Hello again, dearest internet.

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, a new DS Zelda title was announced during Iwata’s keynote speech at the GDC yesterday. It is tentatively subtitled “Spirit Tracks.” There are going to be trains. Because, you know, Hyrule is so widely known for its intricate mesh of railroads that sprawl across Hyrule Field.
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Aside from the rather stellar adaptation of Resident Evil 4 for Wii, last Tuesday there was an influx of a couple more Gamecube titles released on the Wii with Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis. Obviously Nintendo continues its profiteering with a trend of re-releasing titles. Of course, none of that holds a candle to the cash cow Nintendo is reaping in with distributed ‘shovel-ware’ and brand marketing muscle ‘casual appeal’ of the Wii.

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Omigodomigomigodomigod! *ahem*…So, anybody a Mass Effect fan? I mean, I dabble. Played through it once or twice…then 18 more times. Oh lordy, I’ve got the sickness!

It happens every year. Valentine’s rolls around and there you are, wondering if anybody’s thinking about you but too shy to actually ask. So instead, you spend the whole day in your underwear surfing the internet and watching Cartoon Network. But deep down inside, you feel hollow and alone, wishing you could have the companionship of that special someone and hoping against hope that a valentine will miraculously find its way into your mailbox.

Well, I’m here to help. I bring you: the Gamer’s guide to dealing with crippling loneliness on Valentine’s day:
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MCV reported yesterday that the UK is “beating Japan” in terms of software sales. According to their report, unit sales for the first five weeks of 2009 were up 37% over 2008. UK GfK-ChartTrack director Dorian Bloch, when asked about this phenomenon, had this to say:

“I haven’t got a crystal ball, but it’s very much a possibility that the UK will overtake Japan in terms of annual software revenue. Japan is certainly in decline at the moment, mainly down to the fact that everyone seems to have already bought a DS or PSP, so hardware sales aren’t driving software sales – although DSi is flying off the shelves. The very sudden decline of PS2 is also a factor. The Japanese market is about twice the size of ours, so there is room for manoeuvre in terms of people who had a DS four years ago and want a new handheld.”

Way to invoke the wrath of an army of giant, transforming robots, Dorian. Besides, call me crazy, but I don’t think that 5 weeks of data really warrants such a brash statement, especially when the country you’re planning on overtaking only has a slowing market because it’s saturated with people that already have the product. Maybe I’d be more inclined to believe that the UK was ready to overtake Japan if they had even half as many widely recognized developers as Japan does.

But hey, I wish them the best of luck. I’ll just be over here in America watching the rest of the world fight for the number two spot.

To celebrate how far behind I am in the news cycle, behold the trailer for Ultimate Alliance 2! If you’re like me, you’ve been waiting for this game since the end of the first one. Anyway, just a little quick post for now. Expect some meatier bits later.

As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, we’ve been going through several bouts of 503 errors. This is both good news and bad news for us: on the plus side, we’re generating enough traffic that we’re going over our bandwith limit. On the negative side, the site goes down and nobody can publish posts or even view the site at all.

To alleviate this problem, we’ll be switching to a new host. As a bonus, we’re going to be sponsored by (kinda former) MEGATONik writer Kel Cecil.

So… horray. Stay tuned.

A Colder War by Charles Stross and The SCP Foundation website can scare us in a nebulous, basal way that would make popular author H.P. Lovecraft proud.

The great priest Cthulhu—ruiner of worlds and devourer of souls, whose black wings silence the sun and whose tentacular maw drives men to madness—is in vogue.

H.P. Lovecraft, writer of horror and science fiction in the early part of the twentieth century, never enjoyed a terrific amount of success during his lifetime.  But in this modern time, when gore-horror and blatant exploitation—like that found in productions such as Saw and The Vampire Chronicles series—is most prevalent, Lovecraft’s bizarre, minimalistic, and subtle way of inspiring dread has begun to gather greater appeal and a wide audience.

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So the demo’s been out for a while now and the Official Playstation Magazine has already published their review. I have to admit: it’s damnably fun. I’m a huge fan of co-op games because I’m both popular and so good at video games that people feel bad when they play against me. (okay, maybe I exaggerate. I have a good-sized group of friends and can play above average. [alright, you got me. I keep my mailman tied to the sofa so I have someone to play with, and he still manages to beat me even though his hands are tied to each other. And I cut off his thumbs.]) Hell, it’s probably even more fun if you’re a member of the Klan. Despite all this, I feel like Capcom is moving even further from what Resident Evil is meant to be.
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Virtually everyone who has access to Xbox Live or a DS has had a chance to lose hours, and in most cases their soul, to Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. The gem-shifting puzzle game is returning in the form of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, albeit taking a turn from fantasy to sci-fi and trading in their old columns-and-rows system for hexagonal gem-based challenges.
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