Category: Musings

Only A Couple E3 Bits And Bobs

A couple years ago, I did an E3 thing… and I never touched one of these again… but there were a couple items on this year’s E3 that piqued my interest and I figured we try this again… and after reviewing some quick notes, it turns out only three items remotely piqued my interested; the upcoming release of a new Contra game for the modern platforms, news of various old-school Star Wars video and computer games getting physical re-releases for the first time in years, and the announcement of a new plug-and-play Turbografx-16 mini system from Konami, which has me more intrigued than the upcoming Mega Drive mini, which is looking pretty good on paper except for those three-button controllers. Never been a fan of those.

Aside from that, there were slim pickings from E3 that caught my attention for more than a couple seconds. It’s nice to see Nintendo get a fair share of upcoming worthwhile releases on their Switch console and if nothing else, does a better job of selling me on the console to consider picking one of these up somewhere down the line. Everything is either stuff I’ve already seen before or new stuff that I glanced at for a second and didn’t give a first – let alone second – thought. And this is all based on recaps from these various year-long video streams of talking heads and video trailers that tell you nothing that people find the time to watch and comment on in their entirety.

And to the people who do that sort of thing, I don’t know how you manage it. I try sitting through one of these and shut it of after five minutes because it just hurt my brain to how much of a waste of time this is. How people can watch these marathons of nothing for hours and days on end… nothing but absolute respect for the endurance you have to sit through these things because it’s unfathomable… but I digress.

So when the announcement came that the Contra Anniversary Collection was available for purchase, I went on my Steam App and bought the fucker. First impressions: it’s fine. It’s pretty much similar to the Castlevania Anniversary Collection as far as features, performance, and layout is concerned and while the game selection might seem lacking to some due to some padding of regional flavors, what’s here is still pretty solid stuff.

However, the thing that surprised me was the announcement of an all-new Contra title called Contra: Rogue Corps, which is apparently a top-down shooter thing of sorts and due to see the light of day on all the major platforms. So, yeah, that’s a bit of a surprise. Wonder if it’s going to be any good? Usually, Contra games that deviate from the establish formula tend to have something of a shoddy execution. The PS1 games being perhaps the most prime examples of this… but I digress. So long as gameplay is tight, fast-paced, and ball-bustingly challenging, the new game should be just fine.

And then there was the other surprise from Konami… the announcement of a TurboGrafx-16 mini console due to be released in the near future. No price point or release date has been mentioned as of late and only a handful of games have been announced depending on the region (PCE people get Rondo while the US gets New Adventure Island… not much of a tradeoff. But…

Actually, you know what? That’s a good thing; assuming the game selection and the emulation is up to snuff, this is something that’s worth checking out. I’m actually more intrigued by this than the upcoming Mega Drive mini to be honest. Another pleasant surprise and depending on the details, it’ll be a nice way for folks who missed out on the Turbo the first time around to experience some of the great games that were on the system. Nothing in regards to pricing or release date, though I’d imagine it’d be way cheaper than trying to get the actual hardware.

Finally, for those who love overpriced physical gimmicks of ancient things in fancy packages, Limited Run games recently announced that they’re going to be re-releasing a bunch of old Star Wars games on collectable formats for their original formats with collectable gimmicks and stuff. The list of games to receive the collector’s edition treatment or whatever they’re calling it include:

Star Wars (NES, Game Boy)
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (NES, Game Boy)
Star Wars: X-Wing (PC)
Star Wars: TIE Fighter (PC)
Star Wars: Rebel Assault (PC)
Star Wars: Dark Forces (PC)
Star Wars: Jedi Knight (PC)
Star Wars Jedi Knight 2 – Jedi Outcast (PC)
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (PC)
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (PC, N64)
Star Wars Episode I: Racer (PC, N64) – no Dreamcast? Tsk, tsk.
Star Wars: Racer Revenge (PS4)
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (PS4)

So I’m going to admit… I’m actually curious as to how this is going to work, especially in regards to the PC stuff. Is it just going to be simple repackaging or are they going to recreate the old big box experience and include all the extra nicknacks that came with the games? The supplementary material like the Farlander Papers in X-Wings or the various quick reference cards for when you needed to know which keys did what functions? Also, I assume these will be reworked somewhat to function on modern systems… DOSBox or something to that affect? Will there be ports? That sort of thing.

Hey, for those who want something tangible and are willing to spend the extra bucks, it’s nice to have some fresh options and I’m rather curious to see how these will turn out. Of course, if you don’t care for that sort of thing and you just want a cheaper way of playing these games… GOG.com is your friend. It’s DRM-free so you can download the installers and do what you want… and they also have all the scans for the instruction manuals, supplementary material, and a couple even have strategy guides if you need the help.

In any event, June 28th is when the first batch of stuff is due to come out and we’ll see from there, I suppose. To tell you the truth, I’m more intrigued by the physical re-release of ancient Star Wars games from two or three decades ago than I am the recent Jedi Fallen Order game, which if nothing else, looks nice… but it’s a game from EA… and apparently, EA is the devil’s tit.

And that’s all there is to it… E3 was a thing.

Later.

AEW Sells Out… Uh-Gain!

AEW All Out just sold out in fifteen minutes.

What? You mean to tell me that a nothing promotion with a bunch of hasbeens and never weres were able to sell out another show in record time, while WWE has troubling selling tickets to their upcoming PPV featuring the anticipated rematch between Seth Rollins and BARON CORBIN for the “prestigious and highly coveted WWE Universal” Champion?

Are you seriously telling me that a show whose only two features each feature a jabroni from Winnepeg was able to get scalped in less than a quarter-hour while nobody is buying tickets to see anticipated rematches between Kofi Kingston and Dolph Ziggker as well as Becky Lynch and Lacey Evers?

That’s impossible. Get outta here, Ryan.

In all seriousness, kudos go out to the boys. One major show was a thing, two major shows was a thing, but three major shows? That’s something worth paying attention to…

Anyone know tickets are doing for Fyter Fest and Fallen Fighter 2 Turbo?

Lord Drakkon Retu… OH FUCK OFF!

Source: https://www.powerrangersnow.com/sabans-go-go-power-rangers-issue-23-details/

So, this is supposed to be a new direction for the Power Rangers comics from Boom… and what do they give us? Their shitty “Evil Tommy” bad guy comes back from… something or other.

You know what? I’m done.

The minute I’ve heard the news and came across the above source, I went over to my Comixology account and cancelled my subscriptions to both the Go Go series and the MMPR series. I am done with this shit.

From this point forth, I am on a six-month moratorium from anything pertaining to Boom Studios’ Ranger comics. I was willing to give it a chance going forward – especially with the rather underwhelming Beyond The Grid storyline – but if this is what I have to look forward to, then I am done for the foreseeable future.

I’ve seen Evil Tommy-types done better in poorly written fanfictions than what was done with this dipshit. Hell, I’ve done the Evil Tommy bit and even he comes off as more compelling than this fucking doofus… especially considering how he met his ultimate defeat at the end of that other wankfest.

Fuck off. Fuck off, all you fuckers. Fuck you.

I’m done.

Good night.

WWE Blood Money III… as reviewed by Ralphie

While I haven’t seen the recent show from that country we’re not supposed to talk about, my buddy Ralphie did and volunteered to give his thoughts on this show. Thanks, dude. You’ve saved me the effort in watching what I’m told was a truly terrible show. Have fun.

Sidenote: I’ve taken the liberty of cleaning up the text a bit, as he sent me one block of text in email. You’re welcome.

Continue reading “WWE Blood Money III… as reviewed by Ralphie”

Not Watching Blood Money III

So, the first show that came along was the Oil Rumble last year. At the time, I had a leg injury that kept me in bed, so I ended up watching what was ostensibly a glorified house show that was televised. For what it’s worth, I didn’t think it was a bad show or anything like that, but it ran longer than it needed to and for all the hype that was put behind it – mostly for the benefit of WWE’s new Saudi partners – the show certainly didn’t live up to it.

The second show, the WWE Crown Royal show which was the subject of heated controversy due to the assassination of a journalist that the Saudis were involved with, was a show that I didn’t – and to this day, still haven’t – watched. Taking the Saudis out of the equation, I had no real interest in watching a meaningless tournament conclude, nor did I have any interest in watching four old men fumble through a match and making a mockery of themselves. Even the Age In The Cage match between Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper at Halloween Havoc 1997 had more dignity than this farce.
And so here were are with WWE Blood Money III, featuring a main event dream match between Bill Goldberg and the Undertaker where people have speculated what would last longer – the matches or the entrances. As luck would have it, this weekend is going to keep me very busy with family business and things of that nature, so that’s going to keep me from the nonexistent obligation of watching yet another Saudi propaganda piece by our friends at World Wrestling Entertainment.
This has nothing to do with any moral high ground or whatever malarkey you wish to throw out there. This is strictly a lack of interest at play here. The truth is that I missed quite a few WWE shows from the past year, owing to the fact that the few that I’ve seen as of late (with some exceptions) have been pretty mediocre showings. The WWE Network has a fantastic backlog of classic wrestling shows that I’ve been slowly, but surely catching up on… and the results of those viewings will be cataloged ever so briefly in future weekly wrestling musings… but when it comes to the more recent stuff… I find myself writing blog posts about my lack of interest in the shows than the actual shows themselves.
I’ve been reviewing some old blog posts in the past year and when it comes to the WWE product that’s currently on the air, I find that I’ve said more negative things about the shows than positive. In fact, as I’ve been archiving some of the old DTM Blog material for future reference, I realize that a lot of my writings on the show have been about how much WWE programming has sucked. Some of these going as far back as 2002.
That was not a pleasant revelation, kids.
At some point in time, I’ll probably elaborate on this subject a bit further. It could very well be the subject matter of a future DTM Rambles video… but as far as the main topic of this post goes, I’m probably going to skip out on this third Saudi offering. Lack of time and lack of interest being the main culprits… besides, there’s that Stomping Grounds PPV to look forward to.
Maybe… we’ll see.

Beyond The Grid… Lies A World Void Of Purpose

So the recent Beyond The Grid story-arc that has dominated the MMPR comic book series has concluded. This is the one with the ragtag band of Rangers who act almost nothing like their on-screen portrayals, the one with the OC ship that not only fulfills the diversity checklist just fine but also become Rangers themselves, the one with the somewhat inconsistent artwork (though to be fair, it only slightly got better towards the end), and the one with the ultimate drab and uninteresting storylines again.

I have somewhat soured on this story before it even became a thing, because it deviated from what the series is supposed to be focused on. And even though I wasn’t on board with it, I was willing to give it a chance. And to be fair, there’s a couple good points I could bring up. I like the idea of the Praetor being a fallen Morphin Master; I think there’s potential behind that idea that I felt wasn’t explored all that much here. And to be fair, this whole ragtag band of Rangers lost in time or whatever was something that could’ve made for its own series… its own series, I emphasize.

It’s just unfortunate that something with potential is squandered by what is essentially sub subpar fanfiction drivel… and I’ve written such drivel in the past, so I’d know. And after having to sit through a dozen issues of Kyle Higgins’ unapologetic Tommy wankfest, I would’ve liked to have seen something better and well… that’s not why I got.

But, hey. Issue 40 is supposed to jump us into the second season with a brand-new White Ranger guy and half the team replaced. Some would suggest that this is a return to form and it’ll be the usual suspects, but given how Boom wants to “swerve” fans for the sake of swerving fans, I’m wondering if I should even expect good things out of that camp.

Oh well, at least the secondary Go Go series is alright.

Thinking About This Brock Thing In Another Way

You’re Brock Lesnar. You’ve won Money In The Bank. You have your choice to cash in one of WWE’s two top champions. One champion is a geek with a red toy belt that you’ve held previously. The other is a World champion who tosses pancakes to the crowd. Do you really think they deserve to be taken seriously?

And then you find out you have a whole year to cash in. Do you cash in on the geeks for an easy payday or do you wait until someone else (presumably one with more name and box office value) wins the belt and you cash in on them for an even bigger payday?

So you wait… because you can. It’s in the contract you won. And then the company “condemns” you for waiting and treating the whole thing like a joke… even though they had no problem with you showing up late in the match where you won your contract that allows you to cash in at any point up to a year.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. This whole thing is a joke to you. You’re Brock Lesnar, the last big draw in WWE… at least as far as the old man is concerned. You play him like a fiddle; getting the best money deal with the fewest dates. Because in your mind, this company needs you more than you need it.

But that’s not important right now… hunting season is right around the corner and you need to tend to your farm. Maybe give Dana a call… see if he has the right deal for you to come out of retirement and fight that Cormier fellow.

That’s all I got. We’ll see how many people actual bother to read this whole spiel and how many people whine about too many words, but it’s something different, I guess.

Former CZW Champ Says To Vince, "Your Creative Process Sucks! CHANGE IT!"

Source: https://omny.fm/shows/talk-is-jericho/the-emancipation-of-jon-moxley

No time for anything worth a damn today due to a dentist appointment among other things, so here’s that one time Dean Jericho and Box Johnley talked about the terrible creative environment over at McWrestling. It doesn’t say anything new that has been touched on by everyone else in regards to the overall creative direction, but to hear those words from a guy who was one of their top stars (for whatever that’s worth these days) is validation to anyone who dared challenge the creative process and call it shit.

A genuinely good and enlightening listen that everyone who cares about quality storytelling in wrestling should take the time to check out.

The Full List Of Contra Games In The Upcoming Collection

Source: http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/05/konami_confirms_full_line-up_of_games_included_in_the_contra_anniversary_collection

So the full list of games for next month’s Contra collection have been confirmed and it includes the following:

Contra (Arcade)
Contra (NES) / Contra (Famicom)
Super Contra (Arcade)
Super C (NES)
Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES) / Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (SNES)
Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Genesis) / Probotector (Sega Mega Drive)
Operation C (Game Boy)

For those who need a little more context, Contra and Super Contra were originally arcade titles before they were “repurposed” onto the NES, which added and changed a few things around. The Famicom version of Contra has a few extra bits missing from the NES version, like cutscenes and stuff.

Probotector is the repurposed European versions of Contra, where Bill and Lance were replaced with robots due to some archaic censorship laws. Admittedly, treating these as separate games feels like a bit of a cop-out, but given that there’ll be a free patch to play the overseas releases, I suppose they might as well slap those on there now and get them out of the way.

So it’s a pretty “standard” collection of the old Contra games and, as a result of this collection being a multiplatform release, this will be the first time that Contra (NES) has been re-released onto a Nintendo platform since Contra 4 on the Nintendo DS included the game as a hidden feature. I do think this collection got the short end of the stick with a measly seven games instead of the standard eight… I guess Konami figured nobody wanted to play Contra Force.