Author: dtm666

I ramble about things.

Sunday Gimmick Table #49 – Atari Flashback 2 (2005) Tomfoolery

An almost hour long video of me playing the follow-up Atari Flashback 2 console from 2005 – the one that more properly replicates Atari 2600 functionality before the eventual emulator boxes from ATGames became a thing. This one was in the can for months and doesn’t go as deep into the weeds as the original Flashback lookback – it’s more general messing around with the games and such. Nonetheless, I felt compelled to add some direct feed video so that you can properly gauge how some of these games turned out.

Most of the games included on the set can be found on your various Atari compilations (Atari Flashback, Atari Vault, Atari 50, etc.) and thus there’s no need for a deep dive into each game.

 

Sunday Gimmick Table #48 – Revisiting The Atari Flashback (2004) Console

Been wanting to do this one for a while and, well, better late than never, I suppose. Despite having done this before, I felt it worth revisiting the old Flashback unit, especially now that I have the means to compare each of the twenty games featured to their original versions (via vintage carts and compilation sets).

You can watch the old lookback here, but I feel this does a better job of comparing and contrasting the various games.

Review #1267 – Rampage (Atari 7800)

Had planned for this to be a review of Tiger Heli, but a change of plans (primarily behind the scenes as I delegate my limited holiday time off in the next coming weeks) forced me to switch things up at the last minute and pull out this Rampage review that I had done back in September as a lark.

And yes, there will be more Atari 7800 reviews in 2026. I still have a couple reviews in the can that requires some more varied (non-sucky) footage to fill the screen. And with the promise of more 7800 games on the horizon from modern Atari, I think the system will see a significant presence in the future… though probably not as strong as it had been represented in 2025.

Next week is the Holiday run, which will include the Castlevania DS reviews, which means the sooner I can get these out of the way, the sooner I can put Order Of Ecclesia in my rearview window where it belongs.

THE BITE COMMENTARIES #11 – The Force Undead

So, if all goes according to plan, today’s post should publish on the very same day that, ten years ago, the first Star Wars film of the Disney ownership era as well as the start of a new Star Wars sequel trilogy – The Force Awakens – hit movie theaters to usher in a new era of Star Wars that is new and different… although you wouldn’t have been able to tell from watching the movie.

At the time of release, people considered it to be a return to form after the polarizing prequels. For some, it felt like Star Wars again… for others, it felt too much like Star Wars; to the point of almost being a carbon copy of the original film from 1977.

And then The Last Jedi came along and pretty much shat the bed that The Force Awakens set with its dogged insistence in subverting your expectations; something that has become a meme over the years in and of itself. Regardless of your opinion on the film – and I’ve made my feelings perfectly clear – the fact is that the second chapter of the new trilogy was a divisive film and brought about an air of uncertainty among the Star Wars faithful. And then Solo came along… and finally, The Rise Of Skywalker ended the sequels and any subsequent hope for further annual Star Wars feature films, relegating the franchise to limited series runs on Disney+.

What began as a sign that things were going to be okay… turned out to be anything but… and when one revisits The Force Awakens ten years removed from its initial release, with all these other films out there and everything that has happened, is the movie as good as it was? Has it aged poorly? Was it ever that good to begin with?

The answer is… complicated.

Continue reading “THE BITE COMMENTARIES #11 – The Force Undead”

WCW Monday Nitro (Dec. 18th, 1995) – Madusa Trashes, Hogan Bounces

This show is notable for two things and everything else is just an afterthought.

First off, before we can get the show rolling, the former Alundra Blayze – now Madusa – shows up to dump her WWF Women’s title into some trash bin and states her intentions to play with some big people… assuming they show up. Apparently, people were upset by this turn of events; acting like it was some huge betrayal that the reigning WWF Women’s Champion would jump onto a competing sports entertainment show and dump their championship title into the trash. So damaging was this act that WWF never featured another women’s match until Sable became a thing in 1998… for better or worse.

Remember, the people crying foul over Madusa showing up on Nitro with the Women’s title are the very same people who allowed Ric Flair to parade on television with the Big Gold Belt for a few months just to stick it to WCW. It only goes to show that if they do it, it’s fine, but if the other guys do it, it’s the gravest sin of all. This is why nobody takes wrestling seriously even beyond the whole “real vs fake” argument that honestly should have died off in the last century.

The other notable piece of business was the conclusion of the World title bout between champion Randy Savage and challenger THE GIANT, which ended in a DQ when SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR Hulk Hogan cracked Giant with a chair… and then Sullivan shows up and Hogan hits him with a chair too… why is this notable? I’m not sure, but it’s Hogan being a dick and something is mentioned about him being on probation and… oh wait, he’s getting a title shot against whoever comes out of Starrcade as the champion.

Everything else in between is stuff that happened and was completely forgettable.

No More Trek On Netflix

Source: https://trekmovie.com/2025/12/11/all-the-classic-star-trek-tv-shows-to-exit-netflix-globally-in-january/

Come January, all the classic Trek shows will be gone from Netflix… which is a bit of a shame because those are the best quality versions of those shows being played on what remains a top-tier streaming service in terms of streaming quality and ease of use. The only place where you could catch the first and last episodes in their original uncut 2-hour formats rather than the abridged 2-parters that Paramount Plus has under their belt, this has been the main thing that kept bringing me back to Netflix every so often.

Now all that is gone next month and what’s left for me on Netflix? I’ve already seen Cobra Kai, I don’t care for their remaining original content, most of the Power Rangers stuff is up on Youtube, and I only occasional dip into the WWE stuff in order to watch an old PPV from decades ago for the sake of research. It seems like the universe is going out of its way to keep me away from mainstream entertainment.

Which I have no problem with, by the way. Because mainstream entertainment has no interest in me, anyway…

Review #1266 – Tank Command (Atari 7800)

Is this game worth the triple digit prices it commands? The answer may not shock you in the slightest… and yes, we’re dipping in the emulation pool again. At this point, I figured “why not?” It’s not like I’m going to pay 800+ for a Froggo cart these days. That thrilled died after getting Symphony on Saturn.

The next review will be up on Saturday, as I’ve been reconsidering the video slate for the rest of the year. The updated schedule should be up by Friday, but until then, enjoy this Froggo excursion.

Dual Override – Coming In 2027

From my understanding, for all intents and purposes – or at least until Capcom decides otherwise – this is the 12th mainline entry in the Classic Mega Man series, but rather than going with a numbered title, they settled on Dual Override. Could this mean something more than just another entry in the series? I don’t know and frankly, I don’t give a damn. I’m just happy to see that we get to celebrate the ol’ Rockman’s 40th anniversary with the release of a new game rather than the announcement of a new game or (as is usually the case with these Mega Man anniversaries in recent decades) fuck all.

While this may disappoint some fans who would prefer a Mega Man X9 (for some reason) or a Mega Man Legends 3 (to finish the story or something), I’ll take what I can get if it’s a genuine new game and not some gatcha mobile thing or another legacy collection of a subseries that doesn’t interest me. My tastes are Mega Specific, man.