Precursor Orbs, like coins in a Mario game, are the collectible artifacts and currency of the Jak and Daxter universe. Jak has collected thousands of them throughout his 5-game career and Daxter picked up his fair share during his solo PSP adventure. But I don’t know how they managed to carry so many on them at once. Oh, that’s right, I forgot — they, like many video game heroes, have bottomless pouches that magically store items of unlimited size and quantity.

Lucky them, because in real life Precursor Orbs are heavy as lead. OK, maybe not THAT heavy, but this replica Precursor Orb (with accompanying 10th Anniversary stand) I received today from Sony, in promotion of the Jak and Daxter HD trilogy coming to PS3 in February, is a good five pounds and is solid as a rock. I certainly wouldn’t want to lug around more than one in my pockets, let alone hundreds at a time!

View more Precursor Orb pics in the gallery below. There’s a link to the Jak and Daxter Collection trailer underneath that as well.

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Final copy of Dead Rising 2: Off the Record arrived at VGBlogger HQ today, and with it came this delightfully juvenile t-shirt about getting probed in the anus. Ah, the “in Uranus” joke — it never goes out of style!

Returning zombie slayer Frank West actually gets to wear a shirt just like it in the game, and you can score one for yourself by pre-ordering a PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 copy via Capcom’s online shop. Off the Record doesn’t ship until next week, so you’ve still got some time to get probed in Uranus Zone and flaunt it for all to see. Plus, it’s a video game t-shirt that isn’t black.

P.S. Here’s the new launch trailer to get you jazzed up for the upcoming release. Check back next week for our review.

In case you missed the news earlier this week, Call of the Dead is a Zombies co-op level coming to Xbox Live next week as part of the Escalation DLC pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. Watch the following trailer for a sneak peek.

Prototype 2 won’t be out until next year, but that’s not stopping Activision from putting on an early PR blitz.

Promoting the game’s exclusive preview in the April 2011 issue of EGM, Activision sent me a surprise present today in the form of a ‘classified’ PR kit and a black commando sweater emblazoned with Prototype 2 shoulder pad logos. I’m wearing the sweater right now actually, and it’s keeping me very warm on this chilly day — though it’s already collecting dog hair like mad!

Inside the folder marked ‘sensitive material’ are various promotional goodies, including a double-sided propaganda folder, a bio report on game hero James Heller, and a disc with a wallpaper and previously released trailers. Oh, and a copy of the EGM preview issue, too, of course!

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Serving as an unintended reminder of the ongoing tragedy in Japan after the recent and devastating earthquake and tsunami, today I received this survival kit from D3Publisher, preparing me for the world-ending invasion of the Aragami in the publisher’s new PSP action-RPG, Gods Eater Burst.

The U.S. Coast Guard approved supply box contains enough necessities to survive on should cataclysm strike, including six packs of emergency drinking water, a brick of food rations, a survival blanket, a no-batteries-required flash light and various first aid supplies like band-aids, towelettes and gauze. And yes, these are all real, functional survival items supplied by ‘The Emergency Preparedness Specialists’ at Essential Packs.

Also in the box, alongside a copy of the game, is a singed scroll requesting my help in the fight to save humankind as well as a ‘Top Secret’ folder with the usual reviewer press materials. Take a closer look below.

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How much do you love Alan Wake? Wait, don’t tell me. Well, you can if you like, as I’m always up for a chat, but you won’t win anything here. Whisper sweet nothings into Remedy Entertainment’s ear, though, and you may just win over their heart. Oh yeah, and some cool swag too!

The “I <3 Alan Wake" contest is underway over at the game's Hell Descent Facebook page, and to enter you have to become a fan of the page and profess your love for Alan Wake in the comments. And you really have to spill your heart out, because a quick sentence simply will not suffice. Your love letter to Alan Wake must be a paragraph at the minimum.

The contest ends on March 31st, and the winner will receive an Alan Wake flashlight, an ‘I Alan Wake’ t-shirt, and a poster autographed by game writer / creator Sam Lake. You must live in the US and be 18 or older, or have parental consent, to be eligible.

The “I <3 Alan Wake" Contest (Ends March 31st) [Hell Descent Facebook Page]

I’ve received a lot of cool (and sometimes odd) swag/promo items over the years, but I’m not sure if anything can top these collectible army men toy figures Sony tucked in with my copy of Killzone 3. Yes, toy army men! Fuck yeah!

According to the packaging, there are only 500 of these Killzone army men sets in existence (mine is #192), and inside are 10 Helghast and a lone ISA soldier to fend them off in make believe tabletop army men battles — the label stating “get used to these odds.” They are not for children under the age of three. And the ‘new plastic smell’ when first opening the bag was pretty foul.

Now, please excuse me while I go fire up some Killzone 3. Back with my thoughts on the game next week!

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Or so says the care package Nintendo sent me today in anticipation of its upcoming indie-developed WiiWare title Fluidity, which also included a refreshing bottle of re:newal premium spring water.

Developed by Curve Studios, Fluidity is a splash-filled puzzle game that will challenge players to tilt, twist and flick the Wii Remote to guide a pool of water through levels filled with tricky obstacles. The game launches on Monday, December 6 priced at 1,200 Wii Points, with a free demo version also slated for release the same day. Watch the how-to video below to learn more.

Always fun times when review copies arrive early with a little swag. Namco Bandai sent me a PS3 copy of Enslaved: Odyssey to the West this week, and with it came a mini-comic / art book created by Marvel and the game’s official soundtrack CD. The comic has some nice art in it, but isn’t anything too, too special. However, the soundtrack is 18 tracks and roughly 55 minutes of some really lovely music, from what I’ve listened to (and heard while playing the game) so far.

As for the game, I’m four chapters in (out of 14 according to the trophy list) and so far it’s exactly what I expected from a Ninja Theory game: a fun, story-driven, single-player action/adventure game with a cinematic flair and clever AI co-op elements. I’ve noticed a few quirks, namely some camera stickiness, the blinking environment pathways, and the dreaded Unreal Engine 3 texture glitch. But the game is more than solid enough so far to overcome these minor annoyances, and early on the story and gameplay have only been getting better and better with each passing chapter.

I’ll have a review ready to go for next week’s launch, so check back then for my full critique.

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A pack of promotional t-shirts for Battle vs. Chess and Nail’d arrived at VGB HQ today, courtesy of SouthPeak Games / Deep Silver.

What do you think? Like ’em? Cool, because we’ll be giving some away very, very soon. Stay tuned…