There's now a video to go along with the "instead of dropping bombs you're dropping presents" twist on the nuclear warfare game. It sounded cool just to read about it... but to see it in action. Fantastic.

If you've never read VG Cats the webcomic, you're missing out. Do yourself a favor and read their inspired coda for the death of the Gamecube. R.O.B. the robot as the doctor is fantastic. Not to mention momma SNES and pappa Genesis.

Andarko-

I haven't played enough games to really say which has the most kickass soundtrack, but I can say that in my limited experience, a fully realized original score really adds to a game. Listening to the same generic music over and over in a game can get really old really fast. (Hence the awesomeness of the Xbox 360's ability to play your own selection of music in a game.) But a full orchestral score adds a level of polish to a game, in the same way a good soundtrack enhances a film. Plus, game scores can become iconic unto themselves. When you watched the Halo 3 trailer, and at the end they played the few iconic notes of the Halo theme, didn't you get chills? I did.

jimmycanuck-

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan - Sure it's Japanese, but that's what made it so good! Ouendan gave me my first (and thus far, only) taste of j-pop. The music was so catchy and so varied that I just had to get my hands on the soundtrack. It's been well over a year since the game's release, and the soundtrack is still at the top of my "Most Played" list. I think it's a testament to how good the music that I find myself singing along to every word, and yet I can't speak a lick of Japanese! I can't bring myself to playing Elite Beat Agents yet - the thought of replacing my beloved j-pop with Avril Lavigne just isn't sitting well with me.

Covak was the first forumite to bring this to our attention, and I think he summarizes everyones concerns pretty well;

When you scroll your view the game isn't supposed to chug with severe screen tearing and stuttering music, is it? Because that's what I get as soon as I get to map 4 and scroll up/down. I don't want to play it like that.

Is anyone else experiencing Broken Emulation Madness?

The title I was looking forward to playing the most on the PS3 is now not coming out anytime soon (enough). I was counting the days till the 19th so I could play this gem of a game again. The idea of adding motion control was enough to make me finally decide not to sell off my PS3. Sadly, THIS was the game I kept the system for. And now it's nowhere to be seen.

For those that don't know, flOw began as a flash game/ thesis project and is one of those brilliantly designed simple games that makes you glad to be a gamer. The flash version is still out there, give it a go.

So why is a game that's been out for quite some time in flash form being delayed? Who knows. I just know I'm bummed out.

From the IGN site (though it sounds more like a press release):

While the original Flash project is still playable online, the PS3 version of the game is going to be substantially enhanced, with four additional creatures to control with their own unique environments to play as. The title will also feature SIXAXIS motion sensitivity control, sharper visuals, and improved audio with potential THX certification. Future updates are also supposed to include multiplayer or other modes, and ostensibly the game will continually be updated on a monthly basis. In effect, the downloadable title will evolve as much as its gameplay will. Whether or not the myriad of changes from the web based application to the PS3 version is the cause of the delay is unknown.

So there you have it. Turn on those Wii's and have another place to check the weather. Personally there's lots of things I'd rather see than a weather center, but I appreciate the added functionality. Plus it's free, so that's always nice.

The 3D globe spinning is sharp, so points for that. Do you readers out there think this is something you'll use, or more of a novelty?

As many of you know I've had a bit of a stiff joystick over the TG-16 games on the Wii. I missed out on them when I was a kid, so the VC versions have gotten me excited - like trip to the zoo excited - every week now. Above all else there's one title and one alone that I've been waiting for - Military Madness. I heart Advance Wars, and every time I tell that to anyone, I always get the same response; "Advance Wars is shit - go play Military Madness." So needless to say, it's been on my to do list for awhile.

But then something happened. I woke up all eager beaver to get my hands on this today. I even went out to pick up a Points card so I could take care of business....and then the cold feet set in. Is it any good? Won't this feel like "been there, done that" by now? I had to get some advice. Unfortunately, day one reviews don't seem to exist for Virtual Console titles. Hell, you'll be lucky to find a review by day 10. This pisses me off. It's not like these are new games, or tweaked games, or games that in any way, shape or form differ from something we've been playing for 15 years. Why in the blue hell are reviewers not getting off their asses, breaking out their emulators (that's right, I went there), and getting some god damned reviews out?? Where's in the hell is my guiding light?? Where is my old school reviews savior?

Turns out they've been here all along, I just had to hunt them out. The Virtual Console Archive has a database of every VC title released and announced, summaries and screenshots of each, and a very special write-up called "Worth buying on the Virtual Console?" Normally I wouldn't be standing on top of my soapbox and shouting about a great site that's not ours, but hey, these people are providing a valuable service that we're not. That being said you can always count on us for some really solid reviews once we get our grubby little mitts on these bloody things.

Let's face facts - as cool as Live Arcade, downloadable demos and additional content are, they're really just the tip of the iceberg -- eventually the entire industry is going to shift its focus to downloadable content and purchasing a game in a store is going to become a thing of the past. Downloadable content replacing physical media is as inevitable as the rising cost of tank tops or the eventual decline of Cookie Crisp. If publishers, developers and console makers get their way we'll be seeing this shift by the time we buy our next consoles. Even Sony's Phil Harrison has gone on record as saying "I'd be amazed if the PS4 had a physical disc drive."

But no major shift in business mechanics happens without a lot of market research. And how are they conducting this? Welcome to the maze, guinea pig.