AICN Games: Monki's Weekly Wrap Up!! All Hail Lacey Chabert!!

Greetings humans, Monki here with your weekly dose of all that is video gameage.

This has been the week of pre-orders. PLAYSTATION 3 went pre-order earlier this week, and as of my writing this article, the Wii goes for pre-order tomorrow morning (Friday). I've got a few thoughts on the whole pre-order issue, but I'll get to that later. As always we start with some news!

Press Releases of the Week!

So, I didn't get a whole lot of press releases this week. I will make up for that fact by the following release and accompanying picture:

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON (October 6, 2006) - SEGA of America Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced that Lacey Chabert (Party of Five, Mean Girls) will take part in gaming history by joining the cast of Sonic The Hedgehog, playing the role of Princess Elise. Slated for release this holiday season, Sonic The Hedgehog marks the gaming icon's first adventure on the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Lacey Chabert brings her diverse voice acting experience to the Sonic The Hedgehog project. This is the first time in the history of the franchise that Hollywood talent will voice one of the characters in a Sonic game.

"We are thrilled to work with Lacey Chabert for SEGA's premiere franchise, Sonic The Hedgehog," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing for SEGA of America Inc. "As we take Sonic into the next generation of gaming, Lacey's experience and talent are the perfect match for the game's deeper storyline, delivering the powerful emotional connection that gamers have grown to expect from Sonic titles."

"I couldn't be happier to make my video game debut in Sonic The Hedgehog," said Lacey Chabert. "I've been playing Sonic games since I was nine years old, and I am so excited to be part of his 15-year legacy!"

Sonic is chasing after Lacey Chabert, that lucky blue hedgehog bastard. For those of you who don't know who Lacey is, let me go ahead and do a quick "Pretty Images of the Week!" drop for you.

Sure, she's no pole dancer with a shotgun for a leg, but I do what I can for you folks. You guys really think she sits around and plays video games still? Can you picture Ms. Lacey laid up on a couch, 360 controller in hand with a Dr. Pepper and Cheeto fingers? Maybe you can't, but I'm at least going to try.

Folks at SEGA, if Lacey is doing interviews, I'll gladly volunteer to give one to her...an interview that is!

Okay, before the restraining order, here is another quick release from EA and MTV2. Seems MTV's only music station is finally going the way of it's bigger brother, less music and more everything else.

On Sunday, October 15th at 2 PM ET / PT, MTV2 and Electronic Arts team up for In The Paint: NBA Live 07. This 30-minute special will give fans an inside look at the hottest basketball video game on the planet with unprecedented access to the world's largest motion capture studio as EA shows viewers how this legendary franchise is created from beginning to end! Check out the hottest footage from NBA Live 07 set to the Talib Kweli's latest track, "Listen," watch as NBA superstar Dwyane Wade and MTV2 host, EBRO, get put into the game, and finally, commentary from All-Star cover-man Tracy McGrady as well as some NBA superstars revealing why NBA Live 07 is the must have basketball game for any true fan.

I don't know about you guys, but I loves me some unprecedented access! Also, who calls themselves EBRO? Is that an acronym for something?

All of this makes me wonder if this isn't just a ploy to attract attention away from the fact that there is a huge fan protest against NBA Live '07. Apparently a large group of gamers have joined together to speak out against NBA Live '07 and Electronic Arts due to lax bug fixing and a steady decline in quality. You can check out more about that whole ruckus here.

Second Prettiest Images of the Week!

Cause first prettiest goes to Ms. Lacey...yeah, I'm that pathetic.

Here are some pics of the Next-Gen Sonic game that Ms. Chabert will be in, specifically, these are pics of the character she will be portraying. (She is the one that isn't blue.)

Okay, enough Lacey love for now. The trusty Kambell-Kid has struck yet again, this time he brings us all goodies in the form of dinosaur hunters, phantasy and fantasy.

First off is the "announcement" trailer for the next-gen Turok coming in 2007. Here's a funny fact for you. Did you realize that Turok is actually based off a COMIC book? I have the first issue somewhere in the treehouse signed by one of the artists too. Not a lot in this trailer, seems the budget only allowed for 40 seconds of CG in the 2 minute trailer, still very cool though.

Up next is a trailer for the old-school-reborn game Phantasy Star Universe. This trailer is actually a bit old, but everything I've read about the game sounds pretty sweet. Another MMO for your 360. Also, I love the BIG VOICE trailers, so enjoy.

And finally we end with some Final Fantasy XII. (That means 12 for you non-Romans) This video shows off the first few minutes of the game and its CGI-goodness. Looks pretty much the same as the other Final Fantasys with young looking characters treading very close to the uncanny valley. This video sort of reminds me of Naboo from Phantom Menace, oh well, tell me if you like it.

I have never been a big Final Fantasy fan myself. I did play Dragon Warrior that I got for free when I subscribed to Nintendo Power about 200 years ago. I played the hell out of that game. Damn metal slimes.

Portable Call for Help of the Week!

So, yours truly is about to take another trip. I've been invited to check out the Turks and Caicos International Film Festival. So I'll be ditching the smelly treehouse for some beautiful Caribean weather and beaches. That of course means I'll be leaving my consoles at home for a week while I spent hours aboard planes and in hotel rooms.

I'm taking along my DS and I'm trying to figure out which games to pick up before my trip. Right now I've been mainly focusing on Tetris DS and Magnetica (that Dan recommended to me). I'll be getting a copy of Cooking Mama soon to check out from the publisher, and I'll take along my Brain Age for the sudoku's.

What I need is a game that plays a little more console-esque in that it tells a story over a period of time, but not too terribly long as I'll only have a few hours of game in me over my trip. Any recommendations out there? Drop me a line if you can think of something I can pick up this weekend to take along with me.

Console Pre-Order Rant of the Week!

I hate pre-orders.

Pre-orders take away from the anticipation of everything there is to a launch. Imagine if Lucas had said you could pre-order tickets to Phantom Menace a month before it came out, then just show up on the day of and walk in to the theater. (Imagine this was before we realized PM sucked too.)

Where is the drama? Where is the thrill of knowing your overnight stay will get you that spot to pick up a brand new fresh console. I want the die-hards out in line two days before the PLAYSTATION 3 hits the shelves at Best Buy. I want to walk by, see the eager, sleep-deprived faces of those souls. Those are hardcore nerds. Advertise the hell out of a launch and watch the geeks line up. Let's see some local news reporter try to explain a "Play Game Station Console" to the 9 PM news team. I want the circus.

Well, I may get A circus, but not the one I was hoping for.

It seems as though every Gamestop / EB Games sold out of their PS3 pre-orders within minutes of opening. Get this, the most any one store is going to get is 16. SIXTEEN that is a ONE followed by a SIX. That, of course, is assuming that Sony hits their launch target of 400,000 in the US on November 17th.

This is what I imagine happening. PS3 sells out before it even touch the shelves. Nation-wide. The Wii shows up, pre-orders may sell out, but the second shipments will come in just around the time for the holiday shoppers. The fact that there is a chance of Wiis remaining on shelves should get Sony pretty damn scared. Momma shopping for little Billy this Christmas will see a brand new Nintendo console on sale for $250, probably right there, waiting to be picked up. On the other hand, right next to that new Wii is a "more coming soon" sign for the PS3 with a hefty $599 price tag underneath. I'm willing to bet middle-class America will go ahead and pass on the Lexus and pick up that Honda.

Then the Sony circus starts. Awesome.

Stupid Wrap-Up of the Week!

Well that just about finishes up my Wrap-Up this week. Next week I'll be putting together my piece somewhere in the Turks and Caicos while sipping on a crazy straw sticking out of a coconut. Lacey, if you are in the area, let me know, I'll save a beach chair and coconut for you too!

Before I go, I want to highlight a sweet looking documentary I just heard about. It's called 8 BIT and it looks pretty awesome. The documentary focuses on art and music inspired by video games. The GameBoy band alone will probably be worth checking this one out.

So that does it, I'm off to pack for my trip to the Caribbean to see some sweet movies and get my portable gaming on! Until next week, back up the tree I go! (Lacey, I love you!)