Last weekend was ToyFair 2009 in New York. It was a busy weekend and we were deluged with announcements of upcoming merchandise. Fellow Poweteer and avid Joe fan, Tigerpaw32, sent in a full write up of GI Joe news:

Yo Joe! It’s that time of year again. Time for toy companies to show off their upcoming products and for me to do a write up of the G.I. Joe offerings. This year, the G.I. Joe line’s main focus will be on toys to support the upcoming feature film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Figures will be released in 12 and 3 ¾” formats as well as a brand new format: The Sigma Six-esque Action Battlers. The cute miniature Combat Heroes line will be continuing under the movie banner. Brand new role play, Mr. Potato Head, and todder toys will also be available. Add to this a few more non-Movie 3 ¾” items coming out before the Movie as well as a ton of other movie-branded merchandise and one huge Duke figure and you have a year filled with G.I. Joe action.

Our first order of business is to wrap up the rest of the 3 ¾” releases that will be hitting before the Movie toys come out. The remaining releases prior to the movie can be divided up into two sections: The Hall of Heroes and Online Exclusive packs.

Thanks to Rich for all the good news!
Really looking forward to that Cobra 7-pack and the Night Raven.
More after the jump.
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Some may remember an episode of PowetToys early on that focused on the Four Horsemen’s FANtastic Exclusives for 2006. The exclusive was based on an original story premise from the Four Horsemen called The 7th Kingdom. The exclusive figure was a minotaur named Xetheus of the Animal Kingdom and had several variant figures. In the course of that episode, I looked at the logo and revealed what sections of the design represented which kingdoms from the storyline. This was not public knowedge beforehand, nor had it really been discussed before the episode’s release. The design hadn’t seen much exposure before the figures’ release. Because of this, I have been credited for this revelation.

The 7th Kingdom was so popular in the FanEx polls, it has been spun out into its own line, independent of the annual FANtastic Exclusive promotion. I thought I would take this opportunity to take a look at the logo and how I figured out what symbols went with what kingdom.

Read on for some simple reasoning, research and deduction.
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I reported on some leaked control art for Terminator 2 minimates a while back. We have some more details on them now from Minimate Headquarters.

There are two separate assortments to begin. The first is a case of single-packed minimates consisting of 5 different terminators with a rare chase figure of General John Connor. This was the control art that we had seen previously. This is more or less the same treatment the Battlestar Galactica Minimates got with the single-boxed Cylons.
The different Terminators include:
T-800 Endoskeleton
T-800 Endoskeleton Battle Damaged with Gatlin Gun
T-800 Half Human Terminator
T-1000 Cop
and our rare variant General John Connor
(see group shot after the jump)

The second assortment will be the first wave in an ongoing line of Terminator 2 themed minimates (pictured above). The wave will include:
Terminator (T800) & John Connor
Final Battle T1000 & Battle Damage Sarah Connor
Endoskeleton & Battle Damage T800
VARIANT: Endoskeleton & Kyle Reese
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Episode 1.5 (are we Galactica fanboys or what?) of the POWETcast is now available for your streaming and downloading pleasure. Won’t you please join us as we discuss all the games, movies, TV shows, comics, and toys we’re looking forward to in this year of years.

Direct Download
EXPLICIT.
Show notes after the jump.
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Alright folks, we’re finally ready to unveil the latest addition to the site: the POWETcast! In our oft-delayed premiere episode we talk about the upcoming Nintendo DSi, GABO, Watchmen, Keanu Reeves, TMNT 25, Grand Theft Auto, goatse, the Wrestler, Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Final Crisis #6, and so much more! Plus, if we have time we’ll go over everything we’re looking forward to in 2009 (SPOILERS: We don’t, but that stuff is coming!). So come along with us on an audio journey into the heart of geekness. Just don’t forget to bring a replica weapon from your favorite sci-fi franchise…

EXPLICIT.

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes
Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 1: Revenge of the Powetcast

Show notes after the jump.
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Remember when Nintendo released Zelda II: The Adventure of Link? Its side scrolling gameplay was and still is a radical departure from the series. The most we would see of another 2-d Zelda are the crapfest CD-I entries, but the less said about them, the better. However, Y’s III, Wanderers from Y’s is pretty close to what another 2-D Zelda would be like. Ironically, Y’s III itself is a departure from its norm, as all prior and subsequent entries are from the top-down perspective (in fact, a 2005 Windows remake of the game is done with an over the top view with a 3-d graphics engine).

The game once again puts players in the role of series hero Adol Christin, as he and his friend Dogi visit Dogi’s hometown of Redmont. Seems some strange things are happening there, and Adol takes it upon himself to investigate. Before long, he gets mixed up in something involving monsters, demons, and such. Unlike the previous entries, this is a platformer with RPG elements. You now have to press a button to swing your sword (as opposed to just running into enemies like in the first two entries), and there is some typical platform jumping. Along with gaining levels, you can equip several rings which grant special powers. Cool boss battles, catchy music, large areas, and an interesting storyline round out the package. Y’s III was ported to several systems at the time of its release, but its most well known port in the United States is the Super Nintendo version, which was released shortly after the system’s launch. Hopefully this should show up on the virtual console in the near future, as Y’s Book I & II, (the Turbografx-16 port of the first two games) is already available on the service.

Like Encounters in Space in my $20 Game of the Week, this week’s Lost Classic, Gundam Wing: Endless Duel is one of the few good Gundam games in existence. For those of you not in the know, the Gundam Wing series takes place in the After Colony Universe, which is outside of the Universal Century universe depicted in the original Gundam series, War in the Pocket, Stardust Memory, and pretty much any other Gundam series which had been released up to that point (besides the G Gundam series, which itself takes place in its own universe, but that’s another story). Like the original Gundam series, Gundam Wing tells of a war between Earth and the space colonies. A group of young pilots wage a war against a corrupt organization which is trying to play both sides against each other. The series spawned movie, Endless Waltz, which takes place a year later and deals with the aftermath of the war. The series proved to be a favorite among fans everywhere, despite a few annoying characters here and there. Unfortunately, at the time of this game’s release(1996), Gundam, like many other classic anime properties, had no presence in North America (indeed, the Gundam Wing series wouldn’t make its U.S. debut until 2000). It goes without saying that Bandai didn’t bother with an English translation, leaving this game a favorite of importers and emulation pirates.

Endless Duel is pretty much your basic mid 90s fighting game which makes use of a preexisting intellectual property. You take your pick of several pilots and defeat the rest in a series of one on one battles. Each mobile suit has its selection of special moves. They can also hover for a short time. There is a super meter which allows players to preform more powerful versions of their special moves as well as machine gun attacks. Players can play through arcade, versus, and trial modes. Some of the music has been lifted from the show. By completing the game on hard mode, players can unlock a secret code to play as the boss. Although there isn’t much in the way of replay value, the control is responsive, the backgrounds are detailed, and the game does a good job of representing the source material.

Although Endless duel makes no huge attempt to set itself apart from the numerous other fighting games out there, it does a good job of providing fun gameplay and representing the series in interactive form. It’s doubtful that we will see this game come to Virtual Console any time soon (as Wing’s popularity has waned in favor of more recent Gundam series), but since Namco-Bandai still holds the rights to the license, there is always hope.

As one of the better games utilizing the Gundam license, Encounters in Space has a lot to offer Gundam fans, and it plays decent too. The game focuses on the Universal Century universe (which includes the One-year war from the first TV series, as well as the events of the Stardust Memory miniseries), but there are also some Easter eggs from G-Gundam, Gundam Wing, and Gundam Seed. What makes the single player modes of this game interesting is that instead of simply having one huge campaign, there are several smaller ones, each starring a different main character and having their own separate storyline. The main storyline takes players through the last half of the original TV series. Along with that, there is a game-exclusive campaign featuring an all new character and a storyline which takes place parallel to the main series. The Ace Pilot mode is a series of vignettes in which players play as different faces from the Gundam Saga. Along with a few choice members of the Earth Federation, you’ll also play as several of Zeon’s finest including Char Aznable, Anavel Gato, and even the Black Tri-Stars. There are dozens of mobile suits to choose from, and each character has their own special abilities. There is also a training mode, in which you can create a character, and train through 8 missions in order to build up his/her stats as much as possible. You can then take your pilot into a two-player versus mode, where you can build a team of any three characters using any mobile suits you wish.
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