Get my review of New Super Mario Bros. on iTunes.

The most dangerous man in gaming has been put in charge of Nintendo of America after just 3 years with the company. He came out swinging at E3 in 2004 claiming to kick ass and take names, and after this year’s E3, it looks like he’s making good on the promise.
Job 1: Making the Wii launch a success.

The premeire film for Super Mario Bros 3 (this was before we had E3 reports and internets), The Wizard, will be coming to DVD on August 29th. And just like the Wii, it’ll be in widescreen and 480p. Pretty swell, huh?
I’m going to resist the urge to make a powerglove joke here, but its strange how much Lucas’ control over Rad Racer mirrors Nintendo’s demo of ExciteTruck just 2 weeks ago.
Suggested retail price is $14.98, but you know you’ll pay less than that and it will be worth much more.

The biggest gaming event of the year is apparently so big, news from it is still being reported on.
First, look how fast the Wii ejects!
The big hit of the show was not the Wii, but the GameCube! The devkit for the new Nintendo system is based so closely on the prior generation that demo units for the Nintendo Booth were made up of just a stock black gamecube with a couple modifications to utilize the controller!
Kotaku also sat down with Miyamoto for a good 25 minute interview and he address all the next-gen hot topics.
IGN and GameTrailers have also compiled best-of-E3 lists that kinda surprise. I mean obviously Halo 3, Smash Brothers, etc took a lot of the glory, but those games weren’t playable and had only a small actual showing. IGN hands the award to Bioshock, a game I totally missed last week. GameTrailers says Assassin’s Creed, which was announced for PS3, but anyone who got to play will be quick to tell you that they were holding an Xbox 360 controller to do so (Ubisoft says they haven’t announced a 360 port yet, but considering its already running on a 360, I’d say its a safe bet!)
Last, and least surprisingly, Karima Adebibe (the rookie model currently cast as Lara Croft) tells CNN how she handles the smell and numbers of fanboys at E3.

It’s amazing how a game getting close to 5 years old can still yield surprises. I won’t tell you what happens, but about a minute in something really crazy starts to happen, it makes a pretty spectacular looking mess in the middle of the stage. It’s a shame it takes so much set up, it would be a heck of a trap to set during casual games against friends…
Thanks to Neil on NBC for the link.

Me reviewing a Nintendo product.  A sign of the end times perhaps?  Nah, I just wanted to one-up Phil, Zac, Sean and aDam.

Anyway, as long as there are video vames, there will be Tetris.  Alexey Pazhitnov‘s puzzle masterpiece set the standard for all puzzle games that still hasn’t been matched to this day.  Many different versions exist as Java/Flash web games, game cartridges, homebrew applications, etc.  So what makes Nintendo’s latest entry so different? The integration of classic Nintendo franchises, the sheer variety of game types, and the addition of Mariokart-like items to the classic versus mode.

Standard – the regular Tetris we know and love, make lines while Mario idly navigates levels.

Mission - Decorated with the Legend of Zelda, play standard Tetris while meeting different goals to progress.

Catch - Themed around Metroid, pieces are caught with a large mass manipulated by the player. The mass shrinks when (minimum) 4×4 masses are created within it.

Touch - The main character from Balloon Fight is trapped in a cage atop a tower of tetriminoes. Use the touch screen to slide blocks around, eliminate the tower, and set the Balloon fighter free.

Puzzle - With a nod to Yoshi’s Cookie, clear screens with predetermined sets of pieces. The challenge is in figuring out the order and orientation.

Push – This mode is available in multiplayer. On one end of the field is Donkey Kong, on the other is Mario. Each opponent drops pieces toward the center, and as lines are cleared, the center moves toward the opponent. When the stack reaches the enemy goal line, you win.

All the game types plus Wi-Fi support make this one of the best versions of Tetris yet, and a must-buy for puzzle fans with a DS.

The first clear screenshots of the much anticipated new portable Pokemon have hit the web courtesy GameWatch.
While it doesn’t look like a significant grahpical upgrade from the GBA versions (which themselves weren’t a very big jump from the original Game Boy), 3D elements and some mode 7-type effects will be present in the gameplay.
This will be the first Pokemon title to go online, but details of that feature are still under wraps. Bulbanews reports that any pokemon you caught on your GBA games can be transferred to the new DS title after you meet certains goals,
The official site has also been updated with screens, art, and more info.
I’d tell you more, but this whole page is in Japanese… a translation should be around sooner or later.

Masahiro Sakurai has set up a special web page for fans to suggest new characters and music for Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

Since the page in Japanese, Advance Media Network has set up instructions for English speakers to submit their ideas.

I’m pretty sure they’re getting all the Sonic mail they can handle, so I’m gonna suggest Simon Belmont, Mega Man, and King Hippo.  This game needs more Captain N characters!