Points of Interest – 1/9/08
InFormers: Robots in the News
- Review: Another Animated sneak-peek, this time of Bulkhead.
Assorted Mushrooms
- Video: The writer’s strike has been going on for so long now, half the late night people have grown beards. Including one half of the Stewart/Colbert dynamic. See if you can guess which.
…that is, if the clip will even play. For me, it is presently not.
Hear how the first night back for the duo went from IGN.
- Video: Powerthirst: Now with more manliness than ever!
An amusing parody, but somehow not quite as good as the real deal.
- Pic: Another sneak peek at the 2008 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line, this one of an armored Michelangelo that’s intended for the figures, but not the cartoon.
Which disappoints me, as it starts to tread into 1990 Playmates territory; I rather liked how the cartoon has handled variations up to this point. Additionally, I sort of relate to what is said about fully-clothed Turtles, though there are definite exceptions.
- Blogging: Mighty Godking has an intriguing idea to fix “Brand New Day.”
Video Power
- Interview: A discussion with PSP Senior Marketing Manager John Koller looks into the notion of porting games from the PSP to the PS2, such as the case will be with the upcoming PS2 version of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters.
One can only hope Capcom will wake up and port some of their PSP titles, such as Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X, Mega Man Powered Up, Ultimate Ghosts & Goblins, and… um, something else (Monster Hunter, maybe?) to the PS2, where they’ll have a better chance to shine.
- Video: The Angry Video Game Nerd tampers with something which was never meant to be tampered with: he attempts to figure out the Zelda timeline.
It’d be surprising if vast amounts of cursing didn’t ensue.
- Video: Seems that the Wii’s technology could be revolutionary in ways Nintendo never intended.
I’m not the most technologically-knowledgable person you’re going to meet, so maybe some people will roll their eyes, but I think this is incredible, and wonder if even Nintendo knew that this would work. And, now that it’s out there, I wonder if they’ll apply it at all.
- Article: Rockman Synergy Commons points out some of the differences between the Super Famicom and Game Boy Advance versions of Rockman & Forte, which was exclusive to Japan until the GBA-only US release as Mega Man & Bass. Sadly, the game wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and being on the comparatively-limited GBA just made things worse.
It does lead me to wonder if we might ever see a Virtual Console release, though.
- Article: It’s amazing how many games will come out at the end of a console or handheld’s life cycle, and be all but completely ignored. Ever wonder what some of those “last ones out” were? Fear not, for someone has finally decided to cover just that.
And while it lists Kirby’s Dream Land 3 as the last Super NES game, I do believe the above-mentioned Rockman & Forte was the last for the Super Famicom.
- Newsbit: Blu-Ray? HD-DVD? “Bah,” says Bill Gates. “They’re both laying by the side of the road as digital distribution paves the way to the future!”
Ok, some fabrication of quotation there. Still, I like a physical format. And with the problems people seem to have with downloadables off of Xbox Live, I’m not sure they’re the ones that should be championing it at the moment.
- Videos: More old Virtual Console videos at GameTrailers: Moto Roader, Comix Zone, Bonanza Bros., Vigilante, The Legend of Kage, and those lovable Ice Climbers.
- Article: Is there anything more fun than talking about games with dirty names?
…well, might be nice if actually playing them was.
Actually, that’s not fair, some of these games are alllllll-right.
- Article: GameDaily looks back at the history of Bowser, along with his arsenal of moves he’ll bring to face the rest of the Nintendo universe in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- Article: I think he’s been mentioned before, but it’s come up that Ben Sawyer of the “Serious Games Initiative” is of the opinion that games aimed at younger kids are crap. And for the most part, he seems to be right.
- Article: Games Radar checks out gaming’s kinkiest costumes with the pretense that if you’ve “Got a fantasy? Chances are there’s a game to match.”
Yeah, this isn’t exactly SFW… but, there’s nothing THAT bad here.
- Pics: I think the Wii rifle shell is the most impressive, borderline-absurd one of the Wii weapons shown here. But then, they have similar controllers in arcades, so why not?
- Pic: Now this is a neat merchandising idea: Super Mario Galaxy Superballs, each based on a different Power-Up from the game.
- Newsbit: With all the promotions and tie-ins with the likes of Nintendo, SEGA, and probably others (aren’t they a part of the above-mentioned Xbox Live Diamond program?), you’d think that McDonald’s would think before pointing a finger at video games as the reason childhood obesity is on the rise.
Think any of those companies might take exception to it?
- Video: Has Mario bitten off more than he can chew, when he takes on Halo’s Covenant? Naaaaah.
- Interview: Square-Enix’s head honcho takes another stab at Nintendo.
Gee, I’m glad they’re on such friendly terms these days. With all the Final Fantasies, Dragon Quests, and such, I guess there really is no room for core games of theirs on Nintendo’s systems.
- Review: Seems that sites, such as Game|Life, think that Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is good for fans, but not much else. Guess it doesn’t hold up as widely as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney does.
- Newsbit: This may interest some of you. MTV has put together a “Rhythm Track Finder”, a service that can tell you which music games yield which songs.
- Video: On a related note, anyone up for some Guitar Hero turntable action?
- Newsbit: Seems that a Konami developer has found out the hard way that Japanese gamers prefer franchises to original properties.
–LBD “Nytetrayn”