After months of waiting, the saga finally returns.

For those unfamiliar, Red vs. Blue was a bunch of guys (and a few girls) who took the Halo series and turned it into their own virtual movie studio, developing characters and stringing along a surprisingly complex storyline over a hundred short episodes, loaded with plenty of humor. What could have gotten old fast, especially when the only visible difference between the characters is their color, was kept fresh through sharp writing and some professional quality voice acting that humbles some big studio efforts.

With all the tricks they pulled off in Halo 1 and 2, I’ve been itching to see what they can do with the Forge and the ability to record anything in Halo 3. Now the wait is almost over with the first episode of Reconstruction:

If you’re a lapsed fan who needs to catch up, a box set of the entire series complete with bonus DVD is available on their store site, along with RvB T-shirts and other assorted goodies. Even if you have all the seasons on DVD, I’d definitely recommend snagging the bonus DVD that includes Recovery One and just about everything else they recorded for Red vs. Blue that wasn’t included elsewhere. Their store is here.

While you’re there, make sure to pick up some headlight fluid.

Penny Arcade's first game appears on PC, Mac, Linux, and XBLA.

Coded up by newcomers Hothead Games, this first of a planned four part RPG adventure has hit the downloadable street, available over Xbox Live or Penny A's and Hothead's own Greenhouse digital distribution platform (www.playgreenhouse.com) for the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions.  All versions have a demo you can snag for free, and discover if this colorful steampunk adventure is worth your $20.  Expect the full game to run you 6-10 hours of enjoyment if you're a fan of Penny Arcade or ATB style combat, a la Final Fantasy 7.  The official word runs like this:

"Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One is an RPG-Adventure game set in the deranged 1920s universe of New Arcadia, delivered togamers via accessible episodic releases. Players join Gabe and Tycho, the crime-solving team of the Startling Developments Detective Agency, to combat savage enemies and solve mysteries hidden deep in the sinister heart of New Arcadia. The game is the result of close collaboration between Hothead Games and Penny Arcade, featuring distinct artwork and characters designedexclusively by Mike "Gabe" Krahulik, story and dialogue by Jerry "Tycho" Holkins, both brought to life by the Hothead team."

I've tried the demo on both XBLA and PC, and I have to say it's hard choosing which to go with the final buy.  The production values in everything from the visuals to the sound was beyond my expectations, especially how my own customized character shows up right as I made him in the 2D cut-scenes.  Yet when it came to playability, I felt that combat was really designed for the mouse and got adapted to the 360 controller in a way that's just a little awkward, especially with three people to control in real time.  The comedy comes through loud and clear on either device, complete with clever narration and jovial item descriptions.  So if you're a fan of the comic, I can't see how you can go wrong.

Bethesda Softworks unleash an explosion of concept art.

From the hand of their concept artist Adam Adamowicz, they've put together one big team diary for Fallout 3, chock full of creatures, weapons, buildings, and more.  All sorts of designs have been put on display in these 11 new pieces of concept art.

Read and see it all at the official site: http://fallout.bethsoft.com

Their official site now also includes a fully translated Russian version, to go along with English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Polish.

Capcom revives a few more killer franchises. 

I remember as a kid playing Commando at the local Pizza Hut.  The controls were stiff and the bullets were tiny.  I don't think I ever made it past the first stage.  Then MERCS came along to the arcade just across the street, and it seemed like insane destruction and top down blasting action for me and two other Rambo-wannabes until we ran out of quarters.  Capcom has been on a trend of reviving their nearly forgotten gems to the delight of former arcade junkies, with the latest offering of Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 for XBLA and PSN.  Outside of the more cartoonish gleam, the latest footage shows a game that sticks surprisingly close to its roots, with a variety of scrolling, destructible environments for up to three players, both online and off.  The action is quick and furious, while the weapons are insane and highly destructive.  It's already looking better than the upcoming pretender to the throne, Assault Heroes 2, though both pale next to what else Capcom has up its sleeve.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has been a long time in coming, but hey it takes a long time to draw all those frames at 1080p.  They must be close to release now, however, because coming with Commando 3 will be an online beta of SSF2THDR (on XBLA at least).  Yeah, it's only going to be Ken and Ryu, but outside of seeing how high Chun-li still kicks, they were going to be your first picks anyway.  This is a series that kicks in even more nostalgia, but these new visuals are a lot better than I remember, while the rebalanced mode should end cries of cheap among friends.  Maybe it'll even stop the droppers online.

Frontlines: Fuel of War demo is releasd on Xbox Live.

The earlier single player demo of Frontlines was a bit rough around the technical edges, sporting stiff controls and a framerate that struggled to hit thirty.  That's all changed with the new multiplayer demo, equipped with greatly improved controls and a smooth framerate that's near identical to the PC version.  Now you can take to the Street in a sixteen player chaotic firefight or a massive thirty two player brawl on the Oilfield, the latter ruled by heavy firepower of tanks and helicopters.  All of this is run on dedicated servers, so there's no worrying about being spiked with massive lag or suffering host advantage domination, while Kaos promises to bring 50+ player warfare in the final retail release.

I'm not going to lie to you.  Frontlines has a pretty steep learning curve, and your first few times out you'll spend half that time kissing dirt.  Though once you start learning the roles, forming squads, using voice chat to coordinate your efforts, everything begins to fall into place, and you'll be waging war on a scale never seen before on the Xbox 360.