We just got off the plane from BotCon 2009 in LA, and now you have a new Powetcast! In the same room for the first time in years, our panel takes the opportunity to share Transformers news, delve into what they thought about this year’s convention and BotCons past, and how much everyone is looking forward to the Revenge of the Fallen.

Enjoy this special Powetcast for the week of June 1st, 2009! Tune in in two weeks for our regular news and features.

(Did you go to BotCon? Go to the Paramount Party? Leave a comment and tell us what you thought of this year’s convention!)

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes
Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 10: War of the Prequels

Show notes after the jump!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Activision and Luxoflux

Activision and its developers are set to jump all over this Transformers bitch. How are they gonna do that? How about five unique games? One for Xbox 360 and PS3, one for Wii (taking advantage of its controls), one for the PS2 (thankfully NOT being ported to the Wii with waggle tacked on), and 2 for DS (much like last year). Each game was designed specifically to take advantage of the strengths of each console. But, of course, the most useful feature? You can Jump and Transform! Oh yes.

Activision spared no expense making these games epic; between all five, 500 people worked on development. Oh baby! Luxoflux is developer responsible for the “next-gen” systems (but not the other games), and was present for the panel, so most of the questions would seem to be largely be centered around this version of the game – although other aspects may apply to the rest.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

In light of Iraq, Katrina, and the Blackwater controversies, it may seem strange to do a feature on a game about mercenaries. However, the gameplay, backdrop, and atmosphere help this title avoid similarities to real-world events. It doesn’t hurt that this game’s strategy RPG gameplay and team management are solid as well. Although this title never gained commercial success, it achieved a healthy cult following amongst its fans. If you give this game a shot and bear through its old school graphics and interface, then it isn’t hard to see why.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

And there was much rejoicing.

Looks like the ideas of a live-action Castlevania movie have been saved from the horrors of bad directing this time around. Bloody Disgusting reports that the movie, originally handed to AvP and Resident Evil director Paul Anderson and more recently thrown to Stomp the Yard‘s Sylvian White, the script for the movie has been pretty much put into the category of “development hell”, halting any further progress. While not declared legally dead as of yet, the thready pulse of the story meant to be the tale of Dracula’s origins in facing the Belmont Clan has seemingly been put into a consistent catatonic state of which there seems little recovery.

Of course, this is far from where the development was taking it in the first place, so really this change of course simply keeps the corpse of the screenplay from being utterly raped, and instead will more than likely pass into blissful death quietly.

This is the follow up to Sega/Treasure’s Bleach: The Blade of Fate which was released in the U.S. in 2007. Based on the popular anime of the same name, Bleach: Dark Souls provides more fighting action featuring your favorite characters from the series. One would look at this and call it Bleach: The Blade of Fate Championship edition, and they wouldn’t be completely wrong, as Dark Souls borrows a lot of its content from Blade of Fate. However, there is a huge amount of new content in the game, and some gameplay refinements have been made, making this game stand out from its predecessor.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Zac Shipley and Sean Orange team up with friends Keith and Dawn on Madison’s WYOU cable channel for the 2nd annual Virtual Band competition.

The first performance, originally aired on May 6th 2009, is highlighted here. More videos from our later performances will follow, as well as links to the complete show when it becomes available.

Enjoy “Pump It Up” and “Psycho Killer!”

Whenever a lot of people often talk about how cool the old-school Ninja Turtles games were, they usually talk about the first arcade game and Turtles in Time. How come no one hardly ever mentions this game though? It’s just as cool as its arcade counterparts, even if its graphics aren’t as nice as they are. TMNT 3 was the third NES game based on the TMNT franchise (with the first being a horrid platforming game and the second being an NES port of the arcade game). Although it wasn’t based on any arcade game, it took it’s basic gameplay from the arcade titles while presenting all-new bosses and areas. Like the arcade games, the game did a good job of showcasing what people loved about the franchise at the time while providing fun cooperative gameplay.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

You gotta love system fanboyism. In exchange for the feeling you get of supporting your favorite console manufacturer, you screw yourself out of the chance to play some of the best games available on the other guy’s system(s). Back in the 16-bit days, I couldn’t throw a stone without hitting a Sega fanboy bragging about playing Sonic 2, Streets of Rage, and Madden football while secretly wishing to play Final Fantasy 2 and Super Castlevania 4. Likewise, I knew many a Nintendo fanboy who, while singing praises of their Mario Karts, Secret of Manas, and Contra IIIs during the day, secretly cried themselves to sleep each night over their version of Mortal Kombat having no blood in it. Even in this age of console exclusivity shrinking, I can’t think of one Sony fanboy who didn’t secretly wish to play Mass Effect or Xbox 360 owner who didn’t want to play Meta Gear Solid 4 (even if they wouldn’t admit it out loud). During the last console generation, if there was at least one game that Sony fanboys would have gladly given their first born child for a chance to play, it was the Xbox exclusive Ninja Gaiden, and for good reason. Team Ninja’s 2004 classic not only reintroduced the series to a new generation of gamers, but it crafted one of the finest, hyperactive, gaming experiences on any console, past or present. Thankfully, Tecmo decided to relent, and give Sony PS3 owners a bone. Thus, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden hit PS3s in 2007.
[Read the rest of this entry…]