The Weinercast is go! This week: Gwyddia Hosts The 2008 Gnome Video Game Awards.
As always, the Weinercast is available on 
Please leave us a review or a comment/question, and we’ll address it on air next week!
I’m Blind December 29, 2008
The folks at Joystiq used this image today in their daily commentary about Nintendo printing money. The story isn’t news, but the picture made me want to cry. So I decided to share. “Enjoy”.
My EYES...
Star Tropics on VC!
OK, the original Star Tropics has been on the Wii’s Virtual Console for a while, but today you can get the sequel to complete the set. If you never had the chance as a kid to check out this (for its time) amazing action-adventure title about a boy and his yo-yo, deeew eeet.
Oh Boy, More Sonic Crap December 1, 2008
Continuing their cavalcade of “We Don’t Care If You Like It, We’re Just Going To Put Out A New Game Every Month Instead of Doing What The Fans Want And Doing An Actual Retro Game”, Sonic Team has released new screenshots from the upcoming Wii game Sonic and the Black Knight. You can check those shots out over at Kotaku if you like, I’m not wasting space with them here.
In the last few years Sonic has gone to Pseudo-Arabia to make it with a human chick, spun off a gun-toting Shadow, searched deep into his RPG roots, and become a freakin’ werewolf – excuse me, werehog. In fact, he’s done everything but run around really damn fast for 4 hours and collect rings while freeing cute bunnies and saving Chaos Emeralds! For the love of Ceiling Cat and all that is HOLY, Team Sonic, make a damned SONIC game!
Thank you. That is all.
It Was Nearly Two Years Ago Today . . . November 18, 2008
That the Weiner Daddy and I slept outside on the sidewalk outside a Las Vegas Target for a Wii. Two years later, you still can’t get one easily, and that’s a damn shame to all of us who have enjoyed the five or six fine games for it.
This is also the PS3’s 2nd birthday. We didn’t stand out for that one, though – we just capitulated when Sony threatened to take away our Emotion Engine and make our PS2 library obsolete. It’s a damn fine Blu-Ray player, that system.
Not to be left out, the XBox 360 celebrates its third birthday next week.
Happy Birthday, hardware!
Mega Man 9 DLC is Go! October 7, 2008
Not content to merely talk about downloadable content, Capcom this week released not one but two DLC packs this week for the well-received Mega Man 9. The first is an endless level, which is sort of a brutal Mega Man Le Mans sort of trial. Go and go and go until you inevitably die. The second is playable Proto Man! This MM upgrade gives you a slide, a charged shot, and a forcefield, but doubles damage taken and knockback distance when hit.
The Wii folk are enjoying this already. 360 people can get it Wednesday. Poor PS3 users have to wait until Wednesday. But hey, at least its definite!
Club Nintendo For The Rest Of Us! October 2, 2008
Praise Ceiling Cat!
Only 14,000 points! Really.
Club Nintendo, the long-standing, much-vaunted Japanese Nintendo fan club, is finally coming to the rest of the world. Fans will be able to earn points through product registration and surveys and will be able to turn these points in for fabulous prizes! Look for Club Nintendo coming to a country near you this holiday season!
Review: Mega Man 9 September 29, 2008
Ow, my most of me.
Welcome back, Blue Bomber. Forget Mega Man X, Mega Man Tutu Adventures, Rush eXtREME, and the rest. Mega Man 9 is the real deal. 8-bit graphics, delightfully tinny rock music, and punishing gameplay. Authentic flicker options complete the thing, making Mega Man 9 a worthy and true sequel.
For those of you who weren’t around or paying attention in “the old days”, Mega Man is a little blue robot designed by the wonderful Dr. Light. He starts out by shooting little power pellets at his enemies as he leaps and bounds through painfully difficult platforming levels. At the end of each level is another robot, this one designed by the Evil Dr. Wily. When Mega Man defeats these evil robots, he acquires their sweet, sweet power. There’s a dog, too. Rush, Mega Man’s canine companion starts with the ability to spring you to new heights, but can gain the abilities to race you across spikes and more.
Exciting new "box art"!
Mega Man has always been part shooter, part platformer, and part puzzler, and MM9 is no exception.There is a “best” way to make it through the game in that some powers are designed to make traversing other levels much easier. I won’t give away too much here, but isn’t Galaxy Man’s board shiny?
All of this is not to say that there is nothing new under the pixellated sun. This time around, Mega Man can collect screws that he can trade to his buddies Auto and Roll for power ups, including Shock Guards and Beat Calls, which will allow you to avoid one spiky death and and pitfall per purchase. There are also a number of challenges, ala XBox Achievements, such as “Complete the game in 90 minutes” and “Don’t miss with the Mega Buster and finish the game”. Yes, its layering brutality on top of brutality, but isn’t it fun?
The first lady robot in the series and she's a mermaid.
In general, MM9 lets you party like its 1989 for only 1000 Wii Points and all the hair you can yank out of your skull while playing. If you have any left, that is. Apparently I’m old, because when I started playing MM9 in front of some of my late 80s baby friends, they began to giggle and squeal that the graphics were so blocky and the music was so annoying, and why did I keep dying? After I threw them out of my house, I continued to enjoy myself, and decided to give Mega Man 9 four weiners out of five.
Strong Bad Episode 2 out this week September 15, 2008
No. Not yours.
Viva la Wii! As per Kotaku, Episode 2 of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People: Strong Badia the Free can be yours this week for a mere 1,000 Wii points. Play Strong Bad as he protects the King of Town’s tax on e-mail. Check out new Videlectrix titles like “Math Kickers Featuring the Algebros” and create more of your own Teen Girl Squad!
Also on the VC this week is a game called Potpourri. I don’t know much about it other than its a puzzle game and it features GNOMES! (It says leprechauns but look at them – those are SO gnomes.) I am so there.
Oh, yeah, and some little game called Mega Man 2 is also coming to the Virtual Console this week. As if.
Playing With My Weiner 