in before lock

DVD repackage madnessss!!

2007-08-16T03:10:00.000-06:00

Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Mess
Stanley Kubrick's Collection revisited with 2 disc special editions..
I am excited.

Recently I have really wanted to watch Blade Runner again, probably because I have been rewatching many older sci-fi flicks that were inspired by the movie. Problem is the DVD was pretty bad quality... Thankfully that problem is almost no more since the movie is finally getting a decent release soon. Wish I was lucky enough to catch this in a theater in OCT.

http://scifi.about.com/b/a/000027.htm

Also on the horizon is a Kill Bill DVD package that is better late than never.
One can only imagine what will be include, in fact we have to imagine because details are scarce.

http://twitchfilm.net/archives/010475.html

Then last but not least.. Kubrick movies are getting the treatment as well, and I look forward to finally having a decent DVD to purchace from his collections. The cheap snap cases have always turned me off, and I never broke down and bought any of them, even though I love pretty much all these movies.
I have always wanted to see the uncut version of Eyes Wide Shut.. I watched that movie in a crummy little theater in Rockford, Il. Made the experince even more "seedy", censorship always bothers me.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Warner/Disc_Announcements/Warner_Unveils_Complete_Details_on_Kubrick_Blu-ray,_HD_DVD_Titles/843

Best DVD package ever....

2007-08-09T04:16:00.000-06:00

Ichi the Killer : Blood Bag Edition

If Ichi the Killer was a video game it would be banned...
One of my new favorite things to show people is this DVD case that had me laughing at my local Best Buy this week. I didn't know they were going to release this, and I have been putting this DVD purchase off for awhile. Glad I waited for this.

In other news: Ping Pong is finally getting a (decent)DVD release in the states in Sept.. and I just now found out that ROb Zombie is directing a remake of Halloween.

OH MY GOD YESSSS!!!!!

2007-07-23T21:55:00.000-06:00

This weeks Virtual Console games ..
Shining Force !!! w00t !!

One of the rare games that would make me get back up after getting home from work, and go buy a point card.

Shining Force brings back some of my fondest Genesis memories. I hope the fantastic sequal is on the way soon.

Shining Force™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points)

Also this added this week:

Kirby's Dream Course™ (Super NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points)

Devil's Crush (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, 600 Wii Points)

My new PSP

2007-07-17T18:28:00.000-06:00

This post should have happened weeks ago, well before the announcement of the new PSP redesign. I pretty much knew a redesign was on the way, but didn't feel like waiting for it to be announced and released. I really wanted some portable Lumines action A.S.A.P., thanks to a renewed interest after the new content hit on XBL.

Anyways, Since then I have picked up the following games.
Lumines - Mandatory !
Lumines 2 - Fantastic!!
Every Extend Extra - Fun game, but short
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops - Really good, but so far it needs more story elements
Metal Gear Ac!d - I am a fan of MG, so I kinda had to get it, fun, but has issues.
Metal Gear Ac!d 2 - Haven't played it much because I am going to finish Ac!d first.. 3d mode is trippy
Loco Roco - Mandatory .. possibly my favorite Sony made game ever.
Wipeout Pure - Fun fun ...
Mega Man: Powered Up! - Worthy remake.. lots of added gameplay ..
Maverick Hunter X - I need to play the vile mode, sort of ran through the normal mode to unlock the movie.. cool movie.

I am glad I got it. Basically it has become my new home for remakes though, since the GBA is dead, and the DS seems to be doing other stuff. Final Fantasy Tactics is a must buy when it comes out, so is the new Castlevania package.

The new psp isn't enough of an update for me to care.

Witch Hunt 2 ..

2007-06-20T13:49:00.000-06:00

Manhunt 2 got rated AO..
This is the version of Manhunt I want.. if fact I am really interested in getting a decent games from the major developers that are AO, mainly because I am an Adult.. that enjoys Adult content, and the Video game industry hasn't grown up even close to the level of other forms of entertainment. Hell "R" rated nudity is enough to get a game slapped with an AO rating here, and dumped from nearly every major retail chain.

Sadly I think the pressures of business will force the the hand of Rockstar and get this game censored if there is any reasonable way they can sqeek by with the M rating.

I say reasonable, because it seems as if the wii controller might be the main reason why the game even got the AO rating, so the demands of censorship might be the very foundation of the game.

Again.. I want the AO version. I hope I can buy it.

Afro Samurai Uncut DVD..Buy it now!

2007-06-18T07:34:00.000-06:00

The SRP for this fantastic DVD is something like $39.99, so the price of $24.99 is just unbelievable when you see what you are getting.

The packaging is top-notch, and the anime ..instant classic. Specially now that it is presetend uncut with all the mature content.

I can't say enough good things about it.

Beware of my Smooth Moves..

2007-06-14T00:46:00.000-06:00

I picked up Smooth Moves new and full price for god knows what reason. For those of you who haven't play any of the wario games.. go play one now, but try to rent. Basically nothing more than a bunch of simple tasks designed to make you quickly figure out what to do, and likely laugh at the results. The popular example givin in most magazines is the long standing nose picking that has shown up in pretty much all the games now I think. In this one you move the wi mote up and towords the screen and guide the fingers into the whole. Usually you get 10 or less seconds to figure out what to do, and some really vauge text like "jump!".

Pretty much the same story as the others. Wario Ware Smooth moves is a short but sweet experince that grows repetitive about the time you finish your first lap. Spending a few more our cleaning up the rest of the mini games, and trying to unlock everything isn't quite as fun as the initial thrill of seeing all the jokes, and figuring out all the games for the first time.

I am kind of dissapointed that they didn't included any toys like in Touched. The little unlockable toys in touched end up being the sole reason that version is my fav.

I figure it is inevitable that I will be burned out on all these minigame-games that are comning out pretty quickly. I already decided not to bother with raving rabbits.

This weeks Virtual Console update..

2007-06-11T07:21:00.000-06:00

Blah on Genesis games!!
I want more SNES !! .. in fact I demand it..

Anyways, here's what we got.

Lode Runner® (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Pass

Sonic the Hedgehog™ 2 (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): I will probably get it someday, but I recently played all the Sonic games on the Gamecube.. so I have no interest in playing them right now. They would have been nice with achievements for the XBLA though.

Golden Axe™ II (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): Probably going to pass on this as well.
Where's my Soul Blazer !!

The Nintendo Press Room..

2007-06-11T05:04:00.000-06:00

I am waiting with points in hand to find out what todays new Virtual Console game is.. My favorite places to check in on when waiting for new releases.. well Kotaku, and the Nintendo Press Room.

Basically Kotaku posts with a regurgitated rant about what they say on the "wii-kly update". Not quite the wii version of Major Nelson.com, it's still a good place for the new VC info.

Meanwhile.. I added it to the small list of community sites for the wii

I do need more good places to check for stuff.. well eventually.

Quick and Dirty...

2007-06-11T03:32:00.000-06:00

Via Xbox.com
From forum user:

Vampires on ice..

2007-06-10T10:41:00.000-06:00

New movie Trailer.. from the director of Hard Candy.

30 Days of Night.

Looks decent.

Super Smash Controller Options..

2007-06-08T03:51:00.000-06:00

Via Kotaku..

Somehow the idea of hearing "I suppose I would recommend the Nintendo GameCube controller, though." doesn't help the "two Gamecubes taped together" stigma the wii is developing.

Apparently Smash Brothers on the wii has 4 distinct controller set ups to choose from, two of them are waggle free classic/cube controller set ups, and more suprising is the sideways wiimote set up, (paper mario style). You can also toss in the nunchuk.

I am sure I will be trying them all, but I don't really like using the gamecube controller on my wii.

200/200 On Champ Edition...

2007-06-07T02:53:00.000-06:00

Yup, done already. Pac-man Championship edition is really fun, but getting all the achievements is pretty easily done. It took me maybe 4 or less tries per mode, with some of the modes getting beat in one try to get all the achievements.

All the extra achievements like the key, crown and point milestones got achomplished simply by trying to beat the different modes.

I really enjoy this update, but it seems like it is missing something to keep it worth playing. It simply falls short of being one of the best XBLA games, but I am glad it came out.

Ninja Bee in development with casual pick up and play Tactical RPG

2007-06-06T23:38:00.000-06:00

Ninja Bee, the makers of Cloning Clyde and Outpost Kaloki are working on something interesting.
"a turn-based strategy combat game, but with a focus on a party of individual unique units, similar to games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Vandal Hearts, and Fire Emblem. The main campaign follows the adventures of a young insect hero named Maal as he saves the bug kingdom from corruption and ultimate destruction."

"Band of Bugs has a light approach, a simple combat system, simplified character progression... It's a lot more focused on quick sessions and multiplayer play. And the map editor should allow for a ton of replay value after the main campaign is finished... "

Sounds great. Probably only 800 points ($10) as well.

This weeks Puck Man action is...

2007-06-06T06:07:00.000-06:00

PAC-MAN: Championship Edition

I like it! The complainers seem to have shut off at the announcement, before even looking at the game. It seems like the stubborn "we are victims" attitude shut this game down for alot of people before they even gave it a try.

Watching the vids, I am likely to be picking this up. I knew when I picked up the original PAC-MAN that MS. PAC-MAN would come out shortly. It was enevitable, yet I still choose to get my PAC-FIx shortly. I would have gotten MS. as well, but the achievements were the same, and that bummed me out.

Meanwhile the total price for the trio of games is only $20. I don't think thats terribly bad for 2 classics, and this update with 600 achievement points.

Better than Tetris Evolved.

Wow... again!

2007-06-04T03:25:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how fun Kirby's Adventure is. Although this isn't the first Kriby game to suprise me. Released in 1993 for the almost dead NES system, it was easily missed by most gamers. I was already moved on to the "next gen " by the time this came out, but I doubt I would have tried the game anyways back then.

100% Nintendo goodness in level design, Kirby mixed easy to pick up and play gameplay with that gotta figure out all the secrets type of gameplay Nintendo is known for. If I have any complaint at all, it is that the graphics have this very odd hard to explain, look to them that I still haven't gotten used to. Reminds me of the original Gameboy games that had color added to them later. Everything has a pattern on it.

Mark this down as the first "missed gem" I have found thanks to the Virtual Console. I doubt I would have tried the game if it wasn't for the glowing IGN review. So big ole thanks to them too. Only 5 bucks!

Zelda 2 this week, VC hits 100th game milestone.

2007-06-03T03:08:00.000-06:00

I am not sure how much I have spent at this point. Somewhere between 6 or 7 of the 2000 point cards. Meanwhile, I will be passing on the big 100th new game. I hate this version of Zelda already. I tried it again recently for the GBA, and I still just don't like it. I have always been a lesser Zelda fan anyways. I respect the series, and have enjoyed many moments of Zelda bliss, but not at the same level as say my Metroid, Mario, or even Pokemon games. My favorite is still ALTTP.

I hope something else is coming this week, and likely something will. Actraiser has me dying to play Soul Blazer. Streets of rage 2 sucked me into buying 1, and I want to buy #3, and F-Zero has me drooling for some Mario Kart action (snes). Oh, and Punchout... well Super Punchout. There is many months of wonderful VC games still to come, and every game I get makes me wanna play something thats not yet out.

Actraiser Godliness and this weeks arcade action

2007-05-29T20:44:00.000-06:00

Actraiser is one of my all time favorites, and one of the first Super NES games I ever played. In fact I played it on a Super Famicom before they came out here.

Actraiser sort of rang in a new generation for me for the first time. The games on display for my pleasure to show off the Super new console were Sim City, Actraiser, and Gradius III. All three have become favorites, anbd all three available now for ther wii. Sim City remains the only one of the trio I haven't picked up.

It hasn't aged at all. I still adore it. The music alone brings back memories, and I stayed up and beat the firt town of the game last night. Games like this is why the VC is such a big deal for gamers like me.

Meanwhile this week marks the return of the single game release on XBLA. I haven't even downloaded a trial since the release of EETs, and Pinball. I might have to try this game out. Mad Tracks brings back memories of Micro Machines, I rather have Micro Machines though. My interest level for these games seems to have dropped off, although I hope Ikaruga comes out soon. Right now I am really busy embracing all this Nintendo goodness in the form of Pokemon Addictions, Zelda, Mario and the classic VC games. Oh and Gunstar Heroes is still amazing as well.

Oh, apparently the Pokemon addiction is spreading. The Penny arcade chaps seem to be infected. Another fantastic Pokemon comic.

VG Cats PKMN style.

2007-05-24T16:41:00.000-06:00

So very Hillarious.
It's obvious this was written by a fan. It is perfectly on the mark.

Check the link for the full comic.
I finished migrating all my pkmn from Ruby finally. Took weeks with the 6 at a time limit. I also have all the started from the R/S LG/FR games.

Meanwhile my PKMN addiction has been taken over by my new wii. Already spent about 8000 points on VC games, and Zelda is really great. It might just be my favorite 3D Zelda.

thy curious wii

2007-05-20T23:42:00.001-06:00

Well I picked up my first set of Virtual Console games today. Punch Out!! was a must have, followed by Super Mario World, and the original Zelda. SMW is easily one of my all time favs as well. Sadly it is basically unplayable with the retarded giant A button on the Cube remote, and I haven't yet picked up my classic controller.

So far I am enjoying ZELDA:TP a whole lot. The wii-mote does add something to the experince. After a few short moments of wii sports I started to worry that this whole motion thing was going to fail me dramatically. I seriously just hated wii sports, in fact it made me worry about picking up Wario, and that rabbits game.

The wii-mote however has added new life into the projectile weapons of Zelda, and the whole mapping set up of the controller really works well. Although I find Link likes to draw out his sword if I twitch or scratch myself.

Paper Mario is also fun so-far, but is probably far too retro for its own good. It probably would have been better down the road when the interest in wii-gimmicks die off alittle. I also like the older Paper Mario RPG games a tad better.

As for the console itself.. everything seems a generation behind in user friendliness, and I find myself using the internet to go to xbox.com to access my 360 friends list for messages. I feel dirty.

Oh, and I am still playing Pokemon. More on that eventually. :P

I found my wii, and other things..

2007-05-20T01:00:00.000-06:00

Blah!!.

Along with my current crippling pokemon addiction, and the new Halo 3 beta being out.. I now have a brand spanking new wii to add to my time sucking gamer hobbies.

I picked up Zelda and Paper Mario, and hooked it up to wireless. Sent out a message to my friends via the 360's much more robust and user friendly communication software with my wii console number..

Oh, but at least I can check the weather?

I love Nintendo, but sometimes you just gotta hate them. I mean this thing was way too hard to find for MAY.

Meanwhile 28 weeks later was kinda dissapointing. It contain more deja vu moments than the movie.. Deja vu.
I also picked up Pan's Labrynth on DVD. I think my expectations were too high, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Still good, but not mind blowing good.

In typical fashion.....

2007-05-09T18:03:00.000-06:00

Well.. The dashboard update has it's problems, but nothing that causes any new problems..

Microsoft forgot to mention, or decided not to mention that the age restrictions would dramatically effect the new IM feature. Basically there has been this long running retarded issue with age restricted accounts that causes issues for anybody who started with an under 18 account, and later grows up. I hear that happends often?

Problem number 1 is.. your account doesn't turn into an adult account when you become an adult...

Problem number 2 is.. there is no way to enable kids to use the IM feature, and the age restriction is pretty high. (18?!)

The first issue should have been delt with a long long time ago. Meanwhile the fact that the didn't warn people of the issue ahead of time is why they get such drastic backlash.

Basically kids woke up without a new feature, but they were told about the new feature and hyped up for it ahead of time.

Another stupid move Ms.

EDIT: Update .. apparently the fix is in the works for the fall update....

Expect the swamp to be flooded with crying till then.

Update: Still addicted to Pokemon...

2007-05-05T23:58:00.000-06:00

Yup...

I am working, and playing PKMN: Diamond.

I am also saving up cash for a wii, and hopefully I will be able to find one soon after I am done.

I didn't really see much going on, since last time..

Oh and Hot Fuzz was awesome.. and Smoking Aces is recommended on DVD.

Later.

Thought Crimes in Fort Bend Texas

2007-05-02T13:12:00.000-06:00

Outrageous.

Chinese high school student in Fort Bend Texas is arrested and then forced to attend an alternative education center when parents discover he has created a Counterstrike level based off of Clements High School for he and his friends to play on. The student had his home searched for weapons, was detained until it was determined no charges could be filed, and is now unable to graduate with his peers

This is an unacceptable reaction.

I like Year Zero, and some other tid bits.

2007-05-01T16:55:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I was really dissapointed with "With Teeth". Basically the only NIN album with songs I hate. I pretty much only "loved" Right Where it Belongs.

So basically I went into Year Zero with lowered expectations, and I actually really like this album. There isn't a min of this album I "dislike", and there is quite a bit of it I enjoy.

All in all this album seems very detached from other NIN albums, with only a few key sounds that remind me of earlier 90's stuff Trent worked on.

Oh, and the USBM warning on the back, and the color changing disc are nice touches to an already odd collection of viral marketing sites and other material used to enhance this album as an abstract expereince. Is Trent still sober?

Via Amazon ..
From the Artist
This record began as an experiment with noise on a laptop in a bus on tour somewhere. That sound led to a daydream about the end of the world. That daydream stuck with me and over time revealed itself to be much more. I believe sometimes you have a choice in what inspiration you choose to follow and other times you really don't. This record is the latter. Once I tuned into it, everything fell into place... as if it were meant to be. With a framework established, the songs were very easy to write. Things started happening in my "real" life that blurred the lines of what was fiction and what wasn't. The record turned out to be more than a just a record in scale, as you will see over time.
Part one is year zero. Concept record. Sixteen tracks. All written and performed by me, produced / programmed by me and Atticus Ross, mixed by Alan Moulder, mastered by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner. Release date: April 17, 2007.

What's it about? Well, it takes place about fifteen years in the future. Things are not good. If you imagine a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course, you'll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point - politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from various perspectives of people in this world, "year zero" examines various viewpoints set against an impending moment of truth. How does it sound? You will hear for yourself soon enough, but given the point of this document is to provide information...

This record is much more of a "sound collage" than recent efforts from me.

A lot of it was improvised. It is very tedious describing your own music. It's not just music. It's probably too long, but it felt like the right thing to do to paint the complete picture. It will sound different after a few listens. You can think about it and it will reveal more than you were expecting. You can dance to a lot of it. You can f*** to a lot of it (maybe all of it depending on what you're into).

The Color Changing Disc. Entertains me every time I take it out of my CD player.

Beside You In Time

2007-05-01T16:44:00.000-06:00

This marks the third official "Live" Video from Nine Inch Nails, and in my opinion the second best.

Sadly the fantastic but stuck on VHS "Closure" video from the Downward Spiral Era is just so much better overall. Although they was alot more than just straight up concert footage.

The "All that could have been" DVD was great, but something about the overly processed spliced together footage drives me nuts, because it isn't "real". Trent and company took lots of footages and edited it up across many concerts and basically manufactured this giant DVD video of "what it was like"

Meanwhile.. this either isn't the case, or they just did a better job on this one.

Odd I should like this one better, since many of the "With Teeth" songs I basically hate. Making parts of the DVD not so hot.

Meanwhile, this review is pointless. The NIN fans should buy this, and should know what to expect.

3 games for XBLA this week... sorta

2007-05-01T15:41:00.000-06:00

This weeks Arcade Action .. via Gamerscoreblog

Alright.. They are delivering at least 2 seperate games, so I will let the B.S. on this slide a little.

Not to mention they did sell Mr. & Ms. PAC-MAN seperately, so I guess they could have gotten away with trying to sell Centipede & Millipede seperately

Meanwhile these games aren't full screen, and they only come with one set of achievements. So F that.. Seriously F those games. I call B.S. Boooo!!
Meanwhile I don't know jack about Catan, except it is a Board game, and could be really great.

Oh I am addicted to Pokemon Diamond. More on that eventually.

Meanwhile, worthless content deemed overpriced..

2007-04-25T21:57:00.000-06:00

New!..? Gears of War Cog Tag location videos were released today on the XBL Marketplace for the price of 100 points per level. Thx Brady Games.

Ok, so let me get this straight.

We are talking about videos with information that is easily and cheaply(see also: free) available online.

Videos nobody should even have interest in buying?

Other than free, what is the value of worthless?

Another non-issue turned into the "OMG worst thing evr" by the typical angsty gamers that have become common place on the intertubes.

Sadly this time sponsored by Kotaku.

Meanwhile I haven't bought a real stratagy guide in years because of the same reasons. They are overpriced, and worthless.

My DS is happy..

2007-04-25T17:10:00.000-06:00

I am working alot of doubles lately, and that means I have these long 1-2+ hours breaks of time where I have nothing to do.

So I picked up Pokemon: Diamond, and Final Fantasy VI yesterday.

FFVI is still the greatest game ever.. nothing to say there.

Meanwhile I haven't played a Pokemon game since shortly after Leaf Green came out. It's funny how people still think the fanbase is all kiddies. The games 1, 2 punch of collecting and building stronger pets has always made it a fantastic game for anybody that can get past the cartoony graphics.

I should still have 2 of my 3 GBA carts somwhere. Fun Times.

This weeks Pinball Action is...

2007-04-25T17:02:00.000-06:00

I picked up Pinball FX before the problems with Eets: Chowdown got worked out, so right now I only have Pinball.

Basically it is just Pinball. They seemd to go for a straight uyp Pinball sim, and graphically it looks pretty convincing at times.

The three tables offer just enough fun to make this work the 10 bucks, but the game only manages to be a decent pinball emulation to play on your Xbox 360 for Achievements. Nothing specially really.

The demo for Eets convinced me to buy it, so I will come back with a short review after I play the full version for awhile.

Tetris Evolution?

2007-04-25T16:21:00.000-06:00

Tetris Evolution is the worst Tetris I have ever played.

I honestly think this is a far inferior version than Tetris Worlds for Xbox.

There is so many little annoying things wrong with the game, that it is borderline unenjoyable. The first problem is the supposedly "evolved" features, lke having real video in the backgrounds. Sadly the vids are annoying, and repetitive, and not nearly as interesting as the "worlds" that constantly changed (errr evolved?) as you got better in the Xbox classic.

Meanwhile there is this odd problem I have with the harddrop being assigned to the up button. Meaning to soft drop you push down, and to hard drop you press up. I much rather have it attached to a button. Hard Drop on accident is a real annoyance.

Plus Tetris is better played on a D-pad, and the Xbox 360 has probably the worst D-pad ever.
Pretty much a pass. The only reason to buy into this version is for the unfriendly Achievements, or if you are just dying to play more Tetris online. I guess it is better than Bastet

OMG Teh MondayZ!

2007-04-23T23:05:00.000-06:00

Monday is just a big ole video gamer news orgy sometimes, and I just wasn't around today to deal with it. I was stuck at work for 12+ hours.

Up first is a repeat of last weeks double header attempt on XBL.
This time with a pair of much more interesting games, “Eets: Chowdown” and “Pinball FX.” Hopefully I will spend some of the points I saved last week. These look like buys, but I only have 1300 points. Source: Gamerscoreblog

I picked up Tetris Evolution today to get my Arcade action for last week.

Also in the news today was a double header of Special Edition announcements.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma is apparently getting the treatment, but there isn't much information on what exactly the "Special" is for colectors. via Kotaku.

and the Bioshock LE looks too badass to pass up. I might just reserve that version tomarrow. Via Kotaku.

Rubber Ducky / VT Shooter Connection

2007-04-22T17:52:00.000-06:00

Thats right, Rubber Duckies train your kids to be murderers.

The Smoking Gun is there.

Jacklash ... ..thats funny

2007-04-22T12:45:00.000-06:00

So the term has been coined .. The back lash against Jack Thompson this week = Jacklash.

Lots going on. via Joystiq.

Meanwhile here he is. Knowing the facts about the VT shoote, and the lack of a connection to Video Games will make this video even more disturbing.

Undertow.. not the Tool Album

2007-04-21T08:58:00.000-06:00

IGN has a "First Look" at an upcoming new XBLA title that looks promising.
An undersea 16 player Geometry Wars style controlled game that uses Battlefield style scoring. (territorial capture for points)

Sounds ambitious, and looks interesting.

Virtual Console Rodeo.

2007-04-21T08:31:00.000-06:00

Game|Life - has a round up of every single upcomning Virtual Console game.
Check it out here.

What a nightmare for my wallet.

Actually yes... I do have this Nintendo Wallet.

Late to the Party

2007-04-19T21:12:00.000-06:00

I might be a few months late to the party, but i've just started playing MGS: Portable Ops. So far it's your standard MGS.... which of course is excellent. This is going to keep me occupied while i'm waiting for Super Paper Mario.

Like Lunatic stated the arcade was somewhat of a miss this week, even though we got two games. I really like Super 3d Mini Golf, but It's not a priority buy this week.
My DLC this week was the Halo 2 maps. So far I'm fine with the $4.00 purchase, considering I didn't have to go through the irritating Microsoft Point purchasing process. Hang em' High(I mean Tombstone) is a blast online.

No video games found in shooters room

2007-04-19T07:13:00.000-06:00

A quick update on the VT politics.

Story over at Joystiq.

I say we blame his lack of Video Games for the shooting.

Hate mail is funny

2007-04-19T05:47:00.000-06:00

I will never understand why so many gamers seem so fucking miserable all the time.

I mean why keep being involved in a hobby that makes you so miserable all the time?

That said I often get attacked by these self righteous whiney pathetic bitches for not being a constant ball of hatred at the xbox.com forums.

Like this bitch, who has spent all morning talking about how he is getting rid of his Xbox 360, and followed that up with a bunch of pointless anti-ms rants.

He went so far as to send me personal hate mail filled with vauge baseless attacks.

That wasn't even the first one, here is another.

So I am not allowed to enjoy the product, and then go to the website for the product?
If I didn't like the product I would go buy something else, and go find another place to hang out. Sitting on forums bitching about something you hate all day is for trolls.

Trolling is pathetic.

Meanwhile he is just pissed because I made him look like a complete ass for posting a huge anti-Dead Rising rant and then following up later talking about how it is his favorite 360 game.

Congrats Sloppydrew for being the only one of the countless pathetic trolls to get his own Nb4L post. You little bitch.

VT.. and the politics of entertainment

2007-04-19T04:40:00.000-06:00

School shootings are sadly a very political issue for gamers.

Becuase the hobby we enjoy often gets a huge part of the blame, and we often get portrayed as blood thristy freaks being trained to kill.

Jack Thompson gets his attention whore quota filled by exploiting tragedies such as the VT massacre by twisting and even making up "facts" in order to make himself seem like a relevant figure to interview on TV.

Basically here is a list of "headlines" for you.

Dissecting Jack's Lies via Kotaku

Jack Thompson on Hardball w/ Video via Kotaku

Washington Post writer talks about removal of Counter Stike/shooter connection. via Joystiq

Rush Limbaugh Doesn't blame games, or guns.. ? via Joystiq

Dr. Phill blames Games. Via gamepoitics.com

As always you can get a heavy dose of this type of information from Gamepolitics.com

Be informed about your life and hobbies, and inform others.

I Love Punch Out!!!

2007-04-19T04:05:00.000-06:00

Apparently now available for the wii. I actually picked up Animal Crossing for the Gamecube based somewhat on the chances of getting to play this classic again. Too bad that never happened. They made it nearly impossible to obtain. I also bought the Snes version at one point, and found out I had a bad battery/cart. It would crash and delete my games often.

Basically this is going to be a day one VC purchase for me when I get my wii. Hopefully really soon. I am dying to play about 3 big games on the wii right now, and a handfull of VC games. IGN has a review of the game.

Oh well... XBLA Double MISS

2007-04-18T10:11:00.000-06:00

It was bound to happen eventually.

I have to say Gyruss is pretty much everything that is wrong with the coin-op classic side of the XBLA. The horribly outdated control set up is likely perfectly accurate to thew classic, but sucks all the fun out of the game. Instead of letting you spin around the "tube", you get stopped on the sides and have to reverse your direction to use the top half of the screen. Also the game features the typical screen size issues. Basically this was a no buy instantly.
BTW checkout the artiest of that Gyruss picture here.

Minigolf was close, but I just didn't really get into it, and the problems with this developer were enough to make me save my points.

Meanwhile I spent all morning addicted to Boom Boom Rocket. I cannot believe how much I am playing this game.

Finally.. Old Spice finished Level 3

2007-04-17T04:53:00.000-06:00

I actually thought maybe I ran out of time.

I probably would have if they didn't extend the deadline.

I actually earned far more than 1,500 points, but they don't count if I am not online, and I almost never am.

I won Contra (I own it already), and the gamerpic.. neat.

8th week of arcade action in a row

2007-04-17T04:31:00.000-06:00

Amazing.

In the last 7 weeks of arcade games, I have bought all of them, and this week we get a double feature.

The Classic "tube" shooter Gyruss for 400 points.
and
And from the makers of Assault Heroes 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures. for 800 points.
I am not quite "sold" on either yet, but I can't imagine I won't buy one or the otehr at least.

The XBLA is very much on track right now.

Advance War Fighter 2

2007-04-15T23:05:00.000-06:00

I finally picked up GRAW2.
Only reason I put off buying the game is I won't be able to play it much online, and I always thought of it as mostly an online experince.

So far I am really glad I bought it. Pretty much everything is a notch better than last time, and I really enjoy the new RB camera function, specially when I am looking through my teamates cameras.

Good Times.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Review

2007-04-14T02:36:00.000-06:00

Loved it.
I can't imagine fans of the show not loving it.

Pretty much anybody with a semi-demented sense of humor should be blown away by the spectacular opening sequence that will probably be the topic of conversation all day tomorrow at work.

Fully lived up to all my expectations as a fan, but honestly the opening was one step over borderline genius. I hear they give away free coconuts when you cross that border.

I walked out of the theater with a strong strong desire to buy the Soundtrack ASAP.
Oh and I was sober. Despite the ridiculous amount of people pushing the "stoner" cliches in so many of the reviews.

Boom Boom Rocket and Luxor 2

2007-04-13T05:06:00.000-06:00

I really don't know what happend. I remember that one day in the past I was really upset with the arcade.. really really pissy about the whole thing, and then non-stop weekly games come out that end up getting purchased no matter how interested I was in them originally.

Hell.. I was pretty outspoken about how much I (usually) hate ryhthm games. I even had to look up the proper spelling for rhythm multiple times.

Somehow BBR sucked me in. Some of it was curiousity for the music, because I actually love Beethoven alot, and didn't have to look up the proper spelling of his name. Some of it was just getting sucked into the flashing graphics, and well.. I liked it. I have to say.. I am glad I got it.

Follow that up with the "just different" enough to be slightly better than Zuma game Luxor 2, and you have a running streak of arcade games going back for well over a month now. 7 weeks actually.

Amazing.

Starving Artist

2007-04-13T03:20:00.000-06:00

So the new Downloadable content for Guitar Hero II has caused a massive bitch fest across the intertubes.

Ground Zero for that seems to be Major Nelson's Blog. Currently sitting at 923 comments, it is quickly catching up to the number one post ever on that blog. Although I think number one was likely during Xbox live/forums downtime, meaning people had nowhere else to post.

Joystiq's interview with MN about the content also got quite alot of diggs.

Really I think Penny Arcade kind of summed up the anger best.

The ability to extend Guitar Hero with downloadable songs was main reason I made the investment in the next-gen version. Investment is the right word, too: I choked down that ninety dollars with a lot of twisting and full-body spasms. It was like an anaconda swallowing a sheep. But the idea that I'd be able to snag expansions and classic tracks straight over the wire was some comfort.

See the problem is the Xbox 360 version of this game was bought because people were expecting to really enjoy the DLC content. They waited for the 360 version, and many got a new guitar for the 360 because they wanted to be able to get fresh new tracks along with some classics. So while they "won't" buy the music, the investment in time and money they already spent feels like a burn since this feature of the product is priced so unreasonable high.

So while they might not like it, and won't buy it, they still get screwed.

What is Parepin?

2007-04-11T04:40:00.000-06:00

Did you know a new Nine Inch Nails album was coming out shortly? You can hear it here.

Meanwhile, this one comes fully loaded with an odd viral marketing campaign. Us Xbox/Halo fans aren't new to viral marketing at all, although Trent doesn't want you to feel like this is clever marketing. It is part of the experince. The entrie project reminds me of the "Outside" project David Bowie never finished. Meanwhile the entire nine inch nails collection is "enhanced" by little gimmics that kind of add to the fans desire to own it all.

I eat this stuff up. I am just glad to hear Trent is "inspired".

Should I like this more?

2007-04-10T22:13:00.000-06:00

Known everwhere else as "S.P.L.", Killzone is a competent Action flick, with a decent story. There is not much to hate here, but I didn't feel like it was the "must see" cult classic hit that it seems to get lots of hype for. Other than the movie being pretty clean cut and filled with icons of the genre, I just can't figure out why this movie is such a big hit. I think in some ways the clean cut, almost hollywood nature of the flick is probably what turned me off. The movie almost seems like it has no soul, no grit under it's teeth. Basically it is too "clean". Like a rock album pro-tooled up to sound perfect, this movie didn't leave any lasting impact on me. The story would have fit well in an episode of the Shield, and the action bits weren't terribly entertaining.

I enjoyed it, but it left zero lasting fondness. I wouldn't show it to friends.

Too much of a good thing?

2007-04-10T19:38:00.000-06:00

Grindhouse was fantastic. 3 hours and 12 mins of movie for only $4 can't be beat.

I love both of the directors invovled, and talking with some locals here in OKC I have found alot of people around here don't. More likely than not it seems people either hate QT movies, or love them. RR's movies aren't as clear cut. Alot of people here loved Desperado, and Dusk till Dawk.

Meanwhile I heard the same two reasons for not going to see this movie over and over. The Gun leg creeped alot of people out, and alot of people don't want to be in a theater for 3+ hours.

Oddly enough the gun leg is only a really short part of the movie.
Apparently the movie's Easter weekend opening didn't do very well.

DVD Sales should be good though. Hell if they split the movies up and add footage, I would probably go see Death Proof again.

Armored Core 4 Demo ..

2007-04-03T12:27:00.000-06:00

The Good: The Intro movie is FANTASTIC. In fact.. it is a must see for any fellow mech whores out there. Simply awesome.

The Bad: Pretty much everything else is mediocre. I might have even purchased this game if I didn't play the demo.

The Fugly: The levels... are just bad. I can't explain it, but everything seems to look like last gen gemoetry with next gen filters, or something to that effect.

Basically a Must see! intro movie on the demo, a big ole pass on the retail game.
You could just watch it on Youtube here.

The Human Cost.. lmfao

2007-04-03T11:14:00.000-06:00

Immigration: The Human Cost

Um.. Sublime

2007-04-03T10:37:00.000-06:00

I was bored so I downloaded Sublime from the Xbox 360 video marketplace.
I could pretty much sum this movie review up with "don't bother".

Then again, thats pretty much how all my movie reviews would go. They are either worth your time if your into a certain style of movie... or not.

In this case you should probably just do yourself a favor and go watch Jacob's Ladder or Vanilla Sky (again?).

The movie basically has very little to say of importance, and is one long somewhat unoriginal but seemingly "clever" idea that takes way too long to express. The first 100 mins of the movie is basically a stupid look into a stereotypical white middle aged male's fantasy/nightmare. The ending few mins are a tad more interesting, but the payoff really isn't worth the long wait.

Also, don't let the sexy DVD box art fool you. Just say no.

Try Not to Smile

2007-04-03T09:28:00.000-06:00

PG rated 300 trailer.

Funny video if you have seen this trailer 301 times like I have.
BTW, the song is "Just Like You Imagined" by Nine Inch Nails. I am sure somebody didn't know.

This Weeks Egyptian Action is....

2007-04-03T02:27:00.000-06:00

This weeks arcade game is Luxor 2 for 800 points.
I don't think I have much interest in yet another likely mediocre puzzle game, specially one very similar to a game I already own, Zuma. I don't like the price much either. Maybe it will suprise me like Jetpac.

The achievements are here, for the impatient whores. (you know who you are)
BTW, the picture is the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas getting tagged by lightning.

April Movie Madness!!

2007-04-02T08:42:00.000-06:00

It is seriously nerd heaven this month at the movies.

This weekend is the big Tarantino/Rodriguez exploitation double feature Grindhouse

The following weekend is the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. The movie from the terrorist that caused the Boston Light Bright Terror Scare Event!. Never forget 1/31/07!

Then the following weekend "from the makers of Shawn of the Dead" Hot Fuzz The trailer already has me laughing.

One Month Left for Original Diamond Card Owners.

2007-04-02T07:22:00.000-06:00

Last month to try to do something with your complete worthless Diamond cards.

Xbox Live Diamond.com

I got mine in the original shipment, complete with "trhu" typo, and my old Schitzocore tag.

Lost Planet ... Finally

2007-04-01T10:49:00.000-06:00

I put off buying this game untill now because I was lacking funds. Now I am basically only lacking free time.

So far I am enjoying it, although my wishes for another Gears calibur killer app were a tad off target. There is a tangible level of lacking detail work that leaves parts of the game feeling not as polished as it could be. Including (so far) a really cheesy cliché story and pretty bad dialog.

Graphics are amazing though, and the gameplay keeps me entertained. Plus I am a huge mech whore.

This weeks Jet Pack Action...

2007-03-29T20:51:00.000-06:00

Jetpac Refuelled hit Xbox Live Arcade this week for 400 points

I have to say my expectations and excitement for this game was pretty much nill.

I was pleasantly suprised to find it a worthy addition to my collection. The game kinda works in the same way Geometry Wars did. Simple fun classic gameplay with decent graphics. It has pretty much zero "nostalgia" factor for most people, but the price is right, and the game has plenty to do before you toss it aside for your next game.

You will probably need a custom soundtrack though. The game music doesn't seem to ever change. I am working on a mix with 80's classics, and some Electoclash.

My Catchy Commerical Tunes Obesssion

2007-03-28T16:48:00.000-06:00

Ever find yourself humming a tune from a commerical? Recently I have been doing this a lot. Hell most of us gamers got hooked on "Mad World" from the Gears of War commerical.

Here's a few more catchy songs that have been getting stuck in my head lately.

Ice Cream : New Young Pony Club Intel Commerical "I can give you what you want.. "

Remind Me : Röyksopp Gieco Commerical

Who's Gonna Sing? Prototypes ipod Shuffle Commerical

The Swamp is Flodded with Elite Whiners... and so

2007-03-28T02:21:00.000-06:00

I bring you some quick reviews of other random non Xbox topic stuff.

Movies:
Children of Men : New on DVD. Must watch movie.. Amazing work of art. A real movie watchers movie. Fantastic

The Return : DVD Kinda sucked..

Undisputed II : DVD Very Cool action flick, with a "heart" I guess. Must watch for action(fighting) movie fans.

Casino Royale : Newish on DVD. I "blah" Bond movies with a passion. The are much too dry and typical male driven fantasy B.S. for me to enjoy. This Movie is Bond becoming Bond, and being very ruff around the edges. I loved it.

The Black Dahlia: DVD Most people will hate this movie. I will leave it at that, because I am odd like that.

The Illusionist DVD : I really wanted to see this movie for awhile. Kinda dissapointed. Good movie, just not fantastic. The story was a little too Romeo and Juliet, with Romeo as a Magician.

Music Reviews

Arcade Fire : Neon Bible Love this album. I honestly think it is better than the first. I can't pin point a favorite song. Thats a good thing. Soilid Full burner I keep playing over and over.

The Mars Volta : Amputechture Fantastic Album. Can be a tad absurdly psychadelic and wandering at times, and they pretty much once again tossed out any pop sensibilities making the tracks seem more like drawn out epic jam sessions. Only a real problem if you long for a sequal to Comatorium.

The Fratellis : Costello Music On the Verge of being a one hit wonder. Pretty much known for the song used in the ipod commerical. The rest of the album is decent, but everything sounds overly cleaned up. Like the entire album was built on pro tools. Very likely that it was. Sadly I like my music dirty and rough sounding.

Very Sick, and busy ..

2007-03-25T00:36:00.000-06:00

I have been sick sick sick, and still had to work alot this week.
I did manage to finish Castlevania SOTN though. Best arcade game yet, easily.

I am probably going back to bed now...

It's True, now STFU.

2007-03-20T22:03:00.002-06:00

Limited Edition Black 120 GB Xbox 360 with HDMI. Source

True, end.

Grindhouse - April 6th

2007-03-20T00:32:00.000-06:00

I was pretty much ready to see this movie when I found out it was a Quentin Tarantino project.

Add in Robert Rodriguez, and you have an event to be placed on calendars.

My review of 300

2007-03-20T00:16:00.000-06:00

I finally got up and went to the movies here in OKC.
Basically 300 was the kick off to my movie watching season.

Meanwhile my 300 review can be summed up in two words.

Bad Ass.

Pretty much a must see movie. A perfect mixture of stylized macho barbaric violent adrenaline. Not too much to ponder on mentally, but I honestly didn't care. Kinda like a really great powerful rock song, you just "feel" this movie and enjoy it.

Devil May Cry goes 360

2007-03-19T23:53:00.000-06:00

LMFAO.

Actually I was never a DMC fan, but it's hard not to find this news funny. Specially after the countless debates on the official forums about this game, and how it "would never come to the 360".

I would be all over this game if it was made by Team Ninja.

Oh My God.... And some podcast notes.

2007-03-19T00:46:00.000-06:00

Kotaku posted this AWESOME fan art mash up of God of War w/ Moogle.

My jaw pretty much dropped when I saw it.

Also, weekends have gotten to be a big issue with my new job/jobs, so expect the podcast sometime Monday... errr later today. I am training while working on getting possibly a second job, or different job. Right now my schedual is pretty stressfull, and not set in stone. So I don't know if the Podcast is going to fall back into routine on Saturday yet or not.

The Media Whore Epic Continues

2007-03-18T00:20:00.000-06:00

Well it is Jack Thompson Vs. Rockstar Week over at Gamepolitics.com

In the wake of a recent legal threat by Miami attorney Jack Thompson (left), game publisher Take Two Interactive has launched a pre-emptive strike.

With Thompson threatening to file suit to block the release of Grand Theft Auto 4 and Manhunt 2, Take Two has petitioned the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida for relief.

The software publisher seeks to block Thompson from trying to have the games declared a public nuisance under Florida law. Thompson filed a similar action against Take Two’s Bully last October, but a Florida judge rejected Thompson’s contention, allowing Bully to be sold by retailers. more...

Well JT has responded with:

have been praying, literally, that Take-Two and its lawyers would do something so stupid… that such a misstep would enable me to destroy Take-Two… more...

There is a whole lot more over at Gamepolictics.com

This Weeks Blood Sucking Action is...

2007-03-16T11:28:00.000-06:00

This weeks Xbox Live Arcade game will be Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

800 points for this classic game.

Enhanced or Classic Graphics & Audio, Native Widescreen Support, 200 Achievement Points, and all that other good stuff.

Looks like my predictions of Early June were wrong. Oh well.

Lunatic Core Note + Edits:
New Game Indeed.
Woo F N Hoo!!! I have been working, so I didn't get the news until right now.
I am so happy.
Number 16 on IGN's Top 100 games.

Flintstones Powered Roller Coaster in Japan

2007-03-15T10:40:00.000-06:00

"…future of the green amusement park: The Skycycle at Washuzan Highland Park in Okayama, a pedal-powered roller coaster. They clearly have some dramatic topography to take advantage of here, and it looks truly frightening"

More pictures and the full story.

More than meets the eye?

2007-03-13T21:17:00.000-06:00

Small bit of interesting info for the Transformers fans.

"turns out that when the MPAA took a look at the first cut for the movie, they slapped it with a rating of "R" for intense action and violence. "

Get the rest of the story here.

Worst Rated Video Game Movie of All Time.

2007-03-12T21:32:00.000-06:00

Rotten Tommatoes has a list up of the worst rated movies of all time.
Alone in the Dark comes up as #2 on that list, making it the worst rated game based on a movie. Hint: The number 1 movie has a game based on it.

Some other notable movies on the list:
Alone in the Dark @ 26
Bloodryane @ 33
and the New Jim Carrey Movie "The Number 23" shows up.
Absent from the list was the "Super Mario Brothers Movie".
Check out the full list here.

This Weeks Turtle Action is.....

2007-03-12T19:02:00.000-06:00

I'm Donatello.
This weeks arcade game is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

400 Microsoft Points.
Some blah blah blah official media B.S.
Enhanced for Xbox LIVE Arcade – includes voice support, cooperative multiplayer mode over Xbox LIVE and leaderboards
Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points
Oh yea.. and I'm Donatello.
For the Achievement whores here is the list

I'm Donatello or I'm going home.

I have been rewarded!

2007-03-11T20:13:00.001-06:00

Yes, thats right folks. I have completed my 1500 Gamerscore challenge and and have been rewarded. If you weren't on the Xbox Live scene about a month ago, you can find out all about it here.

Xbox Rewards

Well, the only problem was, I was too late to get the good prizes. All I get is Contra and a nifty Gamerpic for free. Atleast I get this gnarly badge to show everyone!

In Before Lock: Eleven

2007-03-11T04:06:00.000-06:00

This weeks show.

nb4l11.mp3 (right click - save target as)

This weeks show:
Pshome, Little Big Planet, Super Paper Mario, Worms, and more..

Also Bonus Video !!

Delay?

2007-03-10T22:37:00.000-06:00

It's almost Sunday and the podcast is not out. Chances are it will be put out tommorow. I'll try to get in touch with lunatic about it.

Quick Note:

Gears Sequel Reconfirmed, other cool facts

This is really neat, not the fact that Gears is having a sequel but how Cliff B. explains the process in which Gears evolved into what it is now, and his inspirations on it's design.

Super Paper Mario Looks AMAZING!

2007-03-10T16:27:00.000-06:00

I am not suprised. I was already a huge fan of Paper Mario, and Intellgent Systems the developer of the game is easily one of the top developers ever.

I love how they took the Paper Mario "style", and went classic 2D side scroller with it. I am blown away with the game footage so far. I must get a wii for this game. I believe it comes out in April.

Must have wii killer app for mii, for sure.

Castle Crashers in 08?

2007-03-09T14:20:00.000-06:00

Wow, here everybody was expecting it to be out within months, and BAM!..

Mr. Paladin noted that the XBLA title still had "about a year of development left," thus placing the completed Castle Crashers in 2008 at the earliest. Source: Joystiq

This Xbot Am Cry.
The game looks ready to go. I am really suprised. I am also somewhat curious to know if it is staying exclusive. Another year would give them time to have it ready for release on the other two systems as well. I might be paranoid, but it does seem like it would be good for The Behemoth to release this game multiplatform.

Little Big Killer Video - Check out the Level Editing in Action

2007-03-08T19:35:00.000-06:00

This is probably the coolest thing Sony and showed off since the PS3 was announced.

Geometry on a PC? That's Crazy!

2007-03-08T13:20:00.000-06:00

Geometry Wars in available for Vista... Here With Trial, or for $7.95. Isn't that expensive?

I also think this game begs for mods since a sequal hasn't even been announced yet. I am also kinda bummed they didn't allow owners of the Xbox 360 version to DL the full game for free. I "understand" they want to make money, but offering people the ability to "buy once", and play everywhere would have been a step in the right diretcion for XBLA games on Vista.

Bizarre Blabbery Here as well.

Achievement Unlocked.. Killed with Noob combo.

2007-03-08T12:06:00.000-06:00

You think you don't want to know, but you actually do. New information on Halo 2 Vista's Achievements, and some general Vista Live stuff.

Achievement Development Process
Designing anything for an existing and best-selling game can be arduous and risky, as options are weighed heavily against already-popular and well-trod game aspects. We started by brainstorming every possible achievement that trickled out of our caffeine-addled minds, and then whittled our list to a beefy 40+ achievements. It was a process we performed in lockstep with Bungie Studios and their designers and producers, through the course of many design meetings and reviews. What we ended up with was a set of achievements that beginners and skilled “Halo 2” players alike will immediately tackle with different results, but we were sure to include several that any veteran will only get to after some serious work. Lots More

photo source

Quick Note - Worms online issues

2007-03-07T21:35:00.000-06:00

Sadly it seems Worms has some major and minor online issues.

Thread on xbox.com

1. When the Host disconnects it drops everybody. This happends too often.

2. Often when you try to host a game your console will freeze. This happends after the room fills, and you're trying to start the game.

3. When players drop sometimes there is an annoying delay where you have to wait for the timer to count down an entire move.

4. When players leave lots of extra useless white flag waving worms are all over the place... kind of annying when this happends at the start of a game. I ended up i a one on one battle with 8 extra worms..

5. Too many noobz using generic teams. If you are one of these noobz.. Name UR WORMZ!

I am still having fun with the offline. I still think it is worth the 800 points, but obviously this is not acceptable for many people, and just another issue with XBLA.

We have a very high bar that each title must pass over in order to be released on Xbox Live Arcade and unfortunately, no titles were ready in time. - Major Nelson

Little Big Planet

2007-03-07T17:00:00.000-06:00

In LittleBigPlanet players are encouraged to customize and build their own games and environments. This is possible thanks to an intuitive tool set that allows players to manipulate objects and photos, which can then be placed in the game world. Source

Obviously the game "looks" fantastic, but the gameplay seems to revolve more around the creation of the game instead of the actual game. I had the same issues with Rag Doll Kung Fu. The gameplay was pretty bland, but the graphics and customization was fun. If you have played a PC game in the last decade you know this isn't really "new", it is just "modding" for console gamers.

Quick Serve Comments.

2007-03-07T09:13:00.000-06:00

A couple of comics popped up today mixing in a little too much reality with our favorite video games. Enjoy!

Penny Arcade covers Fable 2

Ok, I admit it! I am a bit of a Penny-arcade fanboy, but who isn't?

Perry Bible Fellowship "uncovers" Mario.

Meanwhile, I am offline having a blast with worms. I hope to be online for some Multiplayer shortly. The game has been obviously streamlined all around, including the huge chunk of severed content. I didn't know they comepletly removed all the "fun" voices leaving only varius languages. Also the amount of backgrounds and map "obstacles" is very limited compared to armageddon.

I think the 200/200 in achievements is doable in a single day. Beating the single player "challenge" mode is pretty much the hardest one. I have been playing for a few hours, and killing 100 worms goes by pretty quick. 20,000 damage is roughly 200 worms worth of kills.

Photo Source:

Introductions

2007-03-06T19:05:00.000-06:00

Just a quick notice. I ,Unedited, am now a poster on the NB4L blog. If you listen to the show, you'll probably know who I am.

Also, Xbox Live Subscriptions have hit 6 million.

A few neat facts are listed. My favorite being that over 300 Million Acheivments have been unlocked with a combined total of around 7.5 Billion Gamerscore. Geo Wars isn't the Arcade killer app anymore, It isn't even one of the Top 5 Downloaded.

Trippy Visual Journey of Self Destruction

2007-03-06T12:21:00.000-06:00

Sounds like a bad high school blog.

Thankfully it is the description of another psychedelic game based on music interaction from Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Q? entertainment.

Every Extend Extra Extreme (E4) Confirmed for XBLA. Via Joystiq.

Here's video of the PSP version.

My 360 turns one.

2007-03-06T09:20:00.000-06:00

I don't really know why I am celebrating the end of my warranty, but My 360 is officially 1 year old now.

I bought my Xbox 360 at "lunch" on the 6th last year. That's right "lunch". I started freaking out with the release of Oblivion comning around the corner so me and one of the other slackers at work called around until we finally tracked one down. In a sudden moment of impatience I took a really long lunch (2+ hours) to go buy it.
My first 2 games were Doa4 used, and GRAW new. Followed by tons of Arcade downloads.

Photo Source:

TMNT for XBLA finally "official"

2007-03-06T08:35:00.001-06:00

Did you know IGN did a vote for most wanted XBLA titles back in Jan 06?

I didn't, and I was suprised to see TMNT was #1.

I am from the X-men fanboy camp though.. I want X-men!

400 points, no date announced, but the movie and retail games hit the week of the 19th in March. Sometime in the next 2 weeks would be best for optimal "synergy".
The 21st looks like the perfect hot spot.

TMNT Officialized via IGN.

photo source

More excuses from the VF5 team.

2007-03-06T07:46:00.000-06:00

I never "loved" the Virtua Fighter series. Let me just get that out of the way. I have a handfull of fighting games I rather play.

I stated long ago that without online I wouldn't bother with VF5, before it was even on the way to the Xbox 360.

I have heard all the excuses, I know the Hardcore care about every last frame being perfect, I don't care. Sega is killing it's own franchise by caring too much about the HK players, or they are using the HK as an excuse to deliver an easier/cheaper product. So what if the Online isn't as perfect as the offline, does that stop the HK players from playing offline?

AM2: Our stance toward the online gameplay has not been changed from what it was before. VF5 runs at 60fps. It would be nice if there were an environment where we could communicate with no problem at all under this condition, but unfortunately, there are various barriers for the network gaming. We wish we had an Internet environment that would convince the players who develop frame-by-frame offense and defence. The Japanese advanced players play battles that can be determined within one frame! We were interested in dowloadable extra service and PlayStore, but we decided not to adopt them this time. Instead, we decided to include every possible item we can offer since we could secure sufficient space due to the introduction of Blu-ray Disc.

Sorry Sega, you fail again.

Source: Eurogamer

Lego MMO Announced

2007-03-05T17:20:00.000-06:00

What? Do you need more than that?
I mean come on, just think about the possibilities, and then if you are like me,hope it doesn't get fully muffed up.

Meanwhile they don't seem to mention a platform, and that leads me to believe this is a standard PC MMO project. :(

Wow, don't ask for help on xbox.com

2007-03-04T16:52:00.000-06:00

Note: This isn't an attack on Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox.com, or any group of people in general.

I was just so blown away by how insulting this reply was. Guy asks for help, and gets an insult tossed at him from a Mod. Hell I don't even know who this mod is, so this isn't personal either. I personally didn't figure out how to get a redhott either, because the way you get one is very abstract. It was one of the last Pinatas I got. Meanwhile this is still an "E" rated game, and it's not like this guy knows the age of the topic creator. It was just all around rude & snobby. No reason for that.

http://forums.xbox.com/10729843/ShowPost.aspx

In Before Lock - Ten - The Acid one.

2007-03-03T12:49:00.000-06:00

Here is this weeks podcast.

Number TEN! (right click and save as)

This weeks show contains Acid references, worms, aliens, crack, a brand new wii, blackballs, and more!!!

Enjoy.

Hallelujah! ... errr or not.

2007-03-02T09:55:00.000-06:00

"THE" classic 2D multiplayer strategy based party game hits XBLA this Wednesday.

That is two weeks of awesome in a row. This is a must have at 800 points. Should be the number one XBL game by the end of the week. Sadly the lack of the Baseball Bat and Holy Hand Granade means this game ships incomplete in order to meet a bogus artificial limit. So this week is not without some sour feelings.

Source: Gamerscoreblog

How to make a Good Rumor into Bad Press. Updated

2007-03-01T18:19:00.000-06:00

The masters of Bad Press have once again managed to turn the intertubes into a flaming pile of BullSh**.

Kotaku today wanted to run a rumor of leaked new features for the PS3, and are now being blackballed by Sony for not backing down to threats.

I am very disappointed that after trying to work with you as closely as possible and provide you and your team with access and information, you chose to report on this rumor.... I can't defend outlets that can't work cooperatively with us.

So, it is for this reason, that we will be canceling all further interviews for Kotaku staff at GDC and will be dis-inviting you to our media event next Tuesday. Until we can find a way to work better together, information provided to your site will only be that found in the public forum.

Dave Karraker
Sr. Director, Corporate Communications
Sony Computer Entertainment America

God Bless Kotaku.

The Media in the game industry right now is far too paid off, and it is refreshing to see a media outlet refuse to allow one of the major controllers of the industry force them to keep quiet. If this story had been released directly to the media with an embargo things would have been different, but instead they were threatened not to report on a rumor.

It is sad to see the brainwashed Sony Defense Idiots praising Sony for keeping information from them. Official PS3 forum

On the other hand it is cool to see support from another Blog (Gizmondo). I hope to see more support.

Joystiq picked it up as well. I love the last line:

By doing our job and informing readers, have we become the enemy?

Of course this information is too much about Sony for the Swamp. At least I got one last comment in before lock.

*UPDATE*
Hmmm....
http://kotaku.com/gaming/sony/sony-and-kotaku-makeup-240922.php

He told me his take on the story and his frustrations and I told him mine, in the end we agreed to disagree on some level, but also decided that our readers and gamers in general would be best served if Sony and Kotaku could still play nicely together.

New/Odd game trailers ..

2007-03-01T08:10:00.000-06:00

Today's "current" most viewed Game & Gadget video on Youtube is trailer for SSX Blur, and is really annoying. Funny at first, but shorty into the vid I wished death on EA once again.

You can then follow that up with this cracked out Battlefield : Bad Company trailer that seems to be ripping off a joke from Rooster Teeth's "Panics" fear spoof. I got a chuckle from the "embedded" line at the end though.

Tetris Priced, still not on XBLA.

2007-03-01T04:43:00.000-06:00

So Tetris Evolved is going to be $29.99 and it comes out in march. Source: IGN
Will the title be worth the $30? If not, at least it will eventually drop in price and it comes with 1000 achievement points. Unlike an arcade version that would probably have far less content, never drop in price, and only come with 200 points.

I say win/win. It is about the same price as a fully upgraded copy of Lumines Live, with more achievements. I think they could have sold a cheaper smaller Tetris on XBLA though and ended up with a larger profit return.

Picture Source

Happy?

2007-03-01T01:53:00.000-06:00

Yup, it is that day again. Normally I don't really get into my Birthday much, since I hate how you kinda have to "advertise" that your B-day is on the way, and I also hate making a big deal out of things like this. So what happens is my stubborness to let people know means nobody knows except my close family, if they are paying attention. I guess the problem is, I feel like it doesn't matter if people don't bother to remember on their own, and of course that is sort of a high expectation for most humans.

However this year I guess I am feeling a tad festive, and I wanted to share. Yes that picture is me. I don't know my age in that picture, but I had to be really young. I guess it would have been ironic if I was in to motorsports or something these days. No luck on getting a picture of me with my old video games.

Worms is certified for XBLA - Time to Rejoice!

2007-02-27T10:17:00.000-06:00

"We're not sure of the date just yet - it's only been certified for about six hours! - but I imagine it'll be a few weeks given the line up,"

"A few weeks given the line up", I hope that line up includes Castlevania. March could end up the best month ever for Arcade games.
This is great news all around. Sounds like Worms is on the way shortly, and it also sounds like we should be getting something next week regardless.

Also Alien Hominid is looking to be a must have for me this week.

Source: Eurogamer

Penny-Arcade Enjoys flOw / Burns in Hell.

2007-02-27T08:11:00.000-06:00

I love Penny Arcade.

Les Mots Dangereux

They talk about REZ, and how people like myself have a similar attraction to games like these. It is like a mixture of game play and direct audio manipulation. You aren't just playing a game, you are creating and manipulating the soundtrack. REZ works more like a momentum building remix of a techno track. What you do, and how you perform builds the tempo of the track. flOw is much more like an ambient direct response. Kinda like Electroplankton with a purpose. I wish I would have held on to Elekroplankton. I regret selling it.

Here is the first Level of REZ. I rented this game way back before I got bored with my Ps2. I would die if this came to to XBLA.