Okay, so this isn’t so much a game as it is a peripheral which for a time at least, changed the way we played Game Boy games. Back in the mid 90s, the Nintendo Game Boy was tearing up the handheld competition, even though it had a monochrome black-and-greenish screen. Of course, everyone wondered what it would be like if the system were in color. That answer would come in 1998, but this little device for Super Nintendo could help gamers get halfway. Plug it into the top of the SNES, then stick a game cart in the slot on the top, and you could play your Game Boy games in 4-color goodness. You could even adjust the color palette, and it would generate a code which you could share with your friends or enter to instantly recall your palette. I created a palette for Castlevania II: Blemont’s Revenge that turned the crystal castle level into a night time skylight paradise. You can even design the border around the screen as well. After the release of the Super Game Boy, several games were produced that made use of Super Game Boy enhancements when played on the system. These enhancements include special borders, SNES effects, two-player modes using SNES controllers, and the Game Boy version of Space Invaders even unlocked the full SNES version (sans 2-player mode) when used with the Super Game Boy. Of course, the popularity of the unit saw an instant drop when the Game Boy Color was released. At the time however, the Super Game Boy did a good job of breathing new life into your old Game Boy games.

Last week Ted Leo suggested a “paradigm shift” would be coming today, and sure enough here it is.
“The Brutalist Bricks” as a Broadway musical, with Paul F Tompkins and John Hodgman also appearing. The video is directed by WMFU’s Tom Scharpling.

If you believe Capcom’s ‘history’ of this downloadable title, then the company discovered this secret cartridge of a game that was in development for the NES. Supposedly, Capcom began work on the title only to cancel it due to the emergence of the Super Nintendo, only to rediscover it in a vault 2 decades later. Late Night talk show host Jimmy Fallon’s name is in the game as part of a supposed ‘contest’ that he won as a kid. Of course after seeing this game in action, I’m sure that most of you briefly forgot that this game was released in 2010 and not 1989. I know I sure did.
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Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

In the short time they had been around, manufacturers took steps to make video games available in as many formats as possible. After their arcade origins, games were made available on home computers, and consoles. After making consoles which allowed interchangeable cartridges, the next logical step would be to make games that you could take with you on the go. From the tabletop electronic games of the 60s and 70s to the Nintendo DS, Sony PSP, and everything else in between, there has been no better way to pass the time.
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In order to justify the purchase of a keytar, you’re going to need some pretty good songs.

Rock Band 3 is coming October 26, and this is full list of every song you’ll have available in the box. From Amy Winehouse to Yes, there is a lot of variety.
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Nintendo has tried live action commercials for Metroid games in the past, and usually the effects are so corny they’re a disservice to the games. With spots for Halo raising the bar, I’m happy to see Metroid has a 60 second spot worthy of the franchise.

Wow, two great Metroid trailers in one week!

Preorder Metroid: Other M from Amazon by August 30 and get a $20 credit toward your next game purchase!

Portal was really cool, and I’m sure Portal 2 will be fun. However, there was this nagging feeling in the back of my head that the sequel couldn’t be as good, that nothing would compare the the exploration and discovery of the first game.

Thankfully, this video puts some doubts to rest. Also, robots. If you want to see a bit more GameTrailers dedicated nearly their entire episode to Portal 2 this week.

Pre-order Portal 2