Woohoo! I finally beat Paper Mario! This makes me happy, but also saddens me just a little. Now Nintendo needs to hurry up with the next one, and none of this Flipside junk!

I wonder where I can get Partners in Time for a good price. In the meantime, I may need to replay The Thousand Year Door just to catch all the references.

1. TransFormers!

   This faux cop car is more than meets the eye! He’s just a dad trying to please his kid, in disguise!

   I dunno, the lack of lights, and the big Decepticon symbols and “TRANSFORMERS” written across the windshield and doors… as long as he’s not trying to pull anyone over, I don’t see the problem. Maybe it varies by location, but I remember that once, Nintendo Power gave away the police car used in the movie Robocop, after they took the lights off to make it legal.

   If you have a CostCo membership, and have been waiting to get Movie Leader-class Optimus Prime, then you’re in luck, as CostCo has an exclusive package featuring the mighty leader of the Autobots packaged with two of his “Legends of Cybertron” mini-sized subordinates, Jazz and Bumblebee.

   Hey, if you don’t want the minis, I’ll give ‘em a good home. Conversely, if that’s all you want, I can make room for Prime… eheh…

   Titaniums are on the way out, but they’re not through yet. Fans have reported seeing new shipments at Target, including War Within Starscream, Rodimus Prime, Beast Machines Cheetor, The Fallen, G1 Ultra Magnus, and RiD Optimus Prime.

   Damn, wish I had a Target here.

   These shoes may not transform, and they may not have Autobot and Decepticon symbols, and… um… well, they say they’re based on TransFormers, but other than some vaguely-defined color schemes, you’d probably be pretty hard-pressed to tell if these Nikes were Air Jordans or Aerialbots.

   As shoes, though, they look as good as anything.

   And finally, this version of the smaller Optimus Prime Movie figure has taken quite the beating. No word when it’ll be out.

2. Smash Bros. Dojo has updated to bring to us the army of the goddess, Palutena! It’s Pit’s FINAL SMASH!

   Rumors have swirled for some time, actually, that Princess Lana from Captain N: The Game Master was based on Palutena herself (check halfway down). With how different other characters came out, who can say for sure?

   Meanwhile, IGN is holding some speculation as to what alternate versions of existing characters we could see.

   Of course, as cool as Paper Mario would be, I’m not sure how interested I am in him as a seperate character, versus a costume change. I’ve long felt that Wind Waker Link is a perfect replacement for Young Link, however. Even better is the fact that technically, he and Twilight Link are technically seperate characters, anyway.

   Dark Samus makes some sense, especially their point about no “Dark Zero Suit Samus.”

   Luigi, that one doesn’t make as much sense to me, since Luigi does have a fairly different moveset from Mario. I think further differentiation would be nice, such as replacing his fire attacks with electricity, as per Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Of course, the addition of the Poltergust does have some appeal, too… though I think I’d rather see it as a move or two, and not the basis for his entire set.

3. GameDaily has a new preview for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii.

   Of course, if they’re going to nitpick about Eggman keeping pace with Sonic, I’ll kindly ask them to play through Sonic 2 again. Hopefully the end product will be exciting enough, though I’m with them on wanting Sonic in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

   To those who don’t want him in, I say “don’t pick him, then.”

4. Yet another ad stirs up controversy…

   People need to quit taking this stuff so seriously. Just look at this list of banned video game ads.

   Toughen up, already.

   Me? I dig the XBox and Mortal Kombat ones.

   Maybe this is why so many BAD video game ads wind up on TV, like those weird PSP commercials. Because the GOOD ones get raked over the coals like this.

5. …what the HELL, Nintendo?

   You’re making Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol a Wal-Mart exclusive?!

   Man, did the GameCube game do that bad or something, or what? And releasing it the same day as Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass? Talk about an uphill battle…

   On the upside, finding a Wal-Mart is probably a hell of a lot easier for most people than finding a GameStop. On the downside, who knows what this means for Canada?

6. Good news from Game|Life, as Kohler has gone hands-on with Ratchet & Clank Future, and so far, he seems to be digging it.
7. Halo was big. Halo 2 was bigger. Ergo, one may surmise that Halo 3 will be even bigger still. So big, in fact, that Microsoft doesn’t even see it as being in competition with other games, oh no.

   The Halo machine has gotten so big that it’s in competition with other entertainment. Movies, that sort of thing.

   Halo 3 at Burger King? I’m down with that. How down am I with that?

   “Best part? That cola is 42 ounces. Not being one to deal in ounces, I looked that up. It’s 1.2 LITRES. That little part at the bottom of the cup is so your human hand can grip it. Jesus, nobody needs that much cola.”

   Clearly, these people have never gone dining with me. My motto is “keep ‘em comin’” and my code for tipping is based on how full my glass is kept. In fact, I want one right now.

   That said, how about a Master Cheeseburger to go with my Onion Ringworlds and Covenant Cola?

   I swear, I ought to be writing copy or something for these people.

8. If memory serves, I’m pretty sure that the Big 3 can rightfully say I told you so when it comes to the HD race.

   At least, those who said it was too early or they didn’t need to package in cables that’d be thrown away, among other arguments.

9. I should probably get in on this, since it’s true: Canadians ARE getting screwed over on the dollar-exchange rate for pretty much anything, but especially on games.

   There’s no rhyme or reason to it, either. Take for example, GBA and GameCube Player’s Choice titles (all of this barring markdowns, specials, etc.). In the US, the pricing goes at $19.99. In Canada, a GBA Player’s Choice goes at $24.99, and a GameCube Player’s Choice would be $29.99! In the case of other such programs, the games are usually comparable in price to the GameCube PC pricing there.

   Not uncommon for toys to come in around 50% more to double the US price, either. Factor in a 15% sales tax, and you’ll find me doing less gaming than I’d like (and fewer TransFormers, too).

   One commenter adds:

   “I live on the border with Canada. A lot of the Canadians I know simply dive the two minutes over the bridge, buy games, and then head back up North. With the exchange rate being what it is as of late, more and more Canadians I know are coming here for their gaming fix.”

   Oh, if only I had the money to drive, I’d be doing this quite a bit.

10. Oh, Nintendo, why must you break so many hearts?

    It seems that the latest Wii update has rendered a product called “Freeloader” as essentially useless, at least for playing imported GameCube games on the Wii.

    Really, that just ain’t right. These people want to love you, Nintendo, but why must you hurt them so?

    To hear all these stories about how foreign game companies screw over Europe, one almost has to think that if someone took initiative and focused their efforts on making a console with Europe as its core market, they might make a fortune.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 9th, 2007 at 5:09 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.