Sorry for the down time!

So, sorry for the down time, guys, it's been a rough week! It started with a computer that was so infected that all my internet browsers, my media players, my picture viewers, my anti-virus programs, and my task manager were all infected and would not open. The first order of business was to wipe the computer after saving plenty of "documents," and "pictures of friends and family," and in the process get rid of that nasty old Vista to try out Windows 7. I am much more pleased by it than I thought I would be. And no, don't tell me to get Linux - it may be better, but I do not like it, flame me all you want, bitches. Please don't get me started on Macs, either...

During this process, however, I believe the virus left my computer and entered through my knees before infecting my lungs, sinuses, and throat with some horrible nasty sickness. I believe this may be one of the only instances in history where a computer virus has left a computer to make a person ill. I do not appreciate being the first.

I'm still very under the weather, but I've been thinking of blog ideas all week, so if I get to feeling a bit better later, I will post the Top Ten list I wanted to post earlier this week, the follow up to last week's Top Ten with my Top Ten Most Wanted Marvel Characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Also, I do plan to bring more updates over the weekend if I'm feeling better. But for now, let me continue to pursue a nurse like the one below to take care of me in every possible way.



Yeah, she doesn't seem to like that idea much...

Rants: Things That Piss Me Off, Vol. 1

Items in video games



The super mushroom. The potion. The bombs. Nearly every video game made has some form of items, normally useful in every way for the player, scattered about the world of the games they're within. Sonic has rings and super shoes. Mega Man has health and ammo power-ups. Billy and Jimmy Lee have weapons dropped by their foes. They've become a staple to helping the player not only have an advantage, but sometimes are necessary in order to progress.

But does anyone ever question them? They're just there, and we're supposed to take them, right? But what is the actual point? How do we know it's just as useful as the same item we had grabbed previously? In other words, how do I know that potion hasn't been tampered with? How do I know someone didn't spit on that turkey leg? How do I know that energy can isn't empty and I'm grabbing litter?

Sure, it doesn't sound like much sense, but let's look at certain items in gaming. Mario grabs mushrooms, fire flowers, feathers, leaves, stars, and a whole shitload of other items. How does he get them? Normally, through a question mark block. But WHO THE HELL PUT THEM INSIDE THE BLOCK TO BEGIN WITH?! Bowser, as a form of an advantage through his own arrogance? Why would he do that?! And if he did, why not poison all the mushrooms, flowers, and stars so that they'd be useless or kill Mario? "Because he's looking for a challenge," you say? If he was looking to help Mario, why send out his goombas and koopas? And if Toad had done it, why not use the items himself to save his beloved princess that his people look up to? It makes no sense...


Mmmm, wall meat...

Now, let's take a look at Castlevania. How the hell did Dracula force bags of money and hearts into his candles?! "Oh, shit, the Belmonts are coming! Death, get the golems to hide all of my money! ...I don't care where, in the fucking candles for fuck's sake, as long as my money is safe!" And better yet, who cooked a pork chop and hid it in the wall?! Better yet, would you eat a pork chop inside of a castle of the undead that was hidden in the walls?! And LOTS of games do this! In what situation would I ever be in where I would eat food that had been left in the wall? How can I trust food that was in the wall, in a treasure chest, inside a block, or that dropped out of an enemy I just killed? That shit's gotta be dirty!


Wait, I fought a constructed lab experiment... Where did he get that Talisman from...?

Then comes the RPG element. You fight a horde of wolves, and after a long battle you defeat them. That's when you find 127 gold, an ether, and an amulet of burning. Why the hell were these wolves packing cash?! Let's focus on that first. If I killed a wolf, I would expect to get a pelt, perhaps some guts or a paw. I would NOT expect some shopping funds, much less an ether and an accessory. Did the wolves think their MP might run low, but decide not to use it anyway? And why the hell did they have an equipable item on them? WHO EQUIPPED IT TO THE WOLF?!


Treasure chest, "hidden" out in the open.

Next is the treasure chest. Can we please do away with this? They should be left buried underground, perhaps in a pirate video game, not in the middle of a dungeon or a field to be easily found. Everything from The Legend of Zelda to World of Warcraft has them just sitting out in the open, waiting for someone smarter than a rock to walk up to it. If I owned a castle, and thought someone might at some point or another invade it, I certainly would not leave valuable shit in a treasure chest in the middle of an open room. I would hide that shit in a hiding spot, or maybe in the fucking walls with all the pork chops I'd just recently cooked! Who fills these chests and leaves them out in the open?!

I mean, why would you leave a detailed map of your hideout in a treasure chest near the front door? It doesn't make any fucking sense. Games recently like Fallout 3 and Borderlands have done a decent job hiding the treasure chest feature - they might have metal boxes, or even better are some busted up looking lockers. Desk drawers, kitchen cabinets, filing cabinets, under the bed, between the sofa cushions, in your pants pocket, please just ANYWHERE but a fucking treasure chest. There's no point, if you're going to leave the chest out in the open, why not simply just leave the shit on the floor?! Get those old cliche treasure chests OUT OF HERE!


A Rabite was holding a treasure chest, out in the open, that contained an item inside of it...? I'm speechless.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind items in games. I don't know what I'd do if I had to play Contra without a gun upgrade, or Pokemon without status healing potions. But if you're going to hide the items, be creative enough to not make it a treasure chest, but not so extreme that you can find food inside of candles. Don't make non-humanoid characters hold stuff that humans can use, because, as I've said repeatedly, it doesn't make sense; how can anyone understand that the eagle you killed was carrying a sword better than your own?

I would either like to see new ways to distribute items to the player, or some form of explanation as to why they got there. Perhaps Rosalina left the different mushrooms across the galaxy for Mario to use in order to help him. Maybe the energy tabs Mega Man can pick up were old power cores of the defeated robot that still has energy left in it. But a chicken out of a chandelier? A treasure chest with JUST the right item you need to further your progress within the same dungeon? Give me a fucking break.

Flashback: Skate or Die 2

Our first Flashback dates back to 1990 with a little company known as Electronic Arts, and their release of Skate or Die 2.



Skate or Die 2

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Electronic Arts

Consoles: Nintendo Entertainment System

Skate or Die was an incredibly good skateboarding game back in the days of 8-bit. The game had a few recurring characters, and included five games - two halfpipe games, two downhill games, and a skateboarding joust that took place in an empty pool. It was well done, and the Commodore 64 version's title theme is still known to this day as one of the best 8-bit composed songs ever, which was done by Rob Hubbard. The game was well liked, enough to warrant a spin-off, Ski or Die, and a true sequel, Skate or Die 2.

Skate or Die 2 strayed away from the minigame styles of the original, and had two modes: an Adventure mode, and a Ramp mode, which was a bigger, better version of one of the halfpipe games in the first game. We'll get into the Ramp mode later, let's talk about the Adventure mode first.


Yep... That douchebag is you.

The game starts with an introduction to the characters. Rodney and Lester, whom were previously in the first game, are a father and son team that helps the player out in the first and third level. CJ is a female skater, very much resembling Disney's Ariel of "The Little Mermaid" fame. Icepick is a bald douchebag, whose gang does nothing but mess things up, and then there's the unnamed hero, the introduction referring to him as "you."


Bitch looks JUST LIKE Ariel...

The story begins in Elwood, where your character, distracted by Icepick, accidently runs over and kills the mayor's wife's poodle. In a rage, she yells at her husband until he puts up a ban against skateboarding. While the game doesn't necessarily tell you where to go from here, your objective is to find the mayor's wife. You can find Rodney and Lester here, who can trade you new boards and tricks respectively for CDs, cassette tapes, tacos, and fries. And after avoiding rival skaters, dogs, boxing alligators, and sewer rats, our hero must fight the mayor's wife with an arsenal of paint guns, M-80's, and eggs.


Damn, you obliterated her!!

Afterwards, it's time to hit the halfpipe when you discover it's been destroyed. Apparently, the mayor ordered it to be destroyed due to lack of a building permit. So level two begins with your character trying to make some money by delivering packages around the local mall. This is where the speediest board Rodney can sell you in the last level is needed, as you're timed to get the deliveries made. Look out for skaters, shoppers, and the lame ass security guard.


Wait, WHO would buy anything from a place called "Pricey Gifts"?!!

The third of the four levels takes place on the beach. After an incident in confusing the light switch with the wall controls for a fan, all of Rodney's building plans and blueprints are scattered across the beach, and guess who's gotta retrieve them. Rodney and Lester return to help, and you have to avoid crabs, roller blading girls, posing body builders, and the most annoying of them all, these mother fucking seagulls that dive bomb down to attack you. This level's a bitch, because you have to get all the plans before they blow off the beach, but you can touch the sand to get to some of them, and the wind only carries them down the beach occasionally.


Oh god, it's a FLOCK OF MUSCLE MEN!!

Lastly, when sending in the building plans and permit, CJ is kidnapped by Icepick and his gang, so you have to save her. This level can go straight to hell. It's a four story warehouse maze, and it's confusing as shit. You first have to find the permit, and then rescue CJ. I think I've found the permit once, and I'm not sure I've ever beaten this level. Unless you have a pen and paper to draw yourself a map, good luck, because this fucker is brutal. And each room can have as many as three skater punks bouncing off the walls trying to shoot you. And when you finally find your way to the roof, you have to fight Icepick, who can drain your life with a charging attack.


I HATE this fucking level...

The control seems a little odd at first, but after a short bit it should be easy to pick up. The board will not turn unless you are moving, so you can't move up or down, and you, like a real skateboard, need to kick off the ground several times to gain speed by pressing forward a few times. To use items and tricks, you need to press up, forward, or down with the B button, and A jumps. It takes some getting used to, but some parts of the game feel impossible without mastering this.

Lastly, there's Ramp mode. The halfpipe, Double Trouble, has been finished in the Adventure mode, and now you get to skate on it all you'd like. The halfpipe has two large ramps, and a small section in the upper middle of the pipe has a sloped peak, making it look like two mini halfpipes in their place. You perform tricks while in the air (or lip and grind tricks at the edge of the pipe) to score points, and if you get on a high enough streak, a girl that could be CJ pops her head out of one of the houses in the background and cheers for you with hearts over her head. It's entertaining to say the least.


Yeah, scream for me, baby...

The music and sounds are pretty good in this game, especially the music. It's incredibly catchy, and some songs, especially the title theme, can get stuck in your head easily. The game also had a few voice over bits, which was new and not used often back then; so failing the ramp isn't half as bad when you get to see the boarder snap his board in half over his head and say "No way, dude!" The graphics are dated compared to today, but it was neat to see such backgrounds and character models, especially the mini cutscenes between each level.

The difficulty level is a bit high, especially in later levels, but the game is legit fun and very easy to get into. Even if the Adventure mode isn't what you're looking for, the Ramp mode is incredible fun. I'd say anyone that likes classic NES titles should give it a try, even if you're not much into skateboarding.

The Pause Screen: Muppet Babies

Most of us remember the Muppet Babies, a show that came on after we got out of school or played on the weekends, and showed the Muppet cast as toddlers that let their imaginations take them to new worlds. The show brings a lot of nostalgia, especially if watched today, but within the show as well, as there were many parodies and references made to other entertainment, such as Indiana Jones and Star Wars to name a couple.

One episode, however, revolved around video games. In "It's Only Pretendo", the children play video games on their Nintendo -- or, rather, "Pretendo" -- system, and plenty of parodies were made from beginning to end. For any fans of Muppet Babies and retro gaming or Nintendo classics, this episode is practically a must-see.



Gonzo as Mario right from the start. That's the shit.

The show opens with a blocky construction site that resembles a colorful version of the first Donkey Kong stage. A dragon wearing a crown is perched at the top, throwing down what looks like fluffy yellow cloud balls at the hero, "Super Bario Weirdo," whom is Gonzo dressed up as Mario. He travels across the level, only to be seen outside of his dream world to be messing up everyone else's fun. He claims he's going to defeat the evil "King Koopa Cabana," although the clip shown on the nursery's television is clearly Donkey Kong.

Piggy unplugs the game, and they argue over whether they enjoy watching Gonzo play. When no one agrees with Gonzo, he gives the controller to Piggy, who plays Donkey Kong Jr. Upon nearly instantly failing, she tries again where the game is magically Donkey Kong again, and beats King Koopa Cabana on the first try. While everyone congratulates her, Gonzo decides to start a competition and find a game he can beat Piggy in.



Donkey Kong Jr.? In MY Muppet Babies? It's more likely than you think...

At this point I'll point out that most of the show's music is composed to sound synthesized and 8-bit. Most of it sounds generic or original, though a few sound like parodies. One sounds like a distant take on Tetris, while the RPG themed game ironically sounds like a take on the underground theme from Super Mario Bros 2. It's certainly a nice touch to the episode. On top of that, all the games are takes from real games, such as "Galaxy Invaders," and "Adventures of a Link Sausage." It's entertaining to see what they can come up with.

Fozzy finds a game he thinks he can play, which turns out to be a puzzle game that looks like a cross between Tetris and Q*Bert. When blocks continue filling the room Fozzy's in, they switch games, dumping Fozzy into a new game. The Skate or Die knockoff, called "Skateboard of Doom," leaves Fozzy on a skateboard trying to outrun three evil skateboarders that chase after him.



Skate or Die! Die die die die die!

Gonzo shuts the game off, throwing Fozzy aside in a wagon, in order to play "The Legend of Emelda: The Quest for the Golden Key" with Piggy. The other kids get up to defend Fozzy and his chance to play, until Piggy shuts them up to play with Gonzo. The two start the RPG, which looks like the beginning of Zelda II, and make their way to a swamp. Gonzo is attacked by completely round reptiles, but reveals he knows how to beat them using gumballs, which he had kept a secret from Piggy. The reptiles look like Pac-Man with sharp teeth, and the gumballs remsemble the pellets from the same game.

Gonzo runs into Animal, who teams up with him to find the Golden Key. On their way to a shortcut, Fozzy passes by, still being chased by skateboarders, before the duo try to beat Piggy to a distant village. Piggy is already there waiting, however, and a musical number begins where the two sing-argue about which one is better. The song has cameos of Space Invaders and Goombas from Mario, as well.



Totally looks like Zelda II's beginning...

After the song, Gonzo jumps over a pit, and Piggy tries but misses, clinging to the edge. Gonzo finds a 500-point banana and chases after it, leaving Piggy to fall; the screen shows a still from "Keith Courage", which was actually a Turbo-Grafx 16 game instead of an NES game oddly enough. The other kids, obviously having never heard of COMPETITION, scold Gonzo for not helping out his opponent, before Piggy gets up and chases after him. Once gone, Skeeter grabs a sports game and hooks up a "Mighty Mat," a play on the NES' Power Pad. She convinces Skooter to join her, despite him not wanting to play and would rather enjoy a chess game.

The two play a game, looking like World Class Track Meet, and start running down the in-game path. Fozzy once again goes by with his skateboard buddies, and upon being thankful that skateboarders aren't chasing them, find they've been running from a stampede of angry bulls. The two end up jumping off of the pad in order to escape them.



Mighty Mat, MIGHTY MAAAT!

Piggy walks up and throws the twins' game aside, putting in another game for her and Gonzo to play. The footage on screen shows Fantasy Zone, and when animated shows Piggy, Animal, and Gonzo inside the cockpit. When Gonzo and Piggy start arguing over who the captain is, their ship explodes. Gonzo and Animal escape with secret parachutes, and Piggy loses a second life. The crew gets mad at Gonzo again for being competitive, and Piggy once again chases Gonzo away.

Kermit decides he wants to play a game, and puts in a game like Frogger. Kermit tries to think of a way to cross, when another frog shows up on crutches and completely beaten up. He throws a beach ball with a frog on it into traffic, telling Kermit there's no way to cross as the ball comes back deflated and run over. Kermit, however, grabs some crossing guard gear, stops traffic, and helps his new friend across the street. Once there, though, the alligators in the river scare Kermit away from playing.



Fantasy Zone's cameo in Muppet Babies

Rofle decides to play a game, showing footage from Vigilante on the nursery television. The detective game, looking like it'd be either Sam & Max, Roger Rabbit, or Dick Tracy, has Rolfe looking for a case, when Fozzy comes in. Rolfe decides to try to find the skateboarders after Fozzy, and the two get seperated, where Fozzy is chased once again by the evil skateboarders, and Rolfe runs into Piggy, Gonzo, and Animal, who take the game back away from Rolfe.

Gonzo tells Piggy she needs to start from the beginning since she lost two lives, and Piggy, dressed as a ninja, starts to make her way back through the games. Gonzo, meanwhile, finds the box that holds the golden key, when Piggy shows up. The two fight over the treasure chest, only to find that Fozzy pops out. While hiding from the skateboarders, he says the key wasn't in the box, and saw it around there somewhere. Gonzo and Piggy find the key and have a tug of war over it, and decide to ask everyone else who truly won. To their surprise, though, no one was watching; they had all gone off to enjoy themselves with influence from the games they were playing. Animal, of all people, convinced them in broken english that it didn't matter who had won, but that they enjoyed themselves, and when Piggy agreed, Gonzo claimed himself as the winner, causing the two to fight all over again.



He looks so terrified...

Sure, it's a kids' cartoon, but to look back to a cartoon that came out over 20 years ago and see a lot of gamer love in it is pretty interesting and nostalgic. From the change in music to fit the episode, to the parodies of both game ideas and titles, there was a lot of thought put into this episode, and it feels like someone in the Muppet Babies' crew had a love for video games. It's like a wonderful little kids'-show-tribute to gaming, and gets a salute from The Pause Screen.

TOP TEN: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Most Wanted Capcom Characters

What a way to kick off the first of Gaming Everything's Top Ten list with the announcement and trailer of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds! Before we jump straight into the list, though, let's recap the series as a whole.

Capcom has done a lot with their "Versus" series of games. It started out as "X-Men vs. Street Fighter" before moving on to "Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter." From there the series expanded to "Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes" and "Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes." EA would soon gain the rights to Marvel, and we'd see the everlasting turd known as "Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects."

From then on out, Capcom would make other crossover games, including "Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000" and "Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001" (known as "Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO" on the Gamecube and Xbox), and SNK would create "SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium" and "SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos" before filing bankruptcy. Capcom just recently released "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes" in Japan, and, likely due to no MvC title in nearly 10 years, demand was high to bring the fighter, with its obscure anime characters replacing the comic stars of past games, overseas to America. However, because the characters were from different anime series that were obtained by different American companies for translation and US use, not all the characters were able to make the jump to the west. Because of this, we instead received "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars," replacing the left out characters for Dead Rising's Frank West, Mega Man X's Zero, Tekkaman Blade, Joe the Condor, and Yatterman-2.



That brings us to Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Very few details are known about this game except that it will have a comic book style to it, and like TvC and Street Fighter IV will be a 2D fighter with 3D graphics. The trailer also shows us the only six confirmed characters: Street Fighter's Ryu, X-Men's Wolverine, Darkstalkers' Morrigan, Iron Man, the Hulk, and newcomer Chris Redfield from Resident Evil. The game is said to have a minimum of 30 characters, and DLC is always an option, but these are the only confirmed six characters at this time. While we can assume the many others that will make their way in, and can look at the silhouettes of the Capcom and Marvel logos (Chun-Li, Captain America, Felicia, and Deadpool seem to be the most obvious ones), it can't be helped not to come up with ideas or a wishlist of characters that would be great to see either return or show up for the first time. So, without further ado, here's GE's Top Ten Most Wanted Capcom Characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.


10. Katt

First Game: Breath of Fire II

So the Versus series, especially the Marvel vs. Capcom series, has a severe lack of two things: catgirls, and RPG characters. While I'm not the biggest fan of the half-female half-feline variety, it'd be nice to see either one less Street Fighter character or one less obscure character and have it replaced by Katt from Breath of Fire II. Her in-game attacks and techniques could be used in her moveset, and it'd be a fresh face not many would even imagine to make it into the series and could be a pleasant surprise. I mean, if Jill Valentine can summon crows, zombies, and dogs, none of which she could do in her own game, why would this be such a big stretch to see? Show some support to long forgotten games as well, Capcom, like you did with Sonson.

9. Rouge

First Game: Power Stone

The belly-dancing beauty from the Power Stone series could be another entrant that could make sense and feel like a fresh new face in the upcoming MvC3. She's already a fighting game character - and considering the Power Stone series was one of the most successful games on the Dreamcast before its demise, it would show long time PS fans some love. While there are certainly more females on the Capcom side than the Marvel side, another femme fatale means the game is even less of a sausage fest.

8. Protoman

First Game: Mega Man III

A long time fan favorite from the classic Mega Man series, it's pretty surprising ol' Blues here hasn't seen the light of day in ANY Capcom fighter (barring the Mega Man exclusives, of course). Protoman could be very reminiscent of Mega Man in MvC2, with a charge attack, a shield to deflect projectiles (which is good against hadouken spamming Ryu and Ken players), and perhaps a slide attack, much like his moves in the recently released Mega Man 9 and Mega Man 10. I don't know if I'd like to see the Blue Bomber get replaced, but if Roll can make it in to so many of these games, why can't Protoman see the light of day?

7. Frank West

First Game: Dead Rising

Other than the fact that he's covered wars, y'know, Frank was a secret unlockable character in the US release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, so he's got an edge over Chris Redfield from the start. While he had a couple of melee attacks from Dead Rising, such as the baseball bat, golf club, and some of his signature throws, I think more could be done here. Have some more weapons from Willamette Parkview Mall, some obscure stuff; have Frank throw mannequins or canned sodas, or even some of the more serious weapons like the chainsaw or sledgehammer. Finish off with a super that either has Frank throw his opponent to the zombies or escaping the special forces soldiers' wrath only to have it fall upon Frank's opponent.

6. Zero

First Game: Mega Man X

Zero is considered to be one of the most favorited characters in not just the Mega Man X series, but in the entire Mega Man franchise. Zero has appeared, in his Mega Man Zero series' form, in SVS Chaos, and in his Mega Man X series' form in TvC's US release with Frank West. I like the X series' model more, mainly because the X series includes some of my favorite games from generations past. Zero has plenty of moves at his disposal to bring back to MvC3, as TvC showed us nearly all of his moves from Mega Man X4. It's actually quite shocking to see it took Capcom up until TvC to add an X series character to a Versus game's lineup, but let's hope we can chalk him up for two games.

5. Crimson Viper

First Game: Street Fighter IV

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom gave us a character from Street Fighter (Ryu), a character from Street Fighter II (Chun-Li), and a character from Street Fighter III (Alex). While it was a little surprising to see a lack of Ken, Guile, or M. Bison, I like that they chose this method instead. While MvC2 has a plethora of Street Fighter characters in it, if they could only add one SF4 character, I'd love to see the seductive Crimson Viper. This badass bitch in a suit is not only a super hot redhead, but shows off a lot of power with her moves and techniques. Plus, she can kick fire in the shape of the letter Z! Best new character in SF4, hands down.

4. Nathan "Radd" Spencer

First Game: Bionic Commando

While many consider last year's Bionic Commando to be a failure, the original game's rerelease, Bionic Commando Rearmed, was so successful it warranted a sequel to be released later this year. With the BC series coming to light within recent years, it would be great to see Agent Spencer join in the fight with Capcom and Marvel characters alike. With the bionic arm, creating moves and performing combos could be a lot of fun, and he'd definitely fit in with the cast.

3. Phoenix Wright

First Game: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

What's an attorney going to do in a fight against super heroes and villains? Well, Phoenix Wright, along with rival prosecuter Franziska von Karma, was originally going to appear in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, complete with his trademark "OBJECTION" speech bubble as an attack. They were actually unable to keep the game balanced with the lawyer as it seemed he may have been a little overpowered with some of his attacks. While Franziska made a little more sense with her whip, Wright could easily have plenty of attacks, from "throwing the book" at foes, hurling evidence, or even the trademark shout he's so very well known for.

2. Cammy

First Game: Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers

While it's true Cammy was already in the MvC series, it's not guaranteed she'll return in MvC3. For example, she WAS in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, but not in its sequel, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. She also wasn't in the original arcade version of Street Fighter 4, just the home versions. So the blonde bombshell from Delta Red (or Shadoloo, your choice) earns my vote to return to the MvC universe.

1. Mega Man X

First Game: Mega Man X

Yes, there's been a lot of Mega Man love on this list, but Mega Man X has gotten very little outside of the X series itself. The main protagonist of the darker sequel series to the classic Mega Man needs to prove his worth in the 2D fighting field. His Maverick Hunter pal, Zero (who was already in this list), has already had his chance to shine, so it'd be ncie to see the main hero get the chance to strut his stuff. And if they could use his Mega Man X 1 abilities and powers, as well as his X upgrades or Falcon Armor as a Super? Sweetens the pot a little bit more. Here's hoping that if Zero or Axl can't make it into the fray, that X himself can represent the Mega Man X series!

Thoughts: Arcades

In light of yesterday's Game Room review, let's cover the arcade scene as a whole. Back in the 70's and the 80's, they were an entertainment haven. It was where people went to leave the house, to play pinball and what we now consider "retro arcade titles." Quarter after quarter would pour in and kids would try their best to wage war, save princesses, and explore galaxies, and arcades had this magical feeling of neon, bleeps, and victory.

While it wasn't immediate, the downfall for arcades began when pong consoles started to hit homes, and eventually the Atari 2600 and Nintendo Entertainment System would become the first strong hit to the first nail in the arcade coffin. Arcade titles would see ports to home versions for the companies to bank further money on; Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Frogger... they'd all find their way in the home.

That's not to say the arcade was a failure, but quite the opposite. Arcades brought us the likes of Pong, Centipede and Millipede, Missile Command, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Q*Bert, Street Fighter, Time Crisis, Mortal Kombat, Dragon's Lair... And that's not including the likenesses we know today, including Mario and Luigi, Terry Bogard, Ms. Pac Man, Nightmare, Scorpion and Sub-Zero, among many, many others. Even characters outside of the gaming industry found themselves in games that ate up our money, such as the Simpsons, the X-Men, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Jurassic Park, just to name a few.


Oh, how I miss you in your glory days...

Let's flash forward, now, to today. The arcade scene is practically a joke. Let's define an arcade - a video arcade is a place or venue that includes many arcade video games for players to enjoy themselves in. Arcades by themselves rarely exist anymore, as it seems the whole charade is about gouging the customers as much as they can.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why. Machines now cost hundreds, thousands, even up to and over $10,000 per game. It will take an arcade owner years to break even, much less make a profit on games. It's a hard balancing act - charge too little for a game, and you make no money, but charge too much, and no one will pay to play it. This can literally be balanced on a single quarter value.

So how does someone that opens up an arcade make that up? They have something else on the side. Maybe it's inside of a bowling alley or a large skating rink. That's a typical norm. But let's get to my local area: there are four arcades in my area within a short distance from each other, three of which are inside the same mall. The first one is inside of a go-kart venue. The second is attached to a large restaurant, bowling alley, and billiard hall. The third was formally a part of FYE; that's right, the CD and music store had an arcade connected to the side, but has since been bought by Tilt Arcade, and even as a stand alone arcade it's a total disgrace. The fourth is inside of a resort hotel, but allows outside visitors to waste their money in the arcade as well.


No arcade is complete without a wall of shit...

But there's four arcades, how can they ALL be bad? I'll tell you how. Let's start with attention towards games. Since the arcade is normally a side event to a larger business, such as the go-kart tracks or the hotel, very little maintenance may be performed on machines, and many machines will either be out of order or in such horrible shape they should be turned off anyways. However, this is no excuse for the stand alone arcade, as its machines are in the worst shape of the four. Seriously?!

Secondly, let's move on to the "money-makers." In order to ensure they make some money, the arcades all have wasted money on cheap Spongebob plushies, Tootsie Rolls, and rubber or squishy balls at a prize redemption counter. So parents have their kids waste their own money in garbage ticket games in order to get crap they could buy from a fucking dollar store. Which brings me to my next point...

Ticket games. Apparently, it's either illegal to own less than three Skee-Ball machines under one roof, or they're always "buy two, get one free." You're telling me I get a 600+ score in Skee-Ball and I only get seven goddamn tickets for my work? Fuck you, Skee-Ball. And the token/quarter sliders, where you slip your token or quarter in and it lands on a sliding silver arm and tries to push tokens or quarters over the edge in exchange for tickets? Those things can go to hell. And the Cyclone?


Damn you to hell, Cyclone!

I hate this miserable piece of shit. It's like every arcade has one, if not more, and they leave it in the middle of the fucking walkway like they're proud of it. One arcade here has four of the goddamned things. FOUR. The game itself has three play areas, which is NEVER full. There is NEVER three people that are all stoked to play Cyclone at the same time. So I'm curious as to the damn thought process as to why this place thought there might, at some point, be TWELVE people that HAVE to get their Cyclone fix all at once. Seriously. When has this ever happened? WHY DO YOU NEED FOUR CYCLONE MACHINES?! I dare you to do a Google Image Search on "arcade cyclone." It's like arcade management is so proud of this domed piece of ass that they literally take pictures of JUST this machine. And it's in EVERY ARCADE EVER.

Then there's the air hockey tables, which are only played by bros and frat boys that hit the puck so hard they either break each others' fingers or send the puck halfway across the damn arcade, or is played by little girls that play so agonizingly slow it's painful to watch. Since when was it mandatory that the same gutteral filth must be in every arcade across the nation? The prize counter, the tickets, the same games over and over... Going to the arcade has become an awful experience.

Now there are a few things about the arcade that may be redeeming, but even they are starting to get a little overplayed. The dancing games were cool at first, and fun to watch people that know what they're doing, but an arcade isn't successful without one these days. Each of the four local arcades has one - two have Pump It Up machines, one has an In the Groove 2 machine, and one has a ghetto bootleg version of Dance Dance Revolution Extreme, called "Dance Dance Revolution Megamix." Guess which arcade has the ghetto DDR. That's right, the stand alone arcade that should know better. Let's talk about that specific arcade in general for a moment, though.

I know this may be one arcade in my area, but I know there are other arcades like this across the country, and it makes me weep. The location has a ghetto DDR, and a Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection machine. These are two of the only games that make any money in this arcade. There are 3 SvC Chaos machines, four Marvel vs. Capcoms, two or three Marvel vs. Capcom 2s, two Soul Calibur IIs, two Gauntlet Legends, two Deer Hunter USAs, two CarnEvils, four Wing Wars, two Time Crisis IIs, and a Tekken 5 and Tekken 4, the latter of which has a completely red tinted screen. It's like playing Tekken 4 on a huge Virtual Boy. Oh, and almost all of the above games has at least one broken machine that sits in the back corner or takes up space. One of the only games that would redeem this arcade is the Guilty Gear XX: Midnight Carnival, however, not only does it have Mortal Kombat 4 side graphics on the cabinet, and the graphic on the joystick/button panel is SNK vs. Capcom, but the goddamned thing doesn't work half the time or won't even boot up. Beautiful. Oh, and they have an air hockey table, AND a goddamned Cyclone.


Goddammit! Another motherfucking Cyclone...

One of the arcades though, a Dave 'n Buster's, normally takes pretty good care of their equipment. They have many machines the others do not, such as a Trivia Time, Rambo, 8-man Daytona USA with driver-side cameras to film the player on televisions above the machines for spectators, and a Derby Owner's Club. The Derby Owner's Club machine is great, a horse racing game that uses a card for save data much like Initial D, however the games are very expensive. How expensive? Dave 'n Buster's uses a point system instead of quarters or tokens. This means you pay a certain dollar amount for a point total that's stored on a card, and the card is swiped as opposed to inserting a coin.

This doesn't seem so bad, until you start doing the math. For example, $20.00 is 100 points on your card. That's a big number, so you can run around and spend them often. Derby Owner's Club is a 12.0 point game. Doesn't seem like much until you calculate it up; each dollar is five points. This means on a $20.00 card, this game alone is $2.40. Would you pay $2.40 in any other arcade for a single race? No. That's what makes the point system seem less expensive by using a point value instead of revealing how much they're gouging you. Sure, the more you spend on a card, the more points you get; for example, you can add $3.00 to a $20.00 card to add an additional 25 points. But the fact of the matter is the games are more expensive because of this system, which is how they make their money back faster.

Japan, meanwhile, can manage to make things work just fine. They not only have the DDR machines, but plenty of other music games many Americans either have never heard of or seen. Pop'n'Music, Para Para Paradise, and beatmania IIDX are fine examples of such games that arcade enthusiasts wish to see more of here in America but never show up. Not only do they have arcades that do well by themselves, but they have fewer prize and ticket games. I have no intention to sound like a raving weeaboo about the matter, but it seems they have less of these garbage games and more games that are different or revolutionary, such as games that interact with sensors for your position, cameras to add your likeness, or microphones to use your voice. These things can work just as well here, but end up never seeing the light of day.


Organized, AND SEATS?! Count me in!

Business is about making money. That's all there is to it. However, this is what's killed off arcades; in the attempt to add exciting reasons to come in and play, such as dancing games, prizes and candy, and ticket games for a cheap sense of accomplishment, it's killed off the arcade feeling from so long ago. It's no longer about aiming for the high score so you can insert "ASS" as your initials, or about challenging friends to a game of Street Fighter II or Soul Edge. Arcades in Japan still prosper fairly well, so why can't it work in America?



As I wrap this up, though, a friend of mine that I used to meet up with at the local arcades is no longer with us, so I need to leave a shout out and hope the arcades are better where he's at now is better than the ones here. We'll miss you, Blake.

Game Room

We start off Gaming Everything with some games within a game: Game Room.



Game Room

Publisher: Krome Studios

Developer: Microsoft Game Studios

Consoles: XBox 360, Games for Windows

Let's start by explaining what Game Room actually is. Game Room is the player's own personal arcade, a tribute back to retro arcade and console classics from the 80's. Players may visit arcades where they can purchase games for their own game room, and may play games, try to earn medals and Achievements, and challenge friends to beat high scores. One can decorate their arcade with arcade cabinets, items, and even themes. Want a haunted house, aztec temple, or retro 80's themed arcade? Go for it! Even better is that there are multiple arcade rooms and floors for as much space as you'd like.

It's a wonderful concept that leaves me wondering what took so long to come up with the idea like this? To be able to create your own arcade and play the games within, without any of the hassle of maintenance? Think The Sims for retro gamers. It's nice to see many of these classic games brought back, from memorable hits like Centipede, Lunar Lander, Asteroids, and Tempest, to games many might not have heard of, such as Finalizer, Shao-Lin's Road, and Red Baron. What's better is not all of the games are classic arcade titles - Atari has thrown in some classic Atari 2600 games, which shows itself mounted to the arcade cabinet, and Intellivision has done the same with its classic Intellivision console. These two companies, as well as Konami, have thrown in the first groups of games with two free downloadable "game packs," which include several titles users can play from.

While it was meant to be an XBox Live Arcade title, Game Room includes a full 1000 Gamerscore points to collect like retail games do, as opposed to the 200 each XBL Arcade games have. Also, the game does not work by itself - a game pack is required for download in order to play. Again, the first two released at this point are free, so there's a good start.



However, every game has flaws, and this game's are a bit ugly. First, you do not have control over your avatar; this means you don't get to walk around and explore your or friends' arcades, nor do you get to interact with the themed items. You control a camera point that chooses which arcade room to enter, and a tilted camera in the room will allow you to view available arcade titles to play. This is a bit of a bummer, as it makes the interactive feel outside of playing the arcade games nearly nonexistent.

Another problem is if you visit a friend's arcade, you have to actually own the game in order to play it. You can save up tokens, but you can't really use them to play any games in your friends' arcades unless you own the game yourself. What's the point? This gives me little reason to want to go to any arcade that's not mine unless I want the easy Achievements for simply visiting and playing in a friend's arcade. There's also no real easy way to find friends that have invested time into Game Room, as the friends listing shows a list of your friends where you can view their profiles. If they haven't downloaded or played, their profile is blank, meaning you have to check every friend's profile to see which have played and which haven't. It's a sloppy mess that needs more organization; allow me to see what friends have played, and the option to suggest friends that haven't played yet.

One of the biggest problems of the game, however, is the price. Game Room is a free download. The game packs are free downloads. The games themselves, however, are not. The games run at about 240 Microsoft Points, which equates to $3.00 per game. That's not too bad, right? Now, look at it this way: I have four games in my arcade. That's $12.00. Double that and I can nearly afford a Platinum Hits title. And even with four games, my arcade looks barren.

There are four floors, each with four arcade rooms. That's sixteen rooms in total. Now, there are eight places per room for arcade cabinets. If I want to fill every room with games, I would need 128 games. That's approximately $384.00 to fill the arcade. Seriously, that's a LOT of fucking money. That's a PS3, that's nearly two Nintendo Wiis.

On top of that, if you want to challenge a friend, they have to own the game as well. It's as if you have to get with friends before playing to figure out what everyone has. It's a total pain in the ass, and furthermore, many people don't wanna shell out the cash for "old games." If there were more recognizable titles, I'd be on top of it, but at launch, there's simply not enough interest to be held. Microsoft promises "1000's of titles," but without a proper system to get them up, something as fast as Harmonix does with its Rock Band downloads week after week, the game won't last long, which is unfortunate.

Don't get me wrong, it's fun. But it's a bit expensive, especially if you'd like to level up and rank your profile; getting medals by achieving goals in games allows you to level, and every game has 15 medals to get. However, it takes 20 medal points to level, so you have to own at least two games to hit level two. It seems the game was made to be a cash guzzler, and that honestly hurts my feelings.



VERDICT: Try it out. Look at the layout, see if you like how things are, and try the (shortly timed) free trials for games out before deciding if you'd like to download a game. If you have some spare points, I say buy one game, and see what you think. Play casually, or play Ranked battles to get medals. See what your friends have and challenge them. If you're tight on money, though, you might wanna pass over this one until you can afford a game or two.

Gaming Everything Warning

Before GE goes underway, it should be said that this site is NOT going to be done in a "professionally edited" manner. This is casual minds with casual thoughts - so there will likely be profanity galore. Several "bad words" may--no, WILL--be used. You've been warned.

Also, please DON'T feel free to point out every typo you see. IGN IS a professional gaming review site and they have them too. Gamepro is a professionally PUBLISHED gaming resource, and they have typos everywhere, so get off my back if you see a mistake.

Gaming Everything Overview

Gaming Everything is a new place for interesting thoughts, opinions, reviews, and info on many things gaming related. Plan to see Flashbacks, a look back to the games remembered from past generations of gaming; Look Ahead, where you can find either previews or info on upcoming titles; Thoughts, allowing you to read along or rage at opinions on games, the community, or the industry; The Pause Screen, where the games themselves are set aside for other things game-related, such as movies, music, and more; and many other features. Check back every so often and catch up on reviews and opinions, as not every review may be for the hottest new title out. You may see a review for Gears of War 3, followed by a review for Dead Rising or Guitar Hero II, for example. There's always something interesting to read about, be it new or old!

Suggestions are also welcome, if you have a game you'd like to see a review for or see thoughts and opinions for - just remember, without a copy, though, it's hard to give the game its proper justice.

Stay tuned, we'll kick off soon!

-Nick O. Teen