GameTrailers posts a clip of -- we assume -- Wii Music from the latest press conference flurry. We know what they say about assumptions and are digging for more details. Until then, the rumored game seems to be much more than a tech demo. Now when will Video Games Live use this -- or those other games -- in a show?

See the clip after the break.

A couple of gifted graduate students have found a great use for all the excess energy and digital dexterity required in playing video games: massages.

By mapping game controllers onto soft wearable fabrics, Hannah Perner-Wilson and Mika Satomi invented Massage Me, a special device that allows gamers to give fantastic (legitimate) massages while playing their favorite video games. The website gives detailed instructions on how to build your own devices, but for those more curious than intrepid, the site also features photos and video of the product in action.

See Massage Me in action after the break.

[Via Next-Gen]

Gametrailers user, BlackSad03, has posted an old ad from NES game, Iron Sword, and we wish today's ads were as exciting. We enjoy the clip on so many levels, like watching the gameplay and being sucked into the sale itself. Must... buy... Iron Sword. Our favorite take is to imagine the production of the commercial and which PA had to swing the tentacle into the room.

The video is watermarked with "Gaming-Age.com," but we could only find an article there that references an equally great print ad for the game. So we send Gaming Age a nod, too.

See the ad after the break.

MTV's Multiplayer blog continues its helpful pronunciation guide, this week shifting from Nintendo's Reggie "FEEH-SUH-MAY" to notorious something-resembling-filmmaker, Uwe Boll. The German director notes that if you're going to bash his next anti-masterpiece (and let's face it, you almost certainly will), at least have the decency to get his name right. It's not "YEW-EE" or "EEE-VEE," it's "OOV-UH."

"OOV-UH-BUHL."

All that's left is to apply this knowledge to everyday conversation:

• "I can't wait to see OOV-UH-BUHL's interpretation of Far Cry's thought-provoking plot!"
• "I left a message on OOV-UH-BUHL's answering machine. I do hope it's spelled correctly."
• "Wow, I was simply BUHLED OOV-UH by how bad that movie was."

Ragdolls, that is. Brought to you by the creepy kids who tore the arms off their action figures, Soldier of Fortune: Payback declares war on subtlety, good taste and the important bits that keep your limbs connected to the rest of your body. The brief video above is demonstration enough of the game's absurd level of violence, don't you think? Its composition of gory decomposition should give the ESRB a grand old time and players a hearty chuckle -- proof that over-the-top, Verhoeven-esque violence is still funny... or that years of desensitization have turned us into heartless murder machines. We just don't know, Jack.

What we do know is that if Soldier of Fortune: Payback is anything like its predecessors, utterly generic gameplay won't stop it from surfing a bloody torso all the way into the spotlight. (Like it just did when we posted this video!)

Remember that Yaris XBLA game to be released free on Wednesday? Gametrailers user, warchiefgrim, uploaded a clip. We hope this video convinces you to save the precious bandwidth of the internet and pass on the game; even "free" costs too much.

Things we learned:

• The 4-Door Sedan Yaris comes in such focus-group-approved colors as "Jade Sea Metallic," and "Flint Mica."
  
• Northbound on 101 goes straight up (and straight down) as often as it goes north.
• The Yaris is powered by the constant desire to catch a cat toy mounted on its roof. Sadly, the toy is always just out of reach.

See the video, and add your own observations after the break.

Dean Takahasi of The San Jose Mercury News (and recent panelist on the Joystiq Podcast Roundtable) has apparently found the world's oldest person playing Halo 3, and it looks like that honor falls to a 95-year-old Japanese grandmother.

Sure, her gaming skillz look a bit weak, but we've seen younger players do just as poorly the first few times they played. We wonder if she's gaming online at all, because she dishes out some smack talk to the TV at one point ... at least, we assume it's smack. Plus she might want to sit a bit further back or else she'll need glasses. Oh, wait.

If you've got an older Halo 3 gamer in your life, let us know about it. Better yet, drop some suggestions in the comments for what this player's gamertag should be.

Did Nintendo's mascot plumber take a cue from a heavily-armed Lombax and his robot buddy? Insomniac Marketing Director Ryan Schneider seems to think so. In an interview with Kikizo, Schneider said, "There's evidence all around us I think, of certain games that have borrowed from Ratchet and Clank. One that we're even extremely flattered by is Super Mario Galaxy, with their spherical worlds; we did spherical worlds in Going Commando, and Up Your Arsenal."

"It would be amazing to think that [Mario creator Shigeru] Miyamoto-san thought that was so cool that he wanted to incorporate it into Mario Galaxy. Granted, he's doing it in a different way, but it's still a spherical world, so it's flattering to see those sorts of things," he said.

We're not convinced, however, that it was hours of Ratchet & Clank that inspired Miyamoto's Mario ideas (though now that we think about it, that Mario Sunshine water pack is awfully suspicious ...). We wonder if the levels aren't an idea culled from strenuous play sessions with Tetrisphere. We've embedded videos of all three below as evidence to present; any other games with spherical worlds you can think of?

Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is due out October 30.

Clearly an homage to Leeroy Jenkins, this Toyota commercial shows that World of Warcraft players can charge into battle as long as they have the right mount. The ad is apparently legitimate, although the only version we could find clips the tagline.

Toyota may be a follower to showing how it can save the World ... of Warcraft, but this spot hits several in-jokes in a short amount of time. See the ad after the break.

[Thanks, Mal F4cti0n and raffleski]

Game Revolution's Nick Tan recently played Guitar Hero III song, Through the Fire and Flames by Dragonforce, on expert. That website describes it as the hardest in the game, designed to be "unbeatable." And Nick conquered it.

Yes, weeks before you adoring, fake guitar fans get a chance to play, the hardest song has been bested by a player on his fourth attempt. The video of the event is mediocre, and the moment of triumph is anticlimactic. ("Go balloons, go balloons, we need more balloons. ...") But we were still floored watching this face-melting song --and player -- in action.

Be amazed by the clip after the break.

It seems like if you want some guaranteed internet traffic these days, all you have to do is slap Halo tags all over the place. In fact, it's probably standard practice by now for sites offering things like FREE VIAGRA and GET RICH NOW NOW NOW to put Halo in the metatags. Darned 'Halo' branded little blue pills.

However, if you actually go out and create something all your own as a fanatical tribute to the Halo universe, then you have our respect. When it involves recreating the Zanzibar map from Halo 2 completely to scale in Lego, then you have our allegiance. In fact, we'd love to have something like this gracing the front window of the 'Stiq offices. If you've ever read Douglas Coupland's Microserfs, then hopefully you get the reference. If you haven't read it, then you probably just think we're dorks.

Anyhow, check out the video of this incredible Lego creation, and then go raid your old toy closet and pull out the bricks. Time to get crackin' on your own Lego version of Lockout. Ping us when you're done.

Just when you thought eight years of development and pending legal fights would keep this Norse-influenced technopunk game down, Too Human is set to resurface on Xbox Live as a six minute, 42 second video diary on the creative process of the game.

Despite their qualms with Unreal Engine 3 licensor Epic Games, the title looks good (though, in the era of BioShock and Mass Effect, nothing breath-taking). However, the footage we saw does seem a bit slow, hinting that the game might not yet be optimized for higher framerates. The concept art is interesting, as is their approach to Norse mythology.

Although we like hearing about their approach, we'd love more to see what specific aspects of the mythology were incorporated and why. Unfortunately, that'd likely spoil the entire first game, so don't expect that video to surface until much, much later, when Too Human finally manages to come out.

According to a press release sent to us by Microsoft PR, the video is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace, although we couldn't find it. In the interim, we've embedded the video above.

It's not an exact rendition of the first level of Super Mario Bros. (maybe soon, little Billy), but the inclusion of Forge and machinima tools within Halo 3 has spawned an entire new group of enthusiasts.

However, the use of proper camera angles and the Mario sound effects lend itself to a thoughtful parody of the retro sidescroller. Of course, we're thinking the guy playing the protagonist plumber did not have as much fun during the making of this film.

[Via X3F]

When given an opportunity to use three colons in series while maintaining grammatical correctness, we can't resist. Moving on, the other night's Skate trick video made us think of older -- but not yet retro -- uses of over-the-top Physics. When people ask why we are so excited about Forge and Gravity Hammers in Halo 3, we tell them it's because of our warthog jumping addiction.

How do you warthog jump, exactly? It's simple, all you need is a few dozen grenades and a good grasp of trajectories. After the break, 30 minutes of truly clever jeep-launching excitement -- seriously, we don't want to imagine how much time was wasted in the making of this film.

Are you a complete and utter failure? Do you find yourself staring into the distance, sighing into the echoing caverns of your life? Is your sad existence often accompanied by music from an equally sad piano? Are you just about ready to type "quit" into the command prompt of life? If you answered positively to any of the above questions, you're much better off than the people in this video. They're likely too ensnared by regret and ineptitude to even muster any sort of response.

These men, women and curly-haired nerds will be off attending the E for All Expo from Oct. 18 to Oct. 21, where they'll "power up and play" and experience the "cutting edge of the video gaming world" -- provided they don't use it to cut their wrists. Judging by the exciting games montage, they can look forward to playing World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero and some racing game that's probably been out for months. As if that wasn't enough, the show's exhibitor list also promises encounters with the 5-Hour Energy booth and (OMG) Fatal1ty!

See you there!