The Top 10 New Characters that should be in Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Ok, admittedly, Gametrailers already did this idea not long after the game was officially announced, but I swear I haven't watched that so it would have no influence on my list which will hopefully be mostly different. Anyways, the Vs. series is any wet fans dream of settling the question of "X vs. X", evenly if the series usually woefully misrepresents of many of the characters' actual power, it's the pure fun and absurdity of such possibilities. Both Marvel & Capcom feature a rich character roster that astonishingly enough hasn't been delved horribly deep into either roster even with the large cast of the previous two titles. Admittedly, there's a chance of an overblown and mostly redundant roster, but there are a ton of good possibilities that fit well into a fighting game that haven't been included yet from either side. So here are 10 I think should at least make an appearance if not be full on members of the roster (in no particular order).

#10: Luke Cage

Granted, the VS. series already has it's share of big burly power guys, but Luke Cage has been a key player in many of Marvel's biggest storylines, and is a natural fit for a fighting game with his super strength and invulnerability, not to mention his talent with chains could make for some very interesting attacks. Plus the fact that Marvel has a movie in development makes it seem like a prime way to start promoting him in subtle ways.

#9: Deadpool

It's easy to see why Deadpool wasn't really considered as anything more than an outside possibility until this latest entry. Before all the recent interest and supposed movie in development, he could certainly be considered a c-lister, with even his creator acknowledging he was basically a knock-off of the DC villain Slade before he really developed into his mentally unstable 4th wall breaking character we know today. But now with Marvel shoving him in nearly everything they can, he seems like a no-brainer and a natural pick. His abilities go incredibly well into a game like this, and frankly, assuming they really stick to his character, the running commentary he could provide would be worth it alone.

#8 Ghost Rider

It's almost a wonder why Ghost Rider didn't make the cut previously. It admittedly might have at least something to do with the abomination that was the Ghost Rider film, but that shouldn't detract from the fact that Ghost Rider is one of the most badass characters in the Marvel Universe, with a huge array of abilities that easily transfers into a fighting game.

#7 Mystique

Mystique would easily be one of the most versatile fighters to be in a Marvel game, as in addition to her natural non-mutant assassin skills, she could copycat virtually anyone on the roster, making for and extremely well-varied character. Not too mention she is easily one of the most popular characters thanks to her role in the X-men movies make her an fairly good and obvious choice.

#6 Dr. Strange

Granted, the hardest part of making Dr. Strange a member of the VS. roster is fairly obvious. As the sorcerer supreme, his abilities fall under the vague definition of "magic", which would be extremely hard to narrow down into a specified move set. But as one of Marvel's longest-running heroes, not to mention a key-member of the Illuminati, it seems that there should at least be an effort to include Marvel's greatest magician.

#5 Kingpin

He's one of IGN's top ten villains of all time, and despite his rather husky appearance, underneath his form-hiding clothes is a surprisingly muscular and well-trained fighter who never really needed his henchmen to do his dirty work, but just preferred it, at times easily going toe-to-toe with the likes of Daredevil and Spider-Man. Sure, he has no powers, but the same can be said for much of the roster already, and let's face it, the series has been lacking in the rogue's gallery since it's inception, this would be a huge boost.


#4 Green Goblin/Hoggoblin

Ok, don't get all fanboy offensive on me. Marvel has done a great job of making these two seemingly same characters very different, but for the purposes of a fighting game, they are virtually the same character. Either would be a great addition, but admittedly I'd rather seen Norman Osborn seeing how he was been a much more pivotal character in the Marvel Universe aas well as one of its premier villain and pretty much the closest thing Marvel has to a Lex Luthor. The move possibilities seem pretty awesome, especially with the use of the glider and pumpkin bombs.


# 3 Sagat

Granted, Sagat had hardly been forgotten, being a constant presence in the Street Fighter series itself, but as someone who has a huge following of his own and is constantly ranked as one of the best fighting characters of all time, the monstrous Sagat deserves to test his mettle against Marvel's greatest heroes, as well as characters from some of Capcom's other series.

#2 Haggar

That's MAYOR Mike Haggar, thank you very much. Admittedly, anyone from the Final Fight games would be a welcome addition, but the Mayor of Capcom is easily the most famous and well known. Also, he'd probably be an American clone of Zangief (there's even a Haggar costume Zangief can wear in SFIV). But that's what makes this such an ample opportunity, having these two either face off or team up just sounds awesome. He's been a Capcom fixture for years as well, often making cameos in many of their games, and deserves a bigger role. Also, if you don't put him in, he'll do to you what he does to Sharks...



#1 Zero

A Mega-Man spin-off that really grew into his own, much like the Haggar/Zangief idea, this would make for an awesome team-up or vs. match. Plus, it's Mega-Man with a freaking laser sword. Plus he's already been in a couple of Capcom fighting games, so the template is already there.

And that's pretty much the list. And remember, this is just 10 characters that should be included, there are a ton from both the Marvel and the Capcom Universe (and hell, maybe even the Disney Universe now that Disney owns Marvel?) that easily deserve a spot, so hopefully we will have fresh characters for years to come.

Finally, in going with the theme of today, the TRAILER OF THE WEEK isn't for a full-fledged film, but rather a short film for Street Fighter that looks far superior to the rather atrocious Hollywood efforts...

Something is rotten in the state of Geekery...

Yup, the blog layout has been changed around a bit. I hope people like it, I may update more often with gadgets and such as they occur to me. Also, the image in the header was most definitely not by me as my drawings often look like something out of XKCD. That was made by the genius who draws the webcomic, Extralife, Scott Johnson, and as you can see it is utterly awesome.

Moving onto the crux of today's post, we have a combination that would make many a geek swoon. The Tenth Doctor and Captain Jean Luc-Picard doing HAMLET. Granted, it's hard to get me to watch Shakespeare after being forced to endure so much of it in high school (especially the massively over-rated Romeo & Juliet, why that's considered a classic is beyond me), but assuming I have a few free hours, this would definitely be the way to get me and tons of other people to watch it.

And I would've had my review for the not at all anticipated Kick Ass game that was released today on PSN excpet that there wasn't even a demo for it. Now lots of games don't have demos, so that isn't necessarily a bad sign in and of itself, but the combination of no demo and almost no press about the game lead me to believe it's a desperate money grab specifically designed to screw a few unwitting fans of their money before everyone catches wind of how awful it is. Oh well, hopefully other promising tie-ins such as Iron Man 2 and Toy Story 3 will deliver.

That's really all I have for you today, but I leave you with a completely awesome TRAILER OF THE WEEK: JONAH HEX

The Curse of the movie-tie in...

Oh the poor movie tie-in. Often developed on an incredibly tight schedule with the only thing of concern being that it's out in time to cash in on the property it's based on, almost instantly guarantees failure. Really, the best you can usually hope for is something that isn't entirely painful to play. I mean seriously, the last not horrible game based on a movie I can remember was Kung Fu Panda  and that was really just adequate. But there are those lucky few, who somehow manage to get it right. And I'm not talking about games that come out on established properties, I'm talking about those lucky few that manage to come out in roughly the same time frame and not only not suck, but be surprisingly good. I can really only think of 3 that have managed this off the top of my head- Spider-Man 2, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and in a virtually unheard of case of actually being far superior to the sucktackular movie it's based on, Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Probably the one thing those games all have in common is that they were at best loosely based on the property itself, serving as side stories or prequels. And in the case of Spider-Man 2, yeah the movie plot is in there somewhere, but you're too busy doing side missions or swinging around Manhattan just for the hell of it.

With that in mind, there are three upcoming movie tie-ins games that are taking varied approaches to hopefully change the mindset that in general, licensed games aren't worth your money. First up is Kick Ass: The Game, which hits the PSN tomorrow for download. This seems like a good direction for movie tie-ins to consider. To be honest, many of them command the $60 price tag and look and play like a budget title, so releasing games such as this within a much lower price range (a very reasonable $14) seems like a good idea. They did this with 2 Watchmen games last year, in what seemed like a good move. Though the games themselves were arguably not worth the combined $30 price tag at the time, it was a step in the right direction. Hell, I was able to grab them included with the blu-ray edition of the movie for the PS3 for $20, which essentially means I got the games for $5, well worth the price as they are perfectly decent if repetitive beat-em-ups. Kick Ass unfortunately seems to be going down the same path, with little to no press and looking like a poor knock-off of the X-Men Legends/Marvel Ultimate Alliance games (and lacking the gigantic cast). So while I highly doubt it'll be worth the money now, a sale later or being included in the blu-ray release will probably make it worthwhile. I do intend to at least download the demo tomorrow, so I'll let you know my thoughts on my next post.

Then we have the more interesting beast of Iron Man 2: The Game. The game based on he original smash hit was an umitigated disaster. But this time, Sega claims to have realized the error of their ways and promised a game that goes the route of covering the story but expanding the universe including villians such as the Crimson Dynamo and Ultimo. This sounds like a promising set-up for what could be the next gen equivalent of Spider-Man 2 if actually handled correctly. We'll see if it lives up to its potential when it ships next week.

And finally, we have Toy Story 3: The Game. Normally this is a game I wouldn't even glance at, but after ready the lengthy article in this month's Game Informer, I'm very intrigued by the fact that it's basically an open toybox, and you can just go nuts with the toys rather than awkwardly cramming the plot of the movie into the game. Whether or not this will actually transform into an enjoyable coherent gameplay experience will have to be seen, but the fact that they are almost completely seperate from the movie is a really good step in the right direction.

Of course the real issue is that tie-in games are always seen as something to quickly churn out and make a quick buck off of usually unsuspecting fans, and until the every day casual user/kid wises up and only buys the few good games based on movies.

That's really all I got for today, but here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Super Mario Crossover

The A-Team is a bunch of expendable losers...

Am I the only one seeing triple here? I mean, yes these films all have some distinguishing elements, but they are essentially the same story about some good guy meercenaries who are betrayed. All of them are releasing this summer, starting with The Losers out in theatres this weekend. And though it's not the most star-studded, it looks like the most enjoyable one of the 3 to me, mainly due to it having Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans and Zoe Saldana. The A-Team looks like it might be veering into XXX territory with ridiculous stuff like landing a tank out of an airplane. Expendables boasts the most star-studded casts with the big guns of Stallone, Statham, Li, & Willis just to name a few, but already seems to lack any cohesion. When everyone is talking about movie trends like sequels or 3D or talking animals, it seems odd that no one has picked up on this seemingly biggest actual trend this summer. At some point when they all come out on video I want to watch them all in one sitting and see if I can tell where one movie begins and one ends after.

Anyone remember me talking about the fan made Mega Man film being worked on awhile ago? If not, check out this incredibly awesome trailer:



Now, it's a sad truth that most fan projects die, whether it's because of a pointless cease and desist from the company that actually owns the property, or the creators just stopped having the time or the energy to finish it. But Mega Man is finished. That's right, the movie is finished and will premiere on May 7th. Granted, that's the same weekend as Iron Man 2, so if you only have time for one movie, It should probably be that. However, this will be online and free so if you have the time there's no reason you can't check out both. This will hopefully be a shining example that companies should let the fans express themselves as long as it's not sullying the license.

All right, that's really all I got today, but I'll send you off with the FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: War Spheres

Do you want to date my Avatar?

In case you have no idea what the header refers to, check out this awesome video from the cast of the awesome web series, "The Guild".

But however today's post really has nothing to do with the epic web series about a bunch of nerdy MMO obsessed shut-ins, it's about TEH BIGGEST MOVIE EVERS! I am of course talking about the imminent release of James Cameron's tribute to Fern Gully, Avatar. Except it's not the real release. No, Mr. Cameron has decided that any ultimate or 3D version shall be held off til some uknown date. Hell, they are even planning a re-release in theatres. Because, you know, already being the top-grossing film of all time already apparently doesn't qualify as enough money, they need to make more. In all seriousness, I saw the film twice, both in 2D & 3D and really enjoyed it. The derisive comparisons to films like Dances with Wolves and Fern Gully are probably fair, but it's a fun special effects blockbuster, not a serious dramatic film and should be taken as such. I'm fully aware it's gotten even beyond Twilight-esque levels of scary fanboyism what with people reportedly getting depressed about Pandora not being real and people throwing on facepaint like it's a big football game, but that shouldn't take away from the film itself. And as this is the fiance's new favorite movie ever I'll be at least picking up a dvd copy tomorrow because I'll probably be buying the blu-ray proper when it finally does hit.

William Shatner as Dictator for Life of Canada? Ok, really it's just a ceremonial title, but frankly us Americans are more likely to respond to Captain Kirk talking about Canadian concerns than whatever unimportant official is actually doing the job. I say we respond by electing Adam West to some unimportant ceremonial position, and then have the two debate each other. It doesn't matter about what. I guarantee those would be the most watched debates EVER.

Ok that's pretty much it for today, but before I go, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK:

Finally we can have The Red Bee vs. Matter Eater Lad Match we always dreamed of!

Video Games | Marvel vs Capcom 3: FTW | Captivate 10: Debut Trailer

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

That's the trailer for the virtually certain to be completely awesome Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Where yes, Chris Redfield actually stands a chance of beating the Hulk. But in case you have no clue who I'm referring to in the header, those are two of the worst marvel super heroes ever to exist. Red Bee was just literally a guy who carried around a trained bee in his belt. So unless you were allergic he didn't pose much of a threat to anyone. And Matter Eater Lad sounds just as lame his name. He could eat anything. That was his goddamn power. Eating crap. God I wish I could get paid to come up with lame ass heroes like these, there's literally a ton in the comics universe still floating around in some capacity. Anyways, as insulting to character accuracy as it is, the Marvel vs. Capcom series has long been one of the few fighting franchises I continue to enjoy to this day, so I am very excited to see that final roster (anybody from the Runaways would be awesome, but unlikely).

Ok pretty much only one other thing I want to talk about is really something that's should be a non-issue and was pretty much only done to get gamers panties in a bunch. Roger Ebert has decided to poke the bear once again by claiming video games are not art. Why anyone is giving this man any credibility on a medium he is clearly out of touch with is beyond me. And why he would bring up the argument again only to say the same thing as last time means he's just going for what they refer to in wrestling as "cheap heat", like insulting the crowd's hometown to get a rise of of them. This is a desperate attempt to try and stay relevant, and should be treated as such. Are games art? Who the hell really cares? I just care that they are worth my hard-earned cash.

The Hunt Begins...

Ok, firstly, I did see Kick Ass yesterday, and while it might not be for everybody with the over the top violence and swearing, it is an absolutely brilliant film that celebrates as well as lampoons super heroes very cleverly.

And on to the big release of this week, one of several really awesome-looking ones out for the Wii this year (that will no doubt be virtually ignored), Monster Hunter Tri. While not extremely well-known outside of Japan, it's following is extremely rabid, and it's pretty easy to see why, with it's constant upgrading and true challenge along with a strong online component it is a unique hardcore title that seems an odd fit for the Wii. Hopefully if this doesn't do well it may convince Nintendo to finally rethink that stupid friend code system they have in place now. I did try a demo and wasn't all that impressed, but admittedly that was with the wii remote controls, when this is something that is obviously built for the classic controller (as it is even bundled with it), and the reviews are nothing short of stellar so far, leading me to believe I should probably give it a real shot, which I fully intend to do.

That's all I got for today really. but I leave you with both the Trailer & Game of the Week til next time:

TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Dinner for Shmucks



Free Game of the Week: Flaming Zombooka

Movie Adaptations that will probably never happen (but should)...

Seems like everything is getting a movie these days. Hell even the goddamn creepy ass e-trade baby has a frakking movie in development (and why not? The Geico Caveman had a fantastically awful TV show). But despite nearly everything and everyone at least getting a shot at developing a movie based off something (you know, instead of coming up with original ideas for the screen), there are some perfectly good ideas that will probably never see the light of day in anything other than their current incarnation whatever that may be. So here are 10 I think should be made into movies that probably never will be.



The Question is probably my favorite DC B-Lister, and while it would be great to see a movie about him, I can see why there may never be one. He's an even more eccentric Batman, not the most likeable hero, no super powers and also just an incredibly tough role to cast. Ok, you could have Jackie Earle Haley do it, but since the question is basically a less psychotic version of Rosarch, I don' know if he'd want to. Probably just a little too outside the mainstream yet too close to Batman for people not familiar with the Question to see it as anything but a rip-off.




Admittedly I have a rather unhealthy fondness for Disney's own answer to the Dark Knight, but that doesn't change the fact that it was a fantastic cartoon and would make an excellent family film if handled correctly. Alas, the fact that the last time this was even on the air was years ago and again it may be seen as a "mere Batman knock-off" put it solidly in the highly unlikely column.




The Goblin series is one of the smarter books about adventuring, hence while it will probably be never be made into a movie. Jig, the protagonist, is neither handsome nor brave, nor has any special abilities. Except that of common sense, which many heroic adventurers actually lack. Hence why audiences would probably hate him, even though this could be a brilliant smart alternative to all the overrated teen fantasy popping up in cinema lately.



SPOOON! Though the delightfully naive Tick is the complete opposite of Jig, being strong, brave and incredibly stupid, the series itself has always been a rather brilliant send-up of the superhero genre in general. But it would probably be Spinal Tap all over again, with the joke being too smart for the room. Audiences as a rule are stupid and like their heroes clear cut and simple.



Arguably the craziest superhero to ever exist, Freakazoid would be nearly impossible to put to film and make any sort of sense, but damn it if somebody wouldn't try. Sort of like if Superman had a psychotic break, but still did good deeds. Again, too smart for the room, also probably too smart for Hollywood. Though frankly since Spielberg has gone insane, I'd rather he leave this creation untarnished.

Ok that's pretty much the list. I realize I've been slacking a little bit on movie trailer of the week and game of the week, but those will continue on the next post, which should be either tomorrow or Thursday.

Glee Video Day

That's right, Glee returns this week! Easily the best new comedy of the TV season returns and what better way to celebrate than a bunch of videos!

The short, short version...

Admittedly calling any version of Peter Jackson's epic nerdgasm that is the Lord of The Rings Trilogy short is a rather laughable idea, but I would think most ringers would be very unsatisfied that after a wait that seems like forever for a blu-ray release, all we get is the original theatrical cuts out today. Assuming I ever do pick it up, I will definitely wait for the extended cuts. Admittedly though since watching the extended cuts is an undertaking equivalent to trying to do a speed run on Fallout 3 I may never get around to it, I just don't have the endurance.

Is the PSP a doomed platform? Of course it is. Hell the only reason I hang on to mine is because of the long overdue Birth By Sleep. The weak software lineup and moronic redesigns have basically doomed this thing to be a joke compared to the Nintendo juggernaut. There is hope however, as the fellows at Destructoid point out in Fixing the PSP in six easy steps. Of course these steps are so glaringly if obvious that if Sony hasn't picked up on hem by now, they probably never will.

It is a general agreement that Dr. Horrible is awesome. It is also a general agreement that 8-bit is awesome. Someone put these two incredibly awesome things together in an explosion of pure awesome:



And finally, yes I did catch the season premiere of Doctor Who over the weekend and Matt Smith was absolutely brilliant in the role and really made it his own. It actually was quite a bit stronger debut than David Tennant's, who actually took a few episodes to really grow into the role. It seems like a good sign that the show will survive without the wonderful Tennant, which was a certain worry at the time. I'll most likely post tomorrow or Thursday.

Compilations I'd like to see

Compilations are a tricky thing these days. Clearly people are still willing to pay for fondly remembered genuine classics such as FFVII, which is one of the most downloaded games on PSN, and at $9.99 (and yes, I still contend it's a very over-rated game, but that doesn't mean it's not very good), definitely a bargain when you consider it would be at least twice as much for a used physical copy. And let's face it, many "classics" of our youth are seen through rose-colored glasses. Owning Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection has awakened me to a harsh reality that several games I have fond memories of playing in my 16-bit days suck (namely Kid Chameleon & Ecco the Dolphin). But being inspired by collections such as that and the God of War collection have made me think up my own list of compilations I'd really like to see.



The Shining Force collection: Admittedly the fact that the best of this series is already on the aformentioned Ultimate collection would make it a tad redundant, but this would be the entirety of the classic turn-based series (with none of those craptacular PS2 titles included). This collection would include not only the Sega Genesis classics, but also the game gear iterations as well as the Saturn ones, ideally with the chapters that never made it stateside. It would be any strategy-rpgers'dream come true, especially at the currently popular compilation price of $20.



The Ratchet & Clank collection: Much in the spirit of the God of War Collection, these magnificent PS2 titles should be given a re-release as a collection on PS3 with a full HD upgrade. Imagine all 5 R & C games, with Secret Agent Clank thrown in for good measure. It's ok, go ahead and wipe the drool of your chin, nobody is judging you.



The Sly Cooper collection: Sly and the gang really never got the recognition they deserved, being an excellent trilogy games buried by the slightly superior Ratchet & far more mediocre Jaxter. This was an excellent trilogy of games, and the developers have said they would like to do a next-gen version. A collection of the PS2 titles would be a great way to at least test the waters as well as hopefully get some new fans in there.



The Mutant League Collection

Granted, there are only two games here, but they are two marvelous games. With their insane cast of characters, cartoonish violence and being able to either bribe or kill the ref (as well as the opposing team) if you didn't like they way the game was going, this is another classic series that they should release as a compilation if for no other reason than to test the waters for a new curent-gen entry.





The Wing Commander Collection: Why this has never been re-released when we get anthologies of classic pc series all the time is beyond me. The first 4 games and their expansions, along with the Privateer games, would make this the best space combat sim collection this side of the tie-fighter games (and I'd argue the Wing Commander games are superior anyways). If your only experience with this franchise is the headache-inducing movie, you owe it to yourself to track down a copy of at least one of the original 4 somewhere just to know how much of an insult it was to the property it was based on.



The Earthbound Collection: Though only one game of the series known as "Mother" in Japan was released here, it has an absolutely ginormous cult following, and nothing would make the rabid fanbase go into a frenzy than a compilation of all of the games released stateside (including yours truly, Earthbound was one of my favorite SNES games). Hopefully we'll at least be tided over with an eventual virtual console release as has been heavily rumored, but being able to own the whole series would be any rpg geek's dream come true.



The Panzer Dragoon Collection: Arguably the greatest shooter series of all time. Few series deserve another shot like this critically acclaimed oddball masterpiece that never seemed to find the mass audience it deserved, probably mostly having to do with that majority of it being on the ill-fated Saturn. Having the 3 Saturn games would certainly be a worthy collection, but the critically-acclaimed Xbox entry Orta certainly deserves to be included as well. People should pretty much be having letter-writing campaigns to Sega to release this in some form for a whole new audience to enjoy (especially Saga, which can go for a couple hundred on the used market).

And that's pretty much my list. I'll most likely be back either tomorrow or Tuesday with a new post. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: (Don't) Save the Princess

Doctor Who video day

Blargh. Lots of family related heavy crap going on this week, so haven't had much of an urge to post. But hey, the 5th season premiere of Doctor Who is Saturday! David Tennant was fairly brilliant the last few years, but Matt Smith seems ready to do the role justice in his own way, and what better way to get pumped for the premiere than with a bunch of Dr. Who vids?!? Enjoy and I will definitely post again this weekend:

Would you like to supersize your DSi?

Yeah, today's the day the DSi XL is out. And I really can't see it as anything more than a DS for people who are practically blind or just have a problem handling your normal everyday portable systems. Cause frankly, most people want their portable stuff to be smaller, not bigger to the point of obnoxiousness. Seeing Gary and Alison on Nintendo Week handling it made it look extremely awkward frankly (admittedly that horrible show is a guilty pleasure, seeing as there isn't a real network for gamers anymore, even though I enjoy a good amount of programming on G4, it's become Spike lite).

I got Red Steel 2 in the mail from Gamefly, and after playing a little over an hour, my initial impressions are that it's a good example of a great action game on the Wii. Problem is that pretty much all reviews are saying it's only about 6 hours long. So a rental is all it will be as I have better things in the near future to spend $50 on (i.e. Super Mario Galaxy 2). I mean I'm pretty accepting that with the exception of rpgs, most games will net you around 10-15 hours of play time, that's well established, but anything less than 8 is really unacceptable in my book. I get that you can play through more than once for extra stuff, but for most people they really just want to get their money's worth out of one play-through, especially with so many games vying for our attention these days.

I should be back tomorrow with a look at this week's notable releases, til then:

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The arcade inside of the arcade

Totally meant to do a post yesterday, but was incredibly exhausted. Anyways, yesterday Xbox Live's "game room" service was launched yesterday, apparently with a few bumps. But this isn't really about that. My question is what the hell is the point of this? The 360 is a system that's all about the latest technology and even updating older games with HD graphics and online capability. These "untouched classics" just seem like the closest they can can legally get to the Virtual Console service (and frankly, that Nintendo leaves the VC games untouched is pretty stupid). And those "classics"? They might be fun to spend a quarter on once and awhile, but for the most part they are better left in the past. Granted, this is my thoughts on the initial offering, if they can throw some of my personal favorites in there (hint: THE SIMPSONS ARCADE GAME), I may soften my stance, even if I'd prefer an updated HD version. Though to be fair, I'll take an untouched original over atrocities like Turtles Reshelled.

Is a sequel to Moonwalker on the way? Probably not, but With Sony having recently purchased the estate of Michael Jackson, seeing his ghost on your PS3/PSP in some form seems like a distinct possibility.

Ok, that's all I really got for today, but expect at least one more post this weekend. Until then, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: POLEDANCE HERO

Is Nintendo cannibalizing itself?

That's the question I really have to be asking. We are mere days away from the launch of the DSI XL, aka a DSI seemingly for octogenarians due to the significantly larger screen, which makes a total of 3 Nintendo portables on the market. And yet they just announced what is hopefully the real successor to the DS, the 3DS. Now, the features sound great. A analog joystick? Awesome. 3D on the go without goofy shades? Fantastic. Backwards compatible? I'm pretty much sold. And probably so is anyone who has not yet entered the portable market or not yet upgraded their DS. Why would you bother with a flashy new 3D model on the way in just about a year? Admittedly, I have no desire to upgrade from my current DS as is. I got my fiance a DSI and we barely use the extra features (we've downloaded Oregon Trail, that's really it), making me think it certainly was not worth the extra money. And to be fair, the DS took a long time to really find it's footing, I'm willing to bet the 3D version will have similar struggles the first year.

Red Steel 2, arguably the only release this week worth caring about, is an interesting beast. The original was a half-baked launch title, a rallying cry for Nintendo haters to point at and say the Wii remote didn't work as promised. This new one wisely ditches nearly everything about the original with the exception of the concept of using both a sword and gun, and from all reports is markedly improved thanks to the use of the Wii Motion plus (one of the few games so far to use that). It makes one wonder why they would have it bear the original's name, given the negative connotations that go with it. Yes, the discerning Wii gamer finally has something to play this year besides No More Heroes 2, but the more casual audience that makes up a large majority of Wii owners will most likely remember their unfortunate experience with the original and pass it by. I certainly plan on picking it up as soon as I get around to finishing NMH2 myself, but FFXIII is pretty much dominating my gaming time atm and will continue to do so til its done (which at the rate I'm going will be another month or so).

That's it for today but look for another post tommorrow. Til then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: MEGAMIND

Note to Hollywood: MAKE THIS HAPPEN

I'll do a full post later today, but this awesome fake trailer for a Weird Al biopic is far too awesome to not post immediately upon my discovery of it:

"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" from Aaron Paul

The Top 10 Worlds I would like to see in future Kingdom Hearts games

Having recently beat the most recent Kingdom Hearts Chapter, 358/2 Days and with Princess and the Frog coming out this week, I've been thinking a lot about worlds I'd really like to see in future KH games. Granted, the fellows over at Topless Robot pretty much already did this not very long ago, but since my list vastly differs from theirs and I've been thinking on this quite awhile off and on, I thought I'd go ahead and post my own list.

#10: New Orleans (Princess and the Frog)



I will agree with TR on the exciting possibilities of a world set in Disney's return to hand-drawn 2D animation. Facilier would be an extremely fun boss if done right, and the lush world of old timey New Orleans would be a fantastically fun place to go. This seems like a really obvious and easy idea, so hopefully it'll be in whatever is coming up after Birth By Sleep so the wait isn't too long.

#9: Middleton (Kim Possible)



Ok, I know some head scratching is going on here, but the world of Kim Possible is perfectly set up to be a Kingdom Hearts level moreso than many Disney properties. It has fun characters and settings, and virtually any of Kim Possible's nemeses would make a fun and exciting boss (my personal pick would probably be Senor Senor Junior, but Drakken or Monkey Fist seems far more likely were this to happen). Even getting Rufus or the Tweebs as a summon would be pretty awesome. I think the odds are decent, but it's sort of become a forgotten commodity now that it's off the air, and hardly considered classic Disney.

8: Municiberg (The Incredibles)



Any Pixar film seems like a really obvious idea and would be great to see, but there is one thing I feel nearly all Pixar films are lacking-A strong villain. Hell some don't even really have an actual villain. Syndrome pretty much solves that problem (although I'd be more excited to fight the Underminer). Plus having any of the members of this fantastically powered family (or Frozone for that matter) would arguably be cooler than teaming up with virtually any other Pixar character (though I could certainly see an argument for Buzz Lightyear). And I posted the Miami Vice mashup just because it's cool.

7: Camelot (Sword in the Stone)



Merlin's already an recurring character in the Kingdom Hearts series, this seems like a fairly natural idea. Madam Mim admittedly probably wouldn't be drastically different than Ursula, who we've already fought a couple times, but it would still be an incredibly fun world to explore.

6: Galatic Alliance (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command)



This series never really got its due in my opinion, it's got a vast universe which makes any number of settings possible, the characters are great (especially XR) and Zurg of course is a fantastically hilarious villain, but there's a large roster of equally fun bad guys to deal with, plus this would ideally allow you to team with Buzz without having to play a Toy Story level, which in my opinion would be fairly dull.

5: NY/Scotland (Gargoyles)



It's easy to see why Gargoyles hasn't been included. New York isn't all that mystical or fantasy-like and Gargoyles is easily the darkest series Disney has had a hand in to my knowledge. But it's such a fantastic story and brilliantly told. Hell you could theoretically place it in Scotland, before most of Goliath's clan was destroyed, and even end the level right at that point. Though that would remove any possibility of fighting some of the better villains of the show like Demona or Macbeth. Still, the Kingdom Hearts games do like to include little suprises for us every now and then (i.e. Tron) so this would be a great oddball choice.

4: Duck Berg (Ducktales)



If you grew up in the 80s, you know the theme song by heart. Duck Tales is arguably the greatest animated show ever. Sure Scrooge and his nephews have appeared in the KH games, but they deserve larger roles, and who wouldn't want to fight heartless in Scrooge's vault, possibly also dealing with the Beagle Boys and well as Flintheart Glomgold just sounds like an incredible level. Also Gizmoduck as your companion FTW.

3. Gummi Glen (Gummi Bears)



There are better shows on this list than Gummi Bears, but it's high placement is due to its potential as a Kingdom Hearts world being so rich. Bouncing around with Gummi Juice while fighting those moronic trolls and Duke Igthorn (with any of the Bears being a good team mate) just seems so screamingly obvious it's kind of a shock they haven't done it already.

2. St. Carnard (Darkwing Duck)



Admittedly this choice is a heavily personal one. Darwking Duck is easily my favorite Disney animated series. But that doesn't make it any less of a great idea for a Kingdom Hearts world. Darkwing would be an incredibly fun ally to fight alongside, and his rogue's gallery has a rich variety of bad guys that would serve as great bosses (with Megaduck being the obvious choice). I would never want or need another Kingdom Hearts game if this world was ever included in one.

1. Rescue Rangers



Yeah I tried looking it up, I don't know what city they are in. But anyways, the reason this takes place over my personal favorite is I think the possibilities are better. The world would be very fun, having Monterey Jack as a party member or a summon would be awesome, and the idea of wailing on either Fat Cat or Professor Nimnul with a keyblade pretty much just gives me goosebumps. Much like Gummi bears, this one also seems almost blindingly obvious to anyone with a decent knowledge of Disney properties.

And that's the list. The universe of Disney is ripe with possibilities, hopefully Square will pick the best ones for future titles. As long as I don't see a High School Musical world I'll be happily playing them all (although wailing on Zac Efron is a tempting idea...)

Ferelden is a nice place to visit....

Right back into the swing of things, the biggest release not starring a vengeful bald shirtless Spartan (which I will touch on in a minute) is the new Dragon Age expansion, Awakenings. Now computer users have been used to the big expansion that costs close to what the original did for awhile now, but to my knowledge this is the first time console gamers have had something like this offered to them. Now granted I really enjoyed the 60+ hours I spent with the original, but I really felt like I was done at the end. Ferelden was saved, the big dragon was killed (I even managed to kill the optional one) and the Darkspawn were more or less dealt with. Dealing with some second fiddle general a mere months later doesn't really seem worthy of my time, and frankly there are a lot of other rpgs vying for my attention that offer new worlds to explore. I may come back at some point (most likely after they are bundling the two games together in a discounted bundle), but it's down pretty far on my gaming to do list at this point.

God of War III also seems to be something I'll dedicate a few hours to when I feel like getting around to it. The production values are extremely high and the demo was fun, but when co-workers are talking about beating it a mere 2-days later (and I'm not really all that much of a trophy/achievement whore to beat it more than once) it goes straight onto my gamefly queue to enjoy at a later date.

My most recent pick up is the highly controversial Final Fantasy XIII. I did get the PS3 edition mainly due to only having to put in one disc, and frankly my PS3 gets the least use gaming-wise since I usually prefer achievements over trophies, so getting another game for it seemed like a good idea (seriously, my last PS3 purchase was probably Arkham Asylum). And in case you weren't aware it's controversial in that even for a series that tries something different with every entry, this entry strips away nearly everything that you would usually consider a FF game to contain (including the iconic theme all Final Fantasy fans know so well). There are no towns to shop in and talk to reasidents, sidequests don't even appear till very late in, and the game is extremely linear when rpgs are usually all about exploration. Frankly I enjoy the game, but I do concur that had they slapped some other title on this and made a few minor cosmetic changes, we would indeed have no inkling that this was ever a FF game. On the bright side, the last time they did something that divided their audience so fiercely(that'd be FFVIII, easily my lwast favorite) , they followed it up with FFIX, which is still my personal favorite of the series, so a return to the roots for the inevitable 15th chapter (XIV has already been announced as a new MMO, an obvious successor to XI) would be very welcome indeed.

So given that there are in fact 2 major rpg releases and the latest installment of a mega-franchise out, it would seem nearly suicidal to release brand new IP. Yet here we are with Resonance of Fate; an offbeat rpg by the same guys that did the Star Ocean series (I still haven't quite finished the last game on 360, I plan to someday...). The reviews are mostly solid, but it seems destined to be a undiscovered gem at best. I certainly don't plan on even giving it a rental til way later down the line.

Speaking of renting, it really does seem like online services like netflix and gamefly may be the only way to go (and those rental kiosks that are suddenly popping up everywhere, but in my opinion they suck) as Blockbuster is almost assuredly filing for bankruptcy. Now companies have emerged from bankruptcy to be successful again, but there doesn't really seem to be a light at the end of this tunnel. Now, I have both gamefly and netflix and enjoy them thoroughly, but there is something nice about the instant gratification going down to the nearest video store and grabbing exactly what you want rather than waiting for it in the mail. Oh well, progress is a mean bitch sometimes.

And finally, Twisted Pixel is quickly becoming my favorite Xbox Live developer, as I really enjoy both The Maw and Splosion Man quite a bit. They just posted some vids for their latest project, Comic Jumper, so I'll leave you with those til my next update (most likely tomorrow).

More Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley News & Previews

More Comic Jumper: The Adventures of Captain Smiley News & Previews

Yikes, was it really way back in 2008 when I took a break? So much has happened in the year and a half since I've been gone, both personally and in the entertainment industry. My life is as crazy as it ever was if not more so, but like most people who like to write mainly just for the sake of it, I kept feeling that pull to come back, especially anytime something big and controversial broke. And ironically enough, it was getting a fiance (who is just as nerdy as I am, if not more so) that led to me coming back. Her near constant obsession with the likes of Kingdom Hearts, Fable, and more recently Splosion Man & Catan (I know that's been out forever, but we have both just really discovered it playing the actual board game at a friend's house recently) have actually given me time where I really don't have much to do but write.

So hopefully this will be a return to form in most ways, I definitely plan to update at least twice a week, more often if time allows, and my new background will be more consistently updated (probably every few months). My links are definitely going to be reworked, and features such as free game of the week, trailer of the week, etc. will most likely return along with new ones as they occur to me. So look for the first real news post a little later this week, possibly even tomorrow.

Ahahahahah Fuck You Jack Thompson!

Yeah, I had to post this: JACK THOMPSON IS DISBARRED! PERMANENTLY! And he has to reimburse the courts legal fees! And yes he can appeal, but only through another lawyer in good standing with the Florida Courts (yeah I can see tons of lawyers just lining up for this one)! Granted, this probably will be far from the last we hear of Thompson. Stopping him from being a bat-shit crazy lawyer doesn't stop him from being able to protest stuff in moronic ways (and even if it does, I'm sure the occasional slow gaming news day will have a "where is he now" story), but as a lawyer, the guy has & could've still caused serious headaches for the industry as a whole, now he's just another loon with no real weight. Ok, back to sabbatical....

Sabbatical

I think it's time for a break. It's just that I've basically been doing this blog for a few years non-stop and it is like a second job sometimes. And honestly as long as it was fun, I didn't mind, but with increased hours & responsibilities at my real job in addition to trying to have some sort of life outside of work on occasion, it's become more & more like a job I have to do rather than a job I enjoy, so rather than infrequent updates whenever I actually have the time and energy to write something, I'd just take a chunk of time off, recharge the creative batteries, and revisit this sometime in the future and see if it's still something I want to do. I'll most likely be back, just need to take some time & a little distance.

The Force is not strong in this one...

So, the Force Unleashed hit today, and after months of hype and hope it would be the one thing salvaging Star Wars while Lucas seems to making it his personal mission to sully everything good about it. But alas, possibly due to the hype, reviews have indicated it's just another average, flawed action title, just with the Star Wars brand behind it. Being that I made a goddamned video for the game, I'm fairly dissapointed, but if it's one less game to buy among all the others this holiday season, I'll gladly keep my wallet a little heavier.


OMG. SONIC. 2. IN HD., granted it's only a tech demo, but still awesome.

Miracle of miracles? EA has officially backed down from the seemingly inevitable and has decided to stop trying to buy Take 2. I'm sure your average EA-hating fanboy sees this as a blessed miracle, but the fact of the matter is that Take 2 isn't a healthy company and heavy infusions of cash will probably be needed at some point, inviting a takeover from somebody far less stellar than EA (think Sammy buying out Sega).

That's really all I have for today, but I should be posting at least one more time before Sunday, until then, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Four Christmases

It's Horrible to be free

Unless of course I'm talking about Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog! Courtesy of Hulu!. If some insane reason you haven't caught the best thing ever on the web, watch it now! And buy the DVD whenever it finally comes out.

Of course, that's nothing compared to today's release of arguably the biggest PC game since WOW, Spore. Potentially limitless gameplay sure sounds damn appealing, too bad my laptop can't even run the thing, so I'll probably just wait for the eventual console versions that are supposedly maybe on the way...

Like Zombies? Like Free stuff? Well check out The Zombie Chronicles. I admittedly have just found about this so I have no idea if it's any good, but I'll probably start checking it out as I've hoping for another decent zombie novel after finishing Stephen King's "Cell" awhile ago.
"
Due to my schedule this week, I probably won't be able to do another update til at least Wednesday, so I want to put in a plug for the rather deranged and excellent season 3 DVD release of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Tuesday. If you haven't experienced the awesomeness of this show, check out some prime examples on why it's one of the best comedies out there ever:

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Whedon's Civil War

There are arguably no fans more diehard than the fans of the Whedonverse. But what happens when you pit one of his beloved properties against another? Unfortunately, this isn't some awesome fighting game with River taking on Kennedy. You may remember sometime ago, that there was news that a Firefly MMO was being worked on. Well now, in a move sure to excite some Whedon fans & infuriate others, that same company has effectively killed any development on the Firefly MMO in order to make a Buffy MMO. Now granted, Buffy (and by expansion Angel) has a longer established history and arguably a bigger overall fanbase (not mention appeal to possibly more casual fans). Also, there is the distinct possibility of any attempt to do a Firefly MMO turning into a complete disaster like EVE. Now, being a fan of both series I am excited by the prospect of either as an continual online universe, but I do think there is more potential in a property like Firefly, whereas Buffy could easily turn into WOW with Slayers and probably missing a key component of what made all of Whedon's properties so good-the writing. That's what made Buffy rise above your standard high school/college drama and your average sci-fi show. With that element absent, it's basically crappy fan fiction with grinding thrown in. Which also raises the question of how it'll even work. Can you be a Watcher like Giles or a souped-army grunt like Riley? Or will it pretty much be limited to Slayers & Vamps/Demons? Cause that already sounds dull. I would hope that this is a property they won't completely trash, but this could easily turn out to be a bigger disaster than Star Wars Galaxies is.

That's pretty much all I feel like writing about today, but I will try and be back of Friday with another update. In the mean time, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Sukiyaki Western Django

You can't play games at PAX

Sorry about no pre-Pax post, but I naively tried to do a mad dash finish for Persona 3 because though I'm somewhat close to the end of the game, I thought I was much closer. Suffice it to say, still not done. PAX '08 was a lot of fun though. Got to meet and get my picture taken with Felicia Day, which was definitely a highlight. Though I wasn't there for his actual concert, after seeing a few youtube posts of his perfomance. I've now become a giant Jonathon Coulton Fan and must have all his music ever. The panels were fun, got a lot of free stuff, and it was just cool to walk the exhibit show floor where all the games were on display but the crowd more than doubled from last year, which meant lines for big games like Left 4 Dead, Fable 2, Little Big Planet, Gears of War, Spore & Fallout 3 were akin to waiting in line at Disneyland on their busiest weekend. And when most of these games will be available in the next couple of months, I'm not to tempted to wait anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of hours just to get a few minutes of play time. Hell even games no one gives a damn about like Gauntlet for DS actually had plenty of people playing it because everything else was really occupied. That's not to say I didn't get to play anything. Sonic Chronicles & Valkyrie Chronicles look awesome, Champions Online shows a lot of promise, and Resistance 2 looks like utter crap. PAX is bound to be even bigger next year, so rather than try and balance anything or try to just play games on Sunday when the crowds are smallest (which they were again this year, but still too big for the major titles), I'll probably just grab some schwag, enjoy walking the exhibit floor, and prioritize fun-looking panels & events rather than waste my time standing in line after line after line. The only upside gaming-wise of PAX is I got some much overdue time in on Tactics Advance 2.

One other thing I really wanted to touch on was Castle Crashers. Oh god is this game going to eat up my time if I let it. It's a lot like Guardian Heroes (the Saturn version, not the horrid portable version) with a lot of great humor involved. This may easily be my most played 360 title, arcade or console until Fallout 3/Fable 2 drops. And I'll probably pick it up again when I'm done with those two. This seems like it might be the last high-quality release for a little while though after a slew of really good ones as aside from episode II of Penny Arcade, there doesn't seem to be much on the horizon (at least for the near future, there were lots of interesting titles set for Live Arcade at PAX, just with no solid release dates). In some ways, this may be a good thing, as I'm sure most gamers will want to devote their time & especially their money to the bigget titles out this fall, and if something along the same lines as say Braid, which definitely needed a window where there was really nothing to overshadow it, were released, it would almost certainly be ignored and be a massive failure which of course leads to less of companies trying something new & innovative and daring which is why we have 400 billion versions of card games on Live but only a few daring originals.

That's really all I have for today, but I plan (key word being "plan") to be back on Monday with another post as I have at least one specific topic I really want to discuss. In the meantime enjoy this awesome video from PAX (which I did not film, which is good, because I am a horrible cameraman) of Jonathon Coulton & Felicia Day singing "Still Alive"

The best Halloween movie about Christmas ever

Oh this is potentially a very ,very expensive week. Not only is PAX just a few scant days away, not only are two highly anticipated rpgs, Tales of Vesperia & Disgaea 3 hitting the 360 & the PS3 respectively, but we also have very awesome shows getting their latest seasons released on DVD-The Shield, Entourage & Heroes all are hitting stores tomorrow, along with one of my favorite movies of all time-IN BLU-RAY! THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Jack Skellington in hi-def will hopefully be an extremely memorable experience and not a rushed cash-in (I'm looking at you T2!). I'm probably going to at first play it safe, trade in a few games for Disgaea 3 and just pick up "Nightmare". Depending on how much I blow on PAX, I may pick up a lot more next week (though there's more stuff to empty wallets next week as well).

Ok, I've got a really early morning tomorrow (and the next day), so that's really all I got time to post today, but I'll definitely do a nice long post about Castle Crashers, PAX and possibly a few other things on Wednesday evening. In the mean time, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: REPO! The Genetic Opera

R.I.P. Lord Bowler

Julius Carry has passed away of pancreatic cancer at the age of 56. The name may not be that familiar unless you are awesome enough to have watched either Barry Gordy's The Last Dragon or more recently the awesome but short-lived Adventures of Brisco County Jr. He always added a lot to any show he was on and always seemed involved in my favorite stuff. His presence will be sorely missed. I'll be back tomorrow with a regular post but for now enjoy some of his greatness:

A Taste of the Dark Side

So I did not pick up Too Human. As I said, it was ok if the game didn't live up to the lofty expectations placed on it, but pretty much every review panned the hell out of it; with the last straw being the game's creator, Dennis Dyack, coming out and pulling an M. Night Shamalahaimekahinieho, claiming that anybody who didn't like the game, just "didn't get it". Well Mr. Dyack, I'm happy to not "get it" and spend my hard-earned money instead on something I do "get", such as Disgaea 3 which lands next week.

The very short but incredibly awesome demo for The Force Unleashed hit Xbox Live & PS3 today. I honestly still had some fears as there has yet to be a good Star Wars action game, but this demo pretty much put those fears to rest. I may play through it a few more times before the game finally gets unleashed itself on Sept 19th.

Here's my estimation of this week's movies: They suck. I still haven't seen Tropic Thunder, so I'll probably check that out sometime this week. In the meantime, here's your TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Body of Lies

Only Human

Well, this week, finally, a game that has taken the length of a couple of console generations to develop finally lands with a wide mix of dissapointment and hope. Too Human finally comes out on Tuesday, and the question on everyone's minds is of course was all that development time worth it? Will it show in the final product?

The simple answer is hell no. This was originally being planned for the PLAYSTATION. It's not like they had spent all this time thinking it would be made for The 360, especially since back then people laughed at the idea of Microsoft even making a console. Hell it was pegged for both the Nintendo 64 & the Gamecube when Silicon Knights was under Nintendo's control. So should all that constant console switching excuse a bad game? Of course not, but when the negative comments I hear about the game are along the lines of "It's merely a good game, for this long in development it should be a great game." It makes me wonder what the hell was everybody expecting? Luckily the release of the demo right as E3 hit seemed to at least alleviate much of the feeling that it would surefire flop everyone was claiming it would be last year. I thought the demo was quite awesome, so I fully intend to pick it up come Tuesday and will probably give you my impressions on Wednesday. Until then, spend some time with the FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Anika's Odyssey

Down to the old pub instead

One of Xbox live's releases this week is sort of an odd beast. Fable II Pub Games is a small sample of Peter Molyneaux's latest fantasy world, with the added incentive of using money that you earn in these games to use in Fable II when it actually hits. But these games are in the game when you buy it, and you even get a code to download for free beforehand if you pre-order the title. So apparently the $10 is for fleecing complete idiots. I mean c'mon, if everyone who buys the game gets it free anyways, it should either be only available to those who pre-order, or a completely free download for everyone.

Luckily Live's (and PSN's) other release this week proves a much meatier experience for the same price in Bionic Commando Rearmed. Admittedly, the next-gen remake looks ready to sour all the great memories of the beloved NES classic, but this IS the NES classic, just with a fresh paint job, so it will definitely be worth your while and a good edition to what's starting to finally be a solid library of downloadable titles for both PSN & Xbox live.

And finally, let's talk about how brilliant Tropical Thunder looks. Ben Stiller playing to his strengths as an obnoxious jackass. Robert Downey Jr. in black face. Tom Cruise in an insanely hilarious cameo. Jack Black. Yeah, this has all the tools to be incredibly hilarious, and so far the reviews are saying it actually makes use of them. I am very excited to check this comedy out.

That's really it for today as I got plenty of work to do over at the new gorillamask board over the next day or two, but I should be back Thursday with another update.

The best Xbox live game ever...

Is Braid. Have you played it yet? I'm not going to be like everyone else and try and shame you into buying it. Sure, you've probably wasted more than $15 on something you didn't even use more than once or regretted buying immediately after. But at least download the demo and give it a try. It's probably the best independent title besides Portal that has come along in quite awhile.

Wiiware owners also finally get another reason to clear out some hard drive space in Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. I admittedly haven't followed Homestar Runner at all, so I'll probably try & see what it's all about before I decide to download it, but the word is that any fans of the site will enjoy it tremendously.

All hyped for Too Human next week (which I'll talk about in more detail when we get a little closer to release)? Then you'll definitely be interested in these pretty awesome new themes up on live. I normally don't post this crap, but it's rare I see good themes for a good game that you can actually get a good look at before you download.

That's really what I have for today, but I 100% guarantee I will be doing another post tomorrow covering among other things Tropic Thunder & Bionic Commando Rearmed. Until then, check out the TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Yes Man

The Top Six Downloadable titles I'm actually looking forward to

So I saw the only movie I care to talk about opening this week, that being Pineapple Express. It's a surprisingly entertaining stoner comedy (this coming from a guy who generally doesn't think highly of most stoner comedies), but they also tried to shove an action movie in there and a very poorly done one at that, so it dilutes the overall experience. But still, if you are looking for a good dumb time at the movies, I definitely reccomend it.

Moving onto today's topic, it seems like downloadable games are finally getting a little respect, as we are finally starting to see titles that aren't just poorly rushed rehashes of old classics, generic me-too shooters, or crappy casual party games. Leading the charge is today's Xbox Live release Braid, which I tried out today and found quite fun and refreshing. It's definitely got a premium price tag at $15, but seems worth it, especially if supporting it will get more titles in the same league. So here's six others you should be looking forward to (and yes, there's something for every system):

6.

Mega Man has sucked for many years, but by going back to its roots, (way, way back) this latest edition cuts out a lot of the crap and boils down to what made Mega Man so great to begin with-Defeating robots and getting their powers to use on other robots. This will be a treat for the old-schoolers (and maybe some newer gamers looking for a real hardcore challenge, which was definitely what the Mega Man games were about back in the day. And it's coming to all 3 downloadable services so everybody can experience it.

5.

Granted, this has gotten some undue attention from moronic feminists with too much time on their hands, but ignoring all that there is a really solid-looking strategy title here that may have actually slipped completely under the radar had it not been for the morons protesting it. Good going morons!

4.

The Dishwasher is easily the highlight of Microsoft's XNA experiment so far. Featuring tremendous style, a promising story and brutally good action make it one of those titles to really keep an eye on.

3.

Granted, it's been available on PC for awhile, but really, the insanity of Sam & Max on a console seems worth the wait. Anybody craving the old school point & click adventure titles with a huge helping of psychotic humor should download this day it hits either your Wii or Xbox 360.

2.

Bionic Commando is easily one of the all time NES titles, and while I don't hold a lot of hope for the next-gen makeover, this update to the classic seems like a retread well worth buying into, especially for the seemingly right price of $10.

1.

The hype may have grown too much at this point, but Castle Crashers seems like the definitive live game, offering an extremely deep and fun game along with 4-player co-op. Hopefully it's really, really, REALLY long development cycle will pay off.

That's it for today, but I'll definitely be back this weekend with another post.

VIDEO DAY: The Top 5 Looney Tunes shorts

Ok, don't really have anything to talk about today, but wanted to do a post, so thought everyone would enjoy some old school Looney Tunes skits, these being my personal faves:

Wabbit Season



Rabbit of Seville



Robin Hood Daffy



DUCK DODGERS IN THE 24 1/2 CENTURY



And my all time favorite, DUCK AMUCK