B3yond the Report 9.16.08

Posted by Derek Robbins on 09.16.2008

Wipeout HD launches this week, merger fails... are the twins lost?, sports game coverage, Guitar Hero: World Tour official track list, B3yond the Tabloids, new game trailers and video footage for Lego Batman, Afrika, Silent Hill: Homecoming, and Street Fighter IV, the one man Water Cooler, B3yond The Mail, and more!

Hello and welcome to the latest rendition of B3yond the Report. I'm having an odd day. On one hand Zambrano's no-hitter last night has me pretty amped up but other things have me down as well…Oh well, personal things aside let's see what Playstation related news we have this week!



Wipeout HD launches this week

I am lead to believe that Wipeout is a rather popular franchise. Why shouldn't it be? After all, it's a fast, fun experience that certainly more than makes up for the fact that we only get maybe one or so F-Zero game per console generation. So when does the latest title in this franchise come out? September 25th is the confirmed release date so make sure to remember that. The game will be released over the Playstation Network and apparently is going to cost you $19.99 assuming you live in North America.

Really though…what's to know about this game? Well luckily for you, the assumed wipeout fan who is reading this, I have some of the game's features to get you, err, more excited for Wipeout's impending release:

• Full HD Visuals
• 5 Game Modes - Single Race, Tournament, Time Trial, Speed Lap and Zone Mode
• Online play that supports up to 8 racers competing on a track at a time
• 2-player split screen (horizontally and vertically) offline
• 8 reversible tracks and 12 teams
• Optional use of SIXAXIS motion controls to steer your ship
• A great soundtrack remixed in Dolby 5.1 AND the option for custom playlists that allow you to race to whatever playlists you have on your HDD.

I suppose a lot of people are really hung up on what games look like. They're rather play a good looking game than a bad one, so the Full HD graphics sounds pretty good. Especially considering the game is budget priced.

Online play, split screen, and those five game modes are a given in any racing game today. If you have a racing game that doesn't feature online play you may as well not have released it at all. Even Nintendo and their "online plan" saw this when they released Mario Kart Wii. So, yeah, glad it has those.

I doubt I will use the six axis to steer my ship. I've yet to encounter a six axis moment in a game that I felt controlled well. Even Metal Gear Solid 4's six axis moments felt…just plain awkward. So this is sort of a "meh" thing to me.

I think it's good that they allow you to use songs from your HDD. I may be wrong, but I don't believe that feature has been included in many PS3 games yet. I'm really hoping they include something like this in Smackdown versus Raw 2009 for the PS3 this year because custom wrestler entrance music is fabulous.

So remember: September 25, 19.99, PSN. Get ready to race!

Source: Playstation Blog



Merger Fails, Twins Lost?

As a lot of you may already know, talks between EA and Take-2 have fell through. It actually wasn't a case of Take 2 saying "No" again…EA actually just flat out terminated the negotiation session. Take 2 continues to pursues other options for takeover, but as of the moment fear of EA taking more things over has subsided…or has it?

Sam and Dan Houser, the driving force behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, are set to have their contracts expire in February of next year. Normally this isn't that big of a deal but Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that there will be a bidding war for the two when their contract expires and Take-two will be faced with two options: Pay them more or watch them leave.

In my eyes it'd be an amazingly large loss to Take-Two if they lost these brothers. Now, of course, it's not like EA would get the rights to make a new GTA game out of the blue but…it's not like they couldn't make a very similar product. The quality of the GTA series could very well diminish and it could spell bad news for Take-Two in an already trying time.

There's also the question of cost. The imminent pay-raise for the brothers would essentially mean that Grand Theft Auto titles are more expensive to make now and as has been mentioned it's not like Take-Two has a ton of money. They need to decide on the focus of their company, if they can get a bigger company to buy them out, and whether they would have the money available to them to take on this burden. Whatever the case, it should be fairly interesting to see how this all plays out.

Source: Game Daily



Sports game coverage? It must be a slow week!

I realize a lot of you out there probably could care less for sports games but I bring news from 2K Sports latest basketball game: NBA 2K9. Several of the game's new features (I know! New features! In a sports game! Perhaps they turned on the hadron collider earlier than we expected) have been unveiled in a Q & A on the company's official forums. Here they are!

• Shot Stick Advanced functions include changing the shot in midair, shooting floaters on command, and being able to upfake and then step through a defender.
• There will be no All Star Weekend in Association 2.0
• New post moves (shoulder fakes, up fakes, post hops, quick spins, etc). There will also be counters to each of the new post moves.
• Lead passes are harder to execute. Player AI has been beefed up in terms of covering cutters and reacting to passes.
• More physical play will keep players from driving straight to the rim all the time. Even if you get there, there's more contact so it's still hard to score.
• Less unwanted player bunching when the user does something outside of a play.
• Isomotion pro dribbling system has been expanded to have better countering of offensive moves. More contextual hesitation moves, stepbacks, crossovers, etc. based on what the user is doing at the moment.
• Statistical overlays (game points, career average, etc. usually shown during free throws, etc.) are back

I really like the idea of being able to change your shots in mid-air. When I watch a basketball game on TV very often you see them change something up while they are jumping…so it's only fitting that in the game you can now do that. That just makes things more realistic I must say.

I am fairly disappointed by the lack of an All-Star weekend in the game's equivelant of a franchise mode. I realize that it does a lot of good things – such as give each and every one of your players on your team a personality…which a lot of sports games really fail at delivering – at the same time one of my favorite things in sports games is seeing how well my players did and if they are indeed all-star caliber. To be fair, maybe they still have all-star rosters or the actual all-star game itself…but with just the information given to me at hand I can't help but feel a bit let down.

The other additions seem to make it a more realistic basketball experience, which is good…but my favorite thing is the return of statistical overlays. I am a big nerd and I love to see all-time stats and misc. stats show up on my screen so to see them come back is a pretty big deal to me.

NBA 2K9 appears to be the most realistic basketball title to date. Let's hope that it doesn't get caught up in realism and that it can give us a good playing realistic title.

Source: 2K Sports Forum

- Well I had to post SOME picture. May as well be Ray Allen.

Guitar Hero: World Tour Official Track List.

I know, you're probably sick and tired of all the Guitar Hero and Rock Band talk. To be honest, I am too. Fact is though, there had been rumored track lists floating around the internet for a while so it's only fitting that when the actual thing comes out I give you the goods. The game has 86 on-disc tracks which makes it the most on-disc tracks a game in the rhythm genre has ever had. That's handy for those who really, really hate DLC…or have a Wii.

• 311 - "Beautiful Disaster"
• 30 Seconds To Mars - "The Kill"
• Airbourne - "Too Much Too Young"
• The Allman Brothers Band - "Ramblin' Man"
• Anouk - "Good God"
• The Answer - "Never Too Late"
• At The Drive-In - "One Armed Scissor"
• Beastie Boys - "No Sleep Till Brooklyn"
• Beatsteaks - "Hail to the Freaks"
• Billy Idol - "Rebel Yell"
• Black Label Society - "Stillborn"
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Weapon of Choice"
• blink-182 - "Dammit"
• Blondie - "One Way or Another"
• Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - "Hollywood Nights"
• Bon Jovi - "Livin' On A Prayer"
• Bullet For My Valentine - "Scream Aim Fire"
• Coldplay - "Shiver"
• Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Up Around The Bend"
• The Cult - "Love Removal Machine"
• Dinosaur Jr. - "Feel The Pain"
• The Doors - "Love Me Two Times"
• Dream Theater - "Pull Me Under"
• The Eagles - "Hotel California"
• The Enemy - "Aggro"
• Filter - "Hey Man, Nice Shot"
• Fleetwood Mac - "Go Your Own Way"
• Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
• The Guess Who - "American Woman"
• Hush Puppies - "You're Gonna Say Yeah!"
• Interpol - "Obstacle 1"
• Jane's Addiction - "Mountain Song"
• Jimi Hendrix - "Purple Haze (Live)"
• Jimi Hendrix - "The Wind Cries Mary"
• Jimmy Eat World - "The Middle"
• Joe Satriani - "Satch Boogie"
• Kent - "Vinternoll2"
• Korn - "Freak On A Leash"
• Lacuna Coil - "Our Truth"
• Lenny Kravitz - "Are You Gonna Go My Way"
• Linkin Park - "What I've Done"
• The Living End - "Prisoner of Society"
• Los Lobos - "La Bamba"
• Lost Prophets - "Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast)"
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Sweet Home Alabama (Live)"
• Mars Volta - "L'Via L'Viaquez"
• MC5's Wayne Kramer - "Kick Out The Jams"
• Metallica - "Trapped Under Ice"
• Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
• Modest Mouse - "Float On"
• Motörhead - "Overkill"
• Muse - "Assassin"
• Negramaro - "Nuvole e Lenzuola"
• Nirvana - "About a Girl (Unplugged)"
• No Doubt - "Spiderwebs"
• NOFX - "Soul Doubt"
• Oasis - "Some Might Say"
• Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train"
• Ozzy Osbourne - "Mr. Crowley"
• Paramore - "Misery Business"
• Pat Benatar - "Heartbreaker"
• R.E.M. - "The One I Love"
• Radio Futura - "Escuela De Calor"
• Rise Against - "Re-Education Through Labor"
• Sex Pistols - "Pretty Vacant"
• Silversun Pickups - "Lazy Eye"
• Smashing Pumpkins - "Today"
• Steely Dan - "Do It Again"
• Steve Miller Band - "The Joker"
• Sting - "Demolition Man (Live)"
• The Stone Roses - "Love Spreads"
• Stuck In The Sound - "Toy Boy"
• Sublime - "Santeria"
• Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger"
• System of a Down - "B.Y.O.B."
• Ted Nugent - "Stranglehold"
• Ted Nugent's Original Guitar Duel Recording
• Tokio Hotel - "Monsoon"
• Tool - "Parabola"
• Tool - "Schism"
• Tool - "Vicarious"
• Trust - "Antisocial"
• Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher"
• Willie Nelson - "On The Road Again"
• Wings - "Band on the Run"
• Zakk Wylde's Original Guitar Duel Recording
This seems to be a fairly varied track list and I have to be honest…a lot of this stuff looks pretty good. Don't get me wrong, I still think Rock Band 2 has the best soundtrack out of the two but this isn't bad at all. Plus bonus points all over the place for putting Sublime's Santeria on there. That's one of my favorite songs…so glad to see it get some love. I really don't have much else to say, so just…gloss over this list…and figure which of the two rhythm games you wish to be playing this fall. I'll still probably go with Rockband 2 but I mean…it's not like it'd kill me to own both.



B3yond the Tabloids

Lara Croft's company, SCi, is changing its name to Eidos. SCi owns Eidos and it's going with what is, without a doubt, the more recognizable of the two names. While I may not be a big fan of Croft, and I never have been, it's kind of cool to know that any future Tomb Raider games will be released under the Eidos label like the old ones were.

So does anyone enjoy both Eye of Judgment and also showing people online that you enjoy Eye of Judgment? Well have I got some news for you! The most recent expansion for Eye of Judgment – Biolith Rebellion Set 3 – features 100 new cards and apparently is focused on making the gameplay more strategic. As if that wasn't enough, they also throw in trophy support. I wish they'd throw trophy support into some other games, such as MGS 4, but I'll take what I can get.

So you've got your shiny new copy of Rock Band 2 and you really, really want to try out a song but alas! It's not unlocked yet! Luckily for you Harmonix has kept the same code from Rock Band 1 in the game and you can unlock every song right away for play. All you need to do is go into the game modifier menu and put in the following code: Red, Yellow, Blue, Red, Red, Blue, Blue, Red, Yellow, Blue. There is a catch though! You can't save your game when you do this, so until you unlock all of the game's songs yourself you'll have to input the code every time you start up. I guess if it's more convenient, it's a small price to pay.

Imagine yourself in Gotham City. You're a bystander, you simply witness all the things that happen in the city. Traffic jams, batman sightings, whatever. SOUNDS LIKE A DREAM RIGHT!? Well Gamestop has a contest for you! If you enter the contest found here you can have your mug digitally inserted into the new game Batman: Arkham Asylum. Oh boy! The only requirements are that you be a US resident and that you be at least 18. Otherwise you're golden!

Well I'm sure you've all heard of Little Big Planet at some point. After all, it's one of the most high profile games this year on the Playstation 3. Well you have another chance to win it! That's right, all you need to do is make a print-ad for LBP and you're golden. Assuming they choose yours. As readers of B3yond the Report, I firmly believe one of you can do it. It can be a big two-page print spread or something much smaller. All the information you need for the contest can be found here
If you wanted Fallout 3: Survival Edition I have some bad news for you: it's already sold out on the Playstation 3. It has a bunch of neat extra stuff, so that's sort of a shame…but I guess if you own a 360 or want to get it on the PC that option is still available to you as those aren't sold out yet. If you wish to know, the Survival Edition includes – The game, a life size replica of pip-boy 3000, a Vault Boy bobblehead, the art of Fallout 3, the making of Faullout 3…and a lunch box. Seems like a pretty good deal. It was, and will continue to be, only made available to those who live in the US…and even then you have to purchase it from Amazon.com. Maybe they'll produce more given the popularity of the package?

Atsushi Inaba, the head of Platinum games, calls out to Japanese developers and essentially tells them that they need to be more creative: ... what I want Japanese creators to realize now is that they are now following the lead of the U.S. creators, and that we need to get to and then surpass those creators, with innovative games that sell in the West as well. Essentially: "DON'T DO THE SAME OLD SHIT AND TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT." Hey, I'm glad someone is making a cry for innovation that doesn't necessarily involve motion controls.

So are you in the mood to play the X-Box 360's egregiously generic JRPG Eternal Sonata? Well, a release date has been revealed! October 21st, 2008. The PS3 version of the game adds some characters, some quests, new music, and new cutscenes. I suppose if you enjoyed the game on the 360 you are killing one of my favorite genres that the new content on the PS3 will be worthy of your time. It's interesting that both this and another last-year 360 exclusive Bioshock come out this year on the PS3. Bioshock is as good as they say, guys.

As we all know Team Ico has been hard at work on their next game. You really can't blame us Sony owners for being excited, either. Ico and Shadow of the Colossus were two of the finest games in the Playstation 2's library. There have been no leaks as to what the new title will be called, but Sony Worldwide CEO Shuhei Yoshida seems to think it will come out at some point next year. The following is from an interview with IGN:

Yoshida: I used to call [Team ICO] "Olympic Team", because they always spend four years on their games. Ico started in 1997 and we saw that in 2001, was released in 2005. So it's an Olympic cycle.Shadow
IGN: So the next one's in 2009?
Yoshida: I'm hoping for them to keep the Olympic cycle. That would be nice. Ueda-san is such a perfectionist and he decides when he's ready to show it. So I keep asking, 'When are you ready?'
I sure do hope they keep on pace then. 2009 could be an even bigger year for the Playstation 3 than 2008 was.

Google Ads unveiled a possible public sign-up for the Little Big Planet beta. The text of the ad says: "New PlayStation 3 Game - LittleBigPlanet.us.PlayStation.com - LittleBigPlanet. Play. Create. Share. Sign up for the beta now!" Nothing official yet, but the community manager at the Playstation.com forums did say there will be a limited public beta. Here's hoping! This isn't official though, it's just a rumor.



B3yond the Cinema!



This is a trailer for Lego Batman focusing primarily on the vehicular gameplay. Now of course this game won't be the most in depth experience but from the looks of it, it will feature humorous moments that most fans of the franchise can enjoy…just like the previous Lego [insert movie or license here] games.



This game here is Afrika. It looks like this game pits you as a photographer…you just take pictures of things. Now this may not seem exciting but I'll have to remind you that one of the most fun games on the Nintendo 64 was Pokemon Snap and this game seems a lot like that but free-roaming…which could be very interesting. The graphics are…pretty fantastic I would say. The previewer says the game won't be released in Europe which is a shame.



You will be pleased to know that Silent Hill: Homecoming looks as creepy as ever. I do hope this one brings the series back to glory.



Here, have some werehog gameplay. Yeah, it looks questionable but uhm…err…I still maintain hope that this game will be awesome. There is no way Sega will mess up again! I won't buy it on release but I will rent it right away to see if everyone's fears have been warranted.


This is your weekly street fighter video. After all, it IS Game of the Century (2000-2100) so what else do you expect? This week's matchup is between one of my favorites Chun-Li and newcomer Viper. I seriously could not want to play this game anymore than I do right now.

The One Man Water Cooler


(Insert my: THIS IS THE LAST WEEK TOTALLY comment)
(Insert my: Blah, blah, blah change is coming comment)
Hey, it's coming! I promise!

Anyhow, this is a Sony column primarily but this week I want to delve outside of the Sony realm and hit on a PC game. Now for those of you covering your ears and eyes, refusing to let the media tell you about this fancy new game…now is the time to open your eyes and embrace the world of Spore. Spore is probably the most anticipated PC game in recent memory…so much so that even I, a certified console gamer…stooped to reserving it. Well, I mean, I also reserved WAR (which should tell you about my taste in gaming. It sucks) but the fact is I WANTED SPORE.

When looking at Spore I can't help but get an overwhelming sense of underwhelming. The early stages of the game show a lot of promise but in the end it turns out to be just a "jack-of-all trades" sort of game. The cellular stage plays like that one fish-eat-fish game we played in middle school computer labs, the creature stage is pretty much like World of Warcraft, the Tribal stage is a random RTS, the Civilization stage is pretty much like Civilization, and the space stage is a uh…fly around and shoot shit game? The first four stages of this game are pretty fun. I mean, sure, they change the gameplay on you but I'd be lying if I told you it wasn't fun.

The space age should henceforth be referred to as the "great blunder". What could have been an absolutely epic-in-scope experience falls just simply flat on its face. When I pictured the space stage in my brain I saw flying around the galaxy, conquering stuff with my space ship…getting out of my ship to slay life on land or negotiate with alien life forms…it just seemed like a great experience. I guess you could say that my ideal space stage was pretty much a combination of the one we got and the creature stage. If they had did something like that, I truly believe Spore would have been that long lasting experience that Maxis had promised.

The problem is…that's not what we got. You fly around in space with your space ship and shoot stuff. You can colonize planets with…your money to create new way points and you can discuss aliens…but not on foot. It takes a lot of the exploration elements that they could have put in out of equation and in the end what you get is a game that boils down to your ability to shoot stuff effectively. In short bursts this is VERY fun, but it could have been so much more…

When Spore was first announced there was talk about how epic in scope this game would be. We were essentially going to be building our own world. We would build ecosystems, set up food chains, basically we could control everything. With this world we created, the possibilities really could have been endless. You could have let natural selection take its course and the game essentially establish a dominant race for itself…then you take that dominant race across the galaxy. Is it like a version of Sim City where you control everything in the world? Yeah, I guess so. The fact is, that could have been the closest we've ever gotten to playing God in a video game.

Instead what we have is essentially you build the dominant race. No matter what stupid shit you do in the game, eventually YOUR race is going to be dominant simply because you control them. Instead of your choices actually having true meaning, they don't…you're going to be in control, period. Yes, you have different ways of gaining that control – which essentially boil down to whether you wish to be peaceful or hostile – but you just get the same outcome no matter what. That shouldn't bother me that you get to be the dominant race no matter what, but seriously…you should have to work on it.

Spore is a game that has been in development since the year 2000 and has offered a load of promise since that time. You could not read a PC magazine without them raving how good Spore was going to be. Originally the game was supposed to be a realistic portrayal of evolution. We hardly got anything like that in the spore we got. I mean really, what happened to our underwater stage? This game took Y-E-A-R-S to make and the most you can do is offer an experience that will take you about six or so hours to make it to the highest evolved state where the amount of replay value is related to how much you can handle repetition? That's ridiculous.

For how much I was looking forward to Spore, the fact is I spent about eight hours with the game. Eight. I know that you should never get caught up in the hype for the game but the fact is Spore may very well be the biggest lie since Fable was released a few years back. Remember Fable? A game that offered so much…a game that told you that you could control generations of families. This game was totally altered from the final version we got. Fable was arguably one of the most hyped up games for the original X-Box and to say it failed to meet expectations is an under-statement. I will try Fable 2 out but it's hard to be as optimistic about that one after the first one.

Spore is like that, it promises you the world and instead gives you a chunk of land. I feel that all the hype leading up to the game was pointless and instead of a game that's designed to last you an elongated period of time, I got a game that I probably won't play again for another four months. After eight hours of play. I'm not the hardest guy in the world to please but I think I can be forgiven for wanting more.

Spore is a good game. It's something that most anyone can play and have a good time with. I would not say that you shouldn't play it…it's certainly worth a try. Fact is though, it didn't live up to the hype and inevitably will be looked at as a failure by anyone within the gaming world who was expecting something truly grandiose. Maybe the next "big thing" will come along and truly wow us but for anyone expecting Spore to be that thing will truly be disappointed. I would give Spore a 6.5/10. Nice try, Maxis.



B3yond the Mail!



We start this week with a little diddy from our resident troll, Ocelot 422

Word up Mark. Even with me in the comments, this column just doesn't match up to Mark's reign, Derek.
And LMAO i don't NEED to get a 360 because there simply isn't any worthy exclusives or good japanese games on it. Plus, its an american console. So devoid of creativity.
And do a column on me and my predecessor! After the fun we had spicing up the place, its the very least you could do.

Ah come on man, we're living in the age of Derek. The reign of Salms is over and now we're living in a new era!

Why would you say an American console is devoid of creativity? Give me a good, valid non-troll reason for why you feel this way and I will accept you as a valid commenter and won't poke fun at you anymore.

Steve307 enrages both sides of this argument!

This "360 has more/better games" shit has got to end. Subtract Halo, Gears of War, and some mediocre RPG's, and how different are the current list of games REALLY? Not very. Almost everything comes out for both the PS3 and 360. I have both systems, and the my only criteria for buying a game for a specific system is how the controller will stack up. The 360 controller blows for anything but sports games or FPS's.

Also, there really was WAY too much Disagea masturbation in this column. There are other Sony-related games to talk about. Go variety!

You're totally right about most everything coming out for both systems. Now there are some exceptions to these rules but generally…most anything you can play on the PS3 you can also play on the 360. I happen to find what the PS3 has to offer "more hardcore" so I go with that brand but it's not like the 360 doesn't have fun exclusives. It just comes down to a matter of preference.

Also, there wasn't enough Disgaea masturbation in THIS column. Expect an all-Disgaea column next week with a full-on conversation on why prinnies should be acknowledged as Sony's true mascot. I mean sackboy? Come on! He's no talking penguin…thing.

Bell brings out more anti-Disgaea guns!

So, anything else happen over the week not related to role playing games? How is that game pronounced? Dis-Gay, I'm just kidding. I really don't want to know how to pronounce it because I'll never have to ask to buy it.

I will agree with you about the 360 sales after the price cut. Not an owner and will not be an owner of one. I have Vista, my ass is already sore enough from Microsoft. And yes, to all the ultra nerds out there I am well aware that my cat is probably built by MS.

First of all it's pronounced "Dis-GUY-Uh." Second of all I have to say that no, nothing was going on last week that was not RPG related. I went to my favorite site, which I can assure you caters all the RPG news that the world could want and looked at the latest RPG Sony news and posted what I saw. I mean, I really support RPGs Sony…so I want to keep the column focused on that.

I used to be an owner of the 360. The price cut kind of makes me want to re-invest. I'm just saying.

WadeMcG is actually replying to someone else and I will reply to his particular comment:

"Metacritic gives it an average of 7.3, IGN gave it a 7.8. How exactly are these failures?"

Because Killzone PS2 got 7.5 from IGN (which is effective a 5.5 in real terms)? Because most games mags/websites mistakenly believe that 7 out of ten/73% is a midrange score? I prefer to use the number that's actually halfway between 0 and 10 as my midrange.

"The biggest problem with Too Human was it was not able to live up to the hype that 10 years of development will cause. Personally I do not feel it is a bad game at all. "

Generally, when a game spends more than three and a half years under development, anything below fucking awesome is considered a failure. The fact that Silicon Knights previously had the rather good Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem against their record also bumped up the standard.

As for the "better on PC" argument, some of us prefer our games to actually work properly straight out of the box (cough ... PC Bioshock ... cough). Oh, and the PC versions don't pop up until the XBox 360 versions have been out for a while.

That's always been a problem with review sites. Average games always, always, ALWAYS fall into the 7.0 range on IGN. A 7.0 score, while it doesn't look bad…means nothing coming from that site. If a game scores in the 5's, instead of being middle of the road it's bad. When I rated Spore up there, it wasn't on the 7-10 scale it was on the 1-10 scale. It's an average game so it gets a 6. There.

Also, you seem to agree with my stance on Spore. If the game is in development for THAT long anything less than awesome is a failure. Too Human may be a good game but from the makers of Eternal Darkness it should have been so much more. ED was one of the best games on the Gamecube and Too Human is just a run-of-the mill game on the 360. Look, I hate Gears of War but I'd almost rather play that over Too Human for what it's worth.

Some dude who posted his e-mail account said this:

seriously dude, FUCK DISGAEA!

=(.

I appreciate your feedback, even if it is negative…I read every word and I am thankful to have people read my work. I am proud to represent 411mania. If you have any feedback you'd like to send me write me a mail at [e-mail] or simply leave a comment below.

411mania dynasty



Joe Roche writes The Full Circle Report
Mark Salmela, who is slowly taking over the gaming section, wrote uhm...wiiyond the report AKA The Nintendophiles
Chris Evans writes The PC-centric Extravaganza
Vincent Chiucchi writes The Select and Start News Report
Tommy Coloma writes the Negative Edge News Report
I write the much maligned 10th Hour
My brother Drew Robbins writes Coming Attractions
Mike and AJ Minotti voice the Exploding Barrel Podcast. Due to Ike's power outages there was no show this week.

Well, that's it. I'm out.

Til' the Crossroads