Lets start this off with some good news on a freebie: Game|Life reports that the first ever release of a high-definition episode of South Park will hit Xbox Live Marketplace. Starting Tuesday March 6, the Season 8 classic “Good Times With Weapons” will be available to Gold members for no cost for 2 weeks. Those without Xbox 360 or Live can still get the episode: On March 20 Best Buy is giving an HD-DVD for free with the purchase of any Xbox HD DVD player or a 360.

Personally, I grabbed Alien Hominid and Ms Pac-Man on Live Arcade this week. Alien Hominid is about the hardest game I’ve ever played on XBLA, and includes a boss event I cannot pass because I have no idea what to shoot. Ms Pac-Man I cleared all 200 Achievement points in under 2 hours. Go figure. Worms HD finally drops next week for another 800 points ($10), but I’ll pass until I actually finish Alien Hominid.

Tekken finally made it to the North American Playstation Network. Which is pretty good if you have a 1080p TV, don’t own the PS2 or the PSP versions. Nah, its budget priced and worth your dollar to get it in the prettiest format available. I understand you can buy Jin a new hat in this one. The much hyped Warhawk sequel from Sony has been downgraded from a full game to a Multiplayer-only download title. Well at least they won’t charge you an arm and a leg for it now.

The best game on the download circuit this week has to go to the best game ever made, The Legend Of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time. Nearly a decade after release, its still got the highest rating of any game released before or since. $10 is a hefty sum on Wii‘s Virtual Console, but considering how vast the game is, its a bargain. Nintendo obviously knows how awesome this is, as its been released on the GameCube twice, but if you missed those or (god forbid) the N64 original, now is the time.

Well, in case today’s news updates don’t tip you off, Marvel & DC handed WonderCon the crap end of the stick when it came to breaking the news, compared to NYCC. Thank God for the smaller publishers! And hey, they’re previewing the 300 movie tonight, ain’t that’s pretty sweet too. Hey, here’s the news!

DARK HORSE COMICS:

• New books include an Abe Sapien book, reprints of Matt Wagner’s original Grendel issues (to celebrate the 25th anniversary), a new Grendel book, and, awesomest of the awesome…
• A possible GROO/CONAN crossover. SO AWESOME.

SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS:

• They’re working on a downloadable-comic plan, and talking about a 69 cent ‘cover price.’ Not a bad pricing scheme.
• Gargoyles #3 has been done for THREE WEEKS. The holdup? Disney. Issues 4-6 will have fill-in art to catch up, which is just sad.

BOOM! STUDIOS:

• Amidst numerous new books launching, Giffen & DeMatteis’s Hero Squared will end at issue #9. My wretched eyes quiver in sorrow!

Well, it’s another weekend, so I guess that means it’s time for another comic convention.
…Really? Ok, I guess so. Here’s the news –

DC:

• Based on a little anecdote (A fan asked that they keep their weekly series the same price, and Didio put 50 cents on the table, saying “I’ve got your first one covered”) it sounds like Countdown gets a 50 cent price hike. Nice.
• Green Arrow ends at issue #75, with Green Arrow proposing to Black Canary.
• There’ll be a Black Canary miniseries running at the same time as this summer’s Green Arrow: Year One.
• WWIII will be “Black Adam versus everybody.”
• A Metal Men miniseries is coming.

More news as it comes…

Source: Newsarama.com

We live in an age where the subject of Evolution brings about heated debate.  There are those who believe it to be the true orgin of man while others believe it to be part of an anti-religious conspiracy.  Few forms of entertainment would dare touch upon subject matter this sensitive.  In 1993 however, Enix (long before merging with Square) would release a game that would not only take on this subject matter, but also made it fun by incorporating it into the gameplay.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

These days, we don’t hold Electronic Arts with very high regard. They eat up smaller game developers and rehash thier key franchises year after year. Besides thier sports games, Battlefield games, and Def Jam fighters, there isn’t a whole lot to expect from EA. However, during the 16 bit days, they released some fairly awesome stuff, particulary on the Sega Genesis. Who can forget such underrated gems like Desert Strike, Road Rash, and Mutant League Football?

Last fall, EA released this surprising collection of 14 games from their past. Most of these games are based off the SNES and Genesis ports instead of the original PC games (I.E Ultima and Wing Commander), but they still manage to hold up fairly well. The presentation is bare-bones compared to other classic gaming collections, but you can save anywhere mid-game, view tips and hints about each game, and unlock artwork and other features. I’m a huge sucker for classic gaming compilations, this one included. If you own a PSP and want to get a glimpse of what EA was like before pumping out Madden each year, then grab this disc. EA might not have been Capcom, but they still made some solid titles.

Because we can never have enough animated series starring Spider-Man, Kids’ WB! has just announced a brand new Spidey cartoon, tentatively named The Amazing Spider-Man, set to debut in early 2008.

So far we have Greg Weisman as supervising producer – whose previous credits include Gargoyles, one episode of Ben 10, one episode of The Batman, one episode of Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, one – you know, you get the idea (don’t forget one episode of Jem!) – and we also have Victor Cook as producer/supervising director – whose recent credits include Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron, W.I.T.C.H., and various episodes of Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch, and Buzz Lightyear. Hurrah for Disney?

The show will feature a 16-year-old Peter Parker, so I imagine this will be a ground-up telling of his story, much like the Ultimate books. In fact, if they’re smart, they’ll make Ultimate Spider-Man the series bible. I hear that book sells pretty well.

We’ll keep you updated with more news as it trickles in!

Death is but a doorway, time is but a window.

Witness some of the most violent and gruesome deaths the 8-bit world had to offer.

Dr. Strange: The Oath #5 (of 5)
written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Marcos Martin

This book clearly illustrates why Brian K. Vaughan is one of comics’ top writers today, and why it’s an absolute travesty that he’s going to be writing creator-owned stuff solely from now on. Dr. Strange is often criticised for being too powerful of a character. He waves his hands, and the problem is solved immediately. There’s no limit to what he can do, and so there’s no situation where he’s ever in real danger. Brian K. Vaughan not only slaps these misconceptions in the face, he also goes on to make you excited and eager to read about the guy’s exploits.

In this book, Wong is dying of cancer, and Dr. Strange went to great lengths to find a cure – but then the cure was stolen by a sorcerer who works at a pharmaceutical company who can’t afford for their business to be ruined. Throughout, one of the more surprising aspects that Vaughan has explored is Dr. Strange’s ruined hands – Strange got into sorcery because his hands were mangled in a car accident, putting an end to his days as a surgeon. Another side effect of mangled hands: It’s quite difficult to shoot the giant eye of a giant demonic being strangling your friends – even if it’s Hitler’s gun, which you stole from your enemy – when your fingers are unsteady and crooked. Oh, and Night Nurse has been hanging out with them the whole time which, I promise you, is pretty awesome and brilliant in itself.

What Vaughan does is take the core components of the character – previously a doctor, has ruined hands, now practices sorcery – and celebrates them in the midst of a compelling and exciting story. I’ve never read a Dr. Strange story that equals this one, and if you’ve got any sense whatsoever, you’ll scoop up all 5 issues of this mini when you hit the shop tomorrow.