SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1, featuring a few great early Neo Geo games, came out in the middle of 2008.  I was hoping there would be a second compilation, but as time passed, my hope diminished.  But now it seems like SNK are creating a collection of their pre-Neo Geo games (Athena, Ikari Warriors).  They just keep making worse and worse decisions.  In protest to this "prequel", I've created a list of games that should have been on SNK Arcade Classics Volume 2.

Hit the link for the list.

Perhaps you're a fan of video games. Perhaps you're a fan of "art." Maybe you just like your video games a little more abstract than the rest. In all these cases then this weeks Threadless shirt should appeal to you. At first glance it's just a picture of the first level of Donkey Kong but looking a bit closer reveals it's just a collection of paint strokes of something so iconic that our brains just fill in the blanks. It's actually quite interesting. Yellow blobs become barrels, blue lines are ladders. I'm sure I could make some interesting comment about the uncanny valley.

Of course even if you don't dig this as a shirt, 5 seconds in photoshop and you've got yourself a pretty sweet computer desktop!

Even though the MSX standard had been dead since the early 1990s, a cult following lived on.  In the mid-2000s, Kazuhiko Nishi surprised a fan convention by announcing the 1ChipMSX, a compact version of the MSX2 that would work on modern TVs and PC monitors, as well as play ROMs from an SD card.  Shortly thereafter, the unit was released in Japan, and the company Bazix signed on to manufacture the unit for Western markets.  But, unwilling to pay $500+ for a Japanese unit on Ebay, I'm still sitting here without my 1Chip.  I want to play Penguin Adventure, dammit.

Hit the link for the full article.

In anticipation of Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver, GameStop is offering an exclusive Pikachu-colored Pichu for players who bring their DS and a copy of Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum into a store.  First off, I'm super excited about the remakes of Gold & Silver.  I never played them back in the original GameBoy days, and seeing as how it comes with a pedometer and I live in NYC (we walk everywhere) I'm going to have super Pokemon!  Secondly, I didn't realize Pikachu and Pichu were different colors.  Maybe I'm just a noob.

The in-store Pichu download is only happening January 30-February 14, so don't forget.  You'd hate to be that guy, or girl,  having to make his valentine rush into GameStop with you before those impossible to get dinner reservations just because you need a Pichu that possibly unlocks hidden content in the newer Pokemon game.

Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver releases on March 14 for the Nintendo DS.

After a flubbed sync countdown and software crash brought an premature death to our first attempt at recording this episode we immediately rezzed, popped a couple of health and mana pots then stormed right back in to the dungeon that is our slightly meandering conversation. With the help of The Freelancers podcast guru, Joystiq contributor and former BBPS alum Xav De Matos (Internet Celebrity) we deliver one of the shortest What'cha Been Playing segments we've ever done as well as a look at the games that make up this crowded Q1. There's some News and chatter about New Releases as usual to round things out.

No enhanced edition this week. Blame it on Ryan's desire to play Mass Effect 2 instead of servicing you good people

Download Bitcast 81 (.mp3)

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Bayonetta was one of my most anticipated games in quite a while.  When you're looking forward to a game so excitedly, it's easy to be disappointed when you finally play the finished product.  But I wasn't let down in the least when I played Bayonetta.  In fact, my expectations were exceeded.

Hit the link for the full review.

I'm a gamer, always have been. Problem is for a large number of years that's really just consisted of the video variety. That's a huge mistake on my part, to not enjoy the video game's analog brethren... the board game. There’s actually a vibrant and intense board game world out there that’s been pushed to the sidelines by game players such as ourselves for too long. In this column I'll be diving into this world, looking at games that hopefully you'd like to try out for yourself.

As my exploration into the world of board games goes on, I've now played enough games that I find myself gravitating towards certain genres. While I'd love to get into some deep deep strategy games with tons of minatures, I know I don't have access to people to play against so for now I've shied away. As I've been slowly roping my non-gaming friends into the hobby along with me, I've been staying more towards the casual/gateway types of games. So, for now, games like Battlestar Galactica will just have to stay on the shelf.

But that doesn't mean the games I'm currently playing aren't fun, interesting or devoid of strategy... far from it! They just tend to have a lower gaming experience requirement, having easier rules to explain and understand... and playitmes nowhere near some of the crazy wargames. Enter Abandon Ship.

Personally, I've really tried to cut back on my novelty t-shirt collection... with limited results. It would seem for every 2 shirts I manage to get rid of I still seem to replace at least one of them with something new. Good news is at least I've gotten rid of free shirts I've gotten from conventions over the years, so that's good.

But then 2 nights ago I find myself checking in to the daily Woot shirt and lo and behold.... something that appeals to both my video game and movie nerd inner child. I can make an exception here right? Well, it's too late since I've already ordered it for myself!

While the daily deal part is over, you can still pick up this shirt for at least the next 4 days for $15 bucks with free shipping. After that the woot shirts go into a voting block where certain tshirts stick around long after their one day sale but most are gone forever.