A lot of NES favorites are celebrating over 2 decades of classic games, and Metroid is the latest. Yes, on August 6, 1986 Metroid was released on the Famicon Disk System in Japan. Its subsequent release in the US and sequels that went portable and 3D moved Metroid from beyond a simple shooting/exploring game to a rich Sci-Fi universe with depth, history, and colorful characters.

Check out the feature One Girl Against The Galaxy on 1up. For more on Metroid’s hero Samus Aran, try wikipedia. While you read, do rock out to Metroid Metal.

Also, while its not in english, theres 2 volumes of flash Manga: here and here

The latest installment in the Metroid series, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, will be in stores on the Nintendo Wii this fall. Currently available in stores is Metroid Fusion & Metroid Zero Mission on GBA, Metroid Prime Hunters & Metroid Pinball on NDS, and Metroid Prime & Metroid Prime 2: Echoes on GameCube.

Art by Torokun

Civil War brings us two issues this week, Ms. Marvel #6 and Front Line #5. Ms. Marvel was an unpalatable turd rating a grade of D / C, and Front Line was excellent as usual, rating an B+ / B-. To get an explanation of why, and to gorge yourself on spoilers a’plenty, continue on. [Read the rest of this entry…]

SQUADRON SUPREME #6
by J. Michael Straczynski and Gary Frank

Tomorrow, Marvel’s hitting us with issue #6 of Squadron Supreme, written by J. Michael Straczynski (JMS, for short – AKA the mastermind of Babylon 5). Now, for those of you who just crawled out of the ocean and grew legs, Squadron Supreme is a book Marvel put out in the 1980s which starred analogues of DC’s Justice League, but it did them in a much darker, more ‘real-world’ fashion, beating The Authority to the punch by over a decade. It’s considered a classic to this day. A couple years back, JMS took up the torch, and kicked off the series with a fresh start, calling it Supreme Power.

You might be asking yourself why I’d bother telling you to pick up a series at issue #6. Well, before the book was called Squadron Supreme, when it was running under the title of Supreme Power, the first issue I grabbed was #4. It was an issue that focused on Nighthawk – the Batman analogue. What I saw left a bit of an impression:

At the time, the book was under the MAX imprint. Now that it’s under Marvel Knights we won’t be seeing anything quite that ruthless, sadly. But my point is, I needed little other than that issue to run with the series. And the upcoming issue #6, which (as I’ve noted) hits the stands tomorrow, is similarly a Nighthawk-focused issue. Since this is the first real time we’ll be seeing the guy in a year, it should be a good re-introduction to the character. And it should be a good introduction to the book.

Try it out. And if you like it, you’ll be onboard well before the Ultimate Universe crossover drops. Which will make you WAY cooler than all your friends.

We previously reported that the status of Hellboy 2 was in limbo. No studios had signed on to the film and the previous studio, Revolution, seems to be folding considering their deal with Sony Pictures ran out.

Apparently, Universal Studios has agreed to finance and distribute the flick. The story is said to give Abe Sapien a larger role in the film and explore his relationship with Hellboy more. I really liked the first one and am glad to see the franchise won’t die before its time. They are shooting for a Summer 2008 release.

This game was released the same year as Contra 3 for Super Nintendo.  This is not the Contra you’re used to.  In fact, I have no idea why they even decided to call it a Contra title, if for no other reason than simply to cash in the success of Contra 3.  The only similarity is that you can be killed in one shot.  You don’t fight evil aliens or renegade robots. Instead you take one of 4 playable characters (each with their own special abilities and can be switched at anytime during the game) on a mission to take on a terrorist organization and rescue your kidnapped superior.  You gain weapons just like in Graduis, grabbing a number of backpacks based on the weapon you want then hit select when you gain the acquired number.  Objects can be destroyed, and the music is pretty cool for an NES title.  When you check this game out, don’t expect the original Contra, or even Super C, but it’s still a solid experience on its own merits.  Hopefully this will resurface as a Wii download.  If only Konami had given NES owners a new Castlevania title before the NES ended.

Silent Hill is the only franchise worthy to stand alongside Resident Evil in the survival horror genre.  Some fans may say that is surprasses it in terms of storyline and scares.  In 2004, Konami decided to go in a different direction  for the series’ most recent entry.  You play as Harry Townsend, a resident of an apartment building who finds himself mysteriously trapped inside the room.  With no means to communicate to the outside, the situation is turning worse for him, until he discovers a mysterious portal in his bathroom, which leads directly into the bizzare alternate world of Silent Hill. 

The gameplay is different from pervious Silent Hill entries.  For starters, your room serves as a hub by which you use to explore the different worlds of Silent Hill.  This is the only place in the game you are able to save, and you reach here via special holes that are scattered throughout the various worlds.  You explore the room via a first-person interface, and for a while, it can be used as a safe haven to recover your energy.  Also, this game is more combat oriented than the other games in the series, as you have a power meter that you can use to inflict more damage on an opponent.  You have a limited inventory, so now item management is a must.  Items can be stored in your room, and this actually becomes a basis for some of the game’s puzzles.  Although it can get fustrating (especially in the second half of the game) with unkillable ghost enemies and a partner you are forced to protect, this is a refreshing change of pace for the series.  One can hope that Konami would explore the possibilities of a first person Silent Hill game in the future.

This past week Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting became the fastest selling Xbox Live Arcade game so far, but Street Fighter fans need look no further than this enthusiastic cosplayer who invaded Otakon to celebrate their favorite franchise.

vid courtesy tentopet

“The Nintendo Difference” – a promo video released before the GameCube launch, with a lot of footage of games like Raven Blade and Donkey Kong Racing that never came out, in addition to a look at Kameo (which eventually came out on Xbox360) and some clearly pre-rendered concepts of Mario Kart and Metroid Prime alongside the infamous Legend Of Zelda Link/Gannondorf fight.
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