WalMart Holiday Clearance - 2000 Wii Points For $15

I was at my local WalMart last night due to a last minute birthday gift card from my sister, and noticed some interesting discounts in the video game aisle pertaining to Nintendo fans. Remember around Christmas when Wal-Mart stores were filled with Wii and DS holiday merchandise? Well many of them still are, and that crap has to go. Now these bargains might not be available at every store - I've seen them at two now so far - but the chance to get a 2000 point Wii Points card bundled with a crappy classic controller sleeve for only $15 is worth looking into, especially with the recent launch of WiiWare.

Other deals I saw included the DS lite starter kits with some kind of system cover and your choice of games (Elite Beat Agents, Polarium, or True Swing Golf) discounted to $9, and the Nintendo Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training at an extremely respectable $12.

CrunchGear points to this pretty amazing Duck Hunt NES zapper lamp that features not only a Duck Hunt lampshade and orange plastic zapper, but also a replica Duck Hunt cart made of cardboard.

Lamp creator fluffypants says that the typical cartridge wasn't large enough to be stable, so she created a 1.5 scale replica to serve as the base. Pretty neat, though I wish she had slapped on a mocking dog on the other side of the shade.

Duck Hunt NES zapper lamp [Craftster, via CrunchGear]

Amazon.com has dropped the price of the Wii Zapper with Link's Crossbow Training to mere $20. Of course if you prefer your gun peripherals more gun like, there is also the Nyko Wii Perfect Shot Gun for $14.99 although that one doesn't come with a game. Whichever route you decide to take (if any) you will need to add an item or two on to your order to take advantage of the free shipping.

[via GayGamer]

Color me puzzled. Why would anyone, and I mean anyone, want to port a horrid, mostly unseen coin-op rail shooter from 2004 to the Wii?

Maybe Konami thinks the kitsch factor will outweigh what will soon officially be the worst graphics on the Wii console. That's right this makes Cruisi'n look like a Playstation 2 game. I'd blame the horrid graphics on the Wii, but I've seen the arcade game and they were just as bad on the 2004 coin-op, maybe worse.

A take-off of the original, digitized-photo meets sub-par graphics rail shooter Area 51, Target: Terror will be compatible with the Wii Zapper and has players take on the role of an elite counter-terrorist agent taking down a wave of terrorists, all of whom happen to wear sunglasses or bandannas. The original game actually featured a level at the Denver Airport, but it was so horribly generic I couldn't convince my editors at the Rocky to do a story about it.

Target: Terror will also include mini-games and is due out in the first quarter of 08. Two more screens after the jump.

House of Dead 2 & 3 Return Bundle Going Japanside

Despite beating both games countless times in arcades, this The House of the Dead 2 and 3 Return bundle may be reason enough to pick up a Wii Zapper. Featuring two of Sega's famous shooters, the newly announced pack will include the already announced games along with Nintendo's newest Zapper casing for about $44 when it's released this March in Japan. Here's hoping the bundle makes its way stateside, since the game alone is currently priced at about $40. For $4, the Wii Zapper doesn't look all that bad (or difficult to stuff into my entertainment center).

HotD 2 & 3 Zapper bundle coming to Japan [via gonintendo]

LEGO Zapper Mod Connects All Pieces Of My Heart

My friends, there are mods and there are mods. But for a mod to be awarded the immortality of Kotakutalics, it need be something extraordinary. This Wii Zapper constructed (solely?) of legos (UPDATE: screw grammar, I say it this way) is indeed something extraordinary. Because at long last, Man has the proper peripheral to play an honest game of LEGO Duck Hunt. And we're sure it's every bit as wonderful as we thought it to be.

Here is my lego zapper! [via gonintendo]

Exactly How Deadly Is The Wii Zapper?

With the Wii Zapper now shipping to retailers in North America, concerned parents have already begun to ask the question: "How many innocent children will this molded plastic shell transform into cold and calculating murderous thugs?" Are you one of the worried conservatives who sees future with a sniper in every university bell tower, trained on the laser precise Wii Zapper? If so, you're the main topic of a recent Washington Post piece on the Wii peripheral some parents are equating to NRA membership and kids are apparently "salivating" for.

The Post writes of the hysteria surrounding toy gun products over the years, chronicling a time period when kids coveted BB guns and replicas, and when Boston area gangs turned Super Soakers into deadlier than advertised weapons. It's a story worth reading, if only a prep work for the impending ruining of thousands of children's futures as they're brought to the brink of madness while shooting Goron in the belly. God help us all.

Toy Guns and the Little Bang theory of violence [Washington Post]

The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return for the Wii is no longer a rumor, as Sega has officially announced the collection for a Spring 2008 release. The Zapper-ready arcade port promises to offer "the full arcade experience of battling hordes of rabid zombies in the comfort of their homes." Surely a port of Typing of the Dead with USB keyboard support can't be far behind, can it?

Pray for it while perusing the official news release after the jump.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I'll be playing some real-life Cooking Mama, as I attempt to bake my first practice pie in anticipation for Thanksgiving. Plans for pumpkin and mince meat (sans meat) are forming, but we'll have to see how this weekend's beta pies turn out. On the gaming side, I'll be playing Super Mario Galaxy, maybe a little Uncharted: Drake's Fortune if I can scare myself up a copy. I'm also expecting a Wii Zapper to show up at some point soon, so I may take Link's Crossbow Training for extended impressions. If only I could fit in Half-Life 2: Episode Two at some point...

So, what's up? What are you playing this weekend?

House of the Dead Series Shuffling To Wii

Ghost Squad may not be the only arcade light gun shooter Sega plans to refit for the Wii Zapper, as Go Nintendo has uncovered a listing for House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return at rental service Gamefly. We can fairly safely assume that this will bring both The House of the Dead 2, based on the Sega Naomi hardware, and The House of the Dead III, originally for the Sega Chihiro hardware. The two titles have made console appearances on the Dreamcast and Xbox, respectively, but have never been bundled before.

At this point, Sega has made no official announcements about such a collection, but Gamefly's track record of spoiling announcements has been fairly solid so far. As a superfan of The House of the Dead 2, I am cautiously optimistic, hoping that I'll get the Wii opportunity to give the shotgun-heavy The House of the Dead III a second chance.

House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return [Gamefly via Go Nintendo]

We're happy to see yet another Wii Zapper knock-off hitting the shelves. What's this one bring to the table? Well, first off, you save a sweet four bucks off the retail Wii Zapper (though we're guessing Link's Crossboy Training is worth at least that much). But on top of that tremendous savings, you also get a banana clip hand grip for full-on guerrilla-style warfare. Would Nintendo ever support tropical jungle mercenary justice? Don't think so. Lamos.

Wii Cyber Gun [brando]

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles Montage Trailer

Unlike some of my esteemed colleagues, I'm quite looking forward to RE: Umbrella Chronicles. I've been a fan of rail shooters since House of the Dead and my very favorite, Carn-Evil. I've played RE:UC a few times now at various events with and without the Wii Zapper and while I enjoyed it, I will admit that I liked it better in co-op mode. Something about standing side by side with a friend, taking out zombies right and left with a well placed head shot that just makes my heart light up.

The earliest record of the crossbow is from Greece in the 5th century BC, so you folks over in Europe have had plenty of crossbow training already. This is probably why you're going to have to wait until December 7th to pay £20 / €30 for Nintendo's Wii Zapper and Link's Crossbow Training, which hits North America on November 19th. We cannot have you folks armed before we've had a proper training period. Otherwise we'd be completely screwed in the States when the great crossbow war breaks out. Besides, if we win, English will be the official language of Europe and these delays won't be an issue any longer!

Europe to Get Zapping Before Christmas [Next Gen]