AndrewTS

BK CHIKN FRIEZ ROQS UR COQ!

I'm pretty sure there's already been some "you're fired" match before. And I'm not thinking of the Pinkslip on a Pole, either.

Luchadores on Raw.... Oh wait, that's Mucha Lucha. HBK in the pink...peach...whatever dress shirt.

Sonic Spinball says hello. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Spinball isn't that bad, just insanely unbalanced and tedious. Blast GG has simple things like hit detection completely screwed up. I could never beat The Machine. I liked Spinball a lot and played the heck out of it when it came out new. The GG version though...well...it's a blurry, uglier version of Spinball. Nothing more, nothing less. I was surprised R was decent. However, I'm also aware that the PC version was upgraded, and it really shows. It seems to take advantage of the C-stick (I know the original R was compatible with the analog pad; I think some of the bad reviews that mentioned the controls may have only used the D-pad) and feels pretty good. Kind of clunky in places (just try turning around from a stop), but a pleasant surprise. StF is pretty much what I expected it to be--Sonic in the Fighting Vipers engine. That's pretty much exactly what it plays like, and the rubbery effects when the characters attack/get attacked are really cool.

Are those any good? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The games themselves or the port jobs? Fatal Fury 3 was fair to middling when it came out, so by today's standards it's totally boring and vanilla. I had gotten the import Saturn version as part of a lot once before. It looks alright as a port. SamSho2 is damn fun, if a bit dated. I haven't played too much of it since I misplaced my controller. Vs. the arcade it looks a tad framey, but is still leaps and bounds better than the 16 bit SamSho1, so I'm pleased. They were together as a double pack. They're "Windows 95/98" compatible, so I haven't tried them on my XP computer yet, just the older 98 SE computer I use for my older games that are difficult/impossible to find on other consoles. I'll find out if it works on XP soon. EDIT: Works fine on XP. Long way away, though.

The Metal Sonic holograms do have one small purpose in Sonic CD. If you destroy it you get little animals frollicking around in all eras, but destroying it alone doesn't get you a good future. I unlocked all of the Bare Knuckle (Streets of Rage) games. BK3 is pretty easy, so I see why they bumped up the difficulty. Since there are no more South Park games i Bonanza Bros sucks. It reminds me of the Catwoman Game Boy Color game with better controls and graphics. Somebody brought up the Donkey Kong/Jr. thing, and apparently the story is that Rare's explanation used to be accepted. Since then, Miyamoto took control over the DK games. He hates DKC, sohe's kind of struck that from canon and now rendered DK is the "original" DK, DK Jr. is still a friggin' baby if he's called into action, but mysteriously some of the other Rare/DK characters like Diddy are still around. Miyamoto sucks at continuity. As for why the Rare character design stays--Miyamoto actually designed the rendered look with Rare, they just added the tie. So he's cool with that. He was upset about Rare's handling of DK in general, though, and thinks DKC's gameplay is awful. I don't know why he let Yoshi's Story get made (headed up by his own right-hand guy, of all people), though. I got the PC versions of Samurai Shodown and Fatal Fury 3 now, plus the Saturn Galaxy Fight (a game I'm sure Anya would get a few giggles out of).

Yeah. That's what I was basing it on. To AndrewTS: Didn't Yukes/THQ remove Rikishi a few months before SVR 1 was released last year since WWE had released Rikishi around that time? Or is Jericho still in because he's always been a bigger name than Rikishi? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> He probably will be in because he's a bigger star, but I don't think I ever saw screens of Rikishi or official confirmation that he was included. I know there were screens of Bulldog though. Although, perhaps you're right and there is cause for concern--I rechecked IGN's confirmed list. I thought I read Chris Jericho--but not there. He could still be in, but we're not sure he's already been made and added. That was the 11th--after Jericho signed the extension that would keep him in WWE until Summerslam. So perhaps you're right. Damn. At the very least his moveset will stay in.

...

Jericho's already in the game, and he's staying in. They almost never cut somebody from a game when they've already been completely programmed in.

Personally--yawn. It'd be nice for retailers to allow totally custom bundles. I'd take a harddrive, XBL Gold, and 2 wired controllers myself. As it is, the marginal cost is well worth it especially if XB1 won't be dropping. The Premium pack still comes with crap I don't need (headset, remote, and I don't care for wireless controllers much). Depends on how many people become 360 owners around launch, of course. However, if the cost is about the same and the service is better, seems a no-brainer for current XBL users to upgrade. However, if PD0 and other launch titles don't really offer much, it may not be until Halo 3 that it grows much. Since X-Box production I think has halted, XB1's major releases have tapered off, and their focus is currently on the 360, it does puzzle me. Couldn't retailers unload unsold X-Boxes by selling them at a loss, even without MS's approval? XB1 doesn't have much life left in it, unlike PS2, which I can easily see getting trickles of games onward into 2007. That previous article hinted strongly that a $99 PS2 is on the way sooner. A big reason for the PS2 redesign is that it's cheaper to manufacture, and I guarantee Sony's going to be producing them for a while (and they'll probably sell a lot of them this Christmas). Yet, what could MS gain from a $99 X-Box? It seems like they're waving the white flag on this era, worried more about their preemptive strike on PS3. Never owned an X-Box memory card--owned 3 PS2 cards and 4 PS1 cards.

Isn't the actual WWE audience now more towards the middle-aged demo?

He's assuming it will be plenty of room. Honestly, nobody is going to fill up a 20 GB harddrive with game data, but we're not sure exactly how much room 360 saves are going to take up. The hard drive alone is worth 100 bucks if you're going to use the backward compatibility. Assuming most or all of the XB games you want to play work with it, it still beats buying a new XB or, if you're lucky, spending 80 bucks for a used one. Plus, buying the other accessories extra--it's better to get the $399 version. However, 40 bucks for a controller is insane. I honestly don't see the big deal about standard wireless controllers, anyway. Aren't every single one of these wireless controllers going to be eating up batteries? Oh, and the 360 will get a wrestling game that doesn't suck, something the first one had a problem pulling off... http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/08/17/news_6131258.html

Hath Duthy gotten in Vinman's aher?

Hath Duthy gotten in Vinman's aher?

How was the ladder match? Crap, classic, mediocre?

I've seen tons of TV ads for Red Eye. One for Valiant, but that was during a Law and Order, oddly enough.

The "only" games to bother using it happen to include the best selling game X-Box ever had. I think we have a problem with Microsoft's sketchy-at-best information, though. However, I'm going by this information from MS's website: It seems to be saying that Silver is only going to allow for stuff that's one-on-one--for example DoA4. However, for anything multiplayer, it seems you *need* Gold. However, between DoA4 and Halo 3/Perfect Dark--I think it's obvious which is going to be the bigger seller in the US. I'm well aware of the current market. You're an expert? Not my words, though. Yet Sony and even Nintendo are putting a much stronger focus on online gaming in the next generation. While broadband isn't expected to grow as much in the near future, the 360 should sell significantly better than the X-Box. MS is banking on Live as one of it's main competitive advantages, and both Sony are Nintendo are making online play a higher priority. I don't see it as unfathomable for total 360's Gold members to equal or beat current Live customers within the next 4 years. I'd say it's inevitable. $100 less than the Saturn, their only competitor at the time, with better-looking games. In fact, the price was Sony's *only* reaction to Sega announcing their surprise launch. That's all they needed to say. On a related note... Well, so much for a $99 X-Box, but that's not too surprising considering they already sell 'em at a loss.

Source on "going back to the drawing board?" Because I've searched for anything of the sort, and nothing has turned up. The closest thing to the sort was Sony saying that it wasn't the final design, which means it *may* change, not that it will. Everybody knows that "not final" part. However, gamers know console manufacturers are notoriously stubborn. The PS3 controller we've been seeing since a few days before E3 is the controller that, right now, Sony is happy with. It's been in all of the promotional and concept designs they've shown since then. I don't think we'll see a redesign unless the system comes out, everybody hates it, and Sony then releases a wireless Dual Shock 2 clone with all of the extra features. Plus, it's the shape that concerns people more than anything, not lack of buttons or excessive bulk. I doubt Sony will care unless they feel the demand is there to milk people for another version. However, the design is almost exactly like a 3rd party PS1 pad I owned once upon a time, and I hated it. Isn't really necessary? If you're buying an X-Box 360, are an avid gamer, and want to play online, it is necessary. Owning X-Box without online play is a grandma owning a Hummer to drive to the grocery store and bingo hall and back. Why would anyone bother with one otherwise? As for backwards compatibility, there have been no less than 3 different versions of it straight from Microsoft's mouth, so either they haven't made up their mind or are having difficulty making it work. However, the latest story they have is that it will require the hard drive, they're shooting for 100% compatibility, but out of the box "the most popular titles" will need to work. FFXI will require the hard drive, as will obviously a lot of similar MMORPGs. That's definite. That opens the door for developers to take greater advantage of the hard drive for games, but this tiered approach will cause them to be a little uncertain. I'd definitely bet we'll see more downloadable content, expansion packs, and the like. Oh, $499 at the very least. It's a supercomputer, you know. It's 1000 times more powerful than the PS2 (probably at rendering white, unshaded polys, of course). It's a Blu-Ray player. It plays UM*cough*youdidn'thearthat!*cough*... I hope they charge 600 dollars, MS subsequently delivers a huge pounding to them, and they're taken down about 10 pegs. Krazy Ken seems to have forgotten that a fantastic value (in actuality and not just appearance) is what made the PS1 such a huge success in the first place.

The one they sent out in the mail where the Sony and Sega guys are kidnappers? If so I have it some where. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> http://manna.iceanvil.com/article/starfox/index.shtm

Maria so much > Grisham it ain't even funny.

I repeat... How exactly did they take such a horribly lame-sounding, barely-worth-an-SNL skit concept and make it a decent movie?

I guess it'll resume to some extent when Trish comes back. Slam looks to be likely, because she's already working house shows. Since Vicky's been acting as the Heart Throbs' beard, I'm guessing she hooks up with a tag team and we'll have a stupid, pointless intergender/mixed tag feud and throw in Roseycane and Stacy, because it's not like the Raw tag division means anything.

If by "more for your dollar" you mean a system that craps out in 6 months. The PS3 has nothing to offer right now except probably the best 3rd party support. The controller is awful online play will most certainly be inferior to the 360 PS2/PS1 controllers and accessories won't work with it (no word if PS2/PS1 games can be saved on memory sticks, but most certainly you can kiss any data on your old cards goodbye if you trade in your PS2) Sony's is going totally willy-nilly about the harddrive. "Maybe it will be used for games, maybe not" is the official position right now. It's going to cost a metric assload. The PS3 will likely be an overrated POS piece of hardware...that will get the best 3rd party support anyway... Kutaragi basically said so.

I'd much rather have Michaels being himself than Holy Bible Kid. But despite RD's "separation of church and ring" edict, a Ned-Flanders style heel could be entertaining. He's be so sickeningly nice people would boo him, luck would seemingly always be on his side, perhaps lightning strikes his opponent's rent-a-car... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That WOULD be entertaining. But to really make it work you'd have to have him only hang out with other heels to convert them. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> He'd get booed for not making the "illegal" save during a tag match, and would unwittingly assist the heels. "BAH GAWD, SNITSKY HAS THOSE ROSARY BEADS AND IS CHOKING SHELTON WITH THEM!"

5 resthold spots from Orton, no real flow, nothing outstanding except for Orton's Ultra-dickhead DDTs (I liked that) and nobody cared for it because Benoit lost? It was flat out boring, I'm sorry. This week has been pretty crappy as far as pre-PPV shows (and those usually are bad anyway). Hardly any of the participants in matches together came within 100 feet of each other, except for the Cena handicap match on Raw. Not even the dumbest mark on the planet thinks Jericho has a snowball's chance in hell of winning at Slam.