1. Starting things off, of course the talk of the day has been a continuation of yesterday’s “hoax” hoax. By which I of course refer to the fact that the real hoax is that the media is labeling Adult Swim’s viral marketing as a terrorist hoax.

   Naturally, the two men who were arrested for the crime of promoting AS programing responded to allegations in pretty much the way you’d expect them to.

   Elsewhere, the former Wesley Crusher of the USS Enterprise, Wil Wheaton, expresses his outrage and further outrage over the incident. And, I pretty much agree with him– and everyone else– that this reeks of stupidity, the terrorists have won, and Boston needs to get laid.

   In case you missed what happened, Newsarama has a full recap.

   In addition, at the steps to the courthouse where the accused were speaking to the press, there were around a dozen protesters carrying signs not unlike this.

2. In other news, you may not have Peter Cullen’s career, but you can certainly have his role thanks to Hasbro’s TransFormers Optimus Prime Voice-Changer helmet, ready to transform your world into… a world transformed.

   Ok, so it just looks cool, alright?

   Other stuff up for peeking include a Fast Action Battler Brawl, and in-package pictures of Jazz, Brawl, and newcomer Wreckage, who’s probably toy-exclusive. Plus, for the cheaper, or simply more space-conscious crowd, Legends figures of Bumblebee, Barricade, Ratchet, and Jazz…

   …is that… is that an Autobot symbol on Jazz’s… you know what? Nevermind.

3. You’re locked in combat high above the planet Corneria. Your Arwing fighter is being rocked by lasers, meteors, and explosions… and you don’t feel a thing. What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?

   As it happens, that’s a question gamers may wind up being faced with as the Virtual Console trudges on, as Press The Buttons reminds us that Sony’s not going to be the only one without a rumble…

4. Looks like players aren’t the only ones who want no more “Friend Codes” from Nintendo, as Square-Enix wants a piece of that action, too.

   I’m hardly what you’d call a Squenix gamer (I think my last game from Enix was Illusion of Gaia, and Bushido Blade or Ehrgeiz from Square), but we stand side-by-side with so many others on this one.

5. Evidently, American schools aren’t the only crazy ones.
6. Wow, Electronic Arts wants to be Nintendo’s #2 guys… after Nintendo themselves, of course.

   Hey, EA? Best way to do that? Burnout on Wii. Get to it. Chop-chop. *claps palm*

7. And it seems that the prophecy of IGA has come: Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PlayStation Portable!

   I must admit, this both excites me and disappoints me.

   I am excited because we not only get a port of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, but a new, enhanced version with 3-D graphics, 2-D gameplay, and all the charms that follow. And, we get a portable port of Symphony of the Night on top of all that.

   Hell, that’s droolworthy right there, and makes me the happiest I’ve been to own a PSP since Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X came out a year ago. (Lumines is cool, too)

   What doesn’t make me excited?

   Well, a small thing first. Touched-up localization for Symphony? As an option, sure, but I love the cheesey-yet-serious delivery that has lived on in infamy so much that I feel the experience may be weaker, if just a bit, without it. Hey, who knows, maybe that’s how they spoke in those days? You weren’t there.

   My other gripe is… well, it’s on PSP.

   Don’t get me wrong, I think the PSP is a good little machine, if perhaps ahead of its time for the market (read: costs too much for what you get). There have been other good games, but it seems that the system is the killer here, and I’d hate to see future prospects die on Sony’s doorstep the way other similar titles have.

   If it were multi-platform release? Sure, no problem then. Hell, people have been saying for some time now that console ‘Vania needs to go back to 2-D gameplay, even if it means 3-D graphics, which is exactly what this brings. How great a shame would it be for Konami to dismiss the idea in the future because this didn’t sell as well as they might have hoped?

   On the other hand… this is Castlevania, and there may be some way that it might coax more people into the PSP camp… but at the same time, the PSP library is generally regarded as weak. Can Castlevania, times two or three on one disc, no less, counteract that?

   I have a bad feeling that this very game could determine the future, for the time being, of Castlevania… and it may not turn out to be good, even if this title does.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Friday, February 2nd, 2007 at 2:08 am and is filed under The Daily 'Shroom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.