Despite the fact that Nintendo has not yet sent out a press release regarding this week’s Virtual Console releases, I’m about to blow your mind with what might be the best week of releases ever. Ready? How aboutBreath of Fire II(SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points),Ghouls N’ Ghosts(Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) andSuper C(NES, 2 players, 500 Wii Points)? Soiled yourselves yet? Well, get to it, we won’t judge you — that’s what we did at PAX all weekend!...

Yesterday, Time Magazine, in a bid to appeal to a younger, hipper audience postedan articlereviewing the new Nintendo Wii. To say that they liked it would be the understatement of the week. The article reads like a love letter from your girlfriend’s former boyfriend-turned-stalker. The only thing missing is the boiled pet rabbit. The article is extremely complimentary toward Nintendo’s system. you may hardly imagine he likes his theoretical children as much as the Wii....

Retailer GameStop has begun offering pre-order incentives for two of Activision’s upcoming fall titles,BlurandTony Hawk: Ride. Those who reserveTony Hawk: Ridereceive a GameStop exclusive “80s Quicksilver Level,” which includes a Vertical Ramp challenge. The ramp sits on the runway of the Frankfurt Airport, between two 747s. Nice bonus, but we can’t imagine it’s ascool asthis. Pre-orderingBlurwill net you a “Multiplayer Advantage Booster Kit,” which is said to give you “unparalleled multiplayer benefits....

[Backlogis the ongoing quest to ridConrad Zimmerman’scollection of unfinished games. As voted on by the Destructoid community, Conrad plays each game from start to finish live onDestructoid’s Twitch.tv channelevery weeknight at 8pm Pacific] It’s time once more for you, the Destructoid audience, to determine how I spend what passes for my leisure time. We’ll soon be ready to start our twenty-sixth game onBacklogand the theme this go around is as straightforward as they come....

Maybe. As you might have heard,Walmart cut priceson many of the hottest games and systems for this holiday season, putting the heat on all of its competition and showing that they are serious about selling you games. GameStop stock fell over 8 percent, andBloombergsays that they might have to drop their prices to match Walmart’s to stay competitive. An analyst from Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, Tony Scott, says that GameStop has always benefited from Walmart’s foot traffic....

While it’s noWatchmeniPhone MMO, Xbox LIVE Arcade is getting aWatchmen-based title this week to coincide with the film’s theater debut on Friday.Watchmen: The End is Nigh, as it’s called, will go for a whopping 1600 Microsoft Points ($20). Players take the role of either Rorschach or Nite Owl and brawl with up to 20 characters on-screen at once, although 90% of the enemies will likely be the same exact character model with a different colored outfit as per the beat-’em-up standard....

So wow, I didn’t really plan on this happening. I shouldn’t be surprised that this turned into an all outHaloedition of Weekend Destructainment I suppose. And hey, it’s a themed edition too! Haven’t done that since theStreet Fightereditionwhen I was having my little war withGod Len.Anyway, the above video is a quick (and funny) recap ofHalo 1andHalo 2from the gang atScrewAttack. Might as well start with that before we jump into all of theHalo 3stuff after the jump, right?...

Nintendo is ringing in the new year with — you guessed it — two WiiWare games and one Virtual Console title hitting the Wii Shop today. Always keeping us on our toes! Maboshi’s Arcade(Nintendo, 1-3 players, 800 Wii Points)is a pinball-influenced puzzler that comes bundled with three flavors: Circle Mode, Stick Mode, and Square Mode. While the goal of each is to reach a million points, the three modes are played different....

Apparently,Wired flubbedthe description for the Nintendo Wii in their test catalogue, indicating that it features a better than average, standardPentax SLR camera lens. While the lonely PS3 at the bottom of the page looks on, it has more and more reasons to feel inadequate. Thanks a lot, Wired. However, no one is saying it wouldn’t be cool to mod your Wii into a camera, maybe even with the innards of aSuper 8, which looks about the right size....

The Xbox 360’s HD DVD player continues to drop in price, this time hitting $129.99 in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I’ll let you, Destructoid readers, speculate why the player has dropped in priceagain, this time with a $50 chop. I think I can remain neutral and say that $130 is a pretty good deal for a HD DVD player, especially when bundled with the5 free movies deal(PDF file)....

Major Nelsonhas detailed this month’sscheduled Xbox Live content. This week,Zeno Clash: Ultimate EditionandRayStorm HDwill be hitting Arcade. Some more Game Roomgames will be addedtomorrow as well and that content will includeSuper Breakout, Pitfall!, Megamania, Night Stlaker, Rack ‘Em Up, Realsports VolleyballandBasketball. Next week, Konami’sRocket Knightwill be hitting Arcade for 1200 points. You can also nabTom Clancy’s EndWaron May 11. Then on June 2,Snoopy Flying Acewill be out for 800 points....

In news that ought to please many PC gamers, THQ has revealed that the upcomingWarhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IIexpansion,Retribution, will be dropping Games for Windows Live in favor of Steamworks. GFWL is hailed by most PC gamers as “A load of old shit,” so this is certainly a good thing. Retributionlets players finally take the Orks through their own campaign, and will also introduce a mysterious new race. Previous expansions have always proved very popular, and it seems thatRetributionwill be even more beloved for freeing fans from the shackles of Microsoft....

Unless Capcom pulls some crazy-stupid move between now and February 23,Lost Planet 2is going to be one of next year’s most enjoyable co-op games. The development studio hasn’t exactly been known to do a silly thing like that, so I think we’re mostly in the clear here. Without warning, a massive amount of boss-centric screenshots have been tossed our way on this day of feasting. One’s named Red Eye, while the other baddie goes by Akrid X....