Reboots of old franchises seem to be the hip thing these days.  Most of them are just a half-hearted attempt to squeeze a few more bucks out of a series that has become a joke from endless terrible sequels.

This is different.  Mortal Kombat was sort of a joke to begin with.  Even the first movie in the series was ridiculous.  This reboot seems like an attempt to do for MK what Tim Burton originally did for Batman - take a campy spoof-of-itself and make a legitimate action movie out of it.  It’s not scheduled for release until 2013, but this nearly 8 minute trailer leads me to believe that the new Mortal Kombat might actually be good, brutal fun.

Wow.  There are fan films, and then there are fan films.  Zelda: The Hero of Time is an independently produced feature-length Zelda movie that looks really good, despite its low budget.  I can’t say I’m a fan of Link’s emo eye makup, but otherwise, bravo.  You can watch the entire film on Dailymotion.  I suggest you check it out now, before Nintendo’s legal dicks send a cease & desist.

The first cinematic trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic has just been released, and it is sicker than AIDS.  Watch this in full screen HD.  It’s worth it.

You better believe I have my eye on this game.

“Faith Fighter” Game Unites Religions In Outrage

Have you ever had an argument that amounted to “My imaginary friend can beat up your imaginary friend”?  Well somebody finally got around to making a game out of it, and now all the people with imaginary friends are pissed.  The various faiths of the world don’t agree on much, but they can certainly all get behind the idea of lynching the blasphemer!

Feeling sacreligious?  The game’s original producer has taken it down, but you can still play it here.  I heard that if you beat the game you unlock Galactic Emperor Zenu and the Flying Spaghetti Monster ;)

(via Digg)

Just in case you didn’t already feel old, the original Nintendo Gameboy turns 20 this week.  (via Engadget)

D-Pad Hero - Guitar Hero for the NES

Not just a clever mockup, this is an actual game.  Download the ROM and play for yourself in an NES emulator.  (via Offworld)

Bike Hero

I’m not 100% convinced that there were no editing tricks used in the making of this video, but it’s fucking epic either way.  (via Digg)

I didn’t play the first Saints Row, but I can appreciate a quality game.  Saints Row 2 looks to be an even more fun title - following in the same vein of being “Grand Theft Auto, if Grand Theft Auto didn’t take itself so seriously.”  The comparison is so obvious, they even make it the primary focus of this trailer.

This nine minute lecture on sex in video games in probably the most intelligent and entertaining clip on Youtube (not that that’s saying much).  Professor Daniel Floyd’s theory is that video games need to portray sex more often, and more realistically if the medium is to advance as an art form.  I tend to agree. (via Boingboing)

I’ve seen some impressive SMB custom levels, but this one takes the cake.  I can’t even begin to imagine the time and effort that went into syncing the in-game sound effects with the (awesome) original background music.  (via Kotaku by way of Digg)