Capcom has been working with FAB Starpoint on some new Mega Man merchandise so those of us in North America don't have to be so jealous of all the cool stuff they always get in Japan. Kramez over at Capcom-Unity has given us a peek at what to expect when the goods start hitting retailers and Capcom's online shop.

There's a messenger bag, a PSP case, a couple of chain wallets, a journal and a sketchbook to start things off. Some of it is looking pretty rad, and I wouldn't mind having that sketchbook in particular. You can check it all out in the gallery below. See anything you like?

What you are no doubt watching right now, as you're reading this, is in fact a playable game. PixelForce, which mainly consists of a single person named Eric Ruth, brought it upon themselves to de-make Left 4 Dead.

Ruth hopes to get this game out for our enjoyment as a free download around January 4. All five maps of all four campaigns plus the entire cast of Special Infected will be present, believe it or not.

Easily the best part of this demonstration is the Boomer having everything from his waist up blown to smithereens; it's going to be neat to see the other SI in low-res form, for sure.

All in all, it's looking like a cool little project. Admittedly, I think the zombie reaction times are a bit on the slow side, but otherwise I dug what I saw wholeheartedly.

[Via Go Nintendo]

By my definition, any time a new game in a series rejects technological advancements and changes in "mainstream" gaming trends, that's a rebirth. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, Mega Man 9, and of course Konami's own ReBirth series on WiiWare are the best examples, while Bionic Commando Rearmed, TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, and New Super Mario Bros Wii don't quite fit the bill.

Trying to win over new gamers with polygon-based graphics and techno remixes isn't what a rebirth is about. A true rebirth can't do anything to remind the player that they live in the age of the polygon. Instead, the game must transport the player backward, allowing them to feel like they've traveled ten, twenty, or even thirty years into the past. If you don't feel "born again" into a prior era of videogame history, then you're not playing a rebirth game.

This is the sort of thing I think about when I'm driving in my car or waiting for my bread to toast. I don't think about the economy, or my cholesterol level, or my receding hairline. I think about which videogames could best help me forget about all that "grown-up" garbage.  Hit the jump for the games I think could best do the job.

[Note: I finished writing this post last week. The fact that more than a few of the games here can also be found on Jim's Ten classic games that didn't age well post is entirely coincidental.]

I have never played Phalanx. The SNES/Sharp X68000 computer game was never something I had the pleasure of playing. Beyond the fact that it's a space shooter I know absolutely nothing about it. Normally in this situation (it happens) I do some research on Wikipedia or another 100 percent reliable internet source and then come out talking like I knew it all along. However, I'm not going to ruin the greatest mystery in gaming just so I can impress you.

See that image up there? That is the actual box art for Phalanx. As a child at Toys R' Us I'd stand in the gaming aisle (or the cards in plastic pockets that you had to take up to the counter to get your games aisle) and stare at this box art and wonder WTF was going on here. Was it a brilliant marketing ploy? Was the game actually about a man with a banjo? Why did this box art exist? I never found out the answer, and I never want to for I fear the answer will be far too dissapointing. So I will never play the game.

Nor, getting to the point of the post, will I play the new WiiWare version of it. The company that created the Sharp X68000 version of the game, ZOOM Inc., are bringing that version to WiiWare in Japan for 500 points. No set release date yet. It will feature a few extra changes to the game design, but will indeed be a remake, not a reboot. Hopefully, this never makes it to the U.S. so I won't be tempted to ruin what will no doubt eventually become the ninth wonder of the world.

_{[Art Attack Friday is your weekly look at videogame fan art created by a talented artist.]}

Back in February (which, if you'll recall, was the internet Stone Age), Hamza featured Andy Helms' Dude-A-Day project on this very column. Dude-A-Day is exactly what is sounds like: Andy wants to draw 365 Dudes in his distinctive art style. He should've wrapped up the whole project a month ago, so I figured it was time to check in with him. Unfortunately, he's a bit behind schedule: his most recent piece, characters from Fatal Fury and King of Fighters, are labeled as June 12 through 17.

"I generally only get to draw in my free time, sadly," writes Helms, adding that he's not sure when he's going to be finished. Seeing as how I had my heart set on on a dudely installment of Art Attack (and already had the header image made), I suppose it won't hurt to check out his newer stuff.

I've gone through Dude-A-Day's archives and pulled out the game-inspired Dudes, but there are examples of all levels of nerd-dom. It's times like these that I wish that Destructoid wasn't just a videogame blog. If you like Dudes, sci-fi movies, cultural ephemera, and quirky art with a three-color palette, it'd behoove you to give it a look. While Helms' Dudes are little more than sketches, I think he manages to capture something essential about each of his characters.

Anyway, if you dig on Helms' silly sense of humor and distinctive style, be sure to check out some of his other work—Fearless Griggs, Buttlord, and OMFE—on his site, Atomic Toy.

Not playing Modern Warfare 2? Well then, chances are high that you'd like Bit.Trip Beat. The game is pretty much the anti-Call of Duty, and it's one of my all time favorites. If you haven't played it yet, this update may be the perfect excuse.

I'm not sure of everything this update does, but the one thing I know for sure is that you no longer have to get a high score in a level to save your progress. That was one of the more controversial things about the original version of the game, and to be honest, I'm sort of sad to see it go. Good thing I have two Wii's now (don't ask why) so if I want to play the original Bit.Trip Beat, I can just boot up on the back up.

It's also rumored that this update makes the game easier overall, which I also have mixed feelings about. I suppose that if you are one of the many who are holding off on buying Bit.Trip Core and Bit.Trip Void until they've beaten the first game, then this patch may help get you over the hump.

Let's get the "I'll buy that for a dollar" quote out of the way. Right, now we can get on with the actual story.

Did you know that the classic arcade game Smash TV was in line for a remake? It was going to be a top-down shooter, just like the old days, but given a coat of modern paint with 3D graphics. Original Smash TV programmer Mark Turmell confirmed that the game was in development, but then it "hit the fan" with Midway and the project had to be scrapped.

Fear not, though, Smash TV fans. While Turmell did not state that the new game was still in the works, he voiced confidence that it "will rise again," thanks to Warner Brothers., the company that now owns Midway's soul. WB has the right, the means and, we hope, the desire to do it, so watch this space. Big money and big prizes may be yours to enjoy once again in the near future.

Videogames are a constantly and rapidly evolving medium. While this means that amazing advances in gameplay and graphics consistently surprise us, it also means that those very same advances are destined to look rustic, quaint or simply atrocious in the short space of a few years. Just take the PlayStation era. The move from sprite-based gaming to 3D was hailed as a masterpiece, yet most of the PSOne "classics" of the day are regarded as rather sub-par now. Many of today's great-looking games run the risk of a similar fate.

To stand the test of time is a rare and special feat in the games industry. Some games have remained ageless due to impressive gameplay that nobody before or since has attempted, a simple graphical style that relies more on artistic beauty than graphical horsepower, or simply being damn good at what they do in ways that modern games can't even match.

That said, there are a fair few games looked back on fondly today that have not aged as well as everybody believes they have. They may have been groundbreaking, brilliant titles in their era, but going back to them now reveals a shockingly poor experience that one's rose-tinted specs have attempted to deny. These are the games we shall name and shame in this feature, so come with me as we look at a number of "classic" games that did not age well.

_{"The Memory Card" is a seasonal feature that dissects and honors some of the most artistic, innovative, and memorable videogame moments of all time.}

How many of you reading this right now have attacked a chicken with your sword in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past? How many of you have watched your poor friend plummet to his or her death off the bottom of the screen while scaling the waterfall in the original Contra? I am assuming almost all of you. Heck, I am raising my hand as well. The look of shame on my face is indescribable.

But despite these evil actions, why is there nothing in these games that punishes you? Sure, the chickens may fight back a little or your real-life friend may punch you in the shoulder, but where are the moral implications for being a genuinely bad guy? Zelda still calls Link a hero despite his abuse of poultry. Lance still fights alongside Bill even though his seemingly best friend abandons him during a war.

After years of videogames basically letting players get away with being, for lack of a better term, giant douchebags, there is a sequence in classic role-playing game Chrono Trigger for the Super Nintendo that attempts to bring some form of consequence for making poor moral choices.

Hit the jump to relive a memorable, sobering moment that has no problem judging you for some of the less-than-noble acts you are guilty of committing.

Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and even Danny Wood wouldn't buy this piece of crap. Sure, it's a piece of gaming history, but it's also just some glossy paper taped around a box.

What it's supposed to be is a prototype box for a New Kids on the Block NES game. No game. Just a box. The seller says that it was a prototype that was originally in the possession of a "major video game magazine." From the box, it seems like the Kids were hangin' tough with publisher Parker Brothers. Too bad PB fudged that one up. They could have been gazillionaires.

So get this: The box has been relisted on eBay. It just sold for over $500, says Siliconera, but the winner didn't pay. Imagine that. It's back up to over $50 now. I'd maybe drop $50 if the game was inside. Maybe. Only if it had The Right Stuff in it.

Any studio who can so brilliantly capture the essence of a retro game and bring it into the modern era -- without going overboard -- like Golgoth is doing with Toki is fine by me. In an interview with GameSetWatch, the developer explains what it was like to tackle such a project, which is a good read in and of itself.

More interesting to me, however, was the mention of Golgoth's next game. On the quest to find Toki's license holder, the studio was offered to take a look at some Data East IPs from a Japanese company called G-mode. Sure enough, the developer signed an agreement to produce another game.

All we know is that it's A) a co-op platformer and B) an "old" Data East license. My initial reaction was that it must be Joe & Mac, and upon finding out that G-mode does indeed own the license to that game, I'm willing to bet that's the next project for Golgoth.

Joe & Mac was pretty good, even if I enjoyed the sequel Lost in the Tropics considerably more. Just thinking about what some of the old sprites would look like after these guys get their hands on them has got me all hot and bothered.

While these Zippo lighters won't top the Sega console versions we showed you earlier, they all still have me considering taking up smoking so that I may have an excuse to carry one of these around.

For my money, the Dig Dug one is the winner. I'm the biggest Dig Dug fan around. It looks fantastic, too. The Galaxian one, with its slick engraved surface, is no slouch either. These lighters were created by Banpresto in Japan. They're all limited edition releases, made to celebrate Pac-Man's 30th anniversary next year.

Like the Sega console lighters, you'd really need to be a fan of the games, as these will cost ¥8,400 ($93) when they're released in Japan.

[via GameSetWatch]

[Editor's note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.]

Some of you may already know this, but I hail from a place that is both Mexico and not Mexico at the same time: the newer of the Mexican lands, specifically, a town called Albuquerque. It is a place famous for hot air balloons, Bugs Bunny’s poor navigational choices, and…we named our minor league baseball team after an episode of The Simpsons.

The evidence is incontrovertible: Albuquerque, New Mexico is truly the greatest place on Earth.

But what’s this? A hidden layer of this great city that has long been forgotten? Indeed, what very few know about Albuquerque is that it has offered the single greatest contribution to the world of videogames. Without it, the industry’s landscape would be nothing more than a disfigured scarecrow standing in a field of crap.

Yes indeed, Albuquerque is the home of American Laser Games, creators of laserdisc lightgun games.

So, come on your pilgrimage, all true believers in gaming, as we visit the one true gaming mecca and pay tribute to its incredible contributions to our lives.

Oh Luigi's Mansion, you, much like you protagonist, are always seen as a second stringer in the world of Mario, despite your obvious charms and uniqueness. But just because you're a second fiddle with almost no hope of ever returning (New Play Control, maybe?) doesn't mean you aren't loved. BlazeHedgehog still loves you and to celebrate Halloween he's released his fan made Luigi's Mansion game, Luigi's Boo Hunt. Despite BlazeHedgehog's relentless self-deprecation it looks like he made something pretty cool.

You can check out the trailer below or download the game right here. I can tell you that I'm simply digging the remix of the Luigi's Mansion theme. I don't have time to play it right now, but if you do please leave us a comment and fill us in on if the action is any good.