Since Iron Man 2 hit theaters this past weekend, this special Maximum Letdown will take a look at one of his misadventures. This disc from Acclaim teamed old shellhead up with Valiant comic’s legendary hero X-O MANOWAR!!! No doubt many of you poweteers are jumping in complete joy over the fact that they finally bought Manowar to video game form. Okay, not really. Many of you are more likely asking just who in the hell is X-O Manowar. X-O Manowar, a.k.a Aric of Dacia is a former Visigoth tribesman who ended up in the modern era after escaping from an alien spaceship and stealing a suit of armor. He ends up teaming with Iron Man to stop Baron Zemo and Mistress Crescendo from stealing fragments of the cosmic cube. It’s crossover madness, but sadly the game isn’t nearly up to snuff. The graphics are horrid, the levels are generic, and the two heroes are interchangeable as they have the same punch, kick, and laser attacks. Supposedly there was some heavy CGI work employed, but the characters are so small and the backdrops are nondescript, it’s hard to tell where. Of course, being that this was an Acclaim game, the play controls are clunky. In short, while this crossover video game received a lot of hype, it failed to live up to any of it. Thankfully, Capcom would do the crossover thing right a few years down the line.

On a side note, isn’t it cold that the SNES and Genesis were left out the loop? Even the Game Boy and Game Gear got a port.

In relation to my most recent Keep Playing: Rewind vid, and in case the rest of you weren’t aware, May is “Zombie Awareness Month”. To represent, gray ribbons are to be worn to “signify the undead shadows that lurk behind our modern light of day“.

Learn more about Zombie Awareness Month at the Zombie Research Society. And always keep your eyes open and shotgun handy.

Since the alphabet is the building block of our language, the Powet Alphabet is the building block of what makes us geeks.

The sixteen bit era of video games is considered by many to be the bridge between the past and modern eras of video gaming, and there were two kings of the ring: Nintendo’s Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega’s Genesis. Though there were more powerful systems that sprang up around the time, it would be these two that would outlast and outperform all of them, thanks to their accessibility. This was due not only to the technologies that the two systems boasted under the hood, but also with the library of games that were released for the two. It also gave rise to some of those most heated fanboy wars of our hobby. If you think system wars are bad now, you should have seen how bad it was during the 16-bit days, especially when system manufacturers were openly taking pot shots at each other. However, it was pointless for fanboys of both systems to argue with each other, as both systems not only had an equally impressive library of games (even if many multiplatform releases on the Sega Genesis tended to have inferior audio and visual quality to their SNES counterparts), but they outlasted and outsold the more powerful systems that sprang up around the same period. Click below to take a look back at one of gaming’s most exciting eras.
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The hotly anticipated RTS game, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty has been slated for release on July 27, 2010.

If you haven’t already pre-ordered the game, you can do so on Amazon and recieve a free beta key!
The Collector’s edition also includes, but is not limited to, the game’s soundtrack and a 2GB USB thumb drive that contains the original Starcraft and the expansion pack Brood War. This intrepid RTS fan will be getting the collectors’ edition. Pre-order either version via the links below!

Before Halo had players hosting 16-player LAN parties, the Bomberman games had players huddled on a couch trying to blow each other to kingdom come. Though the Bomberman series has been bought to just about every system in existence, Super Bomberman 2 is the one I love the most, if for no other reason than it was the first Bomberman game that I played. The single player game revolves around the title character being captured and having to fight his way to freedom and save the universe. You play through maze-like worlds battling enemies and gaining items. It’s fun, but the real package is the multiplayer mode. Up to 4 players can compete on one of 10 maps specifically designed for multiplayer. Like any good Bomberman game, you’ll have hours of fun trying to trap each other and catch each other in explosions.

If you’re a true gamer, you owe it to yourself to play at least one Bomberman game (the horrid Bomberman Zero notwithstanding). If not SBM2, then one of the other games in the series.

Stand up comedian and actress Aisha Tyler is a well known Halo fan. In fact, its been rumored for a while that she has a role in the Reach game, though thats unconfirmed.

What she definitely does have a role doing is introducing the Beta test to gamers via this 6 minutes primer video. While you’re waiting for the Reach Beta to download (its 1.2 GB), it wouldn’t be a bad idea to watch this recap of all the new games, areas, and weapons you’ll discover.

If you need more details, check Bungie’s FAQ.

The Halo Reach Beta is available for a limited time to those who have been given a download code from Microsoft or accessed from the Halo 3 ODST Main Menu. Don’t have ODST? Why Not?!?

Conan may be legally prohibited from being funny on TV, but he’s now legally able to speak about what happened. Steve Kroft from 60 Minutes interviews Conan at his home, about his feelings and his remarkably positive outlook for his future on TBS.

Above, see the full interview that was broadcast, and included after the jump are the outtakes available from the CBS website. Some are informative, some are silly, but unless you’ve got tickets to his sold out live show, its the only Conan you’ll see until November.
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April Showers bring digest posts!

Yes, it was another amazing and informative month at Powet. Sure, it was 4 more weeks of regular features like videos, Powet Alphabet, and Lost Classics, but we also had 2 great podcast sessions and some huge news! If you were too busy in April to visit us, or if you took a few days off for spring break you might have missed a lot! Get caught up now!

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