[These posts on No More Heroes 2 are purely speculation. I have no idea what the team at Grasshopper Manufacture intended for the game to mean; I can only speak to what I've taken away from it, so if you don't enjoy potentially bullsh*t interpretations of the meaning of a videogame, then stay away from this post. --Jonathan]

Here it is, the second and final post from me about the bosses of No More Heroes 2. Honestly, I'm worried that it's sort of stupid to put these posts out so quickly after the game's release, as I feel that I'm far from really figuring it all out. I've already had a few new ideas about the first nine bosses that I wish I'd written in the other NMH2 boss analysis post, and since I'm about to dive into writing this next post, I'm still trying to figure out what the last nine bosses mean to me.

These next nine are especially hard to describe, because they rely on atmosphere and context a lot more than dialogue or physicality to get their messages across. I better not starting thinking about that now, though, or I'll run the risk of getting a sudden case of writer's block and never finishing this thing.

I'm just going to jump into it, figure it out as I go along, and hope it makes sense to somebody. That's probably what Suda51 would do, and it seems to be working for him. So hit the jump and see what I poop out. Oh, and watch out for spoilers and stuff.

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We got the news yesterday that a remake/sequel to Blaster Master called Blaster Master:Overdrive would be hitting WiiWare this Monday, but all we had to go on were some small, blurry screenshots and a press release. Well, now we have a small, blurry video too! Hooray!

What do you think of the game so far? Personally, I'm not totally sold on its look yet, but one things for sure, that remix of the "Stage 1" music from the original game is good stuff. As a rule, I prefer sprite-based graphics and chip tunes to pre-rendered graphics and synth-y re-recordings, but those hand-claps are alright. The new grappling hook power-up looks cool too.

Also, giant bat-boss.

Blaster Master: Overdrive- Trailer [GoNintendo]

 

We've known for a little while that an all new Pokemon game is in the works, but that could mean a million different things. It could be a puzzle game, a Wii spin-off with Nintendo 64 quality graphics, or any number of other "less important" games. As any Poke-fan will tell you, there are certain Pokemon announcements that mean something, and others that are more-or-less worth ignoring.

What's the difference? Well, if an all new Pokemon is involved, then you've got to pay attention. So pay attention, Pokefans, because that rather bland-looking silhouette of a fox/wolf-thing is the signal -- something truly new in the world of Pokemon is going to happen.

Sounds like we'll be getting a full look at who this Pokemon is on February 21, so keep your eyes peeled. I'm expecting we'll also find out exactly what game this Pokemon will be showing up in as well.

Pokemon Sunday's Reveal - First 5th Generation Sihlouette [Serebii.net]

Jesus, where the hell did this come from? Did someone at Sunsoft forget to do PR for the past few weeks, or did they think that the less time we have to anticipate a game, the more likely we are to pick it up on an impulse buy?

Either way, I'll be sure to pick up Blaster Master Overdrive when it launches on WiiWare this Monday for 1,000 WiiPoints. Ten bucks is a steal for a sequel to Blaster Master, which is easily one of my favorite NES games ever. The slightly tweaked version on the Wii's Virtual Console was even better than the original. Infinite continues FTW.

Hit the jump for the full press release, and stay tuned for larger, less blurry screens of the game in action. Hopefully I'll get a hold of some before the game comes out, which is in less than 48 hours.

Man, I'm so excited to fight that crab boss again. He's such a bastard...

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_{[These posts on No More Heroes 2 are purely speculation. I have no idea what the team at Grasshopper Manufacture intended for the game to mean; I can only speak to what I've taken away from it, so if you don't enjoy potentially bullsh*t interpretations of the meaning of a videogame, then stay away from this post. --Jonathan]}

No More Heroes 2 is out, and so far, the game has been pretty divisive. Some people like it much more than the original, while others are disgusted by how different the sequel is. One of the major causes for that split  are the bosses. No More Heroes featured a talkative, well-rounded group of boss characters. Fans love some of them even more than they love the game's protagonist. As appealing as they may be, these bosses didn't always have much to do with Travis Touchdown, or the game's story as a whole.

That's how the bosses in No More Heroes 2 are different. The game's bosses aren't always as chatty or multi-dimensional as those found in No More Heroes, but they all work to better define Travis Touchdown as a character, and fit into the game's overarching theme. The first No More Heroes worked to define the world of No More Heroes, while its sequel is much more focused on showing us the evolution of the game's main character.

Hit jump for a quick rundown on the game's first nine bosses and what I think they mean. Oh, and watch out for spoilers; there might be some.

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IGN just got exclusive video of Bit.Trip RUNNER in action, and I'm totally freaking out. As a huge fan of Sony's now abandoned rhythm platforming series Vib Ribbon, the original Atari 2600 version of Pitfall!, and the previously released Bit.Trip games, it was inevitable that this game would make me crap my pants with joy. I just didn't expect the crappening to happen this soon.

2010 is shaping up to be one of the greatest years for 2D platformers ever. With New Super Mario Bros Wii and Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth just a few months old, and Mega Man 10, Sonic 4, Cave Story Wii, Super Meat Boy, BattleBlock Theater, and Bit.Trip RUNNER all on the horizon, it's hard to think of a time when 2D platforming fans had it so good.

Hit the jump for three more Bit.Trip RUNNER videos, including a look at that Pitfall! tribute I was talking about.

[Spotted on Garison's cblog]

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A while back, we got an obscured look at this image from Capcom's "Secret File" promotional mini-magazine focusing on Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. It showed blurry images of Ace Attorney's Phoenix Wright and Capcom Fighting Jam's Ingrid as they might have appeared in the game. This scan led me to ask the game's producer if these two characters could eventually make a comeback as DLC. He seemed keen on the idea.

Nice.

If they ever do make it out as DLC, it looks like they may not be alone. In this totally uncensored scan, we see more of Frank West's "SCOOOOOOOOOPS", including two other characters that were cut from the game. Rollerblade Hero Muteking and Komugi, both from the Tatsunoko stable, didn't make the grade. We also get a sneak peek at a Ghosts 'N Goblins looking... thing. Could be a mini-game, could be a stage. Either way, it looks awesome.

Personally, I'd love to see all this stuff make its way into Tatsunoko Vs Capcom someday, but that's just because I want more Tatsunoko Vs Capcom any way that I can get it. Now that everyone else has the game and finding people to fight online is commonplace, I'm beginning to feel like 9.0 wasn't a high enough. The more people that I play against, the more I come to see how great this game really is. Adding even more chaos-fodder to mix could only work to make me love it more.

A Peek at Phoenix Wright and Ghosts 'N Goblins in TvC, Capcom talks DLC

 

The story goes like this -- Nintendo finally adds a few WiiWare demos to the Wii Shop Channel. After that, the five games that are graced with demos see a mild to extreme increase in sales. People start to think that maybe Nintendo understands the importance of the online marketplace. Children sleep soundly at night. God beats the Devil at Marvel Vs Capcom 2 using a team of Roll, Servebot, and Dan. All is right with the world.

So of course, Nintendo decides to cancel the service. They wouldn't be Nintendo if they didn't turn left while everyone else is going right. Sometimes I'm fully behind their weird ways, but not this time. This decision is nothing but dumb. Let's just hope that this is just a temporary cancellation, and that after the few months it will likely take for them to get their collective heads out of each others' collective asses, the gang at Nintendo will start with the demos again, this time for keeps.

The five current WiiWare demos are for Pokemon Rumble, NyxQuest, FFCC:My Life as a Darklord, World of Goo, and Bit.Trip BEAT. There is a brief Destructoid mention at the end of that last one, so why not download it just for that, or better yet, gift it to a friend? That would make me happy, so you should do it. Plus, I'd wager that the more people that grab these demos, the greater our chances of getting more of their kind. Free stuff is good. Download now please.

WiiWare Demos Coming Down Jan 31st! [GaijinGames]

At the time of this writing, I have just finished No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle after a 16-hour marathon play through, with occasional breaks to nap and go to the bathroom. This is not the best way to go about playing a game for review, but due to equally important Tatsunoko-oriented commitments, it couldn't be avoided.

So here I am, trying to sum up and explain a game that will probably take months of analysis and multiple play-throughs to fully wrap my head around. Also, I really have to go to the bathroom, which is ironic, because Suda51 (the creator of No More Heroes) sees his games as a sort of psychological bowel movement. All the information he takes in -- movies, videogames, anime, relationships, conversations, everything that makes up his day-to-day life -- is chewed up in his mind, and pooped out in the form of No More Heroes.

I'm going to try and take that as inspiration and go to the toilet myself. After that, I'll be pooping out the best No More Heroes 2 review that I can. Take a look for it after the jump, but beware of possible minor, non-story-related spoilers.

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I'm not one to complain about free stuff, but what the f*ck? Really? A "Pikachu colored Pichu"? That's a thing I can have? Aren't all Pichus pretty much Pikachu colored already? Am I missing something here, or is this just more of that "different colored Pokemon are shiny and more special" wacky fun that we Poke-fans supposedly love so well?

Want to know something even weirder? If you trade this slightly more jaundiced Pichu over to the yet unreleased Pokemon HearGold/SoulSilver, you can trigger an event to grab that bumpy eared Pichu on the left. Don't believe me? It's true! I read all about it on Serebii.net!

You know why I'm being such a jerk about this? It's because I'm trying to cover up that I'm actually totally pumped to get these two cute little bastards. I may try to play it off as cool, but I still love my Pokemans, especially the "special" and "free" ones.

Hit the jump for the  full details taken from the promo email GameStop sent out today.

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A lot of people I know skipped the Wii version of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and went for the slightly cheaper PS2 port, assuming that the two games would look identical. Turns out that they don't. In fact, the PS2 version looks like it's missing a lot, to the point where I'm not even sure it's complete. As you can see in the above video, the first enemy in the game, the one that's supposed to send Harry tumbling down a road of madness and horror, doesn't even bother to show up in the PS2 game. Instead, Harry just stares at a big block of ice, then pretends to get scared.

Thanks for trying Harry, but it's not working. Pagophobia is so much less fun that skinless-freak-that-wants-to-hump-me-to-death-phobia.

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories- Wii/PS2 Comparison [Gonintendo]

I really wish this video could have been compressed into a podcast, because it's really better to listen to than to watch. Still, there is some good content here for anyone who's still trying to wrap their head around what Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is. 

Seth Killian explains how to play two of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars' new character, Frank West and Zero, what he thinks of the people refusing to buy the game because it's on the Wii, and the process of developing such a strange, beautiful, but potentially unmarketable game.

It was an honor to get to speak with Seth and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars producer, Ryota Niistuma, about their work on this truly unique game. Meeting developers that truly love their work and their fans is an amazing experience. Thanks guys. Keep doing what you're doing.

I understand that you might be sick of hearing about Tatsunoko vs. Capcom by now, and for that, I'm sorry. Then again, you can just ignore this video if you're that upset about all this event coverage, right? I shouldn't feel so guilty.

Anyway, here's a video where a lot of people play Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, including a bunch of little kids and guys with mustaches. You'll also see me fight Tatsunoko Vs Capcom pro Keits and everybody's favorite Capcom employee, Seth Killian. You wont see it here, but before my match with Seth, we agreed that who ever lost had to spend the rest of the event wearing a Phoenix Wright cosplay-stume that I worked on the week before.

I think you can guess how the video ends.

Dead Rising is like a Troma movie you can play, and I mean that in a good way. In case you don't know, Troma is the production company behind such crap-cult, horror/comedy classics as The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke'em High. They're the kind of film studio that would defintiely put a clown that juggles chainsaws and a sadistic lesbian security guard in the middle of a zombie apocalypse movie. If there was ever to be a Dead Rising film, I always hoped Troma would make it.

Well, I didn't get my wish, but I came pretty damn close. The trailer for Death Disease Contamination Dead Rising (Capcom's made-for-Xbox-Live Dead Rising live-action motion picture) has all the trappings of a Troma classic -- ludicrous violence, no discernible budget, and ridiculous plot.

The movie takes place in the Dead Rising reality, where zombie infestations are a normal part of life, and are dealt with via quarantine. Two brothers, one in a wheelchair, plan to make their escape from one such quarantined area. They also seem to enjoy hang out with gun-toting d-bags wearing servebot t-shirts in warehouse that looks exactly like the on in the Willamete Parkview Mall. Wacky.

Keiji Inafune, the creator of Dead Rising, is actually directing this monstrosity, and is boasting that it will "offer the experience of a first person shooter." Sounds awfully awesome to me. What do you think? Worth downloading?

Capcom making Dead Rising movie [andriasang]