Splinter taught them to be Ninja Teens, Ubisoft turned them into a Prince of Persia knock-off.
Nah, I’m not going to slam this completely, because the ninja action combined with some wall jumping looks totally natural for this franchise, especially given what we’ve seen from the two trailers. Ubisoft couldn’t do worse than Konami, who turned in from pretty forgettable PS2 games based on the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle animated series.

But if new games don’t float your boat, how about an olde one? 360 Style got a hold of some screen shots of the original 1989 TMNT game for Xbox Live Arcade thats floating around on Partnernet(a developer only version of Xbox Live). It looks legit, and if there is 4-player online co-op I’ll fork over whatever asking price they have. A fairly straight forward button masher, I have to wonder what will be used for achievements…

Finally, the ESRB has rated the original NES game for play on the Wii Virtual Console.

Update: InsideGamer.nl has video of the Xbox Live game in action!

Toys based on video games is still a woefully untapped and underserved market. Even massively popular lines like Halo 2 from Joyride don’t make it much further than stores that sell video games (even Toys R Us stocked them near the Xbox games).

Metal Gear Solid 4 may not have a release date, but the 12″ Solid Snake (picutred) will be out in November. He’s pretty detailed, and employs some advanced action figure technology to keep his body in realistic posts, which sounds nice but its really a shady way of saying he’s not getting double jointed limbs. Couldn’t find a price point, and Medicom is a Japanese toy company so be prepared to pay brutal import prices.

NECA has a handful of figures already out based on Eidos properties: Tomb Raider Legend, Hitman, and Legacy of Kain. They also announced at Toy Fair they’ll have some Resident Evil figures out by September, and Castlevania in October. Simon Belmont will be based on the NES box art, but Alucard, Dracula, and Succubus will be styled after Symphony Of The Night.

First 4 Figures has a Metroid license, but seem intent on making statues too expensive to buy on a whim. Zero Suit Samus will retail for $109. An excellent likeness, and sure to be the pride of your basement collection. They’re also stamping out Zelda statues. Why not make me a proper 6″ Varia Suit Samus Aran action figure and some Space Pirates, F4F?

SOTA Toys will have some Darkstalkers to add to their Street Fighter line. Dimitri and Lord Raptor will be out late spring 2007.

Its really frustrating that theres still no line that conforms to a scale and offers more than the most obvious characters as figures. Getting ONLY Snake or ONLY Lara Croft seems odd. Even Mario brought some supporting characters to Happy meals.

Konami is desiging a new Dance Dance Revolution game exclusively for the Wii. The game will use classic DDR pads which plug into the Gamecube’s controller ports in conjunction with hand movements using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

With support of up to 4 players it’s a good thing the Gamecube pads for Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix are also compatible. Since this is a more traditional Dance Dance Revolution game when compared to the Mario Mix variation this will be the first standard DDR game made available on a Nintendo system. Many of the more classic modes of play will also be available in this title.

This IGN articles gives us a very in depth look at the prelimenary game though as they note many aspects could be changed or polished before this title is actually released.

As any avid Castlevania fan can tell you, one of the true highlights of the series was Symphony of the Night. However, many fans believe that Dracula X for the Super Nintendo was Symphony’s prequel, without realizing that the Japanese-Only released title “Akumajou Dracula: Chi no Rondo” (Rondo of Blood) for the PC Engine Duo was the true beginning chapter for one of the most reknowned Castlevania titles to date. True enthusiasts have dreamt of the day when Rondo of Blood would finally make the transition to American shores. (as many believed Dracula X to be a bastardized version of Rondo to begin with)

After over 10 years, it seems as though we’re finally getting that wish.

Konami is releasing “Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, slated to hit the markets this coming fall. One of the extras about waiting as long as we all have for a port to make the transition is that, not only will we be able to play the original 2D version of Rondo, but the game will also be sporting a redone 2.5D version of the game as well.

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Not too long ago, news hit the Castlevania fan community that Paul S. Anderson would be directing a live-action adaption of one of the longest running gaming series to date. And, we all wept. Or at least I did. However, it looks like there might be an alternative in the works – a Castlevania animated movie.

It seems that Project 51 Productions Ltd. has aquired worldwide animated rights from Konami Entertainment to the Castlevania franchise. Representing Project 51 in the deal were Rick Privman and Yumiko Miyano from JEA and Eric Gardner from Panacea Entertainment. Their announced first project is an animated movie based on Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse; with Award winning comic book writer Warren Ellis writing the script and Eisner Award winning artist James Jean slated to be the art director. To enlighten the casual gamer, Dracula’s Curse was the third and last of the NES Castlevania games released in 1990, and has been argued by fans as being the best of the original trilogy, if not the series. Set 100 years before the original game, it follows the quest of Trevor Belmont to defeat Count Dracula before his curse spreads throughout the land of Warakiya, Transylvania.

No planned release dates have been announced as of yet, but the project seems to hold some promise despite being in the early stages of production. A production blog has been set up to track details of the flick as it developes – http://www.castlevaniadraculascurse.com/

Yes, I know there is an enhanced version of this out (MGS 3 Substance), but I couldn’t wait to feature this game. Besides, the enhanced version of the game is already $25, so it will drop in price soon enough anyway.
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Lets see, I already featured Silent Hill 2 and 4 here, so it’s only natural I feature number 3. Many people like this better than 4, and it’s larger than 2, with a greater variety of enemies and weapons to use. You play as Heather, a teenage girl who gets caught up in the bizzare alternate universe of Silent Hill while enjoying a day of shopping at the mall. However, there is more to Heather than she seems, as you find out later on in the game through a big plot twist. The neat thing about this game, and the Silent Hill series in general, is that each entry in the series is stand alone, and they tell you just what you need to know about the previous titles. Though, there are several nods to the previous games in the series that are sure to make fans of Silent Hill happy. Another part of Silent Hill’s allure is the alternate world you find yourself in. At any moment, the tranquil world around you will dissolve into a horrifying alternate version with bloodstained walls and floors made of human skin. It’s terrifying and sure to provide several sleepless nights. Fans of survival horror should pick this game up already. If you’re lucky, you can even get a free soundtrack cd included with the game.

Sure you know about the Gradius series, but what do you know of Konami’s other shooter, Axelay?  This SNES shooter showcased some cool mode-7 effects, awesome stages, and had a catchy soundtrack.  Stages in the game were both side-scrolling and horizontal, and there were some kick-ass boss fights, such as the lava man shown on the cover.  You could select you weapons at the beginnng of each level, although some of them had limited ammo.  Some of the people who worked on this game left to form Treasure, which produced the cult classic Gunstar Heroes.  Not a whole lot else to say about this game, so check out the ROM, or pray that Konami brings it to Wii’s virtual console.