Remember previous Highlights in which I'd say something like "we were really busy"? I was totally lying. But this week, we were really busy, with Chris, Nick and I all shipping off to dangerous and exotic destinations and hauling back boatloads of content for you, our gentle readership.

In the chaos of the last three days, you may have overlooked one or two items of interest. Here's some of the notable news of the week:

• New DS Castlevania title revealed by ESRB listing
• PlayStation Store gets a facelift
• Soul Calibur IV dated for July 29
• Spider-Man: Web of Shadows announced, trailer'd
• Nintendo cleans up in March NPD numbers
• Judas Priest first full Rock Band downloadable album

And here's a boatload of original Shacknews coverage to devour:

• New Team Fortress 2 Content: New Medic weapons, Goldrush hands-on, media, Valve's Robin Walker interviewed
• Namco 2008 Editor's Day: Wii/DS media, PC/PS3/X360 media, PowerUp Forever, Soul Calibur IV impressions
• Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: Kevin Cloud interviewed, Quake Wars console media, id Tech 5 update
• Midway Gamers Day: New content for X360 UT3, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe announced, no Gears of War 2 demo, media explosion

So far it's been a relatively dull month for gaming news, but things are seriously heating up very soon. As for this week, we had a few interesting developments. A sampling follows below.

Hot stories:

• THQ officially announces Dawn of War 2.
• Peter Moore officially announces the death of Madden on PC.
• Tom Clancy takes to the skies with HAWX, and we have screenshots and a trailer.
• Ubisoft joins Steam, and brings along Altair.
• Penny Arcade teams with Hothead to launch a new digitial distribution service.
• Creative stops, then allows custom sound card drivers.
• The PlayStation Store won't be updated until the April 17 launch of its redesign.

In-house developments:

• Sunday School gets healthy with a health-bar themed quiz.
• We offer a preview of next week's Assassin's Creed PC port.
• It was a magical Replay Couch with The Abracadabra.
• Follow The Evolution of Nintendo Commercials in the first of a two-part series.
• Jeff and the community entertain us with a Fallen Empires: Legion contest.

It's been a busy week for us, so Faylor and I decided to finally indulge on our most long-awaited excursion: a trip to see the world's largest rubber band ball. While we're away, please help yourself to the bevy of Shack content posted this week.

Lots of industry movin' and shakin' in this week's news roundup:

• EA clarifies Battlefield pay-to-play weaponry
• Rock Band for the Wii coming June 22 sans-DLC
• Microsoft publically shames Xbox Live cheaters
• Take-Two talks BioShock MMO potential
• New Team Fortress 2 content due mid-April
• UK report suggests movie-like ratings for games
• EA amends its offer for Take-Two

And also, some feature content:

• Outtakes and oddities abound on Replay Couch
• Zillox and Amrani deliver Shackers Episode 3
• The Shackstaff gets bossy on this week's ShackCast

The brave souls of Shacknews are gearing up for a well-deserved weekend, but your work has only just begun. Who needs a night out when you could be catching up on a slew of Shack content?

Here's a rundown of the notable news of the week:

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl flies off the shelves
• Maxis announces Sims 3 for 2009, issues screenshots
• A Sins of a Solar Empire demo was released
• Map packs for Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 on the way
• Activision drops Guitar Hero DS announcement and media
• Ubisoft purchases the Tom Clancy brand for gaming
• Acer isn't getting into consoles
• Guitar maker Gibson sues everyone

And for content lovingly crafted by your friendly Shackstaff, check the following features:

• Nick Breckon brings the science in Sunday School
• I infuriate everyone by complaining about cover systems
• Political Pokemon duke it out on Replay Couch
• Chris Faylor dons pink shirt, interviews Peter Molyneux in two parts

Ready to Friday, everybody? I sure am—an action-packed weekend of Atlus' Persona 3 and not much else. Who needs friends when I can simply cultivate my social link with the school treasurer? Meanwhile, a busy week means a jam-packed post of highlights for you to enjoy.

Here's the week in the news:

• Stephen King calls game legislation 'surrogate parenting'
• Three more studios bite the dust
• Rock Band is bloody expensive in the UK
• Grand Theft Auto 4 provides some suggestive swag
• R.I.P. Computer Gaming World
• Rumors fly of Microsoft's Wiimote clone
• Left 4 Dead delayed, Faylor weeps
• Halo 3 Legendary map pack media extravaganza unleashed

Of course, we also had a smorgasbord of home-cooked content:

• Nick gets lethal with a Ninja Gaiden II preview
• The evolution of Nintendo commercials, part deux
• Raptor Safari creators talk dinosaurs, jetpacks
• Brad Shoemaker offers some Fallout 3 hands-on impressions
• I get stomped in Halo 3's Legendary map pack DLC

Need to catch up on our earlier content round-ups? Check out our previous Highlights of the Week.