This right here is mid to late 80’s shoot-em-up action at it’s finest. Like Contra and Heavy Barrel, Jackal was one of those games that didn’t need any big gimmick to be innovative, but at the same time it had its own little quirks which set it apart from other games during that era. Taking control of a jeep (or two if playing two player), you make your way through an unidentified country (which was called Vietnam in the instruction manual from the NES version) and take out any opposition in your way. You mission was to rescue captive POWs and get them to the helicopter. You would them be rewarded with various weapon upgrades, which you use to defeat the enemies. Similar to other Konami games during this period, this game features some neat, even if somewhat outlandish boss designs. You’ll encounter Medusa statue heads that shoot missiles, a fortress gate with turrets, and a command HQ which turns into a giant tank. This is an awesome top down shooter to play, and of course it’s even better if you bring along a friend. Seeing as how Konami is a big supporter of the Wii virtual console, I have no doubt that this will be hitting the VC’s lineup sometime in the future. In fact, I’m surprised that it hasn’t already. For now however, you’ll have to do some hunting for the original cart.

A few months ago, I did a special on the first half of the Final Fantasy series, where I briefly touched upon this iteration of the series. With Final Fantasy IV hitting the Nintendo DS shortly (as evidenced by aDam’s video review of it below), hardcore FF fans will want to check out its predecessor as soon as possible. This remake is the first and only international release of Final Fantasy 3. It blends together what made the original version of the game unique with some new innovations that help keep it fresh for today’s gaming audience.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Sean Orange and Zac Shipley ponder the future of Marvel entertainment after being blown away by the new Hulk!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS comes out on July 22nd. I’ve gotten my hands on the Japanese version of the game and put together this review of all the new features of the latest incarnation of my all time favourite game.

Read on for contest details.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

The master of special effects and make-up arts Stan Winston died yesterday in his Malibu home at the age of 62, after battling for years with multiple myeloma. (a type of cancer of the plasma cells)

Winston was the wizard behind the visual effects and an Oscar winner for his ground-breaking work on blockbuster’s such as Jurassic Park, Aliens, and the Terminator series, was well as Edward Scissorhands, Pumpkinhead, as well as one of this summer’s hit movies – Iron Man.

It is yet unknown if the 4th Terminator movie was finished before Winston’s death, as he was slated as working on it for some time. He was also noted for working on a 4th Jurassic Park movie, and a future “The Suffering” movie based on the game of the same name.

Winston is survived by his wife, Karen; a son, daughter, brother and four grandchildren.

Metal Gear Solid 4 was released earlier this week, so this week’s $20 Game of the week and Lost Classics will spotlight 2 entries from the series. So once you get done with 4, seek them out if you haven’t played through them already! Despite the similarity in names, this is not the Playstation smash hit, but it’s the American release of what is known in Japan as Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel. Ghost Babel exists outside of series canon, and contains a new plot, new characters, and new enemies.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Though I am loathe to promote G4 in any way on this site, Adam Sessler has always been one with the community’s best interests in mind. It is with this notion I encourage you to watch the above video. I know none of you fun loving Powet viewers do this stuff, but a lot of people do and it has to stop.

A couple of months ago, I managed to sit down and have a nice talk with the creator of The Zombie Hunters webcomic, and it went pretty well. Thusly, I’ve decided to make sort of a small series out of it. (if other webcomic artists will have as such, that is….fickle bunch)

This time around I managed to snag an interview with Katie Tiedrich, who runs “Awkward Zombie“, and get some info out of her as to the details of her comic and beyond.

[Read the rest of this entry…]