[Editor’s Note: We’re not just a (rad) news site — we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on ourcommunity blogs.] Confession time. After reading Nick Chester’sreviewofMetroid: Other M, I seriously considered canceling my Amazon pre-order....

Here’s a very interesting little bit of gossip. According to1UP’s interviewwith Game Republic president Yoshiki Okamoto, Microsoft once snubbed theFolklorestudio over a proposed Xbox 360 game by claiming that it didn’t need games for the Japanese market anymore. Game Republic was working on an online title exclusively for the Xbox 360. However, the game was eventually scrapped after MS kindly decided to pull the plug. Okamoto explains why: “In the beginning, Microsoft was funding it, so we developed it up to a point and showed it to them....

Yesterdaywe talked abouthow developers for the Indie Games channel were furious over the new Xbox 360 dashboard, since the new Marketplace layout lumps their games into a “Specialty Shop” section. Microsoft has responded to the rage, however, by claiming that this new layout willhelp Indie games, rather than obscure them. “The intent of the Specialty Shops section was to provide access to marketplaces that focus on a specific type of content, with unique ways of sorting through that content,” says a spokesman....

If you didn’t playMight & Magic: Clash of Heroeseither when it released for Nintendo DS or later in its fancy, shiny high-definition version, you’re missing one of the most strategic and clever puzzle games in recent memory. Its combination of role-playing elements and simple gameplay was endlessly satisfying and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who likes a casual puzzle game with a little meat on its bones. Ubisoft has released new downloadable content for the game with the “I Am the Boss” expansion....

Last week’s outdoors creature killertactics gamewas inspired by a recent camping trip, whereas this week’s hacking mind teaser is inspired by the start of dropping temperatures and my winter recluse phase. I might be a computer addict, but hacking is not something I do — or am even capable enough to try — which is why games like this are great for the masses. There’s a large crowd of gamers out there who wish PC and console games would include minigames within their immersive story and setting, and I’m one of them....

Nintendo’sPokémonempire has become almost completely ubiquitous. It’s the most successful Japanese venture here in America since Pearl Harbor, and as such, it’s no surprise to see the pocket beasts appear in all manner of bizarre cross-marketing promotions. In that spirit, I present to youthis link, a gallery of surprisingly accurate Pokémon recreated in Denmark’s largest export, LEGO. The ‘mon shown in that gallery seem a bit sharper and less cuddly than their animated counterparts, but that’s to be expected based on the medium....

At long last,N+(800 Microsoft Points)is prepped and ready to go up on Xbox Live Arcade. With so few platformers available on the service, it couldn’t have come at a better time. If you’ve playedthe originalN, you should know what toexpect fromN+. While the core mechanics are still the same,N+brings 300 brand new levels, replays, a level editor, and online multiplayer for up to 4 players (survival, race, co-op). In short, if you likedN, you’re going to loveN+....

Around this time last night was thefirst we’ve ever heard of this gameand now we’ve got the first batch of screenshots.Famitsuis all overPersona 4 The Golden, just as they were with all the other series games. Now they have screens and art from the upcoming PS Vita title. In our gallery you’ll see lots of goodies like new costumes and bits from new animation.Jailbait shower!In the mix you’ll find a picture of the function that will let you ask for help when you’re looking bad in a dungeon crawl....

In a previewfor Edge magazine, Hello Games has revealed its first title,Joe Danger. The 2D stunt racing game has players taking control ofJoe Danger, a stuntman who’s seen better days attempting to make his big-time comeback. The Edge preview draws control parallels toTrials HD, but is clear that the game has its own agenda with more forgiving controls and a more light-hearted attitude. The game will feature a number of challenges, some of which provide the player with freedom to edit the level for best results....

This week’s Famitsu has hit the stands and an interview with Toshihiro Nagoshi has revealed that theYakuzateam are hard at work on two new games for the series. While we were already aware of aPSP gamestarring new character, Nagoshi has also made mention of a title for PS3 which is being developed simultaneously. The game, unnamed as of this point, will feature Goro Majima as a “playable character” which might lead some to suspect that there may be additional characters to play as....

If you’re looking to punch hit a minotaur in the face, kill a vampire, or raise dinos for battle, this is the week you’ve been waiting for, DSi and Wii owners. Virtual Console DSiWare If I didn’t already ownCastlevania: The Dracula X Chroniclesfor the PlayStation Portable, I’d be all overRondo of Blood. But I do, so I’m not. This week on my Wii I’ll only be playingRage of the Gladiator, which Ghostfire Games has provided me for review; I’m gonna kick some minotaur tail....

Nintendo is a company that on one hand fails consistently to provide timely content to the European territories, but on the other hand strictly opposes methods used by Europeans to import the materials themselves. This has never sat well with me, so when I hear that Nintendo supports the recent waste of FBI time that is hunting down modded videogame consoles instead of dealing with dangerous criminals, murderers and pedophiles, I can’t help but scoff....

This week it’s Nintendo’s turn to take centre stage in the on-going cycle ofverbal smackdowns. George Harrison, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communication, has come out with some clear criticisms of the ways in which he sees the competition as failing. Speaking toWired, Harrison unsurprisingly further advocates Nintendo’s strategy of expanding into new gamer demographics, and is quite outspoken about what he perceives as Microsoft and Sony’s reluctance to move on in the developing industry:...