Konami

The NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Set was arguably one of the most anticipated and sought-after San Diego Comic-Con exclusives this year. Fans have been after more NECA TMNT figures ever since the company delivered its Mirage-inspired foursome way back when. The rest of the planned line, which consisted of Shredder and the Foot Clan, never saw the light of day --- though those "lost" figures were retooled and repainted to fit into the Foot Clan companion set to this Turtles collection at SDCC. The Turtles themselves got all-new sclupts, paint apps and accessories that more closely resemble the animated characters on which the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game were based. The wait has been long for some truly quality TMNT figures, and even though these are a very specific set of ninjas, they're damn brilliant.

It's taken years, but the impossible has finally happened. NECA will be bringing Contra to life in action figure form for the first time in well... ever. The beloved NES sidescroller has been a fan-favorite for decades, and though it's spawned sequels across a variety of platforms, Konami never licensed the franchise out for poseable collectibles before. Now, after seeing the success NECA's had with its video game figure wave, the developer has given the blessing for the first non-movie related entry into the popular action figure line. If you're not familiar with Contra's lead characters Bill and Lance, the duo take on aliens in an effort to protect the planet. Their likenesses are thinly veiled homages to John Rambo and Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, with the Arnold Schwarzenegger poster for Predator being pretty closely ripped off to create Bill. Lance's Rambo roots aren't nearly as transparent, save for the dark hair and red headband. Those two '80s action icons being the inspiration makes the transition for NECA even easier given the company's history with those two characters.

With the exception of Simon's Quest for the NES, I've been a pretty big fan of the Castlevania games for my entire life. That said, I walked away from 2010's Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a reboot of the franchise that involved Metal Gear Solid's Hideo Kojima, thinking that it was one of the dumbest games I'd ever played...

ComicsAlliance made its first trek to the Electronic Games Expo 2012 this past week, taking in a bevy of comic book and superhero related titles including The Avengers: Battle For Earth, the reimagined Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition for Nintendo's upcoming Wii U console, plus Injustice: Gods Among Us, Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes, The Amazing Spider-Man game, Young Justice: Legacy and many o

Like many of us, my parents knew better than to fund what might have been a 24 hour binge completing the classic 1992 X-Men arcade game at our local Pizza Hut. Despite my sensible upbringing, however, that didn't stop me from teaming with a few buds to actually (for the first time in my life) complete the blasted beat 'em up at a barcade last summer...