Category: Written Features

VLOG – Remembering The Macho Man

I was just getting back from personal business when I got the news that Randy Savage had died. It was a shock to hear about that. And perhaps, it’s one that hurts quite a bit… because this was not just a moderately successful superstar wrestler nor is he someone dabbled in the main event scene. This is a legend… one of the true greats in professional wrestling. Someone who was as close to being the Total Package as you can get when it comes to that form of sports entertainment. He had the look, he had the voice, he had the moves, and most importantly, he had the charisma and the personality that really made him stand out and made people take notice… and clearly, a lot of people took notice for him to have gotten the name recognition that he did… and deservingly so.

Whether it was his classic matches or his classic insane rambling promos that half the time we didn’t understand what he was saying but who cares because this guy’s cool… or whether it was his classic Slim Jim commercials that actually got me to try out Slim Jims for the first and possibly last time… or his three-minute-cameo in the first Spider-Man movie nine years ago… or hell, even his rap album that he tossed out around the same time… it was one of those cases where no matter how good or how bad the final product turned out, you couldn’t help but feel that he gave it his all and that he gave it his best shot… and I think that effort and that passion showed in a lot of the stuff he did. For the most part, his stuff never felt phoned in… even during recent years when he was showing off his new action figure at the Comicon or cutting a promo for the WWE All-Stars game.

This is a man who deserved to be in that Hall of Fame of theirs… and the only sad thing is that he never got that chance due to whatever petty politics that held off such a thing.

Thanks for the memories, “Macho Man” Randy Savage. You shall be missed.

Can I get a “Oooooooo Yeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh!”

VLOG – First Night Impressions – Mega Man 10

So I downloaded Mega Man 10 for WiiWare and beat the whole thing… in Normal Mode. My performance is also crap, but I’ve got enough footage to put together a montage of gameplay clips (That clip’s available on my YouTube channel – hard to miss). Nothing spoiler warning. All in all, this is a smooth follow-up to Mega Man 9 with some rather interesting level design. A fun, well-designed game, although there isn’t really much new. If you want my full thoughts, just click the break. I warn you; there are spoilers.


– So much like the previous game, there’s downloadable content, including three new stages for Time Attack, the Endless Run mode, and the worst kept secret ever… Bass mode. Yes, Bass is your third character and he seems to retain his anal abilities from his brief run on Mega Man & Bass. They even mention him in the Mega Man 10 instruction manual. All this wonderful stuff is supposed to be out in April.

– Certain stages have alternate paths you can access, much like in Mega Man 6. Although these paths rejoin at a certain point, the variety is helpful and it gives the levels a bit more depth.

– In another worst kept secret, Dr. Wily is the one behind the Roboenza virus epidemic and therefore you must venture through quite possibly the most intimidating Skull Castle ever devised. The first Wily level is particularly devious, as you’ll be facing “old foes from previous games” in three separate battles. Honestly, it’s actually one of the most clever things they’d ever come up with and a respectable nod to the series’ history.

– Proto Man plays pretty much like he did in 9; possesses charge shot, slide, and airborne shield, but only two shots on screen, double damage, and a slightly farther knockback. The knock back isn’t as far as in 9, though. Also, they redrew the shield so that it’s about as big as a Sniper Joe’s shield. I had to replay 9 to be sure and there you go. Also, Proto Man also has a shop, but it’s different and contains few items… nice addition of Tango, though.

That’s about it for now. Again, a great game… but…

First Night Impressions – Mega Man 10

So I downloaded Mega Man 10 for WiiWare and beat the whole thing… in Normal Mode. My performance is also crap, but I’ve got enough footage to put together a montage of gameplay clips (That clip’s available on my YouTube channel – hard to miss). Nothing spoiler warning. All in all, this is a smooth follow-up to Mega Man 9 with some rather interesting level design. A fun, well-designed game, although there isn’t really much new. If you want my full thoughts, just click the break. I warn you; there are spoilers.

Continue reading “First Night Impressions – Mega Man 10”

First Impressions – Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth (WiiWare)

Just before the New Year, Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth was released and I coughed up the thousand Wii Points to buy it. Somehow, I managed to reach the fifth stage on my first game on Normal difficulty… seems rather off. Don’t know if I’m that good or if the game’s that easy… most likely the latter. Even so, it’s still no walk in the park, it’s classic Castlevania, and I wouldn’t have it any other way… unless they made it more like Super Castlevania IV… but oh well.

R.I.P. Captain Lou Albano

July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009

So I’ve recently heard about the untimely passing of Captain Lou Albano. The cause of death is still unknown at the time of writing. You could read the article I read here.

Captain Lou was primarily known for his success as a wrestling manager, leading several tag-teams to WWF championship gold. I first knew of Captain Lou not as a wrestling manager, but for his work on the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, where he played Mario in both the cartoon and live-action sketches. Yes, this is the guy who did the Mario… and we all loved him for it.

My condolences to the Albano family.

Godspeed, Cap’n Lou.

First Impressions: Tetris PSP

Bought the version of Tetris that was released last week as a downloadable PSP mini game and have had a week to play it. I’ll probably be posting a full review on GameFAQs or something, but basically this is your usual offering of Tetris. It has a nice, clean presentation, the gameplay is familiar to those who have played the game before (although the controls are somewhat slippery and sensitive), and there are a nice variety of game modes (that you must unlock first) to try out. The game also comes with built-in acheivements or “feats” as they call it.

All in all, it’s a fairly decent Tetris, although at ten bucks, it seem a little steep. If you really enjoy Tetris, this is a nice one to add to your collection, but if you’re perfectly happy with the Game Boy version, this isn’t going to offer you anything new.