Gamertell

And the corporate consolidation of media continues - Kotaku is reporting on CBS’ acquisition of CNET networks cache of sites, including gamespot. Apparently, CNET’s board of directors unanimously agreed to the merger, and the transition is slated to occur by the third quarter of this year.

From the post:

“Upon closing, CNET Networks’ sites will be combined with CBS’s stable of dynamic and growing interactive businesses. These include CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSCollegeSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, MobLogic, CBS Radio and CBS Television Stations digital media platforms, and the distribution network of the CBS Audience Network, which is made up of more than 300 partner Web sites and reaches 82% of all online users in the United States.”

As if gamespot hadn’t already had its share of nasty business in the corporate relations department… but business is business, right?

Read [Kotaku]

If you ever wanted those stylish, yet expensive Mimobot flashdrives, now is the time to buy. A special Graduation Sale is being held at Mimoco that started May 6, 2008 and will end June 3, 2008. The Artist Series, Core Series 2, Happy Tree Friends and Halo Mimobot flash drives are all going to be 25% off of their normal prices.

If you buy over $100 of drives, you’ll also receive gift certificates. The first $100 purchase gets you a $10 gift certificate, and for every $50 increment after that you receive an additional $10 added to the gift certificate. A normal 1 GB drive is $39.95, a 2 GB $59.95 and a 4 GB is $99.95. A hoodie accessory can be added on for $5. If you get a 4 GB drive, you’re within a few dollars of the gift certificate.

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Gimmeswords has used her artistic talents to accomplish an amazing feat, she turns classic Nintendo icons into fashionable jewelry. Using polymer clay, she crafts adorable charms. Her Nintendo earrings (pictured above) were recently featured on Sprite Stitch.

Gimmeswords also runs a Etsy store filled with a variety of video game related jewelry. I couldn’t help admiring her Wiimote/Nunchuk earrings and goomba cell phone charm. She also has quite a few tabletop gaming charms as well, so every kind of gamer is covered. 

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A free Ninja Gaiden 2 magazine written by the journalists who put out the monthly 360Zine magazine, is now available at GamerZines.com. The special edition issue contains a guide to Ninja Gaiden 2, a detailed history of the Ninja Gaiden games and a contest to win an Xbox 360.

The online magazine can either be viewed online, or downloaded as a .pdf file. You also do not need to register for the site to view or download the file. You do need to have Adobe Reader v.6 or higher and be using a Mac or Windows computer. Since there is a complete game guide included, I’d suggest downloading it. Besides, it’s only 6.65MB.

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Round-robin stories are common in writing classes and schools as a writing exercise which builds a story everyone has contributed to. It’s a fun way to join together as a community and bond. Atlus has decided that it would also be the perfect form for its Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard contest.

The “Storytellers of Lagaard” contest is now taking place in the Atlus forums, and will last until May 13, 2008, 5:30pm PDT. Everyone is invited to join the Atlus forums and post as often as they like, but there are a few restrictions. The Atlus administrator Inzaghi states that participants should keep each entries under 200 words, not post too frequently, quote the last sentence of the post ahead of you and not spam the topic. The person who contributes the most and best additions to the story will win a copy of the Etrian Odyssey II 3 CD soundtrack.

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The first-person shooter Fire Warrior has been adapted into a novel. The Dawn of War games also have a novel attributed to them. The Warhammer 40,000 franchise is going pretty strong. However, with the multitude of novels and the sparse amount of games in the franchise, it is a bit surprising there aren’t more games based on great books.

With the novels in place, the Warhammer 40k franchise is in prime positioning for different styles of videogames. The Eisenhorn trilogy, for example, is one of The Black Library’s best Warhammer 40k trilogies that would make a great set of games if done correctly, possibly as…

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The official Marvel Kids site has a brand new application which is a great distraction for anyone with an internet connection and anywhere from 10~20 minutes. It’s a “Create your Own Super Hero” program, which lets you piece together different parts to create your own hero or heroine.

You may think it’s just like the countless other doll makers that you might find online, but it’s not. It’s better. After choosing one of three body types, you are given a blank template. There are quite a few accessory and accent options, and each one starts out blank when they appear on the character. After you’ve selected the items you want to appear on your character, you can color him or her using practically any color you want. You can use offered color swatches, or pick a hue from a color scale. This aspect alone guarantees character individuality. 

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One of the most renowned first-person shooters also has a fairly strong line of books to give it a back-story. The book count is currently at five novels with four specifically focusing on the events of original conception of the Doom.

Worlds on Fire covers the events of Doom 3 following Lieutenant John Kane. Kane saves marines from what would otherwise be a…

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Title: Iron Man
Release Date: May, 2, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Marvel and Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Pros: Great acting, very funny, great effects, more contemporary setting and origin, pleasing to Iron Man and comic fans
Cons: Feels like a short movie, limited story, not enough action or Iron Man, to many quick edits, no Nick Fury cameo
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of five.

Ultimately, Iron Man is a fun ride that doesn’t live up to the story and emotional quality of Batman Begins, nor is it likely to win over a whole new generation of fans like the Spider-Man films have.

Click through for the full review…

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Leading this year’s Summer movie season is Iron Man, based on the popular Marvel comic book character of the same name. The film’s video game adaptation, which was released along with the film (on May 2, 2008), has been in development for a while, which we hope has been enough development time so it will stand out from the crowd of sub-par comic book tie-in games.

In a recent interview with Iron Man: the Game‘s producer, Andy Alamano, Marvel.com asked the questions many fans have been itching to ask…

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