For the uninitiated, still no official confirmation on the release date for Epic Games’ PC revitalization of Gears of War (UPDATE: Scratch that, it’s November 6th). But for those still pondering how the controls will fair on the trusty ol’ keyboard and mouse, Joystiq’s Andrew Yoon has news for you! After getting his hands-on a build from the DigitalLife Convention in NY, it seems the “A button” - which is normally used for a variety of functions in the X360 version - won’t have any sort of equivalent to it.

Double tapping a directional button will trigger the appropriate animation, such as running, dodging and taking cover. For example, double tap W to jump forward. If a wall is in front of you, Marcus will cling to the wall and automatically take cover, as in the Xbox 360 version. Once in cover mode, spacebar will perform a context-sensitive action, as indicated by the icon on screen. It doesn’t have the same fluidity of a controller, but for WASD fans, this is a perfect solution, as nothing is lost in the translation. Heck, even the “look at cool stuff” button returns as well (this time, mapped to Q).

And if even this idea doesn’t appease skeptical newcomers, all that juicy extra content could more than make up for it. New missions in the single player campaign, new multiplayer maps, a bundled game editor… the works!

Patience, Iago. Patience.

If reincarnation were ever an option (I’m not much of a holy person), I wouldn’t mind coming back as a wolf. A real wolf, that is! Not like the ones that give me the power to grant miracles through my magical celestial brush strokes, mind you, although that would be kinda bitchin’ now that I think about it. No, wait! A real wolf sounds far less selfish and hackneyed. Yes, indeed.

So, check this out. The Minnesota Zoo and eduweb are teaming up to create a realistic multiplayer role-playing game for the PC and MAC, called WolfQuest. From there you take the role of a wolf and are assigned to form a pack in order to survive in the great unknown wilderness. For the amazingly entry price of free, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with your online “kindred” and take on many common everyday tasks – like hunting for meat, defending yourself against other predators (wolf or not), mating, raising your own cub family, howling, peeing and so much more! Check out the exciting video from the official site.

Okay, so it won’t topple the massive multiplayer juggernaut collectively known as WoW, but then it’s not supposed to. Minnesota Zoo’s focus here is to bring “the immersive, compelling drama and action of video games to informal science learning while creating a model for nationwide distribution.” Think Animal Planet audience here, people. Digital vindication, at last? For its admission ticket (Free!), I’m willing to take a closer look before I decide that.