Shortly after SNK’s Metal Slug proved that simple side-scrolling ‘run-and-gun’ games still rule, Saurus released this Neo Geo/arcade game that proved that simple top-down run-and-gun games still rule too. This game is best described as a top-down Metal Slug, as it’s wildly absurd and light hearted. You take control of one of 8 commandos, each with their own special abilities and weapons, as they rescue a kidnapped scientist and his granddaughter from a terrorist organization known as the Black Scorpions. You can either choose to play as in either lone wolf or team battle mode. Lone wolf mode is self explanatory while team battle allows you to pick from three of the eight heroes and switch between them at will. There is a dodge button allowing you to avoid enemy fire, and you can move and shoot in 8 ways. You can even strafe by holding down the fire button. You have your usual weapon upgrades and bombs, and the fire button becomes a melee attack when in close range of an enemy. You traverse through six levels. A semi-sequel, Shock Troopers:2nd Squad was released a short time later. While it only featured 4 characters, it still contained the fun shooting action as in the original. It’s a shame that this didn’t take off as well as the Metal Slug series, as fans of MS will love this game. This game needs to show up on an SNK compilation pack, Wii Virtual Console, or Xbox Live Arcade.

You may remember us reporting that BBTS was offering a set of 3 DST exclusive busts of the seeker coneheads: Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust. Well, Toy Rocket has gotten the exclusive busts for Prowl and his repaints, Bluestreak and Smokescreen. These busts are all unique with different sculpts, paint apps, etc.,. Prowl is limited to 500 pieces, while Bluestreak and Smokescreen are each limited to 250 pieces.

  

Link: DST

The humor that was in and has been inspired by the original GI Joe animated series is probably what I love best about it. In this episode, I pay special tribute to a hero and a villain who made me laugh.

In 2004, developer Raven created the smash hit X-Men Legends. This game took Marvel’s merry mutants and sent them throughout the X-men universe in 4-player action rpg goodness. The game featured customizable stats, upgradable powers, and a huge load of fan service. Raven followed up the following year with X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse which addressed the small amount gameplay issues found in the original XML and featured a story which included even more of the X-Men universe, including elements from the Age of Apocalypse storyline. In 2006, Raven decided to let the whole Marvel universe get in on the act with Marvel Ultimate Alliance. This game allowed fans to experience their favorite (and not so favorite) Marvel super heroes in a way they never imagined possible.
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Amazon is having a Sale on all HD-DVDs and Blu Ray discs. This aggressive pricing might be the thing to really push the format war to the next level.
Now with titles up to 50% off, movies like Serenity are as cheap on HD-DVD as they are for standard definition.

Stock up and save a few bucks on movies, its not clear when this sale might end. Amazon normally prices movies pretty well, but this is a lot cheaper than I’ve seen them go before. See the entire selection of Blu Ray and HD DVD.

Don’t get too excited, this isn’t an actual game, more proof of concept.

An unidentified Japanese programmer made a version of Super Mario Bros thats controlled by your hand using a webcam. Watch Mario stumble through 1-1 twice before calling in for help.

Also completely not real: New Duck Hunt

Buy these DVDs so that they finally release season 2 part 2 so that I can stop capturing clips from my archaic VCR to make these videos:

If you’re wondering about the cat it’s because I closed the door to shoot my video, and as soon as I started filming he decided he wanted to leave the room.

Before Madden, ESPN/All-Pro 2k, NFL Gameday, NFL Blitz, or any other football game, there was Tecmo Bowl. Tecmo’s 1989 NES port of its arcade game was way ahead of its time. It had rosters and playbooks for each of its twelve fictional teams. Although there were no real teams in the game, (as Tecmo couldn’t get the NFL’s permission to use actual team names) an NFL Player’s Association license allowed the game to feature real life players such as Bo Jackson and Joe Montana. The game was surprisingly deep even with the small amount of plays available. Even though the gameplay was a bit unbalanced at times, the game was still downright fun. A sequel, Tecmo Super Bowl was released a year later, this time featuring actual NFL team names. In fact, TSB was the first home football video game to use actual NFL teams. The series continued on Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis before a final entry on Playstation. It didn’t do so well in its final years, but it was still loved by its fans. In fact, many rom patches exist on the internet that update the rosters for Tecmo Super Bowl on the NES. Thankfully Tecmo will be bringing back the series later this year to unspecified gaming platforms. Until then, football fans owe it to themselves to play one of the classics of the genre. It may not have a franchise mode, superstar mode, color commentary, or fancy graphics, but it has a certain charm that can’t be found in today’s games.

By the way, the virtual console version of Tecmo Bowl has obviously been edited, due to the fact that EA has exclusive licensing rights to the NFL and the NFLPA.