08/31/2009
Just heard the huge news of the day, Disney is buying Marvel for $4 billion.  All I can say is WOW!  This has implications on so many levels.  But there are some questions that are worthg bringing up.  First, I didn't know Marvel was for sale.  I know they were in bad shape a decade ago, but then came the steady flow of Marvel movies that filled their coffers (for the people not keep score at home, that is three Spiderman, three X-Men, two Fantastic Four, two Hulk, one Iron Man, one Ghost Rider, one Daredevil, one Electra, three Blade movies and a few I probably missed).  So to say that Marvel is a valuable property is an understatement.  Second question - What does this do to Universal and their deal with Marvel?  The Islands of Adventure part of the their theme park hosts some of their most popular rides (namely the Spiderman ride and the Hulk coaster).  But with Disney being a huge rival of Universal, what will happen with that?  I am sure there is a contract in place, but as we learned in this country, any contract can be broken.  The next question is what does this do with all the movie properties?  Sony  had the Spiderman movies and other studios did other movies.  Will all the movies not under contract all be done by Disney?  Next question - How does this affect the comic division?  It is not the most profitable section of the company, but it is the one that creates all the properties for the rest of the company. 

Back when the XBOX was first coming out, I said that Microsoft should buy Marvel.  I thought it would be a major coup for them to have all the Marvel properties be exclusives on their systems.  I also said they should have bought the Wizards of the Coast (who make Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons) for the very same reason.  Well, they didn't listen.  Instead they bought Rare and we all seen how well that turned out.

I guess that Universal could always grab the DC Heroes license from Six Flags.  With that company headed to bankruptcy court, they should be able to snatch that away.  They could then just rebrand the rides and be back in business.

08/28/2009
Didn't take long for Microsoft to respond.  They have dropped the price of their Elite system (the one with the 120 gig hard drive) to $299.99 to match Sony.  Now let's see who has the best bundled games with it.

I am getting one of the new systems this Christmas, but I have not decided on which one.  Right now, I am leaning towards the PS3, but I am still torn.  God of War 3, Ratchet and Clank and Blu Ray capability are three reasons to consider it.  The XBOX 360 has the Fable series, Banjo Kazooie and a better warranty on their side.  At least I have time to weigh the pros and cons. 

I am on Facebook now.  Happened by accident.  Was looking for info on a local musical artist and I had to create a membership to view the page and I made a Facebook page.  Didn't think about it, until I received a bunch of friend requests.  So I decided to do something with it.  Added a picture, some info and have more friends.  It is more interesting than I expected.

I have received a few emails about whether I do gaming blog on twitter.  Sorry, but I do not twitter.  Don't even have a cell phone.  Heck, my websites are done in Frontpage, which last received an update in 2003.  I am beyond obsolete, but then I write about classic games, so what did you expect?

08/19/2009
I see that Fable III is under development for the XBOX 360.  It is good to see this becoming a series.  While I only played the first one, I loved the game.  When I finally make the jump to the next level, it is one of the first games I will buy.

Speaking of next level, the PS3 just received a new design and a price cut.  It will now be $299.99.  Time for Microsoft to respond.  This could be a good holiday for gamers.

Word is that alot of games are being delayed until next year because of the glut of games this holiday and the economy.  So we may end up with a glut of games in the first quarter next year. 

Want to bid on a very expensive piece of video game history?  I know that I am making it sound bigger than it is, but for Vectrex fans, it is a must own.  Yes, it is the 3D Imager.  The same one that worked with a handful of games, including one where you are on a roller coaster.  I tried it once and it was interesting.  A bit scary to have something whirling around so close to my eyes, but what is life without risks?  Anyway, if you have money to burn and need one, there is one for auction at the video game only auction site, Chase the Chuckwagon (yeah, like the Atari game that is very collectible, but not so playable).  Here is a link.  Check out some other auctions while you are there.

http://www.chasethechuckwagon.com/item.cgi?show_item=0000182417

Got an email for a video game show coming up in Philadelphia.  It is called Game Core and it is looking to be pretty good.  Tournaments, live bands and more!  Check it out and if you can make it, let me know how it is.  Here is the link: http://www.gamecorecon.com/

Dusted off the XBOX and decided to get a few new games for it.  Bought Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas off ebay and put a bid on Land of the Dead.  Two games that I wanted, but did not want to pay alot for.  Picked up GTA for $8.99 shipping included.  Will have to see if I win the bid on Land of the Dead. 

I am also looking at setting up  my Dreamcast again.  I have a nice selection of games for it and still enjoy playing it.  It also helps to have two different arcade joysticks, a steering wheel, fishing controller, two sets of maracas and a light gun.  That definitely adds to the enjoyment.  Maybe I will even have another therapy session with Seaman. 

07/23/2009
Took my son to Gamestop to spend a gift card I earned doing online surveys.  As he went over the large selection of DS games, I decided to look over some of the games to see what is out.  As I looked over the Wii and Gameboy/DS selection, I was shocked by the amount of garbage.  I swear for every game that interested me, there was at least four games that I would not pay a buck for.  There is a game where you play birthday games.  Yes, a birthday game. 

As I looked over the list of games, I noticed there was not one, but two different games that let you be a babysitter.  I know there is a shortage of games for young girls, but can't they come up worth something better than this?  Japan gives you dating sims, in America you get to simulate doing a low paying job.  What's next?  I Wanna be a Janitor or Burger Flipping Fun?  Oh wait, we already have a bunch of burger games.  At least when I was a kid, the only burger game was Burgertime and that involved running over burgers to build them. 

Want to hear something sad?  I go to Gamestop and immediately I am greeted by an employee looking to help me.  Ditto when I went to Best Buy.  But I go to Lowes to look at refrigerators and we are looking for over 20 minutes without a single person acknowledging our existence.  This includes three girls who walked past us and complained to each other about their hours.  Pretty sad when you can get better service for buying a video game than a major appliance. 

 I was tempted by the XBOX 360 they had for sale at Gamestop.  It was the Elite version that came with two games.  Not just two throw-ins but actually two games I would want.  The games are Halo 3 and Fable 2.  Now that is what pack-in games should be. 

07/20/2009
I have been so tempted to buy Bioshock for the PC.  It is one of those games that almost made me buy an XBOX 360.  I have been able to fight the urge so far, but I know I will cave in eventually.

Only a few months left before my Gametap subscription runs out.  And still no sign of them supporting 64 bit systems.  Oh well, it was good while it lasted.  I gotta make a mental note to contact them and make sure they don't try to automatically renew. 

I wonder who would win in a fight between the Pink Panther and Chester Cheetah.  Personally, I would bet on the Pink Panther.  He has dealt with all kinds of adversaries including knights, angry plumbers, giant birds and more.  What has Chester battled except for obesity? 

Speaking of crazy fights, what about Mighty Mouse versus Underdog?  They are pretty evenly matched.  If I had to pick one, I would go with Mighty Mouse.  No reason, just a gut feeling.

Remember when those plug and play games were all the rage?  It was a few years ago, when they sprouted up everywhere.  They started with stuff like Pacman and later they made platform games out of every movie license under the sun.  Soon, you could get every Disney, Dreamworks and Nickelodeon license in plug and play form.  Wonder why that suddenly seemed to die off?  Was it the lame gameplay?  That you could download the same games on your Wii, PS3 or XBOX 360?  I don't know but my biggest gripe was no game save.  Without the ability to save your high score, what is the sense in it? 

I am waiting to see if there are any really good deals on the game systems this Christmas.  With the systems reaching a maturation point and a very weak economy, it may be a great time for gamers who need systems and still have some room on their credit cards.  Personally, I am hoping for a double bonus of a price cut and some bundle deals.  Here's hoping!

Is it just me or is a movie based on the video game Wizard of Wor sound like a winner?  Space and dungeons, what a great combo.  Much better than my idea for a Gorf based opera.

07/10/2009
Want to know why this recession is going as long as it is?  Because many very healthy companies are using it as an excuse to cut wages, benefits and jobs.  For every General Motors or Chrysler that needs to shed jobs, there is another dozen companies that are doing well, but want to use the opportunity to increase their profits.  If it wasn't so in vogue to screw the American worker, we would be heading out of this recession already.  Just read the news reports and you will see plenty of companies that are showing record or near record earnings that are sticking it to their employees.  If we can get the rest of the companies to do this, we may be able to have an second Great Depression.

Been playing a TI 99 emulator that I received an email about.  It is quite good and unlike some of the earlier ones, will play all the games.  It was good to play a bunch of games that I had on carts from back when I owned a TI computer.  Still one of my favorite games is a game called Sneggit.  It was a simple game where you were a chicken and you grabbed eggs and put them in a nest and tried to keep a snake from eating them.  I used to play the daylights out of that game.  It was also fun to play Anteater, a game I bought for my uncle years ago.   While the TI was not the best game machine, it had enough good games to make it fun.

Actually bought a second computer game, Spore, and I am enjoying it.  Granted, the game is pretty simple and no matter how many times you die, you keep coming back.  Yeah, like an alien Jason.  But it is fun to develop your creature and add all kinds of new stuff to it.  I actually bought it to create creatures to use in comic strips, but right now I am having fun with it. 

06/30/2009
Received an email from Circuit City.  I thought this company was gone.  Did a little research and found that a company named Systemax bought the rights to the Circuit City website.  I know it is still a brand name and people know it, but I personally would rather organically grow a brand name than be associated with that company.  I quit shopping there years before they went bankrupt and was not upset by their demise.  Sure, people lost their jobs.  Sure, suppliers took a loss.  But they were a horrible company that pretty much dug their own grave.  Do some research into the company and you can see where the wheels starting coming off.

Been playing more Zoo Tycoon 2.  Had to go into sandbox mode so that I could put my Dodo birds in the zoo.  Takes too long the other way.  Have to build a zoo, do research, raise money and build pens.  Yeah, that is fun, but I want to see my dodo birds. 

I see that you can download the Michael Jackson "Thriller" video for free on XBOX Live.  I guess I should be touched by this generous gesture on Microsoft's part.  Instead, all I can think of is why would anyone pay to download a video on their XBOX?  Go to a site like Youtube and you can watch all the videos you want for free.  To be fair, I think they should offer a collection of Billy Mays best commercials for free download as well.

I see the latest Cash4Gold ad says they are paying 20% more for your gold.  I ask "20% more than what?"  If you are paying next to nothing, does 20% more really mean anything?  If I offer you a few crumbs for dinner, will 20% more crumbs really fill you up?  I am just asking.

With all these classic stories being remade into movies for the umpteenth time, I fully expect a glut of video game titles to follow.  What I am talking about is movies coming based on Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Invisible Man.  If anything, at least it gets people interested in classic stories.  Oh, and they have two movies based on William Tell.  And if I am correct, he has not had a video game based on him yet.

Speaking of classic stories turned into video games, wouldn't it be cool to take a handful of them and turn them into a video game.  Take the biggest scenes from various stories and intertwine them into one game.  You could come up with some plot where you have to chase down some person who is trying to erase the great stories of literature.  You would battle Moby Dick in one level, then go off and help Robin Hood save Maid Marion.  Then you would fight alongside the Three Musketeers and then try to storm Frankenstein's Castle.  Heck, you could make a game just on the stories of HG Wells. 

 
06/14/2009
E3 is over and it was one of the most lackluster ones in recent years.  With the recession forcing many game companies to rethink what to release and what to cancel, things may be a little slim for the next few years.  Of course by slim, it means that there won't be a thousand games released for Christmas. 

I am glad to see that Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising are both getting sequels.  There is never enough zombie games.  You can add zombies to just about any game and make it better.  Trust me, a bunch of zombies would even make those dreadful "Totally Raven" gameboy games better.  Heck, they could even improve the Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen games.  Well, only if the zombies ate them.  Now that game would sell.

There are rumors of a drop in price for the Wii.  Talk of it going down to $199.00 in price.  Will it happen?  Who knows.  It is not selling out in minutes anymore, but that doesn't mean it isn't selling well.

The second Grand Theft Auto download is coming for the XBOX 360.  My question is, will we see them bundled with the game when it becomes a greatest hit title in a year or so?  That would suck for the people who paid to download it. 

Another rumor has a new XBOX system coming out in 2010.  I do not see that happening.  They do have motion controllers coming and there is talk of a system upgrade with that.  I think it would be a bad idea.  They already fragmented the system enough with ones with hard drives and ones without.  If they do this, we could see a second coming of the Sega Genesis and all its add-ons.  They already have hard drives you can add, a HD-DVD player to add that is not supported anymore and now they are going to have new controllers.  Just let the system run its course and start planning the next one. 

06/02/2009
Been reading some of the news coming from E3 and it is interesting.  I see that at least another 100 games will be made for the PS2.  It is now known as the system that will not die. 

The PSP has  a new version coming out called the PSP Go.  Smaller with 16 Gig of internal memory and more, it sounds good.  Just add a phone and you can be everything the N Gage wasn't. 

They announced ten of the songs that will be on the Rock Band the Beatles.  As I look over the list, I am glad to see "Back in the USSR" on there as I always liked that song.  And playing "I Am the Walrus" will be fun.  Wonder if they will have some trippy backgrounds for it?  I cannot wait to see the rest of the songs.  Here's hoping "Helter Skelter" makes it.  I think it will. 

Hopefully more groups will follow suit and release Rock Band or Guitar Hero compilations.  Groups like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath would be big sellers.  You could do one with Eric Clapton as long as you include his Cream and Traffic stuff. 

Lego Harry Potter just sounds dumb.  Well, it does sound better than Lego Playboy Mansion.  Or Lego Gran Turismo.  Or Lego Pong.  Wait!  That would be redundant.

If you want to know about the upcoming Capcom game, Dark Void, here is a link to a blog about the game.  There is more info about this game than you can shake a stick at!  And alot of exclusive stuff for people who register.  Check it out!  http://community.darkvoidgame.com/blog.php

While I am putting links sent in email, here is one to a site that allows you to make your own games for free.  Don't expect to make Halo or GTA right away, but who knows what you may make.  I want to work on a fighting game that features all the fast food restaurant mascots.  Time to see who is tougher, Ronald McDonald, the Burger King or Colonel Sanders.  Here is the link:

http://www.challengeyou.com/

05/30/2009
Time for a few non video game rants. 

The first one is the lack of imagination for advertising agencies.  These companies are paid millions to come up with effective and original ads and yet they all sound the same right now.  Everything from cars to clothes to pizzas are touting how they are stimulus packages to save you money.  I must have heard a dozen different commercials that all sounded the same.  Listen corporate America, if you want to save money, just clone the commercials you hear on the radio and fire these bums.  A chimpanzee could do as good a job and they work for bananas.

You know when you go to an amusement park and see the ice cream treat called Dipping Dots?  The one that is touted as the ice cream of the future.  Well, exactly when is this future?  They been selling this ice cream for at least twenty years.  I think the future came and went a decade ago.

The Sims 3 comes out Tuesday and I am psyched.  I have been waiting for this game for quite some time.  No, I don't actually want to play it.  I could care less about living the life of a Sim.  I want it to create characters for a comic strip I want to work on.  With the character editor, I figure I can make a whole cast of characters.

The screenshots for the new Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 looks really good.  Let's hope it plays as well as the first one and we will have a winner.  I look forward to building a team of Thor, Hulk, Juggernaut and Iron Man.  Yeah, Juggernaut is a pre order character, which means the code will be published everywhere to unlock him.  That is unless he is a download.  I always laughed when they had these exclusive levels or characters for different stores.  You know the Best Buy exclusive Mario Golf level or the Target exclusive character.  It is just a code you punch in and you get the character.  It is built into every game, no matter where it is sold.  Go to Gamefaq.com or another site and you can get all those and then some.  But there are probably people out there that really think you only get that level or character or whatever by going to that store.

I see another Wolfenstein game is coming out.  Killing nazis is never out of style.  They are the one villain that you can put in and not get any hate mail.  Except for the skinheads, but who really cares about them.

I am still amazed at how popular UFC is.  I remember watching the original one with some friends and thinking it was pretty stupid.  There were a few cool moments, but most of it was two guys rolling around on the ground, trying to put the other in a hold.  Yeah, jujitsu is deadly, but it is pretty boring.  Now if they can create a UFC that featured weapons, I would be all for it.  I know it would be outlawed everywhere, but a live Soul Calibur would be awesome.  Granted, the fighters careers would be pretty short, but that is the price to pay for good entertainment.

 
05/20/2009
Been checking into the new Punchout game for the Wii and from what I see, it is not that much different from the previous games, other than the motion controls of the Wii.  And know what?  That is fine by me.  I thought the old Punchout games were fine as is.  Unlike Hollywood, it is good to see the game industry realize that you do not always have to completely redo something, when you revive it.

I just watched a trailer for the new Batman Arkham Asylum game and it still has one problem that has plagued fighting games since their inception.  No, not collision detection or having to battle the same bunch of thugs over and over.  It is the stupid AI of the thugs.  I watched as Batman was battling a group of thugs.  And what did the thugs do?  They all battled him one at a time, while the rest stood by and waited their turn.  Have video game developers never been or witnessed a real fight?  I have been in a few fights in my life, including being jumped by more than one person and they never did that.  The only places that I have ever seen that happen is in video games, comic books and Hollywood.  In real life, if Batman showed up, all the villains would be shooting at him and charging him as a group.  That or they would all be running away as a group.  But they would never wait their turn to fight.  No one is that courteous in a fight.  If they were that courteous, they wouldn't be fighting.  They would be have a spot of tea or something more civilized.

Walmart has game trade-in kiosks at some select stores.  Not sure how these work, but if it is automatic, sounds like a great way to dump your crap.  If it really is a machine, then the odds are you would scan the barcode of the game and then insert it.  But the question is how does it check the condition of the game or even if the game is the same as the one included?  My guess is you would use a credit card and when someone inspected the game later, they would credit that amount to the card.  I could be wrong, but otherwise, what would stop people from trading in the hottest new game and putting a blank CD in the case?  Will be interesting to see how this plays out and for how long.  Now to see if they give credit for Super Mario/Duck Hunt carts.

Activision has trademarked the name Jurassic Hunter.  Rumors are circulating about a dinosaur hunting game.  That was done years ago on the PC.  I remember buying it from a bargain bin and enjoyed it.  It wasn't great, but it was fun.  They also had one where you hunted mammoths, sabre toothed cats and stuff like that.  It pretty much played the same, only the graphics were different.  But that is what you get in bargain bins.  Hopefully the Activision will be better and the dinosaurs will be smarter. 

05/03/2009
We are one month away from E3.  They want to return to the bigger show of yore as opposed to the smaller, more restrained show of the past few years.  It will be interesting to see if the publishers follow suit.  In this economy, they may want to stay with the smaller, more affordable booths.  But we will see.  Let's hope the booth babes return. 

What will be the big stories this E3?  Price cuts are a given.  Well, at least with the PS3 and maybe the XBOX 360.  It will be interesting to see if the Wii holds tight with their price.  While sales are still strong, they may want to keep the momentum.  Sales of video games are most likely going to go down this Christmas.  Jobless numbers continue to rise and even if you haven't lost your job, you still have to worry about the economy.  There are few safe jobs this time. 

Speaking of Wii, will they finally have a game to announce to get the fanboys excited?  Last year was a bit weak for Wii hardcore games.  Wii Music did not do it.  It would be nice to see another Link or Mario game, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for one.  We will probably end up with another Mario Party.  Whoopee.

It is interesting how fast and how far Crash Bandicoot has fallen.  There was a time when he was mentioned in the same sentence as Mario and Sonic, but now he is becoming more of a footnote.  I see he has a new game out, but does anyone really care anymore? 

04/22/2009
I mean to write more, but lately I haven't much to talk about pertaining to video games.  Guess I don't play as much as I used to.  Part of it has to do with not having a PS3 or XBOX 360.  But then I find there isn't as much free time.

I did purchase a few items for me to play.  One is a Playstation adapter so I can use PS1 or PS2 controllers on my computer.  I want to play more games with a real gamepad and this seemed like a better bet than buy a Sidewinder or another controller.  Why buy one that is like a playstation controller, when I can use a playstation controller?  Let's hope it works out fine.  I am only out ten bucks if it doesn't work as I already have the controllers.

Speaking of controllers, I broke out my Devastator 2 arcade controller the other day for some serious Crazy Climber.  Too bad that my old friend, Jim Krych, doesn't make them anymore.  There were great controllers, despite the enormous size and cost.  I had mine for like five years and it still works perfect.  And when it comes to Crazy Climber or Robotron, no controller beats it!  Google it and see for yourself.

I used some gift cards I earned by doing online surveys to buy Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate Collection.  And what is the big reason to buy it?  Dodo birds!  Yes, I must confess that I am a huge fan of dodo birds.  I used to have a dodo bird shirt that I used to wear to Grateful Dead concerts and watch the deadheads just stare at it.  The shirt said "Don't be a dodo" and on the back it said "Extinction is forever."  It was a gift from the World Wildlife Fund for donating money.  That is when I used to donate money to them.  Before they wasted my donation money fighting the World Wrestling Federation over who owns the rights to WWF.  When I heard how the head of the Wildlife Fund was upset because people would confuse the two and decided to sue, I chose to quit giving them money.  Yeah, I am like that.  I want my donations to save animals, not egos.

Anyway, I wanted to get Zoo Tycoon 2 as soon as I saw the Extinction pack.  But to pay $50.00 for the game and then another $30.00 for the add-on was too much.  So I waited for a collection and lucked on a sale and got the Ultimate Collection for $40.00.  It has Zoo Tycoon 2 and all four expansion packs.  Now I can fill my zoo full of dodo birds and be happy!

I also downloaded a version of Dungeon Master.  It is a game that I played too much of on the Atari ST.  It was the first game that I played so much that it began to appear in my dreams.  Heck, I bought an Atari ST to play the game.  I tried to convince myself that I was buying it for spreadsheets and taxes and stuff like that, but the truth is I bought it to play Dungeon Master.  Yeah, I was that dedicated or crazy, depending on your perspective.

I read up more on OnLive and realized that you not only have to pay a monthly subscription, but also buy the games.  Unless they have some mind blowing games, I will pass.  Good luck with that, you will need it.

04/07/2009
Long time, no blog.  So here is an extra sized blog to make up for it.

The second add-on to Fable II is almost ready for download.  Good news for all the people who are enjoying this game.  Wonder if they will add these downloads to the game when it hits the greatest hits lineup?

Looks like my days with Gametap are coming to an end.  I can play basic games (ie: old games), but I keep getting error messages when I try to download new games.  I did some fix they had listed, but it did nothing.  So when it runs out in October, I will say goodbye to Gametap. 

I signed up to be a beta tester with OnLive.  Will see if I am selected. 

I am happy to see Phil Harrison is doing some good stuff with Atari games.  He has been making some positive changes since taking over.  Too bad their stock was delisted as I would consider buying it.

The Playstation 2 is finally down to $99.00.  What is more amazing is this system is still selling and games are still coming out for it.  Truly amazing how long that system has gone.

What is even more amazing is that there are still Sega Dreamcast games coming out.  Granted, they are small released games like Wind and Water Puzzle Battles and Dalforce, but they are games.  The Dreamcast was one of my all-time favorite systems.  I was so upset when it died a quick death.

03/24/2009
A new online gaming system is coming out that shows alot of promise.  It is called OnLive and will offer new and classic games for play.  It will be a subscription service and will launch later this year.  So far they only mention a handful of games like Lego Batman and Farcry, but it sounds interesting.  Looks like Gametap will have its competition.  The USA Today is talking about how it could be the start of the end of consoles.   I would be for that if it meant the end of the multiple systems.  As much as I like all three companies, the thought that you need to own all three systems (and have over a grand invested in systems alone) to play all the best games is crazy.  I am not going to get too excited until I see OnLive in action. 

Speaking of online services, Gametap is in the middle of their migration to the new service.  I am curious to see how it turns out as I did enjoy the service before I bought a new computer.  But it did have its problems and I for one would like to see a more stable system.

The talk of a price cut for the PS3 is heating up.  They are predicting it will be at E3 or right around that time.  If it pans out, wonder how Microsoft will respond?  Will they also have a price cut, more pack-in games or both?  And will Nintendo do anything?  I could see them adding a pack-in game, besides the one that comes with it.  Maybe a Super Mario Galaxy bundle. 

While we are on the subject of Nintendo, gotta love a company that is so into recycling.  I see they are re-releasing Pikman and other games for the Wii.  Yeah, the very same games they released on the Gamecube.  The only differences from what I can gather is the controls are made for the Wii motion controller.  Look for them to release more games like this.  I cannot wait for the re-release of Hey You!  Pikachu. 

03/17/2009
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!   Time for some green beer and green gaming.  Can't think of any green games?  Just put in an Incredible Hulk game and you are covered.  Or if you don't have a Hulk game, what about a Star Wars game?  There are plenty of green characters in there.  Greedo, Yoda and others.  Or pull out the old Genesis game, Boogerman.  Green in a gross way.  Or if you want to go classic, what about Frogger? 

When I first heard of the Six Flags game for the Wii, I was like "Cool, another amusement park game."  Little did I know that it looks to be more of a collection of mini games than building rides.  Just what we need, another collection of the same games in new packaging.  There was a game called Carnival that did this before.  With Six Flags so willing to put their name on anything, no wonder their stock is at 16 cents a share.  Yeah, that's right, you can buy five shares of Six Flags for a buck and get back change (not counting the broker fees).  Heck, a McDonald's cheeseburger costs a buck. 

With the success of God of War, I cannot figure out why no one hasn't rushed out and did a similar game, but with Thor as the main character.  Not the Marvel character, but the Norse God.  Contrary to what people think, Thor was around way before Marvel made a comic book about him.  With the richness of Norse mythology and the various villains (Loki, Midgard Serpent, Fenris Wolf), you have the basis of a great game.  Someone needs to jump on this goldmine of an idea.

03/10/2009
In the "I completely missed this" news note - Midway has filed bankruptcy.  Will be interesting to see if they can come out or if they get bought up by another company.  They still have some good franchises.

Want to sell your games, but are too lazy to go to a store and sell them?  Feel left out because the people selling their gold jewelry get to just mail in their stuff?  Well, now you can also mail in your games and get cash.  Amazon offers this service to you!  And unlike the cash for gold thieves, they will actually tell you what they are paying up front.  Granted, it is not much, but it is something and you can be lazy and just mail it in and wait.

We all know that Microsoft paid a very pretty penny for the original content of Grand Theft Auto on the XBOX 360.  At the time, it seemed like a major coup.  But in this economic climate, I wonder if there is any buyer's remorse?  I'm sure it sold well, but did it do enough to warrant the high price tag?  Will it push enough systems to make it a good deal?  The final outcome may have major implications on future deals. 

03/05/2009
Rock Band is having an expansion that is dedicated solely to the Beatles!  Talk about a major coup for the Rock Band camp.  Let's see, Guitar Hero gives you one based on Aerosmith and Rock Band gives you The Beatles.  Makes me want to get the Rock Band guitar package at least.  Now we need to see if someone comes out with a Led Zeppelin one.  I say they should keep these band specific expansions coming.  As long as we don't end up with the Flock of Seagulls one.  But I would be all for a Weird Al expansion with an add-on accordion.  Now that would rule!

I was sent a list of the ten most rarest XBOX games from the website Video Game Price Charts.  Here is the list, do you have any?

The top ten most expensive Xbox games are:
01. Marvel vs Capcom 2
02. Steel Battalion with Controller
03. GTA Trilogy
04. Halo Triple Pack
05. Sniper Elite
06. Star Wars Jedi Knight Academy
07. Sonic Mega Collection Plus & Super Monkey Ball Deluxe
08. Jurassic Park Operation Genesis
09. Fatal Frame
10. Airforce Delta Storm

As I look at this list, I cannot help but wonder what is the problem with Marvel vs Capcom games?  The one for the Dreamcast is also among the rarest games.  
Does Marvel have a clause in their contract that says their games must be rare or what?  I do know the Jurassic Park game is really cool.  Had it for the PS2.

Gametap sent me an email where they are overhauling their whole system.  They will even have a 64 bit option, which I am excited about.  Add on the fact that they added Fable and I may end up
keeping it after my time runs out.  I was going to let it expire, but I will have to see in two weeks how it is.  Here's hoping.

03/02/2009
My son and I teamed up to make a stop motion movie starring peeps (yeah the ones you get for Easter).  Check it out and let us know what you think.  It is only his second stop motion animation.  Here is the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr7LTrjpQYQ

Time for the laugh of the day.  I read an article about people who sent gold jewelry to those companies that offer to give you cash for gold if you send in your unwanted gold.  In the article, one man sent in an estimated $300.00 worth of gold and received $0.16.  Yeah, that's sixteen cents!  I laughed so hard when I read that.  I know it isn't nice to laugh at other people's misery, but the man has nothing to complain about.  If you watch the ads, they say that they will pay you cash for gold.  Nowhere do they tell you how much cash you will receive for your gold.  And the guy did receive cash for gold.  Next time, maybe he will just drive up to a legitimate jeweler and see what it is worth.  When scams like this can do well enough to have a commercial during the Super Bowl, you know our country is doomed.  It is not hard to realize why we are in the financial mess we are in.

Want more proof that fools and their money are soon parted?  All you have to do is look at the diet industry.  Americans spend billions upon billions on diet pills, patches, drinks, books and every other thing you can think of.  I even saw one called the Cookie Diet.  If you are dumb enough to spend money on a Cookie Diet and expect to lose weight, then you deserve to be broke.  People, it is real simple.  If you want to lose weight, you need to do two things.  First, you need to eat healthier and by healthy, I don't mean diet cola and lowfat chips.  I mean fruits, vegetables (and french fries do not count), nuts, grains.  You know the stuff that is good for you.  Second, you need to exercise.  Take a walk everyday.  That is it.  Do these and you will lose weight.  Or you can keep buying into every diet fad and they only thing you lose is money.

Once again, I veer far off course.  So let's take a look at some upcoming video games and see what looks good.  God of War III is shaping up to be an incredible game.  It can be one of the games that really helps the Playstation 3 out.  And it needs it as it is in a distant third place.

I see a new Sonic game is coming.  Sonic and the Black Knight.  Is it me or is there already more than enough Sonic games?  I guess Sega is going to beat this horse to death, revive it and proceed to beat it some more.

And what else is coming out?  A new baseball game.  It is the second best time of the year for video game sports fans (after the fall with the new Madden and NCAA football).  I must say that baseball has really improved over the last few years.  No longer can you hit pretty much every ball that is thrown to you.  And every pitch is not a strike anymore.

It is one of those times when I actually wish I had a PSP.  The new Phantasy Star game looks really good.  Much better than the stack of DS games that are coming this month.  I mean, would you rather play Phantasy Star or Gardening Mama, My Horse and Me 2, Flower, Sun and Rain and the game that really is the clincher...Imagine: Family Doctor.  I kid you not, these are all DS games.  Yeah, Nintendo has no standards at all.  Anyone can make a game for the DS and apparently they are.  I think I will get working on Patty Cake Wars.  The game has sh...I mean hit written all over it!
 
02/28/2009
I am not sure how I feel about the Watchmen game coming out.  I loved the comic and cannot wait to see the movie, but the video game does not interest me.  It could be good, but most likely it will end up as a bad beat-em up starring Nite Owl and Rorschach.  I  hope I am wrong.

Remember when a new Rampage game was all the rage?  Actually it never was, but I remember how there was a new one every year.  Wonder what happened to that trend?  Oh yeah, people quit buying the same game over and over.  How about a 3D Rampage?

Speaking of old games, I used to love playing Rampart.  I would love to see an updated version of that game made.  Don't overdo it, just spruce up the graphics, add some new challenges and keep the price low. 
 
02/20/2009
With all this bad news in the economy and the video game market, it is good to see there is some good news.  Gamestop stores are doing better than expected business.  They are one of the few stocks that is going up.  Guess with the costs of everything going up and people in panic, buying a video game for entertainment is a pretty good idea.  Unlike going to a movie or a sporting event, you have something you can use for months and get something in trade when you are done.

Speaking of events, I have personally decided to not go to anymore concerts.  My wife still likes them and has bought tickets to the Eagles and Billy Joel/Elton John, but I have no desire to go to anymore concerts.  Its not that there aren't any good concerts to see, but it is Live Nation and Ticketmaster themselves.  You go online immediately to buy tickets and all the good ones are gone before you can even buy them.  And then a few weeks later, they send you an email offering to sell you the good tickets you could not purchase the first time, for insane mark-ups.  I spent over $100.00 a ticket for Eagles tickets that are a distance from the stage and considered good seats.  I tried to get the great seats, but they were gone before the sale.  But they offered to sell those to me a few weeks later for $1200.00 a ticket.  Yeah, the price it would cost me for an XBOX 360, PS3, Wii and a few games.  There is no musician I would pay for $1200.00 to see and that includes the Doors with a living Jim Morrison (one of my all-time favorite music groups).  It is greed like this that should be illegal.  They should at least have to put a big disclaimer saying "All good tickets are not available to the general public.  If you want tickets where you can actually see the group, understand that you will need to pay an absurd amount of money for them."

Speaking of musical groups, I hear that Led Zeppelin may be touring this year.  But the problem is Robert Plant does not want to tour or so they say.  Maybe it is me, but I could not see going to a Led Zeppelin concert without Plant.  It would be like seeing Queen without Freddie Mercury.   Oh wait, they are trying to do that.  It would be like seeing the Doors without Jim Morrison.  Oh wait, they are trying that as well.  Maybe it is me, but I would not want to try and fill Jim's shoes.  Being the singer who replaces him is like being the guy who dates a woman after she dates John Holmes.  You are just going to come up short.

I do wander off subject, don't I?  Let's get back on track.  I saw the newest commercial for the Grand Theft Auto download for the XBOX 360 and I was impressed.  It got my attention and I am not one to pay for extra content.

I am in the mood for a good collectible card game on the computer.  But I don't want one where you have to keep buying more cards.  Anyone have a good suggestion?

02/11/2009
If you are like me, then your wardrobe is made up partly of video game t-shirts.  There was a time when this was considered pretty geeky, but now that video games are in fashion, we can proudly wear our hobby.  With this in mind, I added a section on the website where you can purchase video game based t-shirts and books. So you can wear your Mario shirt and get all the princesses.  Unless they are in the next castle.  Click here to check it out.

When I was at Gamestop awhile back, I saw one of their faux boxes that really are an ad for an upcoming game.   You know what I am talking about, the game box that says "Coming Soon" on it.  Well, it was for a game that caught my eye.  A new version of Legends of Wrestling.  If you read the old blogs here, then you will know that I thought the old Legends of Wrestling games were a great concept that were not executed properly.  Let's hope this time that it is made well.  There is a ton of potential here, we just need a wrestling game that does not suck.  And the old ones sucked.

There are so many war games coming out these days, that you would think they would do a few of the lesser wars.  We already have a ton of World War II games, your share of Vietnam and Civil War, but what about Granada?  Or the Falkland Island Invasion?  Or if you want bigger wars, what about the French/Indian War or the War of 1812.  Give these other wars some time.  And make a Korean War game that is not about MASH.

02/06/2009
Add Electronic Arts to the list of companies that are cutting video game jobs.  They cut 1,100 jobs as they posted losses.  Now we are waiting to hear cuts at Activision and Nintendo.  You know that copying each other is not limited to just game types.

One of the games that I really enjoyed on the XBOX is getting a sequel!  Red Dead Revolver, the game that Rockstar picked up and released is finally getting a sequel called Red Dead Redemption.  It was one of two western games that came out at at time when the only western games you could find were poker titles.  Now let's hope that Gun also gets a sequel, though I really doubt it.

02/03/2009
I pay for a service like Gametap and I cannot get it to work on my new computer.  I buy a game like Oblivion and it does not work on it, but I download a few free games from Amazon.com and they work perfect.  Go figure.  If you want some free game downloads, check out these links and enjoy! 

    *Build A-Lot
    *Jewel Quest II
    *The Scruffs
    *Big Kahuna Reef

For more deals like this, check out Slickdeals.  Great site!

I don't know about you, but the amount of spam is getting insane.  It almost all goes to my spam bin to be thrown out, but I like to look at some of the titles for a laugh.  My new personal favorite is one that reads "Dumb and Poor?"  If you are thinking, "Yeah, that describes me!" then maybe you should not be on the internet, let alone answering emails.

I was talking about the companies laying off people in the video game industry awhile back and I forgot one.   Mike over at the Red Ring of Trite told me that Midway also laid off a bunch of people.  Guess a job in the video game industry is not as wonderful as those commercials make it out to be. 

01/28/2009
Found a link to a site with one of the coolest, albeit useless items.  They are mini arcade machines that you buy and assemble.  You cannot play them, they are for decoration only, but if you are into miniatures or want something on your desk to get people talking, then this is it.  They also have mini pinball machines as well.  The price is very affordable and they look so cool.  Here is a link for you:  http://www.jcstudiosinc.com/ArcadeGames/ArcadeGamesMain.jsp

What is is with Will Wright games?  Everytime he makes a game, it ends up spawning sequels like a couple of rabbits.  His latest achievement, Spore is spawning four new Spore titles.  Soon the world will be filled with Spores, much like it was filled with Sims.  You have been warned.

01/27/2009
I was in a retail store the other day that has muzak playing overhead and heard Pacman Fever.  It was cool, even though I was probably the only one dancing to it.  Hope that video doesn't show up on Youtube.

Speaking of retail stores, I was in a local discount store and saw one of those plug and play games that were all the rage a few years back.  The games were bland and nothing to speak of, but something caught my eye.  It was made by a company called Coleco.  Yeah, someone is using the Coleco name again.  I looked at the box to make sure it wasn't a collection of Coleco games (they have one of their handheld games), but it was not.  I smiled to see the name out there again.

I am remembering why I don't bother with PC gaming.  I picked up Oblivion for the PC to play on my new computer.  But I found it does not work.  Loads up well and everything, but when it comes time to play, I hit the button to start the game and it acts like it loads and then nothing.  I looked all over the net and downloaded patches and checked for solutions, but no luck.  I can play it on my old computer, but it runs terribly.  And we all know that you cannot return opened games.  Guess I have a game to donate to the Salvation Army.  First, Gametap does not play on the computer and now this.  I specifically bought a Dell to not have problems, but they are here anyway.

I am still surprised that no one else tried to do a Kingdom Heart game with another license.  I thought a Hanna Barbera or Sid and Marty Krofft game would do well, but I guess I am in the minority.

01/22/2009
Two video game based companies just announced major layoffs.  Both Sony and Microsoft announced huge layoffs.  Sony is losing money for the first time in a long time, while Microsoft is still make ungodly profits, but it is in the vogue to cut jobs, so they don't want to be left out.  Let me say that I would love to see the end of Wall Street.  If there is anything that is killing our economy, it is Wall Street.  I know all about how it is a way to raise capital for companies, but it has changed and now every publicly owned company out there cares more about the stockholders than they do their own employees, their customers or anyone else.  I miss the days when it was considered a negative thing to cut jobs.  I miss when companies like IBM and UPS would brag about never laying anyone off.  But now if you make a penny less than Wall Street expects and it is time to slash jobs.

Time to get off my soap box and talk about games.  I keep this up and I will end up blogging about the fall of America in an abandoned bomb shelter.  Anyway, I cannot remember a video game series that has become so vogue for advertisers as the Guitar Hero series.  I am seeing it everywhere in commercials.  It is like if you want to reach the younger generation, you need to have Guitar Hero in your ad.  Guess it is better than Hannah Montana.

Speaking of Hanna Montana, I finally got around to watching an episode of that show.  I still cannot figure out what the draw is?  The acting is so wooden that it's flammable.  The jokes are terrible and the writing is painful.  Guess if I was a ten year old girl, I would understand it.  I know the stuff I watched as a kid wasn't exactly Shakespeare Theatre, but at least Happy Days is considered a classic.  We will see if anyone cares about Hannah Montana in a decade.

Man, I am sounding like a bitter old man.  Next thing you know, I will be yelling at kids to stay off my grass.  Time to get some happy pills.  Pac-Man, can I borrow a few?

I still cannot believe the Hard Rock Park only lasted one year.  It looked like a cool amusement park and I was planning on visiting it this year.  Someone really dropped the ball on this one.  What is more amazing that after someone spent $400 million to build it, no one wanted to pay $33 million to buy it.  If I had the money, I would have bought it and made my Nintendo Amusement Park.  And they refused to do payments. Darn.

01/13/2009
Bought a new computer because I found that with three teenage boys, I was not getting any time on the computers.  If you look at the lack of updates on the sites lately, you will see what I mean.  So I should be able to do  more updates on the websites.

I did find one problem with the new computer.  It is a 64 bit computer and Gametap does not support anything above 32 bit.   I talked to a person there and they said they do not know of any plans to update the system.  All I can say is that almost all the new computers are now 64 bit.  So they are severely limiting their future customers.  But then maybe this is a sign of the future of the service. 

I did buy a game for the computer.  Now that I have a computer that can handle it, I bought the Morrowind Oblivion.  I know the old computer could never handle it.  But the new one can.  The joys of having more of everything.  More memory, more hard drive, better graphics card.

01/08/2009
I see that Barack Obama is making an appearance in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man.  I think it is amazing how many people are trying to capitalize on his presidency.  I fully expect an Obama video game appearance soon.  Maybe he can help battle aliens in an upcoming Halo game or fight terrorists in a Tom Clancy inspired game. 

With a new year upon us, let's take a look at some of the most exciting new games coming this year.  Granted, some will be delayed, but we will assume they will all come out this year.

First up, you have the dynamic duo coming from Blizzard.  No, not Batman but the powerhouse one two punch of Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3.   Both are scheduled for the PC, but I think it is safe to say a console version will follow.  As someone who has played both series, I can say that I am excited about both games.  I am especially excited about Diablo 3, but I know that I will need a new computer if I want to enjoy these games.  My old computer most likely will not handle them.  It struggles with Minesweeper.

Not sure if God of War 3 will make it out in 2009, but after finishing the first two, I must say it is a game that may sway me to jump into the Next Generation.  But then I said that about a few other games as well.