This music thing seems to be working out for James Kochalka, with a lot of good press for his latest album and a strong showing on indie music charts. Today he writes to tell us he’s posted a new rap song about The Legend of Zelda video game on his mp3 page at AmericanElf.com. Comics, music and video games united in one mind-boggling brew! Oh god, these are the good times. James tells us:

The song is titled Old Skool White Rap, and is about the unique way that white people used to rap in commercials back in the 80’s. Directly inspired by the old Zelda television ad, it features a verse about THE LEGEND OF ZELDA as well as a verse about Cool Ranch Doritos. I’m giving the song away as a free download in honor of the new upcoming Zelda game for the Nintendo Wii.

Here’s the lyrics from the Zelda verse, which I tried to make as lame as possible:

Well, The Legend of Zelda
It is the best.
Those Moblins put you
To the test.
You open up
A treasure chest,
And you gotta save
The Princess.

However, it is very diffiucult to come up with lyrics as lame as those
in the original commerical.

feeling a xanax high give does

Today mobile payments ranging from mobile banking to mobile credit cards to mobile commerce are very widely used in Asia and Africa, and in selected European markets.

Steve Purcell’s demen ted cretaions Sam and Max haven’t appeared in a comic book in eons, but they retain a loyal following. Telltale Games is preveiwing their new Sam & Max video game Culture Shock with a downloadable demo (only for you stinking PC users, damn your eyes) and more goodies.
CBR has more on the game and Purcell:

Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell says, “It’s clear from this first episode that the Telltale crew has a great handle on what a Sam & Max game should be. Creating an engaging, funny, and yummy-looking series while indulging my goofy whims every step of the way is a Herculean task. And the episodic approach to Sam & Max is working as well as I had hoped. I’m a happy little spud!” Mike Stemmle, a driving force behind 1993’s trailblazing Sam & Max: Hit the Road game, says: “Telltale’s Sam & Max makes me as giddy as a hobo in a transcontinental boxcar full of ham hocks!” Culture Shock has already received extremely positive reviews from mainstream and specialized press alike. The New York Times reports, “With sardonic humor, a cool jazz score and engaging 3D graphics, Culture Shock has even more style and wit than the original game.” IGN.com has awarded Culture Shock its esteemed Editors’ Choice distinction and writes that it “is sure to please fans of humor, fans of adventure games and the legion of Sam & Max devotees who have been waiting like demented lagomorphs for a return of the deranged duo.”

Universal and Fox can’t pull the trigger on spiraling costs, and 27-year-old first time director was under suspicion:

It’s game over for Universal’s and Fox’s participation in the feature adaptation of Microsoft’s “Halo.”

Both of the studios that agreed to co-finance the screen adaptation of the popular Microsoft game have abruptly backed out of the picture. While rumors had the studios concerned over a budget that was rising above the original projected $135 million pricetag, the filmmakers said the double defection came after U and Fox played hardball and unsuccessfully tried to get the filmmakers and Microsoft to reduce their profit participation.

Posted By:Bob Fingerman

More crunchy goodness from MySpace, as Bob Fingerman presents an educational film about “Independent Cartooning: A Career in Salf-Absorbtion.”

Finally, God’s People can enjoy playing BONE: OUT FROM BONEVILLE, Telltale Games 3D adventure game. Via Macworld:

Vanbrio Entertainment on Friday announced the release of Bone: Out from Boneville for the Macintosh. Based on Jeff Smith’s popular cartoon fantasy series, the 3D adventure game is available for download as a playable demo and costs $12.99 to register and unlock.

The first installment of an episodic adventure series, “Bone: Out from Boneville� follows the story of three cousins — Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone — who become separated in a desert. They find their way into a forested valley where they meet its unique inhabitants and uncover its secrets. The game is chock-full of puzzles, mini-games and surprises.

Go here to download demo and purchase.We dassn’t even try to play it now, but that doesn’t mean YOU can’t.

The HALO graphic novel was a best-seller for Marvel, belying the belief that books based on video games rarely lived up to expectations. Now Metal Gear Solid is putting out what it is calling its own graphic novel, but it’s actually a game for the PSP:

A new PSP title from the renowned Kojima Productions unit of Konami is aiming to attract newcomers to the world of Metal Gear Solid, while giving long time fans a bit of a nostalgic treat.

Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel hit shelves just recently with an easygoing, innovative comic-book design and feel, based on the comic books released in the US that revisit the goings on of Metal Gear Solid 1. And as producer Noriaki Okamura explained to Kikizo in a recent interview, the game offers something a little bit different to the action-heavy Metal Gear formula.

More in link.

Here’s a story we didn’t really cover as we should have: Marvel teaming with Cryptic Studios to create their long-rumored MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online game). The story is amusing because Marvel was formerly SUING Cryptic for copyright infringement with their hugely popular superhero MMO, CITY OF HEROES. Now it’s all lovey dubbins. However, this link at GigaOM suggests Marvel may have its work cut out for them, as licensed MMO’s have historically been hard to launch.

At first glance, the project’s success seems like a sure bet. With a huge, generation-spanning readership, and several blockbuster movie spinoffs, including Spider-Man and X-Men, how could an online game version fail?

Trouble is, it can. In fact, I’d be very skeptical, because the track record for MMOs based on non-game IP is pretty dicey. Star Wars Galaxies4 performed moderately well at first, with a few hundred thousand subscribers at peak– but before its 2003 launch, experts predicted5 it could be the first US-based MMO to break the one million subscriber mark. (And does anyone even remember Matrix Online6, let alone play it?) The fundamental stumbling block seems to be a mismatch of medium and desire.

More in link. We don’t follow the gaming community well enough to know how accurate this analysis is, but that’s what the comments are for.