1. Want to learn how to save your laptop after a spill? Yahoo shows you how.

   Plus, cleaning your touchpad.

2. The Allspark has word that the voice of Optimus Prime in the upcoming TransFormers movie, Peter Cullen, has recorded some more lines from the contest.

   “It’s Prime Time!” seeming to be the favorite just for the sheer peculiarity of it.

3. Ah, shoot-em-ups. Perhaps the most infamous of all video game types, from Space Invaders and Asteroid to Contra and Gradius, there is certainly something to be said about mowing down the opposition (typically aliens of the most illegal kind) with more firepower than a third-world country.

   Naturally, the best-suited view of this kind of action is 2-D, where you get to see everything coming at you from 360 directions.

   As luck would have it, the GameCube has some of these types of games, and Racketboy takes a closer look at these forward-compatible games that you can use on your Wii, if so inclined.

   …I really do need to get a copy of Alien Homminid.

4. GameTrailers looks back at the very best of what the year 2006 had to offer as they present the 2006 GT Awards.
5. GameDaily looks back at “The Biggest Video Game D’ohs of 2006.”
6. Additionally, they have videos of everything they know about Halo 3 and 10 years of Lara Croft.
7. Go Nintendo has a feel good story about one gamer’s quest to get a Wii, and the unexpected results.
8. Some may say I’m a Nintendo fanboy, but true or not, I still say they’re crazy for this. Crazy in their crazy heads.

   There really is no good reason for this. None that would satisfy anyone on this side of things, anyway.

   My hope is that maybe they just mean in the immediate future… that I could understand, given the substantial catalogs to wade through…

9. Wow, UK: Resistance really love their Animal Crossing: Wild World…
10. GN reports that Nintendo of Japan has opened their Wario: Master of Disguise website.
11. A slightly-depressing Lost Planet contest.
12. Kotaku looks at the rise and fall of the PS3 grey market.

    Is it me, or is the practice of eBaying new systems becoming a riskier and riskier prospect?

13. 1up and T. Frog check out the latest in neo-retro with a new edition of Retronauts, covering the Christmas Day releases on the Wii Virtual Console, PS3, and XBox 360 Live Arcade.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Over at BWTF.com, Ben reviews two of the latest TransFormers releases in Cybertron Beast Optimus Prime and the Classics Dinobot Minicon Team.
2. GameTrailers has a new trailer for the Animal Crossing movie.
3. GameDaily checks out the top viral game videos of 2006, including Console Wars, WoW on South Park, and the live-action Mario talent show.
4. An interesting article looks into the idea of Nintendo allowing free downloadable demos for VC games.
5. Slashdot reports of a study which indicates that gaming fulfills some sort of psychological need within gamers.
6. Wired’s Chris Kohler takes a look back at the year in games of 2006.

Sorry for the rather dry portaling tonight, I’ll try and do better next time.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. The Allspark has links to more TransFormers movie figures, including Brawl the tank and Decepticon police car Barricade.

   Plus, new looks at Collector’s Club Astrotrain and Masterpiece Megatron.

2. Have I mentioned WiiKitty.com yet?

   If not, then here’s WiiKitty.com.

3. Oh, son of a bitch!

…see, what’d I tell you? Slow.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Some new looks at Bumblebee from 2007′s TransFormers movie have surfaced, showing off a prototype of the toy as well as a neat work-in-progress showing Bee packing some shoulder missiles and a Mega Man/Samus-styled arm cannon.
2. Speaking of TransFormers, Ben Yee of BWTF.com has reviewed the Classics “Ultimate Battle” two-pack, featuring both a new version of the original Optimus Prime, and a tank version of Megatron. How do they fare? See for yourself in the review, complete with galleries!
3. Late for Christmas, but still in time for New Year celebrations, GameDaily features a list of video game inspired drink recipes.

   Pity all I really drink is Coke or Pepsi.

4. GN reports a review of Ryuusei no Rockman, totalling 85 out of 100.
5. As this music video shows, Duck Hunt is hardcore.

   But, we already knew that.

6. Wiimote being bad? Spank that sucker.
7. Don’t normally relay rumors, as you all know, but I like this supposed Mario Party 8 box art enough to let this one slide.
8. 7 creative NES mods.

   I got a MIB NES Deluxe Set from Shinkuu as a Christmas gift, but damn and hell if I do any of these with it.

9. Oh, crap, Amy and Knuckles, Sonic and the Secret Rings is ruined, let’s go home, fellas.
10. This Jack Thompson/Brain Age commericial parody is what you might call turning a negative into a positive.
11. Fun you can have with Zelda: Twilight Princess and your dog.
12. This is 28 degrees of awesome, and part of why I want Waluigi in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so he and Wario can use his Super Mario Strikers taunt.

    Break it down!

13. Somehow, I just don’t share the anger.
14. Did you know that Destroy All Humans began as a joke?

    Kind of sad, in a way.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. In case you missed it, there’s a new variation of the TransFormers movie trailer on the movie’s website.

   See if you can spot, or rather hear the difference.

2. New Masterpiece Megatron pictures, now with gun mode.
3. First look at Fantastic Four 2‘s Silver Surfer.

   …that’s the movie, btw. In case you weren’t sure.

4. Remember the game of Tag we used to play as kids?

   I have to say, this is one of the most intriguing uses of it I’ve ever seen.

5. So Christmas has come and gone, and you know that the copy of the Superman Returns video game you received can be nothing less than a cruel joke. What to do?

   GamesDaily has the answers you seek.

   What they don’t mention is that if it’s still in shrink-wrap, you can probably get full value for it at Wal-Mart or Toys R Us, especially if you don’t dawdle and take advantage of the Christmas confusion.

6. N-Philes takes a look at the ins and outs of Wii’s new Opera web browser.
7. Just so you know: Bunnies can’t stand Christmas…
8. Go Nintendo features more scans of Wario: Master of Disguise.
9. Like the Wii’s music? I don’t mean the games, I mean the menus and such.

   If so, you’re in luck, as it can now be downloaded.

10. If you’re interested in the Nintendo Power “Three-for-Free” offer and have downloaded the Wii’s Opera browser, then good news: it counts as a game.
11. GN reports on some new Metroid Prime 3 screens.
12. Sonic and the Secret Rings will be using the Ageia Physx engine to handle physics in-game.

    No, I don’t really know what that means, either. Here’s hoping that it’s good.

13. So, is it “Wii,” or “Wheeze?”

    …I’m sorry, that was completely uncalled for.

14. It’s like “Wii Got A Problem” meets Pat Lee’s artwork: the slippery-Wiimote t-shirt.

    You know you want one.

    …if they can make a baseball cap with a fake one sticking out of it, I’ll take one of those, too.

    …but pants are where I draw the line.

    Maybe.

15. Kirby’s Canvas Curse… for the SNES?
16. Nintendo DS reinvigorates Akira Toriyama’s enthusiasm for Dragon Quest.
17. A history of game consoles, as seen on TV.
18. Game|Life reports that the third part of Street Fighter: The Later Years is up.
19. Yahoo! has an interview with “The Nintendo 64 Kid,” seeing what the stars think about the phenomenon now.

    However, it does focus more on the bastardized BMW version than the original N64 version.

20. Wii + cats = WiiKitty.com

    Have to get some pics of Dante and Cammy for that.

21. Penny Arcade + Raving Rabbids = Funny
22. New PS3 ad.

    I like the pseudo-Matrix-esque “guns” part.

23. The 1up Staff has taken it upon themselves to give video gaming just what it deserves for Christmas.

    I sort of like the first one on the last page.

24. Over at Newsarama, Victor Gorelick and Steve Butler talk about the new-look Archie.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Late day today, Christmas season, etc. Not going to leave you empty-handed, but I’m just going to try and run over the big stories today, and lump the rest of the stuff in tomorrow’s editions.

1. Nintendo has offered up a press release which names the games to expect on Christmas morning. Super Mario Bros., Super Castlevania IV (FINALLY), Toejam & Earl, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, and R-Type will land after Santa’s departure, with Baseball and the game only I seem to hold any appreciation for, Urban Champion, ringing in the New Year…

   How very odd that they’re charging extra for R-Type…

2. Forbes thinks that the days of gaming as we know it are numbered.

   Me, I’m not so sure. For one thing, not to knock PC gaming, there’s some great stuff out there, but I usually prefer to do my gaming from the bed or couch rather than a swivel-chair.

3. Behold, the history of the FPS… with pictures.
4. Plans for DS/Wii connectivity are well under way, says Nintendo.
5. And you thought the original XBox controller was huge.

   Watching two guys play Super Mario Bros. has never been so much fun.

6. IGN has tons of TMNT tidbits, including the movie’s voice cast, a new poster, and pics.

   …Kevin Smith in a TMNT movie? Sold.

7. Harry Potter takes on his final adventure in the newly-named Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

…and that’s all for tonight. Seeya tomorrow!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Over at Nintendo’s website, NOA Matt talks up licensed games for the Wii.
2. In addition, the monthly preview for the newest Nintendo Power is now available.
3. Over at GameTrailers, they’ve added their review of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for the DS, as well as the first gameplay footage of Halo 3, including the Brutes, with a documentary.
4. GameSpot sits down with Ubisoft to discuss the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and its games, plus some screens.
5. Speaking of the TMNT movie, a cool bit of news is that Patrick Stewart has been cast as the villain, Max Winters.

   I find the news to be awesome, righteous, and bossanova.

6. Next-Gen takes a look at the… ahem, “Gaffes and Blunders of 2006.”

   No points for guessing what made #1.

7. Oh, what the hell. It’s Christmastime. A million points if you guess what made #1. For everyone!
8. Hmm, between this and the shootings, I guess you could say that the PlayStation 3 was #1, with a bullet.
9. Go Nintendo has an important safety announcement from G4′s Attack of the Show and Nintendo.
10. Game|Life reports that if you really hate the way the Wii Classic controller’s cord comes out of the bottom that much, there’s a hack which allows you to fix it.
11. Via Game|Life, NeoGAF looks at the worst offenders of the XBox 360′s Live microtransactions.
12. Joystiq has found an interesting online shopping game, where you have to acquire all the items on your list, possibly even beating other customers to get them, lest you fail at the spirit of Christmas.
13. Joystiq and Forbes pull back the curtain and reveal where the 60 smackeroos for a new game go.

    …does anyone say “smackeroos” anymore?

14. If you’re looking to grab an XBox 360 in the 11th hour before Christmas, then brother, has Toys R Us got a deal for you.
15. A PS3 for a dollar?

    Think you’re good enough?

16. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

    One game.

    Two systems.

    How do they stack up?

17. If you missed Sony’s failed attempt at viral marketing before they pulled the plug, you’re in luck.
18. Kotaku dreams up some connections between Wii games and Wii Channels, thanks to an allusion from Nintendo’s forums about Madden using the Wii Weather Channel to affect in-game weather (an idea Nintendo Power really loved a few months back).
19. A new game system may be good and all, but this gift is simply da’ bomb.
20. Hey, look who got linked on Kotaku…
21. Uh-oh, is Wii60 dead?
22. …the hell?
23. Steve Fritz at Newsarama gives his tribute to the recently-departed Joe Barbera.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Just got word from Walky that today around noon, the trailer for the new TransFormers movie goes live on Yahoo! Movies.

Don’t miss it!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. The Allspark brings interesting news from TFsource.com for fans of Grimlock, as there is a chance to order the “World’s Smallest Dinobots” Santa Commander Grimlock recolor, with a chance at a lucky-draw golden variant.
2. Scans Daily over on LiveJournal has a few interesting scans from a not-too-old issue of Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog, depicting Knuckles’ last moments with his father Locke from Mobius: 25 Years Later, long after the fall of the evil Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik.
3. Correction to yesterday: Mega Man is 19, not 20. Odd, I thought the whole thing was about his 20th birthday now…
4. GameSpot reviews the ultra-awesome classic Gunstar Heroes.

   I still gotta get Gunstar Super Heroes.

5. Evidently, Go Nintendo really, really loves the Wii-NES RetroPort.
6. GN links to another interview with the always-delightful Koji Igarashi and Michiru Yamane.
7. Game|Life reports that Wii Play has been pushed back.

   To quote Ron Simmons… “DAMN!”

8. Evidently, Sony isn’t completely hated… it’s mainly just their games division.

   …and I guess whoever makes batteries. And rootkits.

9. ContraVania. The only real way to hunt.
10. Microsoft continues to slip in the eyes of customers.

    Come on, I thought the excuse of using better parts being the reason the price hasn’t dropped was plausible enough, is that really not the case at all?

11. What a strange, strange contest.

    Stars or angels? What the hell kind of a question is that?

    And crushing a system that people are getting robbed and killed over? That’s classy…

    One thing I will say, though, is that either steam rollers aren’t as heavy as I thought, or that PlayStation 3 is some really damn solid construction.

12. More Uwe Boll boxing horror stories.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

1. Sounds like PS3 buyers aren’t the ones in danger of being mugged, any more.

   Frankly, the whole idea of someone trying to steal someone else’s Christmas shopping absolutely disgusts me. If I ever found out my parents or someone actually succeeded in swiping a paid-for product like that just to give it to me, I’d throw it back in their faces.

   I suppose one could argue good intentions in the end, but the means certainly don’t justify this kind of crap. At Christmas/Hannukah/Non-Denominational Holiday time, no less.

   There’s a special place in Hell for that kind of behaviour, I’m sure. And I bet it involves an Atari and E.T.

2. Time, while giving us all a nice little honor (see today’s The Daily ‘Shroom items #2 and 3), weren’t quite so nice to the likes of Sony, Fox, and O.J. Simpson, as they were all among five phenomena that didn?t live up to the hype.
3. Speaking of hype, now that it’s all died down, GameDaily gives the Wii and PS3 a second, “more sobering” look.
4. Evil Avatar reports that Sony’s saying that the PS3 will never be 100% utilized.

   Well, stop the presses! A game system that’s not 100% utilized?! Say it ain’t so!

   …correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that more or less true of damn near every video game system to come out? If I’m not mistaken, there are even homebrewers squeezing a few more drops out of the old Atari consoles that were once thought as being impossible.

5. Oh, finally. Wii Forecast Channel on the 20th? About time.

   Or maybe sooner?

6. Of course you realize, this means war.
7. Proto-Wii controllers? What the bloody Hell?

   The star one has to be a joke…

8. The man with the Castlevania plan, Koji Igarashi, has a new video interview out and about, and he even talks a bit about next-gen.
9. The 10 Most Dangerous Toys Ever.

   I had a friend years ago who had a lawn dart. Man, that was fun. Not much point, but who cares?

10. If you’ve ever submit a guide to GameFAQs, maybe you should read this.
11. Lara gets “drool-worthy,” just in time for a new movie.
12. K.K. Slider boogies on down in the snow.

    And look, there’s Yoshi, too.

13. So wrong.

    So hilarious.

    A Zelda cartoon, animated to look like South Park but using voice clips from the old cartoon.

    And as a bonus, you can see the original scenes and context at the bottom as it plays.

14. I bid a dollar.

    I don’t think I’m going to win.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”