The Daily ‘Shroom – 7/17/07
“I’ll try and catch things up before Monday.”
Clearly, we can see that I fail. I fail hard. “Pwned” one might even say.
But no matter! For I shall pick up where I left off, and capture that which was once passed over, in addition to the bounty of NEW information which has cropped up since!
After this, you’re on your own for a week, unless I manage to sneak in a last update tomorrow night. But we leave early Wednesday morning for our grueling trek, so don’t get your hopes up.
- It’s like the second I turned my back, that’s when all the TransFormers news decided to show up. Maybe it was all just hiding out in a form I didn’t recognize, emerging once the time was right. Newsbytes in Disguise.
The Allspark has some new galleries featuring the BotCon exclusives of Weirdwolf and Alpha Trion, whom are now available at the BotCon/Official TransFormers Collector’s Club store here.
Music Label Soundwave has some new pics in the box and out, among his Classics Decepticon brethren. The downside these pictures reveal is that it might not be possible to store all of his parts in MP3 player mode, thus producing a fair abundance of “kibble”.
HasbroToyShop.com is taking preorders for the $90 monster Camaro known as Ultimate Bumblebee.
Not your thing? Maybe owning a replica of Frenzy’s boom-box model is more your speed?
Wal-Mart is selling old movies from Paramount, and offering a free TransFormers beach ball with the purchase. There’s some decent stuff there.
Remy brings out more gallery lovin’ with Movie toys Dreadwing and Arcee.
There are also new pics available of
Movie Ultra MagnusNightwatch Optimus Prime, though mostly pics of the box.Now this is the kind of music I can listen to: TransFormers Song Universe, a 5-CD set featuring nearly every Japanese opening and closing song, and inserts, too!
In a rare instance of Canadians getting something exclusive, Wal-Mart in Canada has begun stocking the Robot Heroes: Decepticon Sneak Attack 5-pack.
Speaking of exclusives, Toys R Us may well have another on the way, in the form of a 6-pack of Movie Legends figures, for those of us who didn’t shell out for them individually.
For a curiousity in the form of some rare specimens, some unreleased Generation 2 Go-Bots have popped up, on card, on eBay.
And finally, new IDW solicitations are here, featuring new Beast Wars, more Beast Wars, and other cool stuff.
Profiles for nearly every Beast Wars character? I am so there.
- Hmm, so Medicom is importing Death Note action figures, eh?
Interesting stuff. Not the first manga/anime I’d expect for a line of action figures, but at the same time, it works.
- SOTA is taking an interesting approach in their efforts to get the DarkStalkers action figure line made, and it involves you, the fan.
Seems that a lot of buyers– that is, I believe, those for stores– don’t quite get the line or understand the appeal of the license, which is why this “grassroots” campaign is being made to show that there IS a market out there.
- Evidently, God has some sort of appreciation for me. Or maybe just someone at Nintendo.
Regardless of just who it is, it’s clear that someone does, as today the Wii Virtual Console received a wonderful set of games in the form of Paper Mario from the N64, Balloon Fight from the NES, and… er, Silent Debuggers from the TG-16.
Oh well, two out of three ain’t bad. No disrespect to Silent Debuggers, I just have no earthly clue on that one, having never heard of it before today and all.
On the other hand, if you’ve followed the site, then you know full and well that Paper Mario is a game I’ve anticipated since they first revealed the Virtual Console, and I bolted for the Wii Shop Channel as soon as I found out it was there, and I have absolutely no regrets. Surprising to me, though, was that the graphics of this installment were so much less polished than its GameCube successor. Sounds silly, I know, but for the graphical style and sprites, I just never imagined that the two could look so different, and yet, here we are.
Not to say that Paper Mario looks bad or anything, but it does hold a rougher quality than its sequels. Better still, the gameplay and charm are both there in force, and I can already feel that more endearing quality that I felt The Thousand Year Door held but Super Paper Mario seemed to lack.
Speaking of Super Paper Mario, you’d think they’d have released this to help hype that up earlier in the year. Makes one wonder about Super Metroid or Super Smash Bros.
As for Balloon Fight, no small secret this is one of my absolute favorites of the oldschool (as in, VERY oldschool) style Nintendo games.
BUT… I didn’t get it on the Shop Channel, and I won’t be in the near future.
“Why?” you ask? Simply put: Animal Crossing.
Nintendo outdid themselves on that one, and it’s a move I don’t expect they’ll soon repeat with Animal Crossing for the Wii, unless they decide to add a way to buy low-selling games.
If I could afford it, I’d buy it anyway, just to support the “franchise,” such as it is. The Wii remote would certainly be a more convenient device than going to the trouble of hooking the Cube stuff up, but even if I wanted to, I only have 400 Wii Shop points at the moment, and other NES games I’d probably rather get first, for lack of having them.
…incidently, I’m still chomping at the bit to find a way to get Tingle’s Balloon Fight. Damn you, Club Nintendo! You and your Japanese exclusives!
- Over on GameTrailers, a new interview discusses the story and new Sixaxis controls for the upcoming Ratchet & Clank title.
A nice montage of ZX Advent gameplay and story has been posted as well. Yay, more Japanese voicing. Oh well, from those who have imported it, it sounds like a fun ride.
Burnout has rolled right into Paradise, with a video showing off the new features of the baddest of bad boy racing games.
And of course, more Mario as he makes his way through the Stardust Galaxy.
- The Smash Bros. Dojo has a pair of new updates: Deoxys, who I’m sure means something big to Pokemon fans, and a new piece of music taken from Star Fox, a remix of the Space Armada theme. Quite nice.
- IGN has some interesting movie news.
First, it looks like The Joker AND Two-Face will BOTH be in the next Batman movie. Those two have always had an interesting dynamic together, with Two-Face being more of a straight man to Mr. J who doesn’t oppose him as Batman does.
After all that foolishness about the GI Joe movie being a “buddy film” with no Cobra, it seems that Hollywood has begun to come to their senses about how to do this thing.
And after how many years are we faced with a second X-Files movie?
Sad part is, I’m honestly sure I don’t care any more.
- Words from Nintendo.
Wii, outsell the PS2? Could happen, but feels too early in the game to make such a proclamation. Maybe they have a better grasp on the facts and figures, though. Or maybe it’s just buzz. Kotaku analyzes it nicely.
Game Boy, gone? We all knew that it was coming when the DS broke away from being a “third pillar” into being a cornerstone, but it remains a sad thought to those of us for whom, growing up, “portable gaming” and “Game Boy” were virtually synonymous.
…Miyamoto, on the other hand, doesn’t think the light of the Game Boy name is ready to be extinguished quite yet.
- Weekly new downloadable content for Rock Band? Sounds… interesting. Think they can keep it up for long?
- Wondering how that Wii Balance Board is powered? onNintendo has the answer in the form of 4 double-A’s, operating seperately from the Wii remote.
- Like Super Mario Galaxy? Want more of it?
How does 16 minutes of it sound?
- Everyone is talking about Contra 4.
And really, why wouldn’t they be?
- Joystiq also has impressions of LittleBigPlanet, Metroid Prime 3, and Ratchet & Clank.
- Meanwhile, Kotaku has impressions of Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, Metroid Prime 3, Napoleon Dynamite, Godzilla Unleashed, and Super Mario Galaxy.
- If you really want to rub salt in your rival’s wounds, talk about how they’re failing at home.
Ouch.
Too harsh, perhaps?
- Make more Wiis? What a novel idea!
- Looks like Inafune’s out to have all his boys gather ’round for a little Lost Planet fun on PC. Mega Man, Frank West (Dead Rising), Joe (not of the Viewtiful variety)… add some Onimusha, and I think we can call it a date.
- And finally, 1up goes hands on with the latest law-and-disorder game from the house that made Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, Adult Swim’s own dynamic defense, Harvey Birdman.
One can only hope that someone from Phoenix Wright does make a cameo…
–LBD “Nytetrayn”