Mad Scientist

Things are going to be a little heated over the holidays for me, but I could write something for just after Christmas. Maybe for December 31st?

Well, it is damn tough to write a match illustrating the weardown of two straight days of top-card matches without working in a little bit of face-ness. Heels aren't supposed to get hurt, darn it. We're supposed to get inexplicable and infuriating byes through the difficult parts while the face has to pound his way through a man-mountain and an evil Puro heel with his entourage. Just sayin'. I thought Tod wrote a better match overall. His match had Alexander being a lot more like his old dickish self. I particularly loved the little bit at the end where Tod had Michael try for the Silent Scream. Golden.

What he said. Prayers and blessings to you and your family.

Way to go, Tod! That was a damn fine match. Congrats!

Great so far. I'm liking the tourney idea. The staggered rounds adds a lot more suspense than I thought it would.

Hey! Happy Birthday to you as well. Sorry I'm late returning the wishes, but I was visiting family for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and I am always incommunicado during those visits.

Dude, take care of your family. Our fictionalization of fake professional wrestling will keep. Best wishes and prayers.

I'm in if I get the axe...

Yes, you could give Alexander a bye. See, problem solved.

Stables require a lot of prep and coordination. That goes against my basic tenets of laziness and slackery when it comes to the internetz.

This sounds cool. And I like the low limit for the first round, as I've got the new WWE video game this month to destroy my Xbox with. Once that's burned out, I'll have more time to write a bigger match for Round 2, presuming that Bruner doesn't squash me beyond recognition.

I'm in for the Classic. Also, a promo/squash show in November or December wouldn't be a bad idea.

I am absolutely terrified that this was posted in complete seriousness.

But now you're...but you were Quiet...and Taiga Star...and...*head explodes*

Yup. By the time you get to Jarrett, the difficulty has gotten ridiculous...but maybe they're trying to accurately reflect the improbability of getting a clean win over Double J in TNA, eh?

Don't worry, it gets better. If you keep at it, you'll eventually unlock the Cradle Shock...your character's default finisher!

Kind of strange...you can create your own in-game video and sound editing, but the game won't be able to use it as a video option for your Titantron? I love the idea of the Highlight Reel, but how hard would it have been to allow the option of integrating it into the Titantron videos? Cool, yet a little bit of a let-down.

I remember seeing the roster editor. You can only do it when you start career mode, though, if I am remembering it correctly. No changing general rosters once you've begun a wrestler's career path (but your wrestler can jump to go after new titles), at least that's how I understood it.

There is no count-out. And no referee. And you better learn to use a chair to win during the story mode.

Thank heaven for that, at least. No Tenay and no West, and I don't have to concern myself with how to write commentary that's so dense that even Mike Tenay has a hard time with it.

This photo of a promotional game box seems to indicate a "Highlight Reel" feature that will let you record your matches or moves and share them online. I'm not certain it's legit, but it sure as heck looks real to me. Now, if this allows us to use this footage to create our own TitanTron video, that would be all kinds of awesome... *continues wishful thinking* Anyway, here's the photo:

BTW, if someone else hasn't already called it...OPENING PROMO!!!!!!!!!!! (Note the multiple exclamation points for added emphasis, followed by the pathetically pedantic parenthetical for gratuitous grammatical gimmickry and excessive alliteration opportunities.)

That's exactly the effect I was going for. I consider that high praise.

IGN just tossed up a vid of MVP. They gave him his drive-by boot to the head as a signature move. It looks almost like he's stomping them in the head rather than kicking them. Anyway, here's the link to IGN's video.

The roster will be fairly expansive this year. And they have threatened to expand it further through DLC. I can't say I'm all that thrilled with Career Mode, but between the huge roster and the Create-a-Finisher, I can say I'm definitely getting the game. Even the Road to Wrestlemania might be fun...I'm still a little annoyed that I'm apparently going to have to slog through a lengthy character-building mode to get my CAWs up to snuff, though. On the upside - Trevor Murdoch is in! I hope that means that a well-animated "Sweet and Sour" tag finisher is going to be in there...