For today's edition of our WTF?! item of the day... Well, we really don't have such a feature, but if more items like this pop-up, we probably would! Anyway... Since summer is the time to hit the beach and whatnot, gamers may still want to play their favorite video games, even at the pool or at the beach. The solution? The new Waterproof DSi Bag from Aquatalk! Featuring all the technology of a Ziplock bag, this ingenious invention allows you to play your favorite games on your DSi without worrying about getting your handheld wet!

If you've been around YouTube enough, you may have seen Matrix Ping Pong from the Japanese variety show called Kasou Taishou. Well, don't look now, but here we have a Super Mario Matrix skit that has our Italian plumber going through World 1-1 and meeting Bowser. But that's only half of the interesting things crammed in there - especially since one of the pipes becomes a portal to New York! Ha! See if you can spot Barack Obama! Weekend videos in the full article!

Activist lawyer Jack Thompson has been on the case of violent games and their developers for years now, and he's provoked the ire of gamers time and again. We're looking back at some of the most memorable quotes he's ever dropped, and we've chosen the twenty best out of them all. See the full list of Jack Thompson's most memorable quotes right after the jump!

Getting tired of the same-old machismo that's prevalent in your daily dose of gaming? For the guys looking for an alternative to the said manliness, we've come up with a list of our  "beautiful men" of gaming. And while they're all indeed effeminate beyond compare, they're in every way just as bad-ass as the likes of Kratos or  Markus Fenix. Head on over to the full article for the list!

 

For every ground-breaking title out there, there exists an unsung hero. They – like soldiers and bad sitcoms of old – are the miserable underdogs who never receive the due credit they deserve for their work. We're not talking about the developers -  we're talking about specialists - the (fictional) guys who work behind the scenes to ensure that the elements in whatever genre you play will always remain in tip-top condition, whether its your resident androgynous antagonist 's script, or your unfriendly neighborhood mook's marksmanship scores.

These guys will be the topic of today's quick list - along with an explanation with that special thing they do just to make the game better for one special individual - you. On to the list!
 
1. Sephiroth's acting coach
Let's be honest - Sephiroth isn't that original. More than one anime, manga, and J-RPG can boast its own brew of silver-haired, bad-ass sword-wielding bishie hotness, with Sephie being just a part of this popular trend. What sets him apart, however, is execution (acting, not Aeris…).
 
Sephiroth's dark foreboding lines and steely glare will haunt many a gamer's dreams, and for this, we can thank the man's ever-capable acting coach. We're talking the drama-guru who made Sephiroth walk the walk, talk the talk - the dude who probably taught him captivatingly cheesy one-liners like "Shall I give you despair?"
 
I'm afraid you haven't, Mr. Sephiroth's Acting Coach. You did give plenty of fanboys/girls something to think about for their next few - err - dreams, though...
 
Special accreditation goes to Cloud's hairdresser.

The rest of the list is available in the Full Article

In Nintendo Short Cuts Showcase, misled entries have no chance of entering the Top 10 as finalists. We're talking cream of the crop - the best short films out of probably thousands that took a shot. One particular entry caught our eyes, and it's about Nintendo workers trying to survive in the office full of Ninty characters.

Imagine taking a dump in fear that a fly trap from Mario would bite you, or having to dodge fireballs to get into sir Bowser's office; this is what the video is all about. Add humorous scenes like Link talking about menial tasks (in a very rough voice) or Donkey Kong whining about his missing potato, and you've got something any Nintendo fan would love.

Let's skip the spoilers and just get on with it, video's embedded below.

Game developers come up with cool and innovative ideas all the time. However, it's a fact that right around the time that everyone starts thinking that the idea is fresh and cool, some other developer rips it off and feeds it to us again with a different flavor. The strange thing is that we all embrace cliches like they were avant garden.

So what do we do? Put together some crusade to fight game cliches? Nah, if we do that, people would rip it off and we'll be part of yet another cliche that we ourselves started. Heck, even lists are cliches. So what isn't? We don't know, but we better start the list before we all lose our minds.

The "Ten weariest game cliches ever" list awaits after the jump!

Adult-oriented games on the Nintendo DS. It's been a long time coming for Nintendo Company Ltd.'s portable with the touchscreen. Not that we expect wholesome, family-oriented Nintendo to come up with anything that would make its current video games to get slapped with a "Mature" or "Adults Only" rating, but for a country filled with independent game developers that pretty much invented the eroge genre (H-games for the uninitiated, in which case, dating simulators with graphic sexual content), there very well should be at least a third-party game out! Or two!

Unfortunately, with only one or two obscure games in the pipeline, it was up to the homebrew community to make do: and by god did they make do. Eric Caoili of DS Fanboy dug hard and deep to bring us a list of titillating homebrew offerings for the Nintendo DS. Get an attractive, fully-clothed brunette to show some skin by out-cardsharking her in Teenage Queen NDS by Foxy. Get tickling and touching with Cybereality's Ticklegirl, where you use the stylus to coax a reaction from a scantily-clad digital babe. And then there's Virus DS by Kukulcan, a puzzle game that rewards you with anime-styled fanservice involving a hospital bed, buxom nurses, and rope. Lots of rope.

You can check out Eric Caoili's list of homebrew games in full by clicking at the read link below.

The YouTube video below offers folks a glimpse into what happens after the game is over. This is not news. This isn't even anything remotely serious. What it is though, is just plain hilarious. Sure, the thing may be a week old, but it's just too insane to not be posted. Hey, it's a lazy monday, stuff like this is what the Internet is about.

Enough words. Just click play.

Not as right out there as that Communist Mario video was, and not outright Machinama, but who cares? It's got Mario, Mushroom addiction, Princess Peach, domestic arguments, warp travel through plumbing, and a satiric lesson to a lot of gamers out there.

 

We spotted something that might be of some interest to Sonic lovers and haters everywhere. It's a scan of a Sonic comic book where the writers took a jab at the game. Have a look at the image above.

You gotta have real good eyes to read through that one. We're sorry if you can't read the text, but that doesn't mean you'll miss the fun. In any case, the story shows Dr. Robotnik up to no good again, this time by planting a neuro-transmitter on the speedy, blue hedgehog and turning him against his friends with a game controller. The plan eventually fails, and Robotnik had the controls to blame.

"It's not my fault! The controls are horrendous! I should've spent more time in development," says the stout robotics genius. He didn't elaborate on which current Sonic game he was referring to.