The Atomic Goddess is back, and this week Val spends some quality time with Dead or Alive 4 on the Xbox 360 and The Movies, out now for PC. Val also takes a peek at Shadow Hearts 3: From the New World for PlayStation 2. And, of course, there\'s a roundup of the biggest news of the past little bit. It\'s eight minutes of high-quality podcasting goodness, so dig in, gamers!

Though we haven\'t seen much of the Star Trek franchise in the game industry since the release of Elite Force II a little while back, that doesn\'t mean that the series isn\'t still destined for further greatness. Bethesda Softworks, makers of Elder Scrolls and one of the most talented developers in the industry today, has purchased the right to make games based on the Star Trek franchise. They\'ve announced two games, including one title for the Xbox 360, and another for both the Nintendo DS and the PSP. Though they haven\'t announced anything, they\'ve also purchased the rights to create games for the PC based on the Star Trek IP.

The state of West Virginia has partnered with game publisher Konami to bring Dance Dance Revolution into hundreds of school physical education programs. The deal will roll out over 700 Dance Dance Revolution arcade machines, beginning with the state\'s 103 middle/junior high schools. The officials are doing the right thing, but they\'re citing the wrong reasons. DDR is not a way to combat the sedentary lifestyle of the youth, it\'s a way to create a modernized physical education curriculum that does what it should: engages students in realistic physical activity. Shawn steps up to the soapbox in this editorial.

Matt\'s back with the first of the 2006 Mailbags, full of international flavor. We\'ve got some feedback about our glowing review of Kutoka\'s Creatures and Creatures Exodus titles from the developers. And of course we\'ve got the requisite letters suffering from \"TLI\"-- Too Little Information. You tell us: How DO you get engineers to build siege machines on the top of large towers? Is it some kind of riddle? Check out the latest reader mail right here.

Microsoft and Nissan have teamed up to create a concept car called the URGE that comes stock with an Xbox 360 and Project Gotham 3 pre-loaded. (Have no fear, the game is only playable when the car is parked.) The vehicle is made to turn \"echo boomers\" on to the hipness that is Nissan, and the URGE was unveiled at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week. The Register has a write-up with more info and quotes, but we\'ve got more pictures. And they\'re bigger. Click for more.

The A-Z of Cool Computer Games is a robust survey of computer games and gaming history centered on the British gaming experience. As such, this book focuses on, mainly, European and British computers, games, consoles and arcade machines that were popular in the UK in the late 20th Century. For folks who fondly remember their old Speccy this is a trip down memory lane. For those of us across the pond, it\'s a peek into a wonderful bizarro-land of gaming: An alternate dimension of interactive entertainment that often intersects with our own gaming heritage.

This week in the Wrap-Up, Val Townsend, the Atomic Goddess, takes gamers on an audio adventure through the recent history of video gaming. In addition to a summary of recent news, Val has reviews of Kameo: Elements of Power (XB360), Cuban Missile Crisis: The Aftermath (PC), and those cute little GelTabz (multi). Rounding out this week\'s podcast is a preview of Square/Enix\'s Code Age Project, which spans games on mobile phones, PS2, and a comic book series. Serve yourself up a heaping helping of steaming hot podcast goodness, right here.

The Sex in Video Games Conference will be held in San Francisco June 8-9 at the Nob Hill Masonic Center, San Francisco, CA. The conference theme is \"Exploring the Business of Digital Erotic Entertainment,\" which sounds totally not sexy to us. But the conference gains clout thanks to the involvement of Brenda Brathwaite, Game Designer and Founder and Chair of the International Game Developers Association\'s Sexuality SIG. If you\'ve got a vested (read: business) interest in the future of adult erotic interactive entertainment, then this is the place to go. It should be more scandalous than E3.

Beta signups are now open for the upcoming sci-fi MMORPG, Seed. Seed puts you in the role of a colonist settling the tense, perilous planet Da Vinci. A unique cel-shaded visual approach gives Seed the feeling of a graphic novel, and all of the in-game information is designed to uphold this comic book feel: Speech is shown in dialogue bubbles, and the screen is broken into panels. Gameplay is unique, too, focusing on character development and dynamically generated stories that are created for each individual player according to their style. Check out the Seed beta signups in order to get the early bird special this February.

This week in the Wrap-Up, Val checks out the biggest gaming news of the last couple weeks, catching us up on any news we missed while we were stuffing our gullets on stuffing and gullets. She also checks out reviews of PoPoLoCrois for PSP, Kosumi for PC, and Call of Duty 2 for Xbox 360 and PC. After all that, she serves up a tasty preview of Chromehounds, coming soon to Xbox 360 from the makers of the legendary Armored Core series. Get the latest podcasty goodness from your pals at GF!

Kodai Djinns are a funky new battle yoyo toy that blends several of the most popular virtual creature fads. The yoyos are computerized and feature a few buttons and a tiny LCD screen. When you open your yoyo, a creature is born, based on the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac. Raise your creature by \"working out\" with the yoyo, and develop its skills and strengths. Eventually you will unlock solitaire minigames as well as the ability to battle other yoyos and connect to PCs for online battle gaming. Learn more right here.

On behalf of the staff of GamesFirst!, we would like to take this space to wish all of our staff, readers and colleagues a happy, happy holiday season. We wouldn\'t be here without you, and we know that. On our 10th holiday season, we are thankful for all the people who have helped make GamesFirst! what it is today. Our staff is among the best online, and we value your efforts. To our fellow websites (especially the ones who kick down the kind links), we thank you. You know who you are, and you inspire us to do better. To all of the game developers, PR reps, and publishers who work with us on a daily basis, we want to extend our most sincere gratitude. We couldn\'t do what we do without your continued support, and life wouldn\'t be as much fun without you.

And, of course, we want to wish Happy Holidays to our readers. We are proud to be able to serve you for the past 10 years, and we look forward to number 11. Without you, we\'d just be posting up articles for our mothers to read, and although they never complain about our reviews or call us idiots, GF! would feel pretty empty without you. Thanks.

As the first days of the 4th Asia Game Show and Digital Entertainment Expo Asia 2005 get underway, it\'s interesting to see the differences between this Hong Kong exposition and what we normally see at E3. Designed much more to be a one day event than a multi-day outing for the average attendee, there\'s still enough to keep even the most casual technophiles interested. From cell phones to TV\'s, Editor Aaron Stanton describes the expo after the first two days, including what he saw behind that intriguing PlayStation 3 sign he spotted going up before the show opened.

Microsoft has announced a new perks card for members of their Xbox Live Gold service. Gold level members now qualify for a free \"Diamond\" card, which is an actual, real gamercard you can carry in your pocket. Now you can show off your Xbox geekiness even when you\'re away from your console. And wait, it doesn\'t stop there: The Diamond card qualifies holders for special deals and discounts at an array of retailers. If you\'re a Gold level member of Xbox Live, sign yourself up.

PoPoLoCrois has been a popular game series in Japan for a decade now, even spawning an animated TV series, but the series has never seen action in North America. Agetec\'s latest incarnation of PoPoLoCrois for the PSP is a revamped combination of the first two games in the series, originally released on PSOne, plus some additional original content. Featuring very nice animated cutscenes, and a super-kawaii art style, PoPoLoCrois is likely to satisfy any gamers looking for a classic RPG experience on-the-go. Check Shawn\'s review for more.