POWET.TV: Games, Comics, TV, Movies, and Toys

Famicom Dojo Podcast: Gamer and Developer Entitlement

Sean "TheOrange" Corse — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:00:26 +0000

In the waning years of the 20th century, secret codes were a common feature in games that would unlock secret content or make the challenge a bit less difficult. But now if you want those extras, you can “unlock” them for just a few dollars! Is that this a terrible shift in developer entitlement, or another example of how gamers feel like they shouldn’t have to pay more than a few dollars for a new game? Sean and Vinnk look at the things that developers do to get more money out of gamers, and what gamers do to make developers believe that they can’t get paid fairly for their work. Used games aren’t evil, but some developers want you to think they are. Developers aren’t evil, but there are gamers who… well, you know the rest. Is one side more entitled than the other?

Direct Link: Famicom Dojo Podcast 48: Gamer and Developer Worship

To find out the answer to this question and others, get our all new “Episode 48 Answer Pack” DLC — available exclusively in our show notes! XD:
http://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/48

Bring home your own copy of the Famicom Dojo Season 1 DVD today:
http://famicomdojo.tv/store/fdojos1.php

Powetcast 121: Hugs & Tugs (In The Morning)

Zac Shipley — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:39:09 +0000

The listeners asked, and the panelists asks, so here it is: the revised Powetcast. Instead of a 2 hour show ever 2 weeks, we’re going to a 1 hour show every week. Zac, Adam, Sean, and Cap bring you climax with a running time of 59:59.

We’ll talk Chronicle, Awake, Dragon’s Dogma, and the Care Bears. I’ll also be reading tweets and facebook comments. I’ll do that every week if you send them in.

There is also a mistake in this episode. Please note that mistake in the comments. those comments will also be read on air.

Listen live on this page, or subscribe via RSS or iTunes.
Direct Link:Powetcast 121: Hugs & Tugs (In The Morning)
Zero 7 – “Red Dust”

Terri Hawkes, voice of Sailor Moon, at Florida Anime Experience

Adam — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:35:40 +0000

Terri Hawkes, the English voice of Sailor Moon, was recently a guest at the Florida Anime Experience, her first anime conversion. She talked a bit about her experience and then fielded a number of questions about her time on Sailor Moon.

Amongst other things in this panel Terri talks about jobs she did with Tracy Moore, fighting the Negaverse, her favourite episode to record and dodges a question about which Sailor Scout is her favourite.

Terri Hawkes was the second voice of Sailor Moon, following a few episodes recorded by Tracey Moore. She voiced the majority of the first two seasons of the dub so she’s likely the voice most fans associate with the character, besides the original Japanese voice of course. In later seasons Linda Ballantyne provided Sailor Moon’s voice.

Check out Sailor Moon Obsession for more about this panel and the convention.

DC Comics unveils INJUSTICE: Gods Among Us brawler from NetherRealm

Crazy — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:17:05 +0000

It looks like some more of that Warner Bros. and DC Comics synergy is coming to fruition. The studio responsible for Mortal Kombat, NetherRealm (part of WB Games) has a new game on the way and it looks like a doozy from this trailer. Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, both comic writers are penning the story and I can only hope it plays out as well as Mortal Kombat’s story did because that was the best storytelling I’ve ever seen in a fighting game. This fighter will feature a pretty great cast of characters just from the short list already announced in Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn and Solomon Grundy. The game is called Injustice: Gods Among Us and it really looks like the lines between hero and villain have been greatly blurred. Marvel’s had a pretty great run on fighting games for along time now, but I’m looking forward to see how far DC’s answer to those games can push the limits.

Choice quote from Ed Boon in an interview from GameSpot:

Injustice’ is our twist on the blockbuster over-the-top superhero game in a fighting game shell. We’re trying to add some major components to shake up the fighting game genre…One of the big kind of goals that we have its to is to have fighters that feel completely different from one another.

Injustice: Gods Among Us is coming in 2013 to PS3, XBOX 360 and Wii U.

Official Press release after the jump! In addition, I also embedded the interview with Ed Boon after the jump. Check it out.

I enjoy watching Ed Boon try not to give spoilers about future announcements as he describes whats in the trailer.

Press Release:

What if our greatest heroes became our greatest threat? Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Injustice: Gods Among Us, an all-new game in development by award-winning NetherRealm Studios, creators of the definitive fighting game franchise Mortal Kombat. The game is scheduled for release in 2013 for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system and the Wii U(TM) system from Nintendo.

Injustice: Gods Among Us debuts as a bold new fighting game franchise that introduces a deep, original story featuring a large cast of favorite DC Comics icons such as Batman, Harley Quinn, Solomon Grundy, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and many others. Set in a world where the lines between good and evil are blurred, players will experience heroes and villains engaging in epic battles on a massive scale.

“With Injustice: Gods Among Us, we are creating an all-new franchise with incredible battles set in the DC Comics Universe,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “NetherRealm Studios is the extremely talented team behind the latest Mortal Kombat hit and it is developing a game unlike any other in the fighting genre.”

“We can’t wait to reveal Injustice: Gods Among Us because it will give our fans and gamers an epic experience as they battle like gods as their favorite DC Comics villains and heroes,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “Our team is excited to make a fighting game that is filled with fast-paced action, incredible story-telling and iconic DC Comics characters.”

For more information, visit www.injustice.com .

About DC Entertainment DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world. In January 2012, DC Entertainment, in collaboration with Warner Bros. and Time Warner divisions, launched We Can Be Heroes–a giving campaign featuring the iconic Justice League super heroes–to raise awareness and funds to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa.

About Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, is a premier worldwide publisher, developer, licensor and distributor of entertainment content for the interactive space across all current and future platforms, including console, handheld and PC-based gaming for both internal and third party game titles.

About NetherRealm Studios NetherRealm Studios is a leader in the development of interactive entertainment, and the creator of the billion dollar Mortal Kombat franchise. Mortal Kombat has spawned two theatrical films, multiple television series, and has sold over 28 million games to date. Located in Chicago, Illinois the award-winning NetherRealm team has been working and creating games together since 1992. Additional information about NetherRealm Studios can be found at www.netherrealm.com .

INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US (C) 2012 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Developed by NetherRealm Studios. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Nintendo trademarks and copyrights are properties of Nintendo.

DC LOGO, and all characters, their distinctive likenesses, and related elements are trademarks of DC Comics (C) 2012. NETHERREALM STUDIOS LOGO, WB GAMES LOGO, WB SHIELD: (TM) & (C) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s12)

Powet Toys Review: Young Justice Superboy and Artemis

Zac Shipley — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:01:54 +0000

The Young Justice toy line has come to an end, but with the second season currently on tv, I decided I need to buy these figures before they’re gone for good.

Here is a review of the deluxe Superboy and Artemis figures. Kinda disappointed that Superboy didn’t come in his more common jeans/shirt outfit. Artemis is spot on, though the hands could use some work.

Enjoy the video! Buy these toys before they’re gone! They look great with DCUC figures!

Continuum is off to a great start

Adam — Tue, 29 May 2012 03:55:00 +0000

Last night the Canadian network Showcase premiered a new science fiction series “Continuum”. It scored great ratings and seems to have hit a cord with fans, but without an American distributor, can we expect it to last much longer than the 13 episode season which has already been completed? To get a taste of the show check out the 3 minute trailer embedded at the bottom of this post.

The show’s premise is pretty solid. In word … time travel! The series’s first episode, “A Stitch in Time”, begins in the futuristic world of 2077, but the main character of Kiera, played by Rachel Nichols, travels back in time to the year 2012 along with a bunch of death row inmates. In a plot that’s not unlike the 90s TV series Time Tracks, but without the British hologram lady, she burdens herself with tracking them down.

Along the way she runs into a young Alec, who it would turn out is the owner of a major corporation in the future. Oh yes and corporations now run the country because they bailed out the Government. In a bizarre twist of fate this sort of reverse bail out seems to be the crux of the political intrigue of the show, which will surely blur the lines between hero and villain as we progress.

Unlike many Canadian made shows, this one actually takes place in Canada! How strange to have Vancouver as the central hub of activity in this present and future world, but it sure is nice that we’re not just pretending the streets of Vancouver are New York, Detroit, Los Angeles or even Caprica. So Canada was bought out by corporations but… what about the United States? Hopefully we annexed them at some point.

It becomes immediately obvious that the world of the future is already fated to be, that the world Kiera comes from is the result of her impact on the past, so we come to ask ourselves just who the two people in the show who are old enough to have been alive in 2012 might be? We get the answer to one of their identities, and no doubt that of the other will follow at some point as well. I’m going to go ahead and guess that it’s the only other young male we’ve seen to date, but time will tell…

The pilot seems to spare no expense when it comes to action and effects, something we can only hope will keep up for the rest of the series. Naturally we shouldn’t expect to see as much of the future as we did in this first episode, but Kiera’s interesting cybernetic upgrades and fancy suit should make for some interesting CG. Can a show who’s revenue is derived from exclusively Canadian sources continue to sustain itself for long? The series’s continued success will likely depend on it finding a home on some American channel before the end of the year.

A press release tells us that the ratings for the premiere broke records, and if this large audience was as impressed with the show as I was I think it’s safe to say we can count on them continuing to support the show, and these numbers will surely garner the attention of someone south of the border. That’s the Canada/US border I’m speaking of!

The show’s cast seems quite competent. Rachel Nichols does a good job of carrying the show as someone who’s proven to be a capable action star and who’s looks will surely keep certain demographics tuned in. Victor Webster will likely keep the ladies tuned in as well. Supporting cast members like Eric Knudsen, Lexa Doig and William “Cancer Man” Davis all seem well suited for their roles.

Overall I was pretty blown away by the pilot. I’m a sucker for time travel and this show seems to be doing a great job of dealing with it, and beyond that they seem to have some good writing and action to keep audiences coming back. Show runner Simon Barry has put a great show together. Here’s hoping it has continued success throughout it’s first season and beyond.

Here’s a sample of the show so you can get a feel for whether or not it’s for you:

Canadians can download the first episode, “A Stitch in Time”, for free in the iTunes store.

Canceled Part 3: A Maximum Letdown Special

William Talley — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:13:38 +0000

Today, we celebrate Memorial Day. A day where we commemorate the sacrifices our brave soldiers have made for this country. However, we, as nerds, must also commemorate something else: games that have been canceled and left on the cutting room floor. Bow your heads in silence before reading this article.

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight
What it Was: Day 1 Studios (Fear 3) was working on a game based on the 1989 Elseworlds tale, Gotham By Gaslight which saw a steampunk version of the caped crusader take on Jack the Ripper in Victorian era version of Gotham. According to recently released concept art and footage, the game would see Batman travel around a foggy Gotham with cape footage similar to the Arkham Asylum games. The Caped Crusader could even take to the rooftops via a high jump.
What Happened: Day 1 tried to pitch the game to publisher THQ, but it was rejected for unknown reasons, and sometime later we wound up with the awesome Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.
My Thoughts: Maybe it was for the better, after all, before this game, we were stuck with some pretty absymal games, so maybe it would have been a good idea to create an experience based on the core Batman mythologies. Then again, this had some potential, and it seems like the assets and art direction could live on as Arkham City DLC.

Untitled Avengers Game Published by THQ
What it Was: A tie in to this summer’s Avengers movie. According to footage that was leaked late last year, players would take control of The Hulk, Iron Man, and others in a first-person view as they battled throughout New York.
What Happened: THQ shut the doors of its Australian studio, which developed the MX vs ATV series (in effect the series was also canceled) and Avatar: The Last Airbender in a “strategic realignment of its internal studio development teams” intended to shift the company’s focus away from games based on licensed kids’ properties and movie tie ins. This despite the fact that such titles are always easy money makers for any publisher. Turns out the Avengers game was just one of the titles in development at this studio. Maybe THQ is allergic to comic book based games (see above).
My thoughts: Or maybe THQ is allergic to money. With their current financial problems (and rumors of a Marvel buying them out and renaming them Marvel Interactive), canceling a high profile title like this is the last thing they want to do. Even if the game was a clunker, the name recognition alone would have helped it move some serious units.

Timesplitters 4
What it Was: The fourth entry in the fan favorite FPS series, and its current generation debut. Little was known about the game, except that it would likely spoof other FPS games and have lots of monkeys.
What Happened: Since the game was announced back in 2007, series creator Free Radical was purchased by Crytek and was renamed Crytek UK. Info on the game has since went dark as Crytek focused on other titles, namely Crysis 2 and 3. In late 2011, Timesplitters: Future Perfect lead programmer Tristan Reidford stated that TFP didn’t do as well as they hoped, so Timesplitters 4 had been put on the backburner. Last April, a company spokesman confirmed that the titles was ‘not in development’.
My Thoughts: This is a shame, as Timesplitters was one of the most original and creative FPS franchises of last generation. The map editor, level variety, and sheer amount of mutliplayer options (IMHO) would put this game above Halo and Call of Duty in terms of multiplayer action. Hopefully it’s appearance on this list is a bit premature. A Crytek-engine powered Timesplitters 4 would make the top of any FPS fan’s ‘must have’ list.

Marvel 2099: One Nation Under Doom
What it was: A Playstation action game based upon Marvel’s 2099 Universe, specifically the One Nation Under Doom storyarc. Players would take control of characters like Punisher 2099 and battle the forces of evil. Mindscape, the game’s developer/publisher declared that the game would be one of the company’s top 5 games of 1996.
What Happened: Regardless of the fact that the game was demoed at the 1996 E3 and San Diego ComicCon, and VHS and CD-Rom videos of the game were sent to various gaming magazines, the game’s development was put on hold due to the studio having financial difficulties.
My Thoughts: Seems like THQ isn’t the only one who seems to be allergic to comic-book based games. Still, it seems that if done right, this game would be an early Playstation hit.

Star Fox 2
What it Was: A SNES Sequel to one of the most graphically advanced games of the 16-bit era. Powered the the Super FX2-chip, Players would join Fox McCloud and the crew (plus 2 new female characters) as they battled Andross throughout the Lyat system, and control new vehicles. A new non-linear map would have players taking on threats as they come and choosing each mission.
What Happened: Although the game was nearly complete, Nintendo shuttered it to focus on the Nintendo 64.
My Thoughts: What a painful loss. At the time, the SNES needed as may high profile releases to keep it afloat. Although we got Starfox 64, it just doesn’t make up for what could have been. A Super Nintendo version of FX Fighter had also been canceled, making theSNES port of Doom and Yoshi’s Island the only 2 games released that used the Super Fx2.

Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoes
What it Was: A Super Nintendo Rom Hack/sequel to one of the most beloved RPGs of the 16 bit generation. Using the same graphics as the original, this independently developed not-for-profit sequel would pit Chrono and the gang against a returned Lavos, and it would even include plot tie-ins to Chrono Cross.
What Happened: Developer Kajar Laboratories got hit with a cease and desist letter from Square-Enix, although a playable alpha build is floating around on the internet. Many fans and media outlets, including The Guardian, Cnet, and Wired, expressed their disappointment in the game’s cancellation. A similar project, Chrono Resurrection, which was a remake of the original game was also hit with a cease and desist letter.
My Thoughts: While I can understand Square-Enix wanting to protect its intellectual property, this move comes off as a bit dickish, considering first of all the game wasn’t intended as a commercial release and Square isn’t doing much with the franchise anyhow save for the occasional re-release. A better route would have been for Square to pick up the project, and release it via Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, WiiWare, or Steam. Given the popularity of retro-style releases, including Square’s own Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, it would have been a great way to revive the long dormant franchise.

Shenmue Online
What it Was: An online installment of the cult hit Shenmue developed primarily for the Chinese Market. Players will join one of three clans, taking missions from them. Characters from the series like Ryo and Lan Di will also appear as well. The game’s world was said to be bigger than the console games with over 1200 buildings.
What Happened: JC Entertainment, the Korean company who was co-developing the game with Sega Japan had pulled out of development. This lead to a legal battle as to who owned the rights of the game as JC had developed half of the game’s assets. While its cancellation was never outright confirmed by Sega, reports have appeared on sites such as Wired and Destructoid.
My Thoughts: Maybe Yu Suzuki can get back to working on Shenmue 3! #wishfulthinkingIknow

Sonic X-treme
What it Was: Sonic’s would be Sega Saturn debut. Players would once again take control of the blue Hedgehog throughout 3D tube-style environments as he battles Dr. Robotnik. The Hedgehog would have several new moves, including a ring toss. Players could also take control of Tails, Knuckles, and a new character, Tiara, each who had their own style of gameplay.
What Happened: This is where things get complicated. Before we go any further, I should mention the game had a strict release date of December 1996 and Saturn/PC development had begun midway through 1995. Keep this in mind while you read the next three paragraphs. I should also mention that the game was at first intended to be a Genesis game, and then a 32X game before it was to be a Saturn/PC game. It was moved from the Genesis because the system was nearing the end of the it’s life cycle, so it was moved to the Sega 32X and given the name Sonic Mars. The developers considered adding characters from the Saturday morning cartoon and rendering the game in a 2.5d style. However, the graphical engine that the developers wanted to put into the game became too much for the system to handle. Since the 32X wasn’t exactly flying off store shelves anyway, the decision was made to move the game to the Sega Saturn and PC.

On the PC, two separate teams worked on the game. One team, led by Chris Senn and Ofer Alon developed the main game engine, which took place in tubular levels in which Sonic could run on the walls. Another team, led by Chris Coffin developed a free-roaming arena-style engine. A separate engine was used for the boss battles, which incorporated top-down and side-scrolling views while using the prerendered sprites made by Senn’s team. When representatives from Sega of Japan visited the developers, they were unimpressed by outdated footage of the game and left without viewing the latest version. However, they liked the footage shown using the boss engine, and wanted the game to resemble that. This proved to be crushing for both teams, as The Sega of Japan people didn’t view the latest build of Senn’s engine and Coffin’s people now had even more work to do.

Oh, and that boss game engine I mentioned? Yuji Naka made it into another game altogether, a little known title known as Nights: Into Dreams. I’m sure a few of you Sega Fans are familiar with it. Senn’s team and Coffin’s team had to hustle to make the December 1996 deadline, so they ended up working 16-hour days. Since Sega wanted them to make the game in the style of the Night’s engine, they requested it to use as a starting point. Unfortunately, Yuji Naka, the creator of Nights refused to grant permission and even threatened to leave the company if the Sonic game was released using the Nights engine. This, despite the fact that the engine was originally developed with Sonic in mind. So, Senn’s team hammered away on the game using their engine, hoping to get approval from Sega’s PC department. Sadly, it would be turned down once again, and Alon would end up leaving Sega. Coffin came down with an illness leaving him unable to complete the project.

Desperate to have a Sonic game out on the Saturn before the holiday rush and unable to complete the project in time for it’s December 1996 release date, Sega decided to cancel the game altogether and commission UK developer Traveller’s Tales to make a Saturn port of Sonic 3D Blast. By the way, Sonic 3D blast was a Genesis title despite them passing on making Sonic X-treme for the system. With that, the franchise began the long nosedive into mediocrity.

My Thoughts: What could have been the Saturn’s biggest title is instead bought down by Yuji Naka being a dick and company politics. This would eventually end up being one of the many nails in the coffin of the Sega Saturn, and the Dreamcast wouldn’t fare much better. Say what you will about Microsoft, but the Xbox brand is nearly 11 years old and the company is still going strong as a console manufacturer.

Sadness
What it Was: A Wii survival horror title taking place in pre-World War 1 Eastern Europe. Players take control of Maria Lengyel, a Victorian era aristocrat who son had been struck blind in a train accident. She would have to guide him to safety as he is exhibiting increasingly strange behavior. The game would feature themes based on Slavic Mythology and deal with subjects such as narcolepsy and nyctophobia. The game would make use of the Wii’s motion sensing capabilities. For instance, players would wield the wiimote like a torch to scare off rats and pick up items by reaching out with the controller. The game would contain a branching storyline along with 10 different endings. There would be no in-game menus or on-screen HUD to further help immerse players in the storyline.
What Happened: The game had been announced by developer Nibris back when the Wii had been known as the Revolution, and some concept art was shown. However, from 2007 onwards, the game had neither a playable demo, trailer, or even a screenshot to its name, leading to accusations of the game being Vaporware. These actions were supported even further when co-developer Frontline Studios announced that it had left the project due to creative differences, and the game had been pushed back to 2009. Furthermore, Nibris missed many of it’s announcements such as a trailer for the game by late 2007 and an appearance at the 2008 Game Developer’s Conference. In 2009, N-Europe interviewed Adam Artur Antolski, an ex-Nibris employee. He revealed that constant disputes with developer Frontline Studios over the game’s direction, and since they kept missing deadlines since they couldn’t agree on anything. According to Antolski, by the end of the first year of development, all the team managed to complete was the script, some concept designs, and one 3d object. Needless to say the game didn’t make it’s projected fall 2009 release date. While the company didn’t outright say the game was canceled, the Nibris website was taken down the following year, and Arkadiusz Reikowski, a music composer for the game released some of his unfinished work to the public and confirmed the game was no longer in development. Nibris itself was transformed into a coordination for the European Center of Games, canceling three other Wii/Nintendo DS projects they had in the works.
My Thoughts: Say what you will about Lionhead and Peter Molyneux, but even if he doesn’t deliver on everything promised, he at least puts out some of his procduct. Nibris not only didn’t deliver a product, it couldn’t even deliver proof they were even working on a project. A shame too, because if Sadness had been done right, it could have been Nintendo’s answer to Heavy Rain.

Final Fantasy VII Playstation 3 Remake
What it Was: A remake of what was arguable one of the biggest and most important video games ever released using the power of the Playstation 3.
What happened:
Good news: The project hasn’t been canceled.
Bad News: It hasn’t been canceled because it never existed in the first place.
Let me explain. At E3 2005, a demo was shown of the Final Fantasy 7 opening scene running on Playstation 3 hardware. This, along with a collection of projects centered around Final Fantasy 7 (including the movie Advent Children and the game Crisis Core) lead people to speculate that a remake was in the works. However, Square-Enix all but confirmed that this wasn’t the case.
My Thoughts: With this year being the 15th anniversary of Final Fantasy 7′s U.S release, you’d think Square would do something to commemorate it. Alas, this isn’t the case.

While you’re watching sports and eating hot dogs, remember all our brave troops who gave their lives for this country. Also, remember all those would-be-great video games that have been condemned to development hell and eventually canceled. Your regular $20GOTW and Lost Classics will return later this week.

Beastly to appear in Care Bears: Welcome to Care-A-Lot

Adam — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:13:43 +0000

With the June 2nd premiere of Care Bears: Welcome to Care-A-Lot only a week away we have found an early review of the pilot episode “Compassion—-NOT!” by The Rock Father.

Fans have been wondering if favourite villain charcters like Beastly, Shreeky and No Heart from the 80s Nelvana cartoon would be making an appearance and it can now be confirmed that a villain named Beastly will indeed be in the show. Based on his appearance it doesn’t seem like much more than the name will be similar to the old character, but we will know more in a week’s time.

The episode’s title “Compassion—-NOT!” is delightfully trendy with it’s reference to 1992′s most annoying catch phrase, the Wayne’s World inspired “Not!”. The plot seems to be split between a girl named Penny who visits Care-A-Lot and Grumpy Bear getting up to some antics. Check out the review for a full summary.

Movie Posters: Moonrise Kingdom

Crazy — Sun, 27 May 2012 10:00:13 +0000

The Powet Top 5 – Top 5 Revelations from the MOTU Classics Bios

Crazy — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:00:26 +0000

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

Starting at the end of 2008, Mattel started the collector line known as Masters of the Universe Classics (MOTUC). The line was meant to be a modern interpretation of the vintage figures. It was intended to celebrate all iterations of the franchise including the vintage MOTU series, Princess of Power (PoP), New Adventures of He-Man (NA), and the modern 200x Mike Young Productions interpretation of the series. A lengthy all-inclusive story was plotted out to give the line a cohesive story to tell in the bios for each figure. The subsequent story told thus far has had a some twists that really threw us for a loop. Here is my top 5 list of revalations for the MOTU Classics bios.

I am including each of the relevant bios for each point, but I tried not to overwhelm you all with too much reading.

5. Existence of prejudice and racism in Eternia

Sy-Klone
Heroic Fist-Flying Tornado
Real Name: Sy-Klone Son of Dy-Lex
Protector of the Legacy Stones and the Last Defender of Anwat Gar, Sy-Klone joined the Masters of the Universe after the Stones were destroyed and his mission completed. He wear the last remaining TECH vest armor created by his Gar ancestors to terrorize Eternia after the Great Wars. Its build-in wind rockets allow the user to create powerful vortexes of spinning energy as a defensive weapon or to fly through the air. Sy-Klone has upgraded his armor to also include cosmic radar which lets him sense the physical presence of evil long before others. Sy-Klone’s wind powers are radar chest make his combat ready!

Keldor
Apprentice of Hordak
Real name: Keldor of the house of Miro
Banished from the royal palace, in part due to distrust for the rare blue-skinned Gar race, Prince Keldor became an outcast. He travelled Eternia seeking knowledge and guidance, eventually discovering the ancient Spirit of Hordak. From him, Keldor learned of the dark arts and came to realize that to truly unite Eternia he would need to take command of the planet himself. He gathered an army of fellow outcasts and led them into battle against his brother, Captain Randor. Eventually defeated and near death, Keldor once again turned to Hordak who, in exchange for his own freedom, agreed to save Keldor’s life by merging him with Demo-Man, twisting Keldor into Skeletor – Lord of Destruction!

Thunder Punch He-Man
Heroic Leader with a Power Punch
Real Name: Adam of the House of Randor
When Skeletor banished Randor to Despondos, he used Faker to convince the royal court that He-Man was not only a Gar but also responsible for the King’s “death”. This ruse turned the people of Eternia against He-Man and he and the Masters soon became renegades in their own land. Driven to the underground caves of Tundaria, the Masters reformed as an elite attack squad. They returned to the surface and found not only Skeletor ruling Eternia, but King Hsss and a newly returned Hordak also challenging for control. To enhance his strength for these new battles ahead, He-Man used the Powers of Grayskull to energize his weapons giving them a new Thunder Punch to combat evil.

These three bios give us some insight into the racism and prejudice of Eternians against the Gar race. First, we learn that Anwat Gar was, at one time, at odds with Eternia after the Great Wars, using their TECH vests to terrorize Eternians. Then we see that prejudice and distrust acted out upon a younger Keldor, starting him on his path toward evil. Finally we see it again, acted out upon He-Man after Faker convinces what remains of the Eternian royalty that he is a Gar. For soemthing that started as a children’s property, these are very adult themes being played out. Since the MOTU Classics line is aimed at collectors, these bios are not limited by the need to appeal to children. This is most evident by the events of the number one choice in this list. Keep reading…

4. Skeletor defeats Hordak setting the plot for the New Adventures of He-Man storyline

Optikk
Space Mutant Spy for Skeletor
Real Name: (Pronounced through a series of blinks)
A Space Mutant from the foggy polar region of the planet Denebria, Optikk’s spyeye eyeball is specially adapted to see through the dense Denebrian fog of his homeworld, making him an ideal spy. He carries a Photon Neutralizer which has made him one of the most feared of the Space Mutants in the Tri-Solar System. Optikk allied himself with Skeletor shortly after the Lord of Destruction defeated Hordak and turned his ambition to the Horde Empire, forming a coalition of mutants and outcasts to conquer the universe. Optikk serves Skeletor by keeping an eye on He-Man and all the Galactic Protectors of the planet Primus.

Icarius
Daring Space Ace
Real Name: TC Icarius Kaz
A great pilot from the cloud city of Levitan on planet Primus, Icarius is equiped and ready to “flip” into battle at a moment’s notice. After his 18th birthday, he left home to join the Galactic Protectors. Rising to the rank of Lieutenant, Icarius traveled with Captain Hydron on his quest to find the legendary twin warriors prophesied to defeat the Horde Empire. Arriving on the distant planet Eternia shortly after the end of the Second Ultimate Battleground, they recuited not only He-Man and She-Ra, but several other members of the Masters of the Universe who were eager to pursue Skeletor to the stars. Nicknamed “Flipshot”, Icarius utilizes a battle helmet, back-mounted jet pack and concussion grenade wrist rockets in battle against Skeletor and his new Space Mutant army.

Most of this speaks for itself, but it was no less surprising when it was first revealed. After the reveal, it was discovered that the 200x Mike Young Productions MOTU show had intended to follow the formula that the first two seasons focused on the Masters and Skeletor, while Season 2 would focus on the Snake-Men, Season 3 on Hordak and the Horde. The surprise was that Season 4 was roughly planning to focus on the storyline from the New Adventures of He-Man. I think it is particularly interesting how the story in the bios transitions from fighting the space mutants in the original show, to fighting the rest of the Horde Empire. The Space Mutants are outcasts and become Skeletor’s army to fight for dominance over the Horde Empire. He-Man AND She-Ra are both recruited to the planet Primus where I am sure we will meet Mara, Master Cebrian and all the rest. I thought this was a great plot twist and really raises the stakes with the added elements in the story.

3. Teela’s origin

Sorceress
Heroic Guardian of Castle Grayskull
Real Name: Teela’na
Growing up in a small Eternian village, Teela’na helped defend her people from a Horde Scout ship that had discovered her planet on a magic locating mission. Recognized for her loyalty, courage and wisdom, the current aging Sorceress chose Teela’na to take up her title and defend Castle Grayskull’s secrets for the next generation. During her reign as Sorceress, Teela’na not only cast the spell to clone the Sword of He, she was also cloned herself by Skeletor who desired a magic-wielding bride to pass on his legacy. With the help of Man-At-Arms, Teela’na saved the cloned child. And it was through her undying love and devotion to this baby girl that Teela’na gave her up to Man-At-Arms, awaiting the day when her daughter would become the new Sorceress and Guardian of Castle Grayskull’s secrets.

This origin runs counter to previous versions of Teela’s background. In the original series, it wasn’t terribly clear who her father was, but it was established that the Sorceress was her mother. In the 200x Mike Young Productions series, the Sorceress had a relationship with a lost soldier suffering from injuries and amnesia. It would later be revealed after the series ended abruptly that the intended father was Fisto, brother of Duncan, Man-At-Arms, after he deserted the Eternian army. In retrospect, this causes some amusement since she called Duncan her father and Fisto her uncle toward the end of the series when it was really the opposite. This new origin removes most of those familial ties and seemingly a great deal of character development. I’m not sure this was a change for the better.

2. Evil-Lyn’s fate

Battleground Evil-Lyn
Evil Witch of Eternia
Real Name: Evelyn Morgan Powers
Cast aside by her secret husband after his transformation, Evil-Lyn sent their infant son into the future and plotted to overthrow Skeletor by releasing his enemies from their dimensional prisons. In a series of miscalculations, she helped free the Snake Men, Hordak and Gygor – increasing her adversaries threefold! After Randor and Miro returned from Despondos, the Three Towers rose and Evil-Lyn found herself again allied with Skeletor during the Second Ultimate Battleground. At the end, defeated and stripped of her powers by the new Sorceress of Grayskull, Evil-Lyn used the Cosmic Key and the power of the Central Tower to return to the future to find a new life with her long lost child – the son of Skeletor!

There is a lot going on in this bio. The revelation that Evil-Lyn had an infant son with Keldor/Skeletor is by far the biggest. Unfortunately, it is not clear if she had the child with Keldor or Skeletor. It stands to reason that it was before the transformation, after which, she sent the child to the future. This explains quite a bit about her scheming nature among Skeletor’s followers. It is a little strange, though, that Skeletor still went to the trouble of cloning the Sorceress for a magic-wielding bride, when he had Evil-Lyn all along. Being stripped of her powers could explain the skin tone change from yellow to green. If her powers somehow influenced the pigment of her skin, it might stand to reason that the color would return to the green of the Faceless One, her father, when powerless. Her flight into the future holds great promise for future stories.

Comparison image from blogdoale.net

1. The Demise of Duncan

Snake Man-At-Arms
Transformed Master of Weapons
Real Name: Duncan of the Viper Clan
Duncan heroically served King Randor throughout their battles with Skeletor and the Snake Men as Eternia’s chief war strategist and weapons maker. Exposed to the Serpent’s Ring, Duncan was magically transformed by King Hsss into a Snake Man permanently. Under this evil spell, he used his genius to create great and horrific machines of war for the Snake Men as they battled for control of Eternia. Eventually Duncan was forced to battle against Clamp Champ, who had since replaced him as Royal Man-At-Arms. In their epic final duel during the Second Ultimate Battleground, Duncan was mortally wounded, but not before momentarily recovering his humanity thanks to a spell cast by his daughter, Teela, the new Sorceress of Grayskull.

I had to completely rewrite this list when Snake Man-At-Arms’ bio and packaging was revealed. I was dumbfounded by the events from his transformation being permanent to Clamp Champ taking over as Man-At-Arms to Duncan’s final fate. It is rare for such a central character in any mythos to succumb to such a fate as being turned by the enemy and then, even worse, meeting your end by your former friends and family who were given no other choice.

Let us know in the comments if you agree or disagree!

Happy Towel Day!

Sean "TheOrange" Corse — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:00:17 +0000

Powet.TV would like to remind you that May 25th is Universal Towel Day. Do you know where yours is?

If you don’t know the importance of your towel, then today is a good day to dive into the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Powetcast, our first-ever podcast that dives into the world of the original radio play, and a fan interpretation of the materials by Not Them Productions originally recorded in 1999-2000 — bringing together the disparate elements of the radio plays and the books which came later.

Also, deep in the show notes, you’ll find Mr. Adams’ links to Doctor Who, a graphic version of the H2G2 text adventure, store links to buy the all three “phases” of the radio show from “Primary” to “Quintessential”, and more!

So what are you waiting for? Grab your towel and start listening!

Hithchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Powetcast: Fit the First

Enjoy These Avengers Memes and GIFs

Zac Shipley — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:08:07 +0000

The Avengers has become a worldwide phenomenon, and a huge supply of official images and bootleg copies of the movie have lead to a deluge of animated gifs and memes.

Forum members LokiPoki and BenTheo have been posting them in our official Avengers discussion thread here. You can continue reading this post to see all the images so far. We’ll update with more as they come in.

Spoiler Warning: many of these images are from later scenes in the movie.

Since these are sweeping around the internet, its hard to determine the origin. If you made one of these or know someone who did, just drop us a line in the comments and we’ll update the post to reflect it.

The Week After Diablo 3

Sindra — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:00:36 +0000

It’s been over a week since Diablo 3 launched to the ravenous public. And after 12 years of waiting for the second sequel to one of Blizzard’s top tier franchises to finally be released, who couldn’t expect some bumps along the way. Between crashing servers, players already finding their accounts hacked, and the now meme-worthy “Error 37″ debacle, the patience of many gamers has been put to the test. (a very online-oriented test too, mind you….no single-player offline tests here)

However, Blizzard was confident in their ability to weather the storm, and announced that the game has broken PC gaming records, with sales going beyond 3.5 million (well, 2.4 million, if you subtract the copies given for free to WoW subscribers) within the first 24 hours of the game’s release. (Starcraft 2 only saw a opening-day sale count of around 1 million, to put into perspective) While not mentioning sales in actual dollar signs, Blizzard is still making sure that they are dedicated to providing a steady and stable gaming environment for all Diablo 3 players.

Just ignore those “Server Down” messages. They’ll go away eventually.

What have been your experiences with Diablo 3 thus far? Let us know in the comments!

Famicom Dojo Podcast: Developer Worship

Sean "TheOrange" Corse — Fri, 25 May 2012 07:49:56 +0000

What companies or individuals make games that you will buy just because their name is on it? Vinnk and Sean examine the perils and the pitfalls of Developer Worship, and wonder aloud if there’s really anything our favorite personalites and companies can do to make us hate them. We list some of our favorites: Harmonix, Square and Enix (before they were one company), BioWare, Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, Grasshopper Manufacture and Suda 51 and more! Which ones are your favorites, and why?

Direct Link: Famicom Dojo Podcast 47: Developer Worship

Check out the KEEP PLAYING: Samba de Amigo review, a Guitar Freaks fail, and get this episode on Stitcher Radio in our show notes:
http://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/47

Bring home your own copy of the Famicom Dojo Season 1 DVD today:
http://famicomdojo.tv/store/fdojos1.php

Turrican Anthology Project is a Go & Updates!

Sindra — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:00:21 +0000

Last month, I reported on a fantastic fundraising project started by German video game composer, Chris Huelsbeck (Turrican, The Great Giana Sisters, R-Type, etc.). The fundraiser, based on Kickstarter, was a project started to raise funds for a new fully-orchestrated soundtrack anthology dedicated as a tribute to all three of the Turrican games.

Within 2 weeks of the project start, the entire goal of raising $75,000 in order to fund production was fully amassed, of which Huelsbeck was excited for. However, what he perhaps wasn’t prepared for was for it to nearly double it’s original goal. With less than 2 weeks left of the June 3rd cutoff, the fund has nearly broken $140,000. With this extra support from fans and backers, Huelsbeck has increased the pledge rewards as a thanks for any and all contributions, from signed exclusive merchandise to early beta releases of the anthology music, to a hand-crafted music box featuring Turrican music!

It just goes to show how much dedicated fans are willing to give to pay homage to the great loves of our childhood.

Rumors of New Castlevania for the 3DS

Sindra — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:16:53 +0000

The past 48 hours have been a series of buzzings about a supposed new Castlevania game for the Nintendo 3DS handheld. Website GoNintendo’s rumor mill has been churning out speculation about the supposed handheld title, called Castlevania: Mirror of Fate. According to these rumors, the game will be developed by Castlevania: Lords of Shadow producer Davis Cox, will be 2D, will be a part of the Lords storyline, and will be co-operative play with 2 starting characters.

Cox himself, who took the Castlevania reigns starting with Lords from previous long-time producer Koji “IGA” Igarashi, is currently keeping tight lipped on whether or not any of the rumors are true, as he is prodded by obviously curious Castlevania fans on his Twitter.

Konami has gone on record saying that there will be a Castlevania reveal at this year’s E3 conference, though most believed it to mean the official drop of a Lords of Shadow 2 game. If rumors prove true, it might be a dual-wield info drop for Castlevania this summer.

GI Joe: Retaliation delayed nine months for 3D conversion

Crazy — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:57:21 +0000

The scheduled release date of GI Joe: Retaliation has been moved back nine months from June 29th, 2012 to March 13, 2013. According the Deadline, the reason is reportedly a decision to do a post-production conversion to 3D.

Choice quote:

We’re going to do a conscientious 3D job because we’ve seen how it can better box office internationally, … Jim Cameron did all of Titanic‘s 3D in post — and look how well that movie turned out.

As a fan, I’m utterly disappointed. As a business decision, I think they are foolishly ignoring the positive hype they’ve worked so hard to build around this movie. The move may allow the film to perform better, though, due to fewer blockbuster movies opening around the same time and the better performance of 3D films internationally, added to the increased cost per ticket.

I am curious to see how this year’s JoeCon will procede since it seemed pretty clearly scheduled to coincide very closely with the movie’s release. You can imagine the fan disappointment in that circle. How about Hasbro? They have an entire toy line planned for release this summer with no movie to support it for another nine months. I’m going to go ahead and call this a totally inconsiderate move by Paramount to all of its partners.

Masterpiece Sideswipe revealed

Crazy — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:34:08 +0000

A scanned page from a Japanese magazine has been floating about today revealing the next figure in the Transformers Masterpiece line in Japan. That figure is MP-12 Lambor, or Sideswipe, as he is known state-side. The image looks like a cgi rendering of the figure. It is interesting to note that the image shows him being in scale with the MP-10 Optimus Prime figure. A silhouette is also shown of MP-13 whose identity is still a mystery.

Movie Posters: Men In Black III

Crazy — Sun, 20 May 2012 10:00:07 +0000

Powet Top 5: Top 5 Squaresoft RPGs NOT Named Final Fantasy

William Talley — Sat, 19 May 2012 17:08:16 +0000

Welcome to the Powet Top 5, where we explore the top (and bottom) 5 items we think are relevant to any of a variety of topics that span the imagination. Sit back, read, and respond

Everyone knows that what Capcom and SNK are to fighting, EA is to sports, and Epic is to shooters, Squaresoft, now called Square-Enix (you know, since merging with Enix), is to RPGs. Or at least they used to be at a time. While their most recognizable title is Final Fantasy, they have created other classic RPG franchises. This article celebrates 5 of them. By the way, this list is specifically focused on Squaresoft and not Square-Enix, just in case you’re wondering why Dragon Quest or Illusion of Gaia isn’t on here.

1. Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger is perhaps the most well beloved 16-bit RPG. It’s time travel plot, bright colorful graphics, team-up attacks, and multiple endings made this a game to remember, even almost two decades after its released. ALong with numerous re-releases and remakes (most recently on the Nintendo DS), it spawned a sequel entitled Chrono Cross. While Chrono Cross was great in its own right, many fans will argue that it lacked the charm of its predecessor. While only time will tell (no pun intended) if we will see a new Chrono game, the original is available on the Playstaton Network, Wii Virtual Console, and on Nintendo DS for anyone who has yet to experience this classic.

2. Kingdom Hearts
10 years ago, if you had told me that Square was planning a crossover between Final Fantasy and Disney, I would have laughed right in your face. However, as time went on, the more that players seen of the game, the more awesome it looked. When the finished product hit the Playstation 2, it was nothing short of a classic. This action RPG had players taking the role of a kid named Sora, and teaming up with Donald Duck and Goofy in order to battle a mysterious enemy known as the Heartless. Your mission would take you across several different worlds, each inspired by one of Disney’s classic movies. The sequel was even better, as you took on a menace known as the Nobodies. Kingdom Hearts 2 took players to new and unexpected worlds, including Tron and Pirates of the Caribbean. Various prequels and spinoffs were released on portable systems, and a new KH game, one of the few games to chronologically take place after KH2, entitled Dream Drop Distance will be hitting the Nintendo 3DS (get it?) later this year. Of course, fans patiently await an actual Kingdom Hearts 3.

3. Seiken Densetsu (Mana)
The first Seiken Densetsu game was a game boy title that hit U.S shores as Final Fantasy Adventure in order to capitalize upon the increasingly popular Final Fantasy (this was a common practice, as the first 3 games in the Saga series made it over here under the name Final Fantasy Adventure), however it was the second that would be the real standout in the series. Released for the Super Nintendo under the name Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 2 had a major influence on RPGs on both sides of the pacific. It’s command ring menu system allowed players to change their equipment, cast spells, and use items without the need to go into a menu screen, and it continues to be used in games such as Mass Effect. Also, you fought alongside two AI control teammates whom you can assign to other players thanks to use of a multitap. Sadly, Secret of Mana would be as good as it gets for the series. Seiken Densetsu 3 never made it to U.S shores outside of a fan translation, and after the Playstation Legend of Mana, subsequent releases in the series weren’t well received.

4. Xenogears
This Playstation RPG broke nearly all conventions in the genre. It’s innovative combat system, mech combat, anime cinematics, and mindfuck of a plot made it a sleeper hit with gamers everywhere. Taking control of Fei Fong Wong, a mysterious drifter, you discover the truth behind your origins. However, with each plot twist thrown, gamers are kept guessing throughout the game. The storyline contains themes inspired by on Judaism, Star Wars, The Old Testament, and the works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Because of its heavy religious overtones, it almost wasn’t released in the U.S, but thankfully it was, and gamers were better off for it. A Japan-only book known as Perfect Works revealed that Xenogears was episode 5 in a series of 6 episodes. However, there has been no official sequel to Xenogears. While the Namco Bandai published Xenosaga was rumored to be a prequel to Xenogears, series creator Tetsuya Takahashi said that the two were unrelated even though they share similar themes. Who knows if there will be a real follow up to Xenogears, although it may work better as one game anyhow.

5. Vagrant Story
This Playstation action-rpg epic was another sleeper hit. Playing as Ashley Riot, a riskbreaker, you set out to the lost city of Lea Monde on a mission to clear your name and stop an ancient conspiracy in this fantasy-espionage title. It’s innovative targeting-grid based combat system, heavy emphasis on puzzle solving, and weapon crafting make this something unique. It’s compelling plot hooked players from beginning to end, and there were even hints that the game took place in Ivalice, a common setting present in Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. While there is still much to learn about the game’s events, there is no word on a sequel, yet the original is available on Playstation Network.

Honorable Mentions: Romancing Saga 1 – 2, Saga Frontier 1 & 2, Parasite Eve, and Front Mission.

MOTU Classics Mekanek revealed, coming in October

Crazy — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:29:14 +0000

An email was supposedly sent out to all Club Eternia subscribers with the above image. I say supposedly because I, and many others, never recieved the email. The image announces Mekanek as an addition to the MOTU Classics line, at long last. As expected, he does not have an extending neck gimmick, but instead comes with neck extension accessories to show off his elongated prosthesis. The accessories will measure 2 and 5 inches a piece. He also comes with the classic styled mace based off the one that came with his vintage figure. Mekanek is slated to be available in October, but that is always subject to change.

This leaves a short list of core characters left. Who is on your must-have list?

Powetcast 120: Sequels To Cars Movies

Zac Shipley — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:31:20 +0000

Dramatic reading of this thread.

Listen live on this page, or subscribe via RSS or iTunes.
Direct Link:Powetcast 120: Sequels To Cars Movies

Lost Classics: Romancing Saga 3 (Super Nintendo)

William Talley — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:00:53 +0000

Romancing Saga 3 is the sixth game in the Saga series. While the Saga series is quite popular in Japan, only a handful of games in the series have made it over to the US. The three game boy games were re-christened Final Fantasy Legend, while the Super Nintendo games (including this one) weren’t released over here at all (of course, I have it on good authority that a translation exists somewhere on the internet) outside of a poorly-received Playstation 2 remake of Romancing Saga 1. It’s a shame too, because despite its differences to Square’s flagship RPG, Final Fantasy fans in the U.S would eat this up.

Whereas the Final Fantasy games had a linear plotline and a set cast of characters, Romancing Saga 3 has somewhat of an open world and several main characters to pick from, each with their own storyline. The plot is to stop the Devil Lords from opening the gate to the abyss, and you will recruit several characters during the course of the game. The stat building system is different as well. Instead of gaining levels, attributes increase depending on how frequently you use them, and you can learn new skills in battle. The music isn’t bad either.

While this game has been available on the Japanese Virtual Console for a while, there is little to no chance of an official U.S translation of this game, which is a shame, because a 3DS remake or a simple reissue could do wonders for this classic entry in the Saga franchise, especially since newer entries have failed to resonate with players as much.

Famicom Dojo Podcast: Matrimony

Sean "TheOrange" Corse — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:25:13 +0000

The idea and practical applications of marriage barely come up in video games. Sure, there’s not much of a place for it in Angry Birds, and it theoretically might be the ultimate goal of dating sims. But what about games where you’re playing as a character or interact with NPCs who just ARE married? Sean and Vinnk (gamers who are, apparently miraculously, each respectively married with children) explore the reasons why games might actually shy away from the trapping of matrimony, and how the few games that do use it (Fable, The Sims, Alan Wake) want to milk it for emotional impact. But how "emotionally impacted" might an 8 year-old gamer feel about such subject matter — and is that right there the reason it’s a subject few developers dare to tread? And when is Mario just going to marry Princess Peach already! How many more times does she need to get kidnapped by Bowser for him to get the hint??

Direct Link: Famicom Dojo Podcast 46: Matrimony

Observe your virtual nuptials, and get the TMNT theme Stuck In Your Head (courtesy of JewWario) in our show notes:
http://famicomdojo.tv/podcast/46

Get a sweet discount on the Famicom Dojo Season 1 DVD if you use promo code “NOSHAME”:
http://famicomdojo.tv/store/fdojos1.php

Care Bears: Welcome to Care-A-Lot Theme Song

Adam — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:19:56 +0000

Here’s what appears to be the theme song for the new Care Bears: Welcome to Care-A-Lot cartoon:

The song can be found on the American Greetings web site playing with the new “Care Bears Cheers For All!” game. The video from the clip above was added separately from other footage. An instrumental version of the tune can also be heard in the background of many of the videos that showed up recently introducing the cast of the new Welcome to Care-A-Lot series. It stands to reason this is the theme song for the show, but there has been no specific confirmation of this. We’ll know for sure come June 2nd at 8am when the show premieres on the Hub. How do you like the new theme song?

Check out the Care Bears section of the Hub web site for some new wallpapers and other cool stuff. I’ve included images of some of those below.