Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Wii)
BTW - if you ever need a break from the combo-juggling insanity, there's also a hidden shooter mini-game which is pretty fun!
Forza 3 and Jalopnik Unite!
Looks like the creators of Forza 3, Turn 10, and the automotive blog, Jalopnik, are teaming up to figure out which cars will be available in the next couple DLC (download content) packs. Together they will be letting automotive enthusiasts vote on what cars they want in these packs, so all this week Jalopnik will be putting up a group of cars which readers must pick 10 out of. Who knows, maybe we can get a GTI-R Pulsar, Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 or Subaru Alcyone (SVX to us Americans). With everyone picking what they want, it should be a couple of good downloads coming to Forza 3. So jump on over to Jalopnik and tell them what you want in your Forza. Happy Voting!
Voting for Group IV, V, and VI has started!
-Tanker
Muscle March Comes to Wiis Across America
Released in Japan last year, this title is soooo Japanese that most gaming folks would have never thought of getting a localized copy here in America. If you look past the muscle freaks and just overall oddness of what is happening onscreen, the game plays like "Human Tetris." Which works well with the Wii controls, making it a fun and entertaining mini-game. Just don't fail going through the wall.
If you got 500 Wii points laying around and have a knack for kooky Japanese gaming, you definitely should download this game after figuring out a good reason to explain to friends and family why this game is on your Wii.
Turbo’d FT-86 Debuts @ Tokyo Auto Salon
Fresh off the pages of FT86club.com: Toyota surprised the crowd at the Tokyo Auto Salon by displaying the FT-86 G's Concept powered by a turbo boxer engine paired with a 6spd MT. Not a bad looking car, but we are still looking at a year or two before a production model is released. Also of interest is that it will include "GPS-Track Day," which was co-developed with Polophony Digital. Basically, it will record you as you race around a real track in your FT-86. All that race data is placed on a memory card which you can then place into your PS3, and ta-da! your real world race data is now accessible through GT5. That's right, you can watch a virtual replay of your time at the track or take on your real world driving by racing a ghost car. Gimmicky? Maybe, but it does sound pretty cool. Coincidentally, Polophony Digital has released another GT5 trailer with the Auto Salon FT-86. Enjoy!
from FT-86 Club
Video Game Nostalgia: Auto Modellista (PS2/Gamecube/Xbox)
Auto Modellista, from Capcom, was probably my favorite game on the Gamecube. That's right, move over Capcom vs SNK 2, Resident Evils, Killer7 and Viewtiful Joe, I got some racing to do. I wasted many days going up and down Ura Rokko or Akagi hills with every car in my garage. And when that got boring, Infamous and I would battle our way up and down these same hills trying to get a good parallel slide going. I believe a whole summer went by just for that perfect slide. I thought what a great racing game because it was not arcade heavy like Ridge Racer, but no where near as complex as Gran Turismo. You built up your garage, opened new courses, and could customize, to a degree, every aspect of your car. What wasn't there to like, right? Well, what was once considered a Best of E3 game ended up getting panned by most reviewers - wonky controls, cartoony graphics, bad audios and just overall underwhelming. The game ended up being given the cold shoulder as it didn't sell well across the PS2, Gamecube and Xbox. Shortly after all that, plans for Auto Modellista 2 were scrapped and Capcom has not stepped into the racing genre since. Which sucks, cause they had a decent foundation to build upon. Tightening up the physics alone probably would have saved the franchise, but I guess Capcom really took it personal. You can bet though, if Capcom has a change of heart and decides to look back into the Auto Modellista franchise, I'll be the first one in line...well there probably wouldn't be a line...to get my copy! -Tanker
btw - Infamous and I never got that perfect parallel slide. We were close a couple times, but those controls are pretty wonky...
GT5 Box Art Revealed
Be A DJ Hero
Love Guitar Hero? You'll prolly love DJ Hero. Another music game with a musical highway and the all to familiar star power. Containing 90 or so songs, by artists like Eminem & Daft Punk, all mashed up, like MTV's MashUp Mixes, there will definitely be something for everyone's taste as they press buttons, scratch the "record" and slide the crossfader all night long. There's also multi-player either using 2 of those single turntable controllers or pairing up the DJ table with a Guitar Hero guitar, which makes another use for the amount of guitars controllers you might have accrued within the last year. Fun times indeed, for the few hours I got to play with it. You might want to consider checking it out as a present for you, or maybe someone else this Holiday season 
Nissan 370Z Debuts…on a video game?
So it seems that we'll get a glimpse of the new Z from Nissan on the popular (but I don't know why) series, "Need for Speed." That would seem like a decent news story since most sites are reporting the great marketing aspect between video games and cars (see: Mitsubishi EVO) but looking through the comments on these articles, I think everyone is talking about it's "love it or hate it" styling. Which is alarmingly becoming the thing for auto manufacturers. The interior looks like it was recycled from last year's interior parts bin and those bommerang headlights/tailights - where was the focus group on that. I do like the retro nod to the old Z just behind the skyline roof, but other than that, other than specs, this is a car I probably would not want to be seen in.
Oh and about Need for Speed...not my game. Call me when GT5 comes out.
Video Game Nostalgia: Road Avenger (Sega CD)
I think everyone remembers the 16-bit console wars - Nintendo vs. Sega. Anyhow, I was one of the fortunate ones to own both a Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. In the end though, I spent so much more time playing with my Nintendo that my Sega game collection was rather dismal: Sonic 1-3, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter Championship Edition, and I believe that was it compared to about 30 SNES games. Very sad indeed. Well, after one Christmas I ended up with a Sega CD. This, I thought would pad my Sega collection cause it was a CD-based system that offered way better graphics and gameplay than the SNES. In the end, that was a lie in my eyes and I could never trust Sega again. The system did have a great game in Sonic CD and some rather niche gems - My favorite being Road Avenger also known as Road Blaster FX in Japan.
The story goes on about a cop losing his wife when a road gang runs them off the road. The cop goes and seeks out the road gang to avenge his wife's death. Not much is spoken through out the game as the story unfolds in cinematics and whatever is happening during the gameplay. The game has a definite old-looking anime feel with gameplay similar to Dragon's Lair: onscreen cues for you to move in certain directions and button presses. It was an awesome game cause seriously, there was nothing really like it at the time. I would spend hours just playing this game to watch the clips over and over again. Also that opening song is still one of my favorite songs to this day - kind of catchy as most other owners of the game will attest to. I doubt the game itself would stand up to the gaming audience of today who live off of Gran Turismo and Forza, but it will always be one of my favorite car games of the early 90s.
Hit the split to catch a video of gameplay for the final stage and ending of the game!
If there were one reason to get a Wii…
...it'd be for Smash Bros. Brawl! Can't wait till this one comes out in March. For those not keeping up with the Smash Bros. Dojo you'll find an amazing amount of additions since Brawl! New characters such as Sonic, various amounts of new and old levels, and online play. Seriously, this is THE Nintendo game. Trust me, you won't be dissapointed.