Grand Theft Auto Online

The upgrade fans of the GTA series have been waiting for is for the series to finally go online. 360 owners may get a sense of what that is like as Saint's Row hits stores this week. It has a similar gang theme, but also offers online multi-player. Of course, online or not, these cookie-cutter urban-themed titles usually only appeal to a certain type of person:







What's much more interesting to me is that 3 big rpgs are out this week. Enchanted Arms is the first rpg for 360 owners since Oblivion. As it is a first gen-360 rpg, honestly haven't been keeping up on it too much, but it really sounds like it's just all over the map. In fact, it sounds like a slightly more mature version of Pokemon, which I just have no interest in whatsoever.

Also out is the third and thankfully final chapter in the Xenosaga series. I really tried to get into the supposedly improved second episode, but much like the last few Star Wars films, it was even more disappointing than the first one. I really can't imagine what kind of desperate fanboy would pick it up at this point.

But one rpg that I am extremely interested in that's out this week is Disgaea 2, from the wacky minds at NIS. I probably haven't played a good strategy-rpg since the first Disgaea, the new one is sure to take up tons of my free time with it's deep gameplay and really out there humor.

Finally, a big release for DS owners comes out this week with Star Fox Command. I have sort of mixed feelings about this one, as the original Star Fox game is a certified classic, but the series has had a huge downhill slide ever since. I am meeting with a bunch of other DS players this week, at least one of which should have the game, so I'll give you my impressions afterwords.

SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Lessons for next year....

I had a ton of fun a PAX this year (There is truly nothing like watching The Wizard with at least 1000 other video game geeks). I came away with more free trials from NC Soft than I know what to do with. (City of Heroes, City of Villains, Lineage II, Auto Assault) The Meydenbauer Center was ridiculously packed, so hopefully it will be somewhere bigger next year (hint: Like The Washington State Convention center, which I happen to be only a few blocks from...). But after spending nearly 20 hours in 2 days at the convention (many of which was waiting in long lines) and then working a full shift at my job today, I am ridiculously tired. I'll definitely need to plan ahead a bit more next year. I do have to say that the exhibition hall was pretty disappointing. The only games worth checking out were Splinter Cell: Double Agent & Star Fox Command. Even though Nintendo was a major sponsor of the event, the Wii was nowhere to be seen, just a whole lot of fun, but underwhelming DS titles.

And speaking of Nintendo massively dropping the ball, HOW COULD YOU HAE NO ONLINE SUPPORT FOR 3RD PARTIES UNTIL'07?!? My launch budget literally dropped by about half for this. I'm not buying Madden, without the ability to play online. I'm not buying Red Steel without an online option, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance will be bought on another system that I can go online with. Simple fact: Madden playable in a whole new way against your friends online would sell a lot of systems, now all it has is a wacky control scheme. There is just really no excuse for this. I know Nintendo is obviously not putting the emphasis on online that MS & Sony are, but this is a big fucking plus in the competition's favor when they will be able to offer online play for just about every 3rd-party multi-player game that comes out in the next 6 months or possibly even more and the Wii can't match that. Mark my words, this will really bite Nintendo in the ass if they don't get it going within a few months of launch.

Thank you Conan O'Brien for actually making the Emmys tolerable. I did watch tonight, but aside from Jeremy Piven getting a well-deserved win for Entourage, it was crap. Seriously, at least half the shows nominated were cancelled cause they sucked or had ended in May after being run into the ground years ago.

All right, that's really all for today, but I fully plan to be back tomorrow, as there are several games coming out this week I want to touch on. In the meantime, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: SUPER SMASH FLASH

A PAX ON YOUR HOUSES!!!

Let me sum up this week's releases in one simple word: Craptacular. Between Invincible, another formulaic sports story and Beerfest, the latest tragic attempt at "comedy" from the Broken Lizard crew. Thankfully, there's plenty to keep a Washington gamer like myself busy this weekend. Namely the Penny Arcade Expo, which is essentially a huge gamer convention thrown every year by the guys at Penny Arcade. It's 3 full days of gamer madness, and it'll be my first one, so I'm very excited about it. And I'll be sure to report back on my experiences, but essentially any gamer who can attend should.

Weird Al finally has a new album coming out, and the first single, "Don't Download this Song" is available for free at IGN. Everything he does is pure genius, Straight Outta Lynwood should be no different.

That's pretty much all i have for today, but I'll leave you with a telling email that was leaked today:

Wait a Wii bit longer.

So tommorow, the latest unecessary update of Madden hits stores. It signifies so many things that I hate about not only EA, but the game industry in general (i.e. yearly updates with minimal improvements). But this may be the first year in many that I actually consider buying the game, just a version that isn't out yet. See, Madden is being especially made the Nintendo's Wii console to take full advantage of the Wiimote. This instantly makes a much needed change to the same old formula we've been force fed from this series for years (assuming it works of course). So I'm waiting until the Wii comes out to play some damn football, I reccomend you do the same.

Although Snakes on a Plane was number 1 this weekend, the underwhelming 15 million opening puts a lot of doubt on the suppossed power of the internet. Now some are saying that they just let the hype build too long, but I think it's just a reminder that the internet has a long ways to go before it starts being a real tool of influence. Now, I did see the film yesterday, and I thought it was fun, but it's the same kind of fun you get wacthing a cheesy horror film on late night cable.

Now I want to take a second to discuss the "ad" you should be seeing above this and every other post. I only wish it was something I was being paid for. It's mainly cause I'm a huge Zach Braff fan and I thought it would be something fun to try out since I think The Last Kiss looks really good. I have no idea how to make banners myself, so this won't be done too often, but if I can find one for something I'm real excited about, I may do a similar thing in the future. I also added his site to my links since he seems to be one of the few celebs who actually bothers to update it himself.

And I'll leave you today with the SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Does Internet Hype=Box Office?

That's the big question that will be answered this weekend when SNAKES ON A PLANE finally hits theatres after months & months of anticipation based pretty much strictly on the title. I think it will be a hit, but just how much of one is anybody's guess, as people who aren't internet junkies haven't really heard of the film and have no idea what the fuss is. What really makes Snakes unique is it complete lack of shame. Whether it's a bad movie or not is completely irrelevant (in fact, most are expecting it to be bad, but in a fun way). This is a cultural event for us internet geeks, I'll be seeing it with a bunch of people on Sunday, hoping it won't suck too bad.

I caught an early screening of Gridion Gang tonight. It was entertaining, and the Rock did a good job in a rare dramatic role, but it's still a very formulaic and predictable sports movie like every other one released in the last few years. There's a reason I never go to these anymore....

Ever wondered what the best toilets in gaming are? Me neither, but Maxim has gone ahead and picked out the top 12. Read if you dare.

FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Voidwing Nexus

Scorpio Rules!

The header today refers to one of my all time favorite Simpsons episodes, featuring Hank Scorpio as Homer's newest boss. Because today, The Simpsons Season 8 is out on DVD. And while I will certainly be picking it up and recommend any fan should, this is really the season where the cracks in this once impeccable show start to appear. Sure you have classics like You Only Move Twice and Homer's Enemy, but those are rare standouts among about a season that's really about half as good as the previous 7. There are still a few good episodes in the next couple seasons, but as I've said before, the Simpsons have been on a steep slide in quality the last 8 years or so and they'll probably never get back to form before they are dragged kicking and screaming off the air. Maybe Groenig and company should really go back and study these seasons so the Simpsons movie doesn't suck...

And speaking of milking a franchise for far more than its worth, out for rabid FF fanboys this week is Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. While I'm a huge fan of Square Enix, the only thing they do well is RPGs, and DOC is a shooter, and a very bad one from most reviews (not too mention the demo I played a few months ago). I'm sure some hardcore fans will say it rocks, but I just have no interest in it.

So, is today the day we learn when the Wii will finally be released? This memo supposedly went out to Virgin Megastores yesterday. Nobody really knows how much time is on the clocks or anything yet, though, or even what kinds of units of time they measure, so it could be just another marketing ploy.

Need to get into a slithery mood for SNAKES ON A PLANE? IGN has compiled a list of the top 10 snake films. This list just makes me realize that we actually need to make a decent film about snakes (and them being on a plane ain't it....).

SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK:

A vote of no confidence

You know, with all the bad press Sony's been getting lately, now is a key time to rally the troops. Get all the fiercely pro-Sony publications and websites out there spinning anything positive. What they really, really don't need is the editor of a publication that is supposed to be specifically about Sony's console telling people to NOT BUY IT. Now granted, it's not like Official Playstation Magazine is Sony's publication, but this is a magazine that is supposed to be all about Sony, even mentioning the the competition is a taboo that is rarely broken. And here's the editor of the goddamn magazine saying she'll pick a 360 over a PS3 this year. That's a pretty damning statement. After all, you don't really get that "Official" brand without Sony's approval, and this would send any Sony exec through the fucking roof.

Even fake gamer network G4 has joined the anti-Sony bandwagon, creating this rather clever spoof of the Mac vs. PC ads that have been running recently:



That's all for today, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Stick Arena

Heartbeat! I'M LOOKING FOR A HEARTBEAT!

Though it probably has little if anything to do with the "classic" Don Johnson ballad, the horror movie Pulse is arguably the biggest movie opening this weekend. The latest Japanese horror film remade for American audiences. And just like The Grudge & The Ring, it will most likely be horrifically bad. It wasn't even screened for critics, the classic sign of a horrible film.

But also out Wednesday was Oliver Stone's take on the 9/11 tragedy, simply titled World Trade Center. I feel roughly the same way I feel about United 93. It's way too soon. People have pointed out other historic epics, but those were more than a generation after the fact. I think it's important to make films like this for future generations so they can learn about it, but there's no point when it's still pretty fresh in our minds.

For the family, there's Zoom, with Tim Allen and Cortney Cox. Allen has some solid family fare in his resume, but this just seems like a much weaker version of Sky High, and much like pulse, it was not screened for critics (though IGN has a review, they gave it a whopping 1 star).

And then there's Step Up, yet another horrible movie about dancing. Not that there has been a good one. There's been good movies with dancing mind you, just not one that's actually about dancing.

Moving on, Halo has a director. Though you have probably never heard of Neill Blomkamp, he's done some amazing short films that give me great confidence that this may be the first video game film to actually be really good:





So I'm a few days into my DDO free trial and I'm not digging it too much. Though the team aspect is interesting, you essentially have nothing to do unless you are going into an instance, and although it's keeping with D & D, the level cap is pretty low. It really is like WOW lite.

Finally, we all know that the DS has it's function as an educational device, but what about some sexual education? A Montreal-based developer has designed a game entirely focused on teaching how to reach orgasm. It's sort of subtle what with the theme technically being that you perform certain activities to please a blue cartoon bunny, so it will probably go over kids heads what the title is really about. But it's definitely interesting to see a game take such a direct approach to sexuality. I'm sure Jack Thompson will be suing over it any second now...

Zombies in the mall! Wait, what's different about that?

Out tommorrow is one the 360's most highly anticipated titles: Dead Rising. It's key feature is the seemingly endless amount of random mall items you can use to slaughter zombie hordes. Although it's gotten pretty solid early reviews, they all list negatives that would make me pass on any title-Escort missions with dumb as dirt NPCs, time limits and repetitive action. I mean, I really cannot imagine this title being entertaining for more than a few hours, tops, so maybe it would rank as a rental at best.

I did try out the Lego Star Wars II demo, and it seems very solid, but truth be told, I had very little idea what I was suppossed to do, and the controls really don't translate well on a keyboard. I'll have to wait till the game is out on consoles to get a better feel for it.

I did decide to try the free 7-day trial for Dungeons & Dragons Online, it's downloading as I'm writing this, I'll let you know my thoughts over the next few days.

That's really all I have for today, but here's your SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Rob Schneider thinks he matters

I normally stay away from the more dirty tabloid side of entertainment, but I feel the need to speak on this. We've all heard about Mel Gibson's recent controversy and how it has shocked a lot of people. How much it will really affect his career is debatable, but Rob Schneider's obvious use of the incident as an obvious publicity stunt to puff up his non-existent importance is just hilarious. Never work with Mel Gibson? Yeah, I'm sure Schneider is at the top of Mel's list for his next film. They were all set up to film Deuce Bigalow 3 before this whole debacle. And what really makes this pathetic? He paid for a full page ad in Variety to get his opinion out. You know, most of the time, when celebrity scandals happen, it's not hard to for other celebrities to voice their opinions for free on all the various interview and talk shows and magazines. Rob Schneider paying for an ad in some trade paper pretty much confirms what everybody knows: NOBODY GIVES A FLYING FUCK WHAT YOU THINK, ROB! AND NOBODY EVER WILL!

Moving on, I saw a few movies this weekend. Little Miss Sunshine, which was pretty standard fare for an indie film about a quirky family, but the performances help keep it fairly amusing. Talladega Nights, which was all right, but had a lot of moments where it dragged, and I didn't really find Sasha Cohen as a gay Frenchman all that funny (not too mention they completely wasted Andy Richter in a throwaway role his his husband). And finally, I also saw The Descent. Mainly because of the good buzz and critical praise, even if it is a horror film. Unfortuantely, it falls into the pitfalls of all horror films-Cheap scares, bad acting, thin plot and worst of all-NOT SCARY! I think I just have to admit to myself at this point that I can't enjoy really serious horror films and just stick to more campy ones like Slither.

Got a halfway decent PC? Then you owe it to yourself to download the demo for Lego Star Wars II on Monday. I'm not suggesting you join fileplanet or anything, but the demo is supposedly free for non-subscribers as well and It'll be a good way to get an early taste of what should be one of the most enjoyable games of the year.

And that's all for now, so here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Prehistoric

The Need for Speed.

I loathe NASCAR. It's an idiotic redneck sport where the only exciting thing that ever happens is the crashes. That being said, I'm very hopeful about this weekend's only release even worth mentioning: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Granted, Will Ferrel's star has dimmed a bit with several really bad movies in the last year, but the previews look incredibly funny, and what really got my hyped was this brilliant short:



If they can keep up that level of humour, it should be easily one of the better comedies out this year (not that there's really been much competition). But honestly, this is more like one of those VH1 awesomely bad specials.

What are Mario's greatest moments? 1up thinks it knows the ten best ones. But honestly. this is more like Mario's 10 most awesomely bad moments, with things like Mario Ice Capades (with Jason Bateman & Alyssa Milano no less) & Mario Opera.

All right, that's all I really have for today, but I'll certainly be back sometime on Sunday.

Nintendo, savior of the adventure genre?

We can certainly hope. It's an interesting idea. I'd love to see a resurgence of old school point & click Sierra games. Especially if it resulted in all new chapters of faves like King's Quest or Space Quest.

So, while E3 isn't going to be completely cancelled, the huge carnival atmosphere of years past is gone. Now it will be more like a real trade show, and as much as gamers are probably bitching and moaning, journalists and gaming companies are doing an enthusiastic dance of joy. E3 is a massive headache fiscally and logisitcally all around and with game development budgets skyrocketing in the last few years, this was a much needed cutback.


What are the greatest comedies ever? Premiere thinks it knows, and while some on there defintiely deserve a spot (Some Like it Hot is still one of the top ten comedies ever), and any list that leaves out Spaceballs, South Park & Dumb & Dumber is pretty much completely invalid in my book.


Got a couple of fun photoshop links for you today; first up, what if video game characters became actors? Somethingawful has the answer. All of these are fairly brilliant, and may in fact have been better than the original.

And then there's games that will never be made. At least we hope, but with game companies being strecthed to the brink on terms of creativity, I wouldn't put it past anybody to release DDR Madonna or Fast Food Manger...

All right, that's really all for today, and here's your SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK:

It's as if millions of geeks suddenly cried out in terror...

E3 IS DEAD?!?. It's not completely official, but expect an announcement that E3 will be massively scaled down if not outright canceled. Certainly a disheartening announcement for us gamers, as it's what we look forward to most each year (and really the only show worth paying attention to most years). But, as far as affecting the industry itself, I don't think it will be that big a deal. The really big companies will probably just put more money into their annual shows that already exist, and there will probably just be a few more small shows added into the calendar for the smaller companies. Hell, odds are some other new show will just take its place (though possibly not for a couple more years). Still it's hard to imagine that gamers won't be getting in a big frenzy every May any more.

So I did end up seeing Miami Vice, and I enjoyed it. The plot was hard to follow, but the fairly kickass shootouts splintered throughout the film made it worthwhile. I'd still like to see one that's much closer to what the show was like, though.


All right, that's it for today, but here your SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Pac Man is more than half violent

64% to be exact, according to recent senate hearings. Just how fucking insane are politicians? Pac-Man? The game where all you do is gobble up pellets and eat the occasional ghosts? How could PAC-MAN possibly be considered the least bit violent? I am just truly speechless at the out of touch jackasses that run this country. Is it any wonder nobody even bothers to vote anymore?

Moving on to a slightly more amusing topic, how much does G4 suck? They went from a promising channel for gamers by gamers to some low rent version of Spike or MTV, just desperately trying to grab a piece of the coveted young male demo. Now, a writer at Gamerag undertook the arduous job of actually watching 24 hours of this tripe and chronicled his painful experience. Just a guy expressing his opinion of the content on the channel (which any gamer worth their controller would share). But somebody at G4 took great offense to someone calling them out for being a horribly unwatchable network. The response was petty and filled with inaccuries, so obviously it was one of the higher-ups at the network. Gamerag's response? A very amusing "apology ". Thanks G4, I apologize for ever being stupid enough to watch you horribly shitty channel. I'll make sure never to make that mistake again.

Ok, lot's of movies opening this weekend, so I'll just do a brief rundown of each:

John Tucker Must Die: If you aren't some vapid tween female and are at this movie, you should be shot. I'm pretty sure the vapid females who actually go see this movie should be shot too. Good way of thinning out the herd.

The Ant Bully: What makes this not a complete and utter ripoff of Antz or the far superior Bug's Life? There's a human involved this time! Seriously, this is tired as hell material, even for a kids movie.

Scoop: Woody Allen, Scarlett Johannsen. I hate Woody Allen, and Scarlett Johannsen's not quite enough to drag me to another one of his painfully unfunny comedies. Seriously, the guy peaked with Annie Hall, and it's been 30 years of pure mediocrity since then.

Miami Vice: This is Miami Vice? It looks nothing like the show. Granted, that could work in our favor, but I sure as hell wouldn't mind seeing a cheesy campy overblown big screen version of the influential tv show. Otherwise, this is just Bad Boys with an Irish dude pretending to be an American dude, even if Michael Mann is the guy behind it (and one should note he was the executive producer of the original show, so we he would make the movie so drastically different is beyond me).

And finally, Little Miss Sunshine: This little indie comedy seems to easily be the best choice this week, but good luck finding it, as it's in limited release (I can't find a single theatre in the Seattle area that is carrying it). Steve Carrell as a suicidal gay uncle? Sounds like fun for the whole family!

That's it for today, so here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: KITTEN CANNON

The same thing we do every night, Pinky

Ok, sorry for the lateness but I sorta got hooked on this little anime called Bleach this week, and basically spent the last few days watching episodes. It's quite easy when every episode released for a show so far is all in one convenient website (i.e.:Bleach Portal) to get caught up in it. I'm planning on doing the same with Full Metal Alchemistt pretty soon, just need to give my eyes a break from staring at the screen for hours on end.

I did take time out for complete vegetation to go see Clerks II, and it was pretty entertaining. The performances were pretty bad aside from Rosario Dawson and the dude who plays Randal, but the all the jokes are spot on, and it's a fun film that wraps up the story of these two losers nicely. Any fan of Smith's should really enjoy this one.

Finally, Since it's technically Monday as i write this, I'd like to plug two very great DVD releases that are out tomorrow-Animaniacs & Pinky & The Brain Vol 1. These are both absolutely brilliant animated shows that manage to be fun for kids and adults, unlike most of the painful crap that is on today for kids. I'm going to leave you of today with a few examples of their brilliance:














FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Z BALL

No Laughing Matter

So, after much rumor and speculation, it appears the Heath Ledger is almost a virtual lock for the role of the Joker in the next Batman film. It's certainly an interesting choice, and Ledger is an excellent actor, but it seems an odd one when there a guys who would more easily slip into the role like Crispin Glover or Jim Carrey or even Robin Williams (and especially given what a great job Nicholson did in the 1989 film). But I trust Nolan wouldn't give Ledger the role without good reason, so hopefully he'll do the role justice.

Ok, onto this weekend's movies. Monster House is the latest animated family fare, and while the critical buzz is actually pretty good, it just seems incredibly dull to me. The animation looks flat and uninspired, and it didn't look the least bit entertaining in the trailers.

Then there's My Super Ex-girlfriend, which features an interesting twist on the romantic comedy genre, as no film has really explored exactly what it would be like if you broke up with a girlfriend who was psychotic and had super powers. Ivan Reitman, Luke Wilson & Uma Thurman sound like a winning combination, so I'm definitely intrigued by this one.

And we also have M. Night Shamalawayadingdong's latest piece of utter and total crap that will make no sense and have nonsensical plot twists-Lady in the Water. I have absolutely no interest in seeing anything this complete and utter hack does ever. I pretty much consider him in the same league as Uwe Boll at this point. He's squandered any hint of credibility with his last two films and odds are this will only lower his stock. (I seriously hope those rumors about him directing the next Potter film are completely unfounded).

Finally, the movie I'm most excited for-Kevin Smith's return to what he knows best, Clerks II. Now granted, this seems a really unnecessary sequel, but Smith is totally in his element here, and word is any fan of his work will thoroughly enjoy this trip back to the ViewAskew universe, which I certainly am.

And last but not least, the teaser for the CG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been released. I was initially against the whole CG thing, but after seeing this, I think it's looks pretty damn promising.

Why the PS3 will Succeed

I know it seems like my blog has had a motto of “Sony sucks!” lately, but the fact is Sony has had nothing but bad press ever since their rather unimpressive E3 showing. Does Sony stand a chance this holiday season with their high price and seemingly arrogant attitude? They most definitely do, and here’s why:

1. The name you know: For seven straight years, Sony has dominated the best brand poll by Harris interactive. Nintendo was once synonymous with gaming, Sony has taken that, along with being the top recognized name in electronics. That generates a familiarity and customer loyalty that’s hard to break through. Customers who had a PS2 will most likely get a PS3 because generally speaking, they had a good experience with it and are willing to bank on the PS3 being an equally good experience.

2. It’s a steal: Maybe not compared to other consoles, but let’s not forget that the PS3 is reportedly offering cutting edge technology at what is considered for the market a bargain price. As has been stated before, $500-600 for a machine that can play games, Blu-ray movies, music and go online when the new Blu-ray players by themselves are going to be around $1000? Sounds like a bargain to me.

3. Blu-ray is the future: HD-DVD may be cheaper, but Blu-ray has the support of a large majority of the major Hollywood studios. That, combined with Sony using it as their game format could easily and quickly usher in the Blu-ray era, leaving DVD/HD-DVD players and the systems that utilize them in the dust.

4. SHINY!: Both Sony & Microsoft are betting that superior graphics will be a huge part of the console war. If it’s the defining one, Sony’s already the winner. Assuming they weren’t completely blowing smoke out of their ass at E3, they will easily have the most impressive titles in terms of looks, and let’s face facts-impressive graphics sell. Can you honestly take one look at trailers like Resistance: The Fall of Man or MGS4 (or even the conspicuously MIA Killzone from last year’s E3) and tell me those don’t make you want to go out and get a system that can reportedly pull off something that impressive.

5. It’s a status symbol: There is a certain segment of the population that’s wants the latest, most expensive, cutting edge hardware, and that’s exactly what Sony is marketing the PS3 as, and if they are successful, they will convince this segment that they need to have this system in order to stay ahead. I mean, I sure as hell don’t need a top of the line high-def TV to watch my favorite shows and movies, but do I want one? Absolutely. Simply put, owning the PS3 definitely makes a statement.

6. Familiar Faces: Want to play the new Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Ratchet & Clank or the next-gen God of War? Nintendo and Microsoft aren’t an option. Though exclusivity isn’t what it used to be, many of your favorite franchises from the last generation will only be available on the PS3, and while nobody can argue the sheer quality of Nintendo’s exclusive trio of Mario, Zelda & Metroid, Sony has such a large advantage in terms of more key franchises that it may not matter.

7. Free Deathmatch: As of right now, Sony’s online service is supposedly free. Although Xbox live is hardly expensive at $50 a year, free still sounds pretty damn attractive, and although we don’t quite know the details, their system seems to roughly mimic Xbox live, which is hardly a bad strategy, and looks a lot more sophisticated than the friend code system Nintendo is planning on porting over from the DS for the Wii.

8. It slices! It dices!: According to Sony, the PS3 isn’t just a gaming machine, it’s an entertainment hub that will replace all your big media devices-your stereo, your movie player, possibly even your home computer. And if this turns out to be the case, it’s suddenly a very appealing all-in-one device.

9. Microsoft & Nintendo have burned too many fans: Let’s face some hard facts here-Nintendo’s last two home consoles can’t be considered anything other than dismal failures as market share of the once dominant company shrank considerably. All but the most diehard may have completely given up on them. As for Microsoft, they completely abandoned the Xbox to focus on their new system pretty damn early. And it’s been a bumpy road for the 360 so far with long shortages, numerous reported hardware issues, half-assed backwards compatibility and a general lack of really strong AAA titles. This has not left a good taste in gamers’ mouths. Sony on the other hand, is still supporting the PS2 very well and reportedly plans to for at least a couple more years. They’ve also pledged full backwards compatibility. It remains to be seen if they can do what Microsoft has not been able to, but if they pull it off, that’s one more huge point in Sony’s favor.

10. The system seller: Granted, we don’t really know what the PS3 launch lineup is going to look like. But it’s been repeatedly proven that you need only one really standout title in order to move systems. Assuming it makes launch, I’m more than willing to bet Resistance: The Fall of Man will move a hell of a lot of PS3’s and it may not be the only game to do so.

To wrap up, despite the missteps Sony has had in the last few months, this round of the console war is still very up for grabs. History has a trend of repeating itself. But there are two pertinent histories to really consider here. The most recent being Sony’s, who has easily won the last two rounds, and despite all points otherwise, may be poised to do so again. But possibly more important is Nintendo’s history. The easily won the 8 & 16-bit wars, but the next round hit them so hard they may never fully recover. Could Sony be in for the same fate? Either way, should be a very interesting holiday season.

I'll be back on later today with movie previews and any news that breaks.

Make Love the Brisco County Way

In case you forgot, today one of the greatest tv shows of all time is out, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., starring the legendary Bruce Campbell. The list price is a steep $100, but I've seen plenty of places selling it for a much more reasonable $60-$70. I would love to see massive DVD sales lead to a movie or something, but truth be told, Bruce is getting a little old to reprise any of the roles that made him famous (although maybe he could pull off one last Evil Dead, specifically about how he's too old to do it anymore).

And if you have a little extra cash to spare, get a double dosage of Campbell in his short-lived series Jack of All Trades, where Campbell plays a bumbling agent of Uncle Sam. Pretty much trademark Campbell camp.

So, 360 owners, what are you thinking about getting this fall season? My bet is on just about everyone's list is Gears of War and the hugely hyped Too Human. But not so fast. The two top titles might be suffering from some major setbacks, Too Human is almost guaranteed not to come out til at least 2007 now, and though Gears of War will probably make it by the end of the year, the possibility exists that it won't. which in my opinion would effectively kill the 360 this season as it gets assaulted by the PS3 & The Wii and their shiny new games while the 360 would essentially have no major exclusives too push. Hell, even if Gears of War does make it, I'd think it would need a good head start before it gets buried under the hype of the new system releases.

Is the PSP dying? Gameworld Network certainly seems to think so. It cites some good reasons such as the failure of UMD movies and the lack of original titles, but I think they are selling it a bit short. I don't like the library, but it is selling decently, and i think the system itself has loads of potential, if only the developers would actually step up...

OK, here's your SCRUBS CLIP OF THE WEEK:

Strange Bedfellows

When Square first started out in the game buisness, they were pretty solid partners with Nintendo, as all their US released games appeared on Nintendo platforms. Then they had a less then amicable split (supposedly over Nintendo sticking with cartridges when everyone else was switching to cd-roms) and were staunchly behind Sony, and they've mostly been a staple of Sony's ever since, with most thinking you'd never see a Square title on a Nintendo platform again. But in the last couple of years, Square has really branched out, releasing Crystal Chronicles for the Gamecube, FFXI for the 360, and several upcoming titles for the Nintendo DS. Now in a most interesting turn, they are behind the development of an actual Nintendo game, Mario Hoops 3 on 3 for the DS, which suggests a pretty damn close relationship between the two companies, especially since they are including several Final Fantasy characters in the game. Just seems that Square, which had essentially by synonymous with Sony and were supposed to be for the foreseeable future, is really hedging their bets for this round, wonder if they know something we don't...

So, wanna no more about the mysterious Nintendo Wiimote? IGN has a fairly in-depth article that is really mostly speculation, but it's pretty good speculation. Lot's of interesting ideas, but one thing that worries me is that it apparently runs on batteries. Sure, 30 hours may sound like a lot, but any decent player can knock that out in a weekend, and hardcore ones much faster. I really hope there's some kind of rechargeable option.

Is the game industry broken? Well duh. But in case you didn't figure out that higher development costs, lack of innovation, and too much reliance on licenses & sequels is slowing killing the industry, Gamedaily has an article that nicely lists those & several other reasons why. Which pretty much supports to my whole argument awhile ago of Sony & Microsoft going bigger & better really isn't good for the industry.

Finally, it's common knowledge that the 360 is doing pathetic buisness in Japan. Now, there may be any number of reasons for this, and I know the Japanese market is very different form here, but horrible ads like this can't be helping:



FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: WARP FOREST

The Wayans aren't funny

Oh don't get me wrong, when In Living Color started, it was easily the funniest show on TV for several years, and large part of that was due to the seemingly endless amount of Wayans. But last we saw, Damon Wayans was in some horribly unfunny TV show, and the last mildly entertaining thing the rest of the clan has done was the original Scary Movie. However, despite being one of the worst movies of the last few years, White Chicks (with a number of razzie nominations to prove it) was a smash, so now we get the assuredly incredibly unfunny Little Man, which ripped it's whole idea from a 7 minute Bugs Bunny Cartoon. I wish this would be such a huge flop that it would put the formerly brilliant Wayans clan out of business permanently, but lord knows the same moronic audience that actually made White Chicks successful will also make this one a hit (if for no other reason than it couldn't possibly have been the least bit expensive to make).

But then again, this weekend's other major offering doesn't look much better. Despite the seemingly surefire cast of Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon, and Kate Hudson, You, Me & Dupree doesn't entice me in the least bit. The whole horrible house guest that won't leave was sort of played out with What About Bob? (which conveniently also features a scene where the house is burned down/blown up). I mean, c'mon, you can't make a movie like Wedding Crashers, where you openly claim you're too old for this kind of behavior, and then next year do a movie where you are still doing the same kind of behavior.

So, what's a discerning moviegoer to do? Maybe you should check out A Scanner Darkly, IGN has posted the first 24 minutes, which should help you decide. I'm certainly intrigued.

Seems like EA is really stepping up support for the Wii, with no less than 6 major titles in development. I think it would be pretty cool to do a wizards duel in Harry Potter using the Wiimote and the mic function.

Missing your weekly Office fix? Be sure to check out the webisodes NBC is putting up to tide you fans over for the summer. They are amusing so far, but really, really short.

Finally, for a little bit of fun, here's the official music video for SNAKES ON A PLANE: