Fans of Metal Gear Solid swarmed the Uniqlo store in New York’s Soho neighborhood yesterday to buy limited edition Metal Gear T-shirts and wait for the rare chance to get an autograph from Hideo Kojima, the game’s creator. The event celebrated the recent release of Metal Gear Solid 4. Kojima appeared at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square for the midnight release of the game.

Kojima is rumored to hate autograph sessions, but agreed to sign one item each for the first 300 people in line at Uniqlo. One creative fan had a bag of wasabi flavored Doritos for Kojima to sign, but game artwork cards were provided to those with nothing to sign.

Yumi Kikuchi, the voice of Raging Raven, was also on hand to sign autographs. A few fans flinched as Ms. Kikuchi signed their Metal Gear items which predated Raging Raven’s appearance in the series, but they didn’t stop her.

Although Uniqlo stocked 300 Metal Gear T-shirts, due to a miscommunication the large and extra-large shirts were put on display before the event and sold out early, leaving only extra-small and medium sizes for sale during the signing. Pictures of the shirts can be seen on Uniqlo’s Japanese site and on Kotaku.

Kojima will be doing another signing at a launch event in San Francisco on June 14th.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3
Publisher: Sierra
Developer: High Moon Studios

Darkwatch developer, High Moon Studios is putting the finishing touches on The Bourne Conspiracy. The goal of the project is to bring the source material of the books home to gamers with the same high octane action that the movies are known for. We’ve been playing through a build with quite a few levels here at PopCultureShock for awhile now and we think that so far the team is well on their way to making that happen.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the game, as in the movies, is the way in which the hand to hand combat is portrayed. High Moon has done a very good job so far of coordinating the camera angles and movements while cutting frames from the attack animations similarly to the way it was done in the movies.

The mechanic that really helps in this regard is the Takedown. When fighting, players gradually build up their adrenaline bar, which is separated into three parts. Each time one of those portions of the bar is filled, players will be able to press a button to perform a Takedown. Takedowns are different from the standard punches and kicks and are scripted, cinematic sequences that typically use the environment to great effect. Remember when Bourne took a book and did his own rendition of the Star Trek 3 piece combo (more like a 15 piece combo)? Or what about the time when he took a pen and hit every pressure point in someone’s arm? Those are the kinds of things Bourne does when he uses Takedowns. Although these sequences aren’t interactive, the way that you build up and earn them by mixing them in with your normal moves makes it a reward to execute and watch them.

The mode in the game that could use the most work right now would have to be the driving portions. While this is an action game with no aspirations of being a Forza or Gran Turismo (or even a Test Drive for that matter), the handling and feel for the cars is way too light. If High Moon could add a little bit of weight to the vehicles, it would go a long way towards improving the playability of those scenes. As it is now, it feels like you’re controlling bumper cars and it is nowhere near as memorable as the fighting scenes.

As gamers, we see our fair share of licensed properties, whether from movies, books or other media. Most of those games are instantly forgettable as well. If High Moon Studios can polish up a few rough edges, they could have a hit on their hands and lay the foundation for franchise that can stand on its own. The Bourne Conspiracy will release in June of this year.

Oni Press is publishing Salt Water Taffy, Matthew Loux’s new series of all-ages graphic novels. You may know Loux’s name from the award-winning Sidescrollers, his previous effort. That one was named one of the “10 Best Graphic Novels for Teens” by the Young Adult Library Services Association and the American Library Association.

The first volume of Salt Water Taffy hits in two weeks. We’ll have a full-blown review for you next week, but in the meantime, check out these hot off the presses preview pages, direct from Oni.

Superstar artist Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets) joins critically acclaimed writer Brian K. Vaughan (TV’s LOST, Y: The Last Man) for a unique take on the man who’s the best there is at what he does. Finally armed with long-lost memories from his past, Wolverine returns to one of his first battlefields to settle an old score in an all-new adventure with a shocking revelation about the man known as Logan.

Rated Parental Advisory …$3.99
IN STORES: March 5, 2008

Terry Moore is back with a new series, and this time he’s going nuclear! Julie Martin is taking photographs in the desert when she witnesses a massive explosion in the sky. Covered in the bizarre, metallic fallout, she races home to find a chunk of the mercury-like metal came with her. When the metal becomes attached to her skin, Julie is unaware that she is host to a new symbiotic technology: a living bomb! The first printing of this issue will feature a special silver-embossed cover!

With one of their own already fallen, X-Force is out for blood. More blood. And they’ll stop at nothing to bring an end to the PURIFIERS’ plan to resurrect one of the X-Men’s greatest foes… It’s all-out war, with no quarter asked—and none given.

Rated Parental Advisory …$2.99
IN STORES: March 5, 2008

How will your now-elderly family react when you return to them after an absence of 63 years? That’s the crisis of the soul faced by Mister E, and an emotional confrontation that shines a spotlight on secrets about his past and heritage. Plus, the origin of the Fiery Mask! And golden age Zombies!

Rated T+ …$2.99
IN STORES: March 5, 2008

Asgard stands once more. Thor has reclaimed his role as the God of Thunder, and key members of his Norse pantheon stand by his side. Now, the blockbuster first arc by fan-mega-favorites J. Michael Straczynski (SPIDER-MAN: ONE MORE DAY) and Olivier Coipel (HOUSE OF M) comes to an end. What will be the new status quo for the Odinson? Just be sure to get this one before it sells out like the rest!!

Rated T+ …$2.99

THE NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA FIGHTS FOR THE HEART OF HIS COUNTRY IN A CITY GONE INSANE!
Last issue was just the tip of the iceberg, as the Red Skull’s master plan kicks into motion, and chaos begins to take hold of the US, with only one man to stand in its way, but is he up to the task? By Harvey and Eisner Award-Winning Best Writer Ed Brubaker with art by master storytellers Steve Epting and Butch Guice!

Rated T+…$2.99
In Stores: Feb 27, 2008

Mothers, lock up your daughters when we revisit the continuing adventures of that dashing rogue, Orson Randall, the Golden Age Iron Fist! The last time we flashed back to the life and times of Orson Randall, in the much fan-loved and critically acclaimed IMMORTAL IRON FIST ANNUAL, readers unlocked several secrets affecting Danny Rand, the Iron Fist of today. Now get ready for more! We promise you spine-tingling chills, ass-kicking action and pulp-fiction adventure like you’ve never seen, featuring gorgeous flashback art by Mitch Breitweiser, Chris Brunner, Russ Heath and Lewis LaRosa! Orson Randall goes head-to-head again and again versus none other than…the endlessly mystifying and unstoppably powerful Prince of Orphans! How will their battle through the ages echo in the life of Danny Rand?! You bet your kicked butt it has everything to do with the kung fu tournament of death unfolding in the pages of IMMORTAL IRON FIST!!

Rated T+…$3.99
IN STORES: February 20, 2008