Visits to the arcade were pretty rare during my childhood. But whenever I got the chance to do so, I made it a point to watch other people play, especially those that were fighting games and shmups. It’s quite an enjoyable experience, and even as recent as 2 years ago, I spent more than half an hour in a Bangkok arcade watching a colleague beat King of Fighters.

While watching people play in arcades or even on Youtube might be fun, you can watch such footage on DVD. The Insanity DVD series features footage (of the superplay variety) from shmups and each DVD usually comes accompanied with the soundtrack CD for the games featured on the DVD disc along with extras such as booklets containing illustrations, settings data, audio CD timetable, comments and many more.

Check out the following Insanity DVD titles, the games featured are usually mentioned in the DVD’s title:

• Insanity DVD: The Flash Desire Raiden III [DVD+CD] (Click here for purchase information)
• Insanity DVD: The Aces High Raiden [2DVD+2CD] (Click here for purchase information)
• Insanity DVD: The Shooting Love XII Stag & Trizeal [DVD+CD] (Click here for purchase information)
• Insanity DVD: The Secret Lover Mushihimesama [DVD+CD] (Click here for purchase information)
• Insanity DVD: The Lunatic Ibara [DVD+CD] (Click here for purchase information)

If you are wondering why does the cover for the Japanese version of Mario & Luigi RPG 3!! looks so understated, you’ll have to look back at the covers of the first two games in this trilogy. All three covers share the same understated look, starting with Mario & Luigi RPG for the Gameboy Advance:

This is followed by Mario & Luigi RPG 2, which was released for the Nintendo DS. This conveyed more of the game’s plot compared to the that of the cover for the first game.

And then the latest in this series, Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!, also for the Nintendo DS:

The North American version of the Mario & Luigi RPG games on the other hand, tend to sport very busy covers and even longer titles! Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (a.k.a Mario & Luigi RPG) for the GBA had the following cover:

Whereas Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (a.k.a Mario & Luigi RPG 2) for the Nintendo DS had the following cover, which was very “busy” indeed:

As of now, there’s no word on the boxart and name for the North American release of Mario & Luigi RPG 3. Smart money is that both will be in the mold of Partners in Time and Superstar Saga. How about Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Gastrointestinal Tract?

Monster Truck racing is a pretty big thing in the US and sight of a truck with oversized wheels crushing a junked car never fails to trigger awe/excitement and is often accompanied by cheering and hooting from spectators.

Now, imagine taking all that power and making these Monster Trucks race each other in town! That scenario would certainly be a law-enforcement nightmare in real life, but thanks to Monster Jam: Urban Assault, you can do so through the confines of your Nintendo DS.

Sports Entertainment

Monster Jam: Urban Assault brings about the Monster Jam event experience to the Nintendo DS. Calling this a racing game would be a disservice as the game really has a little of Tony Hawk and SSX in its gene pool.

The game’s Championship mode further divides into 4 different race categories, namely Smasher, Speedster, Stuntman and World Series. Take this piece of advice, give the circuit racing category (Speedster) a miss and check out the Smasher, Stuntman and World Series categories. These make up the reasons for having the game in your shelf.

Descriptions Descriptions

The Smasher events will have you driving around an open course smashing into stuff. The more stuff you smash into (double decker buses are likely targets aside from the normal trees, cars, bus stands, etc), the higher your score. Stuntman events will have you pulling off stunts like mid air spins, wheelies, and jumps in  a bid to get a high score.

The World Series is a culmunative of the three other events and has something else which is distinctive to this category only (more on that later).

Real-life Monster Jam is similar to that of the F1 circus and sure enough, you are to choose a location right after choosing a race category. Score enough points in one race and you’ll unlock more locations to race on in a particular category.

Pretty Realistic

The game presents itself really well in full 3D with no noticeable lag. To really get a feel of what the 3D engine can do and how it feels like driving a Monster Truck, switch to the bumper cam during a race and get ready to experience a heck of a ride. The camera moves about in a realistic manner and I’m actually quite surprised at the effort made to make this work.

I’ve haven’t actually driven a Monster Truck before but I’ve got no complaints over the handling of these vehicles in the game. Being tall vehicles with higher than normal centers of gravity, it’s pretty easy to comprehend that these are ungainly machines and the game conveys this pretty well along with all the bumpy suspension motions.

Voice Acting and Instant Gratification

While the first three categories feature little if no voicework, the World Series races will have you hearing full-blown commentary. From the announcement of your vehicle choice right from the get-go to describing your stunts, it is pretty engaging.

The instant action mode provides plenty of events, from participating in “Monster Jump” and Freestyle events to performing “Air Strikes” and “Skill Jumps” with your oversized jalopies. It’s a shame though that there’s no WFC nor online leaderboard functionality. I would certainly want to post up my Stunt scores for all to see. There is however, local WiFi multiplayer support.

The Bottom Line

I have a hunch that Monster Jam: Urban Assault will be one of the more underrated racing games of 2009, much like how I felt about Speed Racer: The Video Game in 2008 (turned out to be true!). Don’t let this game slip into obscurity, click here for purchase information.

The Interview Three-Dog Didn’t Broadcast

Three-Dog: Good evening children! Here’s Three-Dog! Now have I got a treat for you tonight. We have here, the Saviour of the Wastelands right here in MY studio for an exclusive interview! Now, 101, say something to all my, I mean your Wastelander fans out there.

Lone Wanderer: Hey ya.

Three-Dog: There you go people, our boy here is fighting the Good Fight! Few words needed indeed. So 101, it’s been a while since I last saw you…back when you fixed GNR’s satellite dish, how are things going? Did ya find your Dad yet?

Lone Wanderer: Nope, but I’ve been travelling around the Wastelands.

Three-Dog: You mean you have not found James yet? One day you came in here howling for your Dad and now you are just wandering around the Wastelands. What’s the deal, 101?

Lone Wanderer: I figure that I get some experience first before setting out looking for him. I mean…the Wastelands is a big bad place, at least that’s what they tell us in the Vault. Now I know it’s a big bad hellhole.

Three-Dog: Easy there 101. You do look different from the greenhorn look the first time you came in here. Is that combat armour you are wearing? And where did you get that big-ass gun?? I’m sure my listeners would be curious to know, not to mention yours truly.

Lone Wanderer: I got the armour as a gift, you know from Reilly.

Three-Dog: I heard about the mess you stirred up rescuing them Rangers, what the hell exactly went down there?

Lone Wanderer: I was looting a hospital when I got an emergency transmission on my Pip Boy. Turns out this bunch of Rangers were stuck on the roof of the building next door.

Three-Dog: So it was pure luck those Rangers were found? I’ll be damned. Now listeners, we all know what happened next. It seems that wherever Vault Boy here goes, those stinky Frankensteins will get creamed. Tell me 101, what’s the secret behind your success? Even I, the all-might Three Dog would like to know.

Lone Wanderer: See here this piece, it’s called the Lincoln Repeater; the best damn gun any Wasteland Wanderer could ask for.

Three-Dog: Here’s a question from one of our listeners, Lucy from Megaton. She asks: “Are you God?” Heh, that question should be pointed to me. Care to answer that 101?

Lone Wanderer: Nope, I’m just a guy with a bad-ass gun.

Three-Dog: I wouldn’t want to be holding you up here kid, you got places to go and people to kill and I’ve got a show to run. Any words for my listeners before you head off into the Wastelands?

Lone Wanderer: Always carry a big gun with ya. Having ammo highly recommended.

Three-Dog: There you have it children, the Saviour of the Wastelands. And now, a public service announcement, and this applies to you too, 101: Don’t feed the Yao Guai. That is all.

I can’t believe the number of DVDs in this Alien Predator Total Destruction Box Set. The count stands at 17 discs in order to hold the following movies:

• Alien
• Aliens
• Alien 3
• Alien Resurrection
• Predator
• Predator 2
• AVP
• AVP 2

I guess they are throwing in all the Special Features too for all the above mentioned Alien / Predator movies. The price tag for this box set? USD 69.90, down USD 25 from its original price of USD 94.90

Click here to check it out!

I remember as a kid I used to watch Doraemon on TV1 every evening at 6.30 p.m. without fail. The blue robotic cat from the future and his pouch full of tricks always had to rescue his hapless ward Nobita. This along with funny supporting characters like Giant were a recipe for laughter and awe for us kids.

Doraemon’s mega-popular status as a Japanese cultural icon has seen him grace magazine covers, selected by Time Magazine as one of 22 Asian Heroes (I have the issue..somewhere) and have tonnes of merchandize in his name and likeness.

A recent addition to Doraemon-merchandize-mania would be Taito’s Doraemon cushions. The cushion depicts Doraemon as hiding in one of those playground tubes with his head sticking out. Check out the product description:

The tubes that are placed in the playground provided a lot of potential places for children to hide, however, when it was Doraemon’s turn to hide in it, he only hid his body, leaving his face, hands and bottom out in full view. Give his limbs a tweak or a squeeze when you feel particularly mischievous.

The ear-less robotic cat is very much at home in his metal tube, he also thinks that he is very well hidden, look at his relaxed, or snickering expressions. But doubtlessly, as a bright eyed person, you have spotted him and is ready to catch him. Leave him in the tube, he makes a wonderful cushion for your sore back this way.

The cushions are available at USD 19.90 each. Click here for purchase information.

The sequel to hit PSP game Patapon, Patapon 2: Don-Chaka, is now available at a bargain bin price of USD 24.90. Yup, check it out over here.

Banpresto has recently released a new set of Super Mario Character Figurines Series 3 as part of its Nintendo Prize Collection featuring Mario, Wario, Goomba, Yoshi (Yellow) and Yoshi (Green).

These figurines stand at a height of 12 cm with the exception of Goomba; the squat fellow is 9 cm in height. Priced at an affordable USD 11.90 each and USD 9.90 for Goomba, this set is a worthy purchase for any Super Mario fan.

Interested? Click here for purchase information.

D-Pad Hero is a really cool homebrew game for the NES and it’s pretty easy to see where the game draws its inspiration from, which is Guitar Hero and its ilk.

The game is freely available from the developer’s website in ROM form. While you can run the game on an emulator on a PC, check out the following videos whereby the game is played on the Nintendo DS with the help of a flashkart and nesDS, a NES emulator for the NDS:

It’s really scary playing the game on the DS, its as tough as nails. Some of you may have notice that the videos taken were during the game’s listen mode. I won’t be posting up a video of me playing the game; it’s too embarassing with my ineptness.

Click here to download the game.

It seems like so many games are going for a song these days. Now if only the USD -> Malaysian Ringgit wasn’t so high in the first place..

Anyways, PC shmup Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer [Limited Edition] is going on sale at a super low price (even for a standard edition, and this is a LE we are talking about) of USD 9.99. Now, what do you get for this price? You get the game, limited edition slip case, original soundtrack, hardcover reference book, manual and online key for high score uploads.

Now, that’s a whole lot of stuff, for, I repeat, USD 9.99. Go get it now, click here for purchase details.