Sure, Will Wright's Spore Creature Creator can let your imagination run wild ... but sometimes your imagination doesn't exactly go that far. Our friends at Nintendo Wii Fanboy have amassed a collection of Pokemon creatures from the Sporepedia. Each picture in the gallery can be added directly to your game by saving the picture into the Spore folder. Our Sporémons, let us show you them.

We agree with Design Milk: we wish these Nintendo wall decals were around when we were younger. Then again, that won't stop us. (Thanks, Vlad.) Check out the highlights for this weekend:

Joystiquery
The Best Of Big Download: June 8-14, 2008
Counting Rupees: The MMO-TV hybrid
Seen @ NYC: Women bar fight over Wii
This Week in Review is sneaking ... and stuff

News
Halo Wars release strategy: 'when it's done'
Capcom registers 'multiplatform' Mega Man 9 with OFLC
The Agency to be microtransaction free after all
Battlefield Heroes Beta applicants exposed in security breach
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 trailer full of whimsy, tactics
THQ investor presentation reveals release windows for Super Hero Squad, Master Mind
Resistance 2 details, gameplay revealed on last night's GameTrailers TV
MLG event reveals new Halo 3 multiplayer map: Cold Storage
Mother's campaign to bring video game seizure concerns to British Parliament a success
Castle Crashers jumps through another hoop, gets rated 'Teen'
Source: 'Avatars' to be Microsoft's answer to Miis and Home

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor Roundup: Intellisponse survey leak
Rumor: Three dozen Team Ninja devs leaving with Itagaki, suing Tecmo

Culture & Community
Surf through Azeroth on a Wii Balance Board

A hero's true worth lies in his ability to overcome the greatest of villains. Metal Gear Solid's slithery protagonist, Snake, has conquered not only the greatest of villains, but the weirdest mustache-twirlers gaming has ever seen.

Be sure to click on the above gallery and join us as we examine our favorite fearsome foes, kooky killers and big bosses.

We realize that with yesterday's announcement of "Beyond Good & Evil 2," some folks may have tragically missed out on the first entry in the series. We've put together a quick list of places where those not familiar to the series can get the game and meet up with Jade, Pey'j and -- our favorite personal assistant -- Segundo.

• Steam (PC) -- $10
• GameTap (PC) -- $1 for the first month, $10 after that.
• GameFly (Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube) -- Various rental plan prices, but currently copies are subject to availability.
• GameStop -- Currently, we can only find the somewhat dodgy PS2 version available online for $8. Check your local shop and you may get very lucky.

Those who find a GameCube version can rely on the Wii's backwards compatibility to play the game, and PS3 owners can pop in the PS2 game if their systems support BC. The Xbox 360 currently does not offer backwards compatibility for the Xbox version of BG&E. We're sure there are more corners of the internet to find Jade & Co., but it appears that $10 is what you're likely to pay.

Nintendo has had its fare share of first-party peripherals. Does anyone remember – or still own, perchance – the Game Boy printer? The Nintendo 64 Pikachu microphone? Our friends and archivists at Nintendo Wii Fanboy have composed a pictorial history of Nintendo's tendency to avoid the standard controller. From the Power Pad to the Balance Board, click here to see it all.

A dedicated Nintendo fan finishes one helluva sleeve tattoo on his leg. (Thanks, Dave S) Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
The best of WoW Insider: May 13-20. 2008
A guide to homebrew on the DS
Meet the Team: Jason Dobson
Metareview -- Wii Fit

News
Sony not amused by Uncharted replica gun
FFXII composer bringing his music to non-Japanese games
Metal Gear Solid Mobile coming to N-Gage
Street Fighter, Mega Man going mobile
MEGAowch: Haze handed 4.5 review by IGN
Nintendo shifts Wii Fit 'launch' to tomorrow
Square Enix considering stakes in competing developers
E3 Santa Monica cost ESA $5 million in fees
This Wednesday: Penny Arcade Adventures onto XBLA
Nintendo calls EU's $234m price-fixing fine 'illegal'
Spore 'Cell Phase' flOwts into view
Microsoft talks XBLA future, loosening download size limit
The Cars drive up next week as Rock Band's second full DLC album
No Gun Metal Gray PS3 for U, K?
Jake Gyllenhaal is The Prince of Persia, says Hollywood Reporter
Epic Games takes seat, acquires Chair Entertainment Group
Viva Pinata DS / Xbox 360 connectivity figured out, not happening
Sega talks Platinum Games deal, franchises
Judge: Jack Thompson is guilty on 27 of 31 misconduct charges
Game consoles contain harmful materials, Greenpeace finds
Casual games cost marketing moolah, Ubisoft says
XNA Community Games go 'Live' for indie devs
What's Sony up to? Community websites abound!

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Splinter Cell Conviction delayed until 2009-10
Rumor: New DS 'colours' hitting Europe

Culture & Community
Sign-ups begin for the Battlefield Heroes beta
Niko Bellic has second career as folk singer

Nintendo has been ordered to pay $21 million to Anascape Ltd. for infringing on a patent with its Gamecube and Wii Classic controllers. The AP reports Anascape Ltd., a "small East Texas gaming company," also sued Microsoft, but that was settled out of court. Nintendo says it will appeal the decision.

A representative for Nintendo stated that no infringement was found in any of the Wii's motion-sensing technology and it expects that on appeal the award to Anascape will be reduced "significantly." Remember kids, if you want to stick it to some big corporation in the future and cash in, just make patents for everything imaginable.

In case you missed it, check out the Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts trailer one more time. Watch closely, especially at the 1:45 mark. Yep, that's an 8-bit Mario in all his planar glory, as both a testament to the user-generated nature of the game as well as we suspect a not-so-subtle nod to their former publishing partner.

[Thanks, Michael]

There are five ways to handle your racer in Mario Kart Wii: Wii Remote solo, Wii Remote embedded in Wii Wheel, Wii Remote with Nunchuk, Classic Controller, and GameCube controller. But, removing all other variables, which control method is the best? Are there really limitations to not using the Wii Wheel? We decided to pull out the ever-trusty "scientific method" and determine, once and for all, the best kart controller.

Each week Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks contribute Counting Rupees, a column on the business behind gaming:
In my last column I suggested that, if Microsoft is to make a Wii-like controller, it should still continue to focus on the "traditional" types of games that have so far made the 360 a success, because Nintendo had already basically wrapped up the "casual" crowd. I also mentioned that the only Wii games that are apparently selling are Nintendo games and some casual games. And with that in mind, the New York Times published an article on Monday detailing that, while the Wii hardware is selling well, even seemingly popular Wii software still has some trouble continuing to sell to the Wii audience.

Shacknews reports that several "key" employees of Austin, Texas-based developer, Retro Studios, have left the company. The studio is best known for its work on the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime trilogy, which concluded in August last year on Nintendo's Wii.

Staff members said to have been escorted off the premises last Friday include design director Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller and principal technology engineer Jack Matthews. There's no word yet on what their futures entail, but Shacknews notes that Retro Studios is in no danger of closing. Which is just as well, really, since we're in no danger of not wanting more games from them. We'll let you know when we hear more on this subject.

Update: There's some unconfirmed gossip from mysterious dealer in rumors, Surfer Girl, who mentioned that "something definitely went down at Retro" in a post dated Sunday, April 20th. An unnamed individual is quoted in the post as saying, "Pretty much no one at retro would agree to relocate at nintendo's behest, as asinine shenanigans are typically met with little fanfare."

This shirt, entitled "The Legend Was Born," is now sold out, but we're pining for its return. And for only $10, that's a pretty good deal anyway. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Ask Joystiq: Chex Quest, He-Man and broken 360 gamepads
DS Fanboy Lite: Apr. 12 - Apr. 18
Joystiq Podcast 046 - Bullets are bad edition
Off the Grid: Risk Black Ops and Hasbro's wrong direction
Tonight's most American otaku music video

News
MKO: Next Mortal Kombat pits MK against DC
New Xbox 360 update doesn't do anything
Sony releases first trailer for Siren New Translation
EA extends Take-Two tender offer deadline (again)
Judas Priest to lead Rock Band's full album downloads April 22
Army of Two gets SSC Challenge pack April 24
Konami bringing animals, music, and sandcastles to WiiWare
9 million answer Call of Duty 4, DLC breaks records
New WiiWare racer answers the question: What's a SPOGS?
GTA IV is gold and 'en route' to stores
Mass Effect's 'Bring Down the Sky' DLC free on PC
Microsoft's Greenberg claims victory in battle for 'core user' over Sony
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe gets confirmation, trailer
Vin Diesel is looking for a job in new The Wheelman trailer
DC Comics to publish Gears of War series
Miyamoto begins Wii Fit media blitz
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, a tale of two (different) ports
Euphoria-based Backbreaker gameplay video is intriguing
Vader and Yoda battling in new Soul Calibur IV trailer
River City Ransom on VC next week
Condemned 2 demo hits Xbox Live
Xbox 360 power supply cited in Little Rock fire

Rumors & Speculation
Gamestop, Gamefly posts hint at Yakuza 2's North American debut

Culture & Community
PS3 Laptop charity auction, bid at Engadget
Professional Warcraft III players to carry Olympic torch in China

Some people quit smoking with a patch, some with therapy, and some still with hypnosis or acupuncture. DS Fanboy reader Dan had an alternate method: he replaced his nicotine addiction with an addiction to Pokemon. So far he's only 40 days into the trial, but he's reporting success. (What is not reported, however, is how many pokemon he's caught. This is a vital detail, folks!)

So what happens when Dan needs to break his Pokemon addiction?

Big thanks to Supafine's "Legend of Zelda: Visceration Station" webcomic for finally (and logically) explaining the heart system to us. The least we, as the Joystiq community, can apparently do is bestow you the honor of best game-related webcomic of the week.

Second and third place went to XKCD and College Humor, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any gaming comics you stumble upon this week!

Fans of alternate Wii control schemes were obviously psyched when it was revealed that Mario Kart Wii would support a variety of control methods, including the Wii Classic Controller and Gamecube pad. But those fans might want to scale back their expectations, as an updated game fact sheet (posted on Nintendo's press site) claims that players who don't use the Wii Remote schemes will not be able to perform "certain moves" and "some maneuvers."

What maneuvers exactly? We're not quite sure, but the new mid-air tricks probably aren't among them -- A Link to the Future notes that an IGN preview specifically mentions Classic and Gamecube controller users can hit the d-pad to perform those. We find it hard to imagine that the plethora of joysticks and buttons on the alternate control schemes can't replicate the controls of the somewhat button-free design of the Wii Remote. Could this be an effort to encourage more use of the practically useless 'extremely useful' Wii Wheel? You'll know as soon as we do.