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You know I had just been thinking that the Wii didn’t have enough games on it that appealed to children. You know the kind of game where on every other system the game looks cool and realistic, but on the Wii everyone has been given a big head and cartoonish looks. Well have no fear because EA is bringing us NASCAR Kart Racing, the only NASCAR game on the Wii, on Feb. 10, 2009. You’ll get to race as all your favorite drivers, but they’ll look funny and be in kart version of their cars.

I hate NASCAR to the bottom of my very soul, but if I had to choose between real NASCAR and cartoon NASCAR I’d go real any day. Come on, the Wii is built for a solid NASCAR game, but heaven forbid developers try to appeal to anyone else but those who have fallen in love with Mario Kart. As if that weren’t enough the game is clearly looking like another Mii-rip-off art style. At least Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip aimed for a different look. Boo and hiss.

In the end, Populous DS does not make ripples in the classic series, it just reintroduces it for the gamers of today with a new coat of pain on a new system. Sure, they’ve mixed up the formula a little bit but the core game is largely unchanged, perhaps to the chagrin or glee of series veterans depending on their outlook.

Konami today announced the Spring release of Suikoden Tierkreis, the latest in the popular RPG series, whose previous iterations have mostly been on PlayStation consoles.

It seems there’s a wealth of characters to choose from, with the DS game containing 108 characters, all of whom function independently within the game world, but can be recruited to your four-man party. Each of these characters has a complete backstory, and these are revealed as your progress through the game. It has a traditional turn-based battle system, so hardcore JRPG fans will have a fair idea what to expect.

One particularly interesting feature is the ability to wirelessly assist other players - through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, you can send your character to another gamer’s world to tackle missions, in return for cash and special items which can then be brought back into your own universe.

Suikoden Tierkreis is released in Europe in March 2009.

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What does “gone gold” mean? It means that the game code has been “frozen” and a final release candidate has been created. It does NOT mean that the game is ready for release yet. They are now finalizing the testing, proofing all the print materials, creating and testing the installers, and preparing the online delivery system for the downloads. A firm release date as well as info about pre-orders will be announced Sunday, December 7 (yes, that’s a historic date). The game is a stand-alone third part of the series, does not require any previous games to play, and will cost $45.

For more information on the game, hit one of the links above.

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Trukz, the online trucking simulation game has a contest going on, and the big winner will get a VERY cool 8ft tall Optimus Prime made from scrap metal (and weighing a quarter of a ton).

The Giant Robot Competition, which is ongoing until December 14 has tens of thousands of drivers driving over 250 million in-game miles since the start of November, and the winner of the statue will be announced in-game on the 15th of December.

Trukz is the trucking RPG, allowing players to embark on a virtual career as a truck driver or logistics company owner. With a host of new features being added to the game throughout December including in-game achievements, Australia, and an overhauled contract system, exciting times lie ahead for the Trukz community. So if you want to have a chance to win the most awesome, 8ft robots in the world for warding off burglars, Decepticons or just to scare the bejesus out of everyone who visits your home, go sign up.

About the game: Trukz.com allows you to play the role of a truck driver, working for companies or independently delivering cargo between cities across North America and Europe. Delivering cargo on time earns you in-game currency which can be redeemed against new trucks and equipment to make your journey more successful, while avoiding speed traps, police checking your hours of service and accidents along the way. The game features dozens of routes and different types of cargo for you to haul. The game also features hundreds of companies for you to join, giving you access to additional cargo, repair and fuel discounts, and exclusive routes to work.

All this is available free to play in your browser and ove 1.5 billion in-game miles have been logged since the game launched in April 2007. Therefore it is safe to assume that it is pretty popular indeed. So, if you want in on this contest, here are the official rules and details.

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Frogster Interactive will open the Runes of Magic servers for all players on Monday, December 15th. With the start of the open beta, MMO interested players can explore the complete content that has been integrated so far into the fantasy MMORPG.

This version is open to all players after a short registration on the official website . All players that have registered so far, without being invited to the closed beta, will receive automatic access to the open beta. All players that are already active in the closed beta will keep their account. Right from the beta start the needed client software can be downloaded already on FileFront and the official website.

To thank all closed beta participants for their help in optimizing the game, a special ingame event beginning December 7th will take place. Darkness will befall Taborea and evil demons will start terrorizing the game world. Accompanying the event, the official website will continuously report about the communities efforts to repel the evil forces. After the final of the event on December 10th, the servers will go offline for last tests. This final test phase is likely to end in the first quarter of 2009 with the release of the title, but all characters that have been played until then will be available to the players after the game has been launched.

Daniel Ullrich, Director of Product Management at Frogster is extremely pleased with the closed beta:

“More than 170,000 registrations from players worldwide shortly before the start of the open beta show us, that we are on the right track with Runes of Magic.”

Interested players can still apply for access to the beta test here.

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