In a recent interview with the Smithsonian Magazine Matt Groening, creator of the Simpsons, has revealed that the “Springfield” the show takes place in was actually based on Springfield Oregon! Fans have been trying to determine the location of Springfield for many years, as the show has given many, often contradictory, clues to the city’s actual location.

No doubt this will do nothing to settle the age old argument. The show’s city may have been loosely inspired by a city in Oregon, not far from Matt Groening’s home town of Portland, but the town of Springfield is a place all to itself.

Springfield, Oregon is a tiny town, home to only about 60,000 people at last count. Is that even equivalent to the number of guest stars to appear in the show over the past 23 years?

Thanks to Nik Choeychan who’s picture of the Springfield, Oregon sign I stole from his MySpace page. Could Nik be the inspiration for Bart Simpson? No. Not at all…

DC Comics has announced plans for a new limited series featuring the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe property from Mattel. James Robinson will be writing the story while, Phillip Tan and Ruy Jose handle the pencils and inks, respectively.

In the new series, Robinson reintroduces the Masters of the Universe® to comic readers with Skeletor having won a major victory and rewriting the world of Eternia where he now rules from Castle Grayskull and the Masters have no memory of their former glory. Adam is a simple woodsman haunted by dreams of a heroic warrior, wielding a powerful sword in battle. He is found by a mysterious sorceress who tells him his dreams are of the way the world should be, that he is Eternia’s champion He-Man. Adam sets off on a quest to regain his power and reawaken the Masters of the Universe.

The series is set to start in July and run for six issues.

Payday, like Left 4 Dead, is a 4-player online co-op FPS that stresses teamwork. Except this time, you aren’t working together to survive the zombie apocalypse, you are teaming up in order to pull heists. You’ll run in, take and restrain hostages, shoot it out with law enforcement, and (provided everything goes well), escape with the money. Taking control of one of four criminals, you pull off a number of different heists. Although there are a small number of maps, the heists are generated randomly. If you die, your teammates have the option of exchanging a hostage in order to get you back. There are three skill trees you can upgrade, and several skills that you can unlock. The game has been supplemented with free content. There is a single player mode, but your computer controlled teammates are horrible, so online co-op is the way to go. The game doesn’t have a storyline, and at times the game seems rather unpolished. However, for a $20 downloadable title, you can do worse. This game is fun, and easy to get wrapped up in. In fact, I had to stop myself from screaming “GET THE @#$% DOWN NOW!!!!” while dealing with some hostages.

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

Aiight, gather around folks, we need to talk.

Lets be clear now. Video Games aren’t dead or dying. They aren’t on life support or in the intensive care unit either. They aren’t even out with a broken arm, pulled hamstring, or 3-day flu. Nope, video games are just fine. Yeah I know how everyone loves the classics, but now is a good time to be involved with this hobby. We got high quality games like Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, and Deus EX being released on a regular basis, a thriving independent scene, and developers stretching the limits of what’s possible in video games. With that said, there are at least 5 big issues that video gaming could use less of. Some of these are on the part of publishers, others on the part of developers, and still others are even on the gaming community itself. Many of you will agree, many of you will not.
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We chat with Benjamin Howard, proprietor and principal talent behind Fizz Man Industries, and just what it takes to create such sweet gaming-based sculture art that just tears your heart out when you have to sell it to someone for money.

Also, we talk about the importance of spelling.

Many younger Poweteers recognize Factor 5 from their PS3 disappointment Lair. A few older poweteers remember them for their awesome N64 and Gamecube Rogue Squadron games. Before those however, they created the equally awesome, yet severely overlooked Turrican games, which hit the Sega Genesis, Commodore 64, Amiga, and the Super Nintendo. Super Turrican 2 for the Super Nintendo is actually the third Turrican game released on 16-bit systems, with Super Turrican being released on SNES and Mega Turrican being released on Genesis. Like its predecessors, Super Turrican 2 is a side-scrolling platformer in the vein of Metroid (although the stages are linear). However unlike other games, Super Turrican frequently incorporates other styles of play, mainly vehicles. Many levels you’ll take control of a tank or jeep. Sometimes you’ll even engage enemies in a Mode-7 sequence. When he is on foot, your character has several weapons, including a grappling hook straight out of Bionic Commando. While Super Turrican 2 was nothing groundbreaking, it was still an excellent game that exemplified what was great about SNES platformers back then. All three Turrican games are available on Virtual Console, so check them out.