Dignity
November 3, 2008 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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  Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column this week! Be sure to click through and read up on the latest!
 Also, Figure of the Day has been updated! Just once. It's Qui-Gon Jinn, one of the best versions ever released! Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series.
--AP
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Transformers Lucky Draw to Return
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  At TFW2005 we see a report that Lucky Draw limited edition figures of Convoy and Megatron are coming based on the Henkei molds! What this means is they're going to be produced in double-digit quantities and be essentially impossible to get. Start saving those pennies, you're going to need a half-million of them.
For more on the Lucky Draw line-- and seriously, it's interesting-- check out luckydrawtransformers.com .
--AP
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G.I. Joe Greatest Battles Duke
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  Hey kids, remember 2004? Hasbro does! That's why we're getting a boxed set of figures vaguely based on that style, one of which is this Duke. It's going to come with Storm Shadow, Snake Eyes, and repaints of other figures you already have.
--AP
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Fun
November 6, 2008 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sandtrooper, Chancellor Valorum. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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  Wii Ware this week has Alien Crush Returns for $10. It's a sequel to the classic TurboGrafx-16 game. We have yet to try it, but the reviews are still barely trickling in so we don't know what to expect.
Virtual Console fans, you have one title and it's a classic. It's the Sega Master System port of Space Harrier, an arcade classic... in home form. It's $5.
--AP
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Xbox Live Arcade This Week
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  After several retro games based on Sega's 16-bit catalog and some even older, the Xbox 360 Arcade program has now opted to update a first-gen Playstation title. Vigilante 8 involves vehicle combat which now features online multiplayer. It's $10, or your local equivalent.
Also, multiple outlets are reporting that Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will be hitting Xbox 360 and/or Playstation 3 consoles this month.
--AP
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Transformers Masterpiece Grimlock in Hi-Res
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 Over at Maruzen-Toy, you can now see multiple hi-resolution shots of Masterpiece Grimlock. Due at importers and, if the rumors are true, some US retail destinations, the toy features a ton of accessories and is based on the television animation model. It's pretty slick.
--AP
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Bugs
November 7, 2008 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Nute Gunray. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Masters of the Universe Classics Packaging Revealed
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  Over at MattyCollector.com, they've revealed the packaging for both He-Man and Beast Man from Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics line. It looks both old and new at the same time, giving it a very retro feel without feeling like a rehash.
Oh, and on the same page you can see the New York Comic-Con Faker exclusive.
--AP
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DC Universe Wave 8 Revealed
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  The fine fellows at MattyCollector.com are now hosting images of the latest DC Universe series. Figures include Gentleman Ghost (pictured), Dr. Fate, Hawkgirl, Parademon, Mr. Terriffic, Commander Steel, and Vigilante plus the giant collect-and-connect Giganta.
--AP
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Ad: Star Wars Legacy Wave 5 at Entertainment Earth
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  Ad: Hasbro has new items up for pre-order at Entertainment Earth! Be sure to pick up new wave 5 figures like Stormtrooper Luke Skywalker, Dice Ibegon, Wioslea, and the amazing new build-a-droid figures. Pre-orders are open now, so get yours in today!
--AP
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G.I. Joe Docs Arriving, Changed
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 After a few delays, a new batch of Doc figures is showing up-- with retooled forearms based on the Tiger Force Duke figure! So like in the old days, Hasbro seems to be tweaking its mail-in figures as it goes. We're still waiting for ours, of course, but this is great news!
--AP
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Transformers News Round-Up
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 It's that time again! So much news is coming in, we're going to have to post a bunch of updates.
ACToys.net has a hi-res gallery of the upcoming Universe Bruticus Maximus-- both in and out of its packaging.
Not only that, they've also posted a gallery of Henkei Ironhide complete with yellow stripe, silver face, and chrome gun. Not to be outdone, Amazon Japan has some colored shots of what many are assuming to be Universe Ratchet.
E-Hobby posted shots of Cyclonus, , and Hound, all of which have different paint applications than the images shown for the US market. Especially Cyclonus.
The site also posted Encore Trailbreaker and Encore Hoist, complete with new paint applications.
--AP
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I Tried Your Pet's Name
November 11, 2008 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column this week! Be sure to click through and read up on the latest!
Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Master Sev, Han Solo. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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DC Universe Infinite Heroes Exclusives Hitting
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 If you shop at Toys "R" Us, you may be seeing some nifty sets-- namely, 2- and 6-packs of Mattel's new line of pocket-sized action figures from the DC Universe. We've spotted three so far, but more are coming. Check your local shops for The Flash vs. Professor Zoom and Guy Gardner vs. Black Hand for $10.99 each. (More sets are on the way.) Also shipping is a Defense of Oa set with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, clear green), Green Lantern (John Stewart), Guy Gardner, two Manhunter Robots, and a Quardian Soldier. It's a really nice set, and it's about $37.
Fan Joe Acevedo maintains a top-notch archive of the line, and you should check it out. Given the line's vast scope, numerous exclusives, and plentiful multipacks, you may need to do some planning to see which sets you need to buy to maximize your collection while minimizing your duplicate figures.
--AP
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MST3K DVD Volume 14
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  After the previous set "exceeded all expectations," which is generally corporate code for "we underproduced it," the guys at Shout! Factory announced a new boxed set which you can read about at TVShowsOnDVD.com. No word on extras, but the movies include Mad Monster (first season!), Manhunt in Space, Soultaker, and Final Justice. Release date February 3, 2009. Start saving.
--AP
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Transformers News Round-Up
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 It's that time again! So much news is coming in, we're going to have to post a bunch of updates.
Hasbro posted a flash comic/animation on its web site retelling the origin of the G1 toy line mixing designs from the original series as well as the Classics lines. It has a few animation oddities, but it's nifty to see Hasbro working on promotional efforts for its Universe range.
Kay-Bee Toy Stores have their deluxe movie, Universe, and Animated toys on sale for $8.99. (The in-store sign says animated and movie only, it's wrong.) We picked up an Ironhide there yesterday, so it's worth a look. They are also offering a $10 gift card with a $30 purchase.
Universe Ironhide is totally cool. If you did not know. Worth picking up if you're in need of such things, or were on the fence.
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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 Wii Ware this week has Brain Challenge and Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam, each for $10. Apparently after spending years perfecting pre-release hype and rabid fanboy interest, Nintendo continues to experiment with dropping games in front of gamers blind giving them no chance to pre-discover a future gem, causing the titles to go straight to the part of the brain where memories are quickly forgotten. Good job, Nintendo.
Virtual Console fans, you have one title and it's another true classic. The NES game Mega Man 3 is up for grabs, only $5. If you skipped the various Mega Man collection compilations, this is worth owning because it's a fine game at a fine price.
--AP
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There's A Lot More Singing
November 13, 2008 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Incinerator Trooper, Mara Jade. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Transformers News Round-Up
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 Boy howdy, it's a busy time for Transformers! Here's what you have to know for today.
Ganbo Store posted shots of Thrust and Ramjet from the Henkei line in Japan, both of which will be different from their US releases. Most obviously, they have the same style missiles as Starscream and new wing tooling, plus different paint jobs. We kind of like the Botcon ones better, but the Henkei ones are cheaper, so odds are we'll get those. Although we do dig the fingerless glove deco on the Henkei toys.
The fine folks at Takara Tomy posted lots of Masterpiece Thundercracker images, complete with fancy changing facial expression.
The Transformers Club posted a PDF of issue #23 of their magazine. Particularly notable are super-sharp pictures of Universe Hot Shot and Dinobot in full color, and both of them look really great. Also on that page is a sneak peek at art of what appears to be Animated Rodimus and Strika, which will be in #24. Which is not presently free.
Japanese site Amiami.com posted what most are assuming to be Universe Ratchet, due (most likely) in 2009. It may be the Henkei version but wiser fans recognized on various forums that the toy's arms were not completely white, as Takara is likely to do.
The guys at TF08.net have Leo Prime in hand, and posted a blurry picture of the sample. It's certainly strange but we sort of like it.
Finally, the new Universe boxed set exclusive for Sam's Club is hitting, so says TFW2005. The good news is that it's 5 deluxe toys for $40. The bad news is one of the 5 has exclusive deco, and you probably bought the other 4 in 2006.
--AP
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Xbox Live Arcade This Week
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 No new items, but three older games are now $5 (400 points), down 50% from $10 (800 points). They are:
1. Worms, a combat game in which small animals lob various explosions at one another. (It's a classic.)
2. Feeding Frenzy, an arcade-ish game in which you have a fish which eats other fish and gets bigger. (It's fun.)
3. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, a fighting game which needs no introduction. (It's a killer.)
--AP
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My Town Is On Fire
November 17, 2008 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column this week! Be sure to click through and read up on the latest!
Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Anakin Skywalker, Roron Corobb. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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G.I. Joe 5-Packs Revealed
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 After last year's nifty 5-packs, Hasbro is offering two more at online stores like the one that link clicks to. This time around, they have repainted and retooled figures, like a new head on Baroness, a Cobra Commander loosely based on the DVD packs, and a fixed-up Flint. Basically, these sets fall in the "just different enough to make you mad" camp as they are similar to figures you likely bought, but are changed just enough to be better in many cases.
--AP
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Transformers News Round-Up
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 It's that time again! So much news is coming in, we're going to have to post a bunch of updates.
TF08.net posted what we can only assume is a bragging photo with several Universe Smokescreen figures alongside a nice little gallery showing off what the toy looks like as a production sample. It's basically a repaint of Silverstreak, shown with misplaced shoulders. We like it. Expect it early next year.
The site also did the same with Leo Prime, an upcoming Universe toy.
Entertainment Earth posted several pictures of new Star Wars Transformers, including a V-wing, Torrent Starfighter, AT-TE, and Plo Koon Jedi Starfighter. A nice assortment, to be sure.
The guys at HK-TF posted a sweet gallery of the HasbroToyShop.com exclusive Drag Strip and Overkill. Good news: they look great. Bad news: you're going to have to fork over about $16 a pop before shipping unless you have a coupon. The photography, as usual, is pretty damned gorgeous. We wish we had a reflective base like that.
TFW2005 posted a review and gallery of the upcoming Universe Bruticus gift set on their site. It, too, looks pretty slick and is likely worth dropping some cash on when it comes out as a Target exclusive next year, or in the next two weeks. Depending on who you may believe.
It seems some Target stores are marking down their "scout" assortment of movie toys down to $4.99. Our mileage varied from store to store, so we expect yours will as well. But if you want a cheap Warpath, this may be your best shot.
Universe Silverstreak is great. Very easy on the eyes. We also got Tankor (Octane) and admire it for different reasons entirely. Silverstreak is worth getting, especially since deluxe Transformers are generally $8 or less at most Target and Wal-Mart stores in our area.
--AP
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Scottsdale
November 20, 2008 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Durge, 4-LOM, Super Battle Droid. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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New Star Trek Movie Toys Revealed
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  Online store Entertainment Earth has listed several items from the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie, including vehicles, action figures, and roleplay items. We don't think it qualifies as a spoiler to say there's an Enterprise, a Spock figure, and stuff like that, so click through to see all the vagueness and/or order early.
--AP
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Xbox 360 Downloads This Week
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 The big download this week has likely been thrust upon you, and it's the new dashboard. Because that sounds boring, Microsoft is referring to it as "The New Xbox Experience." Basically, it's a new interface which seems to take longer to do what it is you wanted to do, and it has "Avatars," which are a Rare-developed stab at the success Nintendo enjoyed with its Mii characters. Because of all of this, some of your games may require re-downloading to be fully compatible with the new system. Oh, and in the picture there is our good friend Shaun. We'll be hanging out next week.
Oh, and Bungie is warning gamers not to take advantage of the "install" feature when it comes to Halo 3. It turns out the game, when installed to your Xbox 360 hard drive, suffers a performance hit. Most other games actually improve slightly.
A whole suite of games created by gamers in the NXA program are in one of the tabs, except it seems impossible to actually download any of them right now.
A new arcade title was released as well. A Kingdom for Keflings exists for you to run a city with your giant avatar lording its bigness over very small people for a fee of $10. Has anyone out there tried it?
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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 Wii Ware this week has Strong Bad Episode 4: Dangeresque 3 and Target Toss Pro: Bags, for $10 and $7 respectively. You know the drill.
Virtual Console fans, you have two titles of questionable value. The Sega Genesis title Forgotten Worlds can be yours, if you have not yet forgotten it. Also available is Space Invaders: The Original Game for the Super NES. Both are $8 a pop, making them less than stellar deals.
--AP
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What Do You Mean, No DVD Players?
November 24, 2008 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a Q&A column this week! Be sure to click through and read up on the latest!
Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!
From left to right: Ganner Krieg, Cesi "Doc" Eirriss. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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G.I. Joe News Round-Up
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 First up: Hisstank.com posted shots of the new 5-pack Baroness, and she looks to have been nicely resculpted over the 2007 version. Unfortunately, you have to buy a 5-pack to get this one too.
Target's G.I. Joe Ultimate Battle Pack is hitting stores right now for $62.99. Some stores have dozens, others have only a few. The set includes a MOBAT, Trouble Bubble, red HISS, and seven figures. All in all, it's a good value if you don't already have similar toys in your collection. (We passed at full price.)
An eBay seller has carded shots of Blowtorch and Torch, and naturally the auction is now closed. It's still a good first look at these figures.
As part of the "anniversary" range, characters from G.I. Joe Resolute are starting to show up in the regular assortments. No pictures have leaked until now, Hisstank got a shot of the new Cobra Commander.
--AP
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Transformers Movie Soundwave (Clearly) Revealed
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  A lot of blurry or obscured shots have surfaced in the past week, TFormers.com has shots of what may well be the new movie Soundwave. As we've said in previous years, we're not big fans of the designs-- but it's appropriately Soundwavey, for sure.
--AP
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Experimental Candy
November 25, 2008 |
Star Wars Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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 Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson! It's Salacious Crumb from 1998! Wow! Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Transformers Exclusives Hitting Target
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  Hasbro released several Target exclusive Transformers sets, although your mileage may vary by store. Here's some of what you can expect.
Transformers Universe Legends 5-packs, $15.99 each. One set is "Special Team Leaders" with Hot Zone, Razorclaw, Hun-Gurr, Silverbolt, and Scattorshot-- this is the one we love. There's also Aerial Rivals with Thrust, Ramjet, Autobot Blades, Skydive and Air Raid.
Transformers Universe Comic Packs, $29.99 each. One has Ratbat with Springer, the other is Dirge with Roadbuster. Both are great for different reasons.
Transformers Movie Special Packs, $24.99 each. One has Optimus Prime with Bonecrusher, the other has Megatron and Jazz. Optimus and Megatron are repaints, the others don't appear to be.
Transformers Animated Bonus Packs, $16.99 each. One has a yellow Rescue Ratchet with Prowl and Starscream, the other has clear Stealth Lockdown with Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. The Legends-class figures have silver rather than red faction symbols, and Ratchet and Lockdown are significantly different than their regular releases.
So that's 8 packs with a grand total of 24 figures. Universe Combiner Gift Sets may or may not show up this year-- we're still trying to figure that out. We're leaning toward not.
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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 Wii Ware this week has Boingz and Sudoku Challenge!, for $10 and $5 respectively. Thanks for nothing again, Nintendo.
Virtual Console fans, it's time for the Sega Genesis title Boogerman. We're not sure what to tell you short of "you probably know what this is."
--AP
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Click Here For News From October!
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