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Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Hrchek Kal Fas figure from last year. Hasbro kinda ignored a good chunk of the reference, and the factory made a mistake too. Is it worth it anyway? Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

So, now we can tell you (since we work on the line a little): Bif Bang Pow! announced a partnership with Emce Toys to create action figures. Of interest are Venture Bros. and Lost, and the previous non-Mego Lost figures are going to be canceled/unproduced. No specific characters for Venture were confirmed yet-- for the public, anyway-- but stay tuned to us and to Toy Fair in New York for more on these.

--AP

File under "things we never thought we'd see": NCS has confirmed a vinyl LP with selected tunes from Square-Enix' Final Fantasy XIII is coming out, and will be a not-so-surprisingly $56. It's due out at the end of the month and sports eight tracks.

--AP

Proof that someone is not only listening, but also likes you, this boxed set of figures will include 1980s-style construction with new versions of classic characters from Action Force-- specifically, the villainous Red Shadows.

The figure set includes: Black Major, Interrogator, Flint, 6 Red Torches, and 6 Red Shadows Troopers.

--AP

Not explicitly labeled "Universe" or "Movie" or anything, a new gallery of Seaspray posted online shows the toy in both modes, in and out of the box. One of its features is that it can carry scout-sized toys on its back which, we have to say, is an interesting call-out.

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Luke Skywalker (Hoth) figure from 1998. He was released later in a gift set, and remains the only version of Luke in the modern line that can sit on a Tauntaun-- so far, at least. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

And now, Hasbro answered our/your questions about Star Wars! Here are this month's questions, and answers.

Q: The most commonly asked question we've been getting is regarding the build-a-droid tooling and their future use, specifically if Hasbro will use these molds for individually carded droids or other figures in the future. Will we see the U-3PO mold and Astromech mold from the build-a-droid series used to make other characters in the future?

A: The answer is yes, with a qualifier. We certainly would like to use these tools again for future droids, but we don't have a lot of slots open for non-C3PO or R2-D2 droids right now (although the appearance of both of those characters using the buildable droid parts is intriguing itself). If and when we do get to add some more as-yet-unmade protocol or astro droids, we'll certainly look to use our part library.

Q: We just got the animated Clone Wars Commander Stone figure which is notable because it seems to be an entirely new Clone Trooper mold. Can you walk us through the changes made and why? Of particular note are the revised elbow pads, the swivel (but not as articulated as normal) wrists, the swivel (but not quasi ball-jointed) waist, and the legs which seem to have a harder time sitting than before. However, we've noticed the shoulder joints seem to be way better than previous versions, and the overall look of the figure seems much improved. Is the older, arguably more fun to play with 2008 and 2009 Clone Trooper mold going away in favor of the new model?

A: We needed to add additional Clone tooling to our lineup, both the add more capacity as well as start to replace tooling which is starting to wear out. We took the opportunity to sculpt an all-new Clone with what we thought was a better aesthetic over our first generation Clone. One noticeable difference is articulation - it does not have as many points as the original Clone, which you have noted in detail. Clone Wars is primarily a kid-driven SKU, so this approach is done with the biggest audience in mind. Going forward, this is something that we will be looking at carefully with Clone Wars figures since more points of articulation greatly affects the cost. We will still be using the existing Clone Trooper body in rotation throughout the line, so he's not going away, but we will be phasing in more figures that use the new Commander Stone body.

--AP

Xbox 360 owners, it's time for Chime! The $5/400 point puzzler from Valcom Games is notable includes a whole mess of music and is for charity. So give it a whirl!

Also, we got an email from Aksys Games about a new DLC pack for 0D Beat Drop featuring the girls of BlazBlue, a 2D fighting game on the Xbox 360 and PS3. This new pack is described as: "This first DLC pack contains new skins and music for three of BlazBlue's lovely ladies: Noel, Nu and Tsubaki."

The pack is 320 points, or $4.00. And the picture is the picture, we suppose.

--AP

Matty posted a bunch of news today, specifically:

1. Wun-Dar delayed until April 15
2. Battle Cat will cost more for shipping than regular figures
3. February 15 items will be on sale on February 16
4. Club Eternia members will get $8 off on Battle Cat

So some good news there! And bad. But hey, that's life.

--AP

Ad: New stuff! - First Look at Lost Figures! Bif Bang Pow's new line of Lost toys inspired by classic Mego action figures are now visible for order (and perusal) at Entertainment Earth! Get a glimpse of these new toys, due the Summer:

$37.99	$37.99	$12.99

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the General Grievous figure from 2008. It's taller, but is it worth shelling out for? Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

Some dude named Kris Abel has the scoop on the 2010 LEGO product you non-industry types probably haven't seen yet, which is way better than waiting for New York's showing in two weeks. Check it out!

--AP

Your new game this week: Fret Nice, a platformer which, apparently, was designed to work with your Guitar Hero controllers. This 2D game is $14.99.

--AP

This week's downloadable PSP games are After Burner: Black Falcon for $15.99 and Armored Core: Silent Line for $14.99.

--AP

Comedy Is Dead has updated with many new articles. They include:

• Mike Birbiglia: Sleepwalk Unplugged briefly covers the show you most likely just missed, which was awesome

--AP

Galactic Hunter has posted a new Q&A column this week! Be sure to click through and read up on the latest!

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson! Today: Battle Droid, a figure from 2002. Is the tan variant worth it, or do they all pretty much suck? Go to Figure of the Day to find out!

--AP

A whole mess of exclusive toys have hit over the past week, including: Legends Revenge of the Fallen Devastator ($30ish, Wal-Mart), Beachcomber vs. Deadlift ($18, Wal-Mart), Slap Dash vs. Trenchmouth ($18, Wal-Mart), Animated Arcee and Cybertron Ratchet ($12.99 each, Toys "R" Us), and a trio of two-packs at Target for $6.99 per: Bumblebee vs. Shadow Striker, Rally Mudflap and Offroad Skids, plus Smokescreen and Starscream.

Also, Jeffery Combs (The Reanimator, Deep Space Nine) has supposedly been cast as Ratchet on the next cartoon series. Awesome!

--AP

Over at Publick Nuisance, one of the Venture Bros. co-creators let slip an early look at what appears to be the back of Doctor Venture's head, with a Mego connector at the bottom. Neat! Could this be the first look at Bif Bang Pow's action figure line? (Yes.)

--AP

If you're lucky enough to live near a LEGO retail store, check its clearance rack-- you may find Vintage Minifigure Collections as low as $8.99, like we did. A store in Glendale, CA had the first pack with its classic spaceman, fireman, and a Mad Scientist from the not-too-recent past.

At least 4 of these were made, the 4th of which has a Blacktron figure, Santa Claus, and some other goodies. But looking forward to the Fall of 2010...

Series 1 is supposedly due in the Summer, with rumors saying this should ship before the holidays. So Fall sounds good.

--AP

Citiing incompatibility with future updates to the Xbox Live service for 360 owners, Microsoft has announced it will soon cease supporting the original Xbox games on its Xbox Live service-- which it continues to sell as digital downloads, and the service itself is paid for by the gamers who play on it.

We see this as hogwash. Just saying "we don't want to put the money into a small community" would leave a better taste in our mouths because, let's face it, money and time can make any system work any way you want it to. (And our trusty Xbox 360 E74ed about a day after this announcement. Coincidence? OK, so yeah, it was.)

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at a Fenn Shysa from 2008-- one of the very first Mandalorians introduced who wasn't named "Boba." Is this figure, a repaint of Jango Fett, worth your while? Go to Figure of the Day to find out!

Also, Lucasarts confirmed LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is in development.

--AP

Your WiiWare title of note this week is the just-announced (like two days ago) Blaster Master Overdrive for $10/1,000 points. It's a 2D sequel with the same gameplay as the original-- which is to say, side-scrolling tankventures plus overhead shootin'. Some sources said a demo was available but we were unable to find it... and we really want to try this one out.

Also available for $5/500 points a whack are Bloons, Hubert The Teddy Bear Winter Games, and Tomena Sanner. The latter of which was described in a press release as a: "zany, side-scrolling action game popularized in Japan, players must race against the clock while avoiding a myriad of obstacles in order to reach the ultimate dance party." Or in other words, not Blaster Master.

Virtual Console fans, it's Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom (NES) for $5/500 points.

It's also worth noting the Data East Classics retro compilation is out this week, as is a new entry in the Super Monkey Ball series with Step & Roll. (This week's DSi downloads are dull to the point where we're skipping 'em. You're welcome.)

--AP

After weeks of hand-wringing and brow-furrowing, Halcyon dumped the Terminator rights for about $29.5 million according to Deadline | HOLLYWOOD. Despite the grousing over the last entry in the series, it's still a valuable property that brings in a good worldwide box office take.

--AP

This week Daria is apparently confirmed to have crappy cover art and "budget pricing" for the complete series, so says this latest announcement. We're not sure what "budget" means but if they dropped the music it ought to be cheap.

--AP

If your Xbox isn't in the mail for repairs, you can enjoy some pretty great savings this week. Invincible Tiger is down to 800 points, as is Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The cheapest title is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled for 400 points, quite the deal. Pricing is good through the week.

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Princess Leia (Mandalore) figure from 2008. It's a repaint of the Hoth figure from 1998. How is it? Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

This nifty site called Toy-World.co.hk has a big ol' photo spread (warning: kinda slow) showcasing painted and unpainted expansions in the ongoing Revoltech figure line. SRP is expected to be closer to $40 in the USA, but hot damn, lookit that stuff! Blade Ligers, Jack Skellington, T-Rexes, and much more await you if your pocket book has the guts.

--AP

Because we're enamored with this line: enjoy more pics of blind box series 1 via pocket-lint.com from Canadian Toy Fair. 10 of the figures look clearer than before, so you can see the robot's new arm tooling, for example. We also think that this line might be tying in to the new MMO, but hey, what do we know?

--AP

Hey guess what! It turns out that without nostalgia, you can't sell Joe product for as much as Star Wars product when Hasbro used to sell two figures for the price of one. Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner confirmed this in a Q4 2009 earnings transcript, and, if you'll recall, the figures went from $7-$8.50 to as low as $3.50-$5.00 right now. Hasbro experienced a similar problem in 1999 when Star Wars figures shot up to a then-unheard of $7, which seems to be a bit of a tough pill to swallow. Particularly considering the amount of reused molds we're seeing these days.

--AP

Comedy Is Dead has updated with many new articles. They include:

• Weekly Comedy: A Rollercoaster of Quality runs down all the goodies that await you this week, plus some crap

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the RA-7 (Marvel) figure from 2008. This Wal-Mart exclusive is the third version of this mold, and it turned out pretty well. Also, purple. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

Xbox 360 owners, it's time for Darwinia+! The $15/1,200 strategy title from Introversion Software is notable includes a whole mess of music and is for charity. So give it a whirl!

--AP

According to ToyFare Magazine (via TNI) He-Man is coming to Toys "R" Us in a comic-themed 2-pack. Superman and He-Man are packaged together, mimicking a comic book cover that nobody remembers from over 25 years ago. The figures are expected to be repaints... but wait, there's more!

AFI has a pair of prototypes of He-Man and Skeletor in what seems to be comic colors, confirming the line will likely go beyond just the one set. It's a weird twist-- and to be honest, one we don't particularly find appealing-- but there you have it!

Finally, Matty confirms the March 15 lineup with Moss Man, Beast Man (reissue), and some DC stuff.

--AP, thanks RAC

Via Matty's Twitter page, Walter Peck and the Containment Unit are both delayed until May 17, 2010. He was originally planned to be available in March, but won't make it.

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Stormtrooper (Marvel Comics) figure from 2007. It's a mold from 1999, but now it has blue shadows and red lenses. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

From ToyFare (via The Terror Drome) Hasbro has confirmed that the mail-in Cobra Commander figure will not exactly be a mail-in exclusive so much as exclusive packaging. Ah well. (It's like Rex all over again!)

--AP

A lot of the fun bands from the 1990s did a large array of merchandising, such as the great Man or Astro-Man? who are getting together for a reunion deal. Chunklet has news of a promotional air freshener, of all things, that is being given away at the Whirlyball gig. It's worth checking out if you're a fan.

--AP

This week, it's all about the PSOne. Grab Dirt Jockey, Populous: The Beginning, and Sim Theme Park, each for $5.99.

--AP

In addition to the above PSOne games, you can also core Spaceball: Revolution which is, apparently, not related to a similarly named movie. It is $4.99. (Dark Helmet not included.)

--AP

While the console itself isn't anything particularly special, the new (reportedly, but not officially) $399.99 gift set will have a bunch of stuff. From the publisher: "The bundle includes a 250GB Hard Drive engraved with the FINAL FANTASY XIII name, two Wireless Controllers, exclusive downloadable avatar items and a Standard Edition copy of FINAL FANTASY XIII." It's expected in-store on March 9, 2010, which is sooner than we'd have guessed.

--AP

Galactic Hunter has posted a new Q&A column this week! Be sure to click through and read up on the latest!

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson! Today: Endor Rebel Trooper, a figure from 2006. It's the black variant, which is the neater of the two if you ask us. We also look at the 1997 AT-AT Commander-- but how is it? Go to Figure of the Day to find out!

--AP

Amazon.JP has shots of Alternity Starscream, now a car. Plus his head isn't very Starscreamey-- but it is different, so go look and gawk.

Also, our pals at ASMZine have some great galleries of the toys from New York. New Power Core Combiners, the new "Generations" Line (combined Universe/Classics with Revenge of the Fallen), and more await you! The War for Cybertron stuff is sharp, the Drift is... Drift, and there are some surprisingly slick surprises in there. Namely, a retail release of "classics" Thrust based on the Henkei molds. It's a previously Botcon exclusive character, so we're stoked to get one for less than $100!

--AP

Over at ASMZine, is the first public showing of the Mego-style Venture Bros. prototypes including The Monarch (pictured), Dean, Doc (Rusty), Brock Samson, and 21 and 24. Wow! The villains clearly are shaping up the best so far.

--AP

Over at ASMZine you will also find a lot of new He-Man product. Examples include a Robot Chicken-inspired Skeletor + Dentist 2-pack, Keldor, various DC/He-Man 2-packs, a new She-Ra, Count Marzo, Whiplash, and Gygor, which was a real shocker. Oh, and a giant Tytus, also shocking. It's going to be a strange year!

--AP

Because they were busy, ASMZine has shots of new Mattel figures like Peter Venkman and yet another Ray Stantz in a different outfit. Peter is totally slimed, leaving the door open for another "clean" release, and Ray is, well, probably not what you necessarily wanted. But hey, new stuff!

--AP

So many new sets and themes were revealed, we've decided just to pick our favorites from New York. #1 (pictured) is the second batch of blind-boxed figures, seen on Flickr via FBTB. 16 new figures, including a witch, a pop star, and a body builder with the best constipated face we've ever seen.

#2 is at ASMZine, which has the first shots of the 2010 LEGO City 2824 Advent Calendar. It includes kids and gifts, as always, plus what appears to be a mostly naked showering Santa Claus.

Our #3 pick was the Space Pimp as seen in #5984 Space Police Lunar Limo. There's really not much more to say and while we know pimp jokes are old and tired, we don't feel this way when it comes to small bricky figures. This is also via the FBTB Flickr stream. Click here for the whole set which has enough neat stuff in it to make it worth buying for more than just the figure.

--AP

Your WiiWare games this week are three. For $8.00/800-$10.00/1,000 points points, you can snag Art of Balance, WarMen Tactics, and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Virtual Console fans, it's Sonic & Knuckles (Sega Genesis) for $8/800 points.

--AP

Got a DSi? This week, you can pretend to care about: Spotto!, Spaceball: Revolution, Scrabble Classic, Real Soccer 2010 (doesn't sound quite as futuristic as it once would), and Prehistorik Man. The latter of which is indeed a remake of an existing platformer.

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Jedi Knight (Secret Apprentice) figure from the surprisingly hot game The Force Unleashed. It's pretty swell. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

If you haven't seen them yet, our pals at Altered States Magazine put up shots of new Funko products including a box of DC-based plushies. Revealed so far are Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Superman.

--AP

In addition to confirming they're no longer trying to keep 2-3 weeks of stock of their Matty items, MattyCollector.com sold out of the new additions to Masters of the Universe Classics today. If you missed Trap Jaw and Battle Cat, you're going to have to wait for the next run-- which the company confirmed yesterday. The "diorama" stands also sold through. Man-at-Arms is still available. We really wish we had an insider's look at this line, which seems to be performing exceedingly well and bucks the trend of bigger runs, cheaper figures, and enormous lines of hundreds of figures in a short time.

Next month, mark your calendars for Stratos and Moss Man.

--AP

The world's favorite blue needlemouse has been set free, and subsequently stuffed back into the box. A short video showing gameplay got out and Sega asked that it be removed. Oh well. Either way, it looks like an honest-to-goodnes 2D remake of one of Sega's most important franchises during its first big boom era on the home console market.

--AP

Comedy Is Dead has updated with many new articles. They include:

• Weekly Comedy: The HBOpocalypse points out that the network is making a big comedy grab this week-- go find out why!

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the U-3PO figure from 2009. This build-a-droid is everything you would want in a perfect C-3PO figure, except it's silver. So is it good enough to grab anyway? Sure, why not. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

Xbox 360 owners, it's time for The Adventures of PB Winterbottom ! The $10/800 platform puzzle title from 2K Play is surprisingly old-tymey in its appearance.

--AP

We've been peeking in the recently reset Target stores Easter section, and a lot of mini toys are available-- some of which seem to be de-facto exclusives in the USA. There are at least 5 mini Star Wars LEGO sets and 2 mini LEGO City sets in circulation, some of which seem to be debuting this very week.

The 4 totally new items we're seeing are:
30002 Police Boat with figure
30010 Fire Vehicle with figure
30050 Republic Attack Shuttle
30051 X-Wing Fighter

Prices range from $2.99 to $3.49, effectively making them freaking cheap.

Also, look at this DACTA Space and Airport Set. Just look at it.

--AP

The guys at The Mego Museum have shots of 4 new "Mego" figures from Diamond Select Toys and EMCE Toys. Specifically, Captain Pike, Vina, Salt Vampire (pictured), and Nurse Chapel. Expect them around December.

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Mace Windu (Clone Wars) figure from 2009. A repaint is available, and a resculpt is coming. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

The Mego Museum has extensive photos of the Bif Bang Pow!/EMCE Toys Monarch figure as well as Doctor Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture, Dean Venture, Brock Samson, 21, and 24.

The company Bif Bang Pow! also posted a response to the initial fan comments toward the figures. Nice!

One of our favorite 1980s toy lines was Battle Beasts, a Hasbro/Takara property of little critters and a variation on Rock/Paper/Scissors gameplay. Last Summer Diamond Select Toys confirmed they had the license, and it turns out they gave one away in New York for Toy Fair over the weekend. We left ours in our office, but we'll have more on it in a few days. It is gorgeous. We both hope they do the line (so we can collect them all) and don't (for the same reason) this year. No retail products have been announced except this gorgeous little so-and-so.

Oh, and this one-- which has no name-- includes a sword. The "head" is actually a sort of a helmet over a typical Minimates head. The design is really clever, we hope to see many more just like this one. But you know, not just gators.

--AP

Not much new this week, but you can nab Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for half price. It's $7.49.

PSone titles newly downloadable include: Magic Carpet, Sorcerer�s Maze, and Mass Destruction.

--AP

Grab SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 for $39.99 or Puzzle Chronicles for $29.99 this week via the PSN store for PSP downloadable games. If you want. We presume you might not, but what do we know?

PSone titles newly downloadable include: Magic Carpet, Sorcerer�s Maze, and Mass Destruction.

--AP

Galactic Hunter has posted a new Q&A column this week! Be sure to click through and read up on the latest!

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson! Today: Battle Droid Commander, a figure from late last year. This red-hued yellow-striped robot has the best sculpt yet. Oh, and its eyes are about two sizes too big. Oh well! Go to Figure of the Day to find out!

--AP

Because we wanted to keep one central location for the news on this extremely slow-paced toy line (so far), go check out the Battle Beasts Blog. We'll be cross-posting news, as always, but be sure to grab it there for the RSS feed if you're so inclined. We'll be doing a review of the Toy Fair premium figure shortly, and so far only two figures have been shown to the public in any form-- one at Comic-Con 2009 and the other, the aforementioned exclusive figure. More as we have it!

--AP

Between ToyFare magazine and Toy Fair in New York (no relation, if you can believe it) the contents of Wave 14 of the ongoing collector line have been revealed. They are:

Gold (Metal Men)
Green Lantern (Alan Scott)
Hourman
Kamandi
Obsidian
Tyr
Zatanna
Ultra-Humanite (Collect & Connect)

As always, our pals at ASMZine have images.

--AP

The UK Action Force-inspired G.I. Joe Convention Set has been revealed and it's pretty slick in terms of concept. So far, see the Red Shadows Pyro-Troopers Red Torch figures (pictured), a new Flint, and a very quasi-low budget S&M villain named The Black Major.

Previews of the 12-inch set have also been posted. "Escape from Spy Island" is... not as high-concept. But hey, fuzzy heads!

--AP

If you remember the NES games River City Ransom and Super Dodgeball, you probably recall their uniquely drawn characters which, as time went on, became the basis of sprite comics, parodies, and dozens of fantastic gameplay hours. Aksys Games agreed, and they're releasing a few new games in this style. They are: River City Soccer Hooligans and River City Super Sports Challenge. We're quite curious of today's kids will buy into these and hold them near and dear for years. Heck, we're curious to try them.

--AP

Comedy Is Dead has updated with many new articles. They include:

• Weekly Comedy: Amazing News That Will Amaze You points out that Sindbad is not on reality TV nor in rehab

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Scout Trooper (Imperial Patrol) figure from 2001. This one has been repainted a few times, and rereleased with his crotch backward, but this is the very first release of this sculpt. Is it any good? Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

Inspired by the original Battle Beasts toy line, this Alligator is essentially a Minimates figure with special hands, feet, armor, and a hat. Given away by Diamond Select Toys at New York Toy Fair, 2010. The sample courtesy DST and our awesome pal Bianca.
[ READ THE FULL REVIEW ]

At press time this is the only figure available and aside from a redeco with a delayed playset, no other DST Battle Beasts are known to be planned.

--AP

The G.I. Joe Club showed off the Red Shadows, troopers based on old UK figures which vaguely looked like repainted Cobra Commanders. And here's the first US release! We're excited. We gotta get one of these crimson stooges.

--AP

Your WiiWare games this week are three. For $5.00/500-$6.00/600 points points, you can snag Family Go-Kart Racing, GhostSlayer, and Mouse House.

Virtual Console fans, it's jack and squat. You may commence wrist-cutting or the ritual suicide your culture prefers.

--AP

Got a DSi? This week: Aura-Aura Climber, Faceez, Flight Control, and Flipper. These range from $2 to $5.

--AP

Because we never learned which emails not to open, we were alerted to two unique products you don't need last night. One, the Crab Wiener Shaper, which will shape your luncheon meat tubes into little crab-like shapes complete with eyes. We will leave the "wiener getting crabs" jokes to you.

If crabs don't do it for you, we were also turned on to these Penguin Wiener Shapers. What a treat. We assume.

--AP via the enigmatic Victoria

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Obi-Wan Kenobi figure with the breathing gear and an electropole-- but no lightsaber. It's not bad. Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

Wun-Dar, a new figure inspired by the legendary "Wonder Bread He-Man," has been posted at The Action Figure Insider with a mighty gallery showcasing the figure, its accessories, and a loaf of bread. The figure will be shipping out exclusively to Club Eternia subscribers in April, but this early peek shows a few previously unclear details, such as the inclusion of a half Power Sword and a "hidden insignia" which looks a little like a Wonder Bread logo.

--AP

Through a twist of fate today we found out that Japanese band "The Plastics" released a new album. This is notable because they basically ended their career in the early 1980s. The album is called Dr.VoBG and you can read about it here in English and, so far, there are no audio samples (streaming or otherwise) online that we were able to find.

The blog's author says it's a live album with Hajime and Toshi. We may have to order a copy.

--AP

Our pals at Bif Bang Pow let us know that John Locke is coming as a bobble head, and while we don't presently watch the show-- as we missed that boat-- we figured you might want to know. Because he's got a face full of orange, which is definitely a striking detail for this sort of thing. The item comes out in/around August (and the show ends in like May).

--AP

The 10-year-old in us wanted you to know that Physorg.com announced new dinosaurs were discovered in Utah. They're sauropods, and the skulls were found intact! Wowie zowie. They claim this new beastie didn't chew its food, but rather just swallowed it. While no toys of this new discovery, the Abydosaurus, have been announced yet we remain hopeful. After all, the Utahraptor got made into a Jurassic Park toy pretty gosh darn quickly when the first movie hit.

--AP

Ad: Get ready for Iron Man 2 - Dozens of new toys! Tons of new action figures, roleplay toys, helmets, and more were added to Entertainment Earth. The new Hasbro toys have a street date of next week, but you can pre-order some today! Here are some highlights:

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Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Darth Maul figure from 2005. This Evolutions pack figure is the best yet in terms of articulation, but is it perfect? Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

Xbox 360 owners, it's time for three new games this week. And naturally, none of these Xbox Live Arcade games are actually arcade games in the traditional sense of the word.

First up is Fret Nice, a 2D platformer. It involves guitars. Greed Corp is a multiplayer strategy game where-- you guessed it-- you need to work to become rich. Finally, Lazy Raiders sports a bunch of traps and treasures and whatnot plus a dude with a giant moustache. Awesome.

--AP

The lovable retro-loving gamers of 1up.com posted a preview of Metroid Other M. There are pictures, details, and a video showcasing this sequel to Super Metroid and how it performs in its quasi-2D world. Apparently, it uses the basic Wii remote like an NES controller and there's a lot of hidden stuff. Well, we're sold. Read the preview.

--AP

The guys at Chibi Goji Toys have some pretty spectacular Godzilla wares, specifically Hello Kitty dressed as Ghidorah and Godzilla. (And Kamen Rider.) You have to see these! Click through.

--AP

Figure of the Day has updated once again! The daily feature on figures you might have but might not-- either way, here's what you've been missing! Spanning from the original Power of the Force series of 1995 to the latest of The Legacy Collection, it's almost like a history lesson!

Today we look at the Luminara Unduli (Clone Wars) figure from 2009. She's fantastic! Go to Figure of the Day for the next update, with the latest installment in our ongoing series!

--AP

Want to feel old? The site 1up.com has a round-up of February 1990 which is when the first US shipments of Super Mario Bros. 3 hit stores. You are so old.

--AP

Speaking of feeling old, this brand new minifigure collection from LEGO is full of ladies and years which will make you feel even older. Check out the she-ninja, stewardess, busy barmaid type, and more-- no idea when these will be out, but if they're like the previous four it will be a pain to track down.

--AP

Full games this week include Greed Corp for $9.99. So the PS3 downloadables are cheaper than those on the PSP.

Notably on sale is Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, down 50% to $7.49.

PSone titles newly downloadable include: Grandia, an RPG which enjoyed decent hype in its day.

--AP

Full games this week include GTI Club Supermini Festa for $19.99 and echoshift for $29.99.

PSP Minis include: Retro Cave Flyer, Age of Zombies, and The Terminator. Interestingly, it is based on the movie franchise.

PSone titles newly downloadable include: Grandia, an RPG which enjoyed decent hype in its day.

--AP

Comedy Is Dead has updated with many new articles. They include:

• Road Trip Album Picks: "Thin Pig" from Todd Glass looks at one of the finest releases of 2009, which you probably missed, because you are a terrible person

--AP

Ad: Get ready for Star Wars - tons of new toys! Hasbro sent along tons of new toy announcements, including some delayed from last year! Don't miss out on the last batch of comic packs, thrilling new cartoon figures, and oh so much more! Here are some highlights:

$109.99	$99.99	$26.99