First of all sorry to all my fans for not posting anything lately, but my computer got a virus somehow *cough* porn *cough*.  But I’m back now, so that is all that is important.  Now on with the news.

This past Monday saw a pretty weak Virtual Console lineup as the biggest thing was Mega Man 3 being released with two new Wii Ware titles.  Mega Man 3 is the first game in the series to introduce the slide and charge buster to Mega Man offensive repertoire

WiiWare™

Brain Challenge™ (Gameloft, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Just like your body, your brain needs to be exercised to stay in shape. Boost your brain and relieve stress through various minigames in a personal session to get a detailed evaluation. Challenge your friends’ brains in delirious party games to see who is the smartest. Test your brain’s abilities in Visual, Memory, Logic, Math and Focus minigames. Compare yourself with friends by challenging their brains in three multiplayer modes. Develop your resistance to stressful situations that could happen in real life. Use a customized Mii™ character to create personal sessions. Choose your favorite personal coach. Track your overall performance with detailed statistics and graphs. The special Kid Test and Senior Test modes will gather everyone around the game.

Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam (Virtual Toys, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Animated Blood, Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam is a frenetically active cooking game in which you must serve food to your customers as quickly as possible. This could be a simple task, but the customers aren’t very patient, and you’ll find a multitude of annoying insects that make the noble mission of satisfying your small gourmets’ stomachs much more difficult. In the game’s Career Mode, your goal is to become the best chef in the city. To do so, you have to prove your worth by cooking in four fantastic restaurants: the Hot Dog, Hamburger, Pizza and Mexican Restaurant. Enjoy playing Yummy Yummy with your family, serving delicious food to the most surprising characters: vampires, ninjas, extraterrestrials and mafia thugs. Put on your chef’s hat, sharpen your knives and turn up the heat.

Virtual Console™

Mega Man™ 3 (NES™, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Cartoon Violence, 500 Wii Points): In the year 200X, the notorious Dr. Wily, now reformed and working for the forces of good, works hand-in-hand with Dr. Light to build a new type of peacekeeping robot. When a new set of eight Robot Masters escapes the lab to wreak havoc on the world at large, only Mega Man can save the day. This time, Mega Man must rely on his new slide move and canine companion Rush to conquer the stages and vanquish evil. A new character, Proto Man, adds to the mystery and appeal of this seminal title in the famous action-game series.

Direct Youtube Link

Also big news with the ESRB.  The ESRB has updated their website to include more in detail descriptions of games so that parents can understand what they are buying for their kids this Festivus season.  I like how more info is getting to parents this way, but I don’t think most parents will go to the website and get this info.  Most will probably still look to rely on what is on the box, but this is at least a step in the rigt direction.  Below is an example of the new description for Call of Duty World at War, in the past the description would not go into this much detail about what can be seen and heard during gameplay.

Call of Duty: World at War is a first-person shooter in which players assume the role of Allied soldiers in both the European and Pacific Fronts during World War II. Combat can be intense with extensive use of camera effects (e.g., slow-motion, blurring, and screen shakes) and realistic sound effects to highlight the tense and frenetic nature of each battle. Fighting is fast-paced with players using a large array of military weapons (guns, grenades, and flamethrowers). Collateral damage includes sprays of red blood when enemies are shot; maimed appendages from explosions; and flailing and screaming when enemies are set on fire. Cutscenes and historical footage can contain graphic depictions of prisoner/POW executions. Strong profanity can be heard during gameplay (e.g., “f*ck” and “sh*t”).

Finally, we have figured out a new way to post videos so I will look to have a big post about the release of Midways Mortal Kombat vs DC game that is coming out soon. Hopefully this title will take off as with current reports, Midway is really needing a hit on their hands to avoid more layoffs and possible sale of the company.

Jai Nitz is a Kansas-based comic book writer whose work for DC includes “Blue Beetle” and his current project, “El Diablo“.  He recently discussed his work, his history in comics, and the blossoming Kansas comic scene with Nerd City’s own Max:

Jai, currently you’re writing”El Diablo” for DC, and you’ve also worked an all-Spanish issue of “Blue Beetle”. Why don’t you tell us a little about how you came to work for DC, and some of your training and earlier work?

I have always wanted to write comic books, but didn’t seriously try until I was 22 years old. I had just graduated from film school and wanted to write comics. I self-published a few books and got small work from Marvel and DC. I went to cons and befriended pros and editors (in the days before MySpace and Facebook, mind you). I had a few creator-owned books at Image. One of the people I met at cons was an assistant editor named Nachie Castro. He worked on Green Arrow with my mentors Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Nachie eventually took over as the full editor of Batman Strikes! at DC (it was the print version of the animated show, The Batman). I had kept in contact with him over the years and he gave me a shot at an issue of Batman Strikes! He liked what he saw and gave me another. And another. I did six issues in all. During my run, I visited the DC offices in New York and landed El Diablo. That led to Blue Beetle. It’s been a series of baby steps for a decade to get where I am.

Could you please tell us a little bit about the character of “El Diablo” and the changes being made to the character by you and Phil Hester?