This Wednesday, the United States of America marks its 236th birthday, and Americans are set to celebrate the same way they do most things – be obnoxiously loud and create massive explosions. I’m also obligated to mention here that, according to Jeroen, today is something called “Canada Day,” which he insists is pretty important.

The spirit of independence fluttering about is enough to get anyone in a patriotic tizzy… everyone but us cold, cynical video game writers, lost in our own artificial worlds flashing at us from our screens. The political machinations of congress don’t hold our interest nearly as much as the latest cryptic email from Gabe Newell or marketing snafu from EA. That got us thinking – what would happen if these game developers we follow so obsessively actually ran the governments we live in?

We racked our brains to come up the political practices and policies of some nations lead by game developers. Hit the break to see what we came up with.

Let’s face it – like it or not, as videogames become more and more mainstream, we’re going to see more and more instances of politics and gaming intersecting. Piki Politics is here to serve as both a history of political/gaming scandals (or collisions, if you prefer) and as a discussion on the political motivations and context behind them.

This week I’ll be taking a look at the portrayal of video games in today’s news media. Why is it that the industry has become the new “boogeyman” in the eyes of concerned parents nationwide, and what role does the news media play in perpetuating this image?

As the trial of self-confessed mass murderer Anders Breivik comes to a close in Norway, the gaming industry has once again found itself in an uncomfortable position. With Breivik himself claiming he used violent games such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to help train and plan for his killing spree, the supposed link between videogames and real world violence has once again been brought, front and center, into the spotlight.

Hey, remember when I said that a Team Fortress 2 TV show on Adult Swim made too much sense? Apparently I missed the one thing that made even more sense. Hats.

That’s right, this project that the two companies were collaborating on has been revealed as a series of in-game headwear for the world’s foremost military-themed hat simulator. The first offering in this TV-themed fashion line is a hat modeled after the eponymous character of Seth Green’s Robot Chicken. If this is something that appeals to you, all you have to do is sign up for the Adult Swim newsletter, and you’ll be receiving a redemption code in your inbox. You’ll also be informed of subsequent offerings to come of this hell-born partnership.

Of course, What kind of journalist would I be if I didn’t mention this bit in the FAQs section.

Q. Are you making a Team Fortress cartoon?
A. Go ask your mother.

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I was a child, that line was the first train on the path to no-ville.

Have you forgotten the Tomb Raider controversy about the sexual assault scene? No? Well just in case, Kotaku has continued to press the issue in interviews with Crystal Dynamics, leading CD to dig their hole of denial even deeper. In an initial interview, executive producer Ron Rosenberg said, “those scavengers [who imprisoned Lara Croft] will try to rape her.” There was then a landslide of denouncement, saying that was just an interpretation and not the reality. Now, CD global brand director Karl Stewart has said:

“[Rosenberg] said something which is certainly a word that is not in our vocabulary and not in our communication. He did say it… It’s his personal opinion and certainly… like I said, it’s not something that we communicate.”

Capcom has announced that Monster Hunter 4 will be released in Japan in Spring 2013. With the announcement came an action-packed trailer, which Capcom has said consists primarily of gameplay footage. 

A large majority of Monster Hunter games have never been released stateside, so without a confirmation it’s not certain that this title will ever manage to attack the United States.

Monster Hunter 4 is the first independent installment in the Monster Hunter series to make the switch to the 3DS over the PlayStation Portable. If it makes it to the US, it will be our first Monster Hunter game on the 3DS.

The trailer, and the details on the new action-RPG title, after the break.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s first DLC, Dawnguard, has arrived after 8 long months of waiting and speculation. We’ll be posting our full review of the game in the coming days, but leading up to that, we’ll be taking a look at both sides of the action – the Dawnguard and the vampires.

It was a day like any other in the city of Markarth. The vendors were out, the weather was nice, and the town guards gossiped with citizens. Only today, the gossip was of a more alarming nature – vampires. Word had spread that the Dawnguard, sworn to defend Skyrim from a growing vampire menace, was looking to recruit some new soldiers into its ranks. Eager for another adventure, and the chance to slay some blood suckers, I made my way to the large and imposing Fort Dawnguard.

It’s a well known fact that platypuses, or platypii, or platypeople or…well, you know what I mean, don’t do much. However, once our favorite platypus, Perry, puts on his fancy fedora and jumps into one of many secret tunnels to his headquarters, he becomes O.W.C.A.(Organization Without a Cool Acronym) Agent P. However, there’s a problem. Some of the tunnels leading to the base are closed off, and it’s up to the player to activate the backup power source to get him where he needs to go.