1. Alright, just a few more days until TransFormers: The Movie opens everywhere.

   In the meantime, some fun stuff from BotCon… *tears up* Sorry, I’m going to need a moment here… *bawls*

   Ok, I’m good.

   Big movie stars sighted in Rhode Island for the occassion, and I DO mean BIG; some cool news from the Hasbro tour, including the sad abortion of Titaniums of Cosmos, Arcee, Cybertronian Bumblebee, and Shockwave. Pics are here. Tear out our frickin’ hearts, whydon’cha?

   Also available are some pics of Movie recolors, including an unnamed silver-and-blue Optimus… hmm…

   More pics are here.

   New info has surfaced about TransFormers: Animated, some weird stuff. But at least the designs are able to transform, believe it or not.

   Meanwhile, a second movie has been given the go-ahead.

   In non-BotCon news, PingMag has an interview with a designer from TakaraTomy, an Australian by the name of Alex Kubalsky who designed Classics Mirage and Bumblebee, among others.

   Elsewhere, here’s hoping that the “DiaBlocks” Optimus Prime here is better than Hasbro’s Built To Rule attempts.

   Shadypenpen got to see The Movie, and has some pleasant thoughts about it here, though there are some minor spoilers that I didn’t have the benefit of a warning on before going in. Just so you know. Other nonspoiled opinions can be seen here, Newsarama has their own, which I’ve not read (just in case), and likewise for Ben Yee.

   If you’ve been wondering what Megatron will sound like with the voice of Hugo Weaving, it’s not bad. Letterman had a clip wherein the Big Bad has a little chat with Sam Witwicky.

   To warm up for the movie, IGN has a feature (poorly written, or at least edited. Seriously, how many different ways can you spell “Takara” on the same page?) which looks back at the television history of the Autobots’ battle to destroy the evil– well, you get it. They also talk about the comics, and give exclusive debuts of IDW’s TransFormers: Devastation #1 and Optimus Prime Spotlight.

   Still not enough? Then how about a virtual Q&A with Bay, a roundtable with same, Babes of the TransFormers, Blog Topic of the Week, and TransFormers vs. Stardust vs. 1408. Whew!

   The Game has come out, on the XBox 360 among other consoles, to fair-to-middlin’ reviews, though it seems a number of gamers think it’s often underrated. The general opinions seem to be, in order of preference: DS > Consoles > PSP, from what I’ve seen. PS3 and 360 get the video review treatment from GameTrailers here.

   Finally, what good is a summer blockbuster if there aren’t tie-ins? Fortunately, TransFormers provides as Optimus desperately tries to have it his way, after a slight mishap.

2. Wow. If you’re going to SDCC, you might want to get your hands on this NECA Castlevania exclusive figure: “Pixel” Simon, made to ironically celebrate the launch of their highly-detailed line of Castlevania figures.

   The “Pixel” Simon Mini-Figure is based on the look of the original Castlevania vampire hunter, Simon Belmont, and how he appeared on the original 8-Bit NES platform.

   This figure is a non-poseable resin mini-figure that stands about 3″ tall. He will be packaged on a small blister card that re-creates the original game artwork and background. This mini-figure will be available only at the San Diego Comic-Con and will be limited to 1000 pieces.

   Definitely a collector’s piece, if ever there was one.

3. Opera for the Wii is almost done with bein’ free.
4. So, GameTrailers has a new layout. Fortunately, they’ve seen fit (in time) to help us figure it out with a video tourguide.
5. Excellent news from He-Man.org, that the 2002 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon is being brought to DVD.

   Though a little pricey, there has been a LOT packed into the past DVDs for any fan of He-Man or She-Ra, and if you can get it at a good price, it’s worth grabbing.

6. Rockstar has sent out their thanks for the support of the Manhunt community, who–

   –waitasec, Manhunt COMMUNITY?!

   Is it me, or does that just sound like EVERY manner of wrong put together?

7. Wow, who knew that anyone was even keeping track? But then, I guess when you don’t have a Wii, every last Frosty Float matters.

   Unless you’re in Canada, where they just advertise them but don’t sell them.

   At any rate, the contest is only half over, so if you love Wendy’s and want Wii, then you know what to do.

8. The PlayStation 3 is SO going down.

   But! That’s actually GOOD news, as in Australia, our down is their up.

   Or something.

   Right. *coughs*

   Anyway, one wonders what the cause might be. Better average income down under? Different tastes? Somehow lower pricing?

9. Contrary to Kotaku’s opinion, I say FINALLY: The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 is out on DVD!

   And this damn country doesn’t get these Shout! Factory sets. Dammit!

   Seriously, this was my favorite of the Mario toons because of how (generally) faithful it was to the setting of the third game, all the while making new adventures and characterizing the Koopalings. With less parody than Super Show and less modern stone-age family than World, it really let Mario and the gang stand on their own for a bit.

   Plus, Shout! Factory does the best with what they have, which usually makes these sets worth a peek.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 30th, 2007 at 7:43 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.