When it comes to surviving the end of times, having a leg up might not be so bad. Today, THQ announced preorder incentives for its upcoming sci-fi shooter Red Faction: Armageddon that confer a variety of retailer-specific in-game bonuses for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC game.

GameStop and Amazon are offering perhaps the sweetest survival kit for console gamers, as the two retailers will be offering a free copy of Red Faction: Battlegrounds. Expected to be available during the first week of April, Battlegrounds is a multiplayer-oriented, top-down, vehicle-based arena combat game. Those who don't preorder from GameStop or Amazon can download the game through Xbox Live or the PSN for $10.

Red Faction meets Mad Max in Battlegrounds.

Beyond Battlegrounds, GameStop preorderers will also receive the in-game Commando Pack, which includes an armored uniform, a plasma thrower, and laser pistols. However, Amazon prepurchasers aren't slated to receive any additional items.

Those who prebuy the game at Best Buy will be afforded the Recon Pack. Included in this in-game add-on are the stealth uniform, the electrically charged arc welder weapon, and the XNG-5000, which fires homing missiles. Lastly, Walmart preorderers have the only bit of real-world schwag: a 24-page Red Faction comic book and strategy guide.

Red Faction: Armageddon will be available in North America on May 31. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

Nintendo has been updating the Wii's Virtual Console with classics--and sometimes, "classics"--from gaming systems gone by since the system launched in November 2006. However, though its pool of oft-requested games is dwindling, the publisher still has a few aces remaining.

Today, Nintendo announced that Japanese gamers will be able to download Square's acclaimed Chrono Trigger in April. The game will set players back 900 Wii points ($9), a 100 Wii point premium over other SNES-era titles.

Chrono Trigger on the DS proved the series has passed the test of time.

Chrono Trigger presents the story of Crono, who attempts to save his friend Marle from a malfunctioning teleportation device. However, a more sinister threat evolves through his adventures, and Crono soon finds himself altering space-time to divert the near-certain apocalyptic future.

Rather than traditional random-encounter battles, Chrono Trigger features visible enemies and an active battle system, where players have a personal countdown timer that measures the frequency of attacks. Seen as revolutionary at the time, the game also includes multiple ending sequences.

Chrono Trigger is one of just three releases scheduled for Japan's Virtual Console in April. The publisher also plans to release Mega Man X, which has itself been the subject of critical acclaim, as well as King of the Monsters 2.

Nintendo did not indicate whether Chrono Trigger would arrive on Virtual Consoles outside of Japan and had not responded to a request for comment as of press time. For more on the game, check out video of the 2008 DS rerelease below.

Though the beginning of April is usually associated with pranks and jokes, the games press is coming together early next month for a much more serious project. More than 25 media outlets, including GameSpot, will collaborate on a 60-minute video project called Gamers Heart Japan. The special will premiere on a variety of outlets on April 3 and will both highlight the rich history of game development in Japan and raise awareness for the Red Cross relief effort in the earthquake-, tsunami-, and nuclear-disaster-stricken nation.

The video will feature many leading game journalists, as well as a host of developers. The latter group will include Jade Raymond (Ubisoft Toronto), Dr. Greg Zeschuk (BioWare), Dr. Ray Muzyka (BioWare), Tim Schafer (Double Fine), Cliff Bleszinski (Epic Games), Ted Price (Insomniac Games), Siobhan Reddy (Media Molecule), Todd Howard (Bethesda), Peter Molyneux (Lionhead), Alex Rigopulos (Harmonix), Jenova Chen (thatgamecompany), Evan Wells (Naughty Dog), Ed Boon (Netherrealm), Sid Meier (Firaxis), and more.

Gamers really do love Japan.

A full list of participating media outlets is below. For more information on scheduling or to donate to the Red Cross' relief fund for Japan, visit the official GamersHeartJapan.com website.

G4 (US & Canada)
SCI FI Australia
SPACE (Canada)
Musique Plus (Canada)
Gametrailers.com
IGN.com
Gamespot.com
GameInformer.com
Joystiq.com
Kotaku.com
Destructoid.com
Elecplay.com
G4tv.com
Reviewsontherun.com
MTV.com
TheEscapist.com
Wired.com
Games.Yahoo.com
Wired.com/gaming/
TheECA.com
TotallyRadShow.com
Shacknews.com
EGMNow.com
USAToday.com (GameHunters)
Bitmob.com
TheTorontoSun.com
UGO.com
Metacafe.com
Youtube.com
Facebook.com

Well over four years after Square Enix revamped and rereleased Final Fantasy III for the DS, the 3D adventures of Luneth, Ingus, Arc, and Refia have made their way to Apple's iOS platforms. Today, Square Enix said that a 3D remake of Final Fantasy III is now available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and an iPad version is expected to launch next month.

Based on the original Final Fantasy III, which saw first release in Japan for the Famicom (aka Nintendo Entertainment System) in 1990, Square Enix's 3D remake featured the aforementioned new playable characters, along with their accompanying backstories. Square Enix also made a handful of tweaks to the game's character classes and introduced new job-specific items.

Final Fantasy III on iOS benefits from a 2D, 3D update.

Square Enix said that it has further refined Final Fantasy III's 3D graphics for the iOS installments. The game also makes use of touch-screen controls in a fashion similar to other Final Fantasy releases for the iOS.

Final Fantasy III can be downloaded worldwide through Apple's App Store for $16.

It's a busy week on the PlayStation Network, as Sony has added a stream of new wares to its download spaces, including the first downloadable Ghosbusters game, new content for the latest Castlevania game, and the new Final Fantasy fighting game.

Leading the pack this week is Atari's Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime ($10) for the PlayStation 3. The top-down game set in New York City is a cooperative adventure game playable online or offline with up to four players. It drops players into the boots of the Ghostbuster team's newest recruit and tasks them with working cooperatively to take down towering bosses. Also, gamers have a range of weaponry at their disposal, including the proton stream, the plasma inductor, and the fermion shock.

Crossing streams is not advised.

Also now available for the PS3 is Swarm ($15). The game puts players in control of up to 50 swarmites at a given time, guiding the entire pack through puzzling levels fraught with danger from spinning saw blades, poison gas, high explosives, and more. At least one member of the swarm will need to avoid becoming a stain on the ground to collect DNA and pass each level.

Gamers looking to pick up a tie-in game for the recently released film Battle: Los Angeles can grab a game of the same name today from the PlayStation Network. The Battle: Los Angeles game is a first-person shooter that sees players taking on the role of Corporal Lee Imlay and fighting alongside other characters from the film. Developer Saber Interactive has some experience with the genre, having created 2007's TimeShift, as well as 2003's Will Rock.

DC Universe Online launched in early January to warm reception. The game is now available to download from the comfort of the couch. The digital version will run gamers $60 and comes with 30 days of free play time. After the grace period, players must pay $15 a month to continue trekking through the game's world. However, players looking to stick around for a while can save a few dollars by purchasing a six-month pass for $78 or a 12-month pass for $135.

DC Universe Online is now available from the seat of your pants.

DC Universe Online lets players create their crime fighter or villain and is set in such locales as Superman's Metropolis and Batman's Gotham City. Also, a range of heroes and villains from the comic book publisher's immense stable lend their presence to the game. The game also benefits from heralded comic artist Jim Lee and scribe Marv Wolfman, who contributed to the project.

Adopters of Sony's new motion control tech--the PlayStation Move--can grab a showcase game of sorts this week from the PlayStation Network. Move Heroes ($40) is set for release on March 24.

The game sees characters from the aforementioned franchises plucked from their own worlds by an alien force and thrown together on a patchwork world where they must complete more than 40 missions, with gameplay using the Move controller to guide Frisbees through obstacle courses, bowl with an explosive ball, or engage in some old-fashioned third-person shooting and melee-driven head busting.

Soccer fans this week can grab Premier Manager ($10). The soccer management title has players dealing with the headaches, as well as the joys and pleasures of managing a top squad.

Those looking to continue their adventure in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow can grab the game's first add-on content today, Reverie ($10). The content sees players in the guise of Gabriel Belmont again, dealing with the consequences of slaying the vampire queen Carmilla. While Carmilla is gone, an evil she had previously kept under control has been unleashed and needs to be dealt with in the downloadable content.

Gabriel's adventures aren't yet over.

Sony added one new PSOne classic to the download hub today, Legend of Mana ($6). The action role-playing game has players controlling a male or female character through the fictional world of Fa’Diel. The Mana Tree has been lost, and it’s up to gamers to seek out and return the lost artifacts to save the world.

Gamers looking to try before they buy can pick up three new demos today from the PlayStation Network. Samplers for WWE All-Stars, You Don't Know Jack, and Ghosbusters: Sanctum of Slime are now live and ready to download.

Switching to the PSP storefront, Sony added two new games to the download spot today, the first of which is Dissidia 012 Duodecim ($30). The game features multiple roster additions, including Final Fantasy IV's lance-wielding dragoon Kain. A number of familiar faces will also be returning, including Sephiroth, Tifa, Onion Knight, Cecil, Golbez, Zidane, and Terra.

The other new PSP game out now is action strategy game Hoard ($10). The game casts players as a dragon bent on destroying a medieval kingdom.

Music-game fans can now grab six new Billy Joel songs for play in Rock Band 3. The songs are available for $2 individual purchases or for $10 as part of the Billy Joel Piano Challenge pack.

A full list of the week's deals and new PlayStation Store content, including themes, wallpapers, demos, discounts, and add-on content, is available on the PlayStation Blog.

Microsoft plans to officially release a PC software development kit for the Xbox 360 add-on Kinect this spring, but already, amateur tinkerers have been using the camera-based motion-sensing peripheral in ways that extend well beyond games. Following on from the flying Quadrotor and iRobot vacuum variant, the latest inspired use for Kinect can be found in Toronto’s Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre's surgery room.

The Canadian Online Explorer reports today that Dr. Calvin Law and his team in Toronto have begun using Kinect as a way to view patient imaging data during surgery. The primary draw to Kinect is its hands-free nature, which lets Dr. Law and his associates view MRI and CT scan data while conducting surgery.

Now Dr. Law has a perfectly legitimate explanation for any blood splatters on the walls and ceiling.

The interface was designed by University of Toronto general surgery resident and engineer Matt Strickland, with help from mechatronics engineer Jamie Tremaine and computer engineer Greg Brigley. The trio first set up the Kinect sensor on a remote computer and then connected that output to a suspended screen in the operating room. The surgeon would then make gestures recognized by Kinect to view the relevant data.

Prior to implementing the device, the surgeon would be required to leave the operating area to view the data, memorize the information, and then resterilize to continue the procedure. According to Dr. Law, he has used Kinect in six liver cancer surgeries over the past month.

Call of Duty: Black Ops' First Strike downloadable content landed on Xbox Live on February 1 and on the PlayStation Network on March 3. Now, the content finally has a date with the PC.

According to a tweet from Treyarch community manager Josh Olin, the First Strike DLC will hit the PC this Friday, March 25. The content is currently available for preorder through Steam, and doing so grants $1.50 in savings.

A very vulnerable Berlin Wall.

As for the content, the map pack includes four new multiplayer environments ranging in locale from the Berlin Wall in Germany to a North American hockey rink. The add-on also bundles one environment for the game's zombie mode, dubbed Ascension.

For more on the maps within the content, check out GameSpot's video preview of the First Strike downloadable content embedded below.

While Nintendo will be wrestling with the 3DS's downloadable features for months after the system's release, the company has its current system's online options thoroughly pinned down. The publisher today provided its weekly evidence of that with another Monday update of WiiWare, DSiWare, and Virtual Console offerings.

First out of the gate this week on the Virtual Console is Natsume Championship Wrestling (800 Wii points, or $8). Originally released on the Super NES, the 16-bit Championship Wrestling has players choosing from 12 fighters and duking it out in the ring. Gamers can play against an AI-controlled opponent or take on the game's Exhibition, Tag Team, and Round Robin modes with up to four players.

Gamers can get between the 16-bit ropes today in Championship Wrestling.

Switching to WiiWare, Nintendo added one new title and a fresh demo to the downloadable storefront today. The new title is Nordcurrent's Arcade Essentials (500 Wii points, or $5). As its name suggests, the offering is a collection of games based on classic arcade titles.

The new WiiWare demo is for Dive: The Medes Island Secret. The game casts players as John Sanders, an experienced diver who swims to the depths of the sea to uncover treasure buried inside the wreckage of ships.

Two new DSiWare titles are also available for download today, the first of which is Tik Games' Shapo (500 DSi points, or $5). The puzzle game has players placing differently weighted shapes on a scale and tasks them with making sure the scale stays balanced while lining up the falling shapes. Shapo sports 150 levels and two modes: Puzzle and Classic.

The last new DSiWare game out this week is G.G. Series D-Tank (200 DSi points, or $2). From Genterprise, the game has players driving a tank with a limited number of respawns. The game sports two distinct game types: offensive and defensive. In offensive missions, players must lay siege to the enemy's fortress within the allotted time, and in defensive mode, players are tasked with destroying oncoming enemy tanks.

Earlier this month, THQ confirmed that Double Fine would be stacking more content onto its downloadable title Stacking, but the details of that announcement didn't add up to much. That changed today, as THQ said that gamers can expect Stacking's first add-on, The Lost Hobo King, to be available through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network in early April.

The Lost Hobo King continues the story of chimney sweeper Charlie Blackmore, who in the original game set out to rescue his family from the Baron, a nefarious industrialist. The new storyline sees Charlie venturing to the hobo kingdom of Camelfoot, where he hopes to assist his friend Levi in securing the hobo crown for his uncle, Rufus.

In this case, playing with dolls is Double Fine.

Gameplay will be in line with the original Stacking, where Charlie will accomplish his tasks by stacking into larger-sized dolls in order to gain their unique abilities. Charlie's options include more than 15 different dolls, all of which have new abilities in the add-on pack. The Lost Hobo King also includes new achievements and trophies.

THQ did not reveal pricing information for The Lost Hobo King. For an idea of what to expect from the expansion, check out GameSpot's review of Stacking.