One of my favorite toy lines as a kid was M.U.S.C.L.E., which stood for Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere! Unfortunately, there was little to no story given to these bizarre two inch figures. One must look to its Japanese origins from the series Kinnikuman (literally ‘muscle man’) to really understand what M.U.S.C.L.E. was all about. That is why today is K for Kinnikuman.

Kinnikuman started as a manga in 1979 and would continue until 1987. It would eventually become a popular anime series around 1983. Along with the anime was a massive merchandising launch that included eraser toys in the shape of many of the characters from the series. These erasers were called Kinnikuman Keshigomu. Children shortened the name to Kin-Keshi. If you are looking for information on M.U.S.C.L.E. or Kinnikuman figures, you will have much better results using this shortened term. The Kin-Keshi would be licensed by Mattel and released domestically as M.U.S.C.L.E. with little to no background except for a small comic strip on the back of the 28-pack of figures.

Kinnikuman was an oafish superhero that was not very super. He was less of a second-stringer and more of a fifth-stringer. The series started out very comical as a parody of Ultraman, though as far as American audiences might be concerned, it was more of a Popeye meets Dragonball Z meets the Tick. Kinnikuman would power up by eating garlic. The more garlic he consumed, the stronger he became as noted by the garlic meter on his forehead. Not only did he become stronger, but he also wreaked worse of garlic. Many bystanders would run away as he came near because he smelled so terrible. When he ate a certain amount of garlic, he would turn into a giant musclebound wrestler about 40 meters tall. He was also able to fly, propelled by his terrible gas.

A great many of the characters introduced in the series were actually fan created characters that were submitted to the creators of the manga. The children would receive credit for their creations in the chapter they were used. It certainly bred a wide varienty of friends and foes for Kinnikuman to interact.

Kinnikuman quickly learns that he is in fact the prince of a distant planet called Kinniku. He is joined by the emissary sent to retrieve him, Meat. Meat eventually sticks around and becomes Kinnikuman’s sidekick, even if he is the only one with any brains. The two would soon meet the American hero, Terryman, who would join them on several adventures and at times also played a rival to our main character.

As the manga progressed, we were introduced to more Choujin (supermen) and Kaijuu (monsters). Eventually a tournament was held to determine the world’s greatest Choujin. The Choujin Olympics introduced characters such as Robin Mask from England, Ramenman from China, Brockenman from Germany, Skyman from Mexico, and Curry Cook from India. Kinnikuman was entered into the competition as the representative of Japan.

The series is not without its faults (aside from its incredible campiness). Since this was among the manga that came out prior to its popular exportation to other countries, the stories can be pretty insensitive to other cultures. One example of this is Brockenman, the German Choujin in the Choujin Olympics. He is dressed as a Nazi SS soldier complete with the SS symbol on his collar and a swastika on his arm. His special move was releasing a poison gas on his enemy while they were down for the count. Another moment I would think questionable was the use of a phrase by the goofy Kaijuu, Skullduggery. When giving one of his cohorts the codeword to begin their scheme of the day, he used the codeword that kicked off the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Niitakayama Nobore (literally “Climb the New High Mountain”), which was the Japanese name for Yushan, or Jade Mountain in Japan-occupied Taiwan.

The manga, while being completely goofy, also had moments of terrible violence. In one instance, Terryman was stabbed in the forehead with a pair of scissors by a Kaijuu and bled profusely from the wound for the rest of the match. At another point, Ramenman literally ripped one of his opponents in half during an extreme submission move, killing him. The match was not televised in the manga like the others and was only covered by radio because the two competitors were known for their ultra-violent tactics in the ring.

If you are looking to read some of the original manga, you can find that here.

Kinnikuman would get a bit of a revival in the form of Kinnikuman Second Generation or Kinnikuman Nisei. This series was imported to the United States as Ultimate Muscle around 2003 and followed the adventures of Kinnikuman’s son. The manga was also brought over and translated by Viz. Meanwhile, the original manga has never seen a domestic release stateside and considering some of its problems, it would have to be heavily edited if it was. As an adult, I can appreciate this series for what it is, but if I were a parent, its not something I would want my child to be watching. It is probably for the best that Mattel chose not to import the fiction with the toys. Most of us made up our own fiction for the toys anyway.

As for me, I’m still trying to track down a set of the Kinkeshi I had loved so much as a child. In the meantime, I’ll be looking for these babies during convention season:

If you are looking for more information on M.U.S.C.L.E., I recommend checking out some of the following sites:
Nathan’s M.U.S.C.L.E. page
Little Rubber Guys
The University of M.U.S.C.L.E.

Half Minute Hero gives players something new and different, and the frantic 30 second action (along with the Time Goddess’s one liners) while have you grinning from ear to ear. It’s also an awesome parody of the 8-bit era, and it’s a must have for PSP owners. It’s too bad that it didn’t do the numbers they should have, but now that it’s at the $20 price range, it shouldn’t have much trouble finding it’s way into a few more PSP units.

Show Notes after the cut.

Music Used
Intro
Level 1: Night of the Mutants
Level 2: Welcome to the Temple
Level 3: Curse of the Dead Ships

Like It but Don’t Have It?

Here is the original short (Hulu link, again US only!)

In a teaser image for Brandweek, it appears that Hasbro has given us our first look at what could be the new Transformers show’s Bumblebee.

From the Allspark:

Allspark member Monocle has posted an ad for the Hasbro/Discovery Hub network that he found in Brandweek…And Transformers fans will be giddy to see who makes an appearance! Making his debut to the world, a new character model for Bumblebee (one would assume he’s from the next new Transformers TV series that will be broadcast on Hub). This Bumblebee looks familiar for those fans of the Transformers movies, but has been tweaked to look younger and, well, cuter.

Looks like some My Little Pony fans will happy as well with this ad.

Mystic Quest’s story was pretty much as basic as it gets: monsters stole the 4 creatures, and you, the hero, must get them back. As the game is supposed to be for beginners, many of the series staples have either been diminished or eliminated entirely. Instead of a wide open world full of hidden secrets, we get a linear-style interface that holds our hand and leads us on a guided path. Instead of character customization and equipment options, weapons and armor are automatically equipped. Instead of a huge customizable 3 – 4 man party full of multifaceted characters that are interesting in their own right, we only travel with one other companion at the most, and with a few exceptions, these people are simply there to provide an extra set of hands and to move the story forward.

There are a few changes that were for the better though. Players can save anywhere when not in battle, there are no random encounters (as enemies are present on the map), and there are several action-based puzzles. You can use weapons outside of battle to hack down trees, make use of bombs to destroy barriers, and you even gain use of a grappling to cross gaps Zelda-style. The music, while not as memorable as the other FF games, was pretty catchy too.

FFMQ set out to make the RPG genre accessible to newer RPG gamers. Though its intentions were noble enough, one should always remember the ending destination of the road paved with good intentions. It wouldn’t be until years later that FF VII helped bring the RPG mainstream success (and in the process, changing the face of gaming). What burns me up the most about FFMQ is the fact that Final Fantasy V, a much more superior game, could have made it over here instead.

Fun Fact: The Japanese version of FFMQ is known as Final Fantasy USA Mystic Quest. Also in Europe around the time, the Final Fantasy series is known as Mystic Quest. So when FFMQ was released over there, it was titled Mystic Quest Legend.

I totally missed all of the announcements for JoeConCobraCon 2010, in addition to the Collectors’ Club updates. After a little reconnaissance, I’m happy to report back with my findings!

Intelligence can be found after the jump!

2010 Club Updates
Membership figures
Renewing your membership by March 16, 2010 will net you one of the following two free figures.
First up is Big Lob, representing the 3 3/4 inch line. One of the new characters in the GI Joe animated movie, Big Lob features the classic O-ring waist. The figure will come with file card, weapons and accessories. Additional Big Lobs may be purchased by club members.

Can’t quite remember who Big Lob was? Here’s a video from the club.

The 12 inch exclusive will be the Urban Adventurer. This one was a little confusing to me because the accessory set does not come with the figure. It must be purchased separately by club members. Additional figures are also available for purchase by club members.

 

The club made another video for this figure as well. I didn’t realize that board is a skateboard. It looked like a snowboard in the picture to me.

Convention Updates
As it was mentioned in the video at the beginning and in the post banner, JoeCon will be in Providence, Rhode Island from April 29th to May 2nd. Featured guests that have been announced thus far include Larry Hama, Ron Rudat, and Kirk Bozigian. The author of most GI Joe fiction, one of the original toy designers, and the original product manager for GI Joe, respectively. I’ll point you to an interview with Mr. Rudat that I linked to waaay back in 2006.

12 inch Convention Exclusive Set
The theme of the box set is Escape from Spy Island. Box art is by Larry Selman. It looks like there is definitely left to be revealed, but here is whats been show thus far. Also I feel it necessary to point out that this set includes a ROBOT SHARK.

            

3 3/4″ Exclusives
Red Shadows Box Set
Black Major

 

Pyro-Trooper Red Torches

 

Flint

 

Red Shadows Infantry Troopers (I’m baffled by the back of the head)

 

Interrogator w/ removable helmet!

  

What is this composite, amalgamated entity? If you’re a fan of anything Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, or generally geek, you’ve seen movies and/or TV shows by at least one of these three gentlemen — if not all three — even if you don’t know their names. Of the many things they have in common, the most obvious (and least important) is that all of their names start with “J”. I frequently can’t think of one without thinking of the other two. Together they are like some triune entity, the three faces of a Geek (not “Greek”) god.

Let’s explore their credentials together.

JJ Abrams

While his name may be in front of the critically-acclaimed LOST, now in its final season on ABC, real credit for its continued success goes to show runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. Even so, from the very first episode, this series had the welcome fingerprints of Mr. Abrams all over it. Mysterious plane crash where most of the survivors inexplicably survive? Check. Inexplicable forest monster? Check. The lame walking and the sick healed? Check and check.

If you don’t believe me, let’s go back a little further to a show called Alias. This was in the days before Jennifer Garner was better half of Bennifer Part Deux, busting up the inside of your TV with sweet fighting moves and scintillating lingerie that would make your gay aunt blush. Ass-kicking-in-style aside, at the heart of the show’s mythology was a chase after the mantle and the very real remains of a fictional philosopher/inventor/prophet called Rambaldi. Unlike many of the doomsayers of our literal past, Rambaldi’s predictions were usually quite spot-on, including diagrams for what looked like the inner workings of a cell phone. Harkening back to “G is for Grails“, the ultimate prize was the mysterious Rambaldi Device, which promised unimaginable power. Like LOST, it had bad guys that were REALLY bad, but you loved to hate and hated yourself for loving. It had good guys that were of questionable goodness. And, like LOST, it was all about the people. (For good or for ill, this is also the show that introduced us to Bradley Cooper.)

Which is why it might be a shock that this is also the mind that launched Felicity. But if it’s all about the people, is it really that surprising? And lest you worry that this just another college soap/drama about how people screw up their relationships and sleep with everyone else on the main cast because there’s nothing else to do, you should cast your eyes to the final season. Felcity (played by Keri Russell — remember that!) finds herself back in her freshman year, yet still aware of everything that had occurred (but apparently had been undone) in the last four years. Then again, it could just be a plot contrivance to fill out six episodes the producers hadn’t planned on making, and this flight from reality is meaningless. Then again, Only Idiots Like Felicity.

Of course, JJ’s most recent (and most hailed) success was making Star Trek relevant again last year after five series and ten movies. Who else could have succeeded, where such poignant parodies as Galaxy Quest should have ensured that no one would take the franchise seriously again? Like Felicity and LOST (and, to some extent, Alias), the plot of Star Trek (2009) hinges upon a time travel event, which — more like Felicity than LOST — fails to explain all of the apparent differences. But it’s also a grand collision of geek titans: Zachary Quinto from “Heroes” as Spock, a screenplay penned by Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman of “Transformers” fame, and Damon Lindelof from “LOST” producing. Out of all these things, Star Trek is the only one that still has a future, even though it lost out on a Best Picture nod.

Joss Whedon

If JJ is a Star Wars fan who remade Star Trek, then Joss Whedon is a man cut from the same cloth, but who so far has sustained himself on original (and just as critically-acclaimed) geek properties. He also has a thing for strong women characters”. But one thing at a time…

Nearly every geek has heard of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, however before the TV show there was a movie. A very campy movie starring Pee Wee Herman, heartthrob Luke Perry from 90210, and some-chick-you’ll-never-hear-from-again. It was just as corny as the title suggests, but it was an excuse to… well… I don’t know what exactly. But finding out that the TV show had anything to do with that long-gone film of yesteryear, much less that the connective tissue was Whedon himself, was quite a revelation to someone who only knew of it peripherally because his sister loved to watch it. SO MUCH. Its spinoff — like JJ Abrams’ Felicity — was on the WB, which is where Buffy herself wound up. In that time, the show took a much more serious tone than the vapid, bubblegum romp that inspired it. It also showed Whedon’s penchant for interesting character development, and then pulling at viewers’ heart strings as quickly as he pulled out the rug (and sometimes the lives) from under fan favorites. Even the much-vaunted musical episode was a taste of things to come.

What made Joss Whedon a name in the the circles where I run was the launch of a little show called “Firefly”. If the original Star Trek was a “wagon train to the stars”, then Firefly was truly a western in space. Like real life, and less like other sci fi universes that swing the idealism pedulum to one side, Firefly gave us a future world that — much like the one we live in — is fantastic for some, but not so good for others. Our heroes were men and women living on the margins, but IN SPACE. Its subsequent premature cancellation (the first of many for Whedon) would be a clarion call to geeks everywhere. (Well, some geeks; I was too busy mourning the fate of Farscape.) It caused such an outcry that the series got a proper ending in the form of a feature film that was so praised, it was said to have rivaled impact of the original Star Wars. How could it not? It had all of the Joss Whedon hallmarks: rapid-fire, witty dialogue; an adorable penchant for mischief; and an untimely and surprising character death that left you in shock for the rest of the film. It might even be argued that this should-have-been-impossible-to-make film helped pave the way for the possibility of JJ’s successful Star Trek revamp.

Which is why it’s so sad and surprising that Dollhouse was such a critical and commercial failure. (But it still got TWO full seasons!) It lacked the heart of earlier Whedon offerings. It’s hard to have a strong female lead when that lead spends much of her time being a vegetable. The show later found its footing in questioning the nature of identity, questions of the soul, and the dangers of technology, but its management at the hands of the same network that canceled Firefly left the show’s creator wondering why he didn’t stick to internet video.

AND WHY NOT? Doctor Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog is a three-part masterpiece that epitomizes everything that fans love about Joss Whedon. It’s like Buffy: The Musical, except the cast members were actually selected for their singing ability first and foremost. Nathan Fillion (from Firefly) teams up with Felicia Day (later from Dollhouse) and Neil Patrick Harris (just AWESOME) to bring us the same quirky, skewed slant on usual geek and musical tropes with the same heartbreaking ending one comes to expect from a Whedon outing. Even the commentary was done as a musical. You don’t get much better than that.

Judd Apatow

Well, maybe a little better. Judd Apatow has directly (and, through his peers, indirectly) ruled the comedy film roost since “The 40 Year Old Virgin”. Each of his films is about a geeky social misfit who finally finds a way to to be a little more normal. Unlike other films about geek conformity, though, the characters in Apatow’s films tend to be fairly well-adjusted to their flagrant disregard for societal norms. These films are less about “how to be normal when you grow up”, but rather “how to grow up, but still be a geek.” And proud of it!

Out of all the films that could be credited to his troupe and sensibilities (Anchorman, Superbad, Talladega Nights, Walk Hard, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, Year One), only 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Funny People sit upon his directing mantle. But we can credit this comedic renaissance, and its themes, with this one man — even if he is responsible for “The Cable Guy”…

But he was also the mastermind of television’s aptly-named (and very telling) Freaks and Geeks. As someone who never saw that show, but loves the movies, I can only imagine what it must be like for Judd Apatow fans who have been there since “the beginning”.

Judd Apatow may not run in quite the same circles as his other “J” counterparts, but he frequently employs or collaborates with geek favorites in his movie-making entourage: Seth Rogen, Michael Cera, Will Farrel, Harold Ramis, Jack Black, and many others.

It’s not easy being geek

Be that as it may, is it long before more crossovers begin to happen? Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion already hooked up in “The Waitress”. Dollhouse captured a couple of Battlestar Galactica alumni. Allyson Hannigan (Willow from Buffy) and Neil Patrick Harris currently co-star together on How I Met Your Mother.

The geek event horizon is upon us! There is no escape. J is the alpha and the omega.

Enjoy the universe while it lasts, fellow geeks.

Direct Link: Cool Beans 03/05 ep 004: Versus

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes

Movies:
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths [Blu-ray]
Halo Legends [Blu-ray]

Games
Transformers G1 Awakening
Plants vs Zombies, Web demo
Heavy Rain
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars

Comics
Axe Cop

TV:
Ricky Gervais Show
Aqua Teen Hunger Force

Toys:
Marvel Select Dr Doom Throne
Transformers Revenge of the Fallen – Lockdown
Transformers Animated Arcee

Tech:
Wii Energizer Flat Panel 2x Induction Charger

This weeks music by
Jaydiohead
Party Ben
Lance Lockarm

Specifics have been added to the Code Of Conduct:
You may use the following terms to express your relationship orientation in your profile or Gamertag:

Other terms regarding relationship orientation are not allowed. In addition you may not use these terms or any other terms regarding relationship orientation to insult, harass, or any other pejorative use against other users.

Previously any gamer who identified themselves as straight or gay in their profiles would be in violation of terms of use and would be either forced to remove such terms or would be banned from the service.

Xbox Policy Manager Stephen Toulouse updated his twitter with “Special thanks to GLAAD and Microsoft’s LGBT community for guidance on the terms. If you try typing in any of the the approved terms into your profile, you should find they are not blocked. Let me know if you have problems”

So now you can be “out” and serve in Call of Duty or Battlefield Bad Company, unlike the real US Military. Here’s hoping the real world catches up with the video game world soon.

What do you think about the policy change? Leave a comment!

Thanks to Beaterator, you don’t need thousands of dollars with of studio equipment to make hits. All you need is a PSP, a copy of the game, a memory stick, and some patience, and you can become the next DJ Primer or Manny Fresh.

YouTube Version

Video Netcast Version
Subscribe to Famicom Dojo on iTunes
Direct Link: Famicom Dojo S2 – Sega Family Tree Special

Also, in honor of the start of Season 2, the Famicom Dojo Season 1 DVD is on sale for $9.95 through the month of March! Get your copy today!

Wow, has it been over a year? Well, we don’t really think so. Season 2 officially started with the first Denshimail in March 2009, so it was quite strange to get questions for the last year about “when is Season 2 going to start?” You’re already watching it!

But we understood what you meant. You wanted the history. You wanted to hear about even crazier things you might not have known. But how do we top what we already did? Famicom Dojo, like the store after which it is named, was never meant to solely trade in Famicom information. There was just so much of it, however, it quickly filled up the first season. Hopefully with this episode, we can break away into the broader country of video game history.

…did I say “episode”? Well, that was originally our intention. But the Sega Master System and its history is just so fascinating, we had to give it its own spotlight — despite existing plans. I fear that the way we went about telling that story obscured some of the facts. But then you could just go to Wikipedia and look up the facts yourselves, right?

This isn’t the last we’ve seen of the Sega family…

The Facts

So in case we’re a little unclear about a few things (which we will cover again in more specificity, in case you hate reading):

• The SG-1000 series is technically part of the 2nd generation of consoles, designed to compete with the Atari — as evidenced from its cartridge and controller design
• Sega had to increase their specs to keep up with Nintendo, who released the Famicom the same year as the SG-1000. This is going to become a trend for the company all the way through the Dreamcast
• The Sega Mark III (i.e. SG-1000 III) is essentially the Japanese Master System
• Despite this, a Master System-branded console came out in Japan later (hence why you see one in the Rising Stuff store), but I’m sure we’ll get to that some time the future

Don’t worry, we’ll cover these topics in a more interesting fashion.

Episode Links:

Episodes:

Episode 00 – Train Your Game

Specials:

Midwest Gaming Classic 2009 Special

Denshimail:

Famicom Denshimail: Adapters (2009/03/09)
Famicom Denshimail: Batteries (2009/03/23)
Famicom Denshimail: Hookups (2009/04/13)
Famicom Denshimail: Homebrew (2009/04/27)
Famicom Denshimail: Rare Games (2009/09/28)

Indeed, its now well known in the industry that Infinity Ward was fighting for creative freedom, asking to do Modern Warfare back in 2004 (it finally came out in 2007), and negotiated that they be the sole developer Call of Duty (later settling for just Modern Warfare). Apparently lately Infinity Ward wouldn’t even speak to Activision reps, and were bitterly trying to develop a new game they would own. Kotaku has the details here.

But now Activision has new plans for Call Of Duty, handing it off to Sledgehammer Games, made up of former members of EA’s Redwood Shore team (makers of Dead Space).

Two weeks ago, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick stood in front of an industry crowd and lamented that they bought the Guitar Hero name but not the studio Harmonix that made the games. He freely admitted that was a mistake, and that the brand name with different people behind the wheel wouldn’t match that critical success.

It appears Activison hasn’t learned much. Not that the artists now responsible for Call of Duty and Guitar Hero aren’t capable of making great games, but the senseless shuffling and replacing of talent can’t make the new developers feel very confident about their long term job stability.

For those wishing to switch from COD, may I humbly suggest:

MattyCollector.com curbs your buying habits. Mass Effect 2 curbs your romance options. Are you enthusiastic about the shakeup at DC Entertainment? Is this tease shameless punnery?

Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 28: Down the Digital River

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes

(Have you tried using MattyCollector.com? Any theories on what Nintendo could announce at E3? Leave a comment below!)

Show notes after the jump!

Panel

• 
  Sean “Missed a Week” Corse
  


• Zac “Lumberjack” Shipley
  


• Crazy “Owlman” Jaco


• aDam “14 Gold Medals” Gardner

News

• Matt Smith’s Doctor Who – Trailer


• Geoff Johns and Jim Lee shakeup at DC! JimLee00 (Twitter)


• IN RELATED NEWS:




• Action Comics #1 sells for (Dr. Evil) ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!


• Then, mere days later, Detective Comics #27 beats it


• DC Movie news:




• Mark Strong is Sinestro (Powet.TV link) 


• David Goyer pens Man of Steel (Amazon.com Link)


• Jonathan Nolan MAY direct Superman, thanks to brother Chris?


• Greg Berlanti to Direct The Flash?


• Nintendo releasing Metroid and Mario in less than 3 months, whats left for E3 and the second half of 2010?  Zelda.




• Other M Impressions (Joystiq)
  


• Monthly MattyCollector Update:




• MattyCollector opens fan forums, not prepared for nerd hissyfits.


• BattleCat/Trap Jaw day perfect storm of mess ups




• Trap Jaw sold out in 22 minutes


• Battle Cat sold out in 33 minutes
  


• Display Stands sold out in 1 hour
  


• Man-At-Arms reissue had a bug and wasn’t available until hours later causing an error and many to miss out on the other two figures
  


• MOTUC Brand Manager’s reaction: You should have gotten a subscription; Trap Jaw/Battle Cat going back to production.


• Matty answers some concerns and tells most to suck it. (Did we cover this in the Toy Fair episode?)




• Addresses changing in sculpt, panthor flocking debate, artbook sale, and massive failure of DR on Battle Cat day.


• ToyGuru: “[Orko] will not be like ‘Gleek’ and only be available at SDCC or something like that.”


• RIP Andrew Koenig




• Batman: Dead End

Roundtable

• Video Game Characterization




• With games (such as Mass Effect and Dragon Age) that allow players to make their own choices, there are still some rules for things players cannot do because of “story” and “characterization”.  Sexuality is increasingly one of those traits.


• I have one take on it, but BioWare disagrees.
  

Pimpin’

• New Videos Every Wednesday (or your money back)
  




• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind – 2010 Preview - (four weeks ago)


• KEEP PLAYING: Mass Effect 2 – Of Great Import (three weeks ago)


• PowetToys: Collectors Edition – Tampography/Pad Printing (two weeks ago)


• Missed! Get your money back! (last week)


• Famicom Dojo: Season 2 – Sega Family Tree Special (this week)


• KEEP PLAYING: Rewind (next week)


• Powet Alphabet




• (F is for Freakazoid, G is for Grails)


• (H is for High Fidelity, I is for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)


• (J is for ?, K is for ?)


• PAX East 2010

February was a short month. Combine that with most of the staff either caught in snow, preparing for life changing events, or gearing up for a big spring full of conventions, and this was a light month. We still managed to get several great text features from Will, Crazy, and Sindra; three hilarious and informative podcasts, and kicked off a new season of videos. Enjoy, and don’t forget to share on your favorite social media sites using the links below! The more clicks we get there, the more we know you appreciate what we do, and we’ll keep doing it!

Videos

KEEP PLAYING: Rewind – 2010 Preview
KEEP PLAYING: Mass Effect 2 – Of Great Import
PowetToys: Collectors Edition – Tampography/Pad Printing

Podcasts

Powetcast Episode 27: Red-Green Herring
Cool Beans 02/12 ep 002: Snow Blowers
Cool Beans – Toy Fair 2010 Review

Articles & Features

Powet Alphabet: F is for Freakazoid
Powet Alphabet: G is for Grails
Powet Alphabet: H is for High Fidelity.
Powet Alphabet: I is for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Lost Classics: Shinobi 3 (Sega Genesis)
Maximum Letdown: Marker Man Adventures (DS)
$20 Game of the Week: Soulcalibur 4 (PS3, Xbox 360)
Toy Fair 2010

The Leading Lady Must Lead
You know what the worst part about the Spider-Man movies are? Mary Jane screams in nearly every scene. I’m not asking her to fight Doc Ock herself, but she doesn’t need to sit there as the villain takes over. Kate Capshaw’s role as Willie Scott in “Temple of Doom” is the very model of how not to do a love interest or any woman in a movie. She screams, she cries, she COMPLAINS about going on an adventure! Bitch, you were signing in Shanghai for Chinese gangsters, you can’t stand walking India for a day? She makes the entire adventure almost not worth having as Indy would’ve been better off leaving her in China. Marion Ravenwood in “Raiders” wasn’t a damsel in constant distress, she was his goddamn partner.

George Lucas Has No Plan
“George said if I directed the first one then I would have to direct a trilogy. He had three stories in mind. It turned out George did not have three stories in mind and we had to make up subsequent stories.” – Stephen Spielberg
This was the movie that pretty much invented the “prequel.” Surely there were things like flashbacks in movies, but Lucas came up with an entire movie that took place the year before the movie we saw years ago. Its these crazy ideas trying to fill out uninteresting back stories that ruin movies. No matter how dangerous it go, Indy was going to be OK, because dammit we already know he’s alive in 1936! An adventure is not an adventure without an element of fear or danger, and you have nothing to fear because there is no danger. For all Lucas’ talk about wanting a “dark” second act, he seems to get his own idea wrong since this would be the FIRST act, and its not dark since the only ones who have to fear dying are the bad guys.

Short Round

I always mix this guy up with Data from Goonies.

“Doctah Jones! Booby twaps!”

Seriously, the only thing less endearing than the constantly screaming blonde is the little asian kid who drives the cab constantly mugging for comic relief.

PG-13 is the best and worst thing to happen to cinema
“Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom” achieved a PG rating, but it is said that so many parents complained they took their kid to a movie where a guy’s heart gets ripped out, that the Motion Picture Associate of America had to make a rating between PG and R. These are for movies where you can have lots of violence but no fucking. Safe for teens, right?
While is cool that movies that might not deserve an R can have an edge to them (see the bulk of the comic book movies this past decade), you also see sequels to traditionally R rated movies like Aliens, Terminator, and Die Hard suddenly pussy out for the PG-13 in order to get bigger ticket sales at the box office.

All this said, this is maybe not the worst movie ever made, but it certainly make a lot of the same mistake terrible moves make. Luckily Harrison Ford could really do no wrong and though the movie was weak, he seems to elevate the material with a smirk under the brim of the fedora.
But you gotta admit, the callback to the gun gag is awfully dumb considering Indy wouldn’t reach for that gun for the first time for another 12 months.

Activision by way of GTTV on Spike has released footage of the next Transformers game. Looks like action gets pretty heavy with huge boss fights! Spot any favorite Generation One characters? Certainly looks like Ironhide doing that take down at about 1 minute in! A good mix of shooting and hand to hand combat will be key for this game, hopefully the promise of this trailer is realized when the game releases in May.

All of your favorites return, from Taki and Sophitia to Cervantes and Ivy. The new characters Ivy and Algol join the cast. In addition, there are bonus characters who are designed by manga artists. Although they share movesets with returning characters, they have their own unique looks, so they are similar to the bonus characters from SC3. Also, there is a crossover with the Star Wars universe of sorts, as Yoda is playable in the xbox 360 version (and can be purchased on the PSN for $5) and Darth Vader is playable in the PS3 version (and can be purchased on the Xbox Live Marketplace for $5). The Apprentice, who is the main character in the game “The Force Unleashed” also joins the cast on both systems. These characters have Force maneuvers that use a special ‘force meter’ to activate. Although they are somewhat unbalanced, it’s cool to have them in the game. Of course, you can also create your own character as well. The create-a-character mode has been revamped, and there are more options for tweaking your custom fighter. The graphics have been tweaked as well. There is a huge amount of detail in both the characters and the backgrounds. Even if a few of the backgrounds have been recycled from past SoulCalibur games, it’s nice to see the additional graphical tweaks that take advantage of the new hardware.

The gameplay is roughly the same, although some new tricks have been added. Characters can equip armor that enhances their abilities and grants them additional powers. A character’s armor can be destroyed, and they lose the benefits that that piece of armor provided. The Soul Gauge has been added. As you guard and make hits, it changes color. Once your opponent’s gauge is flashing red and a piece of their armor has been destroyed, your character can perform a critical finish, which is a finishing move unique to each character. Online play has been added for the first time in the series, and you can even take created characters online. It is laggy at times, so you’ll have to seek out opponents with good connections. You can also download new content on the Xbox Live Marketplace or the Playstation Network Store.

My main disappointment lies in the single player modes. The thing I liked most about the Soul series is that their single player story modes have gone above and beyond the usual “beat up everybody until you get to the boss then beat him up too” scenarios from other fighting games. They have contained story-driven modes complete with branching paths, unlockables, and details that shed light on the story and its characters. Heck, SCIII even had an RTS minigame! However, in SCIV, the story mode is as bare bones as it gets. When I pick a character, I get a screen showing their storyline. Then I go through 5 stages, including the boss. Sometimes I have to fight more than one opponent, other times I tag team with someone, and it is never explained why. Finally I get to the final boss, either Algol or Nightmare. At least I still get to see a good ending. There is also a mode called the “Tower of Souls”, where players can take part in several single player challenges. This mode is somewhat better, due to the variety. Thankfully, like in past SC games, there are lots of items to unlock. Achievement hunters will find lots have fun finding achievements in this game as well, as their nature is so random, and you’ll get gamerpoints for seemingly random activities. It almost feels like Dead Rising, where you’d be playing the game, then suddenly the achievement bubble pops up, and you’d scramble to press the big Xbox button to see what you just did to get your gamerpoints.

Now maybe I can let the bare bones single player mode pass if I consider that the development team used their time and resources on the online play and graphics. In fact, this is perhaps the first time I’ve seen a fighting game where I can create characters that look just as good as the guys who are packed in without the main characters having to lose out on graphical detail, so this is definitely a plus. Like its predecessors, SCIV is an awesome fighting game. It won’t overwhelm series newbies, and veterans will feel right at home. Now listen up Namco: for the next installment, I demand a deeper story mode, all new backdrops and music, and more play modes. The series has had all of these things since Soul Edge on Playstation 1, so I know it’s possible.

Unfortunately, Nintendo didn’t feel like releasing a sweet compilation of footage for Metroid: Mother M. so you can enjoy this gallery of gameplay screenshots at Joystiq.