Dare to Play the Game

Welcome to another edition of Dare to Play the Game. I’m your host that didn’t get a hookup this weekend…mostly wishful thinking. I had been talking to this really pretty waitress at my local Karaoke bar for three weeks now. In fact she had bought me a drink last week and hugged me for some reason. So I…decided to play it cool and gave her a rose in appreciation for the drink and ask her out. She said sure and I gave her my number. She even said I will call you tomorrow. Saturday passes, sunday passes, monday and tuesday as well. Nothing. No, I’m sorry I’m busy, no you suck. Nothing. Now I’m in a quandry. I mean I like singing there, so I go on friday night and wonder what if anything she is going to say to me. I guess I just play it cool and not bring it up; but its going to be rather uneasy for at least one of us. Maybe a reader can answer something for me, why the hell if you are not interested in somebody can you not say no. Why get somebody’s hopes up? Anyhow, off to a woman who would never say no to me *caugh*, Da Morgan Webb!

Anybody have any idea of what Morgan is holding here? I think we safely say duh and say its something video game related, but with the glare I am having a hard time telling it what it is. Maybe some insightful reader can take a look at it and go ahhhh, that’s a ______ (fill in the blank here). Maybe I’ll offer a prize, maybe I’ll just thank you and continue to think of Morgan in ways only her boyfriend and a few friendly neighborhood devotees think of such a precious creature. She does seem awfully happy to holding it. Perhaps a clue young one. If only she would hold me in such a way *sniffffff*

In November, Bungie Studios and Microsoft announced that they had a huge announcement regarding Halo 3. Most hardcore fans were let down when the news was merely the announcement of a beta program…that wouldn’t even start until spring 2007.

Today, registration for the beta program began at the Halo 3 Web site. The beta will initially be open to North American gamers, and not everyone who applies is guaranteed a spot. To participate, gamers must have: a) An Xbox 360 with a hard-drive; b) A valid Xbox Live Gold subscription; c) A valid Microsoft. NET Passport account with a Xbox Live GamertTag linked to it. More details on the beta-sign up can be found on halo3.com.

Later tonight, a new 60-second ad for the game will air sometime between 5:50 p.m. and 6:20 p.m. PST during the Monday Night Football matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers. The ad will be a mix of computer graphics and live-action, and will air on television only once. After its TV broadcast, the ad will be made available on Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox.com.

Halo 3 is due out in 2007 exclusively for the Xbox 360.

I went on the Halo 3 beta site on Monday night, the thing shut down on me several times and I had the hardest time getting through. However, I tried again on Tuesday night and go through in one take. Does that mean I get a beta kit? Who knows. I guess if you hear a scream from the hills, you can take that as a sign. (please pay attention to the type of scream though, it might matter). Since I’m fairly new to the XBOX lifestyle, I only recently bought Halo 2, so if I do get the beta I’m sure I’ll be schooled by 5 year old punks with more skills than I could ever imagine. Anyway, I would still like to try it. I wonder if anybody saw the ad on monday night; at least the Eagles did something right for once and beat the Panthers. But I still doubt their playoff chances.

Police kill suspected PS3 thief
North Carolina man fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies serving a warrant in case of two stolen game systems.

Eighteen-year-old Peyton Strickland of Wilmington, North Carolina, accused of robbing a student of two Playstation 3 consoles at the system’s launch, died Friday after being shot by police intending to search his home and arrest him. Another man, a 20-year-old student at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, was arrested Friday in connection with the robbery, according to a Wilmington Star News.

The victim of the theft was another student who had waited in line for three days to buy the two consoles at a local Wal-Mart. While transporting the consoles, four men drove up in a gold Pontiac, battered him with a blunt object, and took the hardware by force.

The police went to Strickland’s apartment on Friday evening intending to serve a search warrant and arrest him. One of Strickland’s three roommates, Mike Rhoton, told the Star-News that the student was killed while walking to answer a knock at the door. The roomate also claimed that Strickland was unarmed, and that he could see no reason why the police opened fire. Strickland’s German shepherd was also shot and killed by a deputy. The sheriff’s deputies had been called in to help the University police serve the warrants because of safety concerns.

County District Attorney Ben David said that an investigation had been launched and the conduct of all officers and deputies invloved was being reviewed. “No one’s above the law. If there’s any criminal conduct that can be established, I’m not going to hesitate to treat them as any other defendant,” said David.

A series of crimes has dogged the high-profile launch of the PS3 in the US, including a robbery at a California GameStop store, a shooting of a man standing in a line outside a Wal-Mart in Connecticut, and muggings near a Circuit City in Oregon. Similar crimes were reported when the Xbox 360 went on sale in 2005.

Screw it, if he did steal the PS3, then good. Actually they should have tortured him and then shot him. Seriously there is no excuse for taking a PS3 out of the hands of a guy who has deprived sleep, hunger, thrist and an insatiable appetite for gaming. He probably likes Lord of the Rings too and not Star Wars (ha, go buy Clerks 2, its hilarious!). Anyhow, I really don’t have much sympathy for the guy if he really did it. Course, the law does make mistakes…its happened before. (*looks outside for helicopters*) But maybe this will serve notice and stop a few of these lowlifes from committing similiar crimes.

Well I’d figure I go back to the top 10 list for this week, I really would like a few ideas going forward. The Genesis reasons basically ran their course and I will probably bring back Retro Game but I would like something else. Let me know. This week we center on the top 10 Konami games/series of all time in my opinion. I looked through 20 pages of titles and decided hey lets give it a whirl. I don’t think this list is too surprising, I’ll just do my best to actually make it interesting.

10.Track & Field (Arcade/NES)-This one of the first games that really bought the olympics to a console. Truth be told there hasn’t been a decent one since and they all seem to just hover around the ole bargin bin. This kept it to simple button mashing as you participated in such events as the 100 meter dash, hurdles, javelin throw and the ever difficult high jump.

9.Gradius (Arcade/NES)-One of the first recognized shooters along with R-Type that really showed how great 2-d shooters can be. I kinda miss the genre to be honest, I mean when somebody says shooter now they think of Halo and Gears of War…not Gradius, R-Type or even the legendary cult favorite Gates/Lords of Thunder.

8.Suikoden (PSX/PS2)-Probably not the best RPGs of all time, however this series is of special mention cause they seem the hardest games to find. Go try to find Suikoden II for under $100, I dare ya. Anyhow, behind all that are some great and quite lengthy rpgs.

7.Silent Hill (PSX/PS2)-The movie didn’t do as well as everybody hoped (but it wasn’t bad) but the series still carries on strong as the only series that consistently freaks your host out. I mean I just don’t play this game with the lights off. I still think back vividly about the first time I experienced the opening to Silent Hill 1 on the original playstation *shiver*.

6.The Simpsons (Arcade)-One of the best arcade games of all time, this little wonder gained even more popularity for the phenom tv show. Based on the TMNT 4 player engine, you had to go save Maggie using the four main characters of Homer, Bart, Lisa and Marge (Vacuum away!)

5.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade/NES)-Still the greatest 4 player arcade standup of all time (Sorry X-Men and sorry NBA Jam) this one featured everybody’s favorite turtles trying to beat the crap out of Shredder and all of his goons. Guaranteed quarter muncher and good time.

4.Dance Dance Revolution (PSX/PS2/XBOX)-Possibly the golden cash cow for Konami at this point in time. I mean they could release about any batch of 30-40 songs, slap some dance moves on it and sell a crapload of copies. Its addictive gameplay and good exercise vehicle helps get tons of old ladies into shape, kids off the streets, and weird looks at the Fry’s store. I personally suck at it, so we move on.(but all the girlies said I was pretty fly for a white guy)

3.Contra (Arcade, NES, many more)-The original 2 player smash. The game that was famous for one player obviously better than the other and getting left behind due to jumps and level changes. Also infamous for the legendary 30 man code. ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A (also works on Gradius). I need a shirt of that, but been too lazy. This game has received renewed exposure due to its inclusion on XBOX Live Arcade (I lead my friends in score & achievements thank you very much).

2.Metal Gear (NES, PSX, PS2, PSP)-Metal Gear has been reinvented over time to accomodate the era its in. At first it was a simple (yet entertaining) little action game, it eventually became a graphic and gameplay marvel as the Metal Gear Solid series. Solid Snake also served as the most noticeable character in the Konami line. Forever an interesting hero (and hopefully stays away from too many more games like Super Smash Bros), we hope for many great games to come.

1.Castlevania (Way too many to list)-The game that made the whip more popular than Indiana Jones (well I can dream). One of the best series of all times and proof the Dracula is one bad mutha. The hero usually changed with each chapter it seemed but it was usually somebody related to the Belmonts or Dracula himself. The best games of the series arguably are Dracula X (Turbo Graphix incantation) and Symphony of the Night (good ole Playstation). Here is hope that Konami wakes up and puts out the games into a compilation (from NES thru the PS1).

PS2

Cartoon Network Racing
Grand Theft Auto Trilogy
Mercury Meldown Remix
PS2 Guitar Mania Amplifier
Rayman:Raving Rabbids

PSP

Hard Rock Casino
Brothers in Arms: D-Day
Metal Gear Portable Ops
Star Wars: Lethal Alliance
WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007

PS3

Fight Night Round 3
Full Auto 2

Gamecube

Zatchbell: Mamodo Fury

Wii

Barnyard
Ice Age 2
The Ant Bully

DS

Cartoon Network Racing
Kirby: Squeak Squad
Lionel Trains: On Track
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

Well unfortunately nothing of real value to report this week. This is mainly due to the fact that nobody usually releases anything too big this time of the year especially with the recent console launch. I mean this week’s highlights include GTA Trilogy on PS2 (for those of us who want a tidy box for all of our GTA needs), WWE Smackdown vs Raw on PSP (watered down wrestling on a portable, yeahie!), Fight Night Round 3 on PS3 (okay realisitic boxing on new console, this might not be bad), & the new Castlevania game on DS which I think was supposed to come out last week. So really not that much to report, check back when some real games get released, that aren’t just for kids :).

Got a XBOX 1600 point card from my friend in trade for my XBOX live Camera, I mean really what do I need for people to see my face on xbox live? I’m pretty sure there isn’t some naked Uno party going on that I’m not invited too. There might be one or two camera games out there but still nothing special. Went ahead and spent 800 of those points on Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting. Also got a couple of 1 cent strategy guides from Best Buy (Condemned and Kameo). I have to admit after playing Condemned for about an hour and a half last weekend; it plays pretty well. Reminds me of Silent Hill if it went first person and had a decent fighting engine :). Oh yeah, and I stretched it out long enough but I beat Guitar Hero 2 on Medium. Hard is a mutha. Maybe someday.

As Always,
Kedrix of Aldrianian
(*The Forgotten One*)