Modern Warfare 3 launches at midnight tonight. Skyrim follows at the end of this week. I’m currently offering up hour after hour to Zelda: Skyward Sword. That’s easily over 500 hours of gaming for me.

News Blips:

The Mass Effect 3 leak uncovers one way that BioWare is adapting its RPG shooter for a wider audience. Thanks to what Microsoft is calling “a human error,” a handful of lucky gamers were able to snag the beta for one of the most anticipated games of early 2012. Posters on NeoGAF were quick to divulge a glut of new information that would otherwise be embargoed. One interesting discovery is the “game type” option when players start a new campaign. A menu presents players with three choices (Action mode, Story mode, or RPG mode) that will supposedly offer up three different experiences depending on user preference. The description for each selection is as follows:

• Action mode: “For those who want to emphasize action and combat and minimize story management. Action mode will set automatic replies in conversation and a normal difficulty.”
• Story mode: “For those who want to emphasize story immersion and minimize combat pressure. Story mode will set manually-selectable replies in conversation and minimal combat difficulty.”
• RPG mode: “For those who want to explore both realms of story and combat. RPG mode will set manually-selectable replies in conversation and a normal combat difficulty.”

I already know I’m an RPG-mode guy, but does it worry anybody else that BioWare may be attempting to coddle casual fans instead of confidently producing exactly the game they want to make? [GamePro]

Two armed men rob a cargo van in France and get away with 6,000 copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Apparently, a couple of fellas have decided to fund their endless summer by knocking off video-game shipments in gay ol’ Paris. The pair of robbers crashed their car into the shipping van. They then exited their sedan and approached the delivery vehicle to exchange insurance information. That’s when what I’m assuming was a cutscene kicked in, and the criminal masterminds pepper sprayed the van’s drivers. The thieves hopped in the game-filled automobile and drove off into a Soap MacTavish-filled future. I can’t wait to play this scene in Modern Warfare 4! [GamePolitics]

The first episode of Monkey Island Tales is now available on iPhone and iPod Touch. The adventure game that follows the twisty, humorous life of wannabe-pirate Guybrush Threepwood has been available on iPad for around a year now. Developer Telltale Games has finally pushed the title out on the smaller screen for all those who prefer making phone calls between rounds of puzzle-solving. Apparently, a tinier screen does not equate to a tinier price. Monkey Island Tales 1 for the iPhone is $6.99, which is the same price as Monkey Island Tales 1 HD for the iPad, which does not come with the iPhone version.

Gamers who play Battlefield 3 at any point from Friday, November 11 through Sunday, November 13 will earn a chance at one of three prizes. Publisher EA is offering fans the opportunity to win a grand prize that involves a visit to Stockholm and a tour of developer DICE’s state-of-the-art studio. The second prize is $5,000 in cold, hard American currency. Meanwhile, the third-prize winner will take home a brand-new gaming rig with the full Battlefield catalogue of games. If you win that trip to Stockholm, from what I understand, you’ll likely end up in some thrilling adventure involving a giant brute who can’t feel pain and a girl with a dragon tattoo. And who has time for that? Get all the details and the no-purchase-necessary legalese here.

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