AndrewTS

"to the eventual three-count KO" LOL At least playing possum sounds like a good idea.

DEAN's comix for this week: http://deathvalleydriver.com/comix/81851.jpg http://deathvalleydriver.com/comix/81852.jpg http://deathvalleydriver.com/comix/81853.jpg I taped the last hour of SD, and I was surprised how little he embellished Simon Dean, Cruiser Killer. There he was, Nova in a stupid exercise guru gimmick, racking Rey and punching the crap out of him. Yeah, smark interest in SD has really died out, but remember that casual viewers probably aren't checking or thinking to check SD spoilers, either.

I bought Sigma Star Saga last night, and played it for...oh, 1 to 3 AM since I was battling insomnia anyway. So far I love it. Main gripe is that I think they should have let you see more of the screen on the field, but it's no biggie. Anyway, how'd they mesh the action-rpg/shooter elements? Well, kind of like this: there are full-blown shooter levels, sure, but you'll be doing some work in the field--item collecting, shooting baddies, that sort of stuff as well. The first chapter was pretty mundane in that aspect, but a lot of areas were blocked off. However, while you're exploring, the psychic link your parasite has with the ships can summon you back at any time to fend off attacks... So basically--there are sections where you have to fight random battles, but they're really mini shooter sections where you have to kill x number of enemies (or battle a single, very big baddie). I've collected some gun data, allowing me to shift between my ship's standard pea-shooter, or a custome shot. Right now it's a double laser with rapid fire that fires in any of 8 directions my ship moves onscreen. There are full-blown, longer shooter sequences--such as one in the beginning, and one at the end of Chapter 1 where I annihilated scores of humanity (mere collateral damage so I can succeed in my mission, heh). So far the shooter segments are relatively forgiving. You have a life bar, and as long as you have energy you can keep going. Shooter vets might make mincemeat out of the game (or perhaps will opt to take it on with the pea-shooter), though, cuz I suck at them and I'm doing alright. After killing an enemy you can pick up a little ball of energy for Exp. So far, well worth it.

I think the worst vg commercial I've seen in a long, long time are the ones for FFTA. Snotty cosplaying brat: "Call me now, or I could BECOME IRRITABLE!!" There was another one with the chick who has gray streaks acting creepy.

I'm late, but could you please tell me why it was dick?

That reminds me--did anyone here see the HBK/Savage vs. Bret/Flair match that happened in the early 90's? I'd heard it plugged as being pretty damn good before.

Vampiro69: Aren't you the one who had the Batman vs. Jesus match up screens in your sig, then? Actually, he whooped some money changers' asses.

I'm not putting a damn nickel down until I have a confirmed starting lineup for the US, official word on X-Box backwards compatibility (they've been jerkng us around for about 4 months with it already), and whether the HD is going to be essential or just a useless hunk of junk you attach to the system. If it's just going to be for FFXI and MMORPGs in general, screw it.

- The bat from Fern Gully <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kickass! -- Cartman

Day of Reckoning sucks. Smackdown vs. Raw sucks a little less, but at least it sucks with tons of great play modes. I got my import Sonic Gems today. No idea how to play the SoR games yet, but I'm pleased. Sonic CD looks and feels way smoother than it ever did on SCD or PC, loading times are quick, and the soundtrack is better on this one. Tails Adventure is actually kind of fun, but Sky Control is meh. Boring. Triple Trouble is better than I remembered. Sonic 2 GG is still hard as hell. Perhaps the hardest Sonic around (except for Sonic 1 NES/"Somari", but those aren't official games anyway).

Yeah, that mighta been out of line. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Most iso-platformers don't work, but Spot Goes to Hollywood > 3D Blast. Traveller's Tales churns out so much crap it confounds me they're still around. You'd think by now they'd make decent games, but aside from Mickey Mania and (shockingly) Lego Star Wars, they've got an awful track record. Haven may have been the worst 3D platformer I've ever played (okay, maybe after Bubsy 3D). However, the worst Sonic game ever = Sonic Blast for Game Gear. Yeah, worse than Labyrinth, IMHO.

The CD bosses are pretty lame. One of them you don't have to actually hit--just wait 'em out. Although the time traveling, finding the machines to bust, collecting the time stones (CD has my favorite of the Sonic special stages) are fun. It has stuff unique to the game like the Wacky Workbench floor, and shrinking down in Metallic Madness. It's less speed oriented than Sonic 2 or 3, but Sonic 1 crawled except for Green Hill and Star Light. Most people would agree that the US soundtrack isn't very good; the Jpn one fits the game more, but that's not really gameplay related. No idea how the graphics turned out, because the original was fine and I assume it's still just fine. However, it's not as polished in the level design area as Sonic 2, or as massive, varied, and awesome as Sonic 3 & Knuckles. CD's been done a disservice by being hyped up by some fans as the ultimate, bestest Sonic game ever, when it's really not the case. In fact, there was demand for Chaotix to make it onto the collection, even though it sucks. Sonic 3D Blast a better game, though? No way in hell. Does anyone know what purpose the Robo Sonic holograms have? If you pass them up and destroy the robot-making machines it still gives you the good ending.

Melina and Mercury beat Booker and Sharmelle Animal and Heidenreich squashed a couple jobbers. Candice was the guest ring announcer. She looked hot. She was the highlight of the match. They were announced as the Legion of Doom. Hawk must've rolled over in his grave. JBL faced Funaki in the NHB match and destroyed him. Right before he was about to beat him, Batista came out and beat JBL with a chair. He said that since JBL was making guarantees, he'd make one of his own: He said "this million dollar body and 5 cent brain would kick his ass at SummerSlam". Rey Mysterio faced Simon Dean. Randy Orton beat Chris Benoit ------------------------------------- That's all the matches in a 2 hour show? And the LoD squash probably was 30 seconds max. I'll check out Orton/Benoit grudgingly. Rest is bg noise.

Shadow of the Colossus: yeah, definitely one to look out for, but I don't expect a sequel to Ico to be too big a seller. More of a sleeper hit. Okami I thought was PS2/Gamecube, but seems you're right. Sony--publish a US Ape Escape 3, you bastids!

Sony has We Love Katamari, RE4 (okay, it'll suck, probably will outsell the GC one), Dragon Quest VIII (depending on when 360 launches in Japan, that game alone could snuff the 360 hype unless Blue Dragon launches with it), Soul Calibur III, Kingdom Hearts 2, Ratchet: Deadlocked, and Tales of Legendia. That's still left in this year, and doesn't count multi-console titles. There's probably more I missed. Nintendo has the above-mentioned titles, Pokemon XD, some licensed 3rd party crap...and that's about it. I wonder if that Gamecube Kirby is happening. I've seen it on release lists and some screen shots...but we know how Air Ride turned out (delayed until the next console gen, that is).

That's really a shame, especially considering how lame most of The Batman's "reimaginings" are. That could explain partly why we've had a surge in Supes' villains in JLU lately. They could be trying to get it out of their system before Superman Returns gets close.

I'd like to see Dee Snider utterly destroy Thompson in a debate.

Agreed about Christmas with the Joker and The Last Laugh, but I liked Be A Clown, particularly the scenes in the amusement park. Although, yeah, there were way better Joker episodes, like Joker's Favor. I didn't much like the Jokerfish ep a while back, but the plot is so twisted and insane I gotta love it. Be A Clown reminds me of an ep of Cowboy Bebop (Pierrot Le Fou), containing a powerful and bizarre villain that's like a superpowered cross between Joker and Penguin.

Rudo, I believe. He credited Linda for the more intelligent business moves (including budget cuts(, and noted the idiotic ideas that Vince is known to have come up with himself (XFL, WBF, the awful way the Invasion was handled, etc).

Posted from another board...an e-mail exchange between a 14 year old gamer and Mr. Thompson. Pwned!

Mista J...you have 30 minutes to move Captain Clown You have 10 minutes to move Captain Clown. Captain Clown has been crushed into a cube. You have 30 minutes to move your Captain Clown Cube. As MrZsasz pointed out, Last Laugh was a pretty bad episode overall ("hey...why isn't Joker being affected by the gas...?" "He's developed an immunity serum?" "Why are all the henchmen in suits if he has one?" "Um..good point...put a fishbowl on his head"), but Captain Clown always cracked me up. Joker killing Dawes works for me, and not just because I despised Holmes' performance in Begins, either. The complete lack of continuity with Bats' flings in the old series was annoying.

After 3 weeks of flat out terrible Raws, it was a breath of slightly-stale air, as compared to the methane-heavy blasts that we were getting in the past month. This is, personally, the least-anticipated Summerslam for me in 10 years. You know, the show headlined by Diesel vs. Mabel? In fact, the comparison is quite good, since it had a whole lot of crap, and the Razor/HBK ladder rematch. Although at least the angle behind it was rather interesting, as compared to this AWFUL Rey/Eddy crap.

And Jay Leno makes a footnote on his monologue for tonight...

Because the Revolution isn't supposed to be out until 2007, for one.

On a lighter note, 1up did a great write up on one of the best Game Boy Color games you never played, Shantae. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3142774&did=1 You also owe it to yourself to try Toki Tori (also mentioned there).