| Nov. 12th, 2004 @ 03:31 pm THE BIG ONE!!! Post, that is. |
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Hello everyone, I’m back. Sorry it’s been awhile. There’s been much going on, and I haven’t really felt like blogging about it. But now, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you one of my longest posts EVER! So with that said, let’s get going.
Kit
As of 10/19/04, for the first time in quite a LOOOOOONG time—Anna McClaugherty, summer of ’02—I actually have a girlfriend! Her name is Katherine, “Kit” for short. I’ve known Kit for a few years now, because she happens to be Daisy’s sister. We became friends at the beginning of this school semester, got close, and started dating on the 19th. In summary, we’re very happy and things are going extremely well for us. So there!! And now, for something none of you will understand but Kit and I will find extremely funny: Blah blah blah ESTROGEN!!
The Sims 2
A couple of months ago, I promised a review of my latest addiction, (at the time) The Sims 2. It’s been quite some time since I’ve played it, but I believe 2 things qualify me to be the one to inform you about the game:
1) I logged in quite a few hours on it
2) Kit plays it almost every day, so I get to watch and learn, if anything.
Basically, my addiction to the game came as quite a surprise to me. I believe this to be because I absolutely abhorred the original. First and foremost, it was nothing but a reality simulator. If I want to walk around aimlessly, open my fridge to get a snack, then go to work and fall into bed from exhaustion, I’ll do it in real life, thank you very much. But the original didn’t even do THAT right. It all felt too forced, and there were too many moments of “that doesn’t even seem real” for the game to really captivate me.
The main reason I detest the original game, however, is because of the 2340923438 expansion packs. EA milked The Sims worse than George Lucas milks the VERY DEAD Star Wars universe, and that, my friends, is really really bad. It always seemed as if the expansions were doing nothing except adding features that should’ve been in the game since the beginning, or adding features that they knew should’ve been in Sims 2, but were too lazy (greedy?) to implement because they knew casual gamers worldwide would pick up each and every silly expansion pack.
Sims 2 is an improvement over every little grip I had/have about the original(s). It more closely simulates reality, and while this should turn me away—remember, I’d rather do mundane crap in real life—it didn’t, for some reason. Instead, I was totally captivated by the game and above all else, the graphics.
Take a computer, for example. You can actually rotate the camera around and zoom in on the back of your computer tower. There, you’ll be able to see—though they’re kinda blurry—all of the different ports and slots available on your machine. And speaking of computers, I went to TheSims2.com to register my game, and for registered users, there was an Alienware computer available for download! It’s so great, and only costs $3100. “Only,” you say? Anyone who knows computers knows that an Alienware for $3100 in real life simply doesn’t happen anymore, at least not with the cool new stuff (PCI Express, bay-bay!).
Basically, the game is very well done and really engrosses you in every way you should have. Since my review of THIS particular game wasn’t very thorough, I present for your reading pleasure the following reviews:
** IGN Review
** GameSpot Review
I personally guarantee you that after you play this game, your new favorite word will be “woohoo.”
Games I wanna buy/receive around Xmas time
Brace yourselves, people: this is me we’re talking about, and if you think I only want a mere 2-1000000 games, well… you’re sorely mistaken!! If you’re interested in a particular title I’m currently salivating for, just click it and you’ll be taken to IGN’s info page for that game.
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- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. This game is one I’ll have to contain myself not to run out and buy the day it comes out. If you played Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time or the other 2 classic PoP games, BUY THIS!! It’s multiplatform, and it’ll be available 11/16-11/18… one of those days. Wait for money, David… wait for MONEY!
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas The big question: do I snatch the PS2 version, or wait patiently for a year or so for the Xbox version??
- Half-Life 2 The game that will single-handedly BITCH SLAP all other games, ever. At least I hope so, or Andrew will never hear the end of it. ;) Be warned, BG: Halo 2 is darn good… but more on that later! Later as in this very post!!
- DOA Ultimate</i>
Okay, here’s a test to see who really knows me, gaming-wise. Which of these games do YOU think earns my top priority spot? It should be fairly obvious, but we’ll see.
”Lost”
NOTE: This is a spoiler-free preview!
About 2 months ago, a new series premiered on ABC called “Lost.” Let me give you a piece of advice: whenever you can, START WATCHING THIS SHOW!! The acting is incredible; the characters are believable; the story grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. Here’s a brief plot overview:
About 20-30 (cannot remember exact number) complete strangers survived a plane crash and are now stranded on an island. That’s the good news. The bad news is that when they crashed, they were many miles off course and no one knows where to look for survivors, assuming anyone even believes there are any. But it gets worse: some of the survivors recently stumbled across an audio recording of a woman asking for help that had been playing for over 16 years.
Each show focuses on a few different characters (while there are many survivors, the show doesn’t bog you down with 20-30 different storylines. The main characters are comprised of about 8-10 people, and it’s possible even more characters will be “introduced” in future seasons), with one character’s past being filled in to show the viewer how he/she came to be on the plane that crashed on this mysterious island.
Just like the characters, the island is not at all what it seems. There is a mysterious creature killing anything it finds around the island, and while many in the group have been chased by the creature, no one has directly seen it. This season focuses on the characters so we can understand each of them individually, while I’ve heard not much of the island’s information will be revealed until the end of the season, or even the 2nd season.
I don’t want to give away too much more, but I do suggest any means necessary for watching the show. For those of you without bittorrent, there are usually 1-2 episodes played Saturday nights around 8 or so. And of course, for those of you with bittorrent, know your role and start downloading immediately! I’m only assuming they’re available on bittorrent, because there’s an above-average chance they are. “Lost,” along with ABC’s other new premiere show “Desperate Housewives,” are 2 of this season’s hottest shows available on any network, with “Desperate Housewives” being considered “hot” for a few different reasons. >: ) For anyone who gets caught up and/or wants to start watching the new episodes as they air, “Lost” is on every Wednesday evening at 8.
Mortal Kombat: Deception
On 10/4, MK: Deception came out, and to say I was excited was an extreme understatement. Online play over Xbox Live!! This is the game that single-handedly made me shell out the $70/yr subscription fee for Xbox Live, and it’s been well worth it! Before I get into the game specifics, here are some funny Xbox Live stories I’ve had whilst playing MK:D online…
So out of 40000+ people playing Mortal Kombat 6 online, I was at one point ranked #170. I have since let Daniel play online because he finds it fun, and oddly, my record has gone from really great… to really sucky. ;) A few hours of playing later, I was ranked #61. Out of 40+ thousand!! Well, then the following chat log transpired as I was preparing to face a new opponent…
Me: "Hey, how's it going?"
Opp: "Pretty well; what's your rank?"
Me: "61, how about you?"
Opp: "1."
Me: “Eeep!”
Yeah, got owned. Got owned REAL nice. But that’s okay, because the next conversation I had was a lot funnier…
Me: "Hey, ready to play?"
Kid: "Sure, just a second... I CAN'T GO TO BED MOM, I'M PLAYING MORTAL KOOOMBAAAT!!"
Me: "Um... everything ok?"
Kid: "Yeah, sorry about that; my mom's a bitch."
Ouch! But moving on….
MK:D is a really solid fighting game, probably one of the best I’ve ever played. The combo system takes some getting used to, but my days of near endless juggling of hapless opponents (offline and on!) has returned thanks to some of the cool branching combos available in the game. The characters are all pretty well-rounded, and no specific character dominates. (Scorption/Sub-Zero players, I’m talking to YOU!)
New to the MK franchise are death traps. Death Traps are areas of a level that can kill you or your opponent instantly. For example, the original Pit stage from Mortal Kombat has returned, and if you get your opponent near the edge of the stage, you can knock him/her off to their rather gruesome death on the spikes below. One odd note: You can do this on a non-deciding round (i.e., round 1, where no matter which player wins the fight continues) and there’ll be a round 2. “Well, you really grinded me up on those spikes, but I hauled myself back up to continue the fight!” It’s just weird. I think if the game were in arcades this would be acceptable, as I’ve had fights that were over in less than 3 seconds due to death traps, and no one would want to pay another $.50+ to play again. But on console versions, you just press start. ARGH, it’s just annoying.
In short, the fighting engine is very solid, the Fatality’s are really good, and Hara Kiri’s (suicides) make a successful debut. If you like fighters, get the game, but ‘Cube owners will have to wait until early 2005 to get their own copy. If you have Xbox and PS2, my recommendation is to get the Xbox version. The PS2 version’s online play is powered by GameSpy and is supposed to be decent, but it’s nowhere near as smooth and intuitive as XBL.
Here are some reviews if you’re interested:
- IGN’s review
- GameSpot’s review
Halo 2
After 3 years, the sequel to one of the most over-rated shooters ever has arrived! After reading that sentence, you may get the impression that I didn’t like the original Halo. Not true. I actually really liked it. But the fact is, it was very over-hyped. It had all been done to death before, and though it was fun, I didn’t see the epic story everyone raved about, nor did I see the awesomeness of Master Chief. Capt. Redundancy to his friends, heheh. But Halo did do a few things very, very right:
- Vehicles. The vehicles in Halo were a blast to use, easy to control, and never once let me with anything but exhilaration.
- Outdoor areas. Halo’s great outdoors were simply massive and a blast to play, especially when tearing through any given area with a warthog, your gunner’s blasting Covenant scum left and right.
- Control scheme. For a console FPS—and I’m not as opposed to them as some—it was remarkably easy to control, and while it wasn’t a keyboard/mouse, it was still the first time I felt a console FPS game’s controls felt natural since Duke Nukem 64.
But what did Halo do wrong? Almost everything else. The indoor areas were bland and repetitive; even with arrows on the floor guiding your way, you would still get turned around! And no, I’m not an idiot: read almost any Halo review and professional journalists had the same complaint. Essentially, the indoor areas were preludes to the awesomeness of the outdoor areas, and you spent every second indoors wishing you were back outside. Also, the story. What story?? What is the big deal about this aspect of the game? There were brief cutscenes, and then it was back to blasting. Doom had endings for each of its episodes, and then back to blasting. What’s the difference?? Well, Doom is awesome, but I digress. Also, the weapons: name me one Covenant weapon in that game you’d use over any of the human weapons. There are none, my friends. Not only that, but the typical selection of machine gun/shotgun/rocket launcher/pistol/sniper rifle had been done to death, and Halo offered nothing new. Oh, except the ability to SNIPE WITH A PISTOL!! With 100% accuracy!! And no, these exclamation marks are not meant to relay excitement!! It was so stupid!!
Luckily, Halo 2 has improved on most areas of its predecessors many mistakes. While the indoor areas are still bland and boring—though the exterior architecture is top-notch—the Covenant weapons are now fun to use, dual-wielding is AWESOME, outdoor areas are even better than they were before, and the story is much more acceptable. I haven’t finished the single-player campaign yet, but I plan to today (11/12). Also, there is no melee weapon to compare to the Energy Sword the Covenant wield. NONE. It is simply awesome to use!
I’ll finish this review/rant on Halo(1) after I finish the campaign, but for now…
- IGN Review
- GameSpot Review
In short, it’s worth the $55 (bought the Limited Edition) and if you have an xbox, this is just as important to have in your library as: Halo(1), Ninja Gaiden, DOA Ultimate/3.
WWE vs NWA:TNA
So here comes the part of this MASSIVE update that the least amount of people may give a crap about. I don’t care. This post is meant for me, Jeff, and Andrew. So guys… enjoy!
On Sunday, 11/7/04, TNA had their first ever 3 hour Pay-Per-View, NWA:TNA Victory Road. In short, it was amazing, and WWE finally has legitimate competition. The PPV showcased the talents of AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, “The Alpha Male” Monty Brown, and more as TNA tore the roof down.
One notable difference between WWE and TNA is the work style. In WWE you have Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Edge, Triple H (ick), Shawn Michaels, and others who are mat-based wrestlers. You watch WWE, and more often than not you see a “real” wrestling match put on by some of the finest technicians in the sport. TNA, while featuring great wrestlers, is more about high-flying than mat-based wrestling. While AJ Styles could go against Benoit (my newest dream match) and hold his own, you’d more often than not find him in the air than on the ground. This is not to say one style is better than the other, it’s just to say they’re both very different. Which is better? Hard to say. Professional wrestling is NOT all about one style over any other. The point of having different characters is being able to showcase different wrestling styles. Let’s take The Rock, for example. Rocky, though firmly in control of my very heart, is not a technical wrestler. Rock is a brawler. However, does this make him any less awesome than Kurt Angle? No. Rock’s success doesn’t stem from locking on holds, suplexes, or awesome counters into even more awesome holds; Rock’s popularity stems from him being able to punch someone in the face and look cool while doing it! So really, it’s a bad idea for any company to showcase any one style over the other.
This is what is happening to WWE. Because of all the injuries that have occurred in the past couple of years, WWE has “toned down” its product. Why “toned down?” Toned down in this case doesn’t mean the product has had anything taken away from it, it means the product has been vastly changed from what it used to be. Guys like Rob Van Dam are no longer able to steal the show because they’re being forced to work a style they are unaccustomed to working. While RVD could have a stellar wrestling match with Kurt, Benoit, Michaels, or anyone else in the WWE or any other company, that isn’t exactly his style. RVD is hardcore: he wants to jump off stuff; get hit in the face with large blunt objects; and essentially do everything he did while stealing the show in ECW.
The cruiserweight division has also been neutered. While at one time the main attraction of SmackDown!, it has been watered down to the point of being worthless. Every single week, guys like Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Spike Dudley, (yes, that’s right: The “Dudley Dawwwg” is actually a very good wrestler!) Billy Kidman, Paul London, Jamie Noble, (fired) have stellar matches, but no one in the company cares. Why would you do this?? It’s amazing all of the aforementioned guys haven’t jumped ship to TNA where their abilities would be showcased to their maximum extent.
In near contrast to the cruiserweight division, TNA has the X Division. “Near contrast” because of the X Division’s slogan: “No weights, no limits.” You don’t have to be less than 200 lbs to excel in the X Division; you just have to be Awesome with a capitol A. The stuff that guys like “The Fallen Angel” Chris Daniels, “Phenomenal” AJ Styles, and Petey Williams do in their matches makes me want to pass out. To see RVD and the entire WWE cruiserweight division jump to TNA would make my dream come true.
Another area that WWE has let fall into the depths of suck-titude is the tag division. In short, there isn’t one, for all intents and purposes. There are no concrete tag teams left in WWE short of La Resistance, whose efforts are more than under-rated. TNA, on the other hand, has teams like Triple X and AMW (America’s most wanted) to tear down the house, leaving quite a noticeable gap in WWE’s lineup.
Probably the part of both companies that sucks is the heavyweight title scene. In WWE, you’ve got John “Bradshaw” Layfield (WWE title) and Triple H (World Heavyweight Title). One guy slept his way to the top, and the other… I still haven’t figured out how the CRAP JBL got a heavyweight title run, from Eddie Guerrero no less. And TNA? You have Jeff Jarrett, who I affectionately refer to as “Triple J.” His daddy owns the NWA. Any questions? It’s time to let new talent show themselves, and the old fogies need to step down. Randy Orton’s joke of a WH title run is the perfect example. He takes the title from Benoit in an AWESOME match. One month later, Triple H nails the pedigree (henceforth referred to as “the push-killer”) to take the title back. Did I mention that during Orton’s run, he cut 2 promos and Trips cut 5 or 6? That’s just ridiculous, but no one can do anything about it. Pat Patterson was recently assigned taking a look at RAW to find out what was bringing the ratings down so much? His results: too much HHH. One week later, he retires, and the incident is never mentioned again. Vince McMahon says Patterson retired because though he loved the business his whole life, he was simply burned out. More appropriately, Pat stood up to the McMahon’s, HHH breathed in Stephanie’s ear, and now he’s gone. As one poster on GameFAQs astutely put it, “Triple H doesn’t have to pin [anyone] to retain the title. He has to pin Steph.”
I’ve spent much of this rant complaining about WWE, but what about TNA? Do they have an Achilles Heel? You betcha: contradiction. TNA’s opening promo for Victory Road was about the “old world” crumbling, and how it’s time to make room for fresh new talent to lead the company into the future. In that single Pay-Per-View, we saw the following debuts:
- Diamond Dallas Page
- Scott Hall
- Kevin Nash
- Randy “Macho Man” Savage
- “Rowdy” Roddy Piper
- Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka
Now is it just me, or is the “old world” having a tough time crumbling? ALL THOSE GUYS ARE FREAKING ANCIENT!! How are you supposed to put over new talent with all these fogies debuting? Especially guys like Nash and Hall, who play more political games than Hogan and HHH combined; though in Nash’s defense, he has purportedly asked to be allowed to work with AJ Styles and put him over. We’ll see And furthermore, is TNA really banking on these guys to make their company? Superfly and Rowdy were one night appearances, I think, but still… if you say you’re gonna do something, DO IT. Don’t bring in old folks who can hurt themselves lacing up their boots. (Kevin Nash, I’m looking at you.)
In short, no company is better right now. However, if you’re a wrestling fan, do me a favor: start watching TNA Impact! On Friday’s, aired on Fox Sports. It’s also usually available for download on sites like NODQ.com. It’s time to go back to the days of the Monday Night Wars and give McMahon real competition. It’s only good for the fans, and to have WWE and TNA at their peak is good for wrestling in general. |
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