InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Pics: New pics of Japan’s Classics are now available on Amazon.co.jp for all to see! Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, Grimlock, Bumblebee, and Mirage, reporting for duty!

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Preview: The Official TMNT Web Site has posted a preview for Tales of the TMNT #42.
2. Newsbit: In other news: Cloned meat is safe to eat!
3. Newsbit: Looks like there are three men in the running to play Duke in the G.I. Joe movie.
4. Video: Goku’s actor (from the Dragon Ball movie) “hopes he does a good job.”

Video Power

1. Newsbit: Smash Bros. DOJO!! closes out this week of sadness with an update about sticker power-ups.

   Regarding the delay, rumor is that manufacturing issues are the culprit.

   And GameTrailers presents a new video that explores the details and origins of New Challengers Pit, Snake, Sonic, and Wario.

2. Newsbit: Fans of toys and Gears of War are in for a treat, as the two finally converge, thanks to NECA.
3. Newsbit: One part Paper Mario, one part Second Life, and one part Mega Man, and what do you get? Daletto World, that’s what!
4. Newsbit: A lot of people are buzzing about the now-officially announced remake of Bionic Commando, which has now been officially titled for the US release Bionic Commando Rearmed. Can’t wait… this is how you relaunch a franchise.

   IGN also has a little Q&A time with Producer Ben Judd and Simon Viklund, creative director at GRIN, about the remake.

5. Website: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Kombo!
6. Newsbit: This Sunday at Nintendo World in New York, they’re holding a launch event for Advance Wars: Day of Ruin. Go, play… have fun!
7. Newsbit: Ah, someone out there IS listening… Alex Kidd is now confirmed for SEGA Superstars Tennis.
8. Newsbit: Replacement Big Daddies from the special edition of BioShock are starting to show up, so keep an eye on your mail if you filed for one.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Review: Real Gear robot Hacker X3 has been reviewed on BWTF.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: The rubber-band chain gun: A snappy answer to stupid questions.
2. Video: Who says amateur wrestling has to be boring? Not this guy!
3. Video: This guy gets to read the sports on the news, and yet, I remain out of work. Where’s the justice?
4. Review: Another review for Cloverfield. Sounds good to me.
5. Article: Dirk Manning is back at Newsarama, and he takes a look at Spider-man’s recent changes, and compares them to… wrestling? How unexpectedly apt.
6. Comic: Speaking of which (as even I’m getting tired of at this point), Figures.com’s online toy comic has their own take on recent events. Could use a bit of work in the spelling department, but otherwise a funny read.

Video Power

1. Blogging: PS Monger is disappointed that GameTrailers’ Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law game doesn’t quite live up to the Phoenix Wright pedigree.

   I think I’ll still give this one a rental, if nothing else.

   Also, Capcom has an interview with the men behind the game.

2. Article: Figures.com talks to the creator of that custom Samus action figure about the process of making it, complete with some “before” pics.
3. Newsbit: Oh, ok, so maybe Cracker Jack doesn’t hate the idea of learning being fun.
4. Video: ScrewAttack.com brings out X-Men: Children of the Atom, Capcom’s superpowered Street Fighter-ish fighting game that helped usher in the Marvel vs. Capcom era of arcade fighters.
5. Article: No doubt about it, Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a dream roster. But, even dreams can get a little better, can’t they? GameDaily has a list of characters that people would love to see join, but probably never will.

   On the other hand… go back about 10-12 years and tell someone that Sonic and Mario would fight in a game… see what they say.

   Anyway, the list starts off interestingly enough (Boob smash by the DOA girls? Master Chief vs. Samus?), but then devolves into a schoolyard glee fest over how much more badass Kratos and Big Daddy are than Wario and Kirby.

6. Article: GameDaily follows yesterday’s “Best Celebrity Appearances in Gaming” piece with the Best Celebrity Cameos.
7. Article: MSNBC poses the question in an excellent article as to whether or not parents gaming with their kids is wasted time or worthwhile.

   Totally worthwhile. Even though his tastes have drifted apart from mine, at least it’s one subject I can still converse with my dad about.

   It’s pathetic that someone would think that spending time with their kids is “a waste,” even if it’s with video games. And I think that’s where a lot of parents can fail.

8. Merch: Some awesome import light-up Mario character/item keychains.
9. Quiz: Think you know your video game movies? How about their posters? Why not take the overly-difficult video game movie poster quiz and find out?

   I got three.

10. Newsbit: Now here’s a fun way to learn piano lessons… with Mario!
11. Newsbit: A story that, shamefully, will probably never see the sort of sensationalism that a story about violence involving (if only peripherally) video games would see: An America’s Army player saving peoples’ lives using the experience he gained in the game itself.
12. Newsbit: Remember the dusty PS3 that Sony wouldn’t touch? Well, good news is, the gent now has his problem fixed.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Newsbit: Looks like an upcoming IDW comic will be All Hail Megatron, wherein they explore what would happen if the Decepticons came to Earth with no Autobots to stop them.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbit: Damnation. CBR reports that the Justice League movie has officially been shut down.
2. Newsbit: Another WWE horror movie is on the way, this time starring Rey Misterio. This one isn’t even getting a shot in theaters, is it?

Video Power

1. Newsbit: Condolences go out to the friends, family, and coworkers of Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, the Metroid Prime series senior engineer who passed away yesterday at the age of 43.
2. Newsbit: More Smash Bros. DOJO!! brings more Pikmin & Olimar; specifically, their Final Smash.

   Pretty clever, really. It practically works a story element into the moveset.

   Bonuses today include another Japanese commercial, updated character info, Snake’s moveset, and a translation of the Famitsu review.

3. Newsbit: Nintendo has been kind enough to provide a list of several upcoming releases to be expected through 2008.
4. Newsbit: Want to learn more about your favorite games and franchises? Game Makers, the former G4 show Icons, is a good place to see it in true Biography style, and according to Press the Buttons, there’s going to be a big block of episodes coming on this Saturday.
5. Newsbit: While the PS3 and 360 are getting Soul Calibur IV and the Wii is stuck with Soul Calibur Legends, there’s a chance that Wii could still get a traditional game somewhere down the line.
6. Newsbit: The Plaintiffs’ lawyer in that class-action suit against Microsoft for the Xbox Live failures insists that they aren’t just in this for the money. Um, yeah, sure. I think they should just take their damn free Arcade game and like it.
7. Newsbit: Oh, this is just too good. Too, too good. Not only are we getting a new Bionic Commando sequel, but PSN and Xbox Live Arcade will both be getting a remake of the original, featuring 3D graphics, 2-player co-op, secret locations to uncover, and some story connections to the new game.

   To quote Peter Griffin, this is freakin’ sweet.

   Oh, and the title for the game is Bionic Commando: Master D Revival Plan (which is known in Japan as Top Secret: Hitler’s Revival).

8. Videos: IGN Retro looks back at editor hijinx of years gone by.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: What’s the best course of revenge for an egging? Why, potatoes, of course!
2. Blogging: Mighty Godking brings us Revenge of the Wikigroan:

   Wikigroaning (whih-kee-grow-ning): A game where players attempt to find two vaguely related Wikipedia pages, the first being something real people might actually wish to research, and the second being an entry that absolutely nobody really needs to know. A Wikigroan is of extreme quality when the second entry is much longer and more detailed than the first: e.g., Sgt. York versus G.I Joe.

3. Interview: Daniel Way talks a bit about his method of bringing Deadpool into the Wolverine: Origins comic.

   Despite all the skepticism, I like what I’m seeing on these pages. Wolverine in a tiny derby with fork and spoon claws for the win.

4. Article: Ever wonder what the deal with “grim ‘n gritty” comics is?
5. Review: Curious about Cloverfield? Can it possibly live up to the hype? Read this review and see what you think.

Video Power

1. Pic: Wonder what cover GamePro will have for its Super Smash Bros. Brawl issue? Well, wonder no more!
2. Blogging: Will 2008 be the year of the PS3? Maybe… I think it’ll see some improvement, at any rate.
3. Video: Thanks to Frash for sending this my way. Slightly NSFW, it’s our favorite game show, all grown up! It’s Where the F*ck is Carmen Sandiego?
4. Blogging: Ah, to work at Capcom… or any game company that has crap like this laying around. And I mean “crap” in the nicest possible way… dig the Mega Man X radio, fer sure.
5. Newsbit: Seems that the founder of Seeds Studio and former Clover Studio producer Atsushi Inaba is having a difficult time figuring out where to go from here, and which console to develop for.
6. Video: Meet the new Angry Video Game Nerd. I don’t think Rolfe is at any risk, but this guy definitely strikes me as angrier and nerdier.
7. Newsbit: Killer 7 and No More Heroes creator SUDA-51 is actually surprised by the large casual crowd the Wii is drawing.
8. Reviews Review: Gamasutra takes a look at the various online reviews of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law.
9. Article: Too many people are blaming video games for the woes of the world these days, especially when GameDaily has found much worthier targets.
10. Blogging: Business Week has opened a new gaming blog that begins with a rather… well, let’s be nice here… silly question.

    I’d love to know where the addle-brained notion that games are just for kids and that adults can’t or aren’t supposed to enjoy them came from.

11. Newsbit: Ah, a lost Wii story with a happy ending.
12. Video: It’s Wednes– er, Thursday now, and that means a new Zero Punctuation with Yahtzee! This week: Crysis.
13. Article: It’s amazing how many bad game demos there are out there, demos that are supposed to make you want to buy the game. Sonic the Hedgehog for the 360, for example, fails at this completely.

    Ergo, it is surprisingly necessary that someone should come up with Seven Steps to a Better Game Demo.

14. Article: An interesting, and unexpected, comparison has been drawn between Bioshock and Robocop.
15. Interview: And I think this came up JUST after I updated last night, wherein some folks at Bungie describe how Master Chief would not be the star of a Halo movie. Crazy, huh? Or IS it?

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Newsbit: Finally, a look at the Japanese version of Classics Starscream (who is as G1 faithful as one might expect), among other Japanese TF news, including the return of Omega Supreme!
2. Newsbit: Diamond Select Toys is bringing busts based on the Datsun-Z trio of Prowl, Smokescreen, and Bluestreak.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbits: The 5th turtle gives a peek at some results of last week’s 25th anniversary/Publishing meeting at Mirage.
2. Pic: first fight scene image from the Dragon Ball movie seems… I dunno. There’s plenty of orange…

Video Power

1. Demo: As promised, Capcom has delivered a Flash-based “Mock Trial” demo of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.
2. Newsbit: Still want more Ace Attorney action? Del Ray is happy to oblige with a North American release of the Gyakuten Saiban manga!
3. Website: Rockman Perfect Memories has a new layout up, and several new features to go with, so check it out!
4. Website: Speaking of site revamps, AMN is soon going to become Kombo.com, so that’s where you’ll be finding me when I’m not doing this or trying to earn money.
5. Newsbit: Smash Bros. DOJO!! finally confirms a longstanding question: Is Shiek in the game?

   In related news, Sakurai will be delivering the postmortem at GDC… weeks before we even get the game (along with speeces for Wii Fit and Wii Ware by other developers).

   But, at least we know that Famitsu has given it a perfect score… but then, I wonder how well you can trust a score on an incomplete game?

   On the upside, GameTrailers has some new videos to help pass the time.

6. Newsbit: SUDA-51 would love to make another No More Heroes game, but while he’s waiting to see where that goes, he has some other projects in the works.

   In the meantime, give No More Heroes a look when it comes out!

7. Videos: GameTrailers has added a ton of videos for Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.
8. Videos: There are also new videos for Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, including the opening cinematic.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Interview: TransFans.net has an interview with Brazilian TransFormers artist Marcelo Matere, which includes some never-before-seen images for characters and the unreleased fourth issue of Dreamwave’s War Within: Age of Wrath.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: Now this is how you throw a party.
2. Video: From The Tim Allen School of Opening Beer Bottles. Overkill much?
3. Reviews: IGN checks out the latest manga releases, and– surprise, surprise– reviews them.

Video Power

1. Blogging: The PS Monger briefly recaps the raw deal dragons have had in gaming. Nevermind the ones who are simply there to be slain.
2. Video: Thanks to Lyra for pointing me at this awesome guitar version of Boomer Kuwanger’s theme from Mega Man X, among many others.
3. Video: The Switcher has another compilation of silly clips from the American Street Fighter cartoon, in a piece called Street Fighter Stupidity Exhibition Vol 2: Headbite Harder!

   I still like the toon, though.

4. Article: Today’s piece from Racketboy’s Retro Gaming looks at the rarest and most valuable Nintendo 64 games of all.
5. Video: ScrewAttack.com looks back at the best and worst of Sonic’s games.
6. Article: IGN Retro decides to follow up with some of their old chums, and see what they’ve been up to lately.
7. Article: GameDaily checks out who some of the biggest stars to voice video games are.
8. Article: GameDaily takes a look at Apple, and notes how the Big 3 could follow their example.
9. Newsbit: CVG, via Games Radar, digs and finds how Star Wars got mixed up in Soul Calibur.

   ?When we thought about what guest characters would fit in the Soulcalibur universe, we naturally ended up with Vader and Yoda.”

   Oh… of course. What rational person WOULDN’T connect the two?

10. Article: Who says glasses are just for nerds? Games Radar has picked out ten famous pairs that could not be done without.
11. Article: GamePro takes a look at the industry’s tendency to create what has become known in some circles as bullshots, or doctored-up screenshots.
12. Article: Who are the greatest horses in video game history? MTV Multiplayer makes a list. Dunno if they checked it twice, though.
13. Newsbit: A dirty Wii deal goes bad.
14. Interview: Square-Enix Prez clarifies the “Wii is a toy” comment, and gives his thoughts on a “one console” future.
15. Article: Tried to post this yesterday, but the link wasn’t working. Gamasutra has a new article up that looks at “20 mysterious games,” games with plenty of secrets to discover.
16. Article: With the recent delay of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, what better time for the folks at 1up to take a look at why some of the hottest games slipped into 2008.
17. Article: Someone at Gawker feels that gaming journalism should stop treating women like meat. And I agree; I like cheesecake as much as anyone, but it really does get overdone sometimes.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Blogging: Simon Furman drops us a small teaser in his blog for this week’s TransFormers: Devastation #4, with a loving reference to an old Marvel story.
2. Pics: New images are up for Premium Movie Optimus Prime.
3. Newsbit: To our friends across the pond, TransFormers: Animated will be hitting the UK, France, and Germany.
4. Newsbit: Looks like Real Gear wave 5 is out.
5. Pics: New back-of-the-box pics for Wingblade and Jetstorm, the latter of which being a Decepticon mold now.
6. Newsbit: Coronation Masterpiece Starscream: the worst comedy of all.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbit: This week’s DVD and game releases, courtesy of GameSpite.
2. Newsbit: Good news for Boba Fett fans: He’s not only a part of the Star Wars TV show, but has been dubbed “instrumental” to it.
3. Interview: IGN has a few words with actress Julie Benz about Punisher: War Zone.
4. Newsbit: Word is that the final Harry Potter book could wind up split into two films.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: First Ghostbusters, now Highlander?
2. Newsbit: Oh god, Nintendo, why?

   Smash Bros. Dojo brings this grim tiding:

   Due to delays in the completion of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, we?ve had to change the release date of the game to Sunday, March 9th.

   I deeply apologize to the people who have looked forward to playing the game for so long and ask that you hold on just a little longer. Thank you for your patience.

   Geeze… the worst part is that it’s not a simultaneous delay/release, and so that means my blackout period is going to be greater. Yeah, that’s right… I’m cutting off a chunk of stuff I access between the Japanese and US releases so that I can hope to still see SOME surprises in the game. Which means no Game|Life, it seems. I’ll get someone to test the waters…

   Japan’s delayed too, but only for five days… what the hell?

   Anyway, here’s the updates for the week thus far.

   First up is Challenge Mode, where many of said surprises are kept behind windows, with clues as to how to unlock them. In addition, you’re given golden hammers which can bust some open, though it’s recommended they’re saved for challenges you just can’t beat.

   Which is great, as with something like that, maybe I’d have Final Destination in Melee. On the downside, it says that hammers don’t work on everything… which seems a little absurd to me. If you’re unable to unlock it, and the hammer doesn’t work, you’re pretty well screwed.

   Incidently, I wonder if hammers can be earned.

   Tonight’s update features the Distant Planet stage from Pikmin, and it looks quite awesome.

   And apparently, there’s still more info coming out of the World Hobby Fair. Hard to say how legit it is, given some info in there (such as denial of a delay).

   Plus, it seems that the CoroCoro talk of Zelda being able to change to Sheik was a falsehood. Not to say she can’t, but that it wasn’t mentioned there.

3. Newsbit: …this was not something I expected to read today:

   “Castle Wolfenstein Director Arrested for Manslaughter”

   Among other things, you just KNOW the media will probably have a field day with this.

4. Newsbit: Nintendo has hired some new people for the Bay Area offices, one of whom will be replacing Perrin Kaplan as VP of Marketing & Corporate Affairs.
5. Pics: Sure, there are new LEGO Batman screens, but I’m more interested in video on this one. It’s less about how they look and more about what they do here.
6. Newsbit: Hey-hey, Factor 5 is back with Nintendo! Maybe they’ll make something good this time.
7. Newsbit: An ironic twist. Been wondering what’s up with the status of Xbox Live? Tough. Microsoft can’t say, thanks to that idiot lawsuit those wankers in Texas filed. Way to go, guys.
8. Newsbit: Next month, Nintendo Power has exclusive info on a new RPG that’s coming, but say nothing more, except that “maybe they’ve already told us.”

   If I had my issue, maybe I could speculate.

9. Newsbit: Ever wanted to come up with an Achievement for an Xbox 360 title? Ninja Gaiden II could be your chance.
10. Newsbit: You’ve got the guitars, the drums, and the mic. What more could your Rock Band need?

    How about a stage kit?

11. Videos: New to Virtual Console this week are Riot Zone for the TurboGrafx16, and Pac-Attack for the Super NES.
12. Website: Street Fighter IV’s official site has gone live.
13. Newsbit: Preorder Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Nintendo DS at GameStop, and you get this cool pin for the order.

    Um… if someone doesn’t want theirs, can I have it?

14. Newsbit: Could the new Rockman/Rockman X 20th Anniversary book be hinting at a new chapter in the Classic series?
15. Newsbit: Go Nintendo has begun its Bionic Commando petition in an effort to get the new title brought to the Wii.

    Spread the word!

16. Video: Someone claims to have a beta (courtesy of his dad, who works for Hudson) of New Duck Hunt on the Wii, which you can see here.

    Wow, I hope this is real. But it probably isn’t, all things considered.

17. Newsbit: Wow, not only did Canada get royally boned on the Rock Band release date, but we’re getting extra boned on the replacement guitars, at least compared to the US, what with the free games and all.

    Typical. Not like Canadians are people or anything too, right?

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Gallery: Cybertron.ca has a nice gallery of Wal-Mart exclusive Cybertron-into-Movie repaint Big Daddy.
2. Reviews: BWTF has three new Movie reviews: Leader-class Brawl, and Real Gear Highline 1070 and Photon T34.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Videos: “But, is it art?” Ok, that may not be the question you’ll be asking yourself, but YouTube user Lasagna Cat has given classic Garfield comic strips a new spin.

   Personal favorite so far? 08/18/1978.

   It amazes me that I’ve never come up with some of this Garfield stuff first.

2. Review: Still not over yet! Now, I-Mockery takes a stab, albeit a funnier one, at Spider-man: One More Day. Be warned, there is a bit of language and such within.
3. Article: 25 ways to break up a superhero marriage.
4. Article: A look at Action Comics #1, the debut of Superman, 70 years later.
5. Reviews: IGN looks at the latest anime releases on DVD.
6. Article: IGN Comics looks back at continuity reboots as they question whether they’re a good thing or a bad thing, and how well they work and are received across both Marvel and DC, from Age of Apocalypse to Zero Hour.

Video Power

1. Videos: Cool new version of Can’t Beat Air Man, with pseudo-3D 8-bit graphics.
2. Newsbit: This just in: Jack Thompson is apparently against having fun learning, too.

   I get the feeling that he’d probably rather that stroke victims have greater difficulty recovering and not play games, too.

3. Newsbit: At least one teacher seems to get it.
4. Newsbit: Some idiot from Gizmodo tried to ruin CES, and is now banned for life. Way to go, guy. I hope you’re proud.

   They apologize on their website, but it seems really half-hearted. Another post is far less apologetic:

   A Gizmodo writer has been banned from CES for a prank. But when I see some fellow press damning us for the joke, I feel sorry for them: When did journalists become the protectors of corporations? When did this industry, defined by pranksters like Woz, get so serious and in-the-pocket of big business? This is totally pathetic.

   Serious and in-the-pocket? Protectors of corporations? Hell, they could’ve been affecting peoples’ jobs for no good reason except that they could, and that, I do not agree with or condone in the slightest. Plus, it’s interfering in business, which I believe is the primary purpose of this show. I’m hoping that if a deal was blown, that it’s one that would have made the prankster happy if it’d gone through.

   And, as said on Ripten, this could be a serious setback, or at least a black mark, on future occurences of bloggers being able to attend. Irreverent? No, this was just immature.

5. Video: ScrewAttack opens the vault for Off-World Interceptor Extreme from the SEGA Saturn.
6. Article: IGN has compiled a list of classic games they’d like to see available as downloadable content across the new consoles. Say, think if they released Majora’s Mask on VC, they’d give a discount to those dissatisfied with the buggy GameCube version? Naaaaaaah.

   Super Star Wars would be neat, but only if they included an option to fly vehicles naturally. And Star Fox 2 is a must, no questions asked.

   So is Super Mario RPG, unless Square-Enix would rather bless us with a 3D remake, as is par for the course these days.

7. Article: IGN’s new Retro section looks at ten years of ten innovations in gaming.
8. Article: IGN Retro also revisits Virtual Boy, and looks back at what the best games were.
9. Interview: X-Play co-host Adam Sessler talks to Next Generation about the evolution of the longstanding video game review show as the countdown begins to the debut of their next iteration.
10. Editorial: Colin Campbell of Next Generation takes a look at how used games are damaging the industry.

    Can’t say I care for the used game business, myself. Not so much in the GameStop sense, anyway, as the savings are barely worth noting for often inferior product. Of course, were it not for used games, I wouldn’t have Contra: Shattered Soldier and Neo Contra, among older games right now. Unfortunately, places like GameStop are less interested in carrying older games, or at least buying them back, so that sort of cancels that point out to a degree.

    I think the big issue is simply game price. The higher the price, the tighter one’s pursestrings are going to get, and so any saving looks more palatable to many a consumer. $45 might look better than $50, but say you have a game that retails at $20 and cut off the same percentage… is $18, a two-dollar saving, really going to change your mind to go used?

    (And for the record, those are just example numbers for quick reference and detailing the point. Not to be taken quite so literally.)

    Of course, if Bill Gates’ prediction comes true and it all goes digital (what a headache that’ll be for consumers), then it all becomes a moot point anyway. I favor Miyamoto’s mindset in the matter: “make a game they won’t want to sell back.”

11. Article: Would you ever believe that there are nine games that could get you laid? GameDaily does.
12. Article: GameDaily thinks back to the Dreamcast, and some of the best games that made SEGA’s final hardware hurrah worth having.
13. Article: Blogs are an unusually common type of character in video games, but usually tend to be among the most lovable. Here, Games Radar lists their Top 7.
14. Article: Wow, Best Buy is just doing everything they can to piss people off these days, aren’t they? Apparently, now you can’t shop with a minor if you want to buy anything rated higher than that. And as a bonus, they’ll lie to you about what you can do to buy it! I hope that Matt D. gives them some serious hell.
15. Interview: Ain’t It Cool News scored an interview with the director of that 90’s video game-inspired classic film The Wizard.
16. Video: Can you imagine if the first Mario game for the Wii were played like this? I think that was a fear a number of us had before we saw Galaxy, and thank God it didn’t turn out this way. Sure, it’s interesting, and would probably be a little fun for a bit, but I think it’d get tiresome really fast.
17. eBay: More Nintendo goods on eBay.

    Also up is a Super NES store display. Nice.

18. Article: How much of your memory is dedicated to video games? Well, this 26-year old has half of his.
19. Videos: A little late for Nintendo’s Short Cuts, unfortunately, but this fan-film about two boys who get a Wii for Christmas and play it when they aren’t supposed to sounds interesting… I’ll have to watch it myself later.
20. Video: Hey, kids! It’s another Earthworm Jim cartoon!
21. Blogging: I saw some posters on the subway earlier for In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, and didn’t think it was an Uwe Boll film. I mean, those have advertising? And stars?

    And yet, there it is, as Kohler details.

22. Article: Ah, Microsoft… is there nothing they’ll do to keep and please customers? I mean, they’ve got the money, that’s all they need, right?

    And rubbing it in, at that. Ouch.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Newsbit: Coming soon to a Toys R Us near you: exclusives Wingblade and Jetstorm, based on Cybertron molds Wingsaber and Jetfire, respectively, and now featuring a military motiff.
2. Newsbit: But the REALLY good news? A Robot Heroes Dispensor toy is on the way! Shame he won’t be able to transform, though. Maybe soon…

   He’ll be squaring off against Ironhide, with a few other pairings finding their way into the wave as well.

3. Newsbit: Good news for those who’ve held out on buying a game based on TransFormers: The Movie: the price just dropped. Plus, Xbox Live is now letting you get all the unlockables unlocked for one fee.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbit: This diorama of Blade fighting Dracula is pretty slick.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: Smash Bros. DOJO!! finishes out the week with Pikmin & Olimar’s Special Moves.

   And elsewhere, Zelda’s Final Smash is revealed, along with another anticipated Special Move…

2. Newsbit: And wow… that’s quite a few EGM covers there for Super Smash Bros.… er, Brawk?

   …put me down for a Mario, I guess?

3. Newsbit: The Wii has made headlines in helping victims recover from disabling incidents, and now, Microsoft wants in on the action. Of course, it’s more a means of entertainment than assisting in recovery, but just the same…
4. Pics: New screens of Street Fighter IV! 25 of them, in fact.
5. Newsbit: Some big news today, as Nintendo Power has broken the first news and pics of the BioWare Sonic RPG since it was first announced.
6. Newsbit: So Goldeneye on Xbox Live? Not happening. The reason why?

   Money, money, yeah-yeah!

7. Newsbit: Good news for Metal Gear fans, as the latest title is almost ready.

   Cooler still is that the game will have pausable cut scenes. It’s about damn time.

   And on a related note… WRONG. SO WRONG.

8. Newsbit: Also coming sooner than expected is Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, which arrives on February 12.
9. Newsbit: PlayStation 3: now cheaper to make than ever.
10. Newsbit: A UK retailer takes orders for Wiis, then runs with the moneys.

    But is it fair to blame Reggie on this one? I thought the UK had their own monkeys in the truck to run this stuff over there?

11. Newsbit: Well damn, I missed out.

    20 bucks for Brawl, that obviously wasn’t going to stick. But I do wonder what they do about the people who preordered when it hit?

    Yeah, you guessed it: they cancel them.

12. Video: New trailer for No More Heroes. In light of recent developments, it’s a shame it has to be Ubisoft releasing it here. But I’d still get it, just to support the developers.
13. Video: A new trailer for Street Fighter IV, though it seems mostly like a splice of the original teaser and 1up’s in-game footage. The music takes me back, though.
14. Newsbit: Another reviewer has left GameSpot, though it remains unknown if it’s related to Gerstmann or not.
15. Newsbit: Son of a whore, I hope that this isn’t true. I still need to upgrade to a DS Lite, and the Crimson/Black one was just the one I wanted!
16. Newsbit: Want to see the new Bionic Commando swing onto the Wii? Well, there’s still a chance! Now, if only a good MegaMan Legends 3 movement would get started…
17. Newsbit: Father ruins boy’s game, boy tries to murder his father. Makes perfect sense to me.

    Sigh.

18. Newsbit: An official Wii lightsaber attachment? Not gonna happen.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Pic: What would CES 2008 be without at least one giant robot in attendance?

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: Please remember to wipe your feet before proceeding with your robbery.
2. Video: Ever wonder what went on before God passed down the Ten Commandments?
3. Article: Now, here’s retailers are saying about the One More Day story.
4. Interview: And the first Amazing writer, Dan Slott, on Brand New Day.
5. Article: Something different with comics: a column that addresses comics’ urban legends.

Video Power

1. Interview: Rockman Synergy Commons has an interview with the voice of Pallette and Cinnamon from Capcom’s Mega Man X games, Caitlynne Medrek.
2. Article: Much like myself, Matt of Press The Buttons doesn’t care for spoilers, not even in a game like Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is sure to be full of surprises. Naturally, the nature of the internet and its big mouths coupled with significantly-seperate release dates makes keeping the games secrets hidden until we play them a problem.

   But Matt seems to have a solution in mind.

   An interesting solution, but doesn’t quite seem like a fair nor a likely one. I’d rather just have simultaneous releases. Is there any real reason they can’t do that?

   Meanwhile, I might just black out for a couple of weeks, if I can.

   On a side note, I don’t think Resetti’s ever given me flack for tampering with the clock.

3. Video: Remember Bubsy the Bobcat, relic of a bygone era in which everyone tried to make the next Sonic, who himself ironically was made to be the next Mario?

   And if you do… do you remember his cartoon show?

   Don’t have time to watch the whole thing at the moment, but it seems decent enough. But for now, I’ll continue to embrace my Mario cartoon collection.

4. Article: Speaking of video game cartoons, Games Radar has a whole feature looking back at what they call The good, the bad and the WTF!? of video game cartoons.

   Interestingly, I think this is the first time I’ve seen anyone publicly applaud Charles Martinet’s Mario over Captain Lou’s.

5. Article: Remember the days when a color portable was such an awesome (and expensive) thing to behold? Relive those distant memories with Racketboy’s Beginner’s Guide to SEGA Game Gear.
6. Blogging: I am so tempted to use this as the name of my media empire.

   For now, I’ll just have fun laughing and saying it out loud.

   If you’re wondering what that’s all about, then look at this.

7. Newsbit: Apparently, Bill Gates thinks the reliability of the Xbox 360 is “incredible.” I wonder what he thinks of the reliability of consoles that aren’t notorious for breaking down constantly?
8. Video: More Mario vs. the Convenant, if you want it.
9. Videos: More VC footage with R-Type.
10. Video: The ScrewAttack.com Video Game Vault pulls out one I’m not familiar with: Crazy Balloon.
11. Article: IGN celebrates its tenth anniversary since its formation, looking back at the headlines of the day they went up. Plus, a retrospective. They’ve even gone so far as to launch a retro gaming site.

    Wow, I remember the old sites… N64.com, PSX Power, Saturn World… some good stuff, some good times. And who could ever forget the Game Players and Next Generation magazines? Two of the best ever. And it was those connections that made me visit IGN so frequently when I first went online.

    One of the best parts of the retrospective? “Snowball.com.”

12. Article: Following on their look at 20 of the most innovational games ever, GameDaily now looks at 20 of the greatest gaming advancements ever, marks of progress that go beyond any mere single title.
13. Article: EGM Editor Dan Hsu took some time to talk to GameDaily about the whole “blackout” thing they’re experiencing with Ubisoft, Sony, and Midway.
14. Article: Games Radar takes a look back at the biggest no-shows or “flakes” of 2007.
15. Article: Games Radar explores licensed games that don’t make any sense.

    …and Smarties are in Canada, too.

16. Hands-On: Hey, actual real hands-on impressions of Mario Kart Arcade GP 2!
17. Newsbit: Figures that someone out there would feel that Pikmin & Olimar in Brawl is a stupid idea.

    Most people I know have wanted and are thrilled at Olimar’s presence. And the size? Get real, Smash Bros. has never had a working sense of scale, except MAYBE between characters from the same franchise (such as Mario and Luigi, rather than Mario and Sonic). Of course, the fact that this is a different world from all the regular franchises and all the characters are trophies that come to life MIGHT have something to do with it…

    It’s also a bit late for the argument; Kirby is only about eight inches tall, if memory serves. So the griping about that belongs back on the N64.

18. eBay: Damn, someone got ahold of a bunch of Nintendo goods from an ex-employee of the company itself, and they’re auctioning it all off.

    I’d love to get my hands on some of this stuff. Check out the cowboy hat! I would so wear that. Dare me. I dare you to dare me.

19. eBay: Elsewhere, another lad is selling off his StarFox Super Weekend competition flight jacket. Damn, I’ve been wanting one of those since… well, since the competition. But if it’s only a large… well, that hasn’t stopped me yet, I just don’t close it up.
20. eBay: Oh, and the game to go with it.
21. eBay: Then there’s the Star Fox “Assault and Peppy” shakers. It’s an eBay Star Fox-o-rama!
22. Newsbit: So this GamerSwagg.com place allows users to sell their works based on video game properties. I wonder how legal this is?
23. Newsbit: So apparently, Barack Obama is the Wii.
24. Newsbit: Ok, so today, Square Enix’s President isn’t down on the Wii. Hooooo-kay.
25. Video: Something about modding an AK-47 into a Wii controller just strikes me as very, very wrong.
26. Pic: Reading: perhaps something more games need.

    (Not the first time I’ve seen such a label on the back of the box, though it’s certainly bigger here.)

    Or just something more people need to know about. What a hooch.

27. Article: CVG lays out five things they believe Nintendo needs to do with the Wii this year.
28. Newsbit: The Wii seems to be a hit at drinking establishments across the pond. In fact, you might say they’re getting a lot of good pub-licity.
29. Newsbit: Microsoft say they’re still not interested in joining the handheld market. Works for me, two is plenty as it is.

    Maybe if handhelds evolved to be portable players of the same games we use at home, but I doubt that’s happening anytime soon.

30. Article: It is one writer’s opinion that World of Warcraft is killing the pay-to-play MMO model.
31. Newsbit: David Jaffe made some waves earlier by joining in the “one console for all” party, but Chris Kohler says that he is simply wrong.
32. Article: Ten people who look like video game characters.

    Hah, I always said that Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown would make a perfect Wily…

33. Newsbit: Ever wonder how much it’s cost to make a real Gundam?

    Wow, that’s a lot. I wonder how much a Megazord would cost?

34. Newsbit: You thought Star Wars in Soul Calibur IV was weird? Wait’ll you see who the first choice was.
35. Pics: Here’s a neat custom Master Chief TransFormer… too bad it still turns into a Star Wars vehicle, though.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”