InFormers: Robots in the News

1. The TransFormers discuss Barack Obama. And Ironhide is racist. Apparently. Thanks to Frash for the submission.
2. IGN pays tribute to everyone’s favorite new TransFormer from the motion picture, the dynamic Dewbot!

Assorted Mushrooms

1. “Uncle Phil is the Shredder?!”
2. If your only exposure to the Fantastic Four has been their recent movies, then check out this clip of the opening to their 70′s cartoon show. Notice anything different.

   The network was afraid that kids would light themselves on fire in order to imitate The Human Torch, and so he was replaced by a robot named H.E.R.B.I.E. Or so the popular urban legend goes, as Wikipedia purports that it was a simple rights issue, with Torch set aside seperately for a solo movie that never happened (often the case with old Marvel movies).

   The guy was never really taken to, though, for pretty much the same reasons as Jar-Jar Binks. Interesting to note, however, is that it’s a pre-Megatron robot role for Frank Welker, and that the character has picked up a certain notoriety as a gay (or at least libido-driven), sinister sort of robot in Twisted Toyfare Theater.

   Thanks again to Frash for the link.

3. Frash never rests, it seems, as we have another video from the 80′s, featuring Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n Wrestling. This ep features Captain Lou Albano (the wrestler who would later portray Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, though ironically he (nor anyone else, for that matter) voiced themselves in the cartoon show.

   Remember above, where Uncle Phil was the Shredder? Turns out he’s the Junkyard Dog, too!

4. If you’re not bored to tears with it, then have we got a treat for you! More Ninja Turtles non-retro retro art, in-progress!
5. Mark Evanier answers some peoples’ questions about the WGA writer’s strike in his blog, including topics like how news programming is affected, how public opinion might affect negotiations, and where the hell are Dave and Jay?
6. Via WebbAlert: Captain America may not know what MySpace is, but that doesn’t mean the cops don’t.
7. IGN drops in on the Power Rangers 15th Anniversary tour, and use the term “Mighty Morphin’” to describe them far too much in this day and age.

   But you’ve gotta dig the Hummer limo.

Video Power

1. Earlier tonight, Yahoo’s front page featured a look at ten video game VIPs, the big movers and shakers in the industry… at least, on the character side. Most of them feature nifty little video montages, too.
2. Itagaki’s Agenda continues, this week looking at his career, his love of gambling, and his plans for the future.
3. Yeesh. I normally don’t give much credence to reviews, but from other things I’ve heard as well, Power Rangers Super Legends for the DS sounds beyond bad.
4. Next Generation has a running theory that some games that were ok on the GameCube would have been better on the Wii.

   Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Super Mario Sunshine, MAYBE Luigi’s Mansion… those came to mind immediately upon reading that notion. Though really, Luigi’s Mansion is just fine as it is.

   Nintendo was once quoted as possibly looking into the idea of remaking some GameCube titles for the Wii, and we’ve already seen a positive move of the sort with Resident Evil 4. I almost hate to say it, but maybe Nintendo should look into making more such ports to fill the gaps between bigger releases. Given that a lot of good ideas could use a second look and perhaps benefit from the Wii’s unique interface, maybe such “cash-ins” would for once be justified.

   The piece takes some issue with the GameCube’s controller as a shortcoming, some of which I agree with.

   Worst of all, in attempting to encourage better habits, the control scheme failed to lend itself particularly well to existing game templates. If a game was not intrinsically designed for the GameCube, the controller would be more an obstruction than a guide.

   This much I’ve always asserted, and is why I would be reluctant to get the Cube version of Mega Man X Collection over the PS2 version, which follows the past decade’s worth of Mega Man X control schemes perfectly (due in part to the fact that many were made for the PlayStation consoles to start with).

   Gamers complained that 2D fighting games would be impossible on the standard pad (as if they weren’t just going to buy a joystick anyway). Developers and pundits complained the pad made cross-platform development less feasible. Not that that stopped anyone.

   See, I wondered why Capcom never released Street Fighter Anniversary Collection on the GameCube. Sure, the native GameCube controllers would likely make playing it some sort of complex practice, but at the same time, they were commemorating the game with special Genesis-styled control pads for the PS2 (and maybe the Xbox), featuring original art from UDON based on several characters, designed to best accomodate the classic playstyle.

   Why not release that for the GameCube as well? The lack of a good “traditional” controller with a good D-pad would have made this a strong selling point, especially to those who had Game Boy Players and disliked the Cube’s control pad.

5. My recently new-favorite character from Punch-Out!! has a little proposition for you… “Zee uppercut!” t-shirts! Solves all your problems!
6. Sigh, I hate MTV. I see no excuse for this.

   BUT, if you’re in the US, you can see Mario and Buzz Aldrin hanging out on video here. And if you’re able to put it on YouTube and swing a link my way, I’d be very grateful. And I’ll credit you, of course.

7. Nintendic has an interview with THQ about the WWE Smackdown vs. Raw games.
8. Now that the game is out, looks like the Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn website is ready, too.
9. A retractable Wii sensor bar. Novel idea.

   Or not.

   I don’t know, I’d need a better look at how it works. I imagine it’s less prone to breaking when being packed for travel, though.

10. Lots of reviews popping out this week… see what Game Rankings has for Super Mario Galaxy, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, and Battalion Wars 2. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games ought to show up soon, as 1up and IGN, among others, already have theirs.
11. A GameStop supervisor has an anonymous list of confessions posted at the Consumerist, hoping to get people to lay off the GameStop bashing. Good luck with that.
12. The Pac-Gentleman– now playable in modern times.

    Not your thing? Then how about a text-based version?

13. Are you saying “Ninja Gaiden” correctly?

    I. DON’T. KNOW.

    But I suspect I am.

14. So apparently, the console a man owns says something about him. Possibly behind his back, depending how much he throws the controller.

    I wonder, though; what about the people who own more than one?

15. Gamasutra looks at the history of Atari, starting with the years 1971-1977.

    Joystiq offers a pretty good summary of what happened next.

16. Kotaku has a live blog of Reggie on stage in New York at the Bank of America.

    Via Go Nintendo, a bit more can be found here.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 8:20 am and is filed under Points of Interest. 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.