Damn, is it Monday already? According to Nintendo, it is. And after last week’s pathetic single offering, they’re back on schedule with three titles of varying classic-osity. Because that’s a word now. Perhaps you’d be interested in the fur flying antics ofStar Fox 64(Nintendo 64, 1-4 players, 1000 points). Maybe you’re more in the mood to party down with the Ultra Games nut-clenching classic,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(NES, 1 player, 600 points)....

I get the feeling that a considerable amount of people wrote off NinjaBee’s Xbox LIVE Arcade gameA Kingdom for Keflingssimply because it supported playable Avatars. The concept sounds pretty gimmicky, I admit, but the execution is another story. For such a slow-paced, relaxing game like this, it really does mesh nicely. During this week,A Kingdom for Keflingsis only $5. Try the demo, and if you like what you see, definitely buy the game....

[It’s time for anotherMonthly Musing— the monthly community blog theme that provides readers with a chance to get their articles and discussions printed on the frontpage. — CTZ] Bosses and sub-bosses are one of the few constants in videogames. Very few games lack some form of a boss and only a select few boss-less games are good. Notable bosses or foes in videogames that get most of the praise seem to consistently be to the foes of the big hulking variety; whether it beColossi,world ending aliens, orbig nuclear robots....

In an investor’s conference call held way too early this morning, THQ rambled on about a bunch of numbers and dollar signs, while confirming plans for upcoming titles and franchises. Red Faction: GuerrillaandDarksiders: Wrath of War— two games that haven’t even hit shelves yet — have been penciled in for sequels for fiscal 2012 (Jun 24, 2025 through Jun 22, 2025). While the success of these IPs this year will probably dictate whether THQ goes forth with the projects, it’s interesting to hearit’s confident enough in them to already consider follow-ups....

Through THQ’s new Partners program select publishers and developers will have access to THQ’s retail contacts and online channels. It’s THQ opening themselves to smaller pubs/devs that could use their established power and reach. Ian Curran, Executive Vice President, THQ Global Publishing, lays it out clearly:“THQ Partners is charged with maximizing the efficiencies of our global distribution network by enhancing our product offerings with quality games from developers and publishers who don’t have the benefit of our extensive retail and online sales operations....

Before we begin, let me address those who sucked their teeth and snapped their fingers in the face of THQ afterSpongeBob Squarepants Drawn to Lifewas announced on Wednesday. While it may seem like a “quick cash in” by pairing a well-received game with a popular franchise, there’s a bit more to it than that. You see, back in 2002 (five years before the release of 5TH CellsDrawn to Life), an episode ofSpongeBob Squarepantscalled “Frankendoodle” was aired....

Hopefully, by now, you’ve had the chance to take a look atHamza’s previewfor the upcomingBrütal Legend. Now, while he was getting some solid hands-on time with the multiplayer, I was, uh… getting some solid, uh…one-on-onetime with the man himself, Tim Schafer. To say that our discussion was awesome is an understatement. Like his games or not, that man is a very cool member of the gaming industry. Definitely look out for that full interview early next week....

Nintendo has announced thatSuper Ghouls N’ Ghosts(SNES, 800 points);Sword ofVermillion(Genesis, 800 points); andElevator Action(NES, 500 points), will all be hitting the Virtual Console today. Among the three,Super Ghouls N’ Ghostsis the one game that helped me hone my profanity hurling skills in middle school. And might I add, best box art art ever? Is that aghouliepopping up from behind that tombstone? For those things,Capcom, I salute you. Pew pew pew!...

I can’t honestly recall the last time breaking seals in a videogame didn’t end horribly.Red Faction: Armageddon, as we learn with this new story-centric trailer, is no exception. The seals on Mars have indeed been broken, which is why this new installment suddenly has alien foes running amok. Pretty standard action-y build-up trailer we’ve got here, complete with the quick cut to smooching and everything. I’m still unsure aboutArmageddon, especially after that unpleasantly linear demo....

It isn’t a direct tie-in, but another studio is looking to tether its “core” game to Facebook’s social platform. Turbine has released the “Player Feed,” a free app that letsLord of the Rings Onlineusers to use Facebook like an automated Twitter Trophy feed. The Player Feed keeps track of sign-ins and sign-offs, as well as posts lone “News” updates according to the user’s preferences. More than a few Player Feed users are complaining of bugs and notification issues at the moment, so it might not be the best time to give it a spin....

There’s a new fitness game from Ubisoft for the PS3 and Wii. It’s calledFit in Six, and it’s a videogame workout program that guides you through six core elements — core body, upper body, lower body, cardio, balance and flexibility. The Wii version ofFit in Sixwill use a Wii-compatible USB camera accessory. There will be a kit that will include the game and this camera available at launch. With it, the game will let users compare their movements with those of the in-game coach....

Activision’sPrototypeenjoyed a brief week at the top of the charts last week, but EA has stormed into a number one debut withFight Night Round 4. The most unique thing about the charts this week is thatTransformers: Revenge of the Fallenhas debuted at number six. You don’t often see a film license start so low, regardless of its quality. Outside of these interesting things, you get the usual suspects inThe Sims 3,Wii Fit,World at Warand plenty of other familiar faces....

When making any work of art, there are always those ideas that are had but never fully implemented. Sometimes that’s for the better. The above video shows some of the concepts that didn’t quite make the cut for the firstSuper Mario Galaxygame. As is often the case, the unused elements remained in the final product’s game code from whence they have been extracted for your viewing pleasure. The bathtub planet is strange and you don’t really get a great look at it in the video....