The Select and Start News Report 11.26.07
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 11.26.2007
Funny video game videos, the tale of a soldier finding out about his cheating wife through his Wii, the weekly Smash Bros. Roundup, The MLG Week 2 Recap, and...news? What news?
Welcome to the Select and Start News Report, home of CHALLENGE PISSING! Seeing how it was Thanksgiving weekend here in the US, not a whole lot of big news came out. So this week, it's just a bunch of tidbit news, video filler, and the MLG Recap, which is good for me because this gives me more time to play StarFox 64 on my Wii again while also trying to complete Phoenix Wright 3.
Tidbit News
-A 14-year-old Scituate boy died at a Providence Bruins hockey game at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Friday night. The boy won a Wii in a raffle contest and went to the ice to claim his prize, but fell on the ice and was taken to a hospital, where later he was pronounced dead. The boy's name has not been released. [credit: Fark, Projo.com]
-The good news for Super Mario Galaxy is that it sold 500,000 copies in the US on its first week of sales. The bad news is that because of a new couple reviews, it's GameRankings average has dropped a slight percentage that now puts Zelda: Ocarina of Time back into the #1 spot. Either way, Nintendo is laughing their asses off to the bank. [credit: GameDaily, GameSpot]
-If you're thinking of trying to buy the Wii on Amazon.com, think again. The website has sold 1,400 of them...IN THE FIRST TEN MINUTES! Nintendo, for the love of squalala, will you please build/buy another factory and make more of them already? [credit: Destructoid]
-AI middleware developer Kynogon has announced today that Kynapse, its AI engine, has been chosen by Sony Online Entertainment for the development of a DC Comics-based MMO for PlayStation 3. The engine was also used in Crackdown, Alone in the Dark 5, Fable 2, Sacred 2 and The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. [credit: Gamasutra]
-Gamers apparently not only like Halo in game form, but in book form as well. The latest novel, Halo: Contact Harvest, written by Bungie Studios' writer Joseph Staten, was #3 on the New York Times Bestsellers list in it's first week of sales, and also debuted on USA Today's Bestseller List at #23. [credit: GameDaily, Gamasutra]
-And apparently it isn't just the hardcore gamers that love Halo 3. According to a new report from online market research group BrandIntel, Halo 3 is a very popular title amongst the casual game community, and because of Halo 3, sparked interest in buying an Xbox 360. [credit: Gamasutra]
-The NIMF conducted an undercover survey which reports that 46% of underaged teens were able to buy M-rated games from a group of 60 retailers nationwide. That's a big improvement compared to 2003 when 69% of underaged teens were able to buy M-rated games, and is way ahead of other entertainment media. An FTC study shows that underaged kids were able to buy R-rated movies 71% of the time and CD's with explicit lyrics 76% of the time. [credit: GameSpot]
-The Romanics are suing Activision, claiming that the cover version "What I like about you" in "Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s" sounds too much like the original. Or uh...maybe it's just that damn good of a cover song? [credit: CNN]
-While we wait to see if NiGHTS: Journey into Dreams is a worthy sequel, the original NiGHTS will be ported to the PS2 in Japan on February according to Famitsu Magazine. [credit: CVG]
The Other Crap
MR.T IN WORLD OF WARCRAFT
The latest World of Warcraft ads now have Mr.T talking about his Night-Elf Mohawk. Drink your milk!
SOCIAL COMMENTARY IN AN OLD CD-I GAME?
Surfing YouTube one day I came across this intro for a Phillips CD-I game called "Mutant Rampage Body Slam", where the intro, if you change a couple words in the dialouge, almost seems like it's taking place today.
Here's the intro:
Now replace the words in the intro with these:
Millenium Wars = Iraq War
Grey Tremor Plague = Bird Flu/SARS/Superbug/Whatever disease the media is hyping up
Bioengineers = DeviantArtists
Bionics = Steroids
Cybernet/Fiber Optic communication thing = Teh internets
Body Slam = Viral Video series
As for the mutated birth...I'm not really sure about that one. Maybe it's a subliminal message as to what happens if you choose pro-life over pro-choice?
KIRBY/SNOOP DOG REMIX
Snoop Dog's "Drop it likes it's hot" remixed with Kirby's theme. Fits perfectly:
SOLDIER CATCHES WIFE CHEATING THROUGH WII SPORTS [credit: Destructoid, GoNintendo]
I really feel sorry for this guy. Check out this e-mail that was sent to Go Nintendo about how one man discovered the truth about his cheating wife.
In April of 2006, I was ordered to active duty Army to serve in Iraq for a year. I had gotten married to the woman I had been with for almost 7 years and we promised to stay true to our vows all through my tour. In October she apparently cheated on me with a PBA bowler named *name deleted*. This affair had continued on while I was in Iraq and became more than just a 'fling'.
In November 2006, while braving the harsh *name deleted* winter, I stood in line for a Nintendo Wii outside a Target on launch day. I emailed him to get it for me because I knew I would not easily find one when I came home on my two week leave in December. He succeeds, being 2nd in line for a brand new Nintendo Wii. Soon after that I am able to play my Nintendo Wii in Iraq and all is well in the world, or so I thought. As the months go by, my time at war is counting down and I start mailing some of my personal items home. In a lockable trunk, I pack up all my stuff that I want home safe and unbroken. I mail my DS, DVD's and my Nintendo Wii back to my wife for safe keeping.
I arrive home in *name deleted* July 17th and reunite with my wife. Shortly, as I try to reintegrate into my normal life, friends and family tell me of the indiscretions that occurred while I was away at war. I didn't want to believe them. I ask my wife about the countless accusations and questionable events that happened while I was gone and she denies all of them. I move back home, collect up some of my belongings that she would let me take and I try to sort out all the bull that was left for me to figure out.
So now it's November 2007. All the lies, and untruths have taken it's toll. I filed for divorce. To this day all she admits is that she made out with this guy in October. I eventually find emails from him to her declaring their love together and how they will get rid of me so that they can spend the rest of their lives together. Aside from being immensely heartbroken, I am still hurt and confused. All that changed when I plug in my Nintendo Wii for some Wii Sports.
I flip through the Wii menu and visit the Mii Channel so I can peruse the many friends that I have created with the guys that I played with in Iraq. As I go through the characters I see there is a Mii that I have not created. It's a guy strikingly similar to PBA Bowler *name deleted*. To be sure of this, I went into the Wil Message Board and click on the Calendar option. Through this menu I was able to identify the many nights my wife's Mii and this 'other' Mii Character played Wii Bowling. It became clearly obvious that she couldn't explain her way out of this. Especially since she claims that she never had contact with him after her alleged 'kiss' in October 2006.
RISE OF THE VIDEO GAME
So I caught most of Part 1 in the Rise of the Video Game documentary that the Discovery Channel is doing. The first part, called "Level 1", talked about how games were basically born out of military technology and how the games that were released reflected on the times. It's a really interesting documentary and I'll be sure to be watching the other parts when they air (Wednesdays at 8PM EST).
PROGESS GAMING: StarFox 64 and Phoenix Wright 3
So I finally got around to buying StarFox 64 on the virtual console, and well, it's just as much fun today as it was years ago. I've gone through all the stages and now it's just a matter of getting all the medals.
As for Phoenix Wright 3...god damn, they really know how to make these games hard. The second case has pissed me off on more then one occasion, and that was usually because of the complete stupidity in some of the characters. Also, I thought it would be great when it was a larceny case rather then a murder case, but guess what? It turns out to be a murder case. Anyways, as of this writing I'm in the middle of Case 4, so I'll be done with it soon.
WEEKLY SMASH BROS. ROUNDUP
-Ice Climbers' Final Smash. A giant iceberg comes up from the bottom of the screen, covering nearly the entire stage. Everyone but the Ice Climbers will have a hard time moving on the stage and they can freeze others while doing the Final Smash as well.
-Smart Bomb. The bomb from StarFox will cause a huge explosion when thrown, so once you throw, it's best to run like hell. But sometimes the bomb won't work at all. On a sidenote, Electrode (the exploding Pokemon) was also sometimes not explode.
-Training. Because you're going to need it when the pros somehow find a way to wave dash in this game. Plus, a new item was shown off in one of the screenshots: A soccer ball.
-Color changes. You can change the color of your character and sometimes they'll look like another character. some of the examples shown were Link as Dark Link, Samus in her Fusion Suit, Pit as a fallen angel, Ike in a regular soldier's uniform, and Snake's alternate camouflages.
-Saki Amamiya. This guy is from the Japan-only Sin & Punishment, where he cuts down people with his sword, then jumps into the air and fires from his cannon.
-Lucas' Final Smash. Lucas uses his PK Starstorm, causing stars to fall from the skies and basically obliterate the stage. In small stages this works great as they's little room to escape, but very large stages...not so much.
-Charged Special Moves. Some special moves require some charging to give it that extra kick. Some characters like DK and Samus need to charge in order to use their specials.
GAMING CALENDAR
And so the golden month of gaming has come to an end. Now to play those games we've bought and beat them before February so we can dedicate all our time to Smash Bros. Brawl.
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
And now, we wrap things up with the MLG Week 2 recap. The 2007 Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit
Your hosts are Craig Reynolds and MLG founder Sundance DiGiovanni.
Week 2 of the circuit takes place in the Meadowlands, and already we have changes from Week 1. Two of the new members from Str8 Rippin, Legit and Naded, left the team and decided to join #20 seeded Perfect Storm because they didn't think Str8 Rippin just wasn't that good of a team. So far Perfect Storm has been doing well, but now they take on the #3 team The Agency. Will Legit and Naded regreat leaving Str8 Rippin? Time to find out.
Round 3 Match: Perfect Storm vs. The Agency
Team Slayer on Midship.
We start off with VictoryX (The Agency) heading to the blue base providing support fire for his team. VictoryX gets his team to the Pink tower, kills Xtremist and moves out to the Carbine, taking out Legit from afar with Halogod, and goes into the red base. He moves to the Carbine and fires at Naded but fails to kill him. Halogod goes into Pink 2 and takes out Xtremist with a grenade and hides to recover his shield. We go to Legit tossing grenades, taking out Halogod, clearing Pink 2. He makes his way over, kills VictoryX with the BXR, helps Xtremist take out Halogod, kills ElamiteWarrior with a stick, and then kills VictoryX for a triple kill, giving Perfect Storm a 16-11 lead. Legit helps take out Elamite and moves to Pink 2, taking out VictoryX along the way and sticks Halogod before going down. On the respawn he BXR's Halogod at Red 2. the score is now 24-17. He throws grenades and kills VictoryX, heads to Carbine side and helps his team with support fire. He gets a killing spree on Halogod and a double kill on Mackeo. The score is now 31-19 Perfect Storm. We go to VictoryX who doubles teams to take out Legit and tries to escape to the bubble. He assists to kill Ramby, shoots at Legit but is shot down from behind by Xtremist. Mackeo takes out Xtremist, sees Legit coming and takes him out as well. Halogod is getting shot from everywhere so he runs to the carbine side, but Legit takes him out. We see the replay of Legit coming across VictoryX and Halogod, and amazingly takes out VictoryX then does a 180 and sticks Halogod before being taken down. The score is now 39-27 Perfect Storm. We go to Halogod as the teams are trading kills on each other and locks down the Pink tower. We double teams on Ramby only to get fired at from all directions and is killed. We go to Naded who moves aggressively to Pink tower, but backs off from two opposing players and decides to assist his team from a distance. He moves across the top and scores a double kill, and now Perfect Storm is only two kills away from winning. Naded throws grenades like mad to score the kills, and he gets them.
Winner: Perfect Storm, 50-35
Perfect Storm all went positive on their ratios. But as usual, Final Boss is plowing through everybody like nothing, and now has NBA star Gilbert Arenas as their sponsor. But now reaching the semi-finals, they face their arch nemesis Carbon. The teams will be playing the final game to determine the winner of the match.
Semi-Final #1: Carbon vs. Final Boss
Team Slayer at Lockout
We start off with Gho57ayame and immediately gets the sniper rifle. Carbon is already gettings kills as Orge1 is charging in to break things up. We 'nades Karma through a window and kills Ghost to take the rifle. Gets another kill on Shockwave and slips away. Orge1 goes back to the sniper tower and snipes Karma for the 9th kill. He tries to snipe Gandhi but doesn't make the kill, and Gandhi gets a long range kill on Walshy from the blue tower. He puts shots into Strongside, takes down Orge1 from afar and now the sniper rifle is down. Both teams are setup on opposite sides of the map. We go to Orge2 as he drops down in the blue tower. He warps back up, spots Gandhi at the library and takes him out. Shockwave double teams on Orge2, picks up a shotgun, picks off Walshy, jumps across and is killed by Orge2. Orge2 takes his shotgun, beats down Karma who had the sword. He leaves for Strongside, spots Ghost at top-middle and kills him. Final Boss is winning 18-13. Orge2 confronts Shockwave and beats him down. He sees Karma jump up and shoots him from behind. He picks up the sniper rifle, and shoots at Karma but misses. Orge2 switches to shotgun and kills Shockwave up close. Final Boss is at snipe tower. Orge2 waits a few moments, see Karma and snipes him. Then he snipes Gandhi for the double kill. He comes across Ghost, shoots him twice with no scope, and kills him to score a running riot. Then he drops down and gets a headshot on Gandhi. Final Boss is now winning 34-25. Walshy crouches across the bottom middle to not be seen, finds Gandhi and kills him. He kills from Shockwave from afar, throws grenades and takes out Gandhi. We now go over to Shockwave, who with the rest of Carbon are playing cautiously, which they usually don't do. Shockwave finds Strongside, kills him to get the sword and use it to kill Orge1 just before Orge1 kills him as well. Strongside and Orge2 double team on Ghost and is winning 45-28. Shockwave tries to stick Strongside, but it fails and Strongside beats him down with the sword. He sees Gandhi at the top of the BR tower and kills him, and is then taken down as Final Boss only need 2 more kills. Shockwave charges in to get the sniper rifle in order to mount a comeback, but is taken out by Orge2. Orge2 then charges in on Carbon to finish the game.
Winner: Final Boss, 50-36
Orge2 had a +15 ratio, while everyone on Carbon had a negative ratio. Meanwhile, Perfect Storm has beaten five higher ranked teams. They and Carbon will battle it out to determine who is going to face Final Boss in the Championship match.
Semi-Final #2: Carbon vs. Perfect Storm
Team Slayer at Midship
We start with Xtremist as Perfect Storm immediately starts racking up kills as they already control Pink tower. Xtremist takes out Gandhi and PS is winning 8-3. He sees Shockwave coming at him and trades kills. He yells at Carbon as we now go to Ghostayame. Ghost is trying to take back Pink, kills Naded, goes across Pink 1 to kill Ramby, double kills on Legit, throws a couple grenades and shoots down Legit for the triple kill and ties the score for his team. We now go to Legit who goes up to Pink 2, kills Karma from behind. Finds Shockwave and finishes him off, then sees Karma again and takes him out again. Legit kills Shockwave coming for him but gets himself killed by his own grenade. Shockwave takes down Ramby, throws grenades at Pink 2 while running through Pink 1 and heads to red base. He keeps throwing grenades and kills Legit, then goes to the bottom of red base to sneak his way up. He warps up and gets a double kill on Ramby and Xtremist. He leaves the red base, kills Xtremist to go on a killing spree, and then takes out Legit before being taken out by Ramby from Pink 3. Perfect Storm is still winning 25-24. On top of Pink 3, he spots Shockwave from across the way and shoots him down for the kill, then kills Karma below him and scores the double kill. He takes out Ghost before falling off and getting killed from the blue side. We go back to Shockwave who tosses grenades all across the map. He sees someone to his left and hides. Naded runs past him and Shockwave sneaks up and assassinates him. With Shockwave outnumbered, he climbs above to Pink 3 to take out Naded, then sneaks into Pink 1 and gets the triple kill on Xtremist and Legit before being taken down. We now go to Gandhi who finishes off Ramby at top-middle from Pink 2. Gandhi is being shot from two sides but is able to take out a charging Ramby. He helps Shockwave take out Legit and the score is tied. He kills Legit again as Shockwave kills Xtremist and now Carbon has the lead 41-40. Ghost gives Gandhi some cover fire as they hide behind the walls. He shoots at Naded but he escapes, but is able to kill Xtremist instead, and then Ramby for the double kill. Now Carbon is winning 45-40. Gandhi is hanging back, giving support fire for his team as Carbon is closing in for the win. After scoring another kill Gandhi calls for Karma to end it, and he kills Naded to do so.
Winner: Carbon, 50-41.
Once again, it's Final Boss versus Carbon in the final match of the tournament. We head into Game 7 of the match.
Championship Match: Carbon vs. Final Boss
Team Slayer on Beaver Creek
We jump to Orge1 who grabs the overshield, and heads to the red base to rack up kills against Carbon. Orge1 is at the top of the red base, then goes down inside and beats down Karma. FB is winning 5-0 and they've already got control of the map. We go to Walshy with pocession of the rockets, killing Gandhi and assisting Orge1 killing Shockwave. We shoots at Ghost with the rifle but can't finish him off, so he gets out the rockets again and forces Carbon back while Strongside is sniping. Walshy drops down in the middle and kills Shockwave as he gets the overshield, gets a double kill and Final Boss is now winning 13-1. Walshy goes back to the rocket arc and kills Gandhi, going on a killing spree. Shockwave takes down Walshy but Final Boss is still way ahead as we go to break.
Back from commercial and Final Boss is winning 16-5. Walshy kills Karma at the creek so he can't get the overshield, then gets shot from above at the base. He waits in front to not get shot, then kills Ghost coming from behind him as Strongside gets the overshield. He shoots at Gandhi who starts running away but is no use as he is killed. Walshy is back on the arc to get the rockets as he's shooting at everyone below him. Walshy drops down with Ghost right in front of him and assassinates Ghost. Walshy finds the rockets at bottom blue and uses it to help Orge2 kill Gandhi. Final Boss is dominating this game 28-7. Walshy is able to get the overshield, kills Shockwave, weakens Gandhi, and goes into the blue base. He gets weakened by a plasma grenade and runs out of the base to recover. Walshy kills Gandhi from behind and waits near the arc. He kills Shockwave on the other side and gets double teamed on. Walshy is down but Final Boss is so far ahead you'd think Carbon was a much lower ranked team. He kills Shockwave, gets the overshield and Final Boss is winning 40-12. Walshy is taken down with the score at 42-13. Strongside snipes Shockwave through the head and gets a double kill on Ghost. Strongside is going over to red base and starts killing at long range. Final Boss just keep on killing until this one-sided match is over.
Winner: Final Boss, 50-15. That's embarassing.
Even though Carbon beat them in Game 8, Final Boss went on to win the final game and won the championship 6-3. Shockwave is not really upest seeing how Final Boss is really that damn good of a team, but vows to win next week.
The MVP award of the week goes to Legit from Perfect Storm, who had a killing ratio of +161.
And now for the Top 3 moments of the week.
#3: "Legit's 2-on-1 Play". He goes up against Halogod and VictoryX up close by himself, and kills them both.
#2: "Orge2's running riot". 10 kills in a row, made sweeter when being done with a no scope kill with the sniper rifle.
#1: "Walshy's drop down killing spree". After getting a double shot on Gandhi, he drops down into the blue base with Ghost right in front of him and picks up the assassination kill. This is why the guy is Final Boss' captain.
As great as these matches are, I'd wish they would show something besides a Team Slayer match. With that said, stay tuned next week for Week 3 in Dallas.
