The Weekend Wrap-Up – 6/25/07

Yeah, thought I’d bring this back. At least for this week, as lately going through three days of news has been a bit of a hassle. So I figured this’ll help a little.

1. Whoops, I’m a day late in this, but Happy 16th Birthday, Sonic! Now you can drive! Maybe next time there’s a Mario Kart, they’ll let you partake!
   

   Thanks to The Sonic Retard for the pic. Go Nintendo has a nice one, too, while Joystiq offers their own well-wishes, and fans speculate upon his “true” age.

2. TransFormers!

   A new Movie figure 3-pack is looking to have Bonecrusher and Brawl kick Jazz’s ass; the site for the official soundtrack has been revealed; and this Wednesday, HBO will have the premiere of a “First Look” at the TransFormers movie, alongside other promotional appearances across the airwaves throughout the week.

   Also, for those either too cheap or too poor to afford the latest flood of Optimus Prime toys, you’re in luck! Just download this transformable papercraft, and you’ll be ready to roll out and over Megatron’s ass.

   Just hope he’s not carrying scissors.

3. Word has it that Disney is stopping their straight-to-DVD sequels, after how horrible an in-progress Tinkerbell spin-off was going.
4. Waking up gorgeous…
5. A better look at the classic-colors He-Man statue, exclusive to SDCC this year.
6. Here’s one to help keep you on your toes whenever a new title pops up for the TurboGrafx-16 on Wii’s Virtual Console. Racketboy’s Retro Gaming has compiled a list of games that defined the TurboGrafx-16, such as Bonk, Zonk, Bomberman, a little something known as Demon Castle Dracula X, Rondo of Blood (aka Castlevania: Dracula X), and several more.
7. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: great game, lousy import. Unless, like, you know Japanese or something. Then you’re probably cool for it.
8. Company spokespeople seem to suddenly be the thing again: Nichole Kidman for Nintendo, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Sony.

   So, who struck the better deal?

9. The debate over whether to do a Justice League movie or Superman sequel first continues.

   Me, I think it depends on where they want to go with the next Superman movie. I’ve heard talk of rebooting the franchise’s continuity, and if they’re going to do that, and have Justice League follow that, maybe that’s the way to go.

   But then, Justice League is about more than just Superman, and in that respect, it could be that if it’s done right, the Superman we see on the screen alongside the other heroes could fit into either continuity, and it becomes a non-issue.

10. Play magazine seems to have some new details surrounding Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

    Also, thanks to onNintendo for that nice, interuptive, all-but-unavoidable video ad. It really enhances the story. Knowing how to keep my hair firm matches right up with what I’m thinking about when I’m looking at Metroid details.

    Anyway, the features sound pretty good so far, and I’m definitely glad they’re giving their all to get this one “just right.” If it turns out well, I hope they might remake the first two games to take advantage of the Wii’s features as well.

    Oh, and it sounds like the magazine has some rather stunning screenshots as well, so it may be worth hunting down a copy.

11. Wow, amazing what can change in a few days. Just earlier this week, we reported that Nintendo’s market value was nearly what Sony’s is, but that would no longer seem to be the case.

    Now they’ve surpassed Sony.

12. And as a result, it only makes sense that SEGA, Bandai-Namco, and Capcom would change where they set their sights.
13. Neat commercial.

    Summon Night: Twin Age: The Power is in your hands.

14. Their mascot may wear red, but Nintendo is seeing green.

    Wait, no, I’m not talking about profits. Seriously, I mean they’re being environmentally friendly.

15. This is cool.

    Yeah, it talks about making pixel art shirts for Super Mario Bros. characters, but I bet that it’d work for any character, so long as it fits the grid.

16. The trials of being a non-speaking video game hero. It can be frustrating sometimes.
17. Hmm, this looks pretty slick. Devil May Cry, the anime, has begun popping up online.

    Unfortunately, there is no US license… yet. Well, maybe that should be in quotes, as there are people who prefer the subtitled versions of anime, and companies that refuse to give it to them, so…

18. About time someone got the grapefruits to stand against the idea that video games are an addiction.

    Though, personally, I think they can be, MMORPGs to be specific. I just don’t like seeing the issue seemingly being weighed in so one-sided a fashion.

19. I wish I had a collection like this.

    But if you’ve got money to burn (say, to the tune of 18 grand), you can!

20. At this rate, I might have to make my own cake one of these days. In the meantime, I gaze upon this Goomba cake with awe and adulation.
21. “Mind if I watch you…?”

    That seems to be the question posed by this Space Invaders-inspired bathroom.

    Me, I can’t even dry off with a cartoon character-printed towel without feeling like I’m subscribing to someone’s weird fetishist fantasy, I hate to think what this would do to me.

22. Amazingly, I have still yet to see Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Not like I’ve been avoiding it or anything, it’s just never really happened.

    Of course, if I had a living XBox 360, this deal might give me just the right inclination to check it out.

23. So while the mean streets of Montreal are kickin’ it with their own gaming graffiti, somehow it just lacks the charm of the casual, randomly-placed pixel art that other sightings have brought.
24. Dying sucks, and FPS games are no exceptions. Me, with my relative inexperience, I’ve probably died all of these ways and more at the hands of vastly more experienced comrades and rivals.
25. 11 years ago, on the 23rd of June, the Nintendo 64 was released in Japan.
26. “Just saw three of these cars following one another outside of my office here in Toronto. They’re Smart Cars with the Wii logo on them and a URL for a Wii contest, where you can win a Smart Car and a Wii.”

    Haven’t seen these yet. I should really try for it, as there’s no small number of people I’d love to give a Wii to. Beyond that, I’m a little more interested in the car. Do you just win a Wii and a Smart Car, or do you win a Wii and a Wii Smart Car? Because I could SO dig the latter.

And that’s it for the weekend! If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the next two posts regarding some nice specials on DS games running this week!

–LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.