Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbit: It seems that the role of Cover Girl in the GI Joe movie may have been cast, and if true, then it seems to be a matter of life imitating art.
2. Newsbit: RIAA plans to cut artist royalties on digital tracks. This one pretty much speaks for itself.
3. Newsbit: Looks like the long relationship between new live-action Star Wars and movie theaters may still continue.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: Yet another unfortunate death with a vague relationship to video games.
2. Newsbit: Props to Cheap Ass Gamer for their new campaign to donate games to the troops in Iraq.
3. Newsbit: Want to go to WWE WrestleMania 24? How good are you at Smackdown vs. Raw 2008?

   Speaking of which, the franchise earned over one billion dollars over the holidays.

4. Newsbit: First 4 Figures, makers of statues based on The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, TransFormers, and more, now has the license to Sonic the Hedgehog. And they aren’t going with the post-Adventure style, but rather are adopting the original oldschool designs.
5. Newsbit: A study says that men get more out of gaming than women, but there are those who disagree.
6. Newsbit: It’s possible that Super Smash Bros. Brawl might sell a million units by the end of the week.

   Speaking of which, GameTrailers has– you guessed it– more videos.

   It’s been revealed that the game will also take quite a bit of memory. My prediction is that people will rapidly begin to run out of room on their Wiis by year’s end.

   Smash Bros. DOJO!! reveals new Assist Trophies, plus a few we’ve seen before.

7. Newsbit: Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection has officially been announced for a US release, but regretably, will be lacking in many features of its Japanese counterpart.

   Me? I just want the damn 2D games. Can I at least get downloadable versions here? Please?

8. Newsbit: Coming soon to Xbox Originals: Sid Meier’s Pirates, Black, and Ninja Gaiden Black. Pirates vs. Ninjas, anyone?
9. Newsbit: Grr… snarl… rip… tear… still no No More Heroes in Canada…
10. Newsbit: Drawn to Life on Wii? That’d be cool… I still haven’t even gotten to play the DS version yet, though.
11. Newsbit: The new Famitsu shows off more of who we’ll see in Street Fighter IV.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Newsbit: Movie Bumblebee is about to get busted.
2. Pic: A little promotional artwork for All Hail Megatron.
3. Pics: And finally, a close-up of Premium Movie Prime’s head, plus the back-of-the-box images for himself and Premium Megatron.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Pic: Newsarama has the first piece of DC art by former Ultimate Spider-man artist Mark Bagley.
2. Video: During the Super Bowl came a new trailer for the Iron Man movie.
3. Newsbit: Once again, GameSpite gives us the week’s bounty in DVD releases.
4. Rumor: Seems there’s a little rumor going ’round that Venom could get a movie spin-off from his old pal, Spider-man.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: The GameSpot/Gerstmann Saga continues trudging on.
2. Newsbit: Tonight, the Smash Bros. DOJO!! brings us the stage many have awaited and many have dreaded…

   In addition, it reveals a return character of sorts.

   GameTrailers has plenty of new vids, including the long-awaited Sonic vs. Mario.

   GameSpot has many videos now as well.

   GameVideos shows off the characters’ taunts.

   CVG has the ABC’s of Smash Bros.

   And since I keep seeing this pop up, I guess it bears mentioning that if you smoke, you might have a little trouble playing the game.

3. Newsbit: GameTap brings a few games to the fore which I wouldn’t mind checking out. I lack Mega Man Anniversary Collection, so Mega Man: The Power Battle would be fun. Plus Rampage, Bubble Bobble, and Bust-a-Move, among others.
4. Newsbit: GameSpite loads up the newest games on shelves this week.
5. Newsbit: Some new DLC for Rock Band hits this week.
6. Newsbit: Rumor has it that the Japanese and European blood-free versions of No More Heroes actually runs faster and smoother than its gorier US counterpart. “[SUDA51] believes that the Japanese / European version plays faster and smoother than the American version and says he feels it is more enjoyable to play.”
7. Newsbit: God of War creator and Banana Philosopher David Jaffe is going to deliver a keynote for aspiring game developers at the 2008 GDC.
8. Newsbit: Today’s Virtual Console releases are Operation Wolf for the NES, and Columns III: Revenge of Columns for the SEGA Genesis.

   Can’t say that I’m pleased with what seems like no effort to make the former work with the Wii Zapper, though. Unless they tried and couldn’t make it work, for some reason. In which case, I suggest it bodes poorly for the likes of Duck Hunt, Wild Gunman, Hogan’s Alley, Yoshi’s Safari, and others.

9. Rumor: A little further thought on that rumor that says Nintendo snubbed Capcom over Resident Evil 4, proposing that if true, it may go even deeper than that.
10. Newsbit: Ah, I remember Populous back on the Super NES. Was never that good at it, but it was fun to watch others play. Now, it’s coming to the DS, and has a nift preorder bonus.

–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. Pics: New images are available of Trans-Scanning Bumblebee.
2. Newsbit: Classics Cliffjumper got a really cool add-on kit… could Classics Ultra Magnus be next? I’d love to see that.
3. Newsbit: James Marsden, aka “Lord Piccolo” in the Dragon Ball movie, spills the beans about the film.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbit: Garfield’s 45th book, Large and in Charge is nearing release, and Amazon is taking preorders. Not sure if this one will have where Jon and Liz get together or not, which really added a much-needed spark to the goings-on.
2. Newsbit: Check out the info on the upcoming Speed Racer Battle Morph Mach 5 Vehicle & Figure.
3. Newsbit: This just in, courtesy of Magic: Churches not allowed to host Super Bowl parties. Because apparently putting a bunch of people in front of free TV is somehow worse than fewer people gathering to watch free TV on multiple TVs in their homes. Or something.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: Oooh, goody! The Super Mario Galaxy Platinum Official Soundtrack is now on sale…

   …for about $40. Yikes.

2. Newsbit: This week, it was announced that Rock Band was coming to Wii, and it wasn’t a surprise to some, given the stand-alone mic that showed up in stores earlier in the week citing Wii compatibility.

   The irony is, that part was a mistake. And the mic isn’t Wii compatible, either.

3. Newsbit: Turns out that David Jaffe’s zing on Miyamoto was a joke that no one got. Better luck next time.

   Guess maybe 1up hasn’t gotten the memo yet…

   But seriously, how do the Mario Kart racers do that?

   Seriously? An age-old technique passed down from generation to generation, from father to son.

   It’s called throwing.

   Sorry, just had to say it…

4. Newsbit: Good news for PC gamers, I suppose, as EA is going to unbox the Orange at retail.
5. Newsbit: Don’t often look at sales numbers, but it’s good to see that Devil May Cry 4 did pretty well on its first day…

   …but still got its ass kicked by Super Smash Bros. Brawl in terms of sheer numbers.

6. Newsbit: Coming 2/10/08: the Cobalt/Black Nintendo DS Lite.
7. Videos: GameTrailers has plenty more new videos from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
8. Newsbit: $500,000. What would a game developer use that for? Creating a new game engine, perhaps? Forming a vast city or world with graphics you can’t even tell from reality? Maybe music, or state-of-the-art cutscenes.

   …well, the last one is close. Try a mystery actor’s voiceover.

9. Newsbit: Good news? No More Heroes is out of stock on Amazon.com.
10. Newsbit: Some new screens and character art have surfaced for International Track & Field by Konami. Simon is back! And you can read up on him and Pentarou here.
11. Newsbit: Ok, it’s cool that the Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection is coming to EB/GameStop, but is it really region-free or whatever?

–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”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Pic: A package shot of Blackarachnia from Animated has surfaced.
2. Newsbit: And BotCon registration is go!
3. Newsbit: And the Classics Cliffjumper upgrade pack has been released as well.
4. Newsbit: For the folks in the UK, a Hasbro press release.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Pics: From this week’s UK Toy Fair comes more images of the new TMNT “Mini-Mutants” figures and accessories.

   You can find more here, plus the figures from NECA.

2. Pics: Also from the UK Toy Fair comes pics of new toys for Jakks’ WWE lineup.
3. Videos: IGN hosts a series of trailers for upcoming anime releases.

Video Power

1. Pics: Remember yesterday’s pics of Corgi’s new Super Mario toys? Turns out that’s not all they have there… check out their Master Collector Force FX Master Sword, plus Halo 3.

   McFarlane has some of the Halo 3 stuff going on, too.

2. Newsbit: Oh yay, the new Rockman DASH (aka MegaMan Legends) game is out now. Yippee.

   Yeah, it’s the cellphone one, if you couldn’t tell. Would it be too much to beg for a DS port?

3. Newsbit: Valve says more Portal is on the way. Meanwhile, I still need to play the first.

   Speaking of which, there should be some downloadable content coming… eventually. But Team Fortress 2 gets some sooner.

4. Newsbit: And for Wii fans who like to rock out, great news, as Rock Band is officially en route.

   And just when these guys decided to make their move.

5. Newsbit: Now here’s what I like to see. EA’s announced a new boxing game, but it’s not one of those Fight Night affairs, oh no. Their new Facebreaker franchise is more arcade styled, more reminiscient of Punch-Out!!. Should be interesting… but why the hell isn’t this on Wii? I’m not especially convinced the cartoony graphics couldn’t be done in a convincing manner.
6. Newsbit: Do 90 percent of DS owners in the US really pirate games? Well, I don’t… but then, I’m in Canada anyway.
7. Newsbit: I’m only linking to this story about the GRAW 2 downloads for the picture.
8. Newsbit: Looks like the delay and some beta feedback are doing good things for Sony’s Home.
9. Various: GameSpy tells what they think of Super Smash Bros. Brawl stage creator.

   Meanwhile, Go Nintendo has a rumor as to what caused the last delay, one that may disappoint a lot of people if true.

   GameTrailers has a ton of user-created videos, and plenty of spoilers within.

   And Smash Bros. DOJO!! has just revealed a new hidden character that many will be happy to see. It also highlights the difference between this one and another character.

   The site’s frontpage has a new look, too.

   As for the shortage, shouldn’t be a problem for too long.

   Kotaku, meanwhile, has a rumor about Capcom’s general absence in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. If true… ouch. Isn’t that punishing us more than them?

–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”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Newsbit: Not much going today, but what there is turns out to be pretty good: Hasbro has included a new toy catalog with Desert Brawl, showing off the Animated toys, and giving them a release date of June.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbit: Think learning fractions in school was a waste of time? This professor agrees.
2. Newsbit: According to The Official TMNT Web Site, the “Ninja Tribunal” arc finally begins to air on Fox on February 9th. Happy day! 4Kids even has a teaser.

   For those who’ve forgotten, this is the arc that 4Kids wound up pulling out of in the middle so they could give us Fast Forward.

3. Newsbit: Hey, Spider-fans! Remember the Free Comic Book Day issue of Spider-man from Marvel? Well now they’re here to sell it to you again, with a few bonuses, for $3.99!

   Bleh.

4. Newsbit: Speed Racer is back! In LEGO form!
5. Newsbit: Sounds like longtime GI Joe scribe Larry Hama may be working on the new movie.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: A few new spoilish character and stage reveals for Super Smash Bros. Brawl have leaked out between yesterday’s update and today’s, and you can find the newest in bold.

   Two new TV commercials from Japan are now available, too.

   And just caught this interesting tidbit about Samus. Not really a spoiler, but more a happy confirmation.

   A new video shows one of the obvious hidden character’s not-so obvious Final Smashes.

   GameVideos has a ton of new vids.

   1up has gotten their copy, and given spoiler-laden hands-on impressions.

   Smash Bros. DOJO!! made a special announcement tonight, as well as posting a Game Mode Introduction movie.

   Japan is ready. Are you?

2. Newsbit: A Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword DS demo via the Wii… in Japan.

   Give me a break, when do we get this already? This is a game I might be interested in, but not so much I’ll take the gamble. The Xbox version was brutal, I need some reassurances here.

3. Pics: Maybe this is why I haven’t heard back from my contact at Corgi… the 2008 UK Toy Fair is going on, and they’re showing off their upcoming Super Mario goods.

–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”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Pics: The first official pictures of the latest Robot Heroes are now available, including the greatest Movie character of them all, Dispensor!
2. Pics: Making the day even better, the first images of Classics 2.0 are now on Hasbro’s website. Uncolored, but still cool.
3. Pics And on top of all that, some new pics of the G1-colored Music Label Convoy, aka Optimus Prime.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Newsbit: Never big into Nightmare on Elm Street, to be frank (except with that one “Power Glove” bit as a kid). But Freddy’s got a new movie coming, and I thought someone reading this might be interested.
2. Newsbit: On the GI Joe movie front, we now know who will be playing General Hawk and Destro.

Video Power

1. Newsbit: Nintendo offers up some encouragement to their third-parties regarding their concerns of sales of their games vs. those first-party offerings of Nintendo.
2. Newsbit: That Mario Kart Wii stuff reported yesterday? Yeah, fuhgeddaboudit.
3. Newsbit: Wii60 lives on, as Microsoft wants gamers to graduate to an Xbox 360 after breaking in with a Wii.
4. Spoilers: How ironic that I should be one of the first to fall in the line of fire. Such as it is reporting news, and with the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Japan, it fell to me to cover what was revealed.

   Fortunately, very little in the way of Subspace Emissary is revealed there; it’s pretty much just revealed characters (maybe not even all of them) and new stages. If you prod further in the links at the bottom therein, however, you’ll find much more in the way of images and videos and such. Plus, a ton of screens that seem to be for Subspace Emissary (and thus, largely ignored by me… gotta save something) can be seen here, courtesy VG Cats.

   Suffice to say, I think many will be pleased. If you’re into finding out more, then keep checking back, as likely more will be added.

   As for the just-updated Smash Bros. DOJO!! update, it’s big but predictably underwhelming (insofar as, what can really compare to the leaked stuff?) as Sakurai goes over the basics of starting a match in Brawl mode. On the upside, choosing who you start a match as with Pokemon Trainer and Zelda/Sheik is more natural.

5. Newsbit: On a related note, a number of people (myself included) were unhappy at how Japan’s delay of Super Smash Bros. Brawl was only a week, vs. a month or so for the US.

   As it happens, we may yet still have the last laugh.

6. Also, I am such a geek. Leave it to me to notice that in the video intro where Mario hits the block in Mushroomy Kingdom and gets a Mushroom, that it’s the WRONG BLOCK.
7. Newsbit: Is Fox letting Cooper Lawrence take the fall for the entire Mass Effect controversy? She may have been wrong, but this ain’t right.
8. Newsbit: Some nice* Wii bundles are coming to GameStop.

   *”Nice” does not include the price vs. value for the package, but merely the contents.

9. Newsbit: At least No More Heroes is selling well at the Ubishop. Wonder how it’s doing elsewhere…
10. Newsbit: That DS/Disney World guide thing reported not too long ago? Looks like the guests are really digging it.

    Me, I’m such a geek. That one of the draws of visiting Disney World for me is the thought of pulling up my own mapscreen and stuff in real life… I am such a geek.

    On the other hand, a $300 deposit and inability to just use my own DS? Eh…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”