InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Ben Yee has two new reviews up, in the form of Fast Action Battler Fusion Blast Megatron and Cyber Slammer Ratchet.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. For those whose favorite part of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon was how April looked (nothing wrong with that), then these pieces of “non-retro retro art” might be right up your alley…

   Or maybe not. They have a slight SD-style to them, and, well… I think she had a little more “build,” if you know what I’m saying.

2. “Eat me” could very well have a new meaning.
3. Brawndo the Thirst Mutilator: will “wreck your pants like the Incredible Hulk.”

   This is hilarious on a “Big Bill Hell” level. Makes me want to try it, too.

4. This go-kart flip reminds me of Mario Kart, but a lot luckier, considering.
5. It may look like a toy, but I don’t think I’d want this robot soldier coming after me.

Video Power

1. Press The Buttons has found a little somethin’-somethin’ sure to warm the old holiday spirit: Christmas Comes To Pac-Land.

   Sadly, I don’t know if I saw this one, and if I did, it didn’t get the opportunity to be ingrained in my memory like certain other specials. There’s supposed to be a way to view it on AOL, but maybe you need to be some sort of member, as I get stuck at a “loading” screen. Sucks. But then, watching Pac-Man cartoons without having a bowl of Pac-Man cereal in front of me just seems kind of wrong, anyway.

2. Just in time for stuffing stockings, Racketboy’s Retro Gaming has 10 great DS games for under 15 bucks.
3. If you’ve been wondering about the compatibility quirks between using your guitar on Rock Band and on Guitar Hero, you might be happy to know that Red Octane has an explanation.
4. Valve thinks we need more varied art direction in game development. I’m inclined to agree.
5. Normally, I wouldn’t care about a tour of the new Halo 3 maps so much, but when it’s by the Red vs. Blue guys at Rooster Teeth…
6. Speaking of Halo 3, here’s an amusing bit from some sitcom involving it.
7. And now, a music video for the Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 single.
8. Virtua Cop, Hogan’s Alley, and Lethal Enforcers, just a few titles I’d love to see make use of the now-available Wii Zapper.
9. I seriously have no idea what this is supposed to be (short of a hoax) or where it came from, but this alleged Super Mario Galaxy DS is pretty cool, and the video is overall pretty impressive.

   Be warned, there’s some mild spoilers in there, specifically the “what happens when you get all 120 stars” one. Thanks to Frash for sending it my way.

10. In an exclusive interview with Next Generation, Capcom talks a bit about their PS3 strategy, development costs, and issues with third-party exclusivity.
11. Wow, now there’s an award that’s chock full of prestige. Makes MTV’s golden popcorn bucket look like a damn Emmy.

    Plus, many more images from Spike’s award show within.

12. Let’s face it, this is the reason there’s such a push for 3D gaming these days.
13. GameDaily celebrates Nintendo’s Zapper with a look back at the original’s games.
14. These days, returning games is harder than ever, even if they’ve never been opened. Games Radar has a list of titles that may be worth that effort, however.
15. GR takes one final look back at the Game Boy Advance, and recollects some of the system’s best titles.
16. Recently, Nintendo issued a press release announcing a Donkey Kong monster truck at Monster Jam, but I held off on saying anything, because this sort of story really needs pictures. Pictures that weren’t available, regretfully.

    But no more! Not only are there pictures of the beast in action, but video, too.

    With that windshield for the “eyes,” it reminds me more of Funky Kong.

17. Could a new Bonk game be on the way? Sounds like people want it…
18. Sounds like Burnout could make its way to Wii eventually, too. RMC says he doesn’t know what they could do to make it more engaging, but I think something not unlike Excite Truck wherein you’re more able to run into things would be plenty.
19. “Developers should design games that entertain both kids and adults.”

    That’s been my view on things as well. Stuff like Zelda, Smash Bros., or Super Mario Galaxy seem to fit the bill well.

20. Go Nintendo has dug up some artwork and a Q&A for No More Heroes.
21. Kotaku has one thing right: Wind Waker Link makes a better plushie than his Twilight Princess counterpart.
22. 1up has a popular theme revisited, Games Due For Revival. If Bionic Commando is any sort of proof, then maybe if we say it enough times, it’ll happen.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Some in-package pictures of Animated “Cybertron Mode” Optimus Prime are now available.
2. Some new Takara release dates have been made available, as well, with many items pushed up from early next year to this month, just in time for Christmas.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. From The Official TMNT Web Site:

   NECA’s TMNT Leonardo action figure is listed for pre-order in the December 2007 issue of Diamond Comic Distributors catalog “Previews” on page 420. Below is a picture of the final paint deco, which, if you’ll pardon my enthusiasm, is totally killer!

   Check him out.

2. Also, check their website for a huge press release from 4Kids regarding the future of the Fab Four in TV, toys, video games, and more, plus word of the 25th anniversary celebration coming in 2009.
3. A trailer (I assume new) is available for the Wachowski Brothers’ new Speed Racer movie.

   Wow, what can I say? John Goodman as the dad? Um, ok. The races really look like something out of some kind of cartoon, though. Which makes it weird when you watch the scenes that aren’t.

4. Just in time for that other anime-turned-live-action-American-movie, Dragon Ball, will be a deluxe-sized re-release with bonus material, announced Viz today.

Video Power

1. Rumor has it that in Europe, Nintendo might be eliminating the competition in the arena of DS Flash Cards by purporting that the third-party peripherals use software in violation of a copyright, all so that they can send their own licensed versions into the market unimpeded.
2. On the upside for Europeans? Stars can be swapped for Wii Points now. (Oh, and the site’s back.)

   Which brings to mind an interesting thought: didn’t Perrin Kaplan cite shipping as a hurdle and reason for no Club Nintendo in America? These don’t cost anything to ship, do they? Unless for some reason they insist on sending you Wii Points Cards by mail…

3. Seems there’s a solution in sight for the Wii Guitar Hero III sound issues.
4. Looks like the ESRB has a new campaign in place for the parents of Delaware to ignore/dismiss.
5. Hey, how about that? Nintendo decided to respond to the whole Greenpeace bit after all.
6. Oooh, eight minutes of No More Heroes, and 1up has a preview, too.

   But as usual, sucks to be Europe, though it could be worse.

7. So that you don’t have to waste your Sunday night (sorry, Mr. Jackson), here are the winners of Spike TV’s Video Game Awards.
8. Beware when making online video game– maybe any other kind– of purchases.
9. Excellent DS Lite deal at Toys R Us in Canada, with $40 off.

   Of course, with the current rate of exchange, I’m not sure the deal is as good as it COULD be, but all the same, worth noting.

10. Looks like GameHead is dead, to be replaced by GameTrailers TV.
11. Coca-Cola: It’s There (.com).

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Completely NSFW, but regardless, pay toilets? I’ve never even heard of that, but it’s got to be the stupidest idea anyone can have.

   Think about it. Do you really want to do business with someone who really needs that service, but can’t/won’t/isn’t able to pay?

2. From the guys who brought us the sung version of the movie Batman theme comes Back To The Future.

   To be honest, though, I kind of prefered the Batman one, much as I love Back To The Future.

3. “Come with me and I will show you the world of magic and wonder that you can unlock with even the simplest art project!” So sayeth The Photoshop Wizard.
4. Thanks to fellow Ranger fan Tim for pointing me in the direction of these cool t-shirts. Beats the hell out of others I’ve seen, as these hold a little more dignity to them, I think.

Video Power

1. Via WebbAlert, ThinkGeek has these cool giant Mario Kart RC cars, which are about a foot long, and feature sound effects, all for fifty bucks. More than I can afford, but at least I can watch the video with admiration.
2. Also through WebbAlert, if you want to rock out to Guitar Hero with a REAL guitar, just fork over $400 and thy will be done.
3. I eagerly await a time when jerks in online games can get their comeupance.
4. Zelda II was always a favorite of mine, and I’d like to see Nintendo make another like it. It doesn’t even have to be Zelda, necessarily. Perhaps there are some other properties Nintendo has that would be a good fit for the mold?
5. What if, instead of creating the 32X, SEGA had gone ahead and stuck with the SVP chip for 3D Genesis games?

   There’d probably be a lot of unsold $100 Genesis games, possibly. Makes you wonder how Nintendo pulled off the same trick for less money.

6. Some people complain that when Tetris DS came out, Nintendo had “broken” the game. Apparently, it had been “broken” long before Nintendo released it for the two-screen.
7. I really wish we’d gotten more of those cheap promotional Xbox games this year.
8. Corruption. Fusion. Evolution?

   While Metroid Prime wasn’t horrible or anything, maybe it’s time for a new change?

9. You know you’re doing well in the market when you can choose to pull the ads for your top product without any negative repercussions.
10. Ripten presents five Nintendo franchises that should be brought back for the modern age.

    I need Pilotwings 64 on VC. It was so relaxing.

11. Likewise, GameDaily has some NES games they believe deserve sequels. I can echo the sentiments of a lot of these.
12. If you don’t mind some potential spoilers (as well as definite ones), then GameTrailers has a neat guide to Secrets and Stuff for Super Mario Galaxy.
13. More NSFW MoCap Madness, this time for movie-based games.
14. Guess Behind-the-Scenes of Ratchet & Clank Future isn’t done yet, as GameTrailers posts a video on the weapons the series is so well-known for.
15. Capcom is of the belief that platform-exclusive titles are still viable.

    I don’t know. Unless it’s made to take advantage of the Wii’s interface, or is a Mario/Halo/Ratchet game, for example, I don’t see how it helps. And aren’t they the ones who said they were focusing now on spreading the love as much as possible?

16. N’Gai Croal weighs in on the whole “games as art” debate.
17. GameDaily brings us Kasumi as their Babe of the Week, and as a DOA fan, I couldn’t let it go by unnoticed.
18. Games Radar takes a look at a group of ported games that “had no right to work,” but did anyway.
19. 1up decided to take another look at the Activision-Blizzard merger, and come up with some mashups based on popular titles from the two companies.

    Hmm, that third one seems familiar.

20. Gaming shirts are cool, I just wish I had more that were attuned to my specfic preferences.
21. Reggie discusses how the success of Goldeneye was a turning point in gaming, which lead to a lot of people being left out.
22. Smoke pot, loseWeight Exercise Guitar Hero III… at least, if you’re this guy’s son, it would seem.
23. Looks like there’s a new Mario Kart slot-car racer out there this year, and it looks inspired by the Wii version.
24. Xbox Originals: Not quite worth the asking price.
25. To finish off the Final Fantasy tribute on 1up, Jeremy Parish has taken a look into the future of the franchise, as well as a special Retro Roundup of Fantasies past.
26. And finally, a thought occured to me regarding the most recent Smash Bros. DOJO!! update:

    Theoretically, if there are no rooms, no names, and no messages, might it be possible that with “play anyone,” you aren’t actually playing anyone at all but the computer? Since there’s no switchout with Friends, only strangers with no details, who would ever know?

    I’m not saying that’s what they’re doing, but one almost has to wonder…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Looks like IDW is running a contest that gives the winner a chance to do some TransFormers cover art.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Totally NSFW, but who can resist a trailer for Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay?
2. Jamie Chung to play Chi Chi in the Dragon Ball movie. Sure, why the hell not?

Video Power

1. Following yesterday’s reveal of the first screenshot of Street Fighter IV, Capcom offers the following press release:

   CAPCOM? KICKS OFF THE NEXT GENERATION OF FIGHTING GAMES WITH STREET FIGHTERTM IV

   The Next Round of the Definitive Fighting Game Experience Combines 3D Graphics with Classic Street Fighter Feel

   Capcom?, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today officially announced development of Street Fighter? IV, the next iteration of the genre-establishing fighting game series. This marks the first new entry announced in nearly eight years, following the acclaimed Street Fighter III Third Strike.

   In its amazing twenty year history, Street Fighter has revolutionized the fighting genre and created a global legacy like no other. Few details have been released on the new game, outside of a heart-pounding preview trailer that set the gaming community on fire when it was released in October on the official website, StreetFighterWorld.com.

   Capcom is proud to announce the return of four classic ?World Warriors? in Street Fighter IV: returning favorites Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Dhalsim. The characters and environments are rendered in stylized 3D computer graphics (CG), while the game is played in the classic Street Fighter 2D perspective with additional 3D camera flourishes. The traditional six-button controls for the game will return, with a host of new special moves and features integrated into the input system. Mixing tried-and-true classic moves and techniques with all-new, never-before-seen gameplay systems, Street Fighter 4 brings a brand new fighting game to fans the world over.

   Everything that made the legendary Street Fighter II a hit in arcades, living rooms and dormitories all over the world has been brought to bear here, with even more surprises. With the inclusion of Capcom’s latest advancements in new generation technology, Street Fighter IV promises to deliver an extraordinary experience that will re-introduce the world to the time-honored art of virtual martial arts.

   Features:
   ? 2D/3D fighting environments
   ? Classic Street Fighter characters re-imagined for a new generation of gamers
   ? New special moves that go beyond any Street Fighter fan’s wildest imagination
   ? Amazing locations never seen before in a Street Fighter game
   ? New gameplay elements provide new challenges for both newcomers and the most seasoned Street Fighter pro.

   And Ryu couldn’t be more excited.

   You can follow the new announcements here at 1up.com’s Street Fighter IV hub, but interestingly enough, it seems that 1up may have been one-upped by a Brazilian gaming blog known as Blogeek, which introduces two new screenshots that I’m willing to bet aren’t fake, along with some new info.

2. Good news for Dead Or Alive and Xbox-era Ninja Gaiden creator Tomonobu Itagaki, as he’s been found not guilty of sexual harassment against a coworker.
3. So, yesterday Rockstar released the new trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, and I have to say, it is truly the crispest, sharpest PS2 game I’ve ever seen.
4. Rumor has it that a new Mega Man game called Mega Man Scramble Battle is on its way to the Wii in the last quarter of 2008, or first of 2009. Follow the link to see some thoughts on the plausibility of this one, among other considerations.
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl: bad news for Europe, not-so-bad news for the US.

   Plus, Smash Bros. DOJO!! seems to really be letting on through its updates that the game was supposed to be out already. Today’s talks about “With Anyone/Basic Brawl” on WiFi.

   One neat part is that if someone disconnects/is disconnected from the match, then the computer takes over for the duration. That’s a feature I can appreciate, as I hate being in a heated online match and having the whole thing just suddenly stop. Pity it doesn’t count for when you’re facing Friends, only strangers.

   Sakurai also brings up his thoughts on the issue of hidden characters being spoiled by playing against strangers, and confirms that most hidden characters will be unlocked by playing The Subspace Emissary.

   As for the lackluster state of updates these days, I have a theory, something to consider:

   I heard these updates were done weeks, if not months, ahead of time. So maybe these were meant to be updates for when the game came out, meaning that when these dry up, perhaps we’ll get something a little more substantial.

   But as pointed out to me, the wording of tonight’s update doesn’t really mesh with that, but then, it could have been edited as well. Just some things to consider.

6. SEGA has updated the trademark on Dreamcast, but why?
7. I was wondering how long it’d be before someone figured to release a wireless nunchuck for the Wii controller. Granted, removing the wire pretty much eliminates the “nunchuck” parallel for which the accessory was named, but all the same…
8. Guess that patching those Wii Guitar Hero III games wasn’t an option, as Activision is going to offer free replacement discs to those with the faulty wares.
9. Nintendogs, get ready for SEGAcats! Or something.
10. It’s a rather crummy move that publishers are taking lately to release games that heavily emphasize accessories, feature multiplayer, but then leave you with the game bundle as the only means of obtaining any further accessories.

    And it turns out that Time Crisis 4 is no different. Can’t they just sell these things directly online to willing customers?

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Assorted Mushrooms

1. I guess the question is, how does this guy place if they don’t cross the finish line together?
2. Newsarama takes the opportunity to chat with Nicholas Gurewitch about his comic, The Perry Bible Fellowship.
3. They also check out the recently-released Not Just Cartoons: Nicktoons! book, which covers many of Nickelodeon’s original animated shows.
4. And, there’s also a piece with Mini Marvels‘ Chris Giarrusso about the microsized superheroes.
5. If you watch South Park, a fair bet is that you tune in largely for Eric Cartman. And to celebrate the worst little 4th grader you’re ever likely to see (sorry, Bart, but your candy ass lost its bad-boy image a LONG time ago), IGN checks out his ten greatest moments.
6. IGN Movies conducts an interview with Chris Nolan to discuss The Dark Knight, Justice League of America, and Bale signing on for Terminator 4.

Video Power

1. I’d like a Pac-Man Christmas tree for my living room this holiday season.
2. With Eternal Champions landing on Virtual Console earlier this week, now seems like as good a time as any (better, even) to bring up this interview with one of the men behind SEGA’s “answer” to Street Fighter II.
3. Gamasutra has a neat piece that looks at 20 unusual control schemes. Interestingly, Nintendo only has five mentions on the list. Somehow, it just seemed like they’d have more, good or bad.
4. They also have Nicolas Normandon’s GDC keynote, wherein he describes the process involved in creating Ubisoft’s Rayman: Raving Rabbids game.
5. Next Generation takes a look at what made Burnout 3 work so well.
6. Sony’s Jack Tretton reflects on his first year as the chief of SCEA, competing with Xbox Live, launching a video download service, PlayStation Home, and more..
7. Why so much controversy over Kane & Lynch? Games Radar investigates.
8. Do you know how many real-life criminals are lurking in your games?
9. I’ll admit, I think the Wii is a system worth the time to hunt down. But stalking UPS drivers? That’s just a bit much. Seriously, what are you going to do? Unless he’s delivering an order to you (which you’d get anyway), what is anyone expecting to accomplish? He can’t sell the damn thing to you. Is theft the name of the game here? I mean, c’mon already…
10. More screenshots from Nintendo’s canned Project H.A.M.M.E.R. title.
11. This article looks at the similarities and differences between sequels for movies versus sequels for games, and how the latter is more reliant on them.
12. The President of EA Casual, Kathy Vrabek, takes reviews to task as to the seeming lack of understanding involved compared to harder core fare.
13. I think this has been touched on elsewhere, but at Game|Life, Yoshiaki Koizumi talks about the issues with translating for Miyamoto.
14. I don’t know MMO all that well, certainly not in RPGs, but for those who can appreciate this better than I (and I still can, to some degree), here are the top five most influential events in MMO history.
15. Who says that games never teach you anything?
16. Witness the commercial for the Vii! Now with 4Kids-style subbing!
17. “Will It Blend?” beats Halo 3 the only way they know how. This really has to be some of the best marketing in the world.
18. 1up continues cranking out the Final Fantasy flashbacks that have so far helped exhaust my poor wife. Please, don’t let her efforts be in vain. Give ‘em a read.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. New images of the upcoming Revoltech Rodimus and Starscream figures have emerged.
2. Damn, Don’s off of TransFormers for now? That sucks. Guido’d better not leave, too, or else that’ll be a lot of people really upset– including me!

Assorted Mushrooms

1. The Official TMNT Web Site reports that the “Tales of the TMNT Volume 1 Series Treasury Edition” was delivered to Diamond Comic Distributors yesterday, and ought to be hitting shelves over the next couple of weeks. Tales #41 is still in production, but ought to see daylight by the end of the month as well.
2. Another sneak peek at the 2K8 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series reveals a new character, but who is he?
3. Disney’s website has an interesting new trailer for Power Rangers Jungle Fury, featuring several clips from beast-themed Rangers past. Curious among these is Wild Force, which while logical, defies the notion presented that Disney is trying to distance themselves from the Saban iterations as much as possible.
4. If you dig Chuck Norris, then these stories from Newsweek and Yahoo might interest you as The Bearded One lends his power to Mike Huckabee’s campaign.

Video Power

1. Finally… Street Fighter IV revealed!

   Very impressive art direction.

2. Ok, so there are a lot of DVDs of old video game cartoons out there I’d love to get my hands on. Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Captain N: The Game Master, The Legend of Zelda, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, Captain N and the New Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, among others.

   I actually have the first part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show as a Christmas gift from last year (the Shout! Factory stuff isn’t really sold here in Canada), alongside Mega Man and Street Fighter.

   But Sonic Underground‘s impending release this month doesn’t exactly titillate my desire for video game cartoons. Though the first US cartoon appearance of Knuckles would be something of a draw, having heard his voice sort of negates it.

   I don’t know. If I got it as a gift of something, I’d probably give it a fair shake, but it’s not something I’d be eager to throw money at to import, you know?

3. Clearly, the negative press must have been too great a burden to bear, as GameSpot has finally begun to open up a little about the firing of Jeff Gerstmann.

   Elsewhere, Gerstmann has shared his thoughts via e-mail with MTV’s Stephen Totilo.

   And amidst all this, GameSpot’s taken a little editing liberty with the review in question.

4. Really need to get the Xbox 360 online, so I can download games and demos and stuff, like this new Burnout Paradise demo hitting on December 13th.
5. There’s a new game in town… and it’s called, “Can You Top This?”

   Ok, so it’s not really a NEW game, per se, but the way it’s being played is, as apparently EA still wants to be the biggest.

6. Evil Avatar reports that Amazon.com is having a pretty cool video game sale. Don’t have Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for GameCube yet? Now’s the time, at $10.
7. The Smash Bros. DOJO!! update of the night is King Dedede’s Final Smash.
8. No More Heroes: Travis Clothes and Death Metal, aka “fun with sharp objects.”

   Plus, IGN has a look at the various jobs you do to earn money.

9. Should the government regulate games? Apparently, 60% of adults, or in simpler terms “way too f#@$ing many” would seem to believe so.

   Curse you, you shoulder-shrugging sheep! You’ll damn the entire lot of us!

   The ESA, meanwhile, feels that the poll was “unethical.”

10. On a related note, new blacklist today. One that seems a little more relevant than yesterday’s. Game|Life counters with their own “are recommended” list.
11. Congratulations to Tomonobu Itagaki for his not guilty verdict of his alleged sexual harassment suit. Now, when can we expect the next DOA?
12. A new Final Fantasy IV trailer appears!
13. So, the DS version of Ghostbusters will allow you to run the business? Interesting… reminds me a little of how you’d have to save and spend money on things like gas in the old NES game.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. One interesting piece today comes from Kotaku‘s CliffyB, with some talking to Toyfare magazine about collections and how to make a perfect TransFormers video game.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. The Official TMNT Web Site has new pictures up of a few figures, including Alien Hunter Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, the amusingly-titled Dumpjumper, and Thrashmor.
2. “The turtle must not die.” But why? Click and see.
3. Well, I’ll be damned. Maybe J. Jonah Jameson was right! Of course, Batman got in most of the shots…
4. Spoiler warning: lots of Dragon Ball Z plot twists abound as IGN counts down their ten favorites.

   Too bad the pics seem to have almost nothing to do with what they’re talking about, except for the fact they’re from DBZ.

Video Power

1. Loading.Ready.RunReviews brings us Desert Bus, a 15-year old unreleased SEGA CD game.

   Unreleased for good reason, at that.

   Man, I had forgotten how sort of eerie the SEGA CD startup screen was. Certainly less cheerful than the “SAY-GUH!” that opened up, say, Sonic 2.

2. …“Cheese fans?” I guess the little guy does sort of work the bowtie…
3. Snaking sucks. It’s not cheating, technically, but that doesn’t make it good.

   Some people want things like Snaking and Wavedashing (Super Smash Bros. Melee) in the Wii iterations of these games, but unless they’re MEANT to be in there and are accounted for in the programing, I’d rather they weren’t.

4. It’s interesting. Take away all the sports games, the parties, and so on, bring Mario down to his core platforming persona, and I’d say that he and Link are pretty much the opposite of what’s described here these days.

   Starting with the N64, there’s Link’s Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask to Mario’s Super Mario 64. On GameCube, there’s Wind Waker, 4 Swords Adventures, and Twilight Princess to Sunshine. It’s bad enough when there’s a game you don’t care for released in a series you love, but to have it be the only one released during the console’s duration? Let’s face it, that sucks, and Wind Waker haters were atoned for by the end. Even with all the delays for Twilight Princess, it didn’t bother me as much when I had Mario to give perspective.

   For Game Boy, there was Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins before Wario hijacked the series, and Zelda’s boy got Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Ages, and Oracle of Seasons. On Game Boy Advance (I’m leaving out remakes/remixes, by the way), there was… surprisingly little for either that wasn’t a retread, but 4 Swords and The Minish Cap take Link into a clear lead there.

   Nintendo DS, things are a bit more even… for the moment. Mario has New Super Mario Bros., and Link has Phantom Hourglass. And on Wii, Mario has the current lead with Super Mario Galaxy. One might include Twilight Princess, since I suppose it’s technically more a port than a remake/remix.

   Supposing then that one were to take spin-offs into account, Mario would perhaps be a clearer winner, with the likes of Wario, Yoshi, and even Princess Peach carrying on in his stead. But for the “pure” experiences, I think it’s safe to say that Link has the better numbers, and that in itself could be a problem, as some are getting tired of the purported repetitiveness of the Zelda games, citing a desire for some spark of innovation to truly set a new title apart from the rest. Phantom Hourglass doesn’t do this, nor is it really meant to, and time will tell if the first pure Wii Zelda will do that, either (no, it’s not announced, but we all know it’s coming eventually).

   Meanwhile, a light sense of repetition seems to be what a lot of Mario fans embrace, and a lighter twist on the common gameplay that runs through so many of his titles seems to be what more people would like, but Nintendo isn’t willing to give. It leads one to wonder if they don’t have their priorities mixed up, just a tad. Would anyone really mind terribly if Nintendo were to bring us a new game with more worlds in the same vein as Super Mario 64 or Galaxy? “Lost Levels” in a sense of the word (similar gameplay, some twists, but leave the insane difficulty at home)? New Super Mario Bros. was a back-to-basics title, and people seemed to like that quite well, and compared to Sunshine, Galaxy was that and more.

   What I’m saying here, I should hope to be obvious: I think Nintendo ought to slow down the Zelda releases just a tad, and maybe see if they can’t release a little more Mario of comparable quality. Galaxy was awesome, but I’ve finished most of it, including the story, already. And I hate to think it could be five or more years before I see anything else follow up on it. Zelda, meanwhile, seems to follow a grander scope that I think might benefit from a little more time between releases.

5. Nintendo of America’s headquarters has a nice display of old Nintendo memorabilia. I’d love to see it in person someday.
6. Racketboy’s Retro Gaming takes a look at the best modern 2D games on the Xbox. That’s right, not the 360, but the original big black behemoth. As a result, if you’re lacking the original piece of equipment and something here interests you, best double-check to make sure the backwards-compatibility has you covered.
7. An editorial over at AMN asks the question of why people seem to talk about games more than they play them.

   In my case, I blame the need to know and cover gaming news as a chief catalyst, but I imagine the press might not be the focus of such an article.

8. Reggie has spoken out to MSNBC about the Wii’s supply issues, and that they aren’t a marketing strategy. I’m sort of getting the feeling they aren’t really doing these shortages deliberately.
9. Square Enix’s el presidente has spoken to C|Net Japan about the future of the industry, and how he seems to find the notion of the company relying too much on Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest to be absurd.

   As an addendum of sorts, it seems that the translation left out some details.

10. Following on the whole GameSpot fiasco, Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal has written a piece that discusses the “parasitic relationship between publishers and the enthusiast press.”
11. GameDaily dredges up some of the cheesiest video game ads ever known to man.

    Dear Sony: Try cheesy instead of “WTF.” Cheesy is at least somewhat endearing.

    Seriously, that Pole Position ad alone beats half the stuff we see today.

    On the other hand, the Super Mario Sunshine one is pretty bad, but the Japanese PS2 and Metroid II ads make up for it, nevermind the sheer win of the Zelda: A Link To The Past Japanese ad (the Macarena was never this cool).

    I think it’s a key thing to bear in mind with video game ads. They’re more likable if they’re as fun to watch as the games are fun to play. Just a matter of equating fun with fun.

12. Games Radar has put together a look back at the year in video game-related crimes; not anything like “impersonating Grand Theft Auto,” but stories more akin to the recent police ploy to trick criminals into turning themselves in at the lure of a free Xbox 360, or attacks and crimes commited over games. So cue the Dragnet theme and check out these stories of swords, vandals, and beatdowns.
13. In America, Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 is sold through hilarious commercials. In Japan, however, they apparently need something more…
14. Stuff like this makes me glad I don’t watch Fox News. Not that I really watch any news, as most of it is far too depressing for me, but if I did, it wouldn’t be them.
15. This Thwomp papercraft is nothing short of awesome. I should make one.
16. GamerHelp has assembled eighteen of the greatest video game intros of all time.
17. Game|Life pays a visit to Nintendo’s brand-spankin’ new “San Francisco” office.
18. I’d love to know where PoisonMushroom.Org ranks for blog readability.
19. Yahtzee has a new review this week, wherein he sorta likes Assassin’s Creed.
20. And today, part 2 of 1up.com’s Final Fantasy flashback commences.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

Sorry about missing last night, wish I hadn’t… now I’ve got a four-in-one update to do. Ugh. Still, had to deal with a massive letdown involving work, and I just was not in the mood. Anyway, on with the show…

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. If you can’t wait until next June-August to get your hands on the Bumblebee toy from the TransFormers: Animated cartoon, due to debut later this month, you can always join in this auction. But getting ahold of it sooner’s going to cost you. Otherwise, you can just look at the pics in the meantime.
2. Also in the meantime, whether you bid or not, you can check out the package bios for Bumblebee, Lockdown, and Prowl.
3. Some new images have come up, depicting the Allspark Power Jungle Bonecrusher and Overcast toys from the Movie line.The first wave of Allspark Power is now being sighted at retail.
4. New Real Gear recolors are on the way, featuring Midnighter XR-4 and Farsight T-20, which use the Meantime and Longview molds respectively, and a green recolor of High Score 100 known as Twitcher F451….do these numbers even MEAN anything?
5. New pictures and info regarding the Movie line’s “Premium Series” can be found here. Prime with a sword and new head? Rock.
6. There’s a rumor a-buzzin’ over who may be back for TransFormers 2. Who is it? Click at your own risk.
7. If you’re in or near Wisconsin, and BotCon’s too great a trip for you, maybe DairyCon 2008 is the place for you….seriously, it’s still about TransFormers. Honest!
8. A peek at Titan UK’s TransFormers comic-’zine reveals that IDW’s Grimlock will be getting his own time in the Spotlight soon, as drawn by Marcelo Matere, artist for the Soundwave Spotlight.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. A Chinese factory who produced those toy beads has apologized for the poisonous props.
2. He-Man.Org has an update on the DVD release of the 2002 Mike Young He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon series. Since there’s no proper link to the story, I’ll repost here:BCI Eclipse has released the cover image and Extra Feature details for Volume One of the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon produced by Mike Young Productions! Each episode will include the original moral segments! (never seen on Cartoon Network) Other extra features (which are subject to change) include:

   * ?World of He-Man? Documentary

   * He-Man Heroes Still Gallery

   * Never before seen Heroes Sketch Gallery

   * Audio Commentary on 5 episodes with director Gary Hartle, Story Editor Dean Stefan and writer Larry DiTillio. Moderated by Ian Richter

   * Three commentaries have extended discussions after the episode ends and have been shot in High Definition

   * Animatics of the first 3 Episodes

   * 2007 San Diego Comic-Con He-Man Panel

   * Scripts for eps 1-13 (DVD-Rom)

   * 8 Page Episode Guide booklet

   * 2 Masters of the Universe Collectible art cards by acclaimed comic book artists Ben Templesmith and Dustin Nguyen

   * Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) – Digital Stereo

   Check out the cover, featuring all new art by Emiliano Santalucia! Here and here.

   Volume 1 – Coming February 19, 2008
   Volume 2 – Projected to be released in April of 2008
   Volume 3 – Projected to be released in the Summer of 2008

   In regards to a Blu-Ray release, a BCI rep has said on the forums that “The Blu-Ray will not be coming out at the same time. We have some features that take advantage of the BR tech and they are going to take longer to produce. We don’t have a street date for that one yet.”

   Thanks again to He-Man.Org for all the great info, I can’t wait for this one to come out.

3. Batman vs. Terminator? Not exactly, though it’d be cool if this inspired it, after that whole Batman vs. Predator run.
4. GameSpite has us covered for what releases this week in DVDs, games, and anime.

Video Power

1. The Cap*Community US blog and “Top Secret” (the Bionic Commando site) are offering fans of Mega Man a chance to win a special autographed, handdrawn picture of the Blue Bomber by Keiji Inafune himself.
2. Smash Bros. DOJO!! has four, count ‘em, four updates waiting for us today!Starting the week off in rather unspectacular fashion (remember, the game was originally supposed to come out Monday. No “apology” update of anything really good, unfortunately) is a telling of how the Friends List feature works, followed by some returning Pokemon.

   Tonight’s update was a little more substantial, as we got some music from a Japan-only Game Boy game, the predecessor to Star Fox known simply as X.

   Sakurai also talks a little about battling for the Smash Ball, which reveals that Final Smashes can be turned off (to the relief of some), and in some cases, if you loseWeight Exercise enough times, you can revive on the field with a Final Smash already set to go, so you can help even things up a little.

3. Three new additions to the Virtual Console this week, none especially noteworthy. There’s ZANAC on the NES, Eternal Champions for the Genesis, and The Dynastic Hero for the TurboGrafx16, which is basically another version of Wonder Boy or Adventure Island.Are any of them worth the money? Well…

   Plus, get the skinny on Asteroids on Xbox Live Arcade, too.

4. Ok, not to trivialize the whole situation with Jeff Gerstmann, but I’m lumping it all together here. And for those not wanting to give GS your traffic, these are all links to AMN or other sites, given the general boycott and all.The remaining GameSpot editors have spoken out about the situation via podcast, and rumor is that there could be a major staff exodus. They’ve officially announced Gerstmann’s departure, while denying that it had anything to do with advertising, and a freelancer has given his two cents on the NeoGAF forums.

   Eidos, meanwhile, has been caught red-handed in falsifying review scores in ads for the game in question, while Gerstmann tells Joystiq what he’s legally able.

   Other websites have done other things to show their support, as well.

   Now, it seems that CNET Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Jai Singh has had enough and is performing a little investigation.

   If you’re wondering why this is such a big deal, and why there are so many links talking about it, here’s one more as Ars Technica explains.

5. And I’ll be honest, without any irrefutable proof, I’m a little iffy on the whole boycott thing.
6. Activision and Blizzard have announced a merger, and as a result, stocks have soared. Now that they’re bigger than EA, it seems they’ve decided to adopt one of their strategies, though they say the merger will not affect quality.EA says “bring it on.” Now them’s fightin’ words!

   For those interested, here’s a complete FAQ on the merger.

7. Missed out on The Orange Box because your console of choice is a PS3? No worries, your version comes out in a week.
8. Bioshock downloadable content is now available.
9. Over in the UK and here in Canada, Xbox 360 owners can finally start catching up with the rest of the world (US, anyway) with their Marketplace.
10. Back over here, at least in the US, Xbox has initiated a sort of Arcade Hits program.
11. Remember that news that the original NiGHTS Into Dreams was coming to PS2? Well, forget about it, unless you’re good to import.That goes double on a Wii version.
12. The dark side of GameTap is revealed as a few major publishers have ended contracts with the company, resulting in the loss of about 70 titles.I kinda feel a little bad for them, given they just made their “1,000 titles” announcement.
13. Hope you don’t like playing Monster Hunter or Resident Evil: Outbreak online TOO much; the online segment is finished come the end of the year.
14. Cool, a new Twisted Metal game for the PS2. Sort of.
15. Looks like the beam katana gameplay in No More Heroes can get pret-ty messy…In addition, GameTrailers has treasure hunt, sinister villain, and subway showdown gameplay, among others.
16. Nintendo is looking to improve release time between non-Japan countries globally. I’m glad to hear it, and this should really benefit Europe and Australia, as noted. Here’s hoping other companies follow suit.
17. At EB/Gamestop locations, if you can’t get ahold of a Wii, they’re supposed to give you one of these.Um… thanks?
18. Looks like the need to get Rock Band guitars repaired isn’t all bad…
19. An MMO fighting game? Now there’s an idea with some potential. And to play as Ken or Chun Li is just icing.
20. Some good news and bad news about the upcoming Ghostbusters game.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Over six months before he’s due in stores, some lucky person has gotten ahold of TransFormers: Animated Lockdown, and has been kind enough to review him.
2. Plus, you can see Animated Starscream in various stages of production.
3. If you can get your hands on Titan UK’s TransFormers comic-magazine’s 6th issue, you can follow the further adventures of Jazz from the Movie, and issue 8 follows Ironhide as he ties up that loose end with Scorponok running around in the desert.
4. A number of reviews and galleries from Ben Yee today, including Fast Action Battler Barricade, Robot Heroes Ultra Magnus and Megatron, and TransFormers Collector’s Club exclusive Chromia-10 pilot, aka Airrazor from Beast Wars.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Eeesh, this really sucks. But at least Will Smith seems to be alright these days.
2. A court in Rome summons Tweety, Donald, Daisy, and Mickey to the stand. And as a result, the court is held up. Brilliant, or wasteful? You be the judge.
3. Two new pics from the 5th turtle show off a pair of backdrops for the NECA TMNT figures, including the fire hydrant/curb and a manhole/lamppost, the latter in both Peanuts and final colors.
4. For the ladies reading this (if there are any), He-Man.Org has reported that She-Ra t-shirts are available on Play.com. Wear the honor of Grayskull today.
5. eToys has released a list of safety tips to keep in mind when doing Christmas shopping for toys.
6. Pool contortionism: for when you just have to make that shot.
7. I’m happy to say that this is one prank I would probably never fall for. Booze + Placebos = Fun. Guess those Princeton types aren’t THAT smart, after all.
8. They say that if you give a thousand monkeys a computer (typewriter, whatever), one of them will eventually turn out the works of Shakespeare. Fanfiction.net has pretty much debunked that theory, I’d imagine, but now the kingdom of Kong is looking to outdo us in another catagory: math.
9. A Batty Christmas to all, and to all, a good Knight.
10. …was going to end that one with “a good bite,” and use that as a link to this abomination. Seriously, I thought we quit trying to kill that country fifty years ago, what gives?

    …sigh. Actually, kill the onions and broccoli, and I’d try it. BUT ONLY ONCE!

11. Much as it would be for, say, an unfortunate penguin or polar bear, I suppose that catching fire is a rather ironic end for a zamboni.
12. Centripetal force does indeed rock. I don’t think I’d ever try this, though.

    I wonder how they get out? Does that thing disassemble, or what?

13. IGN looks back at the many costumes donned by the friendly neighborhood Spider-man over his many web-slinging years.
14. Michael Bay: HD conspiracy theorist?
15. Seems that if the Spider-man movies continue, then J.K. Simmons would like to keep playing J. Jonah Jameson.

Video Power

1. You’ve no doubt seen a few versions of “live-action Pac-Man” on YouTube by now, but from the country that brought us “Human Tetris” comes the coolest version yet (not counting the “movie” trailer).

   Where else do the ghosts beat Pac-Man down with sticks when they corner him?

2. Part 4 in Capcom’s series of behind-the-scenes fine-tuning of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix finally gets to one of my favorites– Ken– and includes a neat animated gif from the Van Damme movie to boot.
3. When the Wii’s controller was first announced, I saw a lot of potential in it (and still do), though I (and others like me) were concerned about input for more traditional fare, such as Mario. Fortunately, it seems that we don’t need to worry about that any time soon, as Nintendo apparently knows that there ARE some things you just can’t mess with, as revealed within the link.
4. Gandalf the Gray, Gandalf the White, Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s Black Knight… among many, many others, those aren’t the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny. That honor is reserved for a more personal endeavor to many known as Black Friday, and as Wack Friday shows us, not everyone can be a winner.
5. Those Zelda games for the CDi? Turns out they aren’t so bad after all… *ducks rocks* …on their own merits. And avoiding the Russian (seriously) animation. Read on and find out the truth behind these most hated of titles, and maybe you will learn to feel a little pity for those who put their best into them.
6. MTV’s Stephen Totilo finally got his hands on Freshly-Picked Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland, and he thinks the game is quite mean.

   Me, I find it enticing, and when you think about it, there’s a game where a strategy guide could really make some money, and not because it’s impossible to find out things on your own (at least not in this case). Might have to import it someday…

7. Can you imagine if Sonic the Hedgehog 2 got the same HD treatment that Super Street Fighter II Turbo is? It might look a little something like this.

   How about Super Metroid?

8. Either Nintendo gives people too little credit, or maybe just too few deserve it. Whatever the case, if you want to know how to use the Wii Zapper, the Big N has got you covered.
9. Elsewhere, some ambulance chaser tries to pretend they’re doing good by telling you what games to avoid giving your kids… through the ages.

   Uneducated comments seem to further undermine her point.

   “I don?t understand why anyone would want to be a part of glorifying violence. A game to me is Candyland, Monopoly, the games we used to play as a child. Scrabble. These are games.”

   Lady, the things you don’t understand would probably sink a cruise ship. And guess what? You’re not a child any more. Times change, and things change. Kids’ interests change. Why do you think kids don’t talk about Thundercats any more?

10. Microsoft tells Microsoft that Microsoft will do just fine this holiday season.
11. The day before, Sony’s Jack Tretton got to share in that same spotlight as he discussed their missteps and future with the PS3. Reggie’s on later today.
12. For some reason, one analyst expects that console sales will go up this month.

    I think the notion is pure poppycock. Why would people buy more systems NOW, of all times?

13. Ubisoft explains why being on board with the Wii so early on was very important to them.
14. I don’t play World of Warcraft, but if I did, having a custom figure based on my character’s likeness would be nothing short of awesome, though pricey.
15. Lucky for me, I haven’t really played much in the way of WWE games since Attitude on the PS1; that said, a lot of the rehashed stuff in Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 would still be new to me. Gametrailers’ review makes it sound like a decent rental, but hopefully the next one will get a little more work on it.

    Though, as an annual game, it seems unlikely. Which is strange; with a year between titles and using the same basic mechanics, you’d think they’d have more time to tweak and make the games even better.

    On a side-note, the review is fun, just to see Guile from Street Fighter doing things around the WWE. On another, I wonder if maybe Chris Jericho has a chance to be downloadable content?

16. GameTrailers has a series of amusing shorts surrounding the other eagerly-anticipated wrestling game, Fire Pro Wrestling Returns.
17. Wrestling not your cup of tea? Then how about some… dodgeball? But not just ANY dodgeball, but Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball.
18. GameTrailers’ review of Contra 4 does nothing to stifle my desire for the title.

    Nor does ScrewAttack’s look back at the included Super C.

19. IGN does what so many others do, time and again: rank the top 100 games of all time.
20. IGN’s newest Hero Showdown pits not only Mario vs. Sonic, but their respective Player 2′s as well.

    Of course, going by what I understand are the stated official heights (seemingly ignored in the games they appear in togeter for aesthetic appeal), Mario would still be taller than Sonic, even without the mushroom.

21. Burnout Paradise producer Nick Channon talks to IGN about what it’s like moving a classic franchise into the future.
22. The boys behind Super Mario Galaxy seem to have become real media darlings after the game’s launch, as Next Generation and GameDaily now add more interviews to the growing list across many websites.

    The big one, however, seems to be over at Game|Life.

23. GameDaily gets all Retro-Rewind on classic sports games, including Punch-Out!! among others.

    I might’ve said this before, but I think for a new Punch-Out!!, Nintendo needs to toss Mr. Dream (or just make him lower-tier), and contrary to many people, I say forget Mike Tyson.

    Mr. T’s Punch-Out!! Has a nice ring, doesn’t it? And after seeing him throw down in Rocky, I think he’d make a damn fine successor.

24. GameDaily takes an in-depth look at Link in preparation for his role in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
25. Games Radar looks at more endings that’ll make you cry “WTF?!”

    Most of these, I’ve not played. I don’t know for sure if that’s a good thing, or a bad thing.

26. This is pretty awesome; a kid gives up his Wii to charity.
27. …Sonic? Is that you?!

    And what’s with Mario? And Mario?

28. At least someone seems to understand that you don’t have to crack a book to be reading.
29. Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen an actual cover for Weekly Famitsu. Here’s their recent cover that sports Super Mario Galaxy.
30. Cracked.com has a top 10 list of the “Most Irritatingly Impossible Old-School Video Games.”

    And RMC, no one should be happy to have a reason to use that art. Ever.

31. Just felt like posting this so I could say that there can not be any material on Earth that could stick to a posterior like that.

    Not that I have any complaints, mind you. I’m just saying.

32. Seems MTV is following in the footsteps of CollegeHumor.com and offering some spoofs based on video games.

    On the bright side, I can actually see these. But the constant PSP ads suck, and I don’t care HOW funny the rest is, I’m not putting up with that “Get Your Own” guy any more than I can help.

33. Gizmodo has eight reasons the PSP will never overtake the DS. They missed one. See above.
34. If you happen to feel Super Mario Galaxy is vastly overrated and have about a day and a half to spare, then it turns out there’s one guy who seems to absolutely hate the game. About 7,500 words worth.
35. Eager to improve your score in Link’s Crossbow Training? Zentendo will show you the way.
36. Guitar Hero: inspiring gamers to try the real thing.
37. Still need to score a Wii for the big X-mas day? Wired is here to help.
38. And the winner of the “Ken Kutaragi Crazy Quote Award” is…
39. Boo Mario? Piece of cake!
40. Even if Metroid were ever really an arcade game, I doubt it’d ever look this cool.
41. I’ve been pushing for something like One Laptop, One Child for awhile now, but I think what it needs to improve it are discs that can replace the back-breaking textbooks people have to lug around from elementary school through high school or college.
42. In her own contribution to the yearly trend of gift guides, 1up’s Jenn Frank has her own ideas for some low-cost expenditures.
43. 1up now has the first part of their retrospective of Final Fantasy by the lovely Nadia.

…and FINALLY, I AM DONE. Zzzzzzz…

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

I have NO idea why I’m updating right now. It was a very slow day from what I’ve seen, and I’d normally save it for Saturday night anyway, and yet… I find myself compelled. As though my computer is telling me “write, and you will find something.” And so here I am.

InFormers: Robots in the News

1. Word on some new releases, at least in Japan. Revoltech Starscream and (Hot) Rodimus are on the way, as well as some neat exclusives. A G1 Ratchet reissue is colored to mimic the Movie version of the character to some degree, while E-Hobby has an Ironhide reissue that seems to do not only that, but is also the original Diaclone colors, too.

Assorted Mushrooms

1. Looks like Batman Beyond is back, though perhaps too briefly.
2. Yet another unbelievable celebrity death in Evel Knievel.
3. Sweet! South Park is going online, and for free!

Video Power

1. Cnet makes a statement regarding the firing of GameSpot’s Editorial Director, Jeff Gerstmann, which really answers absolutely nothing.

   But, if this rumor is true, it may say a few things worth noting.

   And could new management have played a part?

   Elsewhere, the denizens of the net reacted pretty much how you’d expect.

2. Coming soon to the Virtual Console, Pokemon Snap will be the first VC game to have changes made to take advantage of some Wii features.

   Now how about an upgrade pack for Super Mario 64, or the ability to trade custom tracks/levels in Excitebike and Wrecking Crew?

3. Two more trailers for No More Heroes.
4. Startropics coming to Virtual Console? That’d be pretty cool, since it’s a slighty-Zelda-ish (in terms of basic gameplay) game from Nintendo I just never really got to play back in the day.

–LBD “Nytetrayn”