NFL Week 13 quickie

These are the matchups to see tomorrow:

Colts at Browns
Panthers at Packers
Bucs vs Saints
Redskins vs Giants
Falcons at Chargers
Steelers at Patriots
Jets vs Broncos
Vikings vs Bears

From Week 14 onwards, it's gonna be a bumpy ride for those vying for the playoffs. I'll talk about that a bit as they come.

Happy Sunday!

Small commentary on Thanksgiving games and two videos

The Thanksgiving games had teams something to thank for.

The Tennessee Titans were thankful for playing against the Lions and pasted them 47-10. The Dallas Cowboys had plenty of cheer beating the Seahawks 34-9, as well as the 10-day layoff and the Eagles were thankful Donovan McNabb bounced back by beating the schnozz out of the Cardinals 48-20. If only the Philadelphia populace were more grateful that he actually made their team a competitive franchise for the last decade, they wouldn´t do all that booing bullshit. They're gonna regret this is McNabb goes out the door, and I won't feel sorry for them because they're idiots. At least they got the Phillies, who are the new MLB champs. At least that's another thing to be thankful for.

I got me two videos to entretain you today. The first one is made by Brian Holland, who made the Batman covers for the AVGN when he did the Batman reviews. It's kickass music, so check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLd5TcBkPPw

Second video is a lovely italian dub made by a cute girl who did Blair in this vid of Soul Eater. As you know, it's in Italian, but it's not so hard to understand. If you don't get it, just ask and I'll tell ya. Link here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLWydU_3xiU

Preview will come tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend!

Tecmo Bowl Kickoff

Tecmo Bowl has risen from its ashes, but it seems the new entry doesn't look as promising as it was in the old times. That's bad. This is a quickie for tonight. Check the link for the video review on GameTrailers.com.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/43202.html

Man, that's what I'd call potential gone to waste. u_u

The Terminator (Sega CD version) and a rant

Today I bring you a review of one of the few good games of the Sega CD: This is The Terminator.

Developed by Virgin Games, the Sega CD version came out a time after the Genesis version passed on and I remember seeing an ad in an older edition of EGM that featured Arnold as the badass T-800. I remember it well because in that issue of EGM there was the first big look on Super Street Fighter 2 and my big bro got me the mag for my birthday years ago. Alas, I never did have a Sega CD (I did have the Genesis model from the Sonic the Hedgehog package), but from the first pics on the ad I realized this game looked very good and it seems like it had a nice quality in it.

Years later, with the power of emulators, I finally play The Terminator and I have to say it blew my socks off. For the most part, the game is pretty faithful to the original movie's plot as we see what is going on via cutscenes straight from the movie. They're grainy, sure, but it's clear enough for you to see what's happening. As you may know by now, you take control of Kyle Reese, who has been given an important mission by John Connor to infiltrate Skynet's stronghold, get into the Time Displacement Machine to travel back to the past (no AVGN pun intended :P) and protect his mother Sarah Connor, who has been targeted by Skynet in a heinous scheme: It will send one of its T-800 units (Played by Arnie in the movie, of course) to Los Angeles in the past, seek out and kill Sarah, as in a few years she will give birth to the one man who stands between the machines and mankind's extinction.



Needless to say, Reese must double time towards the HQ and get back into the past pronto before Sarah becomes a statistic in the death toll, destroying many T-800s, thugs and of course the Terminator along the way. For starters, the graphics are well detailed for a game of its time, as Reese looks just like himself, as do the T-800s and the colors are well placed to add a bleak, yet dangerous atmosphere as you shoot your way through 9 stages that get more challenging as you progress further into the game. In addition, the backgrounds have good detail as well as some elements in the foreground; you can see a pile of human skulls as you blaze through a battlefield that doubles as a graveyard hosting the thousands of lives lost in the nuclear holocaust.

The sounds and music of the game are top notch, especially the music. The composition was made by Tommy Tallarico, which should ring a lot of bells for gamers as he's one of the great music composers of his time. He has contributed in such games like Earthworm Jim, MDK, Wild 9, Out of this World, Prince of Persia and of course, The Terminator. As an added plus to his impressive resumé, he's the co-creator and headsman of the awesome Video Games Live (which I shall talk about another time) and thus you have an idea how good this game's music is. My favorite tracks are Visions, Metamorphosis and Destination Unknown, as they give a unique mood of the stages you come across. My spine gets awash of raw emotion as I'm driven to blast killer cyborgs into pieces left and right as I get through Stage 3 and I dare say if you put Destination Unknown into such games like Gears of War and Halo you'll be inspired in awe as this particular track fits like a glove and will have you riveting for more.

The controls and gameplay are solid; you can change the button configuration as you like it, but in the default setting A lets you throw bombs, B fires your machine gun or shotgun and C lets you jump. Quick and easy, no? You must have a good pace as you fight your way to complete your mission as the cyborgs are relentless and will stop at nothing to prevent you putting a single foot into their home turf and once you go back to the past, you must contend with packs of hoodlums who have nothing better to do than to shoot Reese into a bloody pulp on sight (Any resemblance to real life violence is merely incidental). You'll also have to contend with the Terminator, who has also arrived as well in order to kill Sarah and you, so in key stages you have outmanuver and outgun him to prevent Judgment Day from arising.

There are powerups to help you out. The bombs will increase your stock by 3, you'll see two Medikits that either restore your energy by 1 unit or refills it completely, a gun powerup which increases the overall performance of your gun by giving you auto-rapid fire and increased firepower, a bulletproof vest that gives you limited invincibility and 1-Ups. That last item in particular is what sets the Sega CD version apart from the others. You get extra lives, sure, but this game will test your capabilities to see if you're fit to prevent Judgment Day and you will be tested every step of the way as you look for ways to get through the stage, get the powerups and beat the bosses. The one constant that it shares with the other versions is once you lose your last life, that's all she wrote; do not pass GO, do not collect 100 bucks.

This game is what action platformers should be, and more. I honestly think there is nothing wrong with the game, as everything is neatly into place. If you're looking for a game with a good challenge that gives you a great time and with the premise of the kickass movie backing it up, The Terminator is a must-have, a gem for your collection. As such, it gets a perfect rating of 10/10.

Now here's a small rant I have about the Sega CD.

Around 16 years ago, the peripheral was released as part of the 4th generation console of the Genesis which introduced FMVs for the first time, as well as games that had complex and longer levels, animated games and new franchises such as the Lunar series. However, because Sega had put too many eggs on the FMV basket rather than taking adavantage of the aditional storage and capacity given by CDs, the videos weren't as high quality as they were first hyped and instead of full-screen videos, they have only 1/4 of resolution. Adding this to the limited color pallete at the time and the AMV were grainy and not so detailed in games.

I have to see a bright side of what the Sega CD brought to the table and later folded in 1995.

When it was released, the technology that made this peripheral and its features possible was practically in diapers and while it was a promising premise, it only lasted a few years and there were only a handful of good games that pushed both the Genesis and the SCD to their limits, such as Snatcher, Sonic CD and The Terminator. As such, while it didn't get much love as Sega would have liked, we must look at it this way: If the Sega CD never came into light, Neither Sega nor Nintendo would have something of their own to create as 32-bit console gaming would be born; Sony would have never come up with the idea of creating the Playstation (and I take in consideration the failed project they were going to have with Nintendo), we would have been deprived of the Playstation, Saturn and Nintendo 64, games wouldn't have been so great in the 32- bit era, there would have been no evolution without PS2, X-Box, Dreamcast and Gamecube. In fact, I daresay YOU would never, EVER, be able to play games with a PS3, X-Box 360 or Wii in your possesion because they would either have never existed at all or it would have taken a loooong time to come to light! Henceforth, in my POV, no Sega CD = no 32-bit consoles = no cool games = no PS3, no Wii, no X-Box 360 = NOTHING.

Just tyring to shed some light of what might have been a dark future for gaming. So, even though it wasn't successful, we have a lot to thank for to the Sega CD because without it, perhaps we would have played 125- bit games in the year 2029.

I'm not sure I could watch the Steelers vs Bengals game, as I probably see a blowout in the horizon. The near-toothless Bungals barely managed a tie and Pittsburgh looks strong despite Big Ben not being 100% healthy. A 34-10 score is possible.

I'm outta here. :P

NFL Week 11 preview

At this time, there will be critical games for various teams aspiring for the playoffs. As for the rest, they'll spoil one's party and a few others... well, there's always next year. =/

Here are the games to watch for this Sunday.

Broncos at Falcons
Bears at Packers
Colts vs Texans
Giants at Ravens
Bucs vs Vikings
Chargers at Steelers
Titans vs Jaguars
Cowboys at Redskins
Browns vs Bills

Of course, we can't ignore the rest of the games, since a few of them can be close for the good or wrong reasons.

Gotta go. Next one will be a game review.

Robocop vs The Terminator

Yep, I now have a review after countless days of being lazy... err, I mean, doing some stuff and I have genuinely got a job prospect as a game tester. Hopefully I'll have positive results come Monday so that I can finally start earning cash and buy stuff.

(Must get... Persona 4.... Must get...)

This time around I'm gonna review a game that people should be familiar with, given that it features two of the most well-known cyborg icons in movies. This is Robocop vs The Terminator for Sega Genesis.

Robocop, who wasn't heard of him even after so many years? Many should remember him from the movies or the comic books created by Frank Miller and how it made an impact with no-nonsensical violence and a cyborg who upholds the law and looks badass doing it. Same with the Terminator, another icon that has instant recognition thanks in no small to the Governator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The first two movies were kickass, especialy when I saw T2 on a theater in Calexico once. The 3rd one was just okay, it just lacked the pizzaz that made the previous ones so great, Kristianna Loken notwithstanding. :P

Based on the million copy selling comic book series, the game takes us into the battle between Robocop and the Terminators. You must proceed through the mean streets of Detroit, shooting the shit out of thugs and criminals littering the slums like so much trash while tracking down the Terminators sent by Skynet, the supercomputer that's plotting to eliminate mankind by setting up a trap for Robocop and use his components to accelerate its development in the present timeline.

As you can see the moment you shoot down a bad guy, this game has blood and plenty of it as the thugs get shot down into a million bloody pieces as you traverse through 10 stages that get challenging as you get through them one by one. There are many enemies and traps which are set to turn Robo into a pile of burnt metal and in the 2nd half of the game you take on lots of T-800s as they try to trample the human resistance in the future. The graphics for the most part are very detailed, as though they were based from the movies and Robocop looks just like his movie counterparts and the Terminators look true to type. One detail that quickly catches your eye is the way the human enemies die as you shoot them; you can really see the blood as they go down into a pulp and that's cool. Who wants to see some half-assed violence when the real deal is where is at? :3

The soundtrack is appriopiate, although I kinda think it's a bit of the weak link of the game. A few of them are outstanding at times, but my complaint is that when you take on the bosses there is absolutely NO MUSIC. It's unforgivable that we're not treated with a good track as we tear them a new one when we fight them and with that I make my point. The controls are easy to pick up from Stage 1 when you go for some target practice and get used to the gameplay. A button lets you swap between two weapons just like in Contra III, B shoots your selected gun and C lets you jump. When you climb ladders and shimmey on pipes Robocop moves with an impressive speed and celerity that makes you think they might have upgraded him a little and he fights just right so you won't have problems with the control, especially since you can hold the B button for some autofire goodness while moving around and aiming at any angle while shooting down the enemies, just like Robocop. ;)

The challenge in this game can be hardcore, even in the easy modes, but it's one you'll like to sink into. The enemies will be everywhere, trying to shoot you down with everything they have. Luckly, you'll find weapons that will help you uphold the law the only way you know how. You'll find flamethrowers, grenade launchers, plasma guns, seeker missles, ray guns and if you're lucky you'll even use ED-209's machine gun. Now that I mentioned the bosses, you'll encounter a few enemies and known haunts (This one's especially for the movie buffs). You'll face off against a big macho thug, a Terminator (and rest assured, he won't be the last), Robocop 2, a mini battle tank and good old ED-2009. They can be tough and if you do even one scratch on them you'll lose a lot of life so you better do a hands-off policy as you try to defeat them. With a cool head, good aiming and skill you may finish one of the toughest games for the Genesis; it's not impossible, but you better give it all you got in order to survive and save the present and future from Skynet.

Robocop vs the Terminator is a very entretaining game and it's one you should find for a good price, especially if you're a fan of both cyborgs. It gets an 8/10 rating.

I'm outta here; I'm going out tonight. :P

NFL Week 9 quickie

Busy week with collecting food donations. Here's a quickie for tonight on games to watch in the NFL:

NY Jets at Buffalo
Packers vs Titans
Cardinals at Rams
Broncos vs Dolphins
Cowboys at Giants
Colts vs Patriots
Steelers at Redskins

Gonna sleep or something. I'm a little tired...

Week 8 preview

Damn internet got funky again. Looks like there's work to be done.

This is the preview of the hot matchups in this Week 8 on the NFL:

Giants vs Steelers: Both teams have played well so far, barring a few distractions and key injuries. Now that they colide, only one will have a good start on the toughest part of their schedules.

Bucs at Cowboys: The Cowboys are hurting rather badly with Tony Romo out with a broken pinky and they had a horrible defeat vs the Rams last week. I'm not kidding around, it was horseshit and the Bucs are looking to get them into a even deeper hole. How will Dallas respond in its darkest hour yet?

Chargers vs Saints: This is the NFL's second venture at London and it's faring well so far, even more with a do-or-die game for both teams. The Saints got smacked by Carolina and the Chargers don't look good following their defeat at the hands of the Bills (Insert classic Mr. Burns face with the word 'Excelent' here >:3). Who's gonna bounce back and who's gonna take the fall in England?

Bills at Dolphins: This is a good time as any for the Bills to assert their hold in the AFC East. They now enter the divisional stretch and Miami is not going down without a fight. A must-see.

Falcons at Eagles: This is a true test to see if the Falcons are contenders or pretenders. The Eagles have done quite well after a bye week under Andy Reid and McNabb is looking to clip the Falcons' wings. Will Matt Ryan and the crew smack them with an upset special?

Jaguars vs Browns: An important game for Jacksonville if they want to keep their playoff aspirations. Following the saga of Kellen Winslow II, the Browns are having a tough time and unless they have an answer for what ails them, things will get worse before they get better.

Rams at Patriots: The Pats look well enough after they blown away the Broncos, but they're minus Rodney Harrison and Lawrence Maroney. The Rams want to score themselves an upset trifecta and possibly fight for a playoff spot if all goes well. A surprising game with a lot at stake for both teams.

Colts at Titans: As usual between both teams, it's gonna be a dogfight. But this is one that the Titans can actually win, go on undefeated and with a solid hold over the AFC South. Now's the time for Peyton Manning to show his mettle or Indy is gonna have an even tougher time getting back to the race.

Review tomorrow, I promise! >_<

Busy weekend

Sorry for not putting in the NFL week preview, but on Friday the internet got funky and on Saturday I've gone out in the afternoon. But I'll deliver it this Saturday. :P

Well, it was a busy weekend. On Friday my big bro and I got down the road to San Diego for the Weezer concert at Cox Arena. A few months ago we had gone to see The Cure and it was a kickass concert, although best of luck asking me for pics on that one, since my bro took 'em on his cell phone. We went there almost at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and we were in line for almost 1 1/2 hours crossing the border because apparently US Customs decided that having 3 booths would be a lot better than having 5 to speed up the process. That's stupid.

At any rate, we went on route towards San Diego, listening to Green Day and later on the 91X radio station when we were close to the San Diego area. In this concert we got to the floor area, which meant we were close to the action in this concert, so we had a much better view than on the bleachers in The Cure concert. There were 3 bands that opened up the concert, one of which was Angels and Airwaves; it had some good music going for it and I believe it has some potential to be good.

Past 9:18 pm, the concert got underway and it rocked. I think Weezer is one of the better bands out there; they're not plastic nor are they plagued by the pop syndrome that other so-called 'bands' like Sum 41, Maroon 5, Good Charlotte and others have. Rivers Cuomo is a very fun-loving headsman as any you have seen on other bands and I could tell he enjoyed performing as the band took SD by storm. It went on for a bit more than 2 hours and it was pretty cool. It felt good being close to the action every once in a while and so my bro and I got to the long drive home listenning to Metalica and grabbing some soda to keep us going. Was I tired.... ___-___

On Saturday, we were getting ready to do some work on a rave event that happened on a event club. My bro and me had agreed with a cousin of ours that we'd help out by giving the tickets and the stamp for the juvenile attendance that got down and dance and drink beer and other stuff. We were right next to a Quinceañera (The Mexican equivalent of Sweet 16, except we do it 1 year earlier), that was full of people that you'd mistake for a chalino one (Google it if you wanna know what it is) and at first it was peaceful and all that. It was slow when we began working at 8:00 pm and slowly but surely people came. The one suck-ass problem is that a crossroad got closed for repairs and it was hell trying to get to the place without going to the other side of the state or getting lost, which made me wonder why did the State Government chose that day to work on roads. Between 10:30 - 11: 30 in the night we got a spike of more young people comning in and it looked swell, giving tickets and stamps so that they can come and go as they desire.

This was probably my first real experience of being at work with something, although I've yet to find that which corresponds my studies. XP It was a bit tedious, but good; however, the lack of booze (ie: drinking it) kinda was bad and we didn't eat much of anything either which made me a little bit frizzled. Finally, we ended it at 2 o'clock at dawn and counted the money. It was a flop, but not a total flop as we feared when we made counted the assets, so as my brother notes they need to organize better, have a few more sponsors and try not to aim too high. It's good if you want to try to get a 1000 people (and hence a lot of tickets), but aim too high and you're in for a big fall. I'm still waiting for the pay, since my big bro has gone on another business trip. We were even more tired than when we went to see Weezer, so on Sunday I took it easy, watching NFL games. My bro had to do his work on that day, but what are you gonna do? x_x

Well, that's all I can say about my weekend. Hopefully, I'll turn in a review tomorrow. :3 Come December, we're gonna go to Los Angeles for the Oasis concert. Man, what a trip it's gonna be. @_@

Beast Wrestler - Quickie review

Well, reviews were lacking a bit, so I have a quickie this time around.

I'll talk about Beast Wrestler, one of the various games brough by Telenet Japan for the Sega Genesis. Telenet brought some games with Wolfteam such as Final Zone, Sol Deace, El Viento and Ernest Evans; most of them are good, but a few of them are bad and Beast Wrestler is one of them.

Basically, great beasts are fighting each other in a large ring and they do it by wresting. The 1-player story mode (Or Career Mode if you like) gets you into the fray as you buy your beast from a merchant and you become its manager as you train it to become the Dragon Warrior (No relation to the NES RPG games). First you must win the regional tournament that pits you against other beasts and then you fight at the main event to obtain the title of Dragon Warrior. Yeah, that's all there is to it to the story.

The gameplay... well, let's just say it could use more variety. With the D-pad you move your beast around the ring. A button lets you throw punches, B is for the tail whip and C is for your special attack, which is active when you see an A symbol on your side of the screen. Depending of the beast you've chosen (This goes when fighting vs the CPU or a friend), it has a set number of LP, which indicates your endurance and SP, which can give you an idea how long will it take for you to get your special attack. When you grapple your opponent, you have the option of biting its head off or squeeze with your tail. If you catch it from behind, you can use a body slam, although it's hard to do that since your enemy moves away to prevent you from slamming its ass to the canvas. :S

Where it suffers the most is when you grapple. You don't have many options to begin with and even when you develop your monster on story mode, you're not gonna get more, which sucks giant ass. You're stuck with the biting and tail crush and while you can squash your opponent or give him a headlock while they're down, those are all the moves you have available. By current standards of wrestling games, Beast Wrestler is sorely lacking in this deparment.

The graphics are okay, for the most part. The beasts are detailed enough and at ringside you can look at the crowd as they cheer on during the fight, although they're pretty small (Hey, you're like Godzilla after all). The music isn't bad, but there isn't much variety on it; nothing memorable, really. And the versus mode suffers from boredomitis, since with the limited repetoire of moves can only do so much damage and it can take a good while before you get the Life Spheres of one of the beasts into red, meaning it's a step away or two being beaten. It takes a lot of effort just to reduce one part of the life bar and more often than not either player will win by decision depending on how much damage you did, but you don't really get to see how much. You'll turn it off after a round or midway through and that's all the 'fun' you're gonna have.

At best, Beast Wrestler is mediocre. There isn't much to write home about for this game and lo, it gets a 5/10. If you want real wrestling, try some of the NES games like Tecmo Pro Wrestling or the older Wrestlemania games. Beast Wrestler isn't really worth your time.

Quickie NFL preview

I graduated Friday night and I had some drinks on the side too. It was a nice day overall and yeah, now I finished college and should vie for a job. Looks like I'm gonna check my sources for that. :P

I'm gonna do a quickie of Week 5 on the NFL today.

Baltimore at Indy: The Colts are still hurting despite their comeback against the Texans, and the Ravens had come off difficult defeats on their previous 2 losses. Sparks are gonna fly.

Carolina at Bucs: The Panthers have their best start thus far and want to keep going. Will the Bucs stop them from gaining hold of the NFC South?

Oakland at NO: Kiffin got axed and the Raiders look to start from scratch now. The Saints may make them suffer following their terrible defeat at the hands of the Vikings.

Texans vs Dolphins: The Wildcat, or single wing formation, or whatever you wanna call it, has worked so far with the 'Phins and they want their next victim. The Texans are gonna play with more than a chip on their shoulder if they want to win this one at home.

Broncos vs Jags: This is a big one for the Jaguars as they go at Denver. How will they contain Jay Cutler's aerial attack?

Cards vs Cowboys: They may be 4-1, but Dallas may be in for a world of trouble if the Cards paste them like Steven Segal beating up punks in his prime. Can their defense step it up? And, can Tony Romo stop trying to be Brett Favre Mk. II?

Pats at Bolts: It may not have the luster it had at the beginning, but it's still a significant game for both teams. The Patriots are looking for a tie with the Bills and the Chargers need to win this one to keep up with the Broncos. How will both teams respond?

Enjoy your games!

The importance of NOT being idle

Well, I screwed up with the driving portion of my license test and I have to try again next Monday. Got a little too nervous and messed up a few elements, it won't happen again. >_>

Well, I write something of my life. I have to say that being lazy and idle doesn't constitute for anything good in life, mainly because we could be doing a lot of important stuff we should do, going somewhere, doing your job and other things that should matter. I say this because I'm going to do some of the Community Service I didn't complete while in college and it has come back to bite me for being lazy. When you gotta do things, they have to be now; at the moment they have been given to you, you have to get them done. But being the lazy asses that we are as a species, we either put them at the backburner, skip them or forget them altogether and that isn't the way to go. Sure, there's other stuff we need to do and it's understandable, but if there are other things that really matter and we have to take responsability for, I say they must become your highest priority. If you don't, they'll come back to haunt you and bite you in the ass.

It's important to know that the best thing to try and combat laziness is to do things. Anything goes, just as long as we get to them nicely. Once we finish all your important activites you'll have plenty of time to rest, so take it from me since I've learned that the hard way. Don't be a lazy guy like me, learn from your mistakes, do your job and you'll be fine. That's what I wanted to say.

Tomorrow I'll give you guys a review. Wait for it.

Vehicular bullshit, NFL Week 4 preview and a manga recommendation

Stupid car, didn't run. Of course, the radio was on, but did the car stayed like that when it's supposed to? No. Now I'll have to wait to get my license on Monday. Piece of shit.

I'm gonna do a double feature today. Week 4 preview on the NFL and a manga recommendation 'cause I like you a lot. :P

Chicago vs Detroit: It's the first game in the post-Matt Millen era and the Lions want to start off with the right foot against the Bears. Here's hoping Millen sticks to being a sidelines commentator. God knows one team had enough with his incompetence; why should another one hire him while shootimg themselves in the foot?

Seattle at NY Giants: The Giants are fresh from their bye week and look strong thus far. Can Seattle get quickly back on course before things get worse?

Washington at Philadelphia: The Redskins want to show the league that their win at Dallas is no fluke and they're looking to get the Eagles into a hole early. McNabb and the crew must bounce back following their loss to Chicago on Sunday Night.

Tennessee at Baltimore: The Titans want to keep going as an undefeated team and it looks like Vince Young wants to get to work in order to get his job back. The Ravens must pick up the pieces and stay strong unless they want a repeat or worse when they played the Steelers.

Tampa Bay at Denver: The Bucs sucker-punched the Packers with a good win now they're gonna try and smack the Broncos in their teeth. If Denver doesn't recover from the gargantuan upset they suffered at the hands of the Chiefs, there will be blood.

Buffalo at Arizona: The Bills are the second unbeaten team and they visit the Cardinals at the hot desert on Arizona. How will the Cards handle their beating at the hands of the Jets? Will Buffalo take heart of that game? (Go Bills!)

Steelers at Jaguars: Both teams come from overtime wins and they now face off after last year's playoffs. A hot, recent rivalry to be sure. Will they meet again in the post-season as well?

My recommendation for this week is... Houshin Engi.

I read this manga 4 years ago and to tell you the truth, I loved it. It was a pretty unique take on one of the legendary tales from China, made by mangaka Ryu Fujisaki.

Read this copypasta snipnet from Wikipedia:

The 23 manga book series follows the adventures of Taikobo and his trusty "Rei-jū" (霊獣, "Rei-jū"?) ('Spirit Beast' or 'Riding Beast') Sū-pū-shan (四不像). Taikobo was given a mission by Genshi-tenson (元始天尊) (Taikobo's mentor and the leader of the Sennin (仙人) World - Konrong (崑崙)) to complete the Hoshin Project.

The goal of the Hoshin Project, as explained by Genshitenson, is to trap Dakki and her minions in a 'middle' world between the Sennin World and the Human world, renamed 'Shin' (神, 'Shin'?) (Deity or Gods) World (Named 'Shinkai' in the English version). Taikobo's mission is to hunt down the 365 people whose names were written on the Hoshin Scroll. As Taikobo defeats and seals off each of the 365 people on the scroll, their souls are instantly transported to the Hoshindai (a floating island made to trap souls) and sealed there for all times.

At first, it does begin with Taikoubou (the MC of the story) getting started with the Houshin project and from the first volume, we begin to see how the story unfolds. I must note that the anime released 3 years into the manga's run takes several departures from the plot and there are many key differences as it progresses in the story (Dare I say can you spot them all? :P). Taikoubou himself is anything but typical when it comes to Shounen manga main characters, namely with some of his madcap, zany schemes, he doesn't shy away from doing a few underhanded tactics when he needs to and he adds what few protagonists deliver: humor. Some of his schemes and tactics get to be so low that even a few of his allies boo him because of it, especialy Suupuushan. Over time, though, you can see his commitment and his looking out for this allies and friends and probably an element that makes him shine is his unyeilding determination to make a better place of the Human World even when things get to be grim.

The manga has a plethora of characters that grow on you the more you see them and their different motivations as the plot advances whereas the anime cuts them in half and takes several departures from the source material as mentioned above. Perhaps one of the greater antagonists I've ever seen, Dakki may well be Taikoubou's polar opposite and it shows well at the first 5-7 volumes. Her cruelty, along with her beauty and her intelligence add to one of manga's more memorable antagonists and gives HE a particular dimension whereas other villains may seem unidimensional in contrast to her complex characterization.

The art is quite good for its time (It ran from 1996 to 2000, just so you know); the characters do look true to type with plenty of detail in the backgrounds and various scenes when the story takes place. The mystic aspects of China's storied past meet with the technological advances of the future (At least where the Kongrong mountains are concerned), but interesting enough it doesn't make it look like some futuristic tale that embelishes a legend by pure aesthetic appearance. As expected from shounen action manga, you'll see blood in good detail, but not scary as to make it into a seinen manga or anything like that. While the anime catches on with some of the stuff seen in manga, it pales in comparison to the source and ultimately you'll have enough after watching it once. There is plenty of battles and action that can keep any shounen fan quite satisfied, making it stand on even ground with other manga like Bleach, Naruto, Dragon Ball and others and more often than not you'll be hooked into the story as you read it all the way to its conclusion.

Kudos to Ryu Fujisaki for creating such a fascinating story and perhaps one of the best manga ever made. It is highly recommended you find it, buy and read it. If not, you can always Google for One Manga. It's 23 volumes long and you owe it to yourself to check it out. n.n

Whew! That's enough for today, I say.

License!

Tomorrow I'm gonna get my driver's license. I should probably get ready for it, since I'll be able to drive more freely, atlhough if I want to check out some bars, I'd need money. I really gotta pressure my big bro to make my curriculum. I need a job ASAP!

At any rate, my birthday is on Sunday! Tomorrow I'll make the NFL preview and a manga recommendation as well. Cheers!

Touhou video: Locked Girl

I post this link for a Touhou video 'cause I felt like sharing it. :P We had another wild NFL week and it's only gonna get even crazier. The Bills are 4-0 and I'm feeling good about it, personally.

A new review will come at this week. My birthday is also on Sunday as well and I'm gonna get me a driver's license (Finally!) Anyway, enjoy the video.

http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=LN0c1OjhSJc

Week 4 preview

This is the preview of tomorrow's NFL matchups.

Cleveland at Cincinnati: It's the Battle on Ohio to see which team will score its first win and which one will continue on its downward spiral. A disapointing season thus far for both teams, but there can only be one winner.

Denver vs Kansas City: AFC West rivalries are always hot, despite the opposite destinies of both teams. Denver is looking to strengthen their hold on the division while the struggling Chiefs look to pull off an upset. A Mile High confrontation, if you pardon the pun.

San Francisco vs New Orleans: A tough game at the Bay area between two teams that looking for some momentum. The 49ers want to keep on going and the Saints are itching for a win. Which one will get the last laugh?

Green Bay at Tampa Bay: The Battle of the Bays will be a hot one. The Bucs step forward following their amazing upset against the Bears and the Pack is looking to get back on track quickly after their Monday night defeat. Any takers on who's gonna win this one?

San Diego at Oakland: Will the Raiders have the toughness to get a win at home or will LT make them his bitches again? Another tough divisional game, to be sure. Also, it's Lane Kiffin watch as his head may roll any day now... =/

Dallas vs Washington: You thought the Old West had died? This rivalry takes it to the next level. The Cowboys are gonna do whatever it takes to keep on top of the NFC East and the Redskins will be out for blood. Will they live down last year's loss at Dallas or will they be crushed again?

Baltimore at Pittsburgh: The Ravens are 2-0 and want to keep on going, but the Steelers will try to make theirs a night in Hell. How will Big Ben hold up, though? Will he get through this game or will he have another big time pelting?

That's all for the hot matchups for tomorrow. On another note, go Bills!

Small rant: DOA, DNA donations and you

Things have been happening with my lfie and I have been a bit busy, but here's today's rant, as I promised. Sorry for being late.

I've been thinking for a bit about this for a while now. You know about DNA donors giving... what they got to insure mothers will have babies, right? I have thought of something that may be a factor in this:

Ready for it? *Dramatic drumroll*

Dead or Alive. I am not making this up. This is not a joke, I'm serious about this.

There's no gamer that doesn't know, or hasn't played DOA in this kook-kooky world of ours. There's no one who hasn't seen the kick-ass skills and the beauty of all DOA girls; in fact, there are very few who haven't played DOA Extreme Volleyball 1 and 2. I mean, its not like the franchise is freaking inconspicuous, now is it? It's not like it's invisble, obscure or anything. Heck, it was one of the featured games on the Championship Gaming Series; it's impossible for you NOT knowing what Dead or Alive is.

At any rate, I can tell you right now that DOA might be the best method for DNA donations and you can tell why. Awww, do I have to show you why? Just look it up on Danbooru, 4chan, Minitokyo or some other site that has the pics of all the girls. It's certainly not an impossible misison, but don't deny it. Don't say you have never thought of this before because then you'd be lying out of your ass.

To put it simply, read this chat I have from playing SkuldRO. Did it in the spur of the moment, and because I wanted to express myself in this matter:

Arcanis : and they drop with 14%
Priestess Shara : is niff fixed already? o.o
Arthus Dverger : fixed? why? o.o
Arthus Dverger : tell me
High Orc : Heh! Kill the human!!!
Experience Gained Base:36180 (0.63%) Job:16390 (0.00%)
Priestess Shara : dunno, silv could'nt get to niff before o_o
Arthus Dverger : I have thought of something hopelessly funny
Arthus Dverger : I hope you guys hear me out
Experience Gained Base:17290 (0.30%) Job:17870 (0.00%)
Arcanis has logged out.
Priestess Shara : o.o!!
Arthus Dverger : I have given much thought of this koo-kooky thing in my head
Novice : damn
Novice : i died
Arcanis has logged in.
Novice : g2gNovice : eat
Arthus Dverger : do you know about DNA donor procedures?
Priestess Shara : aww k
Arthus Dverger : ahhh, Novice
Arthus Dverger : you're gonna miss the fun XP
Novice : yeah but im hungry
Novice : g2g
High Orc : Heh! Kill the human!!
Arthus Dverger : bye XP
Experience Gained Base:36164 (0.63%) Job:16382 (0.00%)
Arthus Dverger : so anyways, you guys know about DNA donations?
Priestess Shara : nope o.o
Arcanis : no
Arthus Dverger : well, I was thinking that there is a sure-fire method to obtain lots of DNA
Arthus Dverger : and this method is....
Arthus Dverger : Dead or Alive
Priestess Shara : lol o.o!!!
Arthus Dverger : yes, I am not making this up X3
Arthus Dverger : For those who have seen and played DOA, you know all the sultry beauties that
Arthus Dverger : are in these games, right?
Sairil : the game?
Arthus Dverger : why do you think they even got them like that in a fighting game?
Arthus Dverger : yeah, the game
Sairil : because
Sairil : what will a ninja do with a wrestle?
Sairil : play jackstones?
Arthus Dverger : the reason is... to have lots and lots of teenagers and young adults
Arthus Dverger : beat off to beautiful 3d women
Sairil : lol arthus
Sairil : ive seen worst than DoA
Arthus Dverger : sure, you can play the game, but why do just that when you can save replays
Arthus Dverger : and look at 'em any angle you want?
Arthus Dverger : Besides, the best options for that are DOA4 and DOAX Volleyball 1 and 2
Sairil : well its up to you if you are gonna watch it right?
Arthus Dverger : but that's not all of it
Arthus Dverger : you see, you can imagine how much the youngsters beat off to the girls
Arthus Dverger : and with the Volleyball games into the equation, it's hard to argue
Sairil : well all i can say is
Priestess Shara : now we know what you do on your spare time, arth =P
Sairil : ive seen worst than that
Arthus Dverger : hey, I don't own the games, ok? And I'm not finished
Arcanis has logged out.Guildsman Arcanis has disconnected.
Arthus Dverger : X3
Priestess Shara : XD
Arcanis has logged in.Guildsman Arcanis has connected.
Sairil : right shara? worst~
Sairil : XD
Priestess Shara : yeah )=
Arthus Dverger : Well, I believe that all hospitals and facilities should have more than just
Arthus Dverger : cheap porn and Skinemax
Arthus Dverger : they should have a special room wtih a console, DOA games and posters
Arthus Dverger : give the youngsters an hour for the samples
Sairil : well they have therir nurses right?
Priestess Shara : LOL SAIPriestess Shara : =))
Experience Gained Base:36164 (0.63%) Job:16382 (0.00%)
Arthus Dverger : and you'll be needing a gawddamn thermo before you're done XD
Experience Gained Base:36164 (0.63%) Job:16382 (0.00%)
Arthus Dverger : a cup just won't cut it, ya know
Sairil : lolSairil : XD
Arthus Dverger : and you know who's gonna have all that DNA? Moms who can't have babies
Arthus Dverger : and for the donors, instead of just giving them money, they should also give
Sairil : we know arthus
Sairil : XD
Arthus Dverger : them the games or a gift certificate
Arthus Dverger : Youngsters will have a nice time, moms will have babies
Arthus Dverger : Everyone wins!
Arthus Dverger : Who says videogames are evil? >=3
Arthus Dverger : what do ya think of that?
Arthus Dverger : it can make sense, right?
Sairil : im onto the nurses! -shot by silv-
Arthus Dverger : XDDDD
Arthus Dverger : especialy hot ones cosplaying as Kasumi, Ayane, Hitomi, Kokoro
Sairil : i've seen an ayame cosplayer irl
Arthus Dverger : It would be the featther in their cap.
Arthus Dverger : wow, really? o.
Sairil: do you remember it shara?
Priestess Shara : yeah
Priestess Shara : but, the ayumi cosplayer looked a lot sexier though
Sairil : but her friend was hotter
Priestess Shara : o_o
Priestess Shara : srsly
Arthus Dverger : Lol, wow =3
Arthus Dverger : nice discovery, Sairil
Sairil : i wish i can see them this november's convention -rapid shot by silv-
Priestess Shara : XDDD
Arthus Dverger : And now comes the question: Which is more perverted?
Arcanis : lol rapid shot
Arthus Dverger : The author who made DOA or the ones following it?
Sairil : the ones thinking its perverted
Sairil : XD
Priestess Shara : i'd say they're at equal grounds, lol
Arcanis : the author wants te money
Arthus Dverger : That's probably true.
Arthus Dverger : Wonder what Sasori might think of it
Arthus Dverger : XD
Sairil : IMO, everything is on the interpreter
Sairil : because if someone saw something nude, its to him if he think of pervy or not
Arthus Dverger : mm-hmmS
Sairil : if youre thinking why did i say that
Arthus Dverger : That's how it is u_ú

Wordy, huh? Well, at least with this chat you know how I feel. Gamers beating off to DOA girls, DNA donors giving sperm, mothers will have babies and the gamers get money and games. Everyone wins!

Remember, though. Do this at your own risk. ;P

I'll have something for the weekend. Week 4 previews will come too.

Week 3 preview

This is the preview for the key matchups on Week 3 in the NFL 2008-09 season.

Miami at New England: A few months ago, this would be a meaningless game. Alas, things change so quickly in such short a time. The Dolphins look to get a key win in the division at this stage of the season while the Pats want to get on a roll. Something's gotta give in this game.

Arizona at Washington: This has the trappings of a good game. Kurt Warner and the Cards are looking to get even more momentum, but the 'Skins want to make their own. Sparks are gonna fly in this game (And lots of bombs too) as we see which one shall be left standing.

Denver vs New Orleans: The Broncos are feeling fine after their gutsy win against the Chargers and the Saints seem to be a new target, but don't count them out. They're looking to get their own air circus off the ground at Mile High. I smell a high-scoring affair if things work out.

Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia: The NFL should consider having them face off more often. The Eagles are hungry for a win after a close defeat against Dallas and they'll be looking to put the hurt on Big Ben and the Steel Curtain crew. A smoldering hot game, to be sure. Will McNabb make it happen or will his wings be clipped by an aggresive Steelers defense?

Jacksonville at Indy: They may not look like it, but the Jags are in big trouble and this is one game they can't afford to lose. Peyton Manning has shown his temperance by beating the Vikings despite a rough game and he'll be looking to add to Jacksonville's current misery. How will it play out in the end?

Green Bay vs Dallas: A Sunday Night game that features one of the greatest rivalries in football. Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers will face off for a key game for NFC supremacy and both teams are gonna be hot under the collar. If all goes well for the rest of the season, they might meet again in the playoffs. A can't-miss game!

Jets at San Diego: The Chargers are gonna play with a chip on their shoulder after their horrible defeat vs the Broncos and they'll be looking for someone to pay the price. Having missed their first chance for the top, the Jets will come out hungry for a win Monday Night. How will San Diego contend with LT listed questionable for the game?

A rant will come in Tuesday.

Touhou video

Feel a bit lazy... and hot, so I thought I'd introduce a Touhou video that features one of the games of the franchise, Perfect Cherry Blossom. This one's done, recorded and played by Kaorin, so full credit goes to her. Comment on her videos when you have the chance.

Uber turbo at the beginning! O.o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE0e-cNj2xY

A Wild Week 2 and Touhou

What a wild weekend we had, huh? It was a lot closer than I would have liked, but the Bills prevailed in their big test against the Jaguars and we're up against the Raiders next! Bring them on, we're ready for ya!

Yesterday marked a real fast-and-furious end of Week 2 as the Cowboys edged the Eagles 41-37 and there was a bit of Colunm A (Close games) and a bit of Column B (Blowouts); the Giants look to be in good shape, Kurt Warner reminisced past glories as he carved the Dolphins, the Redskins ecked out the Saints and the Packers disposed of the Lions. Other teams, like the Bengals, are quickly spiraling towards despair, the Seahawks were outlasted by the 49ers and the Browns are getting a sloppy start that may turn ugly. The Chiefs need a lot of improvement too and the Vikings shouldn't waste too many great efforts by Adrian Peterson (And they both need quarterbacks while they're at it).

At any rate, I write to share my first experiences with the first Touhou games and I have to say they're pretty good shooters for their time. They aren't your regular shooters; they're hard, they're challenging and even the best gamers will have a tough time getting through the constant raining of bullets as they pass through the levels. The boss battles too aren't like anything you've ever seen, so if you really feel like getting a shooter game you can sink your teeth into, try playing the first games of Touhou made by ZUN, especialy Mystic Square, Phantasmagoria of Dim Dreams and The Story of Eastern Wonderland.

If you also want to see some serious Touhou gaming, visit Kaorin's channel on YouTube and make sure you comment on them properly. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/HKaorin

More stuff to come!

Week 2 preview and a successful WoE sally

Here are the games to watch for tomorrow in Week 2 of the NFL 2008-09 season:

Indianapolis at Minnesota: After having a bad time against the Bears in their new Lucas Oil Stadium, Peyton Manning and the crew want to get back on track before things begin to get worse. However, they're gonna have to do their gosh darnest to stop Adrian Peterson and the Vikings. The one thing going for the Colts, however, is Tavaris Jackson.

Buffalo at Jacksonville: The Bills are looking to get even more momentium as they visit the Jaguars following their stuffing of the Seattle Seahawks. The Jaguars aren't coming in good shape with a depleted offensive line plus their loss to the Titans, so things are gonna be tough for them; and since the AFC East may be up for grabs, the Bills will do everything to capitalize on it and try to get on top. Go, Bills, go!

New England vs Jets: This still is a game to watch, and for those who wanted a Brady vs Favre matchup will find yourselves cheated again (Remember Super Bowl XLII). How will Matt Cassel handle this hot divisional game? What scheme does Bill Belichick have in mind for Brett? If Mangini is looking to make a stand, now's the time.

Dallas vs Philadelphia: Both the Cowboys and Eagles are coming off impressive games last week and now they clash at the end of Week 2. The 'Boys are looking to remove the stigma of losing the last 4 games at home dating back to last season while The Eagles look forward to put them in their place. Expect a wild game between one of the hottest rivalries in the NFC.

Now for something a bit different:

Today, my guild Divine Rain has won today's War of Emperium with 3 castles against Dynasty! Yay! I didn't really do that much, since I'm a bit low as a Shield Crusader and I mucked up my skills but for the most part it went rather well for us. We'll be looking forward for our treasures and cool stuff in our hard-earned castles for better questing and all that jazz. I can't say much, since I was only there for an hour, but I hope to be more uselful in the long run. That is, if SkuldRO doesn't go kaput. X3

We never know what may happen, but let's hope for the best in the future!

EDIT: Erased the last matchup because I screwed up. My sincerest apologies! >.<

NHL '93... and some great news

Today's review day! (Been a while, huh?)

I'm gonna review an old classic that some of you may be familiar with in your childhood, back when you had a Sega Genesis; back when the best choices were either the Genesis or the Super NES; back when there were simpier times with games. In those times, Electronic Arts were getting a good niche with console games which marked the beginning of their sports empire as we know it.

Today I'm going to talk about NHL '93.

In some point of my childhood, I've watched some NHL games on TV, back when cable was the rage in our lives before the advent of DirecTV. Among the teams I've watched were the Boston Bruins and the Los Angeles Kings. It was kinda fun during that time at a certain point I got to play NHLPA Hockey 93 for the Super NES, which was pretty good.

Back then, EA had begun to establish itself as the premier sports games company as its line was known as EASN, or Electronic Arts Sports Network, with such games that featured the PGA, John Madden Football, the NBA and the NHL. 1993 was a great year with such stars as Pavel Bure, Jeremy Roenick, Wayne Gretsky, Cam Neely, Alexander Molgilny, Brett Hull, Mario Lemieux, Al McGinnis and a host of others, so you can probably guess that this game is gonna rock.

Firstly, the controls are simple. With the D-pad you can move your player around the ice rink; A does nothing, B is for passing and C is for shooting. If you press it lightly, you'll do a wrist shot and if you hold and release it, you'll do a slapshot. That's on offense. On defense, you switch between players with B and by tapping it you can bring your stick forwad to intercept the puck or to bonk your opponent; with C you can check your opponent and when you're scrambling for the puck you press it for a burst of speed. This is important in order to gain ground and get to the puck before your opponents do.

Mastering the controls is easy, but scoring goals isn't, at least when you first get started. The opponents will be aggresive and the goalie will do his best to block your shots. It isn't hard, but it isn't easy either as you must learn to skate, maneuver, pass and shoot your way towards the goal. In time you will learn some ways to score and to defend as hockey is a fast-and-furious sport, no one is affraid to smack you around and things get physical fast. One way I score is by doing 'chicken shots'. WTF is that, you ask? It's like this:

Chicken was a type of racing in which you pit yourself against a driver face to face from a certain distance. You drive your cars at zooming speeds as you confront each other to see which one ducks out at the last minute and the winner would be the one who... achem, one who was not affraid to die. You can bet there were a few deaths in that one. This applies to hockey in a way, as you zoom in towards scoring while the opposing goalie steels himself for the inminent shot. Your shot (and having balls) will decide if you score or fail as you shoot at the opposite way the goalie blocks at a split second and you get rewarded with a badass goal. The best part is that you manage to do that yourself; in breakaways this is the best option you have when it's just you and the goalie.

At the menu, you can choose between Regular Season (which in reality it's just a normal match), seeing a Demo, or going to the Playoffs in a single game (For those who are either lazy or want fast games) or best-of-7 elimination format (For those who wanna feel the heat on the ice). On Regular Season you can play alone as the home or visiting team or you can go against a buddy. You can also join forces with that buddy by playing on the same team as well, so it's fun either way.

The music is normal, I guess. There are only 3 tracks in the game: The title screen, the team matchup screen and the period screen. They're not outstanding by any means, but they're appropiate. There is also some rink music when the home team needs some pep to score that critical goal or prevent the other team from scoring it. (You know, that rah-rah, charge variety). Not much to say about that.

The gameplay is fast and responsive for the most part and that's good, 'cause it's hockey. The fun part is when you push your opponent a bit too far, he's gonna drop everything and try to dial W for whoopass on you, but you're not gonna go down without a fight. I almost forgot that you can adjust whether or not you can want to activate the penalties (but the fightning rule still stands) or if you want them without the offiside rule. Line change lets you change lines when you score a goal, there's a penalty or before a face-off when it's turned on. Otherwise, the starting line will play to the last ring. The former is important because the players will tire out as time passes and it'll show in the way they skate, shoot and hit, so do something to stop the game momentairly or use a timeout to take a breather.

All in all, NHL 93 is a very good game and if you liked those old times, you'll dive right in. If you can find it along with a Genesis console and two controllers, play it. It gets an 8/10.

On a more positive note, Atlus has given the rights to Aeria Games (some of you probably know who those guys are) to publish Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine to America and Europe! SMT: Imagine is an MMORPG that has been in Japan for more than a year and finally Atlus gave the green light to have it brought to both continents. The setting is between SMT 1 and 2 as you become a Devil Buster who seeks to thrive in the difficult environments of the ruins of Japan after the Great Destruction. You can decide on whether you want to assist the Messian Church, wreck havoc with the Gaia Church or be a Neutral mercernary who holds aleignance to no one.

Check out the links for the info and videos.

http://kotaku.com/5048368/shin-megami-tensei-mmo-hitting-north-america-and-europe

http://forums.aeriagames.com/viewtopic.php?t=174084&sid=2c9fbea6d1b5cf38c9b746147afe85b1

Whew! I'm tuckered out. See ya tomorrow!

It's raining... and here's an Orochi video

Man, I got a heavy rain along with a strong wind at this hour. It's pelting a lot, but at least the roof will hold until we see leaks creaking into our house. Hope the power doesn't short out on us.

To lighten up the mood a bit, here's a vid of Orochi from KOF 97 and his track, Origin of Mind, arranged version. This one's courtesy of tuvijaselacome, from YouTube. Hope you guys like it and tomorrow I'm gonna do a review and Saturday I'll give you a small preview on Week 2 in the NFL. Take care, everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrSW_ThlX7Q

Superman 64

Yep, this is one of the most sucktastic, horrible and horrendous games of all time, and it had to be on the Nintendo 64. This is Superman 64.

I don't think it's worth my time to review this piece of shit. It's a travesty of all the superhero games that existed and gave Superman so much shame. To spare you from such suffering, I'll share this video made by the AVGN when he made it for this game. See for yourself how much it really sucks giant ass.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/35929.html

Brief stuff

Aaron Rodgers has passed his first test as an NFL starter. Good for him, but that's where the fun begins. At the other side of the rainbow, the Denver Broncos shellshocked the Oakland Raiders in a 41-14 laugher. Week 1 has ended and now we'll get ready for Week 2.

Today, I went to the police station for my community services on the DARE program (Yep, we also have that in Mexico :P) and I filled in a form and got information on what's it about. Hopefully between this afternoon and tomorrow morning I'll get confirmation of whether I'll do it or not; I believe I will, there's plenty of room, although it'll last from September to Dicember.

I'll still be looking for a job, though, and I'll have my brother help me finish my curriculum. I want money!

The NFL is here!!

Yep, it's that time of the year in sports. The NFL 2008-09 season is now underway.

The first kickoff began on Thursday when the NY Giants took on the Washington Redskins. They've won by 16-7, but sources indicate that the Giants became the luckiest Super Bowl champions in recent history. Will it be the case this year or will their deal with the devil come crashing down on them? Only time will tell this year.

Speaking of crashing down, the New England community may well go to their nearest church and pray that perhaps Matt Cassel becomes Tom Brady Mk. II (Remember what happened to Drew Bledsoe, since that's when Tom entered the big picture) because Brady's done for the season. Before the haters can rejoice, though, there is a feeling I can't shake off; besides the Cassel idea, I'd think that Brady will pull off a T.O. and work his ass off in rehad to get back to the game before the season is over. I mean, T.O. did have a broken leg and it was said that he'd be out for the season in 2004, right? Then POW! He did work a lot in his rehab and came back big time for the Super Bowl. Of course, the Eagles were edged by the Pats, but Owens played his heart out, so you can imagine how it would have gone if he'd been healthy.

Then again, I could be a bit paranoid, but Brady may be already thinking 'If T.O. did recover from something like that, I can damn well do it too!' Just a thought...

With certain satisfaction, I watched my team, the Buffalo Bills, culled the chaff from the wheat vs the Seattle Seahawks and I liked it. I especially enjoyed the special teams play and it was a thing of beauty. My big bro's Dallas Cowboys did the same with the Cleveland Browns and they look true to form. Will it be the same when both teams go against Jacksonville and Philadelphia?

If you want to see how Aaron Rodgers will do in his debut, watch Green Bay vs Minnesota. It should be on right now.

I'll come up with something soon enough, but I'll also add some NFL stuff while the season progresses. See, I'm doing different stuff. :3

Surprise!

Whip it good, Billy

Sorry it took so long, but as I said, I have a surprise for you and it took me a while to see which game should I review in this day. So I came up with this:

Double Dragon for the NES! Don't you feel special? :3

The NES version is different from its arcade counterpart. Getting right to the point, Billy's girlfriend, Marion, is kidnapped by the Shadow Warriors to lure Billy into a trap and eliminate him, so he has to hit the streets and save his girl. B button lets you kick, A lets you punch and when you press both buttons at the same time, you jump. One thing about the gameplay in Double Dragon is that you see a Heart icon just below your life bar and a number on its left. When you punch the enemy you get 20 points a hit and when you kick them you get 15 points a pop: once you reach 1000 points (which isn't as difficult as it sounds), you level up, just like in RPGs and with that, you get an extra ability for each level achieved.

Among such abilities are added finishing blows to your punch and kick combos, the flying kick (which became the staple of beat-em-ups), the classic hair-grab, the back elbow, the face buster and finally a new finishing blow for your kick combos. The hair-grab and face buster, in particular, are my favorite moves since I can maim most of the enemies quicker and will become essential to survive in the game.

Fighting Chin Seitai...

...and knocking him down to his death!

There are 4 missions total and the second half of the game will span in various stages. You strut your stuff in the city streets, you walk on the wild side in an abandoned construction site, you brave through the Forest of Fear and finally you reach the Shadow Warriors' fortress of doom. Each level comes with a boss you must take on in order to proceed: Mission 1 has Abobo, the muscle-bound, neckless behemoth, Mission 2 has Chin Seitai, a Bruce Lee knockoff with a rocker's hairdo, Mission 3 has no boss but you beat up a bunch of whip whores and finally on Mission 4, you take on the gauntlet of the Shadow Warriors, incluing Willy, the gun-toting goon of doom (Unless you know how to beat him) aaaaaaand....

Jimmy Lee!! That's right, you get to take on Jimmy. Apparently, he got kinda jealous that you got yourself a hottie and he didn't, so he gets to have you fight for her. :P Wow, that was brilliant. After you defeat him, you get a kiss from your girl and you'll live happily ever after while your brother recovers in the hospital after getting some sense knocking into him. XDDDD

In some stages, particularly those on Missions 3 and 4, you may have to traverse through some tricky parts in order to move on. For instance, when you beat the two Abobos on the rock wall, you scroll through the stage, thinking that you may now move onto the next stage right?

WRONG!!!

Well, in order to pass the stage, you must go through either one of the entraces the Abobos popped out of and you'll enter a cave. You have to navigate through it while avoiding the stalacites from falling into your skull and you have to jump onto moving platforms, which isn't hard at all. Afterwards, you beat up some twin Chins and again, you must go through the door from whence they came unless you feel like walking below stalacites again.

Moving platforms, anyone?

The parapets on Mission 4, as you can see, have a bit of a trick. If you move the wrong way, you may find yourself dropping into the waters of oblivion, so stay still and jump when you should.

The good points are the controls, which have a variety of good moves and pull them off while beating up the punks can be satisfying. The music and sounds are great, as its OST is one of the best I've ever heard on the NES and while it's kinda short, it is fun, especially to remember the good old days.

Gonna kill ya!

The bad points is lack of 2-player cooperative in the main game, but Technos kinda tried to make it up for it by setting up a versus mode in which you choose between Billy and five of the Shadow Warriors; Will, Roper (written Rowper), Linda, Chin and Abobo. The problem is you only choose one of them and your buddy will be the doppleganger of the chosen character. The play mechanics are the same as the original mode and in two player duels, there is a weapon to use and you're gonna fight for it while tearing each other limb from limb. It's a bit original, but I would prefer having a friend of mine fight by my side while we kick some ass. The other point it's the game's length and when you run out of lives, there are no continues, so it's challenging.

Double Dragon scores an 8/10 rating. You'll have fun with it, and if you feel like beating someone up, bring a friend and play the two-player versus mode. Watch for the next review!

Adventures of Dino Riki = Dino crap

I'm gonna deliver a shortie one today. It's an old game called Adventures of Dino Riki (Not to be confused to Adventures of Bayou Billy), made by Hudson Soft, the guys responsable for Bomberman and Adventure Island.

I dunno much about the story and Wikipedia doesn't have info on it either, so I'll just assume that it's the classical hero-goes-to-save-his girl, or something along the lines. The game is a vertical shooter, and a bit different at that. For one thing, Dino Riki has a life bar which consists of hearts, meaning you don't die at the first hit you get. You think that with that, the challenge would be a little soft in this game, right?

Well, not so. Enemies can come in at one swarm at a time and while the game doesn't suffer from slowdown, you'll be hard-pressed to avoid their shots while taking them down and looking out for obstacles. The powerups consists of a Fist item that increases Dino Riki's firepower. He starts out with flimsy stones with decent range, but slow rate of fire and it upgrades from stone axes to boomerangs and finally torches, which is your highest level of your attack. There are also hearts which increase your life bar by one unit (Who woulda thunk it, huh?), meat which restores your life, shoes that increase your movement speed. diamonds that award you points and finally wings that let you fly over the ground. B button lets you shoot and A is for jumping; if you have the wings, you can hold down the button to fly, but be careful because once you use 'em and land, they're gone.


If there are good things, is that the music is simple and nice. The levels have some variety, although the game itself is short and you can actually survive beyond the one-hit-kill in this game.

Now for the bad. Your firepower gets downgraded after you take a hit, Dino Riki's jumping is suspect at best and you have to master the timing and movement when you jump because one wrong move or a mishap and the lil' caveman gets dunked to his doom. The challenge in the game may be troublesome because some of the later enemies will require you to have your best attack to beat them and when you die, you get back to your flimsy stones and that can be a pain in the ass. Jumping through chasms can be tedious and be the cause of many gameovers, so you might lose patience fast with this game.

It's only 4 levels long, but I can't think of something good that may convince you to go all the way with this game. It gets a 5/10 rating, and that's all I can give it. My next review will be a little surprise, so be on the lookout!

Silver Surfer = Silver shit??

(Yeah, I just ripped off something from the AVGN. Had to start this review with something)

Well, in ye old days of the NES, Marvel began by giving the license to LJN, which has produced games of duvious quality. X-Men, for one, was quite notorious for the bad graphics, lack of backbone with the gameplay and dumb partner AI. Even when you had a friend to play it with, there were some things that gave you nothing but frustration when you play the game.

But today, I'm not talking about X-Men. Today, I'm gonna talk about Silver Surfer.

The story on the game goes like this: The Surfer has been summoned by Galactus on a dire emergency. The denizens of the Magik Domain are coming and they are attempting an attack that may well endanger the universe and the the balance that Galactus requires in order to sustain himself (And let's face it, if you were a planet-grubbing guy like Galactus and see something that threatens your own way of life, you'd be miffed too :P), so he calls on the Surfer to gather 6 parts of the Cosmic Device to assemble it and use it to stop the forces of Magik from taking over the universe.

Of course, the Surfer asks if he refuses and Galactus replies that he should not, since it's all riding on his quest to complete his task, and that's how we get started.

At the beginning, you check out a screen that seems to be a stage select one (just like in the Megaman games!) and when you choose one, you must take on the foe in question who has a part of the Cosmic Device. Your rouge's gallery includes Firelord, Reptyl, Emperor (good luck finding info on this guy. I only assume he's a Skrull), the Possessor and finally Mephisto. Each of the stages are themed according to each of the bosses and they're divided in three sections and two types of action. One stage is horizontal scrolling on which you have to pass through obstacles and enemies en route to a sub-boss and the boss on each third section. The vertical ones aren't too different, except that you have a classic shooter's perspective.

The graphics aren't outstanding, but they're certainly not bad. The enemies look true to type, although the bosses aren't too intimidating. A few elements stand out, such as flowing rivers, skulls that drip magma from their mouths and the depths of space. The Silver Surfer's sprite is almost pearl white, so he's hard to miss in the environment, although at some backgrounds, enemy shots tend to blend in a bit and thus they'll score a hit if you're not careful. You can see the obstacles on the stages, but that doesn't mean you should be careless. More on that later.

The controls are simple enough. A is for shooting, B is for switching the position of your attack spheres, Start pauses the game and Select activates a bomb blast. They respond quickly and you'll need every second, so you better have a controller with auto-fire capabilities unless you want a sore thumb. The gameplay is challenging, so to speak, as you need to be on your toes with the way your enemies move, shoot and float because they come out fast and they come after you the second they see you. You'll also need to watch out for objects like turrets and if that's not enough, you gotta be an expert fly boy to avoid crashing into an obstacle since it stands for instant death.

The music doesn't have much variety to speak off, but it does its job and it's not horrible. There isn't much I can say, except it doesn't suck and it kinda fits too.

As for powerups, you'll find an F item, which improves the Surfer's attack power. You can see five slots on the bottom of the screen, meaning you can increase your power up to five times. An item gives you an attack sphere which functions as an add-on, just like in Gradius and if you grab two of them, you can use them on the vertical stages. The B item gives you a bomb and you can carry as much as around 6-7 of them and finally the silver S gives you an extra life. You're gonna need all of them, I guarantee it.

Now for the bad things. As I said, the challenge in the game can be a bitch, and I also mentioned that you'll need every powerup available to survive in each stage. With one shot or anytime you crash into an obstacle you're down for the count and have to start over without all your powerups. Of course, there are certain checkpoints, but you better keep your eyes on the road. Another thing is the imbalance: Hard stages, wimpy bosses. In retrospect, the biggest task is to plow through the menagiere of enemies and flying past obstacles to survive and thrive in the field and when you reach those wimpy pussies of bosses it's a cakewalk compared to their hideouts. I believe the Emperor is the easiest of all and that's up for debate since the rest of the bosses are pitiful at best.

Silver Surfer isn't a bad game, but somethings could have changed a little bit to make it better. A tough game, to be sure. It gets a 7/10 rating from me.

Ninja Gaiden. Yeah, here it is

There was a time when simple, yet polished gameplay equaled a good game (and don't get me wrong, it still does). There was a time before Devil May Cry showed us it's fun killing monsters and demons and look badass doing it. There was a time before CG babes began dominating the videogame screens with more than just their well endowed charms. And most certainly there was a time when Tecmo first showed us one of the great action/platform games of all time.

That game was Ninja Gaiden.

Ninja Gaiden has spawn many a child in various versions since it became such a hit, but the one that stands out it's the NES version, which thanks to the recomendation of a good contact, I shall tackle today.

You might wanna have a drink and something to eat. It might take a while.

Tecmo was ahead of its time when it came to making games. With nice graphics and cool, well done cinematics, they gave us a new feel for videogames and it made us feel as though we were taking part of a movie. That's right, before Hideo Kojima really took this to the next level, Tecmo gave us the foundation that elevated games into a new dimension that we experience today. I mean, how else did games came to be just the way they are in the present? Can you imagine if we couldn't enjoy them the same way we do now without cinemas? As gamers, we have come a long way.

The story is top-notch. We are treated with a classic duel to the death between two ninjas to start this game and we see that the gray ninja is defeated by the red one and Ryu Hayabusa wondered why his father had the duel and die. He then finds a letter from his father, which tells him that should he not return, Ryu must take the Dragon Sword and travel to America to visit an old friend, a Dr. Smith (No, it's not the guy from Lost in Space). Ryu is miffed about his father's death and decides to add vengeance on his to-do list and so it begins.

The gameplay is something that still wows the gamers with a simple, yet fuild flow with a fast and furious rush that comes when you move to kill enemies. You run by using the D-pad, you slash your foes with the B button and jump with A button. So far, so good. And since you're moving at a constant pace when moving forward, jumping from one platform to the next, killing enemies one after another and climbing ladders, the controls respond quickly and acurately as you progress.

The music is well done, for the most part. With each track giving a unique mood on each stage you go across, it gives you the right amount of juice to keep you going. Some of my favorites are when you through stone platforms with a mountain backdrop on stage 2-2, the one where you pursue an enemy ninja when you begin stage 3-1, the mine passage to Jaquio's temple on stage 4-2 and the track on 4-3 that gives you such a mood that you don't know when an enemy will pounce at you at the turn of a corner...

I found that the graphics were very good. There is no chopiness on neither the sprites nor the backgrounds and they look quite detailed too, as you go from the streets of a big city to a large plain in front of a lagoon, the interior of a temple and finally climbing through the parapets of the ruins. I give props to Tecmo because their cinematics are the cream of the crop and we see all the characters exactly as they are, giving us a box seat of what seems to be a very good movie and it also enhances the story, giving a unique flavor that stood out in the old days when Nintendo began to reign supreme in the industry, thanks in no small part to Tecmo by delivery a great game like Ninja Gaiden. The bosses look intimidating too and you will have to steel yourself in order to kick ass and take names unless you want a quick trip to the morgue, so some quick reflexes, fast moves and a sharp sword are your keys to insure victory.

Ryu looks ready to kick some ass and it shows when he gets down to business. Besides using the Dragon Sword and his ninja skills, he gets to find various ninja arts that aid him in his quest. At his disposal are the normal shurikens, which shoot straight and the deadly windmill shurikens, which come back and forth like boomerangs, enabling you to bust some deadly moves when you time your jumps right as it moves. You can also shoot the Fire Flames which go upward by an angle and finally the Sommersault Slash, which lets Ryu do the Sonic on the bad guys and slice 'em up as he jumps, making him impervious to many attacks (Unless you're stupid enough to fall to your doom in a pit). You also use a sandclock to stop time for a short while and the Invincible Fire Wheel, which as the name suggests, makes you invulnerable for a few seconds while blasting through the enemies. Regrettably, the Sommersault Slash is absent in the next two Ninja Gaiden games, so you might want to enjoy it while you can.

Oh, and there is also medicine which restores Ryu's energy and 1-UPs. You should grab those too.

The bad thing is that at later stages of the game, the soundtrack gets kinda repetitive as you advance and you feel that they should have added another track to avoid this. Then there is a factor in the challenge in which whenever you die, you lose a weapon which you had obtained and your Ninja magic gets cut by half. This happens until your power is depleted at your last life, so you have to make every move count, do not make mistakes and do not get distracted as you progress through each stage. This goes true when you need to be in tip-top condition to take on each boss and it sounds so true when you get to the final battles. I won't spoil it for you, so be brave and finish the job by yourself. ;P

A classic game that never dissapoints even the most hardcore gamers, to be sure. Ninja Gaiden gets a 9/10 from me. If you got the Wii, download it, and get down to beat the bad guys the only way ninja know how.

You might be saying right now 'This guy is giving a lot of 9s in his reviews. What's up with that?' Patience, grasshoppers, for I shall risk my sanity by reviewing bad games as well so that you won't have to play them after I'm done disecting them. Be warned, some of the material will have some potty-mouth langague rated R. :P

Enjoy your gaming!

First review: Double dose of Batman!

Today's the first video game review and the lucky game to be reviewed is.....

BATMAN!!

That's right, today I'm gonna do a double whammy of the game for the first movie and it's on Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Both games were made by Sunsoft and both were given the license to make the games based on the 1st movie. From here on, though, that's where the similarities end.

First off, let's check out the NES version.

NES Batman starts off with a cool title screen sequence in which we see Batman in an eyeblink and then fades onto the screen followed by the title and the copyright credits. After a few seconds we are treated to the intro sequence which starts to show us Gotham City at the background while we are told that it's preparing for its 200th aniversity. However, the Joker has other ideas and starts to terrorize the population the one way he knows best, and making his advances on Vicki Vale while he's at it. The Caped Crusader steps in to save the girl and save the day and that's where we get this thing started.

Sunsoft has made good games in the past when it was still in the business and for a game of its time (We're talking about 19 years since it was released!), the NES version looks quite good. The graphics in general look great, the enemies' sprites have good detail and clean animation and Batman's sprite stands out well. The different stages look fantastic and you can see the movement of the various objects in the background as well as the obstacles you must get across in order to advance while beating the enemies. The cinematics look cool and badass and they help you get into the story as you advance to the next stage.

The controls are responsive for the most part. Batman moves and acts as you push a button and it doesn't let you down when it counts. The scheme is simple enough: A is for jumping, B is for attacking and in one of the rare instances for a game, Start will let you switch weapons (The word BATMAN lets you fight with your fists, and you use the Batarang, a gun and Batblades) and Select pauses the game. Thankfully, since the controls aren't ackward, you won't be bothered by this change. You simply have to know which weapon works best on the situation at hand and if you want to punch the daylights out of an enemy, you can do so, but bear in mind there will be enemies that you won't beat with your fists alone, so switch to the right weapon, defeat it and go on.

A particular element to master is the wall jump. The first stage will give you a little warm up on how to use it. Basically, you stick to a wall or a ledge of a platform and press A button as you stay close to the object in question. A small tap on the button will make Batman make a small, quick jump to the other side and a firm press will make him do a higher jump. Mastering the press and timing of the wall jump is essencial to get through the obstacles you'll encounter throughout the game as one small mistake can cost you a life unit. A little bit of practice and the wall jump becomes second nature, just like in the old Ninja Gaiden games.

Speaking of life, Batman has 8 life units and 3 lives in total. As you beat up the bad guys, an item pops out at random. A missle icon gives you 10 weapon units for your arsenal, a B icon gives you points and a small heart will restore one life unit. The game is quite a challenge, but it's one you're willing to sink your teeth into. You'll get the weapon and bonus points icons quite often and it's a rare sight seeing a heart icon when you need it the most, so you have to take advantage on safe spots where the enemies respawn so that you can beat them until you get the item you want. You'll notice the lack of 1-UPs throughout the game; you only get 3 lives in total and if Batman bites the dust those three times, it's game over. Fortunately, there are no shortage of continues, but you'll have to start at the beginning of the stage on which you lost your last life, so you'll have to work through 5 stages with around 3 acts each. Like I said, it's quite a challenge and the best players will get to confront the Joker in the final battle.

The music is top-notch with each stage having the right BGM that adds to the atmosphere as you progress in the game. It's so damn good you just might pause it and listen to it for a long while. The sound FX are appropiate and clear enough that they don't grate into your ears and although there aren't many of them, they're not bothersome.

If I have a gripe of this game it's probably the challenge. Some casual gamers will find it hard after they reach stage 2-2 and if they don't succeed they'll probably quit. Another thing is while they have variety and look cool, the Joker's'minions and the bosses don't have to do anything with the movie (But then again, which game adaptation does have a faithful repetoire of movie-based enemies anyway?). Some of the bosses are a little easy, not too complicated to beat, but the bosses on stages 3 and 5 before the Joker are two of the cheapest creeps I've seen in games and it takes a lot of luck to beat them, nevermind getting to the next stage in one piece. The only good thing is that the stage 5 creep, just before you take on the Joker, is that once you beat him and you die you never see him again. Then, there's the Joker: Sure, he has his big gun which brought down the Batwing (Don't ask me how he did it), but if there's ever a ripoff on Final Fantasy, the Joker wins the gold medal on this hands down with this one attack...

He calls on lightning bolts! Motherfucking LIGHTNING BOLTS!!! And they're not your ordinary bolts, hell no! The Joker uses Bolt 3 to fry your sorry butt! What a ripoff!! That's a crock of shit!! That's just ASS!!!

(Takes a deep breath...)

Whew! I'm okay now. Let's get to the Genesis version.

We get a title sequence on which the Batman symbol spins around in place until it stops and we get to the title screen. A few seconds later, we get the Reader's Digest summary version of the game based on the events of the movie in case you've never, ever seen it (Shame on you). The Genesis version for the most part is pretty faithful of the source material as you start out on the streets of Gotham City beating up some hoodlums. The graphics are very detailed as all the stages give you a good feel on Gotham as you advance and the levels are based from the various scenes of the movie, which is pretty cool. Batman and Joker's minions look like their movie counterparts as well and the bosses also come from it as well, with a few exceptions (I've never seen a shirless sword-wielding guy in the movie and I looked plenty o.o).

Controls are good too. The A button lets you throw Batarangs (The only weapon in the game, but quite effective), B lets you punch and when you hold it down Batman will make a block stance (Only works on bullets, though); finally C buttons makes you jump and when you double tap it, Batman executes a sommersault jump. The grappling hook is also there as well; just press Up on the D-pad and C button for Batman to shoot it straight up and he'll climb up the platform above him quickly enough (Why couldn't Acclaim and Midway put such a simple scheme on the hook in Batman Forever is beyond me). The normal jump may look and feel a bit slow, but it has its uses on some platforms and with the sommersault you can move quickly. Batman walks as you move him and you'll probably wish he could move faster on some parts of the stages, but for the most part the gameplay is very good.

The music, once again, doesn't cease to amaze me. The music conposer responsable for the soundtrack does a great job taking advantage of the Sega Genesis' Yamaha YM2612 Frequency Modulation chip as the BGMs sound crisp, clear and great on each stage. My personal favorites are the ones on Stage 1 and Stage 4-2 and they'll become yours too once you listen to them. Fortunately, there's a sound test on the Options screen, so you might want to enjoy the music before you play. ;)

There is one thing that the Genesis version has that the NES one lacked: Driving stages! Starting on Stage 4-1, you drive the Batmobile as you blast through the Joker's men. The D-pad moves the Batmobile, A button fires homing missles and B fires the machine guns (It's the same scheme when you use the Batwing on Stage 5-1). The other stage has you at the helm of the Batwing as you take down the Joker's balloons and assault choppers and I can say that when I played them, my mind screamed 'This is way cool!!' There isn't much more I can say except they're well done and it'll make you feel like you're busting some caps with a badass car and it's really boss.

The challenge is toned down a bit in comparison to the NES version, but not so much as to make it too easy. There are pitfalls that will make you lose a life when you drop and there are three items: Batrangs, Hearts anbd 1 UPs. Batrangs give you 5 units for your supply and the Hearts fill a good amount on your life bar. The 1-UPs are self-explainatory. Each of the bosses look tough and each has a pattern that's yours to discover and exploit once you find it. The Joker isn't as hard, thankfully, when you get to him, only that this time around he rips off Fatal Fury's Terry Bogard by using a Power Wave instead of the @#$#ing bolts he uses on the NES version.

The bad thing I'd find on this version is that is a little bit easier than the NES and Batman's movement speed. You'd wish he'd run just like in the Nintendo version and there's no wall jump this time. Fortunately, you have the grappling hook and that's good enough. If only Batman Forever didn't have those horrible flaws...

Both games are very good for their time and with it, I give them both a 9. If you can find them, play them. You won't regret it and at least you can find solace that Batman at least has good games to show for his popularity, unlike a certain man of steel with an S on his chest. :P