The Select and Start News Report: 12.25.06
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 12.25.2006
Merry Christmas to whoever is celebrating it. I've got news, I've got VGA's, and I've got the MLG Championships on my final news report of the year.
Ah, Christmas. The holiday we're supposed to be happy about completely ruined because believing in either Santa, Jesus, Black Jesus, or Gift Shopping is considered politically incorrect. Anyways, for this, my final news report of the year, I've also got the final episode of MLG recapped and the final VGA's I'll ever see again recapped. Enjoy.
Big News
GAMERS NOW SUING OVER THE WII STRAPS; I HOPE THEY COAL SHOVED UP THEIR ASS [credit: Team Xbox, Gamasutra, GameDaily, Gamepro.com]
Oh how we were all having a good laugh about Nintendo's broken Wii Straps. But now the laughter has turned into a lawsuit. Law firm Green Welling is filing a nationwide class action lawsiut against Nintendo of America because the Wii straps have caused so many injuries. The lawsuit seeks to enjoin Nintendo from continuing "its unfair or deceptive business practices as it relates to the Nintendo Wii". Nintendo has responded saying that this suit is "completely without merit" and is already offering to replace the Wii straps.
I hate stupid lawsuit stories. It makes me think why I was ever born with common sense when without it, I can make myself millions for being a complete dumbass. Oh how the pain of knowledge hurts sometimes.
MGS4 IS STAYING ON PS3...FOR NOW [credit: Gamepro, IGN]
Over the past couple of weeks there has been a rumor that Metal Gear Solid 4 will also be on the Xbox 360 as well as the PS3. From the EGM rumor mill, Konami has insisted that Kojima release MGS4 for the Xbox 360 as well, but Konami has responded saying that these are only rumors. Konami's response: "Konami has no plans to bring Metal Gear Solid 4 to the Xbox 360 at this time."
I'm pretty sure this is going to end up like the last two Metal Gear Solid games: PS3 will keep MGS4 for like a year, and then a remake of the game will show up on both systems. That's pretty much what also happened to Resident Evil 4 (by Capcom) and Grand Theft Auto (by Rockstar).
NEW WII CHANNELS OPENNED; EACH WAY BETTER THEN G4 [credit: GameDaily, IGN, Gamasutra]
Nintendo has now enabled the forecast channel on the Wii, allowing you to see the weather in any part of the world. The internet channel has also been activated along with the free beta version of the Opera browser. Opera's full version will be released in March and be free to download until June for 500 Wii Points.
In other news, Madden 07 is able to use the forecast channel in your region to create weather effects in the game. That's awesome, and game developers should take note.
FOUNDING PRESIDENT OF THE ESA RESIGNS [credit: GameDaily, GameSpy, Gamasutra]
Doug Lowenstein, founder of the Entertainment Software Association, has officially resigned. Lowerstein is leaving to found a new investment industry trade association. During his tenure starting in 1994 (when it was called the Interactive Digital Software Association), the video game industry revenues grew from $3 billion to $10 billion, and the association went from having two employees to 32 employees working on a wide range of issues and programs. Here's what Lowerstein had to say:
"I have been honored to represent the amazing companies of the ESA, to serve as their advocate and to be part of an industry which is having such a profound and positive effect on our culture and the world of entertainment. Like our industry, the ESA has grown and matured and is now stronger and more robust than ever before. The future of video games and its trade association is very bright indeed."
Tidbit News
-Rumor has it that three new Katamari Damacy games are in the works for the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360's Live Arcade. [credit: Evil Avatar]
-It's bad enough someone bought their 12-year-old girl a Zune. It's even worse that the Zune had been preloaded with gay porn. [credit: Team Xbox]
-The Burger King Xbox 360 games have now sold as many units as Gears of War, over two million units. Helps when you cost only $4 with the purchase of a combo meal. [credit: Team Xbox]
-The Ant Commandos, makers of 3rd party Guitar Hero controllers that were sued by RedOctane, have settled with them out of court. The exact settlement was not given, but it looks like TAC will continue making controllers and we can all have a rockin' christmas! [credit: Gamasutra, 1UP]
-Sony says that the PSP (which Sony will not allow you to import) is the second best selling console in the UK. But remember kids: 2nd Place is just the first of the losers. [credit: Gamasutra]
-THQ released a special Ho Ho Ho pack for Saints Row over the Xbox Live Marketplace, where you can wear a Santa Claus outfit with the hat, boots, coat, and even the hair. Best part about this gift: It's free. [credit: Gamespot]
-According to a translation of a translation of a Famitsu article, Resident Evil 5 is most likely to ship in late 2008 or by 2009. It took five years to get RE4 just right, what did you expect? [credit: 1UP]
-The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences will honor former President of Nintendo of America (NOA) Minoru Arakawa and former Chairman of NOA Howard Lincoln at the Interactive Achievement Awards (IAA) with the Lifetime Achievement Awards. [credit: IGN]
-DirectTV has filmed another Championship Gaming Invitational that will air in February '07 on channel 101. This one says it'll have pro gamers Fatal1ty, Stermy and Ch0mper, so this should get interesting. [credit: GameDaily]
-PS3 just lost another exclusive, as now Virtua Fighter 5 will also be heading to the Xbox 360. Drat. Double drat. [credit: GameSpy]
-Ubisoft continues it's strong support of the Wii as they announced Prince of Persia: Rival Swords, a remake of The Two Thrones. [credit: IGN]
-Phil Harrison of Sony says that no one will ever use 100% of the PS3's capability. So why charge such a huge price asshole? [credit: 1UP]
-Nintendo is recalling about 200,000 DS and DS Lite Adapters in Japan. There were no reports on any injuries, but when people these days are too stupid to hang on to the Wii Remote, you never know. [credit: Gamespy]
-Johnny Damon, along with the Global Gaming League and MLB Advanced Media, have created the Pro Baseball Video Game League (PBGL), where fans can take on baseball players in online game competitions. If you play and shows signs of being really mediocre, you might get signed to the New York Yankees. [credit: GameDaily]
-With Wii's now having internet capabilites, the folks at Evil Avatar found this cool game site you can visit that works well with the Wii: WiiCade. [credit: Evil Avatar]
Merry Christmas. Here are the recaps of Spike TV's VGAs and the final MLG Tournament.
Spike TV's Video Game Awards 2006
The show kicks off with a performance by Tenacious D, complete with a dancing demonic heavy metal robot whose costume looks like it was made of cardboard. The performance pretty much sucks.
The opening credits now begins, which means that I'll actually have to wait to find out who wins the Game of the Year award this time. I know I could've read the spoilers but I want to feel somewhat surprised. Samuel Jackson is the host, so you know what that means: Take a shot every time he says the F word and any variation of it. Stewie Griffin is also doing voice overs.
We get a skit backstage of Jackson burning money when some giant pink thing with big googly eyes and a magic wand comes in to tell him that a gate to hell has been opened. "Pinky" as I will call him says that demons have come out killing Jackson's dudes and declares that all their base are belong to them. This show is already on the way to destruction. "Motherfucker!" shouts Jackson (drink!), as we switch to an FPS view of Jackson. He grabs his best hat that raises his "Badass Meter" and heads out. He meets soldiers from Ghost Recon who look like they've been fighting the demons, but it turns out there were in line for a PS3. Zing! He then meets a magician with an orange on his head for offers him a paintbrush as a weapon. Jackson would rather have a gun, but the magician continues to rant on until we get to the part where he starts humping a wolf. Are they trying to imply that Okami was a joke of a game or something? Then again, they probably aren't the only ones, as Capcom seems to have thought so as well. R.I.P. Clover Studios.
Jackson's Badass Meter drops as he wonders what was up with that "motherfucker" (drink!). He goes into the Gears of War room and grabs the chainsaw gun. Out of a restroom some deep voiced guy pops up who says he was the one who opened the gate because apparently, there are no restrooms in Elder Scrolls, so have to use a gate of hell as a...I'm just going to stop right there. So Jackson now has to kill the guitar heroes of oblivion, so we cut to the main stage with lots of people playing "Kansas" on Guitar Hero. Jackson starts shooting them down and once they're gone the show begins. But wait, Jackson says "motherfucker" again (drink!) and lobs a grenade at the last remaining guitar hero. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but they're supposed to be guitar HEROES, why are they being shot down as villains?
NOW the show is actually beginning. Jackson talks about 2006 a bit, then makes a bunch of jokes including PS4 with a vagina and having K-Fed on Madden '08. He then calls for an end to unfair video game stereotypes. A "hardcore gamer" speaks out, who despite wearing glasses (okay seriously, what the FUCK does wearing glasses have anything to do with being a nerd?) and playing Final Fantasy, he does indeed get layed. A "senator" from a midwestern state speaks out who says he only bitches about video games to avoid real issues and to scare soccer moms. Jackson says "right on motherfucker" (drink!) . "Pinky" and "Generic Demon" talk about how dressing up in terrible costumes is not creepy, so they become Jackson's trophy girls (don't ask).
Out comes 50-Cent wearing a big cross around his neck (better then bullets I suppose) for our first award, "Best Performance by a Human Female". And the winner is...Vida Guerra in Scarface. The trophy presented is a monkey with a crown holding a joystick. I would make fun of it of how it barely relates to games, but then again, the Academy Awards has a guy holding a sword which has barely anything to do with movies. What's up with that?
Jackson promotes Snakes on a Plane a bit before we go to Rachel Cook and Seth Green. These two know how much video game movies suck, so on behalf of Hollywood they apologize for the following: Street Fighter, Alone in the Dark, Mortal Kombat (even though that was actually considered good), Super Mario Bros., House of the Dead, and MK2. Instead of going on, they go to "Best Game Based on a Movie or TV Show". And the winner is...Lego Stars II: The Original Trilogy. Daniel Dae Kim from Lost then introduces us into the World Premiere trailer for Bioshock. That game looks creepy.
Maria Menounos comes out to talk about the unsung heroes of the industry: the motion capture actors. It quickly becomes one of those really lame skits as some guy is acting as a "bitch" for Saint's Row. Thankfully it was only about a minute.
Seth MacFarlene and Tila Tequila are out to present the Best Wireless Game. Seth is dumbfounded that you can play games on cell phones, so he pulls out his huge ass 80's version. Despite the gerth, Tila is not impressed. A woman who isn't impressed by gerth? How unrealistic is this show going to get? And the winner is...Swat Force.
Jackson is now talking about video game violence, but not in games, but against games by "crazy-ass girlfriends". Jackson then reads an e-mail about a guy whose Xbox 360 was destroyed by his girlfriend for reasons unknown. Since Jackson was a scientist in that shark movie, the guy thinks Jackson would know the solution. Unfortunately it's not "the girlfriend should deserve to die and burn in hell", but rather Jackson goes on to explain about how male's have an awesome lobe and females have a "boredom oblongata" and other sexist crap. In case you couldn't tell that this show was meant for guys, this was it. Anyways, the skit keeps going that portrays the female as an annoying bitch that keeps interrupting and eventually destroys the console. And somewhere out there Jackson has turned some innocent woman into a feminazi.
For the award of Best Acting in a Video Game, Tony Hawk and Boche are out to talk about acting in video games. Hawk, a graduate of the "Famicom School of Video Game Acting", re-enacts parts of Zero Wing. He tries the All Your Base line but completely screws it up. Two "All Your Base" jokes in one show? I get the whole "let's do a joke about bad acting in games", but if the only game you can think of is the same thing you already thought of 40 minutes before, you pretty much prove that you truly know nothing about video games. And the winner is...James Gandolfini in Sorpranos: Road to Respect
Yellowcard comes out to present the award for Studio of the Year, but first the lead singer says he's starting is own studio. His first game will be something called "Minesweeper", and this officially becomes the worst joke of the night. And the winner is...Epic Games.
Dana White and Joe Rogan of UFC come out to introduce us into the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 trailer. It's basically one long cinema scene rather then showing anything on gameplay.
The Reno Sheriff's Department from Reno 911 to talk about the awards given out earlier, but first they talk about why cops have anything to do with the game industry besides the fact that many games have you shooting at them. They come out to promote a game called "I CAN drive 55", where you do things like obey the speed limit and pressing the "call the police" button. The sheriffs start playing it on a cell phone only to think it really sucks and starts killing the cops in the game. This skit was actually kind of funny. Now for the awards that were given out earlier:
Favorite Classic Game: Pac-Man
Critic's Choice: Zelda: Twlight Princess
Best Fighting Game: Mortal Kombat Armageddon
Best Shooter Game: Gears of War
Best Graphics: Gears of War
Best Handheld Game: New Super Mario Bros.
Best RPG: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Best PC Game: Company of Heroes
Best Multiplayer Game: Gears of War
Jackson talks about how online gaming is now forming relationships between people, and Jackson talks about meeting a special lady online and she's here tonight. "Nymphorella34", however, turns out to be a fat guy in a tanktop to which Jackson responds: "Who the fuck are you?" (drink!). He yells at the guy to get the fuck off the stage (drink!) and get the fuck away from him (drink!). Jackson wants that footage edited, but the video is already on YouTube. The YouTube joke saved this skit.
Eva Mendes is out to present the award for Best Cast. She talks about all-star casts in video games for 2006, and was attempting some kind of joke with Mortal Kombat Armageddon featuring celebrity heads pasted over the fighters, but it falls flat. And the winner is...Family Guy.
Michael Irvin and Xzibit (who is also wearing a shiny cross like 50-Cent. Are all rappers suddenly Catholic or something?) come out for Best Individual Sports Game, but first they talk about the Wii. Irvin pulls out the controller to demostrate using the controller. He swings at Wii Golf (with one hand?) and "breaks" a camera. It would've been so much funnier if he had instead knocked Xzibit on his ass. And the winner is...Tony Hawk: Project 8.
Jackson then plugs his new show "Afro Samurai" based on the popular manga. Looks pretty good. After the break we get a performance from AFI. The fact that they don't have some cardboard demon robot makes it a good performance.
Kurt Angle and Geoff Keighley come out to introduce to a bunch of short trailers, including the new TNA video game. If Geoff doesn't pick the TNA video game as the best one, Angle will kick his ass. But then again, with the IWC reports of Angle going to be crippled any second now, Geoff has a good chance of kicking his ass. Here are the trailers that play:
TNA iMPACT!: Basically shows AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and the iMPACT Zone. Looks good.
John Woo Presents Stranglehold: Feels very similar to Max Payne.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Shows Snake in some hooded getup and that little robot Otacon controls shocking a soldier's nuts. Awesome.
Army of Two: Shows lots of clips of the two working together...when they're not yelling at each other. When is this game coming out, because I almost want one.
The Reno Sheriffs Department is back to talk about not taking fake guns outside, because cops aren't exactly too bright in telling the difference. Jim pulls out a yellow litegun and Trudy freaks out and threatens to shoot him. This was funny because it's sadly true. Just ask the Strickland family. Anyways, here are the other winners of the night:
Cyber Vixen of the Year: Alex Vance in Half-Life 2: Episode 1
Best Original Score: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Best Military Game: Company of Heroes
Best Driving Game: Burnout Revenge
Best Performance by a Human Male: Patrick Stewart in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Best Supporting Female Performance: Rachael Leigh Cook in Kingdom Hearts II
Best Soundtrack: Guitar Hero II
Breakthrough Technology: Wii
Best Action Game: Dead Rising
Jackson talks about how with 2006 brought us new consoles, what do we now do with our old ones? His suggestions are send them to a 3rd world country that don't have games (although that not might actually work; just ask Carlos Mencia), or turn them into sexy swimwear. Well for women at least, as Nymphorella34 comes out and Jackson tells him to F off twice (two drinks!).
Tyrese and Method Man come out for the Best Song award and talk about video game music. Tyrese does a "doot-doot-do" beat of Super Mario Bros. that was kind of cool. And the winner is..."Lights and Sound" by Yellowcard from Burnout Revenge (Or according to Method Man, "Deez Nuts").
Hayden Panettiere comes out for the Most Addictive Game award. She talks about how video games become so addictive that if you just ask any high school/college kid what their favorite book is, they'll leave you with a confused face. That's because kids in high school/college are too busy trying to get laid then to sit down and read some boring-ass book for some stupid literature class that points out how what you thought the plot was about was 100% wrong. That or they're too busy watching Heroes, which also led to confused faces on why the "Save the Cheerleader" episode turned out to be a huge disappointment. And the winner is...Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Sarah Silverman comes out and calls this the "4th Annual Nerd Awards". She explains to the crowd that she is a real live woman, and then gives advice for the serious gamers over 15 out there: kill yourselves. Wow. So first they insult our intelligence and then just insult us period? I think I've just lost whatever benefits of doubt I've had for this show. I'm not even going to bother about the other crap she says.
Jackson and Stewie exchange verbal insults, which include two F-bombs from Jackson (another double drink!). Masi Oka comes out for Best Team Sports Game award, but first has an "important" announcement. The following team games will not be recognized...you know what? I still feel so insulted I'm not going to recap what he said. He basically makes up games and mentions the WNBA. The winner is NBA 2K7.
Brandon Routh is out to talk about how he's loved Warcraft from the very beginning which leads to the trailer for the new World of Warcraft expansion pack: Burning Crusade (complete with orchestra monks on stage). You get to visit the realm of some evil sounding guy that was banished for...being evil I guess. It's basically long cinematic sequence so I have no idea what it's really about. Oh if only I wasn't such a nerdy over 15 gamer that doesn't read boring books by Ernest Hemingway.
And now it's time for the game of the year award. Jackson does some lame joke about how the games are so great or whatever. Here were the nominees for this award: Elder Scrolls IV, Gears of War, Okami, Guitar Hero II, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advance Warfighter. And the winner is...Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Elder Scrolls over Gears of War? Is the series really that popular? Wow.
Jackson says that they've once again shown the world that gamernation is the place to be...after you let Sarah Silverman insult us like that? He leaves all the haters with this message: "I'm in your motherfucking base killing your motherfucking dudes!" (another two drinks!).
Additional rants about this show
Who exactly was the target demographic for this show? Let's try breaking it down by who it definitely wasn't meant for:
Women: I'm pretty sure after that whole girlfriend destroying console skit pretty much meant that they did not care for female gamers.
Males over the age of 15: Seriously, when you have some comedian I've barely heard of insult us by advising us to "kill yourselves" and some cheerleader NBC constantly told us to save (with little payoff by the way) doesn't exactly make me want to watch this show.
Males under the age of 10: Samuel "F-Bomb" Jackson is hosting. I think that means that this isn't meant for kids.
Serious Gamers: Two "all your base" jokes? So many celebrities that have little to do with video games? The Sarah Silverman insults? I think they made it quite clear this show wasn't for serious gamers.
So in conclusion, I would have to say that this show was meant for non-serious gamers ages 10 to 14, because they are the only ones that can probably stand this crap.
A lot of the jokes on this show pretty much fell flat or weren't executed as good as should have. The worst joke of the night (besides this show of course) was the Yellowcard "Minesweeper" gag. It would've been a lot funnier if he had not said "Minesweeper" but rather make up some other name. Or if somebody actually told him about Minesweeper and he gets all depressed or something. Terrible.
On the positive side of things, The Reno 911 parts were funny and we got to see some new game trailers.
Overall, this show was TERRIBLE. I did expect that to happen though, but just how terrible it came about is what astonishes me. I probably would've enjoyed it more if I was old enough to drink alcohol (btw, the total was 13 drinks for anyone playing). But really, the part that really got to be was the Sarah Silverman "comedy". I thought this whole show was meant to embrace ourselves as gamers, only for some bitch to come out and say "kill yourselves?" I'm surprised they didn't just have Jack Thompson, Hillary Clinton, and Joseph Lieberman come out to lecture us about why video games are evil. It couldn't be much worse then what they already gave us. Fuck you Sarah Silverman and fuck you Spike TV.
The Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit 2006, Week 7
Week 7's tournament is from Las Vegas, Nevada, where it will be decided who will walk out as the season's champion. Will it be one of the powerhouses Final Boss and Carbon? Or will one of the other six teams pull off an amazing upset?
This season will have the biggest cash prize MLG has ever given out, and if Final Boss and Carbon make it to the finals, it's going to be one amazing battle. The tournament is still set up as a double elimination. 3rd Place gets $30,000, 2nd Place gets $50,000, and 1st Place gets $100,000. Before we get to the tournament, we get a brief history on the MLG.
The league was founded by Sundance DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso (CEO), who basically wanted to set up a tournament and hope it caught on. The tournaments from 2004 and 2005 looked NOTHING like what we see today. Back then they basically rented a room, put up some TV's, and had a little elevated stage for the major games but no one else could watch. Determination and learning from the gaming community helped make the MLG into the pro league it is today. Now the MLG has professional looking venues and hundreds of teams competing. Both founders still plan on making this league even bigger.
Back to the tournament, here's how the teams have done so far:
In 8th Place is Xit Woundz, the team once led by Matt "Zyos" Leto, but walked out because their team was not in the top three. Replaced by Samuel "Samurai" Suyeyasu, the team lost to Legendz and then to FBI GamerGraffix.
In 7th Place is Storm Ventures. These guys were able to beat Final Boss in a game from Week 4, but this week they were beaten by Str8 Rippin and then lost to Shook One Gaming.
In 6th Place is Shook One Gaming. These guys also had a good Week 4 when they beat Str8 Rippin, but this week they lost to Carbon in Round 1, beat Storm Ventures in Round 2, and then lost to Legendz in Round 3.
In 5th Place is FBI GamerGraffix. After earning the final spot from last week, they're journey came to an end as they lost in Round 3 to Str8 Rippin.
In 4th Place is Legendz. Created by Defy and Strongside, they quickly became a powerful team, but lost in Round 4 to Str8 Rippin.
In the Winner Bracket Finals, Carbon defeated Final Boss, so now Final Boss would take on Str8 Rippin in the Loser Bracket Finals. Early in the season Str8 Rippin and Final Boss were rivals until Str8 Rippin had two bad weeks. Even after replacing Defy with Carlos "Captain Anarchy" Morales on their team, Final Boss clobbered them and Str8 Rippin goes home in 3rd with $30,000. It all comes down to one final showdown between Final Boss and Carbon.
While Final Boss and Carbon feud over which team is better, it's no question who's the best in Free-For-All: Ben "Karma" Jackson. He has remained undefeated throughout the entire season this year. Congratulations to the best 1 vs. 1 Halo 2 player in the league.
Final Boss made it to Las Vegas easily by being the #1 Halo team in the league. The team is lead by Walshy, who has gone on to have great fame and fortune. The team also has The Orge Twins, Orge1 and Orge2, who are considered the best duo in the world. Saiyan rounds out the team and he is not to be underestimated.
Carbon's road to Las Vegas was harder. The first three tournaments had them struggle on how to stay consistantcy. After losing in Week 1, they hired a coach, xXx. After losing in Week 2 again to Str8 Rippin, Week 3 saw them get sent to the Losers Bracket early on. 35 games later, they made it to the championship only to lose to Final Boss again. This team consists of the biggest trash talker in the league 17-year-old Gandhi, their leader and strategic genius Shockwave, and the FFA master Karma. After Week 4 Strongside was replaced by the up and comer Ghostayame, and once that happened Carbon went on to beat Final Boss in Week 5 and in Week 6. Does Carbon have Final Boss' number?
Also this week Gamestop and EB Games held a "Gears of War Charity Challenge", where the gamers play for $10,000 in charity. They also held a "Gears of War Pro-AM Exibition" tournament, where gamers who've been watching these MLG tournaments got to play with some of the top pros for prize money. Team T-Squared defeated Team Karma and Team Foulacy defeated Team Gandhi, then T-Squared defeated his Str8 Rippin partner to earn his team $4,000. The pros really enjoyed Gears of War and want to go back to playing it.
Throughout the season Scion and MLG have been naming their Players of the Week, and at the end of the season, one of these 8 players would be considered the Player of the Year. The finalists were:
Eric "Ghostayame" Hewitt
Tyler "ItWasLuck" Howard
Matt "Hali" Moseley
Ryan "Ramby" Mendez
Kyle "Elamite Warrior" Elam
Justin "SK Halogod v2" Mann
Corey "Bonfire" Howard
Sean "Legendpimps" Hinsinger
After they fought in battle, The Scion Player of the Year is "Bonfire", who walks away in a shiny new green 2006 Scion xB Release 3.0.
Back to the official tournament, Carbon already had the 3-1 lead over Final Boss, but Final Boss was going to show that they meant business. Saiyan was at the top of his game and beat them in Game 1 50-28. The teams get ready for Game 2 as we see Final Boss' newly appointed coach, Marty "Orge3" Ryan, the twins older brother. Back from commercial Carbon beat Final Boss in CTF, so now they lead 4-2. It's now time for Game 3.
Game 3 of the National Championships: Carbon vs. Final Boss
Team Slayer on Midship.
We start the game with Walshy who spawns at the pink tower, the key area of the map. Final Boss already has the pink tower and an early lead. Walshy is taking out every Carbon member that even comes close to the tower until he's 'naded by Gandhi. Over to Orge2, they back the tower they just lost and still have a good lead over Carbon. Orge2 lands a grenade on Karma from an impressive long distance and we switch to Shockwave. Shockwave heads into pink tower and takes out Walshy with a double shot. Carbon has taken control of the tower as we go to Walshy. He beats down Shockwave as the game reaches 27-19 for Final Boss. Shockwave gets double teamed and Walshy is going around taking out any Carbon member he can find as the rest of his team protect the pink tower. Walshy is taken down as Final Boss is now winning by 13 kills. Over to Saiyan, he gets a double kill on Karma and Shockwave, and takes out Ghost with Orge1. Sayian is taken down by Shockwave and we switch to Gandhi. As Gandhi fails to make it into the pink tower, Final Boss is dominating this game 41-27. Gandhi decides to do things from a long distance and gets a double kill. Orge1 suddenly shows up next to him but Gandhi is able to beat him down and escape. Gandhi gets more kills for his team but the score is 47-41 Final Boss. Over to Walshy, he eventually finishes off Carbon with a final score of 50-43. Walshy ended the game with 17 kills. Carbon is still leading the series 4-3.
In Game 4 Final Boss won Team Ball thanks to Orge2 holding on for a long time, and in Game 5 carbon won Capture the Flag 5-0, so Carbon is still leading the series at 5-4. The next two games are going to be Team Slayer, Final Boss' specialty. The teams are pumped up and ready.
Game 6 of the National Championships
Team Slayer on Beaver Creek.
We start with Saiyan who immediately grabs the Overshield and goes off to get some quick kills. He grabs the rockets and saw a sniper trail, so he immediately shoots back and scores a frag. Saiyan continues to shoot his rockets and is racking up the kills before he's taken out. Over to Shockwave, he watches the teleporter for a Final Boss member. Shockwave picks up a fallen sniper rifle and heads up to his position over the creek. He tosses some grenades and takes out Walshy, then snipes Saiyan for the double kill. Carbon has now complete control over the map. We go to Gandhi who grabs the rockets but keeps shooting with the battle rifle. Carbon takes the lead as Gandhi recharges his shield and waits for his chance to use the rockets. He kills Saiyan with a rocket, then Orge1, but is shot down by Saiyan. Over to Saiyan, he kills Karma from across the map and gets help from Walshy to grab the overshield. He scores many kills and now Final Boss takes back the lead 21-20. He gets to red base to help Orge2 only to be killed by Shockwave. We switch to over Orge2 who takes Gandhi off the sniper base and heads to it. He grabs the rifle and heads to red base as the lead keeps changing back and forth. He snipes Gandhi with a jumpshot, but Gandhi respawns below him and 'nades him. We go to Orge1 who's at blue base. He fights Karma from afar but doesn't finish him, as everyone is frantically shooting at each other to stop them from getting the overshield. He gets so close but is killed by Karma and Gandhi grabs it. Over to Gandhi, he heads to red base and gets a double kill. He runs over to the blue base as Carbon is winning 39-36. He heads on top and lobs several grenades all around. He kills Walshy and takes a rocket hit but thanks to the overshield is not dead yet. He recharges and beats down Saiyan as Carbon is winning 42-38. Carbon is setting up around the map as Final Boss is stuck behind red base. Over to Saiyan, he just dodges a sniper bullet and kills Ghost from behind, then kills Karma. We switch to Walshy as he moves through the middle and takes out Ghost and Gandhi. He finishes off Shockwave as the score is 47-44 Carbon. We switch to Karma on top of blue base. He heads down, teleports, and kills Saiyan. Gandhi and Karma double team on Orge1 and are one kill away! He fights with Walshy and stands up thinking it's over but it isn't! Karma is soon killed as Carbon is winning 49-47. Is Carbon going to screw this up? We switch to Carbon's captain Shockwave who climbs the sniper ramp, sees Final Boss' Walshy from afar, he goes for the kill and gets it! Carbon has won the championship! This was an amazing game. Shockwave was able to get 17 kills. Carbon celebrates as Final Boss looks upset.
Carbon is the 2006 National Champions and takes home $100,000. Final Boss come in 2nd and will take home $50,000. Once again, here are the final rankings from the National Championship:
We get one last video package reflecting the past several weeks of this season and so ends the MLG Pro Circuit. Overall I think this series was really interesting to watch, as even though they only shown a couple full blown matches, they got a lot of information in on who's been doing what. I would've liked to see more stuff about the lower ranked teams though, because they focused so much on Final Boss, Carbon, and Str8 Rippin that when they did that whole "Player of the Week" thing, it just comes off as "Who the hell and why?"
On that note, I look forward to the 2007 MLG season.
