InFormers: Robots in the News

1. IMAX to have new TransFormers footage? Yes/no/I don’t know any more.

   The latest, however, is saying that we could be seeing up to five minutes more than what was in the original.

   Guess we’ll just have to wait and see to be sure.

2. Good news! Stan Bush is going on tour!

   Bad news! It’s just Germany and the UK.

   Well, bad news if you live anywhere else.

   You want The Touch? You get a passport… yeah.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. The Garfield Gets Real sub-site has updated, showing off some new characters from the upcoming movie, including Billy Bear and his sidekick, Randy Rabbit.
2. A message from Mattel’s Chairman & CEO: “EAT LEAD, TURKEYS!”

   No, not really, though he actually does go on to discuss the whole lead-based recall of product and makes apologies, among other issues and reassurances.

3. Victor Cook talks about Spectacular Spider-man, a new Spider-toon coming to Kids’ WB in 2008.

   Holy hell, look at those designs! Peter Parker looks like he stepped out of It’s Walky.

4. Screw Warner Bros. You might say they’re two cartoons short of a full set.
5. Jon Stewart, aka “the only guy in America who can host an awards show without making millions of viewers change the channel in disgust,” is returning to host the Oscars for a second time.

   Take that, Sarah Silverman.

Video Power

1. Capcom has new Harvey Birdman screens, but sadly, no new cameos are revealed.
2. Nintendo is running a new contest this month to celebrate the release of DK Jungle Climber:

   REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 12, 2007 – Nintendo and photo-sharing Web site SmugMug are looking for images of Donkey Kong?, who reportedly has been spotted climbing notable landmarks worldwide. Images of the climbing video game icon can be submitted to www.DKcontest.SmugMug.com through Oct. 1, 2007, and the five best images win a Nintendo DS? system and a copy of DK? Jungle Climber.

   The “DK Climb to the Top Challenge” photo contest marks the Sept. 10 launch of the new DK Jungle Climber video game for the portable Nintendo DS?, which sets the great ape on a new, swinging adventure. Entrants are welcome to submit any and all images they find of Donkey Kong climbing in unusual places, including hand-drawn pictures, electronically manipulated photos or even actual snapshots. Visit www.DKcontest.SmugMug.com for complete contest details and prize information.

   “Nintendo has sold more than 48 million Donkey Kong games worldwide since his 1981 debut in the Donkey Kong arcade game,” says George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “DK Jungle Climber enriches the series with new controls on Nintendo DS, which remains the best-selling video game system in the world.”

   The simple controls for DK Jungle Climber really set it apart and make it accessible for non-gamers. Players only have to worry about three buttons: The L Button controls Donkey Kong’s left hand, the R Button controls his right hand and the A or B Button is used for jumping attacks. As Donkey Kong spins around pegs on his climb, players have to time his release just right to send him flying. The ever-helpful Diddy Kong? also offers his assistance.

   DK Jungle Climber also includes a variety of fun mini games, as well as the ability for up to four players to compete wirelessly on their Nintendo DS systems, even if only one player has a game card. DK Jungle Climber is rated E for Everyone. For more information about the title, visit www.dkjungleclimber.com.

   DK Jungle Climber precedes Donkey Kong’s upcoming debut on Nintendo’s Wii? home video game system. The Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast racing game launches Oct. 8 and lets players shake the Wii Remote? and Nunchuk? to fire up their racing barrels.

   Guess maybe I should break out the ol’ camera. I mean, I’d like a copy, but I doubt I can afford it. And hey, assuming the “DS System” is a Lite, well, one of those would be nice as well. I wonder if they give you choice of color…

3. This week’s GameTrailers Jackass stunt? A medley of madness.

   My personal favorite? The shopping cart racing, because I’ve actually done that.

   …though the elephant-wrecking is a close second.

4. Oh, about that Beautiful Katamari news yesterday? The one saying it’s for Wii and PS3 now? Yeah, seems that Namco-Bandai took it down as quickly as they put it up.

   Thanks for having my back, BPM.

5. Ok, I’ve been really skeptical about Sonic Rush Adventure whenever something new comes up, after getting a little burned by the first title. Which wasn’t especially bad, just flawed in a way that made it more tedious than fun after awhile.

   Thanks to the new Nintendo Power (and my man Toby B. who brought it up before I could even read it), the following news has come down:

   Though it may seem to be a relatively minor point, those who played the original Rush will also be delighted to know that bottomless pits are far less common in the follow-up. “That was mentioned as a major complaint by players of the previous title,” reveals Osumi. “So it’s something that we intentionally focused on when creating the stage designs.” The game still offers a considerable challenge, but the decreased likelihood of suddenly falling to your death certainly cuts down on the degree of frustration.

   Glad to hear it. This game has just moved up several notches into “gotta have it” territory.

6. People have been demanding to know what changes were made so that Manhunt 2 could fall from a useless AO rating into a marketable M. IGN, having played both versions, lays it out for us.
7. SNK has finally delivered the news that many have been waiting to hear… I think.

   Neo Geo games on Virtual Console for 900 points each.

   Of course, with this industry the way it is, without them saying “we are bringing Neo Geo games to VC,” I remain a little wary.

   As far as the price goes, don’t forget that these things cost a TON back in the day. Even by today’s standards.

8. It’s no Warthog, but Master Chief is ready to ride with the Halo 3 Pontiac G6 GXP Street Edition that Best Buy will be forking over to a lucky contest winner.
9. A few months ago, we reported on a new sort of DS promotion Nintendo was working on with their baseball team, the Seattle Mariners.

   Today, it looks like they’re pushing it further.

   I’m no sports fan, really, but there is a certain something about going out to the arena in person. This would make the experience only more enticing, of course.

10. Normally, I would rather shy away from rumors. But one like this, I can’t pass up, especially since it could lead to my needing to call on someone Stateside for assistance.

    Remember the Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin 20th anniversary preorder package? Wasn’t that awesome?

    Well, it looks like Konami may have thought so, too. Despite the developers seemingly having other plans (as noted in our interview), it seems marketing might be riding that gravy train again for Contra 4, which will mark the 20th anniversary of that beloved series.

    What could they offer? That’s the big question. I have little doubt that whatever it could be, it would be quite a nice prize.

11. It seems that Japan is setting up a preorder bonus as well, though for Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3.

    …is that a Christmas ornament?

    I like it. It ought to look really nice hanging next to Santa on the cross while eating KFC.

12. Dammit, don’t tell me that Project H.A.M.M.E.R. really is S.C.R.E.W.E.D.

    I’m with RMC in fearing for Disaster: Day of Crisis…

13. Today’s Smash Bros. DOJO!! update is: Special Brawl.

    Long story short, remember the special themed matches in Melee? This takes it to a whole new level with a lot of mixing and matching. Should provide some nice replay value… and hopefully, having Pokemon matches will still be possible as well. Not to mention Super Sudden Death.

14. The general anticipation, along with the hype and promotions like this really make me wish I was getting Halo 3 at launch time.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 13th, 2007 at 3:38 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.