『 The Effigy Mound soon to be gone for good 』

That's right suckers. If you haven't been paying attention, The Effigy mount will soon be out of print and if you didn't get your copy yet, tough luck.

Today I got the usual Telltale news update in my mailbox and it linked to their weblog where you could read the following:


"We're starting to run low on copies of Steve Purcell's 2007 sketchbook, The Effigy Mound, and won't be reprinting them when they sell out. Consider this your official warning!

If you preordered the hardcover version of Surfin' the Highway and have an Effigy Mound on the same order, don't worry, one has been set aside for you.

Also, if you were planning to wait until the Season Two DVD comes out to order your Effigy Mound, don't. They probably won't last that long."


Yet another Sam & Max publication will soon become an eBay rarity. The Age of S&M has been out of print for quite some time now and any day now The Effigy Mound will share its fate. If you want to check out some more pictures of the books, check out the earlier entries by clicking here for The Effigy Mound and here for The Age of S&M.

Sam & Max: The Complete Animated Series

Hey! Mr.Mailman! What is that you're jamming in my mailbox with such brute force? Is it in fact the package containing Sam & Max Freelance Police, the complete animated series DVD I've been eagerly awaiting? Yes it is! Happy day!


That's right folks, I finally got this little gem and there you have it, some quick snaps of the thing. It coms in two slim cases stuffed in a neat jacket. Three discs containing all of the episodes plus some extras.


Except for the DVDs you even get a Sam & Max sticker, which is supposed to be "limited" in some way, but I find it hard to believe, since when buying the DVDs you can't choose an edition without the sticker so it's apparently jammed into each and every one of the boxes. How limited is that?


The bonus disc contains a few neat features, with strong emphasis on few. This is the part where the producers should have tried harder. You get three Fox Kids shorts, one cool short by Mr.Purcell himself that looks alot like it was done in Flash, interview with Mr.Purcell and that's pretty much it video wise. You get a cool concept gallery in a 100 meg *.pdf file, aswell as Series' Bible, also in *.pdf.


One last bonus is the "Ice Station Santa" demo. For those who don't know, Ice Station Santa is the first episode of the second season of Sam & Max series of games done by Telltale Games. This didn't impress me at all, since I got the season two ages ago. Also, Sam & Max animated series was released for the fans, so I find it hard to believe that people who purchased the DVDs didn't get the game or the demo already, especially since they can be downloaded directly from the website, for free.


All in all, Sam & Max animated series is the five hour long brainwash the fans have been waiting for. Packed with tons of Steve Purcell peculiar brand of humor it will entertain, scare and challange you mentally. If you read the comic and played the game, get the DVDs. The $25 in your wallet says you can afford it.


Oh, I almost forgot. The DVDs are, of course, region free. This means you can go ahead and import this neat set of laughs and horrors no matter where you live. Well, if you're from the far corners of eastern Europe or some god forsaken country in Africa you may not be able to afford it. Other than that, import away.

『 The Effigy Mound 』

『 Sam & Max:: Season One Stuff 』

『 The Age of S&M: A Sam & Max Sketchbook 』











『 Sam & Max: Season One Case File 』

























『 Sam & Max: Season One Soundtrack 』









『 Sam & Max: Season One Promo 』

『 パプリカ 』

『 レトロゲーまー Load 40 』




So, the 40th issue of Retro Gamer is out and, and has been for quite some time now, and as usual, it's packed with great articles for retro freaks and regular gamers alike. Don't get me wrong. Nothing has changed. It's still 90% retro.


The 40th issue continues the series of retrospective articles about classic platforms. This time it's Nec's PC Engine / TurboGrafx. As usual, a nice in depth article reviews the platform history, groundbreaking titles, different versions and revisions of the PC engine, and of course current prices.


Cover story of the issue describes the rise and fall of one of the most popular and controversial beat 'em up series ever created. Every character and every possible version of the game are discussed. We can also read about future developements and plans for the series, starting with some impressions of the latest Wii game.


Part three of SNK history is also here. The story of SNK's struggle against superior technology of its competition continues. This time the issue of piracy is also discussed.


Something you might not want to miss is the history of ID. This article will take you on a journey that started with a few friends and a diskmag. If you want to know how Quake came about and how much blood, sweat and tears went into the project, get your copy of Retro Gamer - Load 40 NOW!

『 Wiiのための光がありません。 』


This has been bugging me for a while now. Did you notice what every Wii ad has in commom? That's right. The Wii drive light is on. Nice blue glow leaks out from the inside of your precious Wii to bring joy to everyone, who think that blue lights are cool.



I am one of those people. I think that Wii looks incredibly cool with the drive light on, but wait... Is there something wrong with the Wii, or is every single ad wrong? My Wii drive doesn't glow. It blinks, with extremely short blinks on very rare occasions. It blinks once when you turn it on and insert a disc, and it blinks once when you reset it. And you'd better not blink yourself during the reset, or you'll most likely miss it!



Below you can watch a short video I've made, that shows you the Wii blinking. I cut out the waiting times to make it all about the blinking drive. You can't power the Wii up, reset and take the disc out this fast. It needs its time.



By the way, the four small photos were stolen from an official Nintendo Wii website. Did you notice that on the photo with a hand holding the Wii, the Wii drive still glows, even though it's not connected to anything? And yes, I'm aware that the drive will glow upon an incoming email, but that just doesn't do it for me.