You all have heard my opinion on the new game Madworld, but there is one other game in production out there that has me even more pumped then the bloody black-n-white; and that' Mushroom Men, developed by none other than Gamecock. Why so pumped, you ask? Well, it could be the largely explorable and beautiful worlds. Or it could be the ability to create your own weapons using human leftovers, such as pencils and paperclips. Or it could be the awesome setting and plot. It could be. But, its definitely one thing; and that's the games music being created by none other than Les Claypool.

Yes, that Les Claypool. The Les Claypool from Primus. The legendary bassist and quaint lead singer. Not only is Primus one of my favorite bands, but having Les do the music for this game is probably the greatest things that has ever happened. Nobody else could make the music for a game based around living mushrooms. I can't wait to chuck this game into my Wii and listen to the psychedelic background hums as I play. I mean, who else can you have create the music for a game about MUSHROOMS if he's not from PRIMUS. Yea, you see where I'm going.

Mushroom Men will be a great game even without the addition of Les Claypool. But this guy is just what Gamecock needs to bring this game into awesomeness. I'm looking forward to this game. Can't wait.

Now I practically grew up on this magazine, and I still subscribe to it today. But I've seen many of my friends who used to read it cancel their subscriptions and when I miss a payment and need to pick up the month I missed I find it real hard to locate a store that sells it. GameStop and EB Games don't sell it anymore, as well as Best Buy. It seems that if I want to find one without subscribing I have to go to Borders or Barnes and Nobles. Why has my precious Nintendo Power fallen so? Now they celebrate their 20th anniversary, but will it last 20 more years? In my opinion the writers at Nintendo Power remind me of the ones here at Destructoid, they're both funny and informative. I get all of my Nintendo fanboy info from that magazine,and I just need to know is anyone still reads it. Are they so hard to find because nobody buys them or do the people at GameStop and EB Games just have their heads too far up their asses? So does anyone read Nintendo Power here? Hello? Anyone?

ANYONE?

Cause I sure am. Now, lets face it, as much as I love Nintendo, I've been kinda disappointed with the lack of quality games over the summer. I mean, the only game I found good enough to buy was "No More Heroes", but I never got around to it (I will). But, lo and behold, I'm am really exited about the recent announcement of the new game from the independent developer PlatinumGames and Sony, "Madworld." And oh man, does it look awesome.

Literally, its LOOKS awesome. Its has the definite Frank Miller look with the black and white, and it reminds me of the movie 'Sin City' (based off of the comics by said mentioned) with the only color being red. From the, you know, blood. Cause this game is all M, not for those little kids and soccer moms who own much of the Nintendo Wii's. The main character is not loveable, he's all bad ass and such. The game play looks real good too, and its been confirmed that this game is all action. No pushing boxes and searching for keys. No puzzles, ACTION! AND BLOOD! Another great part is that its supposed to have lots of great weapons, as well as the ability to use the environment as one. This game is gonna rock!

After I wipe the drool from my chin, I'm gonna get to the universal look this game gives me. Another quality Mature game really gets my hopes up that this might be the first of a string of great games set to come out on my precious Wii. With "No More Heroes" getting much attention and great reviews, and hopefully "Madworld" will copy this, (what am I saying? Of course it will!) the possibilities are endless. Face it, both of these games are risk/reward, and when they succeed, maybe, just maybe, other third party developers will take those risks and make more games for the Wii.

Last but not least, I'm exited about PlatinumGames, formed by two developers who had worked on gems like Viewtful Joe and Okami, will provide more great games for the starving Wii. This game is sheer awesomeness, and hopefully it will bring more of these kind of games, though maybe not all Mature ones, in the near future. All I know is if I can impale a guys head with a road sign, I'm buying it.

I sure didn't. So one day I was watching Fuse and they had one of those countdowns for Rock music videos. If you like music and own Fuse you should watch it, I find many bands I didn't know exist on it, and sometimes they're pretty good. One of those bands is Shinedown. Now the first song of theirs I heard was the new single 'Devour'. I don't know if it was the sheer awesomeness of the song or the eerie Ozzy Osbourne lookalike lead singer, but I was hooked. So I, er, legally downloaded their discography and found out that some of their other songs aren't that bad either.

Now, as I listened to their albums, I found out that I actually was familiar with some of the songs but didn't know they were Shinedown's. Lets start with their debut album, Leave a Whisper. It's probably their weakest album. Now the song '45' is real good, but other than that its all pretty much the same. When I talk with some of my friends about this band, the term 'radio rock' comes up a lot. Now I'm not a huge fan of that term, but if you started listening to this band at their debut, you probably wrote them off as this 'radio rock', because that's what it sounds like. But wait! There's more! Stick with them!

Because in 2005 they came out with another album, having the same name as a certain psychedelic bands song from a certain multi-platinum album. (Don't know? Yea? Okay, I'll tell you.) Us and Them. And now your saying, "Mysterious stranger, if their first album was radio rock, what makes this one not?" Calm down, friend. The big difference is this album has three excellent songs on it; Heroes, Save Me, and I Dare You. Now it was weird cause when I first listened to this album I heard these songs and I recognized them, but I was like, "Wow, I didn't know these songs were sung by Shinedown." That and other quality songs makes this my favorite of their albums.

And last but not least is their recent album, The Sound of Madness. This album starts off with the still awesome 'Devour', which, if you don't know, is about the Iraqi War. Yea. This song is followed by other great songs, like 'Sound of Madness', 'The Crow and the Butterfly', and 'Sin With a Grin.' This is definitely a great album, and the lead signer is solid.

So there you are, a great band you probably didn't know existed. Or did. Whatever.

As I sit in sheer excitement while I wait for more blogs about E3 to come in on the home blog, I find myself musing about the state of my beloved gaming convention. I used to plan out the three or so days in July where I would not have to leave the room containing our 42" plasma screen, knowing that all the info about the gaming world over the next year would be shown to my previewing pleasure through those HD rays of goodness. Now, in order to get my E3 fix, the only thing I can do is check in on the Destructoid homepage a couple of times a day. That's it. Three days that pass by just like any other day, only with a few more interesting blogs. What happened?!?!!?

E3 was downgraded faster then I had ever seen. One year it was the same E3, all chock full of gaming news and goodies. Every developer was pushing and shoving to show the masses their new game in development for that year. E3 was supposed to be the Olympics of the gaming world. You trained all year for this time in the spotlight. Only here would the whole gaming world be able to see the new games that will be coming out soon with ease. And then, over two short years, my dear E3 has shrunk into another bland gaming convention, with big name developers dropping like flies out of the competition, and where the convention center it's held in advertising the event with one measly banner.

I blame the internet. It has become loads easier for the average gamer to easily receive the information one needed to learn about new games coming out. All of the secrets that developers were saving for E3 can be found on a random day in the c-blogs. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but today's quick-fix world has become one of the main reasons the species of giant gaming conventions will soon be extinct.

Now, what evolves from the dying breed of the E3's of the world is the smaller, more common gaming conventions like Penny Arcade and EIEIO. Developer's are even starting to create their own conventions to reveal their even more kept secret games in development to the masses. As a child I always dreamed of walking into that huge building where every corner contained flashy and fascinating booths, which contained many people trying to show us why we should look forward to their games. Now all that jazzy advertising is unnecessary, because the only way most of the gaming world will get info about their games is through a stray article on the likes of Destructoid and 1up. Now the average gamer looking for his E3 news has to *gasp* read!

Now, as I revisit my pathetic state as I nod off in the wee hours of the morning hoping another article will come in and give me what I want (more BK hands-on! resident evil 5 gameplay!) I have that time to reflect on what this tiny famous-through-name-only event once was. When you've got someone like me, who dreams of being in the gaming industry when I grow up, you tend to mourn the death of something that once meant a lot in the hearts of the residents of that industry, of that world of gaming.

R.I.P E3, and can I please get some Animal Crossing Wii news?

So I was checking my mail when I came across this article about 25 of the best movie villains of all time. My love for movies is only proceeded by my love for video games, and I like me some move villains. However, though there are some great villains on the list, I was somewhat disappointed about the characters that made the cut. Below I have listed a few of my personal favorite movie villains. Feel free to comment on some of your favorites, and maybe I'll be able to scrap together a little tournament of great movie villains. TO THE DEATH!

1. Hannibal Lecter: By far the greatest villain of all time. Not only is he intelligent and clever, he is also the spookiest guy to be around. He was always one step ahead of the cops. While watching Silence of the Lambs, I actually rooted for him because he was so cool. But behind those mystifying eyes is the brain of a madman.

2. Harry Powell: Not only is Night of the Hunter a great movie, but what makes it so cool is the villain Harry Powell. With love and hate tattooed on his knuckles, he spurts out Bible verse and spooks me just as much as he does those kids he's chasing.

3. Hans Gruber: Pretty much any villain played by Alan Rickman is great, and the Die Hard villain is no exception. He and his henchmen take many hostages and use this to embezzle millions, but Rickman's droning speech is what makes Gruber so evil.

4. Chigurgh: Greatest. Movie. Ever. No Country for Old Men is pretty much made by Javier Bardem's Oscar winning performance of the psychopath who lives by his own rules. This villain is so great because he has no morals. Nothing in his mind stops him from killing anyone. Even when not killing, like in the gas station scene, Chigurgh is the most chilling person, let alone villain. Awesome.

5, The Joker: Even before seeing the movie, I know Heath Ledger's take on The Joker in The Dark Knight will go down as one of the greatest villains of all time. Though I adore Jack Nicholson's Performance in Tim Burton's masterpiece, I feel that Ledger really captures The Joker's psychopathic need for destruction. Can't wait for this movie.

So there you are. Some of my favorite movie villains. Agree? Disagree? Think I missed one?