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…

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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.

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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.)

GameFAQs Review – WWF RAW (Xbox)

Imagine a world if you will where professional wrestling/sports entertainment was the hottest thing around – when the initials WWF referred to the wrestling company and not the panda organization that sued them later. Just about anything and everything that had a WWF license was a license to print money. Well, while some of you might think that I’ve been drinking the strong stuff, that period actually did happen in the late-1990s and early-2000s. The World Wrestling Federation, on the verge of bankruptcy at the time, ultimately changed their product and made a ton of money as a result to become the media conglomerate that is known today as World Wrestling Entertainment. And while the current product is nowhere near as hot as it used to be, it’s still a very profitable venture and many products with the WWE license are still being made today.

Okay, I’ll dispense with the history lesson. Like any hot product, a ton of licenses get tossed around and you have the usual assortments of action figures, trading cards, and even video games. Wrestling video games are a varied type – some are good and some are really bad – but recent titles on the Sony Playstation and Nintendo 64 seem to give the genre a workable template that continues to see use today.

Okay, okay… no more history lesson. Eventually, Microsoft released the Xbox and a WWF game – titled WWF Raw Is War before being shortened to WWF Raw – was released on the system. How does it fare? Let’s find out.

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All These Years, I’ve Screwed Up The Damn Name

Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, the third in Konami’s series of classic remakes for WiiWare, is a bit of a revelation, as it officially confirms the proper name of the title. Besides that, the general belief is that it’s going to be a remake/remix/upgrade/whatever of the Game Boy title of the same name.

It sort of makes sense when you think about it. While I can’t necessarily speak for Contra ReBirth since I’ve not played it yet, it seemed to me like Gradius ReBirth is sort of a spritual remix or upgrade of the Game Boy version called Nemesis, as both games seem to have similar levels.
In any case, it’ll be interesting to see how this game turns out. I’m hoping it’ll be a return to form similar to Super Castlevania IV and not another “Metroidvania” game that seems to be the norm these past few years… then again, anything is an improvement over what we got on Game Boy.