Mr. Universal's Blog

While the whole of America digests tons and tons of turkey, at least we know what a good percentage of Japan is doing right about now - playing Animal Crossing!  Or more accurately, Machi e Ikouyo: Doubutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing: City Folk) for the Nintendo Wii, as the highly-anticipated sequel/revision debuts at # 1 on the Japanese charts with a staggering 305,000 copies.  This seems just about right for the franchise, whose last iteration (for the Nintendo DS) debuted three years ago to a very similar 350,000 in its first week of sales.  Worldwide, that game went on to sell nearly 10 million units, making it one of the portable platform's most successful games.

Whether its North American counterpart will find similar success is still unknown, despite attempts by a hostile gaming press who seems dead set on spoiling other peoples' fun.  To read our official Impression of the game, mosey on over to Popzara Press and check it out right HERE!

Arigato, Media Crate!

One of the VERY BEST things about EA's latest original first-person adventure Mirror's Edge is its soundtrack - its AMAZING.  If you haven't played the game yet (go play it), make sure to crank the volume up, as the thing has blisteringly good audio, as the above video clearly demonstrates in spades.  "Still Alive" was written and produced by Rami Yacoub and Arnthor Birgisson, performed by Swedish sensation Lisa Miskovsky is achingly beautiful, and represents a monumental shift in how gaming soundtracks are created and marketed.

Anyone else remember the Mortal Kombat smash-hit by (who else?) The Immortals?  Is this how far things have come in the intervening decade?  Not that anyone watches music videos anymore, but definitely check this one out.  "Still Alive" is also available on the Mirror's Edge soundtrack, and is probably the best part of an otherwise exceptional game.

Whoopsie!  Chock another rush-to-judgement positively SQUASHED by a little patience and appeal to sanity.  A few weeks ago fellow editor John Lucas and I were chatting as to whether or not we should write up a story concerning that curious MTV Blog article about Nintendo's 'decision' to not allow used Wii Speak accessories to function, as replacing the included (and necessary) code for the upcoming Wii Speak Channel would be impossible.  It just seemed so...incorrect.  Turns out it was, as the company never intended to make the service unavailable to those who picked up one up used.

Keep reading for the whole report, with a few well-earned jabs at the utter insanity of irresponsible blog reporting...

OK all you moc-up artists, time to cast out those 'old' Halo 3: Recon concept pieces, because Bungie just gave you something to do this holiday weekend. The previously announced Halo 3 expansion, once called Halo 3: Recon, has been rejiggered and renamed to the curious sounding Halo 3: ODST. What's an ODST? Here's the skinny, direct from the official Bungie Blog:

"ODST" (literally pronounced "Oh-Dee-Ess-Tee" and not "ohdst") is the acronym for "Orbital Drop Shock Trooper." This special forces branch of the UNSC military force is called into action for highly specialized, small scale operations. ODST units were deployed during portions of the Halo 2 and Halo 3 campaign and have also been featured in some of the Halo novels.

Mission received, and all traces of the previous whats-it-called have been replaced with Halo 3: ODST. Still no official release date, but the blog says Fall 2009, which seems about right. Keep up to date with all the happening and upgrades for yourselves by checking out the Bungie Blogs right HERE!

Its been hinted, its been teased...but after three years and some of the most aggressive marketing efforts ever seen, Microsoft has officially declared the Xbox 360 besting their original Xbox game console.  Although exact numbers weren't available, we'd assume that the cumulative worldwide sales of the Xbox 360 are greater than the original console's 25 million, surpassing the original's total in three years (compared to four it took the original black-box to gain).

Of course, Microsoft effectively killing the original platform hasn't hurt.  While Sony has sold millions of PlayStation 2 consoles well after the introduction of its successor, sales of the original Xbox virtually disappeared soon after the 360 was introduced.  Just as well, as the company's games division has finally produced profits and seen their prospects in once hostile territories (Japan) open up.  How long will the current Xbox 360 be with us?  Given the recent launch of the New Xbox Experience, anything is possible!

Thanks to MCV!

A word of caution before you go clicking PLAY just above - the first red-band trailer for the upcoming blaxploitation 70s retread Black Dynamite is intense...and happily so!  Michael Jai White (Spawn) returns to form as the titular character fighting against The Man after killing his brother.  If this sounds suspiciously like Undercover Brother, you'd be right...but the first (mature) trailer is all shades of awesome, and made me laugh more in its quick runtime than Brother did altogether.

This could indeed another stinker (likely), but that doesn't stop the trailer from kicking all sorts of booty.  Enjoy, but remember the warning!

Thank goodness for the endless varities in animation!  Famed stop-motion animation guru Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) returns to the form with the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline, due in February next year.  The tech-types are saying this will be the first-ever stop-motion flick shot in 3D, and should prove a testing ground for all future (we can hope) works in the medium.  

But despite a story well that's been pumped dry (Gaiman loves these Alice in Wonderland-type tales), Coraline looks visually stunning, significantly better than most cheap CG fare.  As any good fan of stop-motion thrills, I'll be there opening days.  Thanks to Trailer Addict for the streaming, but if you'd prefer the HD version, click right HERE!

I was at my local Borders Bookstore the other day, and I can't tell you the disappointment I felt pangs of disappointment to see the lack of Osamu Tezuka's work in their anime/graphic novel section.  Travesty!  While I'm certainly not the biggest manga fan in the world, I've always considered Tezuka outside the insulated world its become, destined to outlive where most fail, and inspire where most fade away.  Astro Boy is a perfect example, as the relatively tame (by his standards) tale of the android boy is set to get a fully-realized CG film, courtesy of Imagi Studios.

The first real teaser-trailer is up, and while its got shades of Iron Man all over it, the animation is looking good.  Great, even, and as long it can retain the essence of the original story, while matching it with Imagi's incredible visuals (TMNT was a looker), then it just might work.  FYI, the studio is also working on a feature-length Gatchaman film, so anime lovers can possibly rejoice!

Check out the first teaser for Astro Boy in both standard and HD formats right HERE!!

Is the fighting game making a comeback?  With so many high-profile sequels and remakes in the pipelines, my powers of observation point to... possibly!  Like fellow series revival Street Fighter IV, SNK/Playmore's timeless King of Fighters franchise is going full HD for its next version, but unlike the World Warrior set its keeping its sprite-sensabilities intact.  The only thing missing has been a proper US release date, and now it looks like the puzzle is nearly complete.

King of Fighters XII is coming home to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2009, hardly surprising given the popularity of the franchise here in North America, but good to know that a release is guaranteed.  Publisher Ignition Entertainment claims more info is forthcoming, so keep those twitch-fingers ready to move...

Big thanks to Shacknews!

Animal-rights activists and vegetarian advocates PETA are at it again, this time co-opting the impossibly cute look and feel of Taito's Cooking Mama franchise as a means to an end.  Here at Popzara, we love the Mama, so its with a heavy heart to see our beloved rendered with so much bloodlust in her eyes, bullying gamers to give up the turkey this Thanksgiving holiday for something a bit less...alive.

Calling it "The Unauthorized PETA Edition: Cooking Mama - Mama Kills Animals", the group hopes to educate gamers on how the busy holiday season helps kill over 40 million turkeys, claiming "Demonic 'Mama' Takes Delight in Cruelty to Animals, but She's All Smiles When Players Complete the Vegan Thanksgiving Feast".  Apparently, the original Mama relies on animal flesh a bit too much, and its time to even the score.  Bonus videos include documentary footage of a turkey slaughterhouse.  Wonderful.

The full Flash-based game can be found right HERE!  Also, keep reading for some additional commentary from a fallen son...

Wouldn't Epic's Unreal Engine 3 look absolutely lovely if handled by a Japanese developer?  Square/Enix certainly thinks so, and The Last Remnant is the result of that mind-bending union.  And the results look...well, they look like pretty much every Square/Enix game made these past few years, which should be enough for their legion of fans.  Not to be dismissive, but there isn't much here we haven't seen before, but its an Xbox 360 eclusive (for now), and that alone should be enough for Microsoft-only JRPG lovers to celebrate.

For those of you catching the new James Bond this weekend, chances are you'll be treated to the first 'real' look at the upcoming Star Trek redux trailer.  But in case you're stuck home, or just don't like 007 then you can bet the internet is here to help!  Behold the first (albeit bootlegged) look at the all-new Star Trek cast and crew.  The real, pristine version hits early next week, but if you can't wait that long why not just click 'play' and be done with it?

I'll reserve my judgement on the film until after I've seen it, but I must say that I'm pleasantly surprised at how two of the 'new' members of the Enterprise look in this - and these were precisely the two I was dreading.  The new 'Bones' McCoy (Karl Urban) and of course Scotty (Simon Pegg).  Not sure what to think about the new Spock (Zachary Quinto), as clearly a hair bob does not a great Vulcan make!

LocoRoco is my all-time favorite PSP game, and one of the driving forces behind my picking up Sony's portable machine.  That said, my once-impossible dreams of even more LocoMotion are closer than ever to coming true as the sequel readies itself for release, and to celebrate Sony has releases a technically stunning and surprisingly playable Flash-demo of the upcoming blob 'n squisher.

Seriously folks, this looks and sounds incredible, although I can't help but wonder why a version wasn't released on the PSP's new PlayStation Network store...but as this version is hosted on British games site Game.co.uk, perhaps a full North American version is in the works...until then, check out the sights and sounds of LocoRoco 2 right HERE!

Sometimes art imitates life, and sometimes life imitates art.  The most reclusive (as in non-existent) character in the Street Fighter mythos finally makes his first-ever appearance in Street Fighter IV.  Gouken, the master of both Ryu and Ken and perhaps the most popular by-product of Engrish translation EVER is alive and well, kicking butt and taking names in the latest trailer for Capcom's upcoming home console port.

It's been a strange trip from Shen Long to April Fool's Joke to actual existance, but for all those who've waited 20+ years to challenge the man who gave Ryu his hadoken, the wait's nearly over!

I'm quite the proponent of the Wii's Opera web browser.  Much better than either Sony's attempt (yuck) and Microsoft's (none), the TV-friendly way to sit around and browse a good portion of the web is certainly the most efficient and comfortable web-on-television yet created for the mainstream.  Speaking to a crowd at this year's NewTeeVee Live conference, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings seems to agree, and spoke about the need for such a streamlined system of interaction, especially if the net is ever going to compete with traditional broadband viewing devices (i.e. cable).

Says Hastings:

"The video game generation is comfortable with pointers (like the one from Nitendo's Wii video game) for the TV. Remember, it was a revolutionary event when we went from PC to the Mac and let go of tab keys in favor of the mouse. It was incredibly radical. What will be a similar transition is when we abandon the remote with 54 buttons and go to a simple pointer." 

Does this mean we'll be seeinga web-streamed Netflix service anytime soon for Nintendo's machine?  Unlikely, as Hastings was most likely referring to the need for web-based boxes to include such interfaces, and less on his feelings towards the Waggle Machine itself.  Oh, that and a super-expensive deal with Microsoft for distributing films through Xbox Live pretty much seals the deal.

Thanks to CNet for the heads-up!

For some of you reading this, Zach Synder's upcoming take on the classic graphic novel (the most acclaimed-ever, if you forget Spiegelman's Maus) and superhero-bending Watchmen is the most anticipated movie of 2009.  Heck, it just might be your most anticipated move EVER.  Can't say that I'm part of either click, but after a surprisingly dour first trailer, the second is doing a lot to keep the hype-heat flowing through these jaded veins of mine.

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE the Watchmen series/book/whatever.  Its just that I'm really starting to get burned-out on all these serious comic adaptations.  With The Dark Knight, The Spirit, and this all having been or will be released in less than one year, where did all the levity go?  But if you're one of the two aforementioned groups...here's your ticket.  Now about those Giant Squid rumors...

With Nintendo's industry-maligned (but public supported) Wii Fit dominating sales charts and selling millions around the world, it was only a matter of time before one of the world's biggest publishers wanted in on some of that sweet fitness action, and with EA's recent announcement of their appropriately titled EA Sports Active, that's exactly what the public at large is going to get...and most likely lots of it, as the company has plans to introduce an entirely new brand to their famous EA Sports line-up...

Keep reading for all the sweaty details!

And here we have the first trailer (i.e. teaser) for the next super-disaster film from super-disaster expert Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla) simply named 2012.  So what's that number stand for?  Well, I'm certainly not telling, and if you want to find out I'd suggest taking the teaser's advice and Googling it for yourselves.

Full Standard and HD versions available by simply clicking right HERE! and ponder the curious timing of a film about the year 2012 opening in Summer 2009.  We're...almost...there!

So what if Halloween and all its bone-chilling, undead fun is over for the year?  Zombies never go out of style, and that's why all you brain-chompers and graveyard haunters can finally grab a copy of Valve's Left 4 Dead on either the Xbox Live or PC Steam servers.  It's being hailed as the next big thing in the living undead world (not that difficult given the hyperbolic state of the industry), but if its half as fun as Bub the Zombie (see above) we're all in for a good time.

The full retail version of Left 4 Dead bites into retail November 18th!

One of the Nintendo Wii's most underrated features has been the Opera browser - underrated by some, but not yours truly.  You wouldn't believe how many times the thing has been useful, particularly at parties and gatherings when watching YouTube videos (on huge HDTVs) is tons more fun than most computer monitors.  That and all sorts of bedtime Wiki-checking, and I'm sure more savvy types than myself have found all kinds of useful, multimedia streaming exploits.

Now it loks like it will finally be getting some much-needed upgrade love this December, and keep reading for the possible changes!

Now that's some numbers even the Cole Train could love!  Of course I'm talking about Gears of War 2 (or should I say, still talking about it) as the first sequel to Epic's genre-busting combat thriller, and the most fun you'll have jam-packed in tight quarters with big, over-bulked up soldiers.  Well, most of you, at any rate.  According to our good buds over at VGChartz 2.1 million were sold on day one, no doubt including early midnight releases, and this already makes the sequel one of this year's best-sellers.

As expected, the most potent area for sales was North America, gobbling up 1.4 million copies, while the rest of the world made up the rest.  Whether Gears 2 will top the original's blistering 5.2 million total is a given, the only question is when it'll happen.  Congrats to Epic and Microsoft for yet another stellar military combat thriller, and for giving the world even more of the Cole Train!!

So its Sunday night, November 9th for anyone keeping track, and I just finished beating Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360.  As the credits roll past (and their fun picture shout-outs), I can't help feeling a little disappointed - in myself.  Not only is this the fastest I've finished a game in years, but the fact I was able to finish it at all either speaks volumes about my diminishing skills as a gamer, or how well-executed the whole thing was.  This is by no means my (or Popzara's) official Impression of the game, which will come later in the week, but a quick look at just how far I've fallen in the 'finishing game' world.

A few words of wisdom from this severely compromised gamer after the jump...

Enjoying that shiny, brand-new copy of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts for your Xbox 360?  If you're using a standard-definition television, probably not.  Turns out that the return of the Rare's bear (all true, I swear) somehow made it through the elaboriate testing process without a soul making sure that the game's font and text were legible on the millions of non-HDTVs around the world.  The company's original response, via the NeoGaf forums, was less than understanding, explaining that fixing the issue was "simply something that's too expensive in terms of time, resources and money to alter."  Naturally those gamers using SDTVs were less than amused, and rightfully so.

Full admission of guilt and promise-to-fix statement after the jump.  That and some colorful commentary from yours truly...

You're expecting a massive, lavish love-letter to Pixar to help usher in the newest (and best-ever) look at their next film, Up?  I'm learning to restrain my emotions, but twenty seconds in and I was smiling like a fool.  Yes, I'm prejudiced when it comes to these guys...but isn't that an earned prejudice?  Old meets young in this bizarre and utterly original new adventure from the company you'd expect nothing less from; even their sequels.

Up hits both standard and digital 3D theaters everywhere May 29th, 2009!

Say what you will about their games, but know that Activision/Blizzard isn't in the business of exploiting you...as long as you're a hardcore Ghostbusters or 50 Cent fan.  The unceremonious dumping of both games, plus several others, that followed the merger of both companies struck many as odd choices for the axe.  Their crime?  Too original, and untested, apparently as CEO Bobby Kotick explained the lack of marketing potential of such things:

"[these games] don't have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million dollar franchises. ... I think, generally, our strategy has been to focus... on the products that have those attributes and characteristics, the products that we know [that] if we release them today, we'll be working on them 10 years from now." 

This coming from a company that pinches off sequels and spin-offs faster than Panera bakes bread.  A few thoughts after the jump...

What's a decade between old friends...or the apocalypse?  It seems that the long, long wait for Fallout 3 has gone over quite well with fans and newcomers to the franchise alike, as the Bethesda-developed adventure has shipped a staggering 4.7 million copies to retailers worldwide in its first week alone.  Spanning three platforms and more Special-Edition packages than Terminator 2 (its true), these are Halo/Grand Theft Auto-type numbers the game is putting up.

Again, the videogame industry loves to play the 'shipped and sold' game with marketing, so we're not quite sure just how many of those millions of Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions actually made it to their respective slots...but I'm guessing quite a few.  Once again, it looks like having a built-in fanbase and almost universal acclaim is the way to sell a project these days - who knew?

So its taken nearly half a year to get a demo...what's a few months between friends (and non-buyers)?  Konami's smash-hit and the PlayStation 3's biggest hit finally gets a demo to call its very own.  Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot hits the PSN (PlayStation Network) in all its demo glory, which makes two Metal Gear Solid-related stories this week, after the company announced one-million users within the Metal Gear Online universe.

If stellar sales and high-scores haven't done it for you, check out our own official impression of the game right HERE!  So go grab some popcorn and settle in for some Solid Snake action, and if you're lucky you might actually get to play a bit of it!

Despite the somewhat downward predictions of some gaming blogs (some would even say negative), it looks like Japan isn't having any trouble warming up to Nintendo's latest hardware refresh of their ever-popular DS console.  The DSi - complete with sexy digital cameras, enhanced online capabilities, and removal of Gameboy Advance slot - has managed to sell an extraordinary 200,000 units in its first week of release.  More accurately, 170,779 of those were sold in just the first two days.

This beats out the impressive 159,896 units of its closest competitor (and fellow console refresh) the PSP-3000 during its debut week in its home country.  The two portables have taken Japan by storm recently, easily outselling the closest home-console competitor (Nintendo Wii), signifying the country's never-ending love of the small and technologically cute.

Thanks to IGN for the numbers!

Those holding onto the hope that Capcom would further involve the cast of Street Fighter III into the newer, 3D powered part 4 won't be getting much satisfaction with the latest set of new screenshots from the upcoming home console version.  Lots of Sakura, Cammy, Dan, Gen, and a little Fei Long action help bridge the gap between Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter 4 - skipping the third entirely and going right for nostalgia.

Hit the jump for more action, which is simply too big for us to contain on the splash page!

The next interactive chapter in the Halo franchise and beloved developer Ensemble Studios swan song finally gets a new gameplay trailer to help those doubting the prospects of a good-to-great playing RTS on a gaming console get over their reservations.  Not quite sure how Halo Wars is going to sit with the Halo-faithful expecting massive headshots and gobs of Xbox Live smacktalk - but the Koreans will probably love it.

As a longtime fan of Age of Empires, I'm open-minded enough to give it a try...although the Universe at War-style simplified controls don't inspire the most confidence at this point.  So what's a strategy fan to do: snag the Xbox 360 version, or wait until the inevitable PC port to come?  Sure RTS games may not excel on gaming consoles, but that's what they used to say about first-person shooters as well.  This game has irony written all over it.

Despite its ups and downs, the supremely geek-driven (and completely fictional) Fanboys film is set to finally hit theaters in February, and to help get the word out there's another trailer sizzling up previews and various online outlets.  The touching story of a group of Star Wars junkies out to invade George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch hasn't had the easiest road to victory, but come release day we'll see if all the hype was worth it.

Until then, check out the latest trailer for Fanboys, which features more than one familiar face (even William Shatner) right HERE!

Scoff if you like, but there's a good arguement to be made that LittleBigPlanet is the most important release ever for Sony and their PlayStation brand.  With flagging sales, (distant) third-place status and ruptured ports of Xbox 360 titles Sony's in desperate need of a killer - and original - title.  By all accounts LittleBigPlanet is that game, and while one feature that should have made the retail version all the sweeter missed its deadline Sony looks to be fixing that mistake by Christmas time.

Importing images into LBP's highly customizable 'create' feature currently requires the awkward use of Sony's EyeToy peripheral - not the best way to get that shiny, polished look the professional wants.  It looks like Sony may be releasing an image-importer just in time for the holidays, so says the evidently impartial PS3Attitude blog, as the feature was left on the cutting room floor to make its original release date.  That's all we've got so far...but any good LBP news is good news!

Although Halloween 2008 may be a thing of the past, that doesn't mean we're giving up on the living dead just yet - far from it!  With Valve's upcoming Left 4 Dead ready to bite into some brainy-goodness, Sega's upping the lightgun-ante with House of the Dead: Overkill for the Nintendo Wii.  And that's just what you'll be getting as the target is definitely the glut of mini-games and puzzlers for the waggle machine, where not even adorable widdle ponies are safe.

Exploding ponies?  Crazy undead surgeons?  Yeah, this truly is the hardcore you've been waiting for!