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Most RPGs these days are stale, boring and almost impossible to differentiate from one another. They all trot out the same turn-based combat, the same angst-ridden characters, and the same “save the world from ultimate darkness” plot that has barely changed since the early eighties. This is why theMario & LuigiRPG series has always felt like such a consistent breath of fresh air. Sure, the games themselves tread on familiar ground with each new chapter, but the focus on fun gameplay, laid back narrative and gentle humor has always made the franchise stand out and prove to the world that RPGs don’t always have to be about 16-year-old androgynous boy-heroes who must fight a brooding and/or flamboyantly camp supervillain....

Do you remember that strangeU-shaped wireless wheel at E3? Microsoft calls it the Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel. Even though I first thought it looked like a Wii accessory, I found out then that it’s actually quite a bit more useful than it initially appears to be. Now I have one in the office, and I’ve been able to put it to a proper test with several racing games. It turns out that air steering works pretty well!...

We all know by now that Microsoft paid vast amounts of loot in order to secure itself exclusive DLC in form of theLost & Damnedexpansion pack. However,PSWmagazinehas decidedto whip itself up a storm and claim that the DLC was exclusiveonlyfor six months, and could be hitting the PlayStation 3 this summer. If the gossip is true, August 20 has been tossed around as the launch date, but obviously unless Rockstar or Sony officially say so, this is nothing but rudderless speculation right now....

Why not? It’s probably because I’m bloody awful at it. I wasn’t much good when it came toCall of Duty 4but this is just depressing. I’m lucky if I can kill half as many times as I get to press the respawn button. If you want an opinion on the beta from somebody who can actually play long enough to have one, you might want to check out Grim’s impressions (to be posted tomorrow)....

The upcomingSuper Hero Squad OnlineMMO might be seemingly be aimed a younger age bracket, but I can’tnotbe interested in it. I want to pinch all of the super hero’s and villains’ fat little cheeks! Amazing Society, the game’s developer, has released a few videos to bump up the hype for the game surrounding this week’s Comic-Con, and here they are. For you. The first (as seen above) has Jay Minn, one of the game’s developers, giving a quick walkthrough of the title and its various locations....

The average playthrough time of Epic Games and Chair Entertainment’sShadow Complexcomes out to be between 10 and 12 hours, but even then, they find that players are only scratching the surface as far as powerup and item collection goes. It could be even longer, and that’s not counting some extra time-based challenges in a different game mode. But could it be done faster? What about the speed run fans? Chair’s Donald Mustard told us that the upcoming Metroidvania-ish Xbox Live Arcade side scroller game was built for speed runs....

Sega is good about having regular sales. That’s something I really appreciate when I think about how many times I’ve bought some of these revived retro titles. Starting today, Sega is having a sale on selected Xbox Live Arcade titles. There’s several titles for 50 percent off. Here’s some of the better ones: The sale runs now through April 25th, so get a move on. TheSega bloghas the full listing of discounted titles....

Before you get all up in arms over a recent remark made by Stuart Black, the senior designer of Criterion’sBlack, allow me to elaborate; the Destructoid headline character limit, she is a cruel mistress. Speaking to OXM, Black — the man, not the game (bummer, I know) — went off on the current line-up of shooters. “There’s a lot of cover-based shooters out at the moment. But when a guy hunkers down behind something, you’ve just got to sit there and wait for him to pop his head up....

Yes, this is definitely a video for aSkategame, no doubt about it. Gander at people skating through parks and down streets, handplanting, and cracking testicles on a handrail. Why, with the exception of a brief moment (at around 0:50) where we get to see a skater dragging a lounge chair to use as a ramp, I can’t tell the difference. That’s a cool feature, but they’re going to have to give a little something more to convince me that this is worth buying again....

This post is a great way to illustrate how to make profit via the interwebs. Step 1: Get tipped by ClownBaby about a really cool Snorlax dress. Step 2:See cute Asian girl in said Snorlax dressand rub hands together maniacally. Step 3: Post about Snorlax dress with image of cute Asian girl and link to theDeviant Art pagewhere it came from, continue to rub hands together maniacally. Step 4: Wait for first “In before…” comment....

While trolling patents online, some obsessedSonic the Hedgehogfans over atSonic Stadium(go figure) stumbled upon a recently filed patent that indicates a new title might be on the way. Someone, somewhere is surprised. Right? A patent was filed on April 2ndfor something calledSonic Rush Adventure. While to most people this would indicate a sequel to the surprisingly solidDStitle,Sonic Rush, it could be something else entirely. You know, like a mobile lemonade stand game starring all of your favorite Sonic Team characters....

Ever since we first sawour beloved hedgehog brandishing a swordon the front cover ofNintendo Powerand cringed, we’ve had wonder if hardcore is the proper direction that Sega should be takingSonic. That is, before we witnessed this “sonic beauty” of a guitar,wielded by Ninoof the Brazilian heavy metal band, MegaDriver. We’ll let you view thevideosand decide for yourselves if the band is worthy enough to handle his might, but the guitar has us all seeing stars — on its own merit....

After six years and four different iterations, Sony has admitted that its PlayStation Portable system has begun to get a little stale. Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida refused to confirm the arrival of the PSP2, but did confess that his firm is looking at new tech. “Yeah, there’s no denying that — it’s about six years since the launch of the PlayStation Portable,” says Yoshida. “When we launched PSP it was the newest, biggest, brightest thing that we had – and after five or six years, and releasing many games, there’s no denying that people start to see that it’s getting a bit old....