This is 1980s arcade run-and-gun absurdity at its finest. Back then, you didn’t need a complicated backstory, fancy unlockables, top-notch graphics, downloadable content, a promotional tie-in, or online play. You only need an itchy trigger finger, loads of quarters, 30 – 45 minutes to spare, and a friend. You take control of a mercenary (or two if playing in two player), and you are assigned the task of retaking an underground nuclear complex from a group of terrorists. You are armed with a weapon and grenades, and like in most top-down shooters, you collect power ups. One in particular, the Heavy Barrel, is split into 6 pieces which form an awesome super weapon once they are found and assembled. The gun will only remain active for 30 seconds, but its firepower can be used to easily take out some of the harder enemies, including the bosses. There really isn’t much more to it, it’s just a fun shooter in the vein of Ikari Warriors and Contra.

Only time will tell if this game will show up on Virtual Console anytime soon, as Data East went bankrupt five years ago. Many of its intellectual properties were bought out by Japanese Corporation Paon, who developed Donkey Kong Barrel Blast for Wii, DK King of Swing for Game Boy Advance, and DK Jungle Climber for Nintendo DS. They have released several Data East games for the Virtual Console already and are no doubt planning to release more, so we can only hope Heavy Barrel is one of them.

Saturday, May 3rd is here, and just like every first Saturday of May since the dawn of time, that means Free Comic Book Day is here too.

Now, I realize that to the layman this may lead you to believe that you can walk into any old comic shop, grab any old book, and walk out. Nay! This is untrue! There is a specific set of books available for this, though with some careful choosing, you can end up with some truly excellent comics. Let Powet be your guide, and keep an extra eye out for these books:

• Atomic Robo
• Hellboy/BPRD
• Owly
• Gumby
• And we’re all geeks, right? Transformers Animated

Of course if you’re a sucker for Marvel and DC, Marvel’s putting out a new X-Men book and DC’s reprinting two fantastic books of theirs – All Star Superman #1 and Tiny Titans #1. But seriously, if I don’t find a copy of Atomic Robo, my tiny little heart may start breaking.

	Subscribe to iTunes POWETcast  Choose your own reader Episode 1 – Fit the First Episode 2 – Fit the Second Episode 3 – Fit the Third Episode 4 – Fit the Fourth Episode 5 – Zaphod Episode 6 – Fit the Fifth

04:11 – Fit the Fifth

Eight years in the making (sort of), Not Them Productions and Powet.TV are proud to present to you Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Fit the Fifth — The Restaurant at the end of the Universe! If you’ve listened to six amazing podcasts today, why not round it off with an aural trip to Milliways?

Look at the jump for our show notes, and once again a link to the updated version of Infocom’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy game, playable online!

(Check out our new POWETcast thread in the forums to leave some feedback about the show. Alternatively, you can write a comment below and let us know what you think, and/or leave a review at our iTunes store to let others know what they should think!)

Show notes:

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Koei and W-force’s Musou games (known over here as Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors) are Japan’s equivalent to our sports franchises, except for the fact that they have educational value added to them. They featured anime-styled versions of historical figures and battles throughout the Warring States and Three Kingdoms eras. The games get periodic releases with a roster update, slight graphical updates, and some new features added. They also get a bad rap for their repetition and simplistic playing mechanics. While some of the criticism is deserved, the series does a excellent job of catering to it’s small-but-devoted fanbase, and this entry is no exception.
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