As you may all know, Amazon is devoting today's Gold Box deals entirely to the world of Nintendo. Starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, at $25.99 + free shipping, they're pushing their sweet, sweet product like candy-coated crack to the twitching masses all day and the secret's out.

Normally, you'd have to decipher the clues in the Gold Box listings to figure out what's coming up when-- which isn't exactly the job of Professor Layton -- but thankfully the deal addicted freakazoids on the Amazon forums uncover the truth like Fox Mulder. From here on, the mystery is unraveled and the only questions that remain in this post are, "what are the prices?" and "how is Amy Winehouse still alive?" Those questions will be answered in due time, but until then, enjoy some spoilers.

6AM PDT Yoshi's Island DS (DS) (Reg $29.99)

8AM PDT The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) (Reg $34.99)

10AM PDT Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) (Reg $49.99)

12PM PDT New Super Mario Bros. (DS) (Reg $32.99)

2PM PDT Mario Kart DS (DS) (Reg $34.99)

4PM PDT The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) (Reg $49.99)

6PM PDT Mario Party DS (DS) (Reg $29.99)

8PM PDT Pokemon Diamond (DS) (Reg $33.99)

This isn't something you see everyday: two GOOD (GREAT?) games as Amazon's DotD.

First up, we have the sleeper hit, Gears of War. This was one of those games that kind of slipped in under the radar around the holidays and slowly gained some steam after word-of-mouth spread, saying how fun it was. A lot of you probably don't own this because it's hard to find, due to the small amount of units pressed. It looks like the treasure hunters at Amazon were able to uncover a shipment buried deep in Hangar 51 and now they want you to have a copy for $34.99 + free shipping. Sounds like a pretty good deal, but you're better off waiting a few weeks and picking up Gears of War: FES for $40 and getting all the extra content. Video gaming is a business that moves quick, you have to be on your toes for stuff like this.


Secondly and finally (it's been such a long post), we have this year's hottest exercise training "game," Mass Effect. I've seen this being heavily promoted all over the place, even a HUGE in-store push from Walmart for Mother's Day. It's kind of a kooky, outside-the-box idea that seems to be paying off in spades. I mean, a lot of people have trouble motivating themselves to get off the damn couch and do something; here they're being tricked by a video game. If motivation is what you need, you can get on the train for $34.99 + free shipping. However, the slicker, more streamlined PC version is available for $39.99 + free shipping, so you have some options. Hey, why are there aliens and crap on the box?

As they say, "good things come to those who wait." After a string of sub-par Amazon gaming deals, the sass masters have decided to bestow upon us peons (I read that as "penis," everytime I proofed my words), a shining gem of the fantastic. Sauntering through the miasma of crap games, comes Nathan Drake and his half-tuck, ready to chart a course to your heart.

If you've been on the fence about this game, now is your chance. $39.99 + free shipping is most definitely a solid and inviting price for a game, I think, was one of the best of '07. You especially can't go wrong if you thought Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was lacking in the Awesome Dept. because Nathan Drake is the new Indy. I really don't have much else to say other than, BUY IT NOW!

You're excited, I can tell. Not many games allow you play the role of an angsty Native American mechanic who beats aliens with a wrench about the ass and face. Maybe that's not your bag after Bioshock's amazing depiction of wrench violence, you just can't go back, which I can totally understand. However, Prey also has portals; INTERDIMENSIONAL TRAVEL!! That's right, before The Orange Box's Portal made portaling cool again, Prey was keeping it real. This is the entire reason the game was delayed 10 years...that's hardcore! And all because the technology wasn't ridiculous enough to allow them the ability to have you walk in a spacehole and pop-out on the ceiling to blast some ass. Although, it could've been to let the technology for you to no not totally die in a FPS come to fruition. Either way, you're tingling, I can tell.

I can make jokes and fill the screen with lots of nonsense, but what it all boils down to is, for $14.99 Prey is so friggin worth your time. I hear the multiplayer is pretty decent, allowing for multi-plane deathmatch-a-go-gos and did I mention the single player lets you take control of an angsty Native American mechanic who beats aliens with a wrench about the ass and face? If you're still not sold then you need to go on a vision quest.

Sorry about the small image, but Walmart's website sucks and has the bigger picture in Flash. You can't see me, but I'm shaking my fist in the air and cursing something.

If you hop over to Walmart.com, you can snatch up the Guitar Hero 3 Wired X-plorer Bundle for 360 at the insanely reasonable price of $$39.72 + $.97 shipping or free shipping to a store, but if $.97 is a big deal then you need to sit down so we can chat about life.

I actually picked one of these up a couple weeks ago because the Rock Band guitar drives me insane on Expert difficulty and I thought it would be nice to have a clicking strum bar as well as a 2nd guitar for when my high brow friends come by for some rock and roll parties. If you've been on the fence, like me, for a while you really can't go wrong AND you don't have to worry about batteries -- you can save them for your bedroom toys.

SEE YOU ALL IN SEATTLE!