The new Episode III teaser trailer leaves me feeling a bit crestfallen. It was supposed to be an exclusive for paying members of Hyperspace, but as everyone knows this exclusivity doesn’t last long. I found a few mirrors, but you can also grab it on the official site if you don’t mind the wait. I liked how Obi-Wan Kenobi was spliced into the trailer to tell the story of Vader from his “certain point of view”, connecting the two trilogies and preparing us for the ultimate fall from grace. Indeed, a battle between capital ships, a climactic face off between old friends, and the Emperor hovering over his new creation were all merely hinted at. I have to admit, regardless of how these movies turn out, the trailers have all been outstanding at building up expectations.

Planet Gamecube posted links to a massive number of demo reels from Nintendo Japan, most of which I’ve only been able to take cursory glances at. Fire Emblem for the Gamecube looks like, well, Fire Emblem for the Gamecube. I was completely enthralled by the GBA version, and this Gamecube version looks like a straightforward transplant into three dimensions. This isn’t to say that its receiving the same treatment as Advance Wars, mind you, because the turn based strategy thankfully remains intact.

Seeing the DS in action was pretty fascinating, and even though Advance Wars DS only got a split second I can see how the second screen will be coming in handy. And naturally WarioWare will have some cleverly distracting minigames that utilize the touch screen. I have to admit I was a little uneasy about the Nintendo DS when I first heard about it, but I avoided outright condemnation of the thing like so many media outlets were quick to do. As the feature list became more tangible, most were quick to change their tune. I’m this close to adding it to my Christmas list, as the unique gaming possibilities are seemingly endless. I’ve also determined that the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS are not direct competitors; where one is satisfied to pander an existing mindshare, the other is pushing portable gaming in new directions.

You can also find some gameplay videos of assorted Gameboy Advance titles, and if there’s one game I’m more interested in after seeing it in action it would be Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. A sound decision was made to include Advance Wars and its sequel in one cart – any fan of turn based strategy that missed out the first time now has no excuse.

I thought that Blizzard was the master of introductory cinematics until I played Dawn of War. That doesn’t mean that the World of Warcraft intro video misses the mark; rather, it does a fine job of mixing together the various races of the game and puts them into a short film to let you know what kind of mess you’re getting into. I read about the possibility of the Open Beta starting today, and I envisioned an Internet that was incessantly bursting at the seams.

“And lo, Blizzard did begin the Open Beta, and there was much rejoicing. But it was like a mighty flood unto their servers, as thousands of keys were secured in an instant.”

i knew it wouldn’t last