Button Mashing is old and busted. Drumming is the new hotness!
[Read the rest of this entry…]

Yes, that’s right, a Virtual Boy game. Before you shoot me, hear me out! This is actually one of the few good games for the system, and it makes best use of what little the console had to offer. It has true 3-d environments, wire-frame graphics (think Battlezone, but in red), and it made use of every button on the Virtual Boy controller, including both directional pads. Remember, this was before single-analog, let along dual analog. Fans of rail shooters (like Starfox) who happen to come across the ill fated system will enjoy it. You play as the pilot of a Tech-Wing fighter on a mission to destroy a rouge super computer. You make your way through 5 stages, blasting at everything in the way. For the most part the game’s levels are straight forward, but since you can move in all 360 directions, it’s easy to get disoriented at times. After you complete a stage, you can watch a replay, complete with full control of the camera. There are also Easter eggs in the form of hidden wireframe objects. It’s not much compared to other games, but it is nice to have, and they do a good job of pushing the system to its limits.

Obviously this game isn’t enough to make anyone go run out and buy a Virtual Boy (and it’s not like I’d personally recommend it anyway). However, Red Alarm did an excellent job of showing off what the system is capable of. If there had been more games of this caliber, then maybe the Virtual Boy wouldn’t have crashed and burned as badly as it did. Wishful thinking I know, but a man can dream can’t he?

For the life of me, I don’t know why EA decided to call this a Command and Conquer game. It has nothing to do with Tiberium, the conflict between GDI and NOD, Kane, or even the alternate universe of the Red Alert games. Heck, it doesn’t even have C&C’s trademark cheeseball live action FMV cutscenes. It shares more in common with Blizzard RTS games such as Starcraft and Warcraft than any previous C&C game. It’s pretty much as if EA wanted to show off its new Strategy Action Game Engine (SAGE), and couldn’t think of a better name for the game than its classic RTS franchise. This game is more like what would have happened if Blizzard made a Starcraft game and set it in the modern era. HOWEVER (and this is a big however), if you’re a fan of RTS games, then you should not ignore this title. It’s the first C&C (after the FPS Renegade) to be fully 3-d, and it adds several twists to the gameplay to set itself apart from other RTS titles. It might not be a ‘true’ C&C game, but it’s worthy enough to stand alongside the rest of the series.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

This is the latest in Powet Editor Zac Shipley’s series on video game culture in Madison, WI for TheDailyPage.

Games + Learning + Society brings massive multiplayer world to life in Madison
by Zac Shipley

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama mentioned in a speech on Father’s Day that kids need to put down the video game controllers and pick up books. His message was clearly that while a book can be educational, playing a game is not. However, at the Games+Learning+Society Conference this week at Monona Terrace, hundreds of people working at the intersection of gaming and learning have worked to prove not only that games can be educational, but that many already are.
Continue Reading…

In January 2009, Marvel will be continuing their series of direct to DVD movie releases with ‘The Hulk Vs’. The DVD will contain two short animated stories each featuring a different fight that the Hulk has been famous for. The first will be Hulk vs. Thor. The second will be Hulk vs. Wolverine. The trailer for Hulk vs. Wolverine was just released as you can see below.

From ENewsI.com:

HULK VS THOR – It’s gods versus monsters in this epic 45 minute movie! Never have we explored the explosive power of the Hulk like we have in this new film, every major character from the Marvel Thor universe is thrust into battle with this Green Goliath as he brings a new Ragnarok down upon the realm of gods.

HULK VS WOLVERINE- This dark, violent, smash and slash story was first told in issue 181 of THE INCREDIBLE HULK and the rematches have continued to thrill comic fans ever since. Now Marvel and Lionsgate takes the best of those famous comic book battles and merges them into one heart pounding 33-minute story.

There will be a complete advanced screening of the Hulk vs. Wolverine story at San Diego Comic Con later this month.

Great news for Sailor Moon fans hoping to attend Otakon 2008 this August 8th to 10th in Baltimore. Two Sailor Moon animation directors, Kazuko Tadano and Hiromi Matsushita will be appearing as guests. They both acted as animators for a number of Sailor Moon episodes, and were even featured as characters in one episode.

Fans will remember episode 21 “Protect the Children’s Dreams! Friendship Linked by Anime” or “An Animated Mess” as it was known in English. The episode takes place in an animation studio, and centers around the characters of Hiromi Matsuno and Kazuko Tadashita, references to Hiromi Matsushita and Kazuko Tadano. No doubt the parts about them being targeted by the villainous Nephrite and being turned into the monsters Castor and Pollux of the Gemini constellation were slightly exaggerated.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

In a move sure to aggravate fans of the two highly anticipated waves of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends, The Red Hulk wave will be a Target exclusive wave and the Nemesis wave will be a Wal-mart exclusive wave. Just the thought has already given me twitchy flashbacks to the scarce availability of Toy-Biz’s Wal-mart exclusive Giant-man wave.

The Target wave is due to hit retail in September of 2008 at US$9.99 per figure.
The wave is set to include:
Adam Warlock
Back In Black Spider-man
Silver Savage
Spiral
Union Jack
X-Force Wolverine
VARIANT: Wolverine

The Wal-Mart wave is due to hit retail in December of 2008 at US$9.99 per figure.
This wave is set to include:
Astonishing Beast
BlackBolt
Nova
Punisher
Tigra
Yellow Daredevil
VARIANT: Camo Punisher w/ painted face
VARIANT: Red Daredevil
VARIANT: Blue Tint BlackBolt

News and Images from: MarvelousNews.com