The Select and Start News Report: 11.19.07
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 11.19.2007
A parent fails, VGAs fail, Atari fails, "Xbox originals" could possibly fail, how you can get a Wii for $79, and some MLG action where Final Boss try not to fail to win like last year
Welcome to the Select and Start News Report, more sickening then the 2Girls1Cup video. So wow...Super Mario Galaxy could just about be the new greatest video game of all time. At least based on the GameRankings Average. Anyways, that's pretty much the only successful news to report, as everything else is just one big failure. But once we get that out of the way, you can check out what happened in Week 1 of the 2007 MLG Pro Circuit.
Georgia resident Francisco Garcia is filing a class action lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming they "fraudulently induced a contractual relationship for Xbox Live services" for allowing a minor to purchase Xbox Live and bill him without his consent. Garcia claims that in October 2005, his underaged son used his debit card to buy a $50, one-year subscription to Xbox Live without his consent, and then he was automatically renewed for another year and billed another $50. That automatic renewal sent Garcia's account into overdraft, costing him a $35 overdraft penalty. Microsoft has refunded the $50 charged from the renewal, but not the overdraft penalty, and so Garcia is sueing the company for unspecified damages and wants other XBL customers in Georgia dealing with similar issues to join in. Microsoft however claims the son falsely stated he was at least 18 years old when he subscribed to Xbox Live and has the paperwork to prove it.
Oh, where to begin...
1. How did he allow his underage son to purchase an XBL account in the first place?
2. He can't cover a measly $35 penalty from two years ago?
3. What are the odds that there are other people in Georgia who has underage kids stealing their cards and purchasing online video game subscriptions?
Overall, Microsoft probably shouldn't have automatically billed him for that second year but they did give him a refund. But this guy is just one big pile of FAILURE.
SPEAKING OF BIG FAILURES... [credit: Gamasutra]
Hall of Shamer SpikeTV VGA's announced their nominess for the 2007 Video Game Awards. While for the most part the nominees are accurate, there's one certain category that has me bothered.
Here are the nominees for Best Xbox 360 Game:
Bioshock
Halo 3
Mass Effect
The Orange Box
Nothing wrong with that right? But then here are the nominees for the Game of the Year:
Bioshock
Halo 3
Mass Effect
The Orange Box
The really messed up part is that according to Gamasutra, "this year's short list has been drawn up by a panel of notable U.S. journalists, including Chris Kohler, Dan Hsu, Dean Takahashi, Geoff Keighley, Jeff Gerstmann. Gamastura's own Brandon Boyer and Game Developer Magazine's Brandon Sheffield were also involved in the selection."
And this is why the VGA's have been inducted into the Hall of Shame. That and they insult any gamers over the age of 10.
THE CONTINUING FAILURE OF ATARI [credit: GameDaily, Gamasutra]
With Atari constantly losing money and it's future looking bleak, Atari officials announced that the publisher will "re-focus its operations on publishing and distribution in North America, completing its withdrawal from the production business." This plan "will involve title acquisition, sales and marketing, and physical distribution of products from [Infogrames] IESA, its 51% shareholder, and other selected partners." With this new plan will come with layoffs.
And on top of that, the soon to be dead publisher has announced that CEO David Pierce has resigned from the company. Curtis G. Solsvig III, Chief Restructuring Officer, has been appointed interim CEO and will assume Pierce's responsibilities for now. Atari said that an executive search for a new CEO has already been started.
Following these announcements, Infogrames has clarified that these changes in Atari will not interfere in current development plans.
Okay everyone, time to throw in your bets for which date Atari goes under in 2008. I'm going to go with April 15th.
A POSSIBLE FAILURE? [credit: GameDaily]
Microsoft recently announced a new service called "Xbox Originals", where Xbox 360 owners can download certain Xbox titles such as Halo to their console. BUT...Microsoft has warned at the errors some games will have when you download them. For the first round of titles, Microsoft has also listed issues specific to each game, as outlined below.
Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge: There is some minor flickering at the top of the screen that happens very rarely. The "Press A to Continue" message is missing when the host player leaves a multiplayer game.
Fable: There are some random bursts of audio static and some minor texture issues and a short hang up when removing tattoos.
Fuzion Frenzy: There are some minor frame rate issues.
Halo: There are some very mild frame rate drops.
Psychonauts: HDMI 720p is not supported for PAL users. Running the game in 720p over HDMI will result in the game locking up for PAL users. If you are using HDMI output, set the resolution to 1080i or 1080p (anything but 720p).
Hmm...instead of constantly screwing up updating the backwards compatibility for games people already own, let's just sell them the games they've probably already bought or have no interest in buying because if they did they probably would've bought the damn game in the first place. Brilliant! This is a stupid move and anyone who thinks this is a good idea needs to convince me why it is.
CHEAP CONSOLES AND EVEN CHEAPER GAMES! [credit: Evil Avatar, GameDaily]
'Tis the season to REALLY be jolly! Well, if you live in the US and you're either want to buy an Xbox 360 or a Wii. For those that want the Xbox 360, you're probably going to buy Halo 3. But wait! If you buy an Xbox 360, you can get Halo 3 FOR FREE! According to Xbox.com, here's what you do:
1. Buy an Xbox 360 console by December 21.
2. Connect to Xbox LIVE.
3. Register with promotional code XBX7777, your new console serial number, and a valid mailing address.
4. And look for your copy of Halo 3 for Xbox 360 in your mailbox!
As for those wanting to buy a Wii, you just might have a chance of getting the console for $79! Amazon.com has been doing a series of polls on what product people wanted to buy for cheaper: A Wii for $79, a 40GB PS3 for $139, or an Xbox 360 Arcade for $99. So far the Wii is winning the poll, and if continue at this rate, 1,000 of those for voted for the Wii will be given the offer to buy the console at that price once the voting is done November 21st. You'll need an Amazon account and constantly check back to see if you've won the deal.
So get to shopping gamers!
Tidbit News
-Epic and IGN reached a deal to have Unreal Tournament 3 use GameSpy's multiplayer technology. [credit: GameDaily]
-According to an AP-AOL Games poll, 43% of parents say they don't play video games with their kids, and 30% say they do play but for less then an hour. [credit: GameDaily]
-The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) announced the launch of Health Games Research, a national program established to support research to enhance the quality and effectiveness of interactive games that are used to improve health. [credit: GameDaily, Gamasutra]
-The Discovery Channel is going to start doing a 5-week special on the evolution of video games, called "Rise to Video Games". The series begins this Wednesday, November 21st at 8PM. [credit: GameDaily]
-Ubisoft has sent a cease and desist order to SomethingAwful.com over a comic which makes of Jade Raymond for announcing that she is not appearing in an issue of Maxim. [credit: 1UP]
-Now that Sony has dropped the PS3 to an affordable price, sales for the console have gone up. Sony has reported that sales for the console are now reaching 100,000 per week ever since the launch of the 40GB model, which is a huge improvement over the 30,000 to 40,000 per week it was usually selling. Sony also added that sales will likely go up this holiday season with the Wii having shortage problems. [credit: GameDaily]
-A new research study conducted by Iowa State University psychology professor Douglas Gentile that games can cause more aggressive behavior. Over the six month experiment using 430 students in third to fifth grade, 670 eighth to ninth graders, and 1,441 college-age students with an average age of 19, violent behavior increased by 73% for those who played violent games. [credit: GameSpot]
The Other Crap
PROGESS GAMING: Brain Age 2
Got this a few days ago and I thought it would be the same as Brain Age. Aside from the fact that the games are a bit harder then the first one, yeah, it's basically the same game. But at least all it cost was some Dave and Busters tickets.
EARN 1000 ACHIEVEMENT POINTS IN TWO MINUTES
Check out this video where you can get 1000 Achievement points easily with the new Avatar: The Last Airbender game.
WEEKLY SMASH BROS. ROUNDUP
-Ike's Final Smash, "Great Aether". It's a slash-a-thon that can't be stopped.
-Three different taunts. Each character now has three different taunts they can use, and some of them just might hint at new moves they can pull off. For example, one of Snake's taunts is that he hides in a box, and as seen in the "Snake Joins the Brawl" video, Mario was able to pick up and throw away the box. Remember how Mario's Down Special is now the F.L.U.D.D.? My theory is that one of Mario's taunts equips and unequips the device, changing what Down Special you actually have.
-Handicap. This is for the new Smash Bros. on the block, or if you're taking on a pro-level gamer.
-Meta Knight's Special Moves. We kind of already knew these moves from the how to section. At least they're detailed this time.
-Kirby: Meta Knight's Revenge. This is the theme for the Halberd, a remix from Kirby Super Star. Plus I learned a new word from the update: "incongruous".
-Spectator mode. This mode allows you and others to watch online matches in the "With Anyone" battles, and bet on who is going to win. Those who allow spectators have they're play data sent to Nintendo, and stickers will also be given out. Who exactly gets the stickers wasn't specific though.
GAMING CALENDAR
Gamers...ARE YOU READY TO ROOOOOOOCK?!
TODAY:
-Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to be released
-Rock Band to be released
November 20th:
-Mass Effect to be released
-Soul Calibur: Legends to be released
-Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings to be released
November 21st - Discovery Channel to begin weekly series "Rise of the Video Game"
December 4th - Haze to be released?
January 22, 2008 - Turning Point: Fall of Liberty to be released
February 2008 - No More Heroes to be released
February 5, 2008 - Devil May Cry 4 Collector's Edition to be released
February 10th, 2008 - Super Smash Bros. Brawl to be released
2nd Quarter 2008 - Metal Gear Solid 4 to be released
March 8th, 2008 - God of war: Chains of Olympus to be released
That's all for this week. Have a great Thanksgving Weekend and scroll down for the MLG Recap. The 2007 Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit
Last year the MLG aired their 2006 Pro Circuit on USA, and for the most part it was a good show. This year the tournaments are being broadcast on G4, which actually makes more sense. There are also a few differences compared to last year that I'll be pointing out. One difference is that this year if you missed the episodes on TV, you can head over to MLG's website and watch the episodes online (over the weekend only), which is cool. This year the show is hosted by Craig Reynolds and MLG founder Sundance DiGiovanni.
Times have changed since last year. Last year was amazing as Team Final Boss were to favorites to win the championships, but then Team Carbon stepped up and took home the prize. Since then there have been some roster changes. Team Carbon (ShocKWav3, Karma, Gandhi, and Ghostayame) hasn't replaced anybody, but Team Final Boss (previously consisting of Walshy, The Ogre Twins, and Saiyan) has replaced Saiyan with Strongside, who was once on Carbon in 2006 but replaced with Ghostayame and teamed up with Str8 Rippin's former teammate Defy to form Legendz in 2006. Carbon thinks Strongside is there weakest link, but really, when you've got one of the biggest single players in Walshy and the ultimate duo of The Ogre Twins, wouldn't anybody be considered the weakest link?
But it won't be all about Carbon, Str8 Rippin, and Final Boss this year. Last year I pointed out how they didn't cover a lot on the lower level teams, but this year it seems they'll be doing just that, because the first match we're going to see is a match between Redemption and Team 5K. Redemption are the #4 ranked team in the MLG, and Team 5K are basically showing up for the first time since all they've done so far in the league was play online games. They don't list who's on the teams unlike last year, which kind of blows.
Round 2 Match: Redemption vs. Team 5K
Team Slayer at Sanctuary. First to 50 kills win.
We begin the match with KillerN (Redemption) who grabs the sword right away but gets sniped. After respawn, KillerN gets revenge on Roy and then kills Lunchbox, picking up the sniper rifle. Over to Cpt.Anarchy (Redemption), he beats down FearItself to get the rifle, immediately gets a kill, and while off to find another 5K member gets shot from behind, so he does a 180 and kills the guy with headshot! Nice. We go to team captain of Redemption whose taking out 5K members with grenades and the plasma pistol as his team is winning 17-12. We go to Roy (5K) who kills Fonzi, and runs away with no shield. His twin brother Lunchbox takes out Ramby, gets a double kill on Cpt.Anarchy, and then beats down Fonzi. When he's finally taken down, it's now 20-18 Redemption. We go to Hokum (5K) who chases down Anarchy and with the help of his teammates take him out, then chases down Ramby who gets killed by FearItself, giving 5K a 22-21 lead. Considering 5K is a much lower ranked team, this is amazing. Hokum gets a double kill with his sword and his team is ahead 24-21. Over to Fonzi, he assassinates Hokum and gets the sword. Fonzi is looking for his foes, and takes down Fear but is then killed by Roy. Hokum kills Ramby, and is leaving the ring to go kill Fonzi, then is taken out by Anarchy. Lunchbox is weaking his foes with sniper shots as Hokum beats them down. 5K is now winning 31-26 as we go into commercial.
Back to the game, and the score is now 39-29 5K. Ramby is going after the Sniper Rifle currently being used by Lunchbox. He kills Lunchbox from a distance and then grenades FearItself for a double kill. They head to the base to get that rifle but Roy is ready for them, taking out two Redemption members and gets the rifle back for his team. We jump ahead a bit to Hokum as 5K is winning 46-40. Hokum kills Fonzi and Fear kills KillerN, making the 48-41. Hokum's team moves in and get another kill. One more and they'll win it. Anarchy kills Roy and gets into a fight with Lunchbox, but Ramby makes the save. Anarchy takes down Hokum, and kill him on the respawn with Ramby's help. The score is now 49-46. Redemption and 5K are now playing defensively as both are barely moving. Lunchbox as the rifle and shoots at Fonzi...but misses! He tries to snipe again...and gets it!
Winner: 5K, 50-47.
The favorites as always for these tournaments is Final Boss, taking out people easily. Str8 Rippin, the #3 team, is also a heavy favorite. Time to see which team will move into the finals as we play the first of the Semi-Final matches.
Semi-Final #1: Final Boss vs. Str8 Rippin
Team Slayer on Warlock
We start the game with Str8 Rippin captain Tsquared, who gets an early double kill on Orge1 and Strongside. He spots Walshy from afar and takes him out as Str8 Rippin takes the lead 6-4. We join Str8 Rippin newcomer Legit and gets a triple on the Orge twins and Walshy, iving his team a 10-5 lead. Naded (Str8 Rippin) assassinates StrongSide through a portal. Naded goes through a portal and gets a jumping headshot on Walshy as Str8 Rippin pulls even further ahead 16-7. T2 lobs grenades from afar and helps Legit kill Walshy, continuing the 10 kill lead. As the fight continues Str8 Rippin continues to dominate over Final Boss as the score is now 24-12. T2 continues to kill Final Boss members one by one and gets a Running Riot (scoring 10 kills without dying). T2 and Naded are controlling the portals while Legit is creating distraction fire from the middle. We jump ahead later into the match with the score at 42-34 Str8 Ripping. Orge2 kills Naded, dodges a plasma grenade, finally takes down T2, but gets beaten down by Foulacy at the portal. The score is now at 46-37. We go to Legit who goes in and out of one of the portals to kill two more Final Boss members. Str8 Rippin now only 2 kills away. T2 finds Walshy and kills him, and runs before Orge2 can kill him. He then kills Orge1 to finish it.
Winner: Str8 Rippin, 50-43.
But unfortunately for Str8 Rippin, their luck didn't last long as Final Boss would take the rest of the games and move on to the finals. Meanwhile, Carbon was beaten by lower ranked team FBI The Agency, but after beating 5K in the Loser Bracket, will now have their revenge as the winner of this match gets to take on Final Boss.
The Semi-Finals are done with a best of 11 games, and The Agency beat Carbon 5 TIMES IN A ROW! With only one game away, they rallied and then they scored 5 times in a row. Now it all comes down to this one final game. Will Carbon, last years winning team screw it all up, or will they make a stunning comeback and have their rematch with Final Boss?
Semi-Final #2: Carbon vs. The Agency
Team Slayer on Midship.
We start with ShocKWav3 who gest the first kill. Shockwave goes up Pink 2 and is on top, taking out an Agency member with the double shot. Gandhi is moving into Red Base and takes out ElamiteWarrior. He kills HaloGod and drops down to recover. He kills Mackeo from afar and then HaloGod again, going on a killing spree. Gandhi takes heavy fire and escapes just in time as his team is winning 10-4. He goes into Blue Base and kills Elamite. Victory X (Agency) drops in but didn't see Gandhi right next to him and gets beatdown. Gandhi has now 7 kills without dying. We go to Shockwave at Red Base, who takes out Victory X, drops below and fires some shots at someone going into Pink 2, then jumps back up and takes out Elamite. Carbon has control of the Pink base as Carbon is winning 17-7. We now to Agency leader ElamiteWarrior who goes on Carbine 3 and kills Gandhi and Karma from a distance. He teams with HaloGod to take out Ghandi again and shoots at Ghostayame but can't finish him. He tries to kill Ghost but fails and gets beat down by Gandhi. Victory X, who up until now had only one kill, takes out Gandhi, tries to kill Ghost but fails and is taken out by Karma. After respawn he exacts his revenge on Karma. He gets pushed back at the Blue Base with grenades and is taken out by Shockwave. Victory X then gets a double kill and talks some trash, but Carbon is still winning 25-23. Agency start fighting hard as the score is now neck and neck. Shockwave gets the sword, heads into Pink 2 and gets a double kill on the Agency before getting taken down. Victory X takes the Power Sword and is confronted by Ghost and Gandhi. He kills Ghost but is taken out by Gandhi. Gandhi kills Mackeo from above, drops down and kills HaloGod, then turns and kills Victory X to tie the game at 40-40. Mackeo takes out Gandhi and The Agency takes the lead. This match is awesome. We now go to Ghost's POV as the match is going back and forth. Ghost kills Mackeo from afar, gets the sword ready and takes out a dropping Elamite. The game is now tied at 44-44. Ghost is under fire, retreats but runs into a grenade by Mackeo. Karma is locking down Pink 2 and takes out Victory X and confronts Mackeo, game is at 46-46. Karma takes out Elamite but Victory X takes out Shockwave, game is STILL tied at 48-48. Victory X is killed by Shockwave, Karma spots Mackeo from below and drops in to beat him down! Carbon wins!
Winner: Carbon, 50-48 (Best freaking match in the tournament!)
The finals are determined by a best of 5, and wouldn't you know it, we're heading into the 5th and final game to decide who takes this week's tournament. Will Carbon beat Final Boss just like they did last year?
Championship Match: Final Boss vs. Carbon
Team Slayer on Beaver Creek
We start with Orge1 who grabs the overshield, takes out Ghost and heads for the rockets. He helps Walshy finish off Gandhi, and gets the rockets only to accidentally kill his brother. But Final Boss is still winning 7-2. He shoots a rocket at Shockwave stuck at the base which only weakens him. Shockwave pops out and tries to grenade Orge1. After 4 plasmas he takes out Orge1 and the rockets are now down. Shockwave sneaks into the Red Base to help his team get behind Final Boss. Shockwave gets a boost from Ghost to head to the top and kills Strongside, gets his sniper rifle and shoots but misses Walshy. He goes out of the base to snipe Walshy only for Walshy to launch a rocket, trading kills. Strongside is at the blue base taking out Karma with Orge1, then heads to the cliff to beatdown Shockwave, then kills Gandhi for a double kill, and gets the sniper rifle. He snipes at Shockwave while behind a rock, but Ghost comes in and saves him by taking out Strongside. Ghost gets the rockets and fires at long range, which is ineffective. He moves in and takes out Walshy and Orge2 with his rifle, then goes on top of Red Base, only to be killed by Walshy. We now go to Walshy who moves in on the overshield and shoots down Shockwave from behind him. We goes to the creek only to be killed by a respawned Strongside as we head into commercial.
Back into the match Final Boss is winning 26-16 as we look on with Ghost. Ghost uses the "toss grenades at the rockets to get them down close to you trick" that I totally remember hearing about from last year and gets the rockets. Final Boss is winning by 10 kills but Ghost isn't the using rockets to start killing people, and Sundance says this is a very bad move for him to do. He fires long range rockets which NEVER work on a pro-level match and is eventually killed. We now go to Orge2 who kills Karma and goes behind Red Base. He spots Gandhi at the base and takes him out. Gandhi respawns and goes through the portal only to be killed off again. Orge2 is trash talking Gandhi to get into his head. We go over the Walshy on top of Blue Base, killing Ghost and Karma but dies inches before reaching the overshield. Gandhi grabs the overshield, takes Strongside's grenades and goes after Orge1. Gandhi snipes down Orge2 and gets a kill on Strongside as Final Boss is still winning this game 41-31. Gandhi tries searching for Final Boss at Red Base, sees nobody, but then Orge2 suddenly appears and kills him, calling him "so clueless." Final Boss is now winning 44-32. Karma gets the overshield so is shot by Orge2. Orge2 is shot from behind but he sees nobody, so he goes back on top of his base and kills Karma in the creek, then drops down and kills Shockwave. Final Boss is only two kills away. Walshy orders his team to charge in and end this. Orge1 however stays behind and waits patiently for a Carbon member to pop up. Strongside gets a kill, then Orge1 goes through a portal and hunts down Karma for the final kill.
Winner: Final Boss, 50-37.
The Boost Mobile MVP Award for this week's tournament goes to Orge2 of Final Boss, who put on a very impressive performance this week, having a +47 ratio (meaning he's had 47 more total kills then total deaths). Then we get the Top 3 Plays of the tournament.
#3: Cpt.Anarchy's "180 Snipe". He gets shoots from behind, turns around, and immediately takes out the guy doing it.
#2: Tsquare's Running Riot. Scoring 10 kills without dying? Yeah, that's definitely awesome.
#1: Strongside's "Sweeping Snipe" kill on Ghost. Is Carbon going to regret getting rid of him? Then again, they did win last year without him, so probably not.
Another something of note is that last year, we got to know the players a bit more when they were profiled and we had player tips. That was all taken out for this year however, which depending on whether you actually cared or not is either a good thing or a bad thing. But I do hate how they didn't post the total scores at the end.
With that said, the MLG tournament has pretty much remained the same and is still awesome to watch. Stay tuned next week for the Week 2 recap.
