1. The Angry Video Game Nerd is expanding his horizons!

   In anticipation of the new movie (or perhaps just by total coincidence), he has gone back to the third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and given his thoughts in two parts; part 1 is available now, with 2 to come soon.

2. 
   Sony’s promotion of Gran Turismo HD
3. A relief for me to hear, Go Nintendo says that while single-player in Diddy Kong Racing DS fails, multiplayer “truly succeeds.”

   This is great for me, because, at least on WiFi, Mario Kart DS was pretty lacking for me.

4. New pics of the GBA TMNT game.

   Hey, check out the guy with the hammer in the first shot. Can we call him “Boba Foot?”

5. Go Nintendo has a cool little list of things you may not know about Twilight Princess, pretty cool notes and tricks.
6. Playtesters for Sonic and the Secret Rings evidently are in love with the game.

   …waitasec, SEGA has playtesters? Is this a new thing or what?

   Ok, so maybe this is a hoax.

7. Hmm, Double Dragon on XBox Live Arcade is looking enticing…
8. Kotaku has some super-deformed Castlevania fun with Rondo of Blood.

   (Of course, all the real hardcores already knew about Stage X…)

   Personally, the background aesthetic just screams Sonic to me, though.

9. From 1up, they have an interesting piece on gaming’s dirty little secret, also known as “Tose.”

   You might just be surprised at what they’ve made.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. So, ever been curious about the down-and-dirty secrets of the TransFormers?

   Then you’re in luck, as The Allspark presents The Cybertron Enquirer! Find out what they didn’t want you to know!

2. Counterfeit games aren’t a laughing matter (well, unless it’s something like Somari, in which case it’s still more like a “wha?” matter), and Press The Buttons is here to warn you about this fake fun, and how to spot it when you see it while shopping for DS games.
3. Racketboy returns with a new installment of Hidden Gems, this time exploring the easily-overlooked Nintendo 64.
4. GameSpot has reviewed Hotel Dusk, giving it an 8.2.
5. IGN talks a bit with Michael Chiklis about Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and other related topics.
6. So there’s talk of third-party publishers being wary of the Wii, while elsewhere, gamers are readily calling their bluff on it.
7. Hmm, now this is a Firefox theme that I may have to consider implementing…
8. The wearing out of one’s welcome. It happens, sadly. Of course, when it comes to video games, there are those who will argue that their franchise of choice still deserves to be around, despite others’ shortcomings.

   Whatever your thoughts on the subject, GamesRadar has a list of 7 game series that have been driven into the ground.

   Ironically, the very thing said to keep #6 from placing higher is something gamers have been wanting for quite some time… and #5 is just plain surprising.

   And #1 may or may not surprise you, but I’m sure it’ll incur the wrath of a few.

   As did other entries (see comments).

9. Game Informer talks new-gen and Bonk with Hudson Entertainment?s Director of Marketing John Lee.
10. The NES controller. An innovator in design, and delicious to boot.
11. The creator of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass chats a bit about DS with Nintendo Dream, brought to you courtesy of VideoGamesBlogger.com.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Admit it, you’d love to have one of these on a Shortpacked! t-shirt.
2. Ugh. I swear, if I had this voice for Archie in my head when I read the comics, I’d never read another one again, and I’d burn any I saw on the rack in a store.

   How does he get so many girls after him sounding like that?

3. The Mrs. has some nice reviews of manga titles Scrapped Princess and Archlord, and many more over at Mania.com.

   Go check ‘em out!

4. In case you missed the original, here’s Marvel’s Civil War #1, retold.

   The most amusing (sad?) part is that you still pretty much get the same point this way.

5. [bpm?] found an interesting tale, a tale of a woman on a search for a game for her son, a Mario game no less.

   What makes this tale so extraordinary?

   She wanted, nay, DEMANDED it for her XBox 360.

   This is the story of two hours this poor EB employee will never get back.

   On the other hand, when someone so stupid gets so angry, sometimes it’s time well spent.

6. Remember the portable Wii that was reported a few days ago?

   Now, you can make your own!

7. Evil Avatar also reveals by way of Warren Ellis that Project51 Productions has begun a blog to highlight the production of the animated feature based on the NES game, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse.
8. New video are the order of the day at GameTrailers, highlighting the gameplay of Wario: Master of Disguise.

   …

   …there is a minigame in Wario that involves dropping piles of crap into a toilet. o_o;;;

   I wonder if that would affect it’s ESRB rating…

9. Go Nintendo has found a way that you can get your own custom Mii sculpture.
10. So Japan’s Virtual Console has Kid Icarus, and you can see it in action here.
11. Because Death Note rocks: Death Note DS boxart.
12. Game|Life’s Chris Kohler gives his first impressions on Diddy Kong Racing DS.

    Doesn’t sound like it’s all it’s cracked up to be, perhaps not even as good as the original?

13. Joystiq posted the link to this, just more stuff I’d like to have.

    At Nintendo World in NYC, they had these awesome Mario Kart racetracks. You know the ones, you hold down a button and the cars buzz around the track? Yeah. They were cool.

14. …I dare someone to put that “doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo” circus music to this.

    I octuple-dog dare someone to, just so you know I’m not screwing around here.

15. You know the story: They’re the Mario Bros., and plumbing’s their game. They found the secret warp zone while working on the drain.

    Make sure to wait until after the credits for a couple of bonus clips.

16. Kotaku dug up this really great video of a “Nintendo Virtual Reality” by some folks at Carnegie Mellon University Entertainment Technology Center’s Building Virtual Worlds Show. Even though there are a few minor slips, it’s very amusing and worth a look.
17. Hey, kids! Did you ever wish you could own your very own Gunblade, just like Squall from Final Fantasy VIII?

    …don’t you lie to me, you KNOW you have.

    Well now, you’re in luck! NCSX and Square-Enix are teaming up to bring you replicas of famous weapons from their games.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Yesterday, I got my hands on the new issue of Nintendo Power, and it’s fairly early for once. Some good tidbits inside, here are my highlights.

(more…)

1. Is spam coming through your website a problem for you? Never fear, as Dr. Neko has the cure for what ails you!
2. Over at Newsarama’s New Joe Fridays, Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada talks a bit about making comics accessible, among a few other things.
3. In case you’ve missed it here on PMO in the past, Press The Buttons has collected the various Nintendo Sports cartoon short intros from the GameCube era.

   In addition to seeing Wario get trounced in baseball, tennis, and golf, there’s even an outtake reel from Mario Power Tennis that even I didn’t know about. Awesome!

   Can’t get enough of these. If they made a series like this, it’d be like printing money…

4. This week, GameSpy is going to look at their most wanted games of 2007.

   Monday was fighting and strategy, with platformers, sports/racing, music, adventure, and MMO later today.

5. Over at Next Generation, Matt Matthews thinks that the lack of one dominant console could also lead to a dearth in “artistic” games, such as Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Okami.
6. Is Wario: Master of Disguise not all it’s cracked up to be? Via Go Nintendo, it seems that Gamebrink is less than impressed.

   Which would be nothing less than a damn shame, as Wario games are traditionally great.

7. The Thylus thounds like an interething thort of thubthitute for the thumbthrap…

   …thorry.

8. Via Go Nintendo, GamePro has an interview with Nintendo Prez Reggie Fils Aime.

   GP: Sony appears to be having difficulties moving a large number of PS3s. What, if anything, do you think is to blame for this? A high price? A lack of must-have games?

   Fils-Aime: Happily, that’s a question you’ll have to put to Sony.

   …who will proceed to dodge the question by telling you how well the PS2 is selling. Oh well.

9. Wow, what a country, where you can lose your DS, and have it returned to you.
10. So, would you agree that Phoenix Wright should have the same bonuses as his Japanese counterpart?
11. It is truly the end of times, as sprite comics go mainstream.

    May God have mercy on us all.

12. The future is now… “Wiibraries.”
13. Holy Hell, I remember this commercial for Game Genie.

    How disappointing that it didn’t shoot electricity and stuff, though.

    What I never understood was how people were able to hack codes for it, though. Guess you have to be “1337″ for that kind of stuff.

14. If you’ve been around, then it’s no surprise that I think two of the better interviews in the industry are those with Konami’s IGA and Tecmo’s Itagaki.

    And lucky for me, today 1up has an interview with the latter, speaking of things from the reception of DOAX2 to the Wii and PS3.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. While the Wii Virtual Console pretty much has all the golden days of console gaming tied up, it seems that XBox is the place to be for arcade action. To that end, Racketboy has lined up a list of most-wanted arcade games that Billy and Petey ought to look into loading into our living rooms.
2. GameDaily’s laying odds on who they think will acquire the mighty Ziff-Davis media empire. Well, the games part, that is.
3. Behold, the portable Wii! For when you’re on the go, and you don’t have time to stop and Wii, it’s the portable Wii!
4. Evil Avatar reports that IGN has taken a look back into our pixeled past as they give the histories of Final Fantasy and Castlevania.

   Better grab a sandwich and soda before reading, though, these are some pretty hefty articles.

5. Go Nintendo has some details on a new toy called the MegaMan Wave Scanner, from Star Force.

   Actually, take this whole bit with a grain of salt; it says it’s out in Japan, which would technically make it a Ryuusei no Rockman Wave Scanner, and does not mean it would necessarily work on the US release of the title, so buyer beware, before you get too excited.

6. As an example of such changes, it seems that word from Toastyfrog over on the GameFAQs forums is that Lunar Knights for the DS may not have Boktai DS’s WiFi features, and could affect its reported connection to MegaMan Star Force.
7. Via GN, behold, the ten most important video game patents.
8. Woo-hoo! High-res images from Mario Party 8!

   Sadly, it’s just Mario, Wario, and some freak in a freak hat so far.

9. And we have another convert to the joys of Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat.
10. Alright, so we know that the Blu-Ray discs of Sony can withstand a steel-wool rubdown and keep on running… but in the long run, just how much abuse can they take?

    Let’s find out!

    Not that I see the point of continuing past the third test… I mean, did they expect it to start working again?

    Eh, probably just for fun by that point.

11. Hmm, Fox-Die? Maybe someone should hit Snake with some Fox-Diet.
12. Koopa Troopa vs. Your Ass.

    Your ass wins.

13. I was going to save this for the next Tubin’, but VG Cats reminded me, and best not to forget.

    All said, I think it’s pretty neat, provided it actually works.

    Otherwise, who cares?

14. On a related note (in that it relates to VG Cats), behold the power of gaming REALISM!
15. Sometimes, I wonder if this is the reason we don’t have a Mega Man 9. You know, supposing this is all they can come up with these days…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Over at Nintendo’s website, they have conducted an interview with the English localizers of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Justice For All; Nintendo Power was only able to run a few of the questions and answers, but here we have the whole enchilada.
2. Press The Buttons touches on a thought I’ve had for some time, and that’s gathering the entirety of the delightful Wario Land games together in a compilation.Heck, add the two Super Mario Land games in as well. Maybe add an All-Star-like graphic/sound upgrade? There’s plenty that could be done to make these extremely worthwhile games worth buying again.

   Revisit these golden oldies here, and get back in touch with your inner-greed.

3. John Hammond? I thought he was the guy who ran Jurassic Park?
4. Just one more reason why Stan Lee rocks.
5. Go Nintendo shows off a trailer of videos from Wiicade, a website with a variety of games you can play on your Wii Opera browser.I really need to try some of these out…
6. Sony promotes Metal Slug on its website.What do you do when you don?t have a description for the PS2 version of Metal Slug Anthology? Advertise the Wii one!
7. Say what you want about Sony and their Blu-Ray format.Say that it costs too much.

   Say that you don’t need HD yet.

   But whatever you say, you can’t say that the discs aren’t durable.

8. …oh lord.
9. Oh, cool, M&Miis!Perfect for when you want to tell someone “bite me!”
10. God, I love the internet.Unless you took out a pen and paper, how else could you make your own “take this item” Zelda screens?

    And even then, who would you show?

    While we’re on the subject, I clearly have no shame.

11. …WHAT IS IT WITH THE WEIRD TODAY?!
12. Speaking of weird, I guess it’s a little weird that I haven’t seen this sign with Mario wearing a cross around town.But I’d be awfully tempted to take it…
13. 1up takes a look into the differences between Japanese and American game design.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Some interesting eBay auctions, mainly for 32MM film slides from the original TransFormers: The Movie, as well as toy cardbacks.
2. Someone posted this at the Allspark. A few years ago, there was to be this artbook released called TransFormers: Genesis. I don’t know all the details, but what happened was that one book was split into two, and two was never released, while one saw this really shitty, limited run.

   This is of course, bad. A travesty, one might even say.

   As it happens, however, someone put a manuscript on eBay. But don’t get any ideas of bidding; it was gone long before I got to it.

   I post this because there are images of many pages(all of them? I don’t know).

   And frankly, I find a lot of the art to be simply gorgeous, especially the boxart from the toys on the colored-fade backgrounds, and the back-of-box battle scenes.

   Since you can get a decent look at most of it, that’s why I posted it here.

   Not to knock the movie TransFormers, but I think these designs hold a certain awe, sleekness, and beauty that are simply not seen in the models they have.

3. Newsarama has a chat with the voice of Iron Man (with a video clip trailer for next week’s DVD release), plus Gonzo, Spider-Riders, Viz, and more tidbits.
4. In honor of the recent news, Matt of Press The Buttons recollects his Ghostbusters II experience.
5. So, what’s the difference between a preview and impressions? Ask GameDaily as they take two looks at Wii Play.
6. Go Nintendo has a video up of a Japanese commercial for Wario: Master of Disguise.

   This game just keeps looking better the more I see it. And Wario games are usually pretty good anyway…

7. GN links to an article by PocketGamer about 10 DS games you might want to avoid, though they refute one…
8. If you like high-res game art and renders, you may want to cast your eyes over here for some nice Diddy Kong Racing DS screens and art.
9. NES inside an NES controller. NOW you’re playing with power…
10. So, how does one save the PS3? Well…
11. Wow, after all these years, the Jaguar and 3DO are still going.
12. Wanna make a Mario quilt? Here’s how!

    No need for thanks… just send me one.

13. Guns in games: a touching experience.
14. If you’re planning on doing some travelling, and the sights and sounds don’t appeal to you as much as the thought of playing some XBox 360, then 2old2play has some tips for bringing it with conveniently.
15. Hearing from Sam Kennedy is usually pretty good reading over at 1up (as opposed to say, other individuals who shall remain nameless).

    This time out, he’s talking about how much he enjoys his PS3, much to his own disbelief.

    In light of this, I am rather curious to see how things progress…

    But then, there’s always something like this to make you wonder about the bit regarding multi-disc games, using the hard drive, and such.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. “The problems of the future… today!” Behold, as Press The Buttons imparts knowledge for the gaming journalists… of tomorrow!
2. GameTrailers masters Wario’s newest adventure with two brand-new Wario: Master of Disguise videos.

   If Wario would just beat up an artist or an astronaut for these powers, it’d be sort of like Nintendo’s evil answer to Mega Man.

3. He’s back! Phoenix Wright returns to protect the innocent and expose the guilty, and GameSpot is here to tell us how well he fares.

   The first game received an 8.8, while the sequel has a 7.7. One should bear in mind that part of this is no doubt a reflection of the fact that the first game had an extra case added for the DS release, which included numerous uses of the system’s features, but no such addition was made to this game.

   Despite not having played it yet, I’d say that if one was a fan of the first game, this one is probably a safe bet, as long as the above is kept in mind. After all, unlike Japan, we didn’t get these games on our Game Boy Advance, so that is a plus for us here.

   Doesn’t mean we can’t whine like whipped puppies to Capcom about the cutbacks here, however.

4. If the Wii remote makes your Wii Sports seem like it has a little too much virtual, and not enougb reality, then the Japanese company Miyavix may just have the answers you seek.
5. Via Evil Avatar, Voodoo Extreme has a piece up asking what PC games that deserve sequels you’d like to see.

   Of course, as anyone who checks regularly may have figured out, I’m not much of a PC gamer.

   But that doesn’t mean we can’t have our own bit of fun with this. After all, how many deserving console/portable games have deserved sequels, but never gotten them? What do you want to see?

6. I’m still holding out for a hat with a fake sticking out of it.
7. Remember, folks: Friends don’t let friends Wii and drive.
8. Slashdot reports that we have the technology to leave dead bodies as far as the eye can see.
9. Game|Life’s Chris Kohler asks the question I’m fortunate enough not to have to: “Why the Hell Do I Keep Buying These Shooters?”
10. Great music video… or greatest music video?

    This is why Time named us “Person of the Year,” folks. Think about it.

11. Sometimes, being an internet celebrity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

    But hey, free DS Lite!

    This one’s probably NSFW, too.

    And remember… safety is sexy.

12. Hey, look everyone! It’s FABIO!

    And he’s giving advice!

13. Some people like to say that the whole of Super Mario Bros. is just the acid trip of some plumber leading a mundane life in Brooklyn.

    To which I say, “no, this is the acid trip.”

    I think this is new footage, if anyone cares for long enough to see.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Evidently, Gabe Newell (no, not the Penny Arcade guy, if that’s who you’re thinking) allegedly had some unkind words to say about Sony’s latest console venture:

   “The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels, I think It’s really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I’d say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a “do over”. Just say, “This was a horrible disaster and we’re sorry and we’re going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it”.

   The happy story is the Wii. I’m betting that by Christmas of next year, Nintendo Wii has a larger installed base than the 360. Other people think I’m crazy. I really like everything that Nintendo is doing.”

2. Following up past entries in their “Games of 2007″ series, Next Generation now takes a look at what the future holds for the Nintendo DS.
3. Evil Avatar reports that a Mercury developer sees more potential in the Wii remote than what we’ve currently experienced.
4. Interesting, this.

   Go Nintendo reports that WiiNintendo.net’s Wii Sports experiment was apparently a success!

   It may not be a “Jenny Craig supplement,” but it seems to do the trick well enough.

5. There really is nothing to add, is there?
6. Wired’s Clive Thompson decides to see for himself what all the hub-bub is about Super Columbine Massacre RPG.
7. Over at Joystiq, the flaws in Jack Thompson’s “cut shipments of games if retailers sell to under 17″ plan are dissected and examined.
8. When worlds collide…

   Mega 64, sort of a video game-based Tom Green Show or Jackass (and I mean that in the kindest, most respectful way it can be) attempt to recreate Capcom’s Dead Rising at a local mall.

   Sadly, the game ends with some 70+ hours left. Maybe next time.

9. To me, the most bizarre thing about this light-up 24-UMD holder is that it’s not one of those creations by some bored customizer, but an actual manufactured product to be sold at retail.
10. Scott Sharkey takes us on a whirlwind tour of the ten events of last year which made us all simply say…
    
    “WTF!?”

–LBD “Nytetrayn”