1. Oh, the irony. Today, I finally get my new issue of Nintendo Power with their exclusive first-look at Contra IV, complete with lovely screens and an interview, and what should happen?

   1up’s Jeremy Parish has his preview go up the same day.

   Screw Grand Theft Auto IV and to Hell with Halo 3 (I kid you, Chief), this is the sequel I can’t wait to get my hands on. 4-player? Awesome. And not a rumor, at least through NP, which even featured a screenshot of four bare-chested warriors spraying bullets everywhere.

   Still a little weird on the “Bill and Lance and Mad Dog and Scorpion” bit, despite that, though. It’d be like playing a game that features both Mega Man and Rockman, or Trevor and Ralph Belmont. Or the Ninja Turtles teaming up with the Hero Turtles.

   Hmm, a Contra/Probotector team-up might be neat, though.

   Moving on, stacking weapons is going to be cool, but unfortunately, it won’t be in the Metroid form of the term, but rather, obtaining multiples of the same weapon will yield a more powerful form of that weapon, much as the Spread Shot worked in the old arcade Super Contra title. Likewise, accidental grabs may lead to less “revenge kills” of your partner with the ability to discard a weapon so that they can grab it– or at the very least, make them a little more useful once they come back after dying.

   All together, the thought of this being the Contra equivalent of last year’s New Super Mario Bros. makes me feel giddy inside, as that game rose to become my favorite of the 2D games.

   In the end, reassuring words from T. Frog– let’s hope it all pans out in the end.

   October 15th will be the day all Hell breaks loose on Galuga once again. More here as it comes. And in the meantime, if you haven’t already, be sure to check out 1up’s special Contra Retro Roundup.

2. Today at the Dojo, Sakurai reveals Wario’s special moves.

   …I can’t believe he’s actually going to use his motorcycle in battle. Seems Mario has watched one too many of those “Grand Theft Mario” fanmovies, though.

3. TransFormers… BotCon, BotCon, BotCon, BotCon… there’s really little more to say.

   Unless you’re into old prototype toys. neoendgame has found this gold Micron Legend Convoy/Armada Optimus Prime prototype figure on eBay, commanding a rather hefty little sum.

   This December, Diamond Select will also be releasing this Omega Supreme statue. All the awesomeness and breathtaking power of the original “big” Autobot, with none of the falling-apart.

   GameTrailers has some footage of the Decepticon Blackout in action today. Somehow, he still strikes me as less destructive and bloodthirsty as Bumblebee was yesterday.

4. Brian Bendis has signed a deal that keeps him with Marvel for the next decade. Here’s hoping he doesn’t get bored in the interim.
5. Diamond Select has announced that the most awesome openly homosexual man in the world (barring possibly Hard Gay), George Takei, will be their guest of honor at SDCC this year.

   “Oh my!” indeed.

6. Sony seems to be wisening up to a good way to hook people on Blu-Ray– offer them freebies when they buy a player. Yep, PS3 included.

   Granted, with the PS3 being something of a money hole for them so far, this is probably one of the better incentives they can offer to get people to cough up the money for the system. After all, once you’re in, you’re in. And I doubt that giving these away costs them that much more.

   The downside? No freebie games. So while this may help push the Blu-Ray movie format along, it’s hard to say if this will really entice gamers to cough up the bucks for it. After all, aren’t there Blu-Ray movie players that cost less than a PS3 now?

   I guess it all comes down to the buyer’s perspective. But could a study that shows that many don’t know their consoles have video playback show signs of a factor to be considered?

7. TMNT was a cool, fun movie. And that makes me glad that the chances of a sequel are on the rise.
8. XBox 360 is a deathtrap– of the self-inflicting sort, really. So much so that one UK firm has stopped servicing Red Rings of Death due to the “phenomenal” return rates making the service “financially unviable.”

   Microsoft seemingly refuted the notion that there might be a problem by placing their hands over their ears and shouting “LALALALALALALALALA-CAN’T HEAR YOU!” before proceeding to chase Pac-Man around the parking lot with a broom.

9. Tonight (Friday) on Spike TV’s Game Head, we get to meet the voice of Mario! Can’t wait.
10. More Cracker Jack crap.

    The only reason I’m even mentioning this is that the guy is making moves against a game the company can’t even sell. Guy needs a hobby, bad. Wonder what it’d take to get Nintendo to send him one of those DS Lite/Brain Age gifts they do, as a birthday or late Father’s Day or something…

11. Damnation, Nintendo, just release the damn game here already!
12. “Midway To End Wii Party Game Drought With Game Party.”

    Well, thank God.

13. There is a rumor of an Alvin and the Chipmunks game for the PC, DS, Wii, and PS2.

    I only post this because it made me think of this.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 4:43 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.