Gamers over the age of 25 might remember the original 2D Ninja Gaiden games on the NES. Those days are long gone. Tomonobu Itagaki, the lead designer of the modern Ninja Gaiden games on the Xbox had a vision of unrelenting, pulverizing, insane action that was sure to be a challenge for even the most seasoned action game veterans. The game was not easy. In fact, it was downright masochistic. The camera was horrid, the enemies took cheapshots, the game had infrequent checkpoints (understatement of the year!), it was brutal and unfair…but we loved every second of it. No other game had a combat repertoire that was as rewarding, deep and enjoyable. Dare I say it, not even Devil May Cry. Once you got the hang of it, Ninja Gaiden was a blast to play. The main character, Ryu Hayabusa was just a bad ass of epic proportions. I bet Chuck Norris cowers at the might of Ryu.

The sequel, Ninja Gaiden 2, was released recently on the Xbox 360 and the reviews, according to Gamerankings.com, have been great. So far, when not having my hindquarters handed to me by unforgiving boss fights, the game has been awesome. Gametrailers, as usual, has awesome gameplay footage of Ninja Gaiden 2. Sadly, Tomonobu Itagaki resigned from Tecmo, so this is no doubt the last Ninja Gaiden game he will work on. That by itself has already cemented it as a future classic.

Hellboy is a relatively unconventional comic book super hero, eschewing spandex and a cape for a freaky-looking body that’s bright red and more than a little demon-like. Which is why he’s awesome. Full of attitude and working for the side of good despite really looking like someone who should be doing evil, Hellboy is the ultimate alterna-superhero. With one popular movie out already and an amazing-looking sequel coming to theaters soon, America is getting more and more acquainted with just who Hellboy is.

And now people just discovering the plucky superhero can take control of him in a brand new story thanks to Hellboy: The Science of Evil, a new game for the Xbox 360 that puts you in the gigantic shoes of our favorite anti-hero. In it, you uncover a crazy Nazi plot for world domination and must take on the wily Hermann Von Klempt. You’ll get full access to Hellboy’s brutal strength and special abilities, and you’ll do it all thanks to some amazing graphics and play mechanics. Who needs Batman?

As also spotted by the NY Daily News, former Mets manager Willie Randolph stopped by at J&R Music World last week to shop for DVDs and CDs.

Growing up is hard, especially if you aren’t a member of the cool crowd. Kids are cruel, and not fitting in can lead to some of the roughest years of someone’s life. Sometimes, kids have got to wish they had someone to stick up for them, to help them navigate those troubled times. You know, someone like Owen Wilson.

In Drillbit Taylor, that’s just what a couple of (un)lucky kids get, when a down-on-his-luck soldier played by Wilson agrees to take on their cause for a small fee. Co-written by Seth Rogan and produced by Judd Apatow, it features some of the same great talent that brought us recent hits such as Superbad, Knocked Up, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. And if you’re a fan of, well, dumb humor involving body parts and functions, you definitely won’t be disappointed.

Mega Man was one of the best series of games from the early days of console video gaming. It was up there with Mario and Sonic as a platform game that defined the entire genre, with over 10 games coming out with the little blue guy for a number of different systems. While the move to 3D gaming didn’t treat Mega Man as well as, say, Mario, the 2D platforming Mega Man games are still incredibly fun and challenging.

And now, Mega Man is moving into a new genre: RPGs. With Mega Man Star 2: Zerker X Saurian, you’ll work with Geo Stelar and his crew to take on legions of viruses that are ravaging the virtual Wave World. You’ll jump back and forth between the real world and the Wave World to complete your quest, which is jam packed full of both action and RPG elements.

Who said Mega Man couldn’t make the jump to the 21st century?

Welcome to “Catch the Buzz“, your spot for new music. Here you will be able to read about up and coming artists and listen to their music.

This month we profile The Flobots, Metro Station, Pricilla Ahn and Molly Venter.

Flobots

Universal Republic newcomers Flobots are a rip-roaring 6-member musical fighting force from Denver, CO, who – thanks to their uncompromising debut album Fight With Tools - emerge as the most compelling hip hop collaborative to sign with a major label in 2008. The insightful group blends social justice with a playful disdain for anything status quo…and oh yeah….they’re packing a viola.

Check out an exclusive track from Flobots here.

Metro Station

Metro Station’s rush to stardom happened the new-fashioned way: MySpace. The band truly is a product of their technological generation, right down to their former mall jobs (they would’ve been dishwashers in the old days). Teenaged founders Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso met on a “rock n’ roll blind date” via their mothers. The first single, “Forever Seventeen”, climbed the MySpace unsigned charts, revealing a dedicated fanbase. A major label deal followed, as did a self-titled album with some cuts produced by Motion City Soundtrack. Metro Station will tour with Good Charlotte and Boys Like Girls this summer.

Check out an exclusive track from Metro Station here.

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The days of having to lug around a bunch of blank tapes with you when you wanted to use a camcorder are over. After all, this is the digital era, and that means physical media is no longer necessary. It’s great news for videographers who want to lighten their load and make recording video a much easier affair.

Just look at this Sony HDR-SR12 120GB Hard Drive HD Camcorder, for example. It’s got a huge 120GB hard drive on board that’ll let you record many tapes worth of video right to it with no swapping required. It also makes digitizing easier, allowing you to simply plug the camera into your computer and digitize as easily as dragging and dropping files. The video and still picture quality is excellent, and you’ll love how small and portable it is. Camcorders have just gotten a lot more usable.

Small laptops are great for the frequent traveler or for anyone who just likes having their computer on them when they’re out and about. You don’t want to lug around something that’ll weigh you down, but today’s cellphones with web access just are no match for the functionality of a full computer.

One of the best smaller computers out there is the HP FE912UA Pavilion TX2510US Entertainment 12.1” Touch-screen Notebook PC. It’s totally versatile, with a 12.1-inch screen that you can swivel around and fold back on the keyboard, using it as a touchscreen. That’ll allow you to surf the web on it as a tablet without using a keyboard, easily rotating the keyboard out again when you need to type something. In addition, it has 3GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, and a DVD drive for watching movies and burning DVDs. It’s a great, fully-functioning laptop, just shrunk down and blessed with an innovative touchscreen. What more are you looking for?

Cooking well is surprisingly entertaining. How else do you explain the runaway success of the Food Network and shows such as Top Chef? Even when you don’t get to eat the amazing meals prepared by culinary experts, it’s great to just watch them work. It’s an art form, after all.

So if watching great cooking is entertaining, it only follows that actually cooking is pretty great as well. But if you don’t have the skills, the kitchen, or the food at hand to do so, you’ve gotta do the next best thing: play Gourmet Chef on the Nintendo DS.

In the game, you’ll need to master French cooking and serve it perfected to a number of picky customers in the restaurant you own. Which is a lot of fun, but what’s really great is that in playing, you’ll learn 70 real life recipes that you can then cook using, you know, real food in your actual kitchen. Talk about a game that has some sweet rewards.

Major Final Fantasy games don’t come out all too often. Final Fantasy XII came out about a year and a half ago, and Final Fantasy XIII isn’t due for another year at the least — it may be longer. Luckily for fans, there’s more to the venerable Final Fantasy series than the major console releases. There’s also games for the Nintendo DS, both reissues of older Super Nintendo games as well as brand new games for the platform.

The latest is Final Fantasy Tactics A2, a game that inhabits the fantastical world of Ivalice from Final Fantasy XII, but brings with it brand new characters and a totally new storyline. You play as Luso, a high school kid who’s stuck in detention when he discovers an ancient book with magical powers that transports him to Ivalice. You know, standard high school stuff. He ends up teaming up with Vaan, Penelo, and Al-Cid from FF XII to take on legions of enemies, taking him far away from his former schoolyards. It’s a fully-fledged Final Fantasy game, one that’ll definitely help ease the wait until Final Fantasy XIII comes out down the line.