Best Buy Canada Deal: Trade In 5 Games, Get A DS XL

Today only (March 28) participating Best Buy stores throughout Canada are giving away free Nintendo DS XL when you trade in 5 games worth at least $9 in credit.

Each store roughly has only 20 units to give away though and the games must have their boxes, plus you have to trade in games that are on their updated trade in list.

Honestly I was thinking of trading in some games to do this in order to finally get a new Nintendo DS and get rid of my Pink one but I can't think of 5 games I really want to trade in that would be on their trade in list. Besides I find it funny that they say the game has to at least be worth $9 but if you read the fine print, they say they can deny a trade-in if they have too many copies of the game in stock and most of the games they have on their trade in list are all higher valued games worth generally $40 at my local game store.

If I really wanted to do this deal, I would find a bunch of game worth roughly $9 in credit games or at less games that are old, so I could get my DS in a decent deal. Selling newer games worth $40 in credit would mean I just bought the Nintendo DS XL for full price - $199.99 and I don't want to do that. I could do that anywhere on any day just by trading in 5 of my newer games.

Fan Expo 2010: Stan Lee is Coming!

Funny enough my boyfriend and I were just talking about whether or not, Stan Lee, Father of Marvel Comics has ever been to the Fan Expo in Toronto. We figured by this point he would have but we're wrong because Stan "The Man" Lee is coming to Fan Expo this year!

Fan Expo will be running from August 27th to the 29th and Stan Lee will be just one of many guests this year. The guest lists will be announced on the following dates this year:

Comic Book - May 13th
Horror - May 7th
Sci-Fi - May 10th
Anime - May 26th
Gaming - May 19th

Somehow I doubt this year will be as cool for me since last year I met my hero, Bruce Campbell but it would be pretty cool to meet Stan Lee. Geez, it's Stan Lee!

Mario Kart Love Song: Rock Version

The original song was made by Sam Hart but I really like this rock verion of the Mario Kart Love Song better. This version was made by Sir Haakon.

The Lost Underground Art Show

 Jeff McMillan
"Season 3, And So It Goes" (Triptych)

If you are a lover of both art and Lost: the TV Show, then check out all the work from The LOST Underground Art Show Blog. It features various works of art from a Lost art show 

Misha (from the mind of Paul Scheer)
"Damon and Cartlon Combing The Hair Of The Smoke Monster"

Lost: the Animated Series

This is a small project from artist, Michael Myers that I found via a friend's flickr account. He has drawn quite a few characters from the series and I've posted just a portion of them above. You can see all his Lost character here and follow his updates on his Twitter account. Check out all his work on his website, Drawsgood.com

Interview with Bruce Campbell

To his legions of devoted fans, Bruce Campbell will always be known as Ash Williams from the Evil Dead series but lately Bruce is gaining a new following via his current project, Burn Notice which airs on the USA Network TV show. Bruce plays Sam Axe, a former FBI agent and wing man to ex-spy, Michael Westen.

I got to meet Bruce back in September 2009 at the annual Fan Expo in Toronto where he signed autographs, took pictures with his fans and wowed a pack house at his intimate and interactive show. Bruce was charming, funny and downright fantastic on stage. You could tell why his fans love him so.

I recently caught up with Bruce to talk about Evil Dead 4, USO shows and Burn Notice.

Christina : The third season of Burn Notice has just come to a close with the season finale on the USA Network. How does it feel to be a main cast member on not only a successful cable network show but on a show that doesn't require you to dress in period clothes or perform strange stunts for each episode?

Bruce Campbell: It's a self-answering question - it feels great! As an actor, I have worked on "hits" and "misses," and it's always better to be on a hit any day.


C: Back in November, you and co-star, Jeffrey Donovan from Burn Notice went to the Combat Outpost Meade, south of Baghdad to entertain the troops as part of the Morale, Welfare and Recreation tour throughout Iraq. How was that experience for you?

BC: It was odd, exciting, encouraging, depressing, funny, cool - everything you would expect from a war zone. Most importantly, the trip was not about politics - it was about taking the time to say thanks to folks who put their lives on the line. These men and women are the real deal.


C: Sam Raimi posted on his twitter account a pondering thought about whether he could get away with a Lich King that wore Hawaiian shirts. So now this has left fans wondering, if Sam were to ask you to play a major role in his film adaptation of the World of Warcraft movie, would you do it?

BC: Sure, depending on my Burn Notice day job. I look forward to working with Sam for many years to come on whatever he's got going.

C: So when are you planning on setting up a twitter account? Sam and Ted already have one and someone pretended to be you on Twitter in order to convince you to start an account (or so he claims after the USA Network shut him down for impersonating you). So how about it or are you just not the social network type?

BC: I'm not there yet. My life is complicated enough with e-mail and texting. Do I really need more of that?


C: On your website, Bruce-Campbell.com, you have a section for your blog posts where you've written about everything from industry advice to celebrity death matches. These are witty and somewhat informative articles but you haven't written anything new since 2008. Any plans to update the blog with some new articles?

BC: I got busy writing books, so probably not right away.


C: Evil Dead: the Musical is going strong, a 4th Evil Dead movie is in the works and now Evil Dead: the movie has been picked up by Grindhouse Releasing for midnight movie showings in the US and Canada for 2010. Did you ever think when you made Evil Dead all those years ago that the film would gain a second life as a cult franchise all these years later?

BC: How could we? All a filmmaker or actor wants is to be a part of something that takes hold. Some films do well over time, some do well right away and some die a horrible death. We all feel very grateful and fortunate for that flick.

C: Evil Dead IV recently popped up on your IMDB.com profile which has all the fans wondering what exactly is going to be your level of involvement with the new movie. Nothing has been confirmed yet and numerous sources have you playing everything from the creepy guy at the gas station to an older Ash. Are you able to confirm your role in the film yet?

BC: There isn't anything to share here. I'll most likely be a producer and actor (Ash of course) if the flick gets going, but Sam and I are pretty busy at the moment.


C: What do you think is the true mark of a successful actor?

BC: Remaining relevant.


C: Was there ever a time in your life where you wanted to give up on the whole acting thing and do something else? And if yes, what kept you going?

BC: I wanted to quit after a divorce from my first wife back in '89. I stayed in the business because I love it and because she wouldn't have me back even if I quit!


C: Is there anything in your career that you haven’t done that you would love to accomplish before you leave this world?

BC: No, I take it all as it comes these days. It keeps my head in the right place - not longing for anything.

You can see Bruce Campbell in all new episodes of Burn Notice coming this June 2010 on the USA Network and you can hear Mr. Campbell in his latest animated film, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs now available on DVD. I want to thank Bruce again for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk with me. You made this uber- fan so happy.

Review: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Nintendo
Available for Nintendo Wii

If you’ve never played a 2D Mario game from the early days of Nintendo, then you probably won’t understand the huge draw for retro gamers to the newest Mario Bros. game on the Nintendo Wii. While Mario’s 3D adventures have been satisfying they never held the same pleasures and challenges that the old 2D side-scrollers did on the NES and SNES. Jumping into the New Super Mario Bros. Wii is like curling up on the couch with your favourite author’s newest book after they stopped writing for 10 years – nothing could be more surprising and comforting at the same time.

If you do know what I’m talking about, then imagine if you took the best elements from Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3, added in some new Wii graphics, controls and a few additional power-ups, and then threw them into a blender to mix - the final product would be the New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Since the days of the SNES, Mario’s adventures just haven’t been the same and thought we’ve had the New Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo DS to tide us 2D lovers over, having Mario on the big screen moving left to right again is so old school, I could bust out the neon leg warms and the New Kids on the Block tapes.


For the retro gamer, NSMBW brings back sweet elements from Super Mario Bros. 3 like the Mushroom houses, the over-world themed maps, the Koopa Kids and the hidden warp points. We also get elements from Super Mario World like riding Mario’s buddy Yoshi again and collecting special coins from each level. Of course to avoid the same old, same old, new elements have been added into the game like special Wii-mote controls, new power-ups, up-dated graphics and 4 player co-op or versus play. Some of these new elements make the game better while others could have been left on the cutting room floor.
The Wii controls, for example, were a bad idea as the game difficulty only increases as you fumble to shake the remote and hold two buttons down together in order to hold objects and run at the same time. Whatever happened to simple pressing down and pressing one button to hold objects? That was easy – this new control scheme makes me feel like I’m having a damn seizure rather than playing a simple Mario game. This also makes it darn near impossible to save the hidden Toads in each world because you can’t run, hold, shake and jump, all at the same time. Whoever designed this control scheme must have a sixth finger – perhaps he’s the six-fingered man from the Princess Bride and that would explain why he made an impossibly, cruel control setup for us five-fingered people.

The multiplayer mode was a great idea but the character roster choices weren’t as it always leaves two players with the no name Toad characters instead of a cool character like Mario or Luigi. The roster would have been better with Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach like Super Mario Bros. 2 had, plus Nintendo could have broken the whole “Princess Peach is a helpless girl that can’t stay safe for more than 5 seconds” thing for the second time since the 80s. Its 2010 and the Princess has to learn to kick Bowser’s butt sooner or later.

This is definitely a challenging and fun game. Each level holds tons of nostalgia for the retro gamer but also brings some cool new elements into play like tilting see-saws controlled by the Wii remote and levels completely full of giant flying beasts for Mario to run on top of. Overall, the level design is on par with the original Super Mario Bros. 3 but with better graphics.


The music in this game is so cute and whimsical. The enemies actually bust a move at a key point in the music which is such a great little detail in the game. There are a lot of retro sounds throughout the game and if you managed to hit the end of stage marker at a specific time, you’ll get to hear the original Mario Bros. song play. Some sound effects like 1-ups and voice-overs come through the Wii-remote speaker make the player more aware of events in the game.
The graphics are extremely up-dated in comparison to the old 2D games with new chunky 3D/2D polygonal characters and layered and scrolling backgrounds. The Mario world is bright and colourful, full of life and each world out does the last with such cool themed levels.

I can’t say this isn’t the best Mario game I’ve ever played but I enjoy every minute I played it, and I’m happy to see Nintendo going to back to their roots and giving a little something back to their core gamers especially since we’ve politely suffered through all these fitness games. The New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a clear winner for all Mario fans as it has plenty of challenge and fun for everyone new and old to the series. I highly suggest you grab a copy, if you can find one.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Buy it!

Strategies on How to Save Twilight Fans Before They Rent or Buy

So tonight I'm going into work and at midnight, I have to stock the shelves with the new Twilight movie, New Moon. I'm a big fan of all things vampire except these books and movies. I watched the first film and laughed my butt of the whole time. Worst thing I've ever seen: bad vampire lore, bad dialog, bad acting and bad ending.

But tonight, tomorrow and Sunday, I have to deal with the uber fans looking for the new film, so here are a few various lines I plan to use on those who still might be saved from this horrible franchise:

1. No, I'm sorry we're all out of Twilight: New Moon. Perhaps I can interest you in a better teenage/vampire romance storyline that actually has good dialog and acting in it?  It's called Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the TV series and it was written by the same man who wrote Toy Story. You liked Toy Story, didn't you?


2. Really, dude ... Twilight? Listen, I know you believe watching this movie with your girlfriend will possibly get you laid, but there are other vampire movies you both can enjoy and will still keep your manhood in tack at the same time ... like Interview with the Vampire, Queen of the Damned, Lost Boys (if she's older) or Bram Stoker's Dracula. Come on, it's got Keanu in it. Girls love Keanu.


3. Again, I am not renting out copies of Twilight early but if you are looking for a vampire movies, may I suggest a movie written by an author who isn't a hack? Salem's Lot by Stephen King, perhaps? Or maybe I am Legend? We have the first Season of True Blood available and also Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned.


4. Really Twilight? Man, that movie is for pussies. If you want to know what real vampires are like can I suggest some really bloody vampire movies and not this Queer Eye for the Creature of the Night crud? Check out Bram Stoker's Dracula, John Carpenter's Vampires, Blade (all three movies) and Underworld (all three movies).


5. Renting Twilight, huh? Gee, you must love bad vampire movies then. Can I suggest a few more? Check out Bordello of Blood, From Dusk til Dawn (Once the vampires show up, it gets hokey), Dracula 2000, Fright Night, Vampire in Brooklyn and Van Helsing.

Finally, if this doesn't work, I'm just going start throwing random copies of the movie out and make them fight for it. At least if I can't save them, I can amuse myself through the torment.

Shaun Hatton on EP Daily

Shaun Hatton, my friend and former Toronto Thumbs blogger finally appears on EP Daily in my dream job. Lucky bugger.
We wish him the best of luck in his new job! Love you, Shaun!

Complete DVD for Tales of Monkey Island Now Available for Pre-Order

Those loyal fans who have been playing Tales of Monkey Island for several months can now opt to upgrade their series to the ultimate DVD collector's package in standard or deluxe edition. Telltale Games has put together two DVD packages which include the complete Tales of Monkey Island series on a DVD PC-ROM which can be upgrade to by current series owners or purchased by those late to the party.

The first option is the standard edition which comes with a DVD which includes the following:
* The complete five episode season of Tales of Monkey Island
* Highlight reel with commentary from Telltale design team
* Production art gallery
* Five fan-created "I Wonder What Happens" video collection
* Two Tales of Monkey Island official trailers
* Preview of Telltale's next game, Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse
* Desktop wallpapers and fun forum avatars

If you already own all the episodes from Tales of Monkey Island, then this DVD is free plus shipping and handling. It's $34.95 for first time buyers.


The second option is the deluxe edition which includes all the stuff listed above and the following:
* DVD slip case designed by Monkey Island art legend Steve Purcell
* A previously un-discovered new card from the Voodoo Lady's deck
* Gulf of Melange Map
* Commemorative button from Guybrush's Trial of the Century
* Drink coaster from Club 41
* Piratey piece of eight coin


If you already own all the episodes from Tales of Monkey Island, then you can upgrade to the Deluxe Edition for only $14.95 plus shipping and handling. It's $49.95 for first time buyers. Head to the Telltale Games site to pre-order yours now.

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse Trailer

Telltale Games is back with new adventures from our favorite talking dog and lagomorph! Sam & Max are back in Sam & Max: The Devil's Playground which is due out on April 15 2010.
You can pre-order this game series from Telltale Game now and receive a free episode from any of Telltale Games line-up as well as an exclusive membership in the Freelance Police Elite Force - all for $34.95. The Elite Force is a private forum group which will gain special access to exclusive information and deals throughout the year.

Yummy: 1-Up Mario Mushroom Cake

mario one up mushroom cake, originally uploaded by debbiedoescakes.

Another Debbie Does Cakes Masterpiece - A Mario 1-Up mushroom cake. So yummy looking!

More Missed Game Reviews

Bayonetta
Sega, Platinum Games
Available for Xbox 360, PS3

Bayonetta is possibly the weirdest game I’ve come across in a long time, though in my defence I don’t import games from Japan, so I’m pretty shielded from the truly weird stuff out there. Created by the director of Viewful Joe and Devil May Cry, Hideki Kamiya from Platinum Games, Bayonetta is action game that focuses on a beautiful witch named Bayonetta who uses guns and magical attacks via her hair to defeat her enemies.

The game centers on Bayonetta’s search for her lost memory as she was revived 20 years early from the bottom of a lake with no memory of her past. Enzo, an informant directs Bayonetta to a person which holds a device called “the Right Eye” which is somehow linked to her past. She must fight her way through angels, witches and other various creatures in order to restore the missing pieces of her past.

This game may as well be a sequel to the Devil May Cry series as opposed a standalone game because it has multiple elements parallel to the DMC series from the game play to the story line. If you’ve played the DMC series though, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing because those are great games to play – hard games but fabulous games.

You will have to fight a lot of the same enemies, mini bosses and main bosses multiple times through the game which just seemed like lazy programming to me. The developers were either trying to lengthen up a short game or they just got lazy and didn’t want to make new enemies in order to finish the game. There are a lot of combos to memorize in order to master the game unless you want to run through the game like me – pushing random buttons and hoping that you kill something.

Ultimately you have to check out this game just to see it for yourself as Bayonetta is one of those characters that you aren’t sure if she was meant to be serious or slightly comical. The girl has guns in her shoes and hair that attacks enemies, so you tell me?

Rating: 7 out of 10
Rent it!

Halo Wars
Microsoft Games Studios, Ensemble Studios
Available for Xbox 360

Halo Wars was my first Halo game ever and probably the reason I decided to give Halo 3: ODST a chance in the first place. While I finished Halo War probably within a few days of receiving it, my review of the game took a back seat of the other games I had to review that the time and then I just plum forgot to review the darn thing. I regret not talking about this great real time strategy game especially since it sparked my interested in the Halo franchise, so today I’m finally going to talk about this title.

Halo Wars was the first non-FPS genre game for the Halo franchise but it didn’t fail to live up to the excellence that usually follows the Halo name (I say usually because I saw Halo Legends a week ago and it was good awful). Taking place before the events of the first Halo game, Halo Wars follows the missions of a UNSC warship called The Spirit of Fire which is commanded by Captain James Cutter. You control through most missions though, a marine named Sergeant John Forge and all units under the UNSC like Spartans, Warthogs and more. Like a RTS, you are given missions with objectives, then various units and building to controls in order to complete those missions. Forge is a hero unit with special abilities which is usually given to you in the beginning and must survive all missions.

The campaign mode follows the missions of the UNSC only but the multiplayer mode lets you play as either the UNSC or Covenant. The Covenant has their own units to play with and it was a darn shame there wasn’t a campaign mode for their side.

While most RTS games played via consoles do not play as well as their PC counterparts, Halo Wars was surprisingly easy to control and felt suited for the Xbox 360. Of course, there wasn’t a PC version to compare it to but I think Ensemble Studios did a great job putting together this game either way.

Besides the Command & Conquer series by EA, I can’t honestly think of any good RTS games made for the console in the last 10 years, so Halo Wars is easily a recommended buy for RTS fans. It has excellent online multiplayer support and a lengthy campaign mode with 3 difficulty settings plus this is probably a budget title by now which will make it cheap to buy.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Buy it!

Fable 2
Microsoft Game Studio, Lionhead Studios
Available for Xbox 360

Believe it or not, Fable 2 was my game of the year in 2009 and I never actually reviewed it – how’s that for procrastination? It was an amazing game though and there was been a lot of coverage lately about the third installation in the series which is slated for release for either this year or the next, which is why I wanted to go back and finally talk about Fable 2 and how amazing this game is.

Fable 2 puts you in the role of an adventurer (male or female, your choice) who witnesses the death of their sister at the hands of the crazed Lord Lucien and now is on a quest to stop the Lord from building a giant magical tower which will destroy the land. You are one of four fabled heroes that destroyed the tower once before and you must find the other 3 in order to complete the group and stop Lord Lucien.

The main concept of the Fable series is creating your own character and story through choices – both good and bad. You have your main quest to complete but also side quests which how they are completed will affect how you look, grow and are seen in the eyes of others. Ultimately though everything in the game affects you from the food you eat to the tattoos you wear. The world is your playground of choices - you can marry anyone you want (anyone), choose your clothes, advance your skills, change your weapons, make money via local jobs and even have sex and make babies. This game tries to give you the full life experience which is something we’ve never seen in a console game before.

A new and cool addition to the game is the dog companion which helps you find treasures and defends you against enemies. The original version of the game gave you only one breed of dog to play with but additional downloadable content packs now available will give you access to potions that will change your dog into different breeds.

Most of the time when I review a game, I play it as least halfway through if not all the way through to the end, time allowing but Fable 2 I actually played twice over plus. I was obsessed with this game to the point I was trying to get all the achievements and that never happens to me with any of my games. If that isn’t a stellar recommendation I don’t know what is.

Also this is probably the best buy out there right now if you haven’t already pick this game up as you have three different ending to play towards which means great replay value and Fable 2 is now a budget title, so it’s easy on the wallet.

Rating: 10 out of 10
Buy it!

Rip Off Alert: Half Life Box Art

I found this Half Life box art today on Bit Mob linked from a site called VG Box Art.com, but funny thing is ... I've seen this before. My friend, Arcade Art made a couple of Half Life NES bead sets a while back and along with them she designed box art for the original NES.

This box art design is composed almost completely of her original sprites and even her original box art concept. And though the artist, Grand on VGBoxArt.com mentions he saw bead sprites for Half Life, he doesn't link to Arcade Art's original work and the way he phrases his description of the box, it sounds like he made everything.

Saw some Half-Life bead sprites, so I went ahead and made a sprite of Gordon Freeman & a headcrab. Made the 'black box' NES template from the ground up, and I created the screenshots myself.

I'm happy with the result and I'll definitely keep on doing these retro boxes.

Overall, most artists don't mind people using their original work but for God's sake, give them credit for it if you don't ask for permission. This guy is getting all the credit for Arcade's hard work on the picture design & sprites and that's not fair.

A First Look at Batman: Under the Red Hood Movie

This weekend I checked out Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths which is a fantastic movie if you are a DC Comic fan but on the DVD was a featurette on a new movie in the DC universe, Batman: Under the Red Hood which is coming to DVD in Summer 2010.

I managed to find the featurette on You Tube and posted it here. The movie follows the graphic novel, A Death in the Family which covers the epic story of death of Jason Todd's Robin.


While my favorite voice actors, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill were not listed as the Dark Knight and the Joker for this movie, the producers still brought in some amazing actors for this tale: Bruce Greenwood as Batman, Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing, Jenson Ackles as Red Hood, and Joe DiMaggio as The Joker.

This is going to be an awesome Batman movie.