InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Pics: Design sheets for auction from TransFormers: Animated. Fun to look at, more fun to buy and look at.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Videos: The 10 best LEGO re-enactments ever. And as a bonus, here’s a LEGO re-enactment of the trailer for The Dark Knight.
2. Pics: The blister back for the upcoming NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures, and a look at the design for their Foot Soldier figure.
3. Blogging: Are you a Turtle? And for once, not speaking of the Teenage Mutant Ninja variety here.
4. Pics: Remember those little guys… I think they were called “Mr. Men,” who had a series of kids’ books? Well, someone found them and got out their Photoshop and…
5. Video: I, too, hate temperature.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: Kids: don’t try Mario Kart in real life.
2. Videos: Some guys decided to make their own Nintendo Wii commercials based on the old Ratchet & Clank ones. They made Mario and Metroid Prime 3, and both are kind of silly, but amusing and true to the spirit of the originals.
3. Newsbit: Too late for a new calendar? Maybe. Too late for a new Earthbound calendar? Never!
4. Article: Today at Racketboy’s Retro Gaming, he checks out the rarest and most valuable Super NES games.
5. Newsbit: Apparently, one fellow from Insomniac Games at DICE doesn’t believe in engine licensing.
6. Newsbit: Meanwhile, EA warns about the pitfalls of consolidation.
7. Video Review: GameTrailers reviews the latest Dragon Ball Z title. Is there any reason to rush out for this one?
8. Article: Akira Toriyama: More than just Dragon Ball Z.
9. Article: What are Nintendo’s greatest games? Your mileage may vary.
10. Video: Thanks to Frash: Old commercials for Street Fighter II products.
11. Article: Super Smash Bros. A-Z: 26 reasons Brawl will rock 2008.

    And five reasons it may not.

12. Articles: Wonder if the guys at Games Radar are lonely? You may just after seeing these two articles that just went up: The Sexiest Game Fan Art and SmashRadar: Brawl’s Sexy, Sexy Ladies. Nothing too bad that I can see, but probably better if you don’t let your mom walk in on you while browsing these.
13. Article: Looks like Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games has been caught reusing some art assets, at least on the Mario side. I’m guessing maybe since it was SEGA that made it, they didn’t have quite as free of reign as they did with Sonic.
14. Article: CVG has a list of the Top 20 Nintendo cameos.
15. Video: Go Nintendo presents: Sonic Undergound, episode 2.
16. Video: Korea’s Comboy, their version of the NES, definitely had more star-studded commercials than its other-worldly counterparts.
17. Video: Some footage from the The Wizard reunion that took place a few days ago.
18. Article: Nintendo Power magazines from around the world.
19. Video: For those unaware, Super Smash Bros. Brawl will not be Snake’s first crossover fighting game appearance, as some years ago there was this little gem *cough* in Japan, DreamMix TV World Fighters, which featured not only Snake, but Optimus Prime and Megatron, Simon Belmont, Bomberman, and more. Almost a shame we never got it.
20. eBay: Well, it was bound to happen eventually. An NES game I never heard of has been put on eBay in the form of Pro Sport Hockey. My question is, why should I care? And saying that I live in Canada doesn’t count as an answer. I wish GoNintendo would’ve said why this one bore such merit for a post.

    Anyone know? Is it rare?

21. Pics: Hell of a cool way to play Wii.
22. Interview: Another interview with Billy Mitchell, the antagonist of The King of Kong.
23. Newsbit: A 10-year old steals Pokemon cards from a 6-year old… at gunpoint!?

    That’s just wrong. Even if it’s airsoft, it’s wrong. Very wrong.

24. Pics: Some strange, strange Nintendo art by one Jimi Benedict.
25. Article: The always-delightful Jenn Frank has assembled a debate of sorts where gamers have assembled to speak out at the withered old Kay Hymowitz’s piece “The Child-Man.”
26. Video: Kajetokun’s latest insanity: Jumping Onto White Base.
27. Pic: C’mon, Luigi… you know Daisy’s a better fit for you.
28. Pics: Pretty cool custom Gordon Freeman figure.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Videos: Today, the ten greatest 80′s cartoon openings.
2. eBay: Want an authentic original piece of Mirage Ninja Turtles art? Then click this way…
3. Pic: One retro tee that won’t be approved…

   …along with another that might, along with an illegal shirt that resembles it.

4. Video: What a scoop! Lois Lane, the Intrepid Reporter, has just about every superhero’s secret ID pegged, but…
5. Article: Can heroes like Superman and Spider-man survive in today’s market?

Video Power

1. Blogging: A new entry has been added to the official Ace Attorney blog.
2. Videos: Press the Buttons has found an article on some of the weirdest, wildest, and in some cases, just plain sad pirated games.
3. Video: But is it really progress?
4. Video: Jeff Gerstmann showed up on X-Play to talk about the “lag in innovation of Japanese games,” along with some stuff about his departure from GameSpot and his future. Until that’s a go online, and if, here’s an exclusive video of a chat between himself and Adam Sessler about the state of blogs and video game journalism today.
5. Swag: Check out what reviewers of Professor Layton are getting.
6. Newsbit: Arcades are seeing a downturn in business in Japan. The reason? According to Namco Bandai, it’s because of the Wii.
7. Newsbit: I’ve heard of bands inspired by Mega Man, but by Ice Climbers?
8. Article: 1up celebrates gaming’s most beloved flops.
9. Article: Among the different speeches and such held at DICE, I think one of the more interesting ones is this one on how to make interesting characters.
10. Article: Ten games where America rules.
11. Article: Some of gaming’s greats are lookin’ for love in their own personal ads. What’s neat here is that the ages given for Mario and Peach are roughly around where I’d peg them.
12. Article: So you think you’re a real video game fan? These guys might just make you reconsider.
13. Video: LEGO Star Wars? LEGO Batman? Indiana Jones? Try LEGO Donkey Kong.
14. Interview: GameSpot has some questions for the Capcom’s Director of Communications about Street Fighter IV. Is it not really before III after all?
15. Article: Game Informer digs deep to find out more about casual gamers.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Videos: Behold, the ten best wrestling moments of all time.
2. Video: Bored teenagers + Graveyard shift = Supermarket dominos
3. Video: Can you count how many bleeps the Count gets on Sesame Street?
4. Blogging: Winners of the Mensa Invitational, which “asks readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.”
5. Article: IGN’s Jess takes a tour of the best and worst of Japanese food.
6. Reviews: IGN checks out the latest TV on DVD releases.
7. Reviews: They also look at this week’s comic book releases.
8. Article: Not sure what all those fancy DVD terms mean? This glossary may help.

Video Power

1. Article: Seems that Kotaku’s energy drink blowout missed two of the most important ones.
2. Interview: Former Microsoft tattoo model and current President of EA Sports, Peter Moore, talks about a few things, including their need for improvement on the Wii.
3. Newsbit: Did you know that in 2007, there were nearly ten times as many E-rated games as there were M-rated ones? With the latter shrinking in percentage by the year? And yet, guess what the media uses to identify the entire industry?
4. Video: Zanthue is coming! Be sure to watch this ad for the surprise twist.
5. Video: More GameTrailers videos of older VC releases with Bomberman ’93.
6. Article: Who would win in a match between Travis Touchdown and Dante?
7. Article: Remember Road Rash? IGN does, as they take a look back at motorcycle combat racing.
8. Article: Ten of the best comic book games of all time. #4 seems to be something of a stretch, though.
9. Article: The top 10 most misleading video game titles.
10. Article: The new-look Games Radar checks out the top 7 assassins in gaming.
11. Article: The ten worst games the Wii has to offer.
12. Pics: Link, as he would have appeared in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance? That would’ve been cool, actually, though I’d rather have had the TP character model.
13. Newsbit: Sakurai dropped by Kojima’s podcast, and they played some Brawl. But who do you suppose they used? Their own characters? Or each other’s?
14. Article: Esquire apparently thinks that Microsoft ought to invest in Sony.
15. Article: Gaming’s most unsung heroes.
16. Interview: SUDA51 talks more No More Heroes with Next Generation.
17. Video: Yahtzee nearly slipped under the radar this week with his review of Call of Duty 4.
18. Video: Street Fighter: The Later Years continues with Episode VIII.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Pic: More control art from the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
2. Newsbit: 44 years ago as of the 5th, the first GI Joes went on sale.
3. Interview: IGN chats with Peter Segal, director of the upcoming Get Smart movie.
4. Reviews: The Manga Review Round-Up delivers what it promises.

Video Power

1. Videos: Behold, the ten best Mario fan-videos!
2. Blogging: If Capcom*Unity ever works again, then you can find out what what Ben Judd has to say to fanboys about Bionic Commando Rearmed.

   Not sure if it’s related, but the latest podcast also address the Bionic Commando Wii petition.

3. Newsbit: The original Game Boy has been declared one of the toughest gadgets in the world.
4. Interview: As part of a longer GameSpot interview (linked within), Nintendo President Satoru Iwata gives his thoughts on digital distribution vs. packaged games.
5. Videos: More old Virtual Console videos from GameTrailers: F-Zero, Donkey Kong Jr., and Bonk’s Adventure.

   Strange… I don’t remember that third stage they show for Donkey Kong Jr.

6. Video: IGN grabs some footage of the Donkey Kong monster truck in action.
7. Article: GameDaily takes an abridged look at Wario.
8. Article: Behold, seven of the most annoying enemies ever.
9. Newsbit: …plus the ten worst handheld RPG plots.
10. Newsbit: Tomonobu Itagaki of Ninja Gaiden and Dead Or Alive wants to know… does No More Heroes tire you out?
11. Article: An argument has risen recently that says that Okami is better than The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Ok, so it’s been argued before, but now there’s an article…!
12. Videos: No small secret by now that the American version of No More Heroes has blood, while the European, Japanese, and hell, maybe even the Canadian versions are without. Now, see the difference for yourself.
13. eBay: Cool auction for a custom DS designed to look like a Nintendo 64.
14. Blogging: The classiest Smash Bros. Brawl party ever?
15. Pics: A look at the importance of Mario’s mustache… or so they say. Not sure I really get it.
16. Editorial: Sure, we’ve heard the talk about digital downloads replacing retail purchases, but what about rentals? Or trades?

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: The Super Bowl is over, and now thanks to the modern miracle of the internet, us non-sports fans can enjoy the best part: the commercials!
2. Video: Bandwidth: Our most precious natural resource.
3. Article: 20 years after it was originally published, CBR talks to editor Denny O’Neil about the classic, if not legendary, Batman story that changed the status quo forever, The Killing Joke.
4. Reviews: The latest anime DVDs get reviewed by IGN.
5. Videos: Funny bit on Late Night tonight, as apparently there’s been an ongoing feud between Conan O’Brien and Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart over who made Mike Huckabee. You can see the culmination (and other parts) here.
6. Article: Kotaku takes a critical look at energy drinks.

Video Power

1. Blogging: Capcom defends the 20-25 minute load time the first time you go at Devil May Cry 4 on the PS3.
2. Interview: Over at The Mega Man Network, a new interview has gone up with a fellow by the name of Random, whose claim to fame involves some Mega Man-inspired music.
3. Newsbit: Apparently, not everyone is for advertising in games. But who’d expect someone from Activision Blizzard to be one?
4. Article: Gamasutra has an engaging piece on the history of one of the most legendary RPGs of all-time, Dragon Quest.
5. Video: Another GameTrailers Virtual Console video comes for Ice Hockey.
6. Article: So, just how much is GameStop making from used games?
7. Interview: Wow, haven’t seen one of these in… about two months? Another chat with Super Mario Galaxy director Yoshiaki Koizumi.
8. Article: “Thank you Mario! But our Princess is in another castle!” is but one of the ten most meaningful video game quotes of all time.
9. Article: Something must be done about the ignorant ramblings mainstream media make against gaming. But then, it seems to hurt them more than us…
10. Video: Looks like someone was kind enough to finally sub the Animal Crossing movie and add it to YouTube. Hope I get the chance to see it!
11. Newsbit: Some people will say anything, even if they can’t quite say it right. Case in point: Accusing Brain Age of discrimination. Generally speaking, I imagine the technology is still relatively new, and not yet perfected. I wonder if they even considered that.
12. Article: If you’re lucky enough to have seen The King of Kong already (not I, sadly), then you may be interested in hearing bad-guy Billy’s side of the story.
13. Article: The “Super Mario Galaxy Miracle” reaches yet another non-gamer.
14. Blogging: Remember all those neat drawing-based DS games that were coming out? What happened?

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Wallpaper: Hasbro’s website has added some TransFormers: Animated wallpaper to their growing collection.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Comics: Popeye is awesome, especially in comic strip form.These comics are the creative equivalent of the Marx Brothers and W.C. Fields, and Popeye himself is like Marv from SIN CITY, Wolverine, and Chuck Norris all rolled up in one absurd-looking sailor.

   And that Mario essentially came from Popeye makes him all the cooler.

2. Newsbit: Poor 5th turtle, seems some people in the greater Ninja Turtles business are a bit too tightly wound. Nuts to them.
3. Blogging: Things you should never tell people.
4. Newsbit: With the passing of actor Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker in this summer’s The Dark Knight movie, executives and the like are scrambling to figure out how to make it seem like they aren’t cashing in on his death.
5. Article: Snarf of Thundercats infamy is IGN’s latest Annoying Character of the Day (though the feature hardly seems that regular).
6. Video: FUNimation has a new vampire anime series called Black Blood Bros., and IGN has the first episode.

Video Power

1. Merch: BigBadToyStore.com has a lot of pictures, package shots, and preorders for the cool Corgi/Master Replicas Nintendo stuff we saw from the 2008 UK Toy Fair.A Mario DS holder figure? Cool…

   Plus, plush toys too!

2. Article: Racketboy’s Retro Gaming now has a beginner’s guide to one of the greatest systems of all-time in Super Nintendo 101.
3. Newsbit: Who knew? No More Heroes actually started life as a 360 game.
4. Newsbit: Thanks to Wolf on this one: Yahoo! just put up a front-page story about the fourteen best games you don’t have to pay to play.
5. Interview: A father of two and Wii reseller talks to MSNBC about what he’s done, though he’s not particularly remorseful about it.
6. Article: David Sirlin of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix takes an in-depth look at Super Mario Galaxy and what it did right, as well as what it could do better.
7. Article: IGN scopes out ten non-Nintendo characters they think should have made the Smash Bros. cut for Brawl.
8. Interview: Next Generation delves even deeper into the recent Famitsu interview with Shigeru Miyamoto.
9. Article: Next Gen takes a look into Nintendo’s entry into downloadable content, and what to expect.
10. Article: Does Super Smash Bros. Brawl have what it takes to be Game of the Year? GameDaily thinks so, and here’s why.
11. Video: Wow. There are geek tattoos, and uber-geek tattoos. Guess which one this falls under.
12. Video: Neat remix of the Super Mario Bros. “Underground” theme.
13. Newsbit: A pair of sick jerks hold up two women in their house, and upon realizing they have the wrong place, take their Wii as a compensation prize.
14. eBay: Amazing how much a sealed copy of Chrono Trigger runs for on eBay.
15. Interview: SiliconEra has an interview with the product marketing manager for the Ace Attorney games, covering such issues as “why the name ‘Apollo Justice?’”
16. Video: Some more Bionic Commando Rearmed details, and as Go Nintendo puts it, “More reason to get Bionic Commando on the Wii.”
17. Video/Article: Go Nintendo and Retrojunk compare notes on what they think is the hardest NES game.
18. Article: An article at Gamasutra tells us why No More Heroes matters.
19. Interview: CVG talks SEGA Superstars Tennis.
20. Video: Interesting Zelda shirt, definitely cool, but not something for me, really.Besides, is it a good idea to tell people how many hits you have left?
21. Article: Game Informer has put together a sort of glossary of gaming terms.
22. Newsbit: Someone allegedly found the most effective way of all to get their Xbox 360 problems solved: Tell Bill Gates….as you can imagine, Microsoft wasn’t exactly thrilled by the solution. I imagine that Jon really doesn’t care now. Maybe if most MS customer service stories didn’t double as campfire tales…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: You Suck At Photoshop, and this guy’s going to show you how to do it right. You know, as he deals with some… issues.
2. Video: With great power comes great responsibility. But no one apparently told this guy, who has somehow gained the power to make women pregnant just by saying it. Will he get his comeupance? And will he learn his lesson?
3. Pics: Very good counterfeit Ninja Turtles toys. But can you spot what sets them apart easily from the real deal?
4. Blogging: Just what exactly defines evil?
5. Blogging: The truth about Sesame Street‘s Count?
6. Article: If there’s one thing that South Park is good for, it’s social commentary. But if there’s another thing that it’s good for, it’s making fun of celebrities. Which is what has lead IGN to reflect upon the ten best celebrity parodies.

Video Power

1. Site: If you’re a fan of Ace Attorney and are one of those Facebook-types, then Capcom has good news for you.
2. Interview: In talking with Famitsu, Shigeru Miyamoto ties the GameCube controller to Nintendo’s future.
3. Interview: In an interview with a highly-misleading title promising talk of a Ninja Gaiden DS sequel and a Wii version, Tomonoby Itagaki talks about the logistics of DOA and Ninja Gaiden on Wii or DS, and some other things.
4. Article: Plus, IGN has Team Ninja leader Tomonobu Itagaki recount his Top 10 favorite Ninja Gaiden moments.
5. Blogging: From the Producer of Bionic Commando, Ben Judd: 2008: The Year of the Commando.
6. Article: Actually, “article” may be a tad generous for the length, but someone’s gone to the trouble of comparing the prices of games on the Virtual Console, versus what they would cost if purchased on their original formats.
7. Article: Next Generation takes a look at role-playing games, and whether they’re forgetting their table-top roots, or finding their way.
8. Article: Another piece at Next Gen looks at sex in video games, how the industry can shed the stigma it has regarding it, and how it can be used to further games as an art form.
9. Article: GameDaily looks at a subject near and dear to my heart: 2D games, in this case the five best looking.

   Incidently, I’d love to see more sidescrollers on say, the Wii that look the way Super Smash Bros. Brawl does.

10. Article: If you’re a gamer in a relationship, be wary of these games likely to cause a breakup.
11. Interview: GameTap asks SUDA51 twenty questions, including some Euro-censorship stuff.
12. Interview: In an excerpt with David Jaffe, creator of Twisted Metal, he actually zings Miyamoto pretty well on a recent topic from Retro. Sure, there are technicalities, but…
13. Article: VideoGamer rounds up ten games they think don’t deserve their success.
14. Article: GameSetWatch analyzes No More Heroes and how it speaks to gamers.
15. Chart: Wonder how battery life compares between the wireless controllers for the Xbox 360, the PS3, and the Wii? Now you know.
16. Merch: You can preorder the soundtrack CD for Super Mario Galaxy now.

    Hmm… thirty bucks? I like, but not sure I can afford it at the moment. But the music was undeniably awesome.

17. Article: 1up’s Scott Sharkey looks at last year’s biggest stories before going on to make some new predictions for the coming year.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: Rambo fighting the war on terror is funnier than it really has any right to be.
2. Video: Oh, sure, you can probably kick my ass up and down every alleyway when it comes to strikes in bowling, but do you think you can do ramp bowling?
3. Video: Ever wonder just what motivates cat people? And I don’t mean someone with one or two, but the kind who feed the lot by throwing food out like chicken feed. One explains.
4. Pic: Original character design sheet for the basic Turtles from the original 1987 TMNT cartoon.
5. Article: Newsarama gives their take on the “Captain America through the ages” subject.
6. Video: Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada was on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report last night, and I didn’t know until today. Luckily, Newsarama has us covered.

   Or so I thought. Still can’t view the damned thing.

7. Interview: Somewhere along the way, I missed that CBR finally added their interview with Quesada regarding Spider-man, featuring questions asked by the fans.

   One fellow, box_in_the_box, was kind enough to summarize the questions and answers here.

8. Video: A Dragon Ball Z fan movie has surfaced at Kotaku.

   I’m still giving Hollywood’s a chance. Not to say these guys are bad or anything, though.

Video Power

1. Article: How many of these video game myths do you know the truth about?
2. Video: An impressive victory over Giga Bowser. Wish I could get that event unlocked… stupid hands.
3. Pics: Capcom brings us the joy of new Bionic Commando concept art.
4. Interview: A new interview about Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is available, chatting up the new features, trashing new gamepads, the limits of Live downloads, and more.
5. Video: A new and still NSFW Zero Punctuation takes a look at Capcom’s latest shooter, Resident Evil Chronicles.
6. Article: Press The Buttons has found an article which reflects upon Startropics, Nintendo’s recent Virtual Console release that was made by them, but not released in Japan. It had its flaws, but it did manage one sequel. It’s one I still aim to pick up soon.

   I do disagree with the sometimes dead franchises stay dead for a reason part; nothing is irredeemable. Kid Icarus has its issues, as did Metroid, but newer titles for the latter have taken the good and done away with more of the bad. Bionic Commando was largely good, but didn’t really seem like a franchise at all until recently. And Sonic the Hedgehog‘s original adventures are legendary… and he’s taken quite the stumble in recent years. And Mega Man‘s many series are all over the map. X4-X8 especially.

   I think Startropics, what I’ve seen, has some fresh ideas and could be revived into a great game. They just need to take what works and leave behind what doesn’t. Characters, settings, and other things can keep the experience alive… but in the end, it’s all in what the developers do with it. A franchise can go anywhere, good or bad, no matter where it sits now.

7. Article: Once more, the topic of approving Wii titles for quality comes up. I think if we’re talking in terms of something like bugs, glitches, things that are simply not meant to happen, then definitely. But if we’re simply talking of perceived good game/bad game, absolutely not. I don’t want my choices impeded by the tastes of another.
8. Video Review: Wondering if Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity improves over the original?

   From the sounds of things, SEGA still hasn’t learned a damn thing.

9. Article: IGN takes a look at some of the strangest video game mash-up ideas one could ever come up with.

   And hey, there was sort of a Mario FPS once… Yoshi’s Safari. Fun game, though it’s really more of an on-rails shooter. A Virtual Console must, at any rate. You listening, Nintendo?

10. Article: Being a video game hero isn’t all treasure, princesses, and kick-ass weaponry. GameDaily has some of the drawbacks that go with the job.
11. Newsbit: Fascinating thing about Dr. Kawashima, aka the “disembodied talking Brain Age head:” he’s neither played his games, nor has he collected any royalties from them.
12. Interview: An interview with Tomonobu Itagaki reveals a few things about Ninja Gaiden, including the possibility of a DS sequel and possible Wii version.
13. Video: G4′s Adam Sessler takes some time to talk about SUDA 51′s No More Heroes, and why you should give it a shot.
14. Interview: Can’t find a Wii? This guy might have beaten you to it, and sold it to someone else. Find out what he has to say on the matter.
15. Interview: A Famitsu interview with Miyamoto reveals some interesting things, including that he’s thinking about the next Zelda title, and is interested in a Super Mario Galaxy sequel.
16. Merch: Speaking of which, NCSX has some new Galaxy goodies to get your hands on.
17. Article: Wired/Game|Life has produced some more games for Fox News to misrepresent.
18. Interview: Ex-Clover CEO Atsushi Inaba discusses parting ways with Capcom.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Pics: You’re probably used to seeing retro… but are you used to seeing UK retro?
2. Pic: Marvel: Always what you want. And by you, we mean them.
3. Blogging: Made-up obscenities. Sometimes I like them. “Slag” being a favorite. But other times…
4. Article: So, where the hell are our Thundercats figures, anyway?
5. Video: Of all things to find on Capcom*Unity, a Friends/Superfriends mashup was not one I’d have expected.
6. Article: IGN looks back at the history of Captain America’s many looks.
7. Article: With systems like the Xbox 360 and PS3, and WWE now in HD, IGN’s guide to HDTV might be handy sooner than later.

Video Power

1. Blogging: I wish I could test-run a Capcom game before it’s released. Then maybe I’d get some cool stuff to top off the experience, too.
2. Pics: Anagrams are fun.
3. Editorial: There are 365 days in a year. Will 2008 be the year that publishers begin to act like it?
4. Newsbit: Looks like games are finally art somewhere.
5. Video: Wow, look at the time! We’re about 1/12 of the way through 2008. So what better time for ScrewAttack.com to look back at their best moments of 2007?
6. Blog: A new developer’s blog from IGN takes us into the world of Ninja Gaiden II.
7. Article: GameDaily looks back at Sonic, in anticipation of his Smash Bros. debut.
8. Interview: Iwata Asks volume 7, the final part for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, looks at what makes the game a “once in a lifetime experience,” and what it was like creating the original pre-Nintendo character game.
9. Pic: Japan’s boxart for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption is kind of neat.
10. Newsbit: Ok, a wireless nunchuck, that made some sense to me. But this… I don’t know, is it me, or is it starting to get a tad goofy?
11. Pic: This model of the Gradius II Vic Viper? Love it.
12. Pic: Mario character Kewpie dolls, on the other hand, scare the bejeezus out of me.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Reviews: New Movie toy reviews from BWTF today, including Rescue Ratchet, Jungle Bonecrusher, and Thundercracker.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Video: Behold, the Top 10 Movie Monsters! You want to see this, if only to answer the question… is the Cloverfield monster on the list?
2. Video: Turns out that, in nature, many of the animals are very, very rude in their dialect, and certainly not safe for work.
3. Video: Google Maps: Too close for comfort.
4. Video: Kenner, circa 1980: “Hey Ernie, we’re thinking of adding a figure of Yoda into our Empire Strikes Back toy line, but we’re just not sure if the kids will want him.”

   “Well, Bert, why don’t you just give him a snake? That’ll make him sell!”

5. Video: Before she gave any thought to jagged little pills, Alanis Morissette was telling people You Can’t Do That On Television!
6. Video: A 170 cm car. A 171 cm parking space. Can Japan’s champion car parker make it through?
7. Blogging: The 5th turtle looks at some other kinds of famous turtles from around the world.
8. Blogging: MAD stats.
9. Blogging: Would you vote for him?
10. Article: Toy News International takes us on a tour of Korean toys from the 70′s and 80′s.
11. Reviews: IGN looks at the sixth Naruto box set and more in this week’s Anime Review Roundup.

Video Power

1. Video: Loading.Ready.Run. gives their take on the whole Mass Effect/Fox controversy.
2. Video: Despite the strike, a new The Simpsons aired last night, focusing on the 90′s in a fashion that only a retcon could allow. And part of it included an appearance by one famous Blue Blur.
3. Blogging: Press The Buttons delves into a mystery I’d long forgotten: That of the picture in the instruction manual for The Legend of Zelda wherein Link is offered by the old man a choice of a wooden sword or boomerang.
4. Article: This week, Racketboy’s Retro Gaming looks into overlooked music mixes, of the MIDI variety.
5. Videos: More Virtual Console videos on GameTrailers for Tennis, Space Harrier II, and Super Castlevania IV.
6. Video: ScrewAttack.com reminisces about Arkanoid, and a controller I had no clue even existed.
7. Article: IGN takes an idea I had it and executes it before I have the chance in their History of Ninja Gaiden, which I will not read, as I still plan to do mine anyway. But feel free.
8. Article: Metal Gear is the home to a number of kooky commandos and other wacked-out warriors. Game Daily picks out the seven strangest.
9. Article: Games Radar has had it up to here with saving damsels constantly in distress. Here are seven they’re willing to let rot.

   Interesting enough, despite being on the title graphic, Peach didn’t make the list.

10. Interview: Parts five and six of the Iwata Asks Super Smash Bros. Brawl series are up, talking about added features and new music.
11. Article: GamerHelp examines the Top 10 most inept video game villains, including a few favorites.
12. Video: Anyone else remember the Nintendo Ultra 64 prototype controllers?
13. Pic: These are some nice crocheted mushrooms… check out the one on the left!
14. Video: Something seems familiar about this… was it posted before? Well, just in case: Super Smash Bros. Brawl video set to 300 music.
15. Newsbit: Did YOU know?
16. Site: Christian Cage, video game journalist.
17. Site: Enter Co-optimus, a website dedicated to cooperative gaming.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”