Nintendo will be giving Six Flags Patrons a chance to try out the new Wii game, Wario Land: Shake It!, and two locations are right here in Texas! They are:

* Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, Texas) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12

The details after the break!

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo and its favorite antagonist, Wario™, have teamed up with Six Flags to take over 10 theme parks throughout the country this September. In celebration of the release of Wario Land™: Shake It!, the new game for the Wii™ console, Nintendo will be giving park guests the opportunity to check out the game and win prizes.

Wario Land: Shake It! plays like a classic side-scroller, but incorporates motion-controlled elements: Players shake the Wii Remote™ controller to help Wario shake down enemies for coins or tilt it to help him decide where to toss them. The game launches exclusively for Wii on Sept. 22

“Wario Land: Shake It! is a game that everyone from veterans to newcomers can enjoy,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Partnering with Six Flags to bring the title to theme parks nationwide is a great opportunity for consumers to experience the game and rediscover the franchise at a place that is designed for fun.”

As part of the theme park takeover, Wario Land: Shake It! game-play interactives will be available at the 10 Six Flags parks’ Wii Experience areas to allow Wario fans and park guests the chance to experience the game first-hand and reconnect with the long-running Wario franchise.<

In addition, on Sept. 27, Nintendo will host a competition at two Six Flags locations: Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles and Six Flags St. Louis. Running concurrently at both parks, competitors will play through a level in Wario Land: Shake It! as fast as they can, just as Wario must race through various levels in the game. At the end of the competition, the player with the best overall time will be Nintendo’s guest on a holiday trip to New York and a visit to the Nintendo World store. In addition, one person at each park with the best overall time will win a “Bottomless Coin Sack” containing:

* a Wii system and a copy of Wario Land: Shake It!
* a Nintendo DS™ system
* a gift certificate for Six Flags merchandise
* fun premium items

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other Wii features, visit Wii.com.

For more information about Wario Land: Shake It!, visit www.WarioLandShakeIt.com.

Participating Parks and dates include:

* Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, N.J.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, Calif.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Ill.) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Over Georgia (Austell, Ga.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, Texas) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags New England (Agawam, Mass.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, Calif.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags America (Bowie, Md.) – 10/4-5, 10/11-12
* Six Flags St. Louis (Eureka, Mo.) – 9/27-28, 10/4-5, 10/11-12

DC Comic writer Geoff Johns has been penned for SOE’s DC Universe, giving me more confidence in the project! Press Release with more details after the break.

AUSTIN, Texas – Sept. 15, 2008 – Geoff Johns, the renowned writer behind popular DC Comics such as Green Lantern, Action Comics and Justice Society of America, has been brought on to write the saga of the DC Universe(TM) Online (DCUO) massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE) in a first-ever collaboration with legendary comic artist Jim Lee, the company announced today.

DCUO for the PLAYSTATION(R) 3 computer entertainment system and the PC is currently in development by SOE in collaboration with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

“Having a writer of Geoff’s caliber brings even more authenticity to the DC Universe Online, and should provide fans with an exciting new medium for his storytelling skills,” said John Blakely, SOE-Austin’s VP of Development. “Together with Jim Lee, who is our executive creative director for the game, we are tapping into the very best talent from the comic book industry.”

Johns, 35, was born in Detroit and studied media arts, screenwriting, film production and theory at Michigan State University. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked as an intern and later an assistant for film director Richard Donner, whose credits include Superman: The Movie, Lethal Weapon 4 and Conspiracy Theory.

Johns began writing comics starting with 1999’s Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E., which he created for DC Comics. Comic writing eventually became his full-time career with notable works including The Flash, Teen Titans, 52, Action Comics, and Infinite Crisis.

“Taking comic books into the online space presents an exciting and unique opportunity for me as a writer,” said Johns. “I’m looking forward to creating a thrilling story that explains why the DC Universe has suddenly been populated with millions of new heroes and villains in a way that will engage players.”

“We’ve brainstormed about the DC Universe many times but this will be our first time working together on something of this magnitude,” added Jim Lee. “This really shows the level of commitment everyone on this project has to capturing the DC Universe in an authentic, compelling way.”

DCUO offers a dramatic online setting where players can enter the DC Universe and battle alongside or against their favorite DC Comics heroes and villains including such icons as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Joker, as well as many other fan favorites such as Green Lantern, The Flash, Catwoman and Martian Manhunter. The action and drama will play out in such well-known locations as Gotham City and Metropolis among others.

Press Release, via   Comic Book Resources

With the news of Duke Nukem 3D’s releaste date hitting us a few days ago, 3D Realms have also released this trailer, which can be seen above, or downloaded from their website. The game looks to be sticking to its roots pretty well, and I love the ratio border.

Remember, Duke Nukem 3D comes out September 24th on Xbox Live Arcade.

Click here to download the trailer

So you walk into Fry’s and wonder “Which of these video game systems is for me?”  Well, this article aims to help…but not really.

This is a fun little post that looks at how all three consoles stack together and what kind of people they are meant for. Here’s an excerpt:

As it stands, the 7th generation console war is still ongoing.  Though it would be unfair to place all three popular consoles side to side for a comparison, many continue to do so for reasons completely lost upon me.  It certainly doesn’t help that countless so-called market analysts continue comparing Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3, and the well-received Nintendo Wii in their seemingly weekly articles, poorly predicting the next big thing in video gaming.

Read the article here

I know, it seems like we’re on a RedFly high today! I was checking out the blog for RedFly Studios (it’s on the sidebar, after all) and read a very interesting article about Mushroom Men: Spore Wars. It seems that a site called “AlabamaMycologist” has experts that picked out inaccuracies within the game’s portrayal of Mushrooms. For example, the hero of the game, Pax, is considered a “bolete mushroom”, but he has been given gills rather than the tubes this type of mushroom realistically has.

The reason for this? According to the blog, it’s  “a lot more visual fun than the tiny, spongy surface on the underside of an actual Boletus mushroom cap.”

Pretty neat if you ask me!

Link

Duke Nukem 3D, that is.

Dallas-based developer 3D Realms picked last night’s episode of Gametrailers TV to announce that the XBOX LIVE Arcade game will be coming September 24th. No cost has been set yet, but expect one very soon. The webpage should also be up sometime in the next week or so.

Click the link to see the episode.

San Antonio
Venue: Nice Rack Billiards and Sports Bar
Start Time:     9:00PM
End time:       11:00PM

Description:  Join Randy Bonillas at Nice Rack Billiards and Sports Bar for the Tecate Fight For Independence Wii Boxing Competition! You must be 21 to compete. Registration starts at 8:30pm to compete in Wii Boxing for your chance to win a Sharp 20″ liquid crystal TV and a Nintendo Wii, courtesy of Game Crazy!

Get more details here

It’s a fact clearly stated by Peter Griffin: Average American’s aren’t like the way the TV portrays us. So what are parents to do when their children seem to enjoy sitting in front of a computer or TV for a round of Halo as opposed to going outside in the nice, hot, Texas weather? Simple: make going outside an event!

Health experts are urging parents to take part in the “Take a Child Outside” week, Sept. 24-30. While it started in North Carolina (where I am sure the weather is just a tad bit colder on average), people from across the nation are being asked to participate. With the number of obese children at 17 percent and rising, we do have a major problem on our hands.

I don’t think taking the kids away from video aggressively for one week will solve it. I think it’s a gradual process where parents need to teach their kids not to over-indulge on luxuries.

But hey I’m just a blogger what do I know?

Source: ksat.com

Well, the good news for my part of Texas is that the predicted storm path changed, meaning all the evacuees shacking up in San Antonio, TX will be nice and dry. But what of their possessions?

One owner in particular is worried their game room may be vandalized while they are away. Henry Garcia owns a video game room called “the Big Easy” in LaMarque, Texas, just a few miles from the coast. He was just chilling, relaxing all cool when Hurricane Ike showed up and started causing trouble in his neighborhood.

However, he has chosen to say despite the warnings of “certain death”, in order to ensure that his business doesn’t get vandalized. In the neighborhood surrounding, crime is high, and he feels that fact alone is a bigger threat than anything mother nature could throw his way.

Stay strong fellow Texan, it’ll all be over soon, in the meantime, get your DS out and play it like hell!

Source: USA Today

Too much GameStop news for one day!!

NEW YORK – Shares of GameStop Corp., the world’s largest video game retailer, declined Friday after a report showed video game retail sales growth slowing in August.

Click here to read more