It Begins…

The first video review of 2026 has been uploaded to Youtube, waiting to be unleashed onto the public. I wouldn’t get too excited, though. It’s not a major review, but it’s a start. And it’s an appetizer for a good run of videos that will cover the Valis series after all this time.

In other update news, all forty reviews from 2011 have been refreshed on Youtube and the blog has been updated to feature these new uploads. I’ll probably start on the first half of 2016 later this month to get THAT piece of business out of the way.

It’s going to be a fun ride, kids… and this time, it’ll start off on the right foot.

The Last Minute Pushback

A bit of a pushback on the videos, as the last one is going to be a bit of a whopper… or is it a burial of sorts? So what was supposed to be today’s offering (Portrait Of Ruin) bleeds to tomorrow and that means, yes, the Order Of Ecclesia review falls on New Year’s Eve… which is appropriate because I can bury both this game and this whole, godforsaken year in one fell swoop. Not only that, but there’s also a little bonus for the few who wanted another PPV musings from me. No, it’s not a recent PPV, but it is covering something that I thought I already touched on back in the day and turns out that… yeah, we haven’t done that. Anyway, you’ll know it when you see it.

This past weekend has been busier than usual, which mean no time to properly finish these reviews, which have been – quite frankly – the most difficult pieces of work that I ever had to put together. Technical issues, creative conflicts, and erratic runtimes are the main culprits… but at the same time, it also becomes a matter of losing something in translation if something gets cut. So there’s a very good chance that one of these videos will end up being one of the longest video reviews ever produced on this channel and one has to wonder if the excess is really worth it. It’s no secret that I tend to prefer nice, brief video outings because they’re simple, straightforward, and tell you everything you need to know without spoiling everything. Sometimes, you need a little more to dive into the context of why you feel the way you do about something. As much as you strive to be as unbiased and as objective as possible, by their very nature, reviews are subjective due to each individual experience being unique… and I will tell you this much; that Ecclesia video is going to be a very unique review.

Not exactly great taste in ending the year on such a downer video – and yes, I am out and out telling you that the video is going to be as miserable an experience as the subject matter it covers was – but on the other hand, all that means is that we get to start 2026 on a good note… which means we dive into Ataribox, which might be a multi-part series.

I mention the part about being busy during the weekend and that’s partially true. Some stuff came up that required my attention, but also some health issues popped up that required my staying in bed to recover… hence the rushed nature of SGT#50, which was always intended to be that, but much more prepared. Truth be told, there’s a lot of stuff that needed to be better prepared, but once we get stuff in order around these parts, we can get 2026 off to a good start, which is the ultimate end goal right now. For what it’s worth, I’ve had some nasty bowel movements as a result of something I ate over the holidays that didn’t agree with me and usually when that happens, I end up with pains that keep me from doing anything productive for a good while. I’m doing better now, but it’s a constant reminder that I’m not out of the woods as far as this condition I’m dealing with is concerned and that I should always be vigilant in keeping up with recovery methods.

And so if this ends up being the last hopeful message of the year, then so be it. But on the other hand, let’s get all the bad news out of the way while we’re still in the old year so that we can start the next one on the right foot… or the left foot if you’re a leftie.

That’s all I’ve got.

Later.

2011 Game Reviews Being Refreshed On Youtube

So yes, there is no new video today and I did another reshuffling of the schedule today… however, it’s not all bad news, especially if you enjoy watching vintage old crappy videos from a decade or so ago.

I am pleased (or dismayed) to announce that all forty video reviews from 2011 are in the process of being given the fresh new upload treatment on YouTube and should be done by year’s end. These include everything from Empire Strikes Back on 2600 to the original Robotron 64 review to the widely viewed Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue on N64 and all the way up to Joust VGA for MS-DOS. The refreshed treatment basically means a new (numbered) title card and some minor edits, although a couple videos have seen some significant overhauls, such as the Lightspeed Rescue review, which has a new segment that was previously unseen until now.

Sadly, some videos couldn’t be salvaged much. The Donkey Kong 2600 review, for example, was the victim of a hard drive crash that resulted in the old VEGAS files being lost, so the end result is a review that looks rougher on paper. Besides that, however, everything (else) is (more or less) as you remember them.. or not… for better or worse…

The rest of the video output should continue on as scheduled and then maybe we’ll throw up a quick trailer or two down the road.

Final X-Mas And Year End Video Slate UPDATE

Change of plans because stuff isn’t working or happening as is should.

Sunday, December 21st
Sunday Gimmick Table #48 – Revisiting ATARI FLASHBACK (2004)
Sunday Gimmick Table #49 – ATARI FLASHBACK 2 (2005) Tomfoolery

Monday, December 22nd
Extra Bits Video

Tuesday, December 23rd
Review #1268 – Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow (DS)

Thursday, December 25th
Some Semblance Of X-Mas Special (8 p.m. EST Start time)

Friday, December 26th
DTM Rambles #30 – Mystery Meat (BLOG Exclusive)

Saturday, December 27th
All 2011 Video Game Reviews Re-Uploaded And Embedded

Sunday, December 28th
Sunday Gimmick Table #50 – ???

Monday, December 29th
Review #1269 – Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin (DS)

Tuesday, December 30th
Review #1270 – Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia (DS)

Wednesday, December 31st
End Of Year

For Anyone Who Cares, Your Christmas Week Video Festivities (And Beyond)

First off, no Gimmick Table today; we’ll double up next Sunday and I’ll have a special video on Monday. However, I do have something of remote significance today.

If all goes according to plan, this will be the 6,000th published blog post as of this publication. And what better way to celebrate the occasion than to present the finalized Xmas Week video schedule. Should be quite a fun time ’round these parts.

This schedule also represents the last batch of videos for 2025. The first video of 2026 will probably hit Saturday, January 10th and will cover my time with Ataribox, while the first review of 2026 will hit on Friday the 16th, kicking off the Valis reviews that have been way overdue. From there, who knows? I might actually pop up the new video trailer for the channel somewhere along the way.

Meanwhile, on the non-video side of things, there will be a special Christmas morning edition of the DTM Mailbag to go along with the Xmas “Special” on the same day, a Boxing Day edition Bite commentary, and perhaps even a surprise post or two.

Anyway, that’s the plan. It might actually happen for once. Would be nice.

Later.

Old (New) 2010 Video Reviews Uploaded On Youtube

Hello, friends. I said that I had a treat for you folks and indeed I do… actually, I haven’t got. I just have a bit of rubbish as usual… but it’s vaguely historical rubbish, I guess…?

Well, I tried… but hey, the laughing Minako GIF is back for these things… so that’s something, I guess…

Okay, let’s get it out of the way. So, I’m pleased to announced that all seventeen video reviews recorded in 2010 have been re-uploaded to Youtube with brand new title cards and slight edits here and there to make them seem less empty and more slick… though not by much. There are some things I can’t fix; audio levels are all over the place, some bits of footage are simply unsalvageable, and then there’s the problem of these things existing in the first place.

The Rebel Assault II review did get one major change out of necessity. Originally, it had been intended as a Halloween upload and an intro was recorded around that time. However, things happened and it got delayed, which resulted in a new intro needing to be dubbed. However, I changed the music and didn’t have the raw audio for the new dub, so the old Halloween related dub was brought back for a video that was supposedly done in November… which it was, mostly. Sometimes these things happen.

In any event, the first batch of new re-ups have taken place today. It’s the first step in eventually getting all the old reviews replaced with newly numbered versions so that there’s some sense of continuity. Also, for those wondering, I haven’t deleted the old videos, but rather they’ve been made private. It’s something that I wish I had done with the old commentaries, but whatever. Lesson learned on that front, I suppose.

Find the review page here and enjoy.

The Wolf Fled And I Had To Catch It…

Yeah, so a last minute medical appointment (nothing serious – just an intravenous injection of fluid after work that lasted a couple hours) has prevented me from uploading today’s scheduled video. Good news is that it’ll be up tomorrow (maybe later than usual) and then Friday is the one people actually care about.

Long story short, the treatment that was supposed to be treating my bowels didn’t exactly get the job done, so I got an emergency infusion of stuff. For what it’s worth, I feel fine. I still have bouts of pain, but my stools have been fairly solid and trips to the john have been less frequent compared to earlier in the year. It’s just something in the internals that the medical professionals didn’t think was progressing as far as it should.

Joy.

Sorry for the morbid details, but this is serious business that is treated seriously and morbid details are what you’re getting. When I get this video crap out of the way, we’ll find some funny way of digesting this information… or you could just watch whatever AVGN thing is out right now.

He still makes those, doesn’t he?

New Spooky Upload Time And Extra Bits

Hey, folks… we were going to do a Spooky Week of video entertainment, but sadly… health issues arose.

Good news is that I’m fine. Bad news is that this big ambitious plan to do a whole week worth of videos is out the window, which basically boils down to some of these things needing more week and I really don’t feel like rushing through what are supposed to be some pretty major videos. So we’re going to scale back things.

Those Castlevania DS videos? They’re being pushed back to December. If you’re really desperate for your Dominus fix, Uncle Johnny is there to hold you folks over until I can get these babies ready on my end. Point being that I’d rather hold this off and spend a little more time making these things look beautiful and wonderful than rush them out and have them look like shit. Especially when there’s very specific bits that I want to highlight.

However, nobody who watches this stuff cares about that. They just want the one with Chef. That hits on Halloween.

After that, it’s Atari month in November because I want to put out shit that’s nice and quick while I work on the bigger stuff for later down the road. Not quite sure what December is going to look like, but it’s also going to be a bit different.

On the bright side, Sunday Gimmick Tables will return starting next Sunday. I’ve had to shuffle some videos around because some stuff isn’t ready, but there’s enough to work with for the next few weeks, at least. I’ve been experimenting with some methods in regards to DVD rips brought up to a respectable HD level. Won’t use these for review purposes, but they might be useful for the Gimmick Tables. We’ll see how that goes.

I wish I had better news for you and I’m sorry that yet another plan is foiled by bowel pains… but I’m hoping things will be less turbulent going forward… would be nice.

Spooky Week Review Schedule

Because nothing screams spookier than crazed madman Bill Shatner in his youth. Probably saw that one episode of Strange New Worlds with the muppet Pike… what are the odds that there’s also a puppet Kirk, but it looks like Bill rather than the new guy because they ran out of budget?

Anyhoo, here is your video schedule for next week’s spooky countdown thing from Sunday to Friday, which is Halloween. Will there be something on Saturday? Who knows? We’ll see.

Sunday, October 26th, 2025
Review #1248 – Carpathian Night Starring Bela Lugosi (Switch)

Monday, October 27th, 2025
Review #1249 – Chronicles Of The Wolf (Switch)

Tuesday, October 28th, 2025
Review #1250 – Hell’s Kitchen: The Game: Le Jeu (Wii)

Wednesday, October 29th, 2025
Review #1251 – Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow (DS)

Thursday, October 30th, 2025
Review #1252 – Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin (DS)

Friday, October 31st, 2025
Review #1253 – Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia (DS)

Saturday, November 1st, 2025
No More Spooky Month

Later today will see the Darkwing review at the usual time and Friday will also see a review because of course, it will. As for Saturday… hope you’re a fan of reading, because there’s quite a bit of it.

Should be fun… or a disaster waiting to happen.

Later…