Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

When Sony entered the market as a console manufacturer, they began a whole new era of gaming, and much of it was due to the rise of disc-based gaming. Disc based systems at the time were becoming more commonplace due to CDs being easier and cheaper to manufacture. Since they could hold more information than floppy disks and cartridges, it was easy to see why they were becoming increasingly attractive to developers. Even before the Sony, there were already several disc-based systems on the market, although few of them fully utilized the potential of the added storage space and horse power of the medium. The Sega CD for instance, was merely an add-on to the Sega Genesis. Most of its line up either consisted of amped-up versions of Sega Genesis titles, arcade ports, and interactive movies. such as the controversial Night Trap. The Super CD, an add on for the Turbographix-16, had a slightly more impressive lineup (including the highly sought after Dracula X), but it never made it beyond the borders of Japan. The 3DO, which was a standalone system, carried many of the interactive movies that graced the Sega CD, and it also boasted arcade-perfect ports of games such as Samurai Showdown and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. However, its high price tag prevented it from making a huge impact in the marketplace. The Phillips CD-I, just plain sucked.

Around the early 90s, Nintendo wanted to jump into the CD gaming market. Originally, it was Sony who would help them develop the technology that would power the new system. Sony was of course no stranger to gaming. Under the name Sony Imagesoft, they developed and published several games for their soon-to-be competitors (in fact, you may have even seen a couple of them as Lost Classics). However, the deal would fall through due to lawsuits on both sides, and Nintendo opted to go with Phillips instead. That deal would also fall apart, and Nintendo would eventually abandon the concept of a CD based gaming system altogether in favor of cartridge-based the Nintendo 64. It’s because of this reason that many suspect that the Playstation is what Nintendo’s CD system would have been. Regardless of weather or not that rumor was true, it was ironic that Sony, the people slated to work with Nintendo on their new hardware, instead usurped their place as top dog console manufacturer.
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A lot of you are probably playing through one of Maxis’s most recent hits, Spore. In that game, you create a species and take it from a single-celled organism all the way to an intergalactic space empire, designing their buildings, armor, and vehicles along the way. It seems huge in scope, and it is. However, Maxis has done a similar game in the past, called SimLife. In SimLife, players are tasked with creating an ecosystem, complete with plants and animals. They can also tinker with the genetics of the world’s plants and animals just to see what they can create, and even alter the climate and topography just to observe its effects on the flora and fauna. As the game’s tagline says. this game is truly the genetic playground. It may seem overwhelming at first, but thankfully, there is a tutorial to help players get started. Players can either take on one of the game’s scenarios, or just experiment in sandbox mode and see what they can create. Like many of Maxis’s older games, SimLife has been unofficially classified as abandonware, but you can still find a copy on amazon by clicking the thumbnail above. Hopefully given Spore’s popularity, Maxis can work on a sequel to this game. Come to think of it, it would make a great add-on for Spore.

During the early days of the Xbox 360, there weren’t a lot of launch-window titles that made people want to run out and buy the system. Dead or Alive 4 and Condemned were nice, but other than those two and a few others, the Xbox 360’s post-launch library was pretty weak. Thankfully, Microsoft’s Xbox Live downloadable games service, introduced during the previous Xbox life cycle (albeit to little fanfare) was kicking into high gear this generation, starting with its integration into the console itself (rather than having to buy a separate disc). Over time, players would be treated to a slew of classic re-releases, newer titles, and independently developed games. One of the first games available on the service, Geometry Wars, took old school style gameplay and touched it up with some nice graphical effects. It was in the tradition of Space Invaders, where one played simply to earn a high score. It was incredibly addictive as well. So addictive, that many Xbox 360 owners played this game more than any game that was released via retail during the first 4 months after the Xbox 360’s release. Now, Bizzare Creations has created a sequel which adds new game modes while keeping the previous game’s gameplay intact.
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Just a friendly reminder to He-man/Masters of the Universe (MOTU) collectors, MOTU Classics Teela goes on sale today on MattyCollector.com at 12:00 EST (noon)!

She comes loaded with accessories including Zoar the Falcon, a sword, shield, the snake headdress (extra head) and staff.

On a somber note, Captain. Lou Albano, known for work in the older WWF, but famous for his portrayal of Mario in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, has passed away at the age of 76 in his Mount Vernon home.
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I must have missed this a couple weeks ago, but TNI had news of a Mattel update regarding the Chemo Collect ‘N Connect figure:

A lot of fans have asked about the two types of Chemos showing up at retails. Simply put, we made a running change half way thought production to add a bubble piece inside of his chest to create a cool liquid effect. (we actually tried real liquid but that was not working out!)

I pity the collector who tries to get all variants of a figure in scenarios like these.

Zac and Zero return for the first co-op Keep Playing review. They became friends playing Halo 2 five years ago, will Halo 3 ODST continue the tradition?
Related Videos: Keep Playing Review: Halo Wars, Halo 3 Leftovers!

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Marvel.com has seen fit to release an image of the DVD cover for the upcoming animated feature Planet Hulk. The art is painted by Alex Ross and the story will be based on the very popular Incredible Hulk storyline of the same name. The feature is set to be released in February 2010. Hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am!