This Link floor mat looks to be made of linoleum and I’m not sure if it’s actually a place mat for a table but either way it’s retro goodness is oozing. I’ve always loved the look of the original Zelda art (this appears to be from Zelda II). It has a certain cheesiness to it yet it gets me revved up for some adventuring and cave exploring. This can be yours with a Buy It Now price $20 and $6 shipping. A little too steep for me but I’m sure someone wants this badly enough. (Via)
Today is 7/7/2010. That means it is Bungie Day. For those who don’t know, Bungie Day is celebrated every July 7th because the Halo developer has an unnatural obsession with the number 7. They released a special video from the Red Vs. Blue guys and reveled that the fan favorite map, Blood Gulch, is going to be in the new Halo game coming in September, Halo: Reach.The original Blood Gulch (as seen above) was in the first Halo game and was revamped for Halo 2 multiplayer. It never made it into the subsequent games even though there was much fanboy clamoring for it. The other significance of the Blood Gulch is that it was the original setting for the machinama, Red Vs. Blue. So the video below is very appropriate as it gives a great overview of the new/old map and also hints at some exciting changes as well as being quite hilarious if you are into that sort of thing. I have to admit that I let out slight fanboy squeal upon watching it and hopefully you do to.
That right there is a Meta Knight and he is wearing last years platinum prize for Club Nintendo Members. For those not in the know Nintendo has a point system where points are acquired buy purchasing their games and consoles. This program is known as Club Nintendo and after a certain amount of points are acquired you can get some cool Nintendo branded stuff off of the site. Also, when you register 300 and 600 points you can get a Gold or Platinum membership. This entitles you to a free end of the year prize. Hence the awesome plush Mario hat I got last year. June 30th is the last day to try to reach these two tiers of membership so it behooves you to get those games registered and fill out their easy to do surveys. This years prizes have not been announced but I’m holding out for the SNES version of their classic controller for the Wii. Here’s the Japanese Famicom version that Club Nintendo Japan members got a few years back.
Yes, they mash it up real nice…. I played through LittleBigPlanet last year and sold my copy of the game but this may just bring me back into the fold. The teaser image is great as there are definitely some distinctive and iconic silhouettes that can be made out. If you want the guessing game to be over head on over to Media Molecules site and they have all of the heroes and villain Sackboys listed. I got 8…how many can you get? (Via)
This Megaman (Rockman for you Japanophiles) model is set to be released by Kotobukiya in September and can be pre-ordered at my favorite toy dealer Big Bad Toy Store. It’s fully poseable and comes in pieces so you get to put it together (BONUS!!!) This thing is going to look awesome next to my Samus and I’m really digging the retro look of it. Here’s some more shots (especially digging the E Tank one):
This is another piece I’ve picked up recently. My love for Metroid and the sexy heroine Samus Aran started when I was very young. I read about her exploits in the first Nintendo Power
and never actually got my hands on the game until I was much older. Looking back, Nintendo Power was a revolutionary marketing gimmick and my impressionable young self fell for it hook, line and sinker. I mean where else could you get the latest and best info on all of the games you knew you should’ve had but more often than not you would have to resign yourself to renting at best. Nintendo Power offered that hope and the tangible feeling of still being involved in their community. It also fostered the love of Nintendo fanboys that eventually resulted in a passionate and vocal majority today throughout the internet. I can still remember putting the NES Lightgun right up to the screen while playing Duck Hunt and resetting the score number on the bottom of the screen. I then sent a picture of me posing with my triumphantly cheated score into Nintendo power hoping that someone would realize my gaming genius and post my picture in the letters section at the beginning of the magazine. That never happened (the score counter being at zero instead of 1 million probably didn’t help)
Back to the topic at hand though. I really first learned to love the Metroid series when I played the Gameboy Advance games Metroid: Zero Mission and Metroid: Fusion, with Zero Mission being a remake of the original NES Metroid. Through those games I realized the joy and fun of exploring these worlds and opening up new areas by upgrading Samus the heroine. Now to also understand the cultural impact of Metroid we have to look at the fact that in the 80′s videogame protagonists were often dominated by action hero types and were mostly male. I mean take a look at these manly NES carts:
Double the manliness…
The amazing thing about Metroid was the fact that upon beating the game the hero was revealed to be a heroine and the whole time you spent blowing the shit out of aliens a woman was the hard ass in the awesome suit. Here is that amazing reveal:
Needless to say that these games are amazing. Now more recently I discovered the awesome model Garage Kits and the beauty posted above. The problem with Garage Kits is that they are usually limited runs due to the indie nature of them and they are also fairly expensive because of the limited run. Additionally the ones I seem to like (videogame related) are mostly made in Japan. This can make getting them difficult. Upon finding the Dimension Diver Samus Aran I wanted to get it but the normal second hand sellers were out and to get one would have cost upwards of $500. Way too much for my tastes. Like most things I waited for a bit and eventually stumbled upon Tatsu Hobby. This awesome independent seller had recast and manufactured there own versions of the model and were also selling them at a reasonable price. I got it and put it together and it is as awesome as it looks in pictures. The thing I really love about this model is that it has ball joints and therefore articulates at all the major joints. I’ll eventually get around to painting it but for now I’m just happy that I put it together. The only thing that could be better would be if they would come out with all of the Super Smash Bros. Brawl characters on the roster:
This is a great idea and also a great cause. It never ceases to amaze me the community of indie game developers who often make sacrifices both personal and financial to get good games to people. Follow this link to The Humble Indie Bundle and you can donate whatever amount you want and get these 6 indie developed games. The money can be split evenly between the developers and charities involved, Child’s Play being the Penny Arcade duo’s great charity. These are great games and your donation can go to a great cause. Thanks and keep gaming…
This concept art by deviantART user Kalapusa is a prelude to a practical sculpture he will build. This guy has done some amazing sculptural art before with a Piranha Plant from Super Mario Bros.
and a Goomba Trooper:
(nice ass cheeks…)
I can’t wait for the sculpture of this Metroid and I’ll keep you updated when it hits.
Of course anything conceptualized from Nintendo is better than this abortion:
