Author: dtm666

I ramble about things.

Roided Picard

2026 Notes
Originally threw this together as something that was going to be used in a gag video montage that would fuel the endless debate over the behaviors of TV Show Picard and Movie Picard. It was to be a “music video” of sorts using DVDA’s Now You’re A Man track, with Roided Picard showing up during the chorus bits. Alas, Youtube’s Content ID and stickler for music from actual musicians killed the idea dead… so this is what’s left of that particular endeavor. Maybe I might use it again down the road.

An Underwhelming Effort, Mr. Bores

I wrote this brief blurb on my other site, under DTM Blog Post #1189

This was my thoughts on Chris “Irate Gamer” Bores’ then-latest entry into his long-running (read: takes forever for him to put out) History Of Video Games series. Note the part at the end where I’d say that I’d ignore him to the foreseeable future and think about how long that stuck… not that long, I’m afraid.

No break, this time. It’s not that long of a piece anyway.

So the Irate Gamer, after months of delay due to hard drive failures and other excuses, has finally uploaded the second part of his “History of video Games” series… which is just a review of the Magnavox Odyssey… and it’s supposedly split into two parts. Now I’ve seen the episode and… yes, it seems like I’m falling asleep.

You know what? I try to give the guy a chance. I really do. Despite all the bad rap he gets, I figure I give him a chance and hope he somehow redeems himself. Sure, people call him a knock-off and a plagiarist… and sure, he gets a good chunk of his information wrong, but even after all that, I was willing to give him a chance in hopes that maybe, just maybe he’d produce a product that goes beyond the usual sloppy servings he had uploaded as of late.

Guess what? It hasn’t happened.

Maybe it’s just me… but isn’t the point of a “History Of…” to touch on important events in a timely manner? I’d figure it’d be the best thing to do and easy to mock up. So why am I getting reviews of Space War (not even the actual version, but a random Flash version) and Computer Space when they should just be significant footnotes in the story? Why am I getting a review of the Magnavox Odyssey when it’s supposed to be a historical retrospect? And why, for the love of God, are we getting TWO PARTS of this?! Just discuss the console a bit and move on! This is supposed to be a HISTORY RETROSPECT!

It should be noted that the Angry Video Game Nerd already did a review (2011 Update: more of a general overview than a review) of the Magnavox Odyssey and he only took ten minutes to review most of the necessary components outside of the light gun, which he demonstrated its use by shooting at the TV. Now there’s probably more to the Odyssey than that, but the Nerd’s review was advertised as that… a review. (2011 Update: again, more of an overview than a review… and I could have done without the stupid Nerd Terd or whatever it’s supposed to be called.)

Now, I’m not going to declare myself a hater or anything like that – but I am simply going to ignore the man for the foreseeable future. Until he can produce something that is actually worth my time, I’m not going to bother anymore. (2011 Update: said ignoring was ignored.)

Sorry, Chris. But you fail.

(2011 Update: To be fair, later installments did drop the “review” format and just go through various items and games quickly… the accuracy of the information is questionable, but this series is mostly harmless and if anything, has sometimes inspired me to look up some of the historical points online.)

State Of The Blog – October 2009

Formerly known as “More Crap I’ve Added On The Internet”

In an effort to try and make this blog as much of a central hub as possible… on the sidebar to your right, you’ll find something called Web Stuff By Me… which just rolls right off the tongue. Presently, it links to my ancient blog and my Contributor Page at GameFAQs.

Over time, I’ll be adding other stuff I’ve got online, such as my archival website, the smattering of reviews on IMDB, my Fanfiction.Net page (yes, I write fanfiction… deal with it), and a couple other stuff that I presently don’t remember. Will do this once I find the time to do it… probably tonight when nobody is looking.

Altered Beast for 1000 Wii Points? Seriously?

So apparently, there’s no Castlevania ReBirth showing up for WiiWare for the foreseeable future… oh well, I’m guessing it’ll emerge when more concrete details on the game are available. In the meantime, head on over to Virtual Console Arcade and pick up the arcade version of the Sega classic ALTERED BEAST for a thousand Wii Points… wait, what?

Seriously… let’s be honest and think about this. Isn’t the Genesis version of Altered Beast already available on Virtual Console? And isn’t it about eight hundred points? I mean, what’s the point of buying a slightly better version when there’s a cheaper alternative? I’ve played both versions and there’s nothing to justify spending an extra two bucks on a slightly better arcade format when the Genesis version will do you just fine.

OR… or… you can just pick up a copy of Sega Genesis Collection for PS2, which contains both games on the set… or even Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for PS3 and Xbox 360, which also contains both games on the set. Heck, it even has Shinobi.

Sorry, Sega. You’re going to have to find some other means of getting my money, because this ain’t it.

Heck, I don’t even like Altered Beast.

Classic Bite Commentary #89 – September 27th, 2009

Things have been progressively better since last we met. I’m presently in a state of perceived insanity, but no real danger zones. Let’s not dwell on this right now, please? I’m sure there are those concerned about my health and your concern is greatly appreciated, but it’s easier for me to not dwell on this… and dwelling is something I’m REALLY good at. So let’s just move on, okay? Okay…

Continue reading “Classic Bite Commentary #89 – September 27th, 2009”

VLOG – My First YouTube Video

(2013 Update: For anyone who bothers to dig this far back in the blog’s early postings, I’ve finally embedded my first ever YouTube video. Boy, does this bring back memories… none too pleasant, I suppose.)

Seems like black marbles all over the place… oh wait, it’s just a blurry video.

Here’s the deal. I have this YouTube channel that has been dormant for some time now and have recently acquired the means (and inclination) to put some stuff together. I posted a “trailer” as the first video of the channel and intend on posting stuff on a regular basis in 2010. However, I decided to post a video regarding a glitch in the Virtual Console version of Dracula’s Curse. Presently awaiting annoying comments so that I can approve or shoot them down.

In case you’re wondering, you can reach the page here. I’ll embed the videos in future posts a week or two later, but in the meantime…

The Obligatory McWrestling Intro

Strange this “professional wrestling” thing. Even though it’s not considered a legitimate sporting event and is promoted as the more-ambiguous “sports-entertainment” event, wrestling has seen its share of high points and low points. Either way, it’s also seen as the lowest form of entertainment out there, simply because it’s “fake” and “stupid.”

But then that’s why I enjoy it. I like my action predetermined. It makes sense to me that when one wrestler rapes another man’s wife, said man challenges the fiend to a wrestling match when in real life, the wrestler would get arrested and tried. It makes sense that two guys would feud over a woman’s manegerial services. It makes sense in the realm of professional wrestling, where the backstories is almost as important as in the in-ring product.

I’ve been watching wrestling (and will refer to it as such for the remainder of this post) on and off since the early 1990s… mostly with nothing more than a passing interest. But really, it was only around 1998 where I really got hooked. Yeah, the longtime fans know this period as the Monday Night Wars, where two wrestling companies fought toe-to-toe for ratings supremacy and resulted in plenty of product, both good and bad.

But even when I saw the shows, I knew it was scripted. It had to be. I mean, the first show I’ve seen that got me hooked was Wrestlemania XIV, where Steve Austin won his first WWF World title. There was a clip show promoting a match between Undertaker and Kane and some of those clips involved lightning bolts and guys being set on fire. Seriously, did anyone watching this doubt that this is nothing more than elaborate spectacle? Did anyone need more proof than this that all this was just for show?

So I’ve been watching wrestling for about a decade. Times have changed, old promotions have fallen, and new ones rise to fill the void. Unfortunately, the product that I watch now is nothing like the product that got me hooked… almost to the point where I’m content just buying the various anthology DVDs comprising classic wrestling matches. Even so, I still watch the shows and I still follow most of the happenings. The interest is still there and I still pay attention to what’s going on.

Of course, even though the action in the ring is fixed, what happens outside is anything but… what with all the drug abuse stories and drug-related deaths that have happened. It’s rather funny to think that there’s a bigger death toll related to a “fake” sport than a legitimate one. Alas, that’s the sad truth…

But for those who put that little lining aside, they’ll find that the product is still somewhat enjoyable and anxiously await the next big golden age. I know I am…

End obligatory first post.

GameFAQs Review – Contra 4 (Nintendo DS)

Contra is known for its simplistic gameplay and intensely difficult challenge. Originally released as an arcade game, it was soon ported over to the NES where it gained legendary status and had become synonymous with one of the most famous video game codes of all time (even the code began in Gradius, but I digress). Contra had spawn a number of sequels and spin-offs for the NES, Super NES, Game Boy, and Sega Genesis and they were all good games. However, many fans feel that the series had gone on a downward spiral the moment it hit the Sony Playstation. And despite some decent entries on the PS2, the series never did get that feel of fun and frustration that the old school games always presented.

And then came this beauty… and it’s Contra-riffic!

Known for its GBC sleeper hit Shantae, Wayforward Technologies were also the geniuses behind the GBC mistake known as WWF Betrayal, which was a horrible wrestling-related game on the same system. In any case, these guys were given the task of developing a Contra game worthy of the number 4… and they have succeeded.

Continue reading “GameFAQs Review – Contra 4 (Nintendo DS)”

Linda Mac Runs For Sentatoralshipthing in Conn… I Got Nothing.

Here’s the website.

Um…

Uh..

I got nothing.

(2019 Update: Much to my utter amazement, the site is still up… I’ve got nothing… but hey, if you want to check out a time capsule of sorts, the link is there for all to see.)

(2024 Update: Never mind. Site’s gone now.)