A new MegaMan game is on its way for the NintendoDS to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the franchise. Scheduled to be released on December 17th in Japan, the game will make use of both screens. The announcement was posted on the Capcom site.

In the world of 2-d fighting games, 2 names remain at the top; Capcom and SNK.  Sure Arc System and Sammy’s Guilty Gear series may be the better game at the moment, it, as well as other fighting games (both 2-D and 3-D) owe thier existence to the two top dogs of the genre.  The KOF series, with it’s 3 on 3 team-oriented fighting, cast of characters spanning nearly the entire SNK catalog, and it’s heavy storyline has proved to be the fighting genre’s equlivalent to John Madden football.  Ever since it’s inception in 1994, each yearly installment of the series has managed to keep the action fresh as well as satisfy it’s leigons of fans even as the Neo Geo hardware shows it’s age. 

This double pack is a compiliation of the 9th and 10th entries in the series.  KOF 2002 is a “Dream Match”, which is a break in the series’s main storyline.  As such, there is no real plot or endings, but the nature of this game allows for the return of several characters who were either killed off or M.I.A. in the previous installments.  (Most notable of which are Yashiro, Chris, and Shermie of the Orochi team as well as long time SNK villain Rugal.)  KOF 2003 makes the biggest impact however, as it adds a brand-new tag team system as well as lays the ground work for a new storyline featuring the return of the Orochi.  Both of these games are filled with extras, such as hidden artwork, remixed music and backgrounds, and online play (for Xbox only of course).  Anyone who considers themself a fan of fighting games needs to pick this up, and learn some history.  Hopefully we’ll see Neo Geo Battle Coliseum and King of the Fighters XI over here in the near future, but until then, this will definently tide fighting game fans over.

Last night on Spike’s GameHead, Mega64 showed off a new segment lampooning the gravely salesman from Resident Evil 4.
The new Mega64 DVD will be out July 20th, with a longer version of the skit.

While roms and emulators are a sticky topic to discuss, I thought this was too good to pass up. Browsing 4chan, I found a hack provided by Romhacking.net which gives us Super Metroid, but totally reimagined. The entire game’s layout is different. As soon as you land in Crateria, it’s readily obvious. All the items, events and locations have been completely rearranged and the difficulty has been significantly increased as well. In addition to the different gameplay experience, the game physics have been altered as well. The speed at which you drop is faster and wall jumping (which is actual item you must obtain first) has become more fluid.

I’m only an hour in, but I’m definetly going to see this game through to the end. Obviously, I’m only providing the link to the patch for this game, but I’m sure the rom itself and an emulator can be found easily enough. this is internet, afterall.

Vinnk and TheOrange play a little Famicom and then use Phil Bond‘s method of transfering your Wifi Settings from one DS to another.

*note: will come to iTunes in 2 parts on Sunday June 11.

As previously reported, Marvel Ultimate Alliance is coming in Fall 2006 for the next gen consoles. We also mentioned that there was a trailer out. I managed to find it on YouTube and embedded it below.

This is your chance to win the role of BRUCE BANNER or JEAN GREY in Marvel™: Ultimate Alliance and be part of the largest Super Hero alliance ever! You can either enter right here on the site, or by mail. You’ll get all the details and rules by clicking this link: Click here to enter and get all the details!

As if being in the game wasn’t enough, our one male and one female Grand Prize winners will get an Xbox 360, a copy of the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance game, a poster signed by Stan Lee, a pack of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance playing cards and a trip to Los Angeles to record their lines and meet the producers.

The audition period will end on July 23, 2006. Be sure to get your entries in before then!

In this third installment of Ubisoft’s “Splinter Cell” spy-thriller franchise, you use unique gadgets and stealth to foil yet another terrorist plot as the series’ grizzled protagonist Sam Fisher. The graphics have leapt miles over Pandora tomorrow, making this one of the best looking games for current generation systems. Environments are more open, and there is less of a penalty for alarms. Environments include Asia, a lighthouse in South America, and a bank in Portugal. The multiplayer has recieved a facelift as well, offering a cool alternative to the Halos and Perfect Darks of online gaming. The co-op mode can almost stand on its own as a seperate game. Since the Splinter Cell series first arrived in 2003, many games have tried to copy its blend of political intrigue and stealth action, but none have come close. The only games that compare to Splinter Cell are Metal Gear and Thief, and those games are different enough as it is. If you don’t have Chaos Theory, grab it now while it’s cheap (The Xbox version is only $13 used at Gamestop), because Splinter Cell: Double Agent will be out very soon.

IGN has posted 6 pages of Super Mario Galaxy screen captures. Many of them seem to be from the boss fight previously seen that surfaced around the time of E3.