And Today's Moral Is...

Just because Bin Laden is kaput* doesn't mean THIS game SUDDENLY gets any better with age. Still, I bet it rises in value a bit on eBay from those sellers that have actually played it and know what it is (that mix of crude capitalism and cathartic revenge fantasies always seems to find its niche, huh?)...

*(Amusingly enough, I was looking for an empty poster tube and found a target poster with his mug on it sent out by Encore to promote the game. I'd give it away, but like the game, it's something that's quite a bizarre part of my collection. I'll send a scan of a photo to anyone who wants one...)

Release Calendar: 9/14 - 9/18

Yikes, I DID say it was going to be a busy week for games, soooo, here goes:

9/14/2009
Art Academy: First Semester (DS/DSi)
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS/DSi)
Mart Racer (Wii)
My Boyfriend (DS/DSi)
Oscar in Toyland (DS/DSi)
Princess in Love (DS/DSi)
Spaceball: Revolution (Wii)
Texas Hold 'em Poker (Wii)

9/15/2009
Age of Empires III: Complete Collection (PC)
Animal Planet: Vet Life (DS/DSi/Wii)
Ant Nation (DS/DSi)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC )
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom (DS/DSi)
Chicken Blaster (DS/DSi/Wii)
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (DS/DSi/PC/PS3/PSP/360/Wii)
Dreamer: Top Model (DS/DSi)
Heroes Over Europe (PS3/360)
Learn Geography (DS/DSi)
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (DS/DSi/PS2/PS3/PSP/Wii/360)
Monster Trucks Mayhem (Wii)
NHL 2K10 (PS2/PS3/Wii/36o)
NHL 10 (PS3/360)
Need for Speed: Shift (PC/PS3/PSP/360)
Our House (DS/DSi)
Our House Party (Wii)
Pacific Liberator (Wii)
Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection (PS3/360)
Qubed: Lumines Live! (Xbox 360)
RACE On (PC)
Red Faction: Guerrilla (PC)
Resident Evil 5 (PC)
Runes of Magic Chapter II: The Elven Prophecy (PC)
Scribblenauts (DS/DSi)
Time of Shadows (PC)
Tornado Outbreak (PS3/Wii/360)
Toy Story Mania (Wii)
WET (PS3/360)
Women's Murder Club: Twice in a Blue Moon (PC)

9/16/2009
Panzer General: Allied Assault (360)

9/17/2009
Madballs in Babo: Invasion (PC)

9/18/2009
Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim (PC)
Supreme Ruler 2020 Gold (PC)

Astro Boy Game Taps Kristen Bell For Voice Cast

Never have friends over when you're trying to work. As I was typing the original version of the above headline, I hear a loud voice from behind me "ASTRO BOY TAPS KRISTEN BELL...?!!" then a big hearty horse laugh. Let's just say someone got a big boot to the ass and ended up on the other side of my front door. Besides, eleven games arrived between this morning and afternoon, so I've a LOT of work to do. *Ahem* - now where was I? Oh yeah: Astro Boy news.

D3Publisher has locked down the main voice talent for its upcoming release, Astro Boy: The Video Game with Kristen Bell as Cora and Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy. The game, based on the upcoming Astro Boy CG movie (itself based on Osamu Tezuka's original characters and concepts) will hit stores on October 20, 2009 for the Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP and Nintendo DS/DSi three days before the film's release. What to expect in this latest High Voltage Software (The Conduit)-developed game? Well, short and to the point was the press release, Butt Machine Guns and all.

("Butt Machine Guns?!" you say? Hey, I grew up watching Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion. You gotta love Tezuka's imagination, that's for sure!)

In ASTRO BOY: THE VIDEO GAME, players take control of Astro Boy, a young boy robot with incredible powers and use his entire arsenal of iconic weapons and abilities – Super Strength, Finger Lasers, Arm Cannon, Drill Attack and Butt Machine Guns - to battle hordes of robot enemies and colossal bosses.

Here's the game's cover art:

an assortment of colorful screenshots:

and the E3 trailer (in case you haven't seen it yet).

We'll have more Astro Boy: The Video Game updates as they arrive - stay tuned.

Now Playing (The Update)...

Yeah, yeah, by popular demand, an updated list of what's in my playstack (some of which will actually get reviewed this week - whee!):

Little King's Story (Wii)
FUEL (Playstation 3)
Prototype (Xbox 360)
The Conduit (Wii)
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled (Nintendo DS)
Klonoa (Wii)
The Munchables (Wii)
Damnation (Playstation 3)
Muzzle Flash (Xbox import - I was planning a FAQ for some folks who asked about this rarity on GameFaqs a while back, but the game is impossible to complete thanks to some mind-blowing balance issues)
Drakan: The Ancient's Gates (PlayStation 2)
Diablo II (PC - waitin' for that 1.13 update...)
Arx Fatalis (PC)
Arx Fatalis (Xbox - I've an alpha build I'm comparing to the PC version for an upcoming feature - the stuff they left out of the retail version is interesting indeed...)