Welcome to day two of our Nintendo countdown. Yesterday saw the announcement that Zombies Ate My Neighbors came in at #10. The game that comes in at #9 is a staple to every Nintendo console since the NES. There may even be some people out there that think this game should be much higher on the list then #9, but we here at SFX-360 think not.

The game that comes in at #9 on SFX-360’s top ten list of Nintendo games that made us gamers is Metroid.

There is no doubt that Samus Aran is a video game icon, up there with the likes of Master Chief and Mario. The surprise to everyone came at the end of Metroid for NES, when it was revealed that Samus was a female character. This was a major breakthrough for female characters in a male dominated video game world. Samus proved that girls can kick as much ass as guys in any game.

To this day Metroid is still one of Nintendo’s top franchises. The game grabbed the attention of those who liked shooter titles, while also incorporating a fantasy appeal in the levels you play on and the monsters you fight. The arrival of Metroid Other M for the Nintendo Wii proves that Samus Aran is not going anywhere any time soon.

If any of you out there are also fans of Metroid the staff at SFX-360 would love to hear your comments about the game. I will be counting down this top ten list daily, so make sure to keep checking back to see which games made it. Also just a heads up, this list will only be covering games from the NES and SNES. While the N64 is no doubt one of the top gaming systems of all time we felt that it would be best to stick with the true old school titles. Also after the Nintendo countdown we will be moving on to a top ten list for Sega, then Sony, so keep checking back all September long for a nice trip down gaming memory lane.

I recently had the chance to interview Steve Stamatiadis, Creative Director and co-founder of Krome Studios on their upcoming game Blade Kitten. Here is what he had to say to my questions.

Q1. What were the goals you had in mind when Krome Studios was created?

Simply to create a game company where we would like to work while bringing in a mix of licenses and making our own IP. That's pretty much what we've done for the last 11 years.

Q2. What was the inspiration behind the new title Blade Kitten?

Making the kind of game that I wanted to play with a visual style that I love seeing in games with a bunch of fun characters. A sort of love letter to the classic arcade games of my youth but with 20-plus years of technology and game design behind it. Oh and a strong female lead because I'm so sick of people saying that you can't have a female lead... because I can.

Q3. I noticed a link on the Blade Kitten homepage for the original comic (http://www.bladekitten.com/comics/blade-kitten/ ).              
Was the original comic an integral resource for the game? Can fans expect more Blade Kitten in the future?

It was originally put together to potentially pitch to publishers - the idea being that they can get a better idea of the characters and feel of the universe. The comic also turned out to be invaluable when it came to making the game even though the game is a different adventure for Kit. Whenever there was some question of what something should look like, say for example a particle effect, I could turn to a page in the comic and point to a panel then say "just like that".

It also helped us focus on the visual style of the rendering. Matching the way I draw the comics gave us a nice distinctive style that you don't see in a lot of games these days.

We have plans to release Episode 2 which is more levels that wrap up some elements of the first game. We’re just working out when that comes out.

I'm also a good chunk of the way into the next issue of the comic where some of the key elements come together to reveal the bigger picture. I have to hold off releasing that until after Episode 2 comes out because the two stories merge at that point and I don't want to spoil the bigger surprises.

Q4. Besides Blade Kitten, what has been your favorite project while working at Krome so far?

After Blade Kitten it would be our own TY the Tasmanian Tiger (the first one was a joy to work on and still rates as one of my favorite development experiences) and also Star Wars: The Force Unleashed because I got to live out a lot of my life long Star Wars dreams. Hey, getting to design a few Darths and Stormtroopers is pretty damn awesome for a guy that saw the first film back in 1977.

Q5. Is there an epic origin story for "Space Captain Steve", and does it involve exposure to gamma radiation?

Depends on which one you mean. For me it was just a fun pen name I drew some comics under which I liked so I kept using it. The other Space Captain Steve is a rogue space pirate with a rag tag group of misfits that was going to be a comic at one stage.

Q6. Any chance that the Ty series will make an appearance on a console this generation?

 Possibly. I've had some ideas for a HD version for a while. I'd say his adventures have a good chance of appearing in some form on the current gen of consoles.

Q7. What can we look forward to from Krome in the future? Any word on the upcoming Legend of the Guardians game adaptation?

Well, there's more Game Room. Then Blade Kitten Episode 2. A bunch of secret unannounced titles and of course rumor has it that Krome has developed a pretty awesome game based on the Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole movie but there's no way to know for sure until it hits shelves September 14th.

Thanks you Steve for taking your time for the interview. For more information about upcoming games go to Krome Studios and for more about the game Blade Kitten.

The more I see of Portal 2, the longer the wait feels. Portal 2 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated games of 2011 and I can't wait to spend months playing this. Valve just released a new trailer showing off the bots you'll be playing as in co-op mode! More will be shows at PAX.

Ninja Bee Games the makers who brought you Cloaning Clyde, A Kingdom for Keflings and Band of Bugs. Bring you the trailer for the upcoming game A World of Keflings. This game will be located on the PAX show floor at the Microsoft Booth.

In the game for the first time, certain Keflings will be able to help you carry building pieces and sometimes build buildings for you. Be sure to also friend of the of the Keflings on Facebook and be on the look out for hints from Doug Kefling here.

When I first saw the trailer for Vanquish during E3, I was pretty impressed with what I saw. While the storyline at the time was rather vague the trailer really focused on the gameplay aspect. This concept scored some major points in my book. Just recently a demo for Vanquish was released on Xbox Live and Playstation Network allowing you to finally see what the game was all about. The best part is that it's a demo of the main campaign and not another multiplayer based demo that some other companies put out. So what did I think about Vanquish? Let's just say that I'm pretty impressed.

At the beginning of the demo, the game thrusts you right into the middle of the action as enemy forces are trying to hold their ground. Your mission is to destroy them at all costs. Your armed with an assault rifle, heavy machine gun, shotgun, and an assortment of frag and EMP grenades. You can change to either of these weapons by using the d-pad. Each of these weapons are best used against certain enemies. The assault rifles are good for enemy grunts, heavy machine guns for the bigger enemies, shotguns for close range combat, and grenades for...well I think you get it by now. You'll also find that the grenades are very useful and not just randomly tossed items.

Throughout the battle you'll notice that taking cover is very important especially if you want to survive. Enemy fire will come in all directions and I mean that literally. Enemies are using turrets on the higher elevations and also have a couple of walking mechs (you can hijack them) on the ground. Grunts will hide behind barriers and shoot. While the AI is not entirely smart in this demo, they still know the basics of combat. The use of the cover system will remind some players of Gears of War except for the fact that in Gears you can blindfire from cover while in Vanquish you can't. Cover is only just one of Vanquish's features. The game also features a dash ability which is good for when enemy ordinance is incoming and a slowdown "bulletime" feature which slows down time allowing you to get precision shots and escape near death situations.

Now most demos want to give you a cliffhanger ending when a boss shows up. Not in Vanquish. Here in this demo you get to take on one of the game's bosses which at first looks like a spider, but it's so much more. It's a transformer! Once you think you've destroyed it, the boss turns into a robot. Now that's more than meets the eye! Like any boss battle you must take out certain weak points (these glow in a yellowish color) and then shoot the red core. Let me assure you that this boss is no pushover so expect a tough challenge.

While playing Vanquish, what really amazed me was the feeling that although I was playing the demo on my Xbox 360, I almost felt like I was playing this game at my local arcade. Everything from the games graphics to the game keeping score was pretty cool. The only thing missing was the flashing "insert token" option. The soundtrack felt in tune with the gameplay as I would kick ass all over the battlefield. As for the character voiceovers? Well they were pretty generic, but they really don't take anything away from the game in general.

Overall, I must say that Vanquish could be one of the big surprise titles of 2010. The gameplay is fun and exciting and the controls are tight and responsive which makes this third person shooter one of the possible must buy titles of the fall. Vanquish will be available on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on October 19. Keep it here with SFX360 for more info regarding Vanquish as well as a full review of the game coming soon.

Busting out of the joint Jimmy is looking for revenge on those who put him there! Arrvigin next week players will be able to do exactly that with new arcade style game play! Check out the trailer below!

If there’s going to be something new about a Pokémon game, it counts as breaking news to the gaming world.

In the upcoming newest installment to the Pokémon Ranger series, Guardian Signs, players will be able to interact with and team up with legendary Pokémon in their quest to protect the peace. Anytime a legendary appears, you know it’s a big deal, and Guardian Signs promises at least three including Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. You know, those annoying legendary monsters that love to taunt you and waste your Ultra Balls trying to catch – scowl- You can call upon these rare Pokémon during the game by drawing their Ranger Sign on the lower touchscreen, and instead of running away, they’ll come to your rescue to solve missions such as finding missing persons or halting natural disasters.

Additionally, two limited-time missions will be available starting at the game’s launch date. “Protect the Blue Sphere” and “Deoxys and the Odd Temple” are multiplayer missions available for play through the local wireless connection. After completing the Deoxys mission, you can send the rare Deoxys to your Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, or SoulSilver game cartridge. Yessss… 

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs comes out for Nintendo DS on November 5, 2010 (easy date to remember, right?) with the two multiplayer missions becoming available for a short time starting the same day.

If you are a fan of SEGA's Yakuza series, you'll be happy to know that Yakuza 4 is coming to you exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and will continue the story of legendary Kazuma Kiryu.

Can you survive the dangers of Yakuza 4? Set in a fully realised, authentic recreation of Tokyo's "Sin-City District" the deep and interweaving crime drama of Yakuza 4 unfolds through the eyes of four unique and dangerous characters. Playing as the legendary Kazuma Kiryu, the loan shark Akiyama, escaped convict Saejima or detective Tanimura, players will need to survive the dangers and temptations of the Japanese underworld.

Yakuza 4 is set to release sometime in March 2011.

So today, Crackdown 2 gets its first Add-on pack in the form of the Toy Box Pack. The Toy Box Pack adds tons of new toys, treasures, vehicles and armor accessories. There is a free preview pack that you can get here or the paid pack which you can get here for 560MS Points.

Check out the trailer below for more details on what you can expect from the Toy Box DLC.

Today's Amazon Deal of the Day is for Activision's Guitar Hero 5 software only. If you already own a guitar, there really is no reason to get the entire bundle. So right now, Amazon has the game only on sale for $9.99 for the XBOX 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2. You can choose your version here. This deal does not include free shipping so while you're at it, pick yourself up another game so your total will be over $25 for the free shipping.