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Oh snap, it's time for the promised Gold Box Deals! Let's see what our first entry is, shall we?

• 12:01 PST: The first deal is Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for $16.99. The only excuse you have for not taking advantage of this is already owning the game or hating fun. If you can combine it with something else you get free shipping, otherwise it looks like you're eating a $4.49 cost, which still puts the game below its current MSRP.
• 06:00 PST: The first of the lightning deals is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, an FPS that is much better than it has any right to be. Gold Box deal knocks the price down to $18.99, which is not quite a steal but better than you'll probably find in most stores.

For info on the day's other Lightning Deals, check behind the cut.

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Do you like free games? Sure, we all do. So, the fine folks at start-up gaming site Binge Gamer are celebrating the April 27th release of Mario Kart Wii by giving folks a chance to win what they're calling the Super Mario Three-Pack: Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Mario Kart Wii. Basically, the Wii gaming starter kit.

Entering is easy as it comes: click over to their site and leave a comment explaining what the best Mario game is and why. They're being liberal and counting any game with Mario as a playable character as a "Mario Game", so all you fans of Mario's Time Machine, Wrecking Crew, and NBA Street V3 can head over to make your case. They announce the winner on April 27th, the day Mario Kart Wii ships, and I bet the guy or gal with the best argument is going to win. With only 189 entries so far, your chances of being the best are actually pretty good!

Want to pick up some new DS games at ridiculously low prices? Then prepare yourself for some marathon shopping Friday. Amazon's Gold Box deal on April 25th is for Nintendo DS games, with the promotion starting at 12 AM PST. Five games are going to go on sale at the following times:

• 12:01 AM PST
• 6:00 AM PST
• 10:00 AM PST
• 2:00 PM PST
• 6:00 PM PST

The deal that goes up at 12:01 will be a Deal of the Day, in theory available for 24 hours. In reality, it'll probably be sold out in around fifteen minutes. The day's remaining four deals are going to be Lightning Deals, in theory available only for the next four hours. In practice, they'll probably last about 60 seconds.

Despite the insane timeframe in question (for someone who lives on EST, anyway), I am going to attempt to liveblog the Gold Box offer on Friday. Mostly I'm curious about which five games Amazon is going to be offering, and sheer sleep dep should keep the writing entertaining as the day goes on.

Bargain alert for Wii owners! If you thought $50 was too much for Capcom's Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, well, I can't quite blame you. It's definitely a game that feels a little weak unless you've got two players together to enjoy it.

Well, the good news is that now you can think about snagging it for $30. Now, I'm not someone who is more or less likely to get disappointed in a game relative to what I paid, but a lot of people are different. If an on-rails light gun shooter that retells the Resident Evil story in all its ridiculous glory, complete with new material, sounds like a deal for you at $30? Go order from Amazon posthaste. This sale is probably going to run out once Amazon's stock of copies runs low.

Unlike our pal Sardius, I have a fondness for 2D fighters. I'm not tournament-caliber wizard or even a serious competitor, but I enjoy the emphasis of action and strategy the gameplay demands, and I especially enjoy the animation quality in the Guilty Gear titles. I believe this is one of the first fighters out for the Wii and the only 2D fighter, so it's worth adding to your collection for that alone.

Right now Amazon is selling it for the very tasty near-budget price of around $30. You can also get it as a bundle with Hori's excellent Wii Fighting Stick controller, which is a steal at is MSRP of around $40 or so. XX Accent Core on the Wii is pretty much only playable with a traditional controller or something like this, so ignore the justifiably panned Nunchuk Style controls and enjoy yourself one helluva nice 2D fighter.

Me, I might ask for this for Valentine's Day-- much of my early dates with my beloved husband were spent in Soul Calibur or Darkstalkers, beating the snot out of each other.