Normally, I don’t do Maximum Letdowns (or for that matter $20 GOTWs and Lost Classics) on games that haven’t been released yet, and since I don’t normally purchase bad games just to smash on them, I concentrate on older titles (along with the occasional dud I find as a download). However in this case, I think the premature bashing is more than warranted, as one of my all-time favorite gaming franchises has been ruined.

Ever since it’s origin on the Japanese PC Engine, the Fire Pro Wrestling series has been notable for its huge list of wrestlers (many of which are based on real-life personalities), huge amount of customization options (allowing players to customize everything from wrestlers, to match types, to ring logos), and its realistic (well as realistic one can get for a scripted sport) simulation-like quality. Not anymore. Thanks to Microsoft, the Fire Pro Wrestling franchise is going to become less than a shadow of its former self, and the upcoming iteration will be a complete mockery of the wrestling franchise I once loved.
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Galcon Fusion, created by developer Phil Hassey, is the latest in the Galcon series, a series of games that started as a 1987 PC shareware title and has been remade as a browser game, Iphone app, and a desktop game. Short for Galactic Conquest, Galcon Fusion can best be described as an arcade-style real time strategy game. The object of the game is to use your fleet of ships to colonize other planets in the galaxy while watching out for other players. By capturing planets, you enable them to create more ships, which you then direct at other planets in an attempt to conquer teh galaxy as fast as possible. It’s simple to get into, yet like most casual games, it gets addictive. There are several different modes, including online multiplayer, and you can post your high score to the game’s leaderboards. It’s available on steam, and it’s cheap, so check it out.

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Every major love in Clark Kent’s life has an alliterative “LL” name: Smallville-schoolboy-crush Lana Lang, army-brat-turned-sassy-and-sexy-metropolitan-reporter Lois Lane, and mermaid (MERMAID??) Lori Lemaris.

But let us not forget the enigmatic and powerful Lex Luthor.

Oh, come on, you can’t tell me that Lex doesn’t have a serious boy crush for Superman, why else hate him so much yet want to BE him at the same time?

Writers of many stripes have tried to answer that question since the character was introduced, but none have been quite as successful as John Byrne’s 1986 post-Crisis interpretation. Despite the many alterations since, this is the core of the character that has shone through.

That is why L is for Lex Luthor. Read on!

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After an incredibly long hiatus the Sailor Moon manga will once again be available to English fans in North America. Kodansha Comic USA has announced the upcoming return of not only the Sailor Moon manga but also the book that started it all, the Sailor V manga.

The manga was originally published in English by Mixx, known now as Tokyopop, but has been out of print for years. The new release will be similar in format to the Japanese rerelease which had the books condensed from 18 books into 12, separating out 2 books of side stories. Sailor V will similarly be released in 2 volumes rather than the original 3. The books will feature the new cover art and occasionally modified art within it’s pages.

Sailor V is the precursor to Sailor Moon, published earlier, yet never previously available to English readers.

Keep reading for the full press release.

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The pilot episode for NBC’s Wonder Woman show is being filmed currently, and with it lots of official and unofficial news. Firstly is the logo for the show, snapped off the back of one of the chairs on set courtesy WonderWomanTV. This may be a temporary logo, and might not even be used in the show’s titles.

Now the costume….
First of all, I’m just going to say that Adrianne Palicki As Wonder Woman is ridiculously hot. Of course any attractive woman in a costume that tight with that much cleavage was going to be hot.

Is the costume accurate? Well its certainly nothing like what Lynda Carter wore, showing off less leg and a lot more shine. Seriously, is this made out of plastic? The pants aren’t a huge deal honestly, but they probably should’ve gone black instead of blue for the final version of the outfit. Likewise, red boots. In fact, the Jim Lee version of Wonder Woman would have worked great for a prime time show, leather jacket and all. But yeah, the costume hits all the basic notes of a Wonder Woman costume, including the tiara, the bracelets, and of course the bust.

Its about Smallville quality and easily more impressive than The Cape, though not quite as cool as Dina Meyer’s Batgirl from BoP. Its seriously bright, and if the tone of the show matches the outfit, then we might be headed for disaster. On the other hand, David E Kelley got NBC to pick up yet another super hero show after a string of disasters, so I hope there is something to this. And maybe when she’s not in a photography studio, the outfit won’t look so over-saturated.

As a bonus, we also have a look at Elizabeth Hurley as the show’s villain, who is yet unnamed. Also, since she’s just wearing normal clothes, we don’t have any leads. In fact, this could very well just be a photo of Elizabeth Hurley walking in LA. Photo from Superhero Hype!

NECA Toys tweeted today a final image (seen above) of their forthcoming Duke Nukem figure in its final packaging. The figure will be available this May.

The Duke in packaging and ready to ship. Available this May. Come Get Some!! http://twitpic.com/4arkj8

Its looking pretty great and about time that Duke Nukem gets an action figure.

Update: Watch the video of the shenanigans

At this year’s PAX I decided to cross play as Chun-Li and the reception was pretty excellent. A Penny Arcade strip even mentioned a “Grown-ass man cosplaying as Chun-Li” though it’s debatable if this was a reference to me or not. More on that later…

My costume wasn’t great. It was put together for this video review of the not so great movie “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”. What it did do of course is show a LOT of leg. And by a lot of leg I mean some leg and some ass and maybe some balls. More details on my adventures at the con and my confrontation with my rival “Beard-Li” will be featured in an upcoming video. For now here’s a little overview of some highlights with photos and links to various places on the Internet where I’ve popped up.

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