[Now Doing| Some Stretches]

With the all the excitement about E3 coming, I wanted to share some important info with all of you.

Do any of you have aches and pains in your hand, wrist and shoulders from gaming and using the computer too much? You might call it Carpal Tunnel or Repetitive Stress Syndrome. Sadly, its very common and can be quite painful.

I recently learned that what is really happening is years of abuse causes your muscles to knot up. Basically, when you use the same muscles over and over they heat up. Your body cannot handle that level of heat, so as a precaution it forms scar tissue. Over time the scar tissue and muscles will tighten up so much that functioning on a normal level may become difficult.

More…

Check out the recent bloggings of Toasty Frog, a staff member at 1up.com:

I just received my list of E3 floor/hands-on write-up assignments. I’m slightly put out that those bums at EGM swiped my hands-on time with Castlevania DS, but there’s definitely enough goodness to make up for it. Specifically, among the titles I’m set to cover is a previously-unannounced DS game that is going to make a whole lot of people happy.

There’ll be more info on it next week, but for now what I’m saying is that if you haven’t picked up a DS yet, you should hurry along.

What could it be? Super Smash Brothers DS? StarFox DS? PilotWings DS? SimCity DS? Kid Icarus DS? Perfect Dark DS? Killer Instinct Gold DS? Diablo DS? WarCraft DS? Britney Spears Touch Me DS? Post your ideas, I’m spent.

Link to ToastyFrog’s Blog Entry

[Now Reading| JSA # 73]

Internet rumor darling Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights finally talks about the split between his company and Nintendo. Dyack has also revealed SKs new game, Engagement Theory, running on the Unreal Engine. He even cryptically says the game could be “compatible with Nintendo.” Hmm…

Ign Media Page

Submitter: SilverSurfer

[Now Reading| Fables # 37]

Conan again? Yup, as long as they keep putting Conan comics out that are this good, Ill keep buying them. Of course I grabbed the new issue of Fables (one of my favs) and the newest issue of JSA. JSA takes all of the old Golden and Silver Age DC comic heroes you dont see anymore and puts them in a team book.

I also picked up a copy of Gotham Central after a hiatus and its still as good as ever. What is life like for the regular old police officers in Gotham City? Writer Greg Rucka manages to combine police business with the craziness of Batmans universe every month. Great stuff.

JSA # 37 | Conan: JOG # 2 | Fables # 37 | Gotham Central # 31

[Now Reading| Uncle Scrooge]

Free Comic Book Day happened on May 7th and I was able to pick up a few things. I think most shops only allow you to get one comic, but my store is large and you could take as many as you wanted. So, I basically took one of each that they had.

Besides the Marvel & DC offerings, Marvel Adventures and Ex Machina respectively, I was suprised to see how many indie books there were. There was even a book about making comics. Cool.

I had to pick up Uncle Scrooge, as Im a huge fan of the Disney comics, especially the ones about ducks. The great part about them is not only the wonderful visual story telling and fun stories, but the fact that many comic book artists get their start on smaller comics like this. Its also worth mentioning that this issue is a reprint of Only A Poor Old Man, the first Uncle Scrooge comic ever published.

My favorite of the bunch has to be Flight, published by Image comics. Flight, which is onto its second graphic novel now, is a collection of short stories by indie creators. Obviously, they all have to do with flight. And they are all beautiful. Wonderful artwork and stories. Some are very simple and pure, while others are deeper and more complex. This is defintely one of those comics that will appeal to everyone, not just comic book junkies.

Impact University : How To Write & Draw Comics | Ex Machina # 1 | Flight | Uncle Scrooge | Marvel Adventures

[Now Reading| Flight]

Weve seen it time and time again. Small developers are becoming increasingly rare. They are either going out of business or being snatched up by larger ones.

While the advance in technology and the faster pace of the gaming industry is good for gamers right now, this kind of expansion could lead to a stagnation of the market and Hollywood-ization of the industy.

Of course, there will always be the stand out studios that keep on innovating and manage to stay afloat. Thats why I feel its so important (and rewarding) to support small developers. If you are only interested in the newest Madden game, chances are you are missing out on some of the most creative and unique games. The games that really push the boundaries of gaming and keep it fresh.

Anyway, follow the link to read and interesting article about developers and their feelings about the next generation.

News.com Article

Once your done with that head over the the Indie Games section and refresh your gaming self:

[ Indie Games ]

[Interviewee - Julian Gollop]

Welcome to the first ever 4 color rebellion interview! The developer behind Rebel Star Tactical Command was cool enough to step away from his hectic game making schedule and answer a few questions. Follow the link for some great info on this awesome looking GBA strategy game being developed by Codo & published by Namco.

More…

[Now Playing| YTaG - DS]

Without being able to read Japanese there is little info that can be derived from the magazine article below. While it would seem that you can play as Mario, Luigi, Wario, Yoshi and Donkey Kong (judging from the box on the second page) a Delfino Island resident can also be seen playing, so there will probably be more unlockable characters.

Mario Baseball Scan

Its too bad I still dont see any uniforms in the game. Ever since the game was first announced I have been dying to see Mario & crew in some baseball uniforms.

Original Mario Baseball Uniform Petition

[Now Art Directing| Cold Stone]

Octorok posted this great video in the 4cr forum and I had to share. Awesome. We just love Nintendo themed musical bits around here. And check out the dudes hair.

Mario Bros Guitar Solo

Submitter: Octorok on the 4cr forum

There wouldnt happen to be any Phantasy Star fans here, would there? Naw. But…just in case there are I thought Id let you all know that Sega has released a free beta of Phantasy Star Blue Burst Online. Head on over to the site, download it, and start losing track of time.

PSO:BB Site

source: GamesRadar

[Now Playing| Def Jam: FFNY - GC]

Take a look at some new Famitsu scans. The first two are of the newly announced rythm action game Ouendan. The third picture is of a DS game called Deep Labyrinth.

[Ouendan 01]
[Ouendan 02]

[Deep Labyrinth]

I translated this from Jeux-France:

Bandai unveils the first official images of FullMetal Alchemist : Dual Sympathy for Nintendo DS, which is scheduled for July 21st in Japan. The NDS version of the game will have more emphasize on the action side of the game than the RPG side compared to the other versions already out on GBA. The game will have 3 modes of play. Also you’ll be able to unlock mini games, like collectible characters and an alarm.

More…

I found this link in a comment of another post, and though it should deserve it’s own post. Seeing SquareEnix interest in Nintendo’s upcoming console and plans is very interesting, especially for the RPG fans.

SquareEnix on Nintendo’s online plan

Submitter: SilverSurfer

[Now Playing| Pac-Pix - DS]

Ouendan

No screens or other media have been released yet, but apparently it’s a rhythm game with Feel the Magic style story progression. Not much to work with, but you can be sure we’ll update with any more news that pops up in the future.

Nintendo recently sent out a survey to members of their online mailing list. This survey was about the DS online service and what the gamers wanted to see in it. Many of the questions were generally about who you’d want to play against, stanger, friend. If you want a unique screen name, and things of this sort. The survey also contained a very interesting question about what games you want to play online, this list included Animal Crossing, Mario Kart DS, Legend of Zelda and Super Smash Bros DS. All the other games on the list are confirmed Nintendo DS titles exept for SSB. Does this mean we will see a SSB DS this E3?, or is Nintendo playing with our minds? Please speculate.

To take the survey click here

Submitter: Pumbaa