Akuma Is Cheap Too
March 5, 2009 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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  Galactic Hunter has posted a new 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: Wicket, Darth Vader, Sharad Hett, Mace Windu. Later today we're going to post another one. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Toy Fair 2009 Travelogue: Day 3
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  We uploaded 978 photos from the various booths we hit in New York City last week, and you can see them all here. There's a lot of toys here, and we're going to go through our favorites and insist you go look at them.
Over the past decade or so fans and industry folks saw Indiana Jones as the next property to watch. Given a pre-sequel launch, like Star Wars had in the 1990s, it's possible that a licensing program could have been cultivated which allowed toymakers to benefit for a few years on the original films prior to the new stuff leaving a bad taste in their mouths, perhaps giving it the same near-invulnerability as the space opera. This did not happen, so now in 2009 it seems Hasbro is out, LEGO is in, and other companies like Diamond Select Toys, Sideshow Collectibles, and Gentle Giant are slowly releasing their in-development wares without announcing much new. LEGO seems proud of the line's performance, which works, as you'll get a chance to buy some pretty sweet sets like this LEGO Indiana Jones 7197 Venice Canal Chase due later this year. Not only do you get Indy in a suit and a Nazi spy, but you get a bunch of dudes wearing everyone's favorite garment, the fez.
The set is pretty simple. You get a few figures, a bridge, a boat, and we guess you can fill in the rest with your imagination. We dig it for the figures, everything else is gravy.
--AP
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Watchmen Released for Xbox 360
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  The tie-in for the hyped movie is up and can be had for $20. Watchmen: The End Is Nigh has 2 player beat-em-up action, which is apparently OK but overpriced, or if you believe the reviews, not good in general.
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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  Wii Ware this week has Family & Friends Party. It's a $10 game which can be summed up by its name. It's basically a board game.
Virtual Console fans, you're in luck. The rare and expensive Super NES title Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen can be yours for about eight bucks.
--AP
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Ad: Free Shipping, Temple of Doom In Stock at Entertainment Earth
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  Ad: Hasbro and Entertainment Earth have tons of new items up for grabs! The hard-to-find final wave of Indy figures based on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom can be yours if you act fast, for example, plus there's a free shipping offer.
There's also a new Jedi Starfighter, tons of items from Hasbro, Pink Floyd stuff, Gremlins stuff, Watchmen items, and more. Check it, yo.
Thanks for your repeated purchases! (We get a chunk of the sale, you see.)
--AP
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Virtua Web Site 5
March 9, 2009 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a new 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: Princess Leia Organa, Padme Amidala. Later today we're going to post another one. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Toy Fair 2009 Travelogue: Day 4
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  We uploaded 978 photos from the various booths we hit in New York City last month, and you can see them all here. There's a lot of toys here, and we're going to go through our favorites and insist you go look at them.
One of LEGO's big original concepts in 2008 was LEGO Agents, a line which seemed to combine elements of James Bond, G.I. Joe, and to some extent, Kenner's M.A.S.K. line. The vehicles were packed with gadgets, the heroes had all sorts of gear, and the villains may as well have been menacing Roger Moore. This year, we're seeing the line continue with a big robot attacking average people, one of the "victims" can be seen in the picture. Is it us, or does that look a lot like famed author Hunter S. Thompson? All we need now is a small red car and some bats to menace him. (And a matching figure that looks like his attorney.) We dig it. We hate to say things like "we'll totally get that set just for the one figure," but gosh darn it, we probably will.
--AP
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Xbox 360: Clearance Cheepnis
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  While we're familiar with the long-running Virtua Fighter franchise, and we dig fighting games in general, but we never really got really into these. (Heck, we got the second in the series for the Saturn.) This weekend, we stumbled on a clearance copy of Virtua Fighter 5 at Target for $4.98. That is not a typo.
We're not yet sure if this was a bargain or not. It's fun to pick up, but trying to play this thing on an Xbox controller is quite a challenge. (That, and we also suck at games that don't feature Hurricane Kicks, it seems.) Still, heads-up-- there's cheap stuff to be had out there. (We're also on the lookout for cheap copies of LEGO Batman. No luck yet.)
--AP
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Ad: Exclusive Joker Squad In Stock at Entertainment Earth
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 Ad: Hasbro and Entertainment Earth have teamed up to bring you a new exclusive! The Exclusive Joker Squad Action Figure Set is based on the events of Star Wars Legacy #4, in which Sith Lord Darth Maleval is sent to watch over a faction of Stormtroopers who, as luck would have it, is being sent to hunt down a group of defecting Imperials. In this box, you'll get four male Stormtroopers, the first-ever female trooper, and the first (and only) figure of the Sith Lord, Maleval. (He's great-- it's like a boss from Soul Calibur had a baby with a vintage Squid Head action figure.) The set of 6 figures is $39.99, and depending on what you buy, the company is also running a free shipping offer.
Thanks for your repeated purchases! (We get a chunk of the sale, you see.)
--AP
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SHAKE
March 12, 2009 |
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: Sgt. Harkas, R2-L3, 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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Botcon Landshark, Japanese Strafe Revealed
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  There are going to be 5 figures in the Botcon boxed set this year, and Landshark is a new character made especially for it. It's a repaint of Landmine/Landquake from Energon, and not an actual shark. It's very green, and we have to say we dig it.
Also, Strafe has been revealed. It's a repaint of Cyclonus from Universe, and it actually looks pretty nice. There's a catch-- you can only get it if you signed up for a specific credit card, which you can only get in Japan. Good luck, everyone, and if you can get us one for a good price do let us know.
--AP
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Crystal Defenders, Peggle Released for Xbox 360
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 Squre-Enix' Crystal Defenders and Popcap's Peggle both dropped early yesterday morning for 800 points ($10) each. One is getting stellar reviews, and the other... not so much. What's the deal, Square? We've loved you for years and you're making us hate you. Stop it. We're hoping that the port of the Final Fantasy IV sequel from the phone is going to be way better.
--AP
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Classic GameBoy Display For Sale, Cracked Open
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  If you were around in the late 1980s and early 1990s, you no doubt saw this GameBoy retail demo kiosk which featured the gaming portable hooked up to a fairly sizable TV screen which, unlike the real thing, was clearly visible at a reasonable distance and in low light. Via the Retronauts Twitter page, we found this auction for the item which does us all the service of showing how it worked. Apparently you could swap out the game, change the demo length, and all that stuff. We've always fantasized about owning one, but the $3,500 price tag is going to stop that from happening. You should totally check it out before the auction goes away, though.
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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 Wii Ware this week has Gradius ReBirth, released in Japan ages ago. It's a $10 game which is basically a 16bit remix of the series with new bosses. We hear mixed things about it and are debating getting it. It sounds like we'd like it.
Virtual Console fans, it's time for the Sega Master System "classic" Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars. You already know if you want it, and you probably don't.
--AP
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Movie Destro Revealed, by eBay
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  After a few reveals that were, shall we say, less than great, an eBay seller in China has revealed G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra's Destro! The amazing thing? It's great. He's even got a tie. We had no plans to buy any movie product but we're probably going to go ahead and pick this one up.
--AP
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Goldfish
March 16, 2009 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a new 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: C-3PO, Clone Trooper. Later today we're going to post another one. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Only In Japan: Stitch HDTV
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  One of our favorite stores-to-stalk, NCSX, posted this Stitch Digital Hi-Vision 20" LCD HDTV. Basically, a big ol' Stitch is crawling up the back of the TV, and its head is clamped. It's really expensive though-- a hair under $1,200. We love the concept and hope to see it adapted to US products at a significantly lower price.
--AP
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Transformers Season 3: Started, Starting
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  Now that The Clone Wars is about to stop new episodes for a few months, we're quite happy Transformers Animated returned last weekend with Transwarped, a 90-minute megasode (new word?) which unwrapped up the nicely wrapped-up end of last season. Minus the cliffhangers, of course. New characters included super-brief appearances of Cyclonus, Strika, Oil Slick, and a few other Decepticon warriors which will probably not be made into a toy (were they not already made as toys.) Heck, we even saw Rodimus, Hot Shot, and a vial of Cosmic Rust. Obviously the makers of the program love the shows and their fans.
Regular Season 3 episodes start up this weekend, so set those DVRs.
--AP
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Rush Job
March 18, 2009 |
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: Luke Skywalker, Magnaguard Droid. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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MST3K Volume 15 DVD Revealed
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  Do you love Tom Servo more than life itself? If so, you'll be pleased to know that the MST3K Info Page updated with news of Volume 15 of the ongoing DVD collections. The good news: it's coming in July 7, which is less than four months away. The bad news? They're going to force another near-unwatchable entry from the show's early years (or we assume it'll suck from the last one), and there's no Sci-Fi Channel episodes.
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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 Wii Ware this week has Bit.Trip Beat, a rhythm game described in a press release as featuring "an 8-bit soundtrack will get you in the zone and rock your world." We very much doubt it will do that.
Virtual Console fans, it's time to fake some enthusiasm for the Commodore 64 title Summer Games II. Or you can throw some money in a hole in the ground.
--AP
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Transformers New Releases
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 Target's new exclusive endcaps are up, which means you can find their new $24.99 gift sets. One has a purple repaint of Shockwave with an Activators-size Bumblebee, and the other is Sunstorm (pictured) with a similarly sized Ratchet. Overall, these are not bad deals.
We also spotted and bought the "final" toys for Classics/Universe/whatever, Hot Shot (from Armada) and Ratchet (from G1 and its derivatives.) Ratchet is Ironhide with a new head and new paint. Hot Shot and Jolt are entirely new and completely disappointing molds. Not because of the colors or the design, but the quality of the product we found was sub-par. Jolt's arm falls apart at the elbow and Hot Shot's body is riddled in "stress" marks before we even transformed it. What the heck, Hasbro? We had a deal-- you make fun toys, and we'll buy them. This isn't making you any friends.
--AP
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Arkanoid Live achievements revealed for Xbox 360
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 The new games for this week aren't live at press time, which isn't really newsworthy. We can tell, you're bored.
More exciting to us is the news that the Arkanoid Live achievements list leaked, which probably means it's real close to going live soon. Arkanoid, if you don't recall, is a game that gives us all a reason to live in these troubled times. Some may dismiss it as a mere clone of Atari's Breakout but we know better. It is the very stuff of life. Here's hoping it's very, very close. (Lode Runner is like weeks away now.)
--AP
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For years I thought I spoke excellent French
March 20, 2009 |
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: Rav Bralor, 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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Shooting Historica Vol. 3 SP Revealed
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 About a year or so back, we went nuts over the first batch of Shooting Historica toys from Japan, which featured numerous vehicles from classic shooter titles. Series 3 has been revealed, and it's a mixed bag. You get ships from Raiden and Star Soldier in addition to a bunch of others we can't say we recognize. Either way, NCSX has them for $66 a set.
--AP
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Hasbro Game Night Released for Xbox 360
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 Rather than settling for one game, this week EA and Hasbro partnered up to bring you four titles under the banner Hasbro Family Game Night, which itself is based around the marketing campaign for the toymaker's board game line. (Hasbro's the #1 board game company in the USA, if you didn't know. They own everything short of basically Uno and, we think, the intellectual property rights for Tic-Tac-Toe.)
This game is interesting in that it's more of a platform than a specific game. You download the free "game room" app and each title-- Connect 4, Scrabble, Battleship, and Yahtzee-- are separate downloads. As in, $10/800 points a whack. We'd love to review these, and we might. Due to the package's price, we're more than a little surprised this wasn't instead released as a disc-- after all, family games tend to do pretty well in a retail environment. We're told (but have not verified) that Scrabble in one-player mode is just one human player, and there's no AI. Due to the tiles needing to be secret, there's no way to hide your letters in a local match, either. We assume this means the game was designed with online multiplayer in mind, but again, we haven't yet tried it. (Blame Peggle this week.)
In other news, The Magic Box has pictures of Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram v5.66, a remake of an existing title which is fondly remembered for a fancy joystick you can't get for the Xbox. It looks pretty sharp.
--AP
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Ditch
March 23, 2009 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a new 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: Hoth Scout Trooper. Later today we're going to post another one. We're going to use the big pictures as long as they fit. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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King of Fighters XII: July 7
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 While Street Fighter got an incredible 3D facelift, the folks behind King of Fighters are keeping their series in full 2D come this July for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. We're impressed, but we're shocked that Mai Shiranui is not on the cast list. Isn't she the reason they make these games, to license a kajillion statues?
Anyway, the trailer looks good, and we're probably gonna buy it. We're always happy to hear 2D is alive and well.
--AP
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Botcon Flak Revealed
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 The fourth figure of this year's Botcon set has been revealed, and it's Flak, a fairly nifty rework of the Transformers Cybertron Cybertron Defense Scattorshot toy from a few years ago. It has grey urban camo and a newly sculpted head It may be the best looking version of this mold yet-- excellent job on the part of the team behind this one.
--AP
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Take This Yaw And Pitch It
March 25, 2009 |
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: Imperial Officer, Clone Trooper Pilot. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Xbox 360, PS3 Out of Ideas: Wiimote Knock-Off Confirmed for 2009, 2010
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 While rumors to the effect of "ZOMG SONY AND EXBOX R GONNA DO A WIIMOTE" have been around for ages, it appears that at the Game Developers Conference they're actually going to make it official. Both platforms are having the "GameTrak Freedom Motion Controller," or as we've been inclined to call it, "piece of garbage that is still not the Mjolnir of Arcade Sticks."
Games are in development such as "Squeeball," a game that sounds like it's likely aimed a specific audience of people who, we presume, are already playing a completely different kind of game. (They're hard to "WOW", shall we say.) Also, the d-pad still looks like trash, and it basically looks similar to the "Scene It!" controllers which have yet to be used by any game without those two words in the title. Yes, we're bitter. Where are the light guns? Where are the fishing rods? We miss crazy, unnecessary controllers made to create the ultimate gaming experience. If we want our blood pumping, we'll boot up Soulcalibur IV some more.
--AP
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Wii Downloads This Week
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 Wii Ware this week has PopšEm DropšEm SAMEGAME, a puzzle game which looks decent for the five bucks. You match and clear out blocks, and it looks like a distant cousin of Yoshi's Cookie. You remember that, don't you?
Virtual Console fans, someone up there doesn't hate you because you can get the TurboGrafx-16 ports of Detana Twin Bee, a vertical shooter from Konami, and Bomberman '94, which is largely considered to be one of the good ones. Arguably better versions of both exist, but these aren't bad. (If you purchased the Japanese release of Konami's Twin Bee collection, you already have a better version of the former.)
--AP
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The IT Crowd Season 2 Comin' To Region 1
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 Season 1 is due next week, and the folks at MPI Home Video confirmed the second season is coming too. If you're like us, you're American and either have not heard of the show or have caught it on IFC. We rather like it. Season 2 of The IT Crowd has a mere 6 episodes (which is the whole thing) plus extras.
Given it's a one-disc release, we're not sure what those may be.
--AP
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What Do You Mean, 10 Days?
March 27, 2009 |
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: Bail Organa, Snowtrooper. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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Uno Rush Released for Xbox 360
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 This week it's Uno Rush, the follow-up to the wildly popular Uno. Except now it's twice as expensive at $10 (800 points). We're not at all sure what makes this better than the previous edition, but there you go.
--AP
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MORE Wii Downloads This Week
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 In a surprising announcement, Nintendo is going after the MAME Market with a new addition to its Virtual Console library. Arcade games are now available for $5-$6, including The Tower Of Druaga, Mappy, Starforce, and Gaplus. No Nintendo titles, surprisingly, but it's a start!
--AP
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Ditch
March 30, 2009 |
Star Wars Q&A, Figure of the Day Updated at Galactic Hunter
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Galactic Hunter has posted a new 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: Stormtrooper. Later today we're going to post another one. We're going to use the big pictures as long as they fit. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!
--AP
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PlayStation Price Drop Coming?
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 According to Joystiq, there will be a price drop on Sony's game console. What's notable is that it's the PlayStation 2, not 3. If this is true, we expect to read more about it in the pages of Who Gives A Damn Magazine.
While $99 isn't a bad price for the console, we can't help but remember Atari's crazy "$39.99 for the 2600" price drop in the late 1980s, also reported in the pages WGAD. While it is a pretty great price for a console, it's the price it should have been about four years ago.
--AP
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Dairycon Toilet Revealed
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 While it's easy to make jokes, the unofficial Dairycon has done something remarkable and clever with its exclusive Toiletbot. It's a limited run item, and not a Hasbro product, but we can't help but be amused by what we believe is the second-ever transforming toilet figure, the first being (of course) Fearsome Flush from The Real Ghostbusters. Kudos, dairy farmers, on a job well done!
--AP
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Click Here For News From February!
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