nerf Blaster game. — Andrew Dobrow

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An EA producer was heard commenting about Rockstar’s reaction of the Grand Theft Auto spoof in the upcoming Simpsons game. The producer says that Rockstar “spazzed out like little babies” after hearing of the spoof level in the Simpsons game called “Grand Theft Scratchy”.

Rockstar reportedly forced EA games to change the name of the level, which will now be called the “Mob Rules” stage. Simpsons executive producer Matt Selman explains where the controversy began: (more…)

Sources are reporting that Electronic Arts Inc. has sold the movie rights of best-selling game series, “The Sims”, to 20th Century Fox. The Sims franchise has sold more than 85 million units since its debut 7 years ago.

“The Sims has done an interactive version of an old story, which is what it’s like to have infinite power and how do you deal with it,” says Rod Humble, head of The Sims Studio at EA. The thought of a Sim movie seems pretty cheesy to think about. Could it really be decent? We guess if it’s handled right. — Andrew Dobrow

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Being the renaissance men that we are, we hardly need to play a guitar-based game, seeing as we can play real classical guitar, while pleasing three women at the same time. For those who aren’t as multi-talented, Harmonix and EA announced in a conference call that the guitar controller for Xbox 360 from Guitar Hero will also work with the recently announced Rock Band game.

Gamers using a PS3 will have to buy a new controller unless an adapter is released. But come on, there’s adapters for everything these days. — Andrew Dobrow

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