Psst, I have big news for you. I heard that Microsoft is going to stop selling the Xbox 360 and start making games exclusively for the Wii. No really, it's true. And Nintendo is making a Virtual Boy 2. Oh, and did you hear about the upcoming God of War party game? It's going to be a hoot. I can't believe how much news is coming out today; this must be the greatest day of the year. Oh wait ... it's actually April Fool's Day!

That's right, it's April Fool's Day, the one day of the year that you should be even more skeptical than usual. Your favorite TV shows, websites, magazines, friends and family will all be trying to fool you, but don't believe their lies.

For a lot of gamers April Fool's Day will always remind them of Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the pioneers of game-related tomfoolery. Their Sheng Long code is one of the most popular fake codes of all time, and more than a few people were fooled by convincing pictures of Lego HALO and the Apple iGame. But alas, there is no April Fool's Day joke from EGM this year. After twenty years in print, EGM leaves us with fifteen April Fool's jokes, and two typos they claim to be pranks. In this extra special I've Got Your Number we take a look at each and every one of EGM's jokes and find which ones we feel for and which we saw coming a mile away. I think it's about time we look at EGM's 15 April Fool's Day Pranks!

The Joke: Our journey begins in Electronic Gaming Monthly's 21st issue, the same issue that brought us a 16-page feature on the Lynx, a glowing review of Shadow Dancer and the first pictures of Street Fighter II. It was in this issue that EGM started one of their most endearing trends - the annual April Fool's Day joke. In this first joke we learn that we can play as Simon Belmont (the whip-smart hero of Castlevania) in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game. You did this by jumping through a bunch of hoops (including resetting the console a bunch of times), but alas it was all a joke. The cheat code was credited to "A. P. Rilphuuls, Fromegem, HA," or, in English, April Fool's from EGM, HA!

There's Just One Problem: The cheat code was devilishly cruel and the cheat code sold it, but there's just one BIG problem ... that's not Simon Belmont. I know that all of the Castlevania heroes look the same, but the person involved with using Photoshop got the wrong Belmont. The picture clearly shows Trevor Belmont from Castlevania III, not Simon Belmont as the code clearly states. Come on EGM, you expect us to fall for your jokes when you can't even get your Belmonts straight?

Final Word: Wrong Belmont aside, this is a clever prank that spawned quite a few angry letters. The magazine would continue to harass their readers with other similar pranks throughout the year (including a picture of Sonic the Hedgehog replacing Hiryu in Strider), though none of those were specifically April Fool's related. Apparently it was in 1991 that EGM got their first photo editing software. By today's standards this joke is almost quaint, but it sets us up for the crazy antics that EGM is about to pull. And just for the record, when a code asks you to reset your system four times before doing anything, then you know it's a fake. Your game system isn't keeping track of how many times you hit the reset button.

The Joke: Arguably the most well-known video game related April Fool's joke of all time. At the peak of Street Fighter II's popularity, Electronic Gaming Monthly published a code for a brand new character. This character was Sheng Long, the mysterious trainer of Ryu and Ken. EGM stated that if you play the game just right you will fight this character in a one-on-one battle to the death. What really sold the joke was the Photoshop work, which created a convincing doctored picture. The character looked a little like an older Ken, he had a long ponytail and a massive uppercut. And if it wasn't for a couple of shadow errors, the pictures would have been good enough to fool the entire world. Sadly there was no secret boss, but this popular prank fooled you anyway.

EGM Thinks You're An Idiot: And who knows, maybe you are an idiot. In this issue EGM decided to introduce a very special contest to see if anybody could sniff out their clever April Fool's joke. And where did they put the information for this contest? On the same page as the April Fool's joke. And yet there are still people that fell for this joke. You stupid, stupid people!

You Must Defeat Ken To Stand A Chance: Is it just me or does the Super Street Fighter II Turbo version of Ken look an awful lot like EGM's Sheng Long artwork? Take a look at that ponytail, where have we seen that before? And it's not just physical, either. Check out the flaming uppercut; that became a staple move for Ken in later iterations of Street Fighter II. Yet this joke was played by an American game magazine that had nothing to do with the developers of Street Fighter II. Could it be that EGM saw the future, or did they just have a really good idea that Capcom stole. You be the judge.

Final Word: This is an April Fool's joke without equal. While it was not the first prank played by the jokesters at EGM, it was definitely the one that had the biggest impact. Not only did they fool the gullible readers, but EGM also managed to fool the international presses. It's a well known fact that this very code was picked up and rewritten in various other languages in foreign games magazines. That's not something that happens very often, and that's a good argument for why this Sheng Long trick is the greatest April Fool's joke ever played by a games magazine. I don't care if you like Street Fighter II or not, every so often it's important to bow down to the greatness that is this Sheng Long prank.

The Joke: Take a look at that picture. Do you see the April Fool's joke? After setting the bar as high as it could be set, EGM followed up their Sheng Long prank with ... a Jaguar joke? That's right, they followed it up with a Jaguar joke, and a not-so-funny one at that. In their release calendar section, Electronic Gaming Monthly jokes that Virtua Pong 64, Adventure 199X and Yar's Revenge 2 were on the schedule. Of course they weren't, because nobody in their right mind is going to develop an Adventure sequel. Still, the idea of updating these "classics" is not as far-fetched as it sounds. The Jaguar saw updates to Defender, Tempest and Missile Commander, and in 1999 somebody had the good idea to release a 3D Pong remake for the PlayStation.

What the Wikipedia: You know how we all rely on Wikipedia to answer the tough questions? Well, maybe we should be a little more skeptical in the future. If you surf on over to their EGM April Fool's section you'll find this description: "There was a listing for 4 games for the not-yet-released Atari Jaguar game system. Titles included Joust 2000 and Dig Dug 2000 from companies like Vapor Ware." Joust 2000 and Dig Dug 2000? As you can see from the scan of the April Fool's joke, Joust and Dig Dug were nowhere to be seen. Somebody should really fix that bizarre error.

Final Word: When it comes right down to it, this Jaguar prank really isn't all that funny. There's just so much material to work with when it comes to the Jaguar - it claims to be "64-bit," it only had a few good games; the CD drive looked like a toilet. With all this to work with, why go with Virtua Pong 64? This joke reeks of last second filler, which may explain why EGM took a four year hiatus from making April Fool's jokes.

The Joke: Five years after suggesting that Sheng Long was a secret boss in Street Fighter II, Electronic Gaming Monthly decided to do exactly the same thing ... only this time with the just-released Street Fighter III. I guess even in 1997 EGM was creatively bankrupt. Either way, this joke brought back most of the same tricks, including doctored pictures, a lengthy article and just enough facts to seem plausible. Plus, most people didn't expect the magazine to pull the same joke twice. And who knows, maybe Capcom added Sheng Long into the game just to play along with EGM's popular prank. Well, they didn't. It was a big fat joke.

Blame It On the Times: Love Sheng Long but don't remember this April Fool's joke? You're not alone. Despite an increase in length and better pictures, most people barely remember this Street Fighter III prank. Could it be that the joke wasn't as memorable the second time around? Nope ... the reason you don't remember this joke is because you were too busy ignoring Street Fighter III. After waiting too long, Capcom finally unleashed Street Fighter III to muted response. At that time gamers were too enamored by first-person shooters and 3D fighting games. So don't feel bad EGM, your only crime was making a clever joke about a game nobody was interested in. Just blame it on the times.

Final Word: Who uses the same joke twice? Apparently EGM does. It would be easy for me to complain about this joke's redundancy and call it a day, but it's clear that a lot of time and attention went into recreating this joke. For one thing, the article is actually worth reading. It's full of history and brilliant touches. And the pictures are fantastic, easily besting their previous attempt. This joke's production is outstanding; this was EGM at the top of their game. However, I still don't like the fact that we're already seen this joke before. Get a new joke, EGM!

The Joke: Joke? Rather, this issue has jokes, plural. This first joke revolves around playing as the older, better Bonds in Rare's exceptional GoldenEye 007. The joke was more mean than funny, but still pointed out the one thing that many gamers were demanding from this otherwise flawless game. There's just one problem, this joke is actually real ... kind of. The joke itself comes from a rumor that Rare wanted to include the original James Bond actors but couldn't get the rights. This later turned out to be true, although you needed a cheat device to make it work.

There's a Second Joke: For the first time in their history, Electronic Gaming Monthly featured two completely separate April Fool's jokes. Perhaps this second joke was an apology for the lameness of the first prank. Regardless, this second joke had the review crew passing judgment on what seems to be a random Camper's Knife. The reaction was mixed; Crispin declared the knife to be an "indispensable tool for the progress of humanity," while Dan clearly didn't understand how the device worked. "I put it in my PlayStation, but all it did was skip around and stutter. I put it in my N64 and everything went blurry. I put it in my Saturn, and no one wanted to make my pocket dinnerware tools anymore." On a bright note, Shawn remarks that the camper's knife has helped free him from a number of bear traps. If a thirteen dollar gadget helps free you from a bear trap, then I think you got your money's worth.

Final Word: The camper's knife joke is mildly amusing, but it doesn't feel right when placed next to other EGM pranks. The GoldenEye 007 joke, on the other hand, falls flat on its face. The pictures are too small and the whole joke just feels cruel. When it comes to April Fool's jokes I endorse clever, not mean. Go be mean the rest of the year. The real joy of this issue is the camper's knife joke, which, for reasons that I will never understand, fails to make Wikipedia's list of EGM jokes. Perhaps everybody thought this was a real game. But hey, I learned long ago that you should never argue with Wikipedia. Because it's always right, even when it's wrong it's right. Just take my word for it.

The Joke: I'll admit, our journey so far has been rocky at best. No matter how great the Sheng Long pranks are, it still doesn't make up for jokes about the Jaguar, GoldenEye 007 and a camper's knife. A camper's knife? Things are looking bleak for this list of supposed jokes. Things can't get any worse, right? Think again, because in 1999 EGM brought us GameShortz. That's right, GameShortz. They are shorts that you hook up to your game system, giving you a vibration every time the game "rumbles." Get it? It's like a rumble pack, only it's your shorts. Your shorts are a vibrator. You hook it up to your ... okay, you know what, I think we're done here. Let's move on.

It's Not Game Shortz, But ...: Okay, so it's not quite GameShortz, but we do have a small game called Rez. This Sega shooter pulsated and vibrated about as if it was in the middle of the loudest night club known to man. And, depending on which version of the game you owned, you could join in on the fun. For example, the Japanese version of Rez came with a vibration control that was so strong that you would feel it throughout your body. The Xbox 360 version even allows you to take three extra controls and have them vibrate to the music, effectively allowing you to stick one (or more) down your pants and have a real party.

Final Word: And now for the winner of the lamest April Fool's joke. When it comes to pranks, this is a "Jump the Shark" moment. This is one of those ideas that sound good when you're drunk and joking with friends, but the moment you sober up you know it's not worth doing. Unfortunately nobody at EGM sobered up and we are forced to spend time talking about this horrible, horrible April Fool's joke. This is the worst of the worst; it's only up from here.

The Joke: Hey, have you heard? Intellivision is making a comeback!! What's that? Nobody cares? Well, you guys are no fun. But the truth is, I don't blame you. Let's face it, we're only seven issues into this article and it feels like EGM is just phoning it in. After such duds as GamerShortz and camper's knife, it's hard to still be excited about this magazine's April Fool's pranks. We're only seven issues in and we have already talked about Sheng Long twice. What kind of magazine would do that? I say we take a short breather and regroup. Maybe the 21st century will treat us better. It can't be much worse than GamerShortz.

Did You Know: Tomorrow I'm catching a flight from Seattle to Houston, Texas, to cover Wrestlemania 25. Apparently THQ has some superstar challenge thing that I'm going to cover for GamingNexus, so I'll be down there for a few days. But don't worry about the rest of the site. We have a great article planned for this Friday and another episode of This Week in Defunct Games hitting tomorrow. And in the coming weeks we'll be introducing Cyril Reads Blaster Master. There's really a lot to look forward to. What's that? You don't believe me? Yeah, I know it's April first, but that doesn't mean that I'm lying. Hey, I don't appreciate being called a liar. Oh forget it, this is stupid, you can believe whatever you want.

Final Word: You would never know it from this article, but today marks Defunct Games' 8th anniversary. We started the site on April 1st, 2001, and we've been going strong ever since. We'll have plenty of birthday coverage all month long, but I wanted to make mention of it here while we're relaxing from these terrible April Fool's jokes. I would like to thank everybody who has stuck with Defunct Games thus far and would like you to know that the second half of this article is considerably better than the first. So, without any more distractions, let's do this thing!

The Joke: Talk about kicking a company when they're down. By 2001 Sega had seen incredible highs and devastating lows. Not content with the success of their 16-bit Genesis, Sega decided to release the Sega CD, Sega 32X and Sega Saturn. Unfortunately all flopped. Sadly things were not looking any better for the Dreamcast, which was about to fold due to competition from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. But Electronic Gaming Monthly didn't care. In this brief April Fool's joke the magazine suggests that Sega found 10,000 Neptune units just sitting in a warehouse. They also suggest that you can buy 32X versions of X-Men 2 and Virtua Hamster. That's the whole joke. Just a slide at Sega for never releasing the Neptune. Classy.

What the Wikipedia: If this was true and one day Sega really does find 10,000 Neptune units in an old warehouse, they would need to price those bad boys for more than $200. There are a lot of die hard Sega fans out there and ten thousand isn't a big number. Now that Sega is out of the hardware business, I bet there are a lot of feverish gamers that would pay just about anything to get their hands on a long-lost Sega console. I know I would.

Final Word: This is just a mean, mean joke. No matter how you look at it, this Neptune prank is more cruel than funny. There's a lot of comedy in the Sega 32X, yet somehow Electronic Gaming Monthly managed to take the meanest part of the ordeal and unfairly whack Sega over the head with it. Why not joke about how the 32X is invading the Dreamcast? Or how Virtua Hamster sounds like a lot of fun? Why not announce a new Knucles Chaotix game? Oh, that's right, it's because by 2001 nobody remembered what the Neptune was supposed to be. Just like how in 2009 nobody remembers this tragically awful April Fool's joke!

The Joke: It's the crossover that everybody wanted. For more than a decade Mario and Sonic fought it out at the retail level, but what if Nintendo's famous plumber could challenge Sega's blue mascot to a fight to the death? Electronic Gaming Monthly read our mind when they cleverly inserted Sonic the Hedgehog and his buddy Tails into Super Smash Bros. Melee for the GameCube. Of course, fans of the game know that this trick was impossible, but it was wishful thinking indeed.

And You Saw It Coming: Fast forward six years and Nintendo gives us Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the hotly anticipated follow-up to Melee. It features Mario and Kid Icarus and Wario and ... Sonic the Hedgehog? That's right; it features Sonic the Hedgehog, just like the 2002 April Fool's joke predicted. The cynic in me wants to say that this pairing was inevitable; that EGM was just writing what we were all thinking. But it's not like any of the other April Fool's jokes have come true. Either way, it's certainly nice to see non-Nintendo character infultrate Super Smash Bros., one can only hope that Mega Man, Bonk and Bubsy the Bobcat show up for some fun.

Final Word: This is the type of "joke" that makes us feel good inside. It's easy to like a prank like this because we've had the same thought before and wished it was true. But that's the problem, this joke is a little too obvious. The joke part of it isn't all that funny; it's more cruel than anything. It's also not witty. When I look at an April Fool's joke like this it makes me skeptical, especially when I read all of the hoops I have to jump through. Playing as Sonic the Hedgehog would be cool, but it's not worth the amount of gameplay this code requires. Still, the picture is nice and at the time you couldn't find a person out there that didn't want to see Sonic fight Mario. It's a passable effort.

The Joke: Although it has to do with bare breasts, 2003's April Fool's joke is actually very similar to 2002's Smash Bros. prank. Although DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball and Smash Bros. are very different games, both jokes revolve around a certain want from the game playing public. In the case of DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball it's topless girls on the beach. It's only natural, ever since the days of Lara Croft video gamers have been keen on the idea of a "nude mode." And let's be perfectly honest with ourselves, the people that bought DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball are the same people that want to see hot women in no clothing. This April Fool's joke not only gives you the goods on how to uncover this extra mode, but it also sends you home with a bunch of pictures. Enjoy, boys.

There's a Second Joke: Okay, I'm only going to say this once - make the damn nude game already. I know none of the first-party companies want to license it, but screw them. The fans want it and the only way to get them to shut up is to cave in and give them a DOA game with nipples. Big, hairy nipples. It worked for interactive game shows. Every time I would boot up Jeopardy! I would hear my friends scream out "take it off, Alex." But thanks to The Man Game they were satisfied. Same with BMX XXX. All my friends wanted a nude extreme sports game, and then all of a sudden we get that and they shut up. It's a perfect system. So quit teasing all of the kids, just make the seriously perverted nude volleyball game you've always wanted to make. Heck, it doesn't even need to be a volleyball game. I'm sure your audience wouldn't mind a game where you didn't have to hold the control.

Final Word: Sometimes you just have to give the people what they want. In this case, the people want to play DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball naked ... actually, they want to have the women in screen naked (though, I'm sure when it comes right down to it both parties are probably naked). Getting that terrible image out of my head, I say this review is vintage April Fool's. It has everything that the classic Sheng Long jokes had, from doctored pictures to an impossibly complicated set of instructions. Best of all, it's believable. Well, maybe not "believable," but I suspect many people did question its validity when first running across it. I wouldn't be surprised if this shocked (and depressed) a lot of horny game playing teens.

The Joke: By 2004 The Lord of the Rings movies and games were a cultural phenomenon. Peter Jackson's three movies were making hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office and Electronic Arts was hard at work milking the franchise. But maybe this tongue-in-cheek Lord of the Rings kart racer was one game too far. This 2004 April Fool's joke is a testament to EGM's art team, which ended up taking this silly idea and turning it into an impressively realistic looking racing game. The sad fact remains that this racing game would probably hold up better than the Lord of the Rings tactical RPG that Electronic Arts really did release on the PSP.

Speaking of Racing Games: Here's something that has always bothered me - why does Sega have so much trouble turning Sonic the Hedgehog into a racing game? They've tried 3D, 2D, karts, hoverboards and everything in between, yet nothing works. A Sonic racing game seems like a no-brainer, so what's the deal? And while we're at it, why is it that every Sonic spin-off is so bad? How hard is it to make a good pinball game? Or what about a good Mario Party rip-off. Sega couldn't even make a good board game. What is this world coming to?

Final Word: So the Lord of the Ring-themed racing game isn't the funniest joke in the world, but the artwork really sells it. You can almost believe it for a minute, but only because of how many ill-advised kart racers had already hit the market (did we really need a wrestling-themed kart racer?). But the moment you read that this is a PlayStation exclusive you realize that this must be a joke. This is Electronic Arts we're talking about, if this game was real it would be on every console available. And just for the record, I wouldn't be surprised if one of these days EA does come out with a Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter racing game. It just seems inevitable.

The Joke: In yet another cruel joke, EGM promised Zelda fans the ability to throw out their kiddy Wind Waker disc and replace it with a remix of the game using a more traditional graphic set. The result is a version of Wind Waker that looks suspiciously like Twilight Princess. To get this "improved" version of the game all you had to do was reserve a copy of the GameCube (or Wii) version of Twilgiht Princess, and then you're off on a totally manly Zelda adventure where the cel-shaded graphics are a thing of the past and real men can go on living their life without ever succumbing to artistic flights of fancy. Because nobody wants that.

Hey, You Morons: Are you one of those people who would rather have this realistic looking version of Wind Waker? Are you the type of person that would have put money down for Twilight Princess just so you wouldn't have to play through a cel-shaded Wind Waker? Then you, my friend, are a moron! There is plenty of room for realistic Link adventures (see Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess), every so often we need a good, old fashioned, cartoony Link. What's more, this cel-shaded Zelda game will hold up a lot longer than Twilight Princess or any of the more realistic Zelda outings. Don't believe me? Just wait a few years and then tell me I'm wrong.

Final Word: As a joke, this Zelda remix was a little too believable. This joke hit at exactly the right time. People were fed up with waiting for the oft-delayed Twilight Princess and there was still a backlash against Nintendo's choice to present Wind Waker as a cel-shaded cartoon. So I understand the genesis of this joke, even if it's more a sad commentary on the level of sophistication of the average GameCube owner than a real funny April Fool's joke. Still, the artwork is done well and I know a lot of people that would have done anything to get this version of the game. Honestly, I still wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo eventually releases a version that looks like this. Maybe not for reserving Twilight Princess, but there will come a time when you reserve something and all of a sudden you're playing a realistic Wind Waker remix. I can see it happening (and pleasing a lot of people).

The Joke: It's yet another prophetic April Fool's joke. In 2006 Electronic Gaming Monthly devoted a whole page to a fake portable game system from Apple. This super system was based on Apple's hugely successful iPod series; only it was a little fatter, featured a widescreen display, had a D-pad and offered four face buttons. You could hook it to your iTunes and download movies and music, plus it had a batter you couldn't remove. EGM even listed some of the games, including a new Madden and Call of Duty sequel. Of course, months after EGM played this prank Apple went ahead and released the iPhone, which features, among other things, a widescreen display, the ability to sync with your iTunes and full game support. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see games like Madden and Call of Duty on the iPhone this year.

Another Prediction: There's a chance that I'm wrong, but I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that eventually Microsoft will develop a handheld game playing device. And I'm not talking about the Zune. I'm talking about something that can compete against the iPhone, PSP and Nintendo DS. It may not happen this year or next, but it's going to happen sooner or later. And just because I said this on April Fool's Day that doesn't mean that this is a joke. I'm dead serious. No really, I mean it. This is a real prediction. Oh forget it.

Final Word: Aside from the fake article and doctored iPod, this prank is more of an elaborate Quartermann rumor. How do I go about reviewing an April Fool's joke that isn't really a joke? We all knew that Apple would eventually develop a handheld device that played games, there really isn't much of a joke in this. The only thing going for this prank is the fact that it was so believable that a gullible internet quickly ate it up. Of course, the joke was on EGM when Apple announced the iPhone and forever changed the way we think of telephone apps. I love the artwork and there is a great article, but this is not a good April Fool's joke.

The Joke: In 2007 EGM had a really good idea, why not combine the Mushroom Kingdom with Kingdom Hearts? This "exclusive first look" offered up a picture, a logo and two columns of completely fake information on the game. And you know what? It sounded like a lot of fun. While I'm a fan of playing through the Disney vault, part of me yearns for a Kingdom Hearts game with something more to offer. Like, why not one that has us interact with the Warner Brothers characters? How cool would it be to battle alongside Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck? Or what about a world where you have to take a very racist Betty Boop out on a date? What a good idea. And while I'm not as smitten about the Mushroom Kingdom, I'll go along with it because I rather like the idea of getting away from Disney for a change. Too bad it's not real.

I'm Begging You: Look, I don't like to get down on my knees, but in this one case I think it's appropriate. I get that you aren't going to give up on the Disney theme, and I'm fine with that. However, if you're going to mine the depths of Walt's vault, then I hope you eventually get to Song of the South. This 60 year old film combined singing, dancing, real actors, animation and, well, racism. Unfortunately it's mostly the racism that is keeping Disney from releasing what is otherwise an incredible movie. I say it's time for Square Enix to kick Disney in the ass so that they'll Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah their way to the vault and rerelease this movie. Plus, I think it would be fun to fight alongside Uncle Remus (but maybe that's just me).

Final Word: This is yet another lack-luster joke from EGM. The idea of Mario and Kingdom Hearts coming together is more inspiring than funny, and the weird picture doesn't help its case much. Compared to other years, it felt like the magazine was just calling it in this time around. Only one screen shot? Surely you could have doctored a water gun-holding Mario into a world full of Disney and Final Fantasy characters. This was a huge missed opportunity as far as I'm concerned, and I have a hunch that this fooled nobody.

The Joke: Electronic Gaming Monthly's final April Fool's joke combined two hugely successful franchises into one adorable shooter. That's right; it's Lego and Halo, together for the very first time (unless your dreams count). The only problem with this one-page preview is that it seems entirely too likely. Let's face it, Lego has been whoring themselves out to just about anything that makes money. They've done Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Batman, surely they aren't going to stop there. Why not Lego Matrix? Lego Lord of the Rings? Lego Harry Potter? And if they're willing to do all of these games, then why not a popular game trilogy like Halo? I say we see this game developed in the next five years.

Lego Games I Would Actually Play: Lego A Clockwork Orange, Lego Planet of the Apes, Lego Twin Peaks, Lego Lego Goodfellas, A Nightmare on Elm Street (but only if you play as Freddy), Lego Seven Samurai, Lego Kill Bill, Lego Boogie Nights, Lego Gummo, Lego Fight Club, Lego Lost, Lego Gangs of New York, Lego Series 7, Lego Donnie Darko, Lego Hedwig & the Angry Inch, Lego Flight of the Conchords, Lego Sexy Beast, Lego Requiem For a Dream, Lego Dexter, Lego 28 Days Later, Lego Pulp Fiction, Lego Kentucky Fried Movie and Lego Adaptation.

Final Word: This April Fool's joke sucks. It's like that TV show that gets canceled halfway through its run and never gets a chance to shoot an episode that wraps everything up. I can only imagine that if the editors of EGM had their druthers, this would not be the final April Fool's joke. If they had their way they would have gone out with an amazing joke, perhaps one that rivals the first few. But no, they ended with a whimper. For what it's worth, the doctored photos are realistic and I fully expect this to be a real game in the next few years. But it's just not funny. Then again, at this point EGM wasn't about being clever or witty, they wanted to fool you. And fool people they did. To this day I get people ask me when Lego HALO is coming out. It's not a bad idea, I'll give them that much.

As you can tell from our list, EGM was known to go a year or two without pulling a prank. Sometimes the editors wouldn't say anything, they would just pretend that nothing happened and move on with making the magazine. However, on two separate occasions EGM tried to pass simple typos as April Fool's jokes. But that's not going to fly with me, I'm here to see genuine pranks, not some imitations. Here are the two final "jokes" EGM claims are for April Fool's Day. You be the judge.

1994 - "Streeets" of Rage: On the cover of Electronic Gaming Monthly issue 57, the name "Streets of Rage 3" has been given an extra "E". When a writer asked why they didn't have an April Fool's Day joke that year, the editors suggested that this typo actually was an April Fool's prank. Later some of the ex-staffers would suggest otherwise, saying that it was nothing but a typo. You know you have hit rock bottom when you try and pass off a misspelled word as your April Fool's joke.

1995 - Sonic by Nintendo: One year after they accidentally misspelled the word "Street," EGM was back to their own tricks by accidentally crediting Nintendo for the release of Sonic the Hedgehog. Clearly this is nothing but a typo, but yet again EGM came out and said it was their joke. The problem is that there's nothing funny about Nintendo making a Sonic game. Even the worst EGM pranks at least looked like pranks, this just looks like a staff without a copy editor. This joke (along with 1994's prank) was so bad that EGM didn't even try to make something up in 1996. Maybe that's for the best.