It has its own Chapter in the President’s Book of Secrets
What? You mean videogames actually came out this week? DId they have anything to do with Guitar Hero? No, then why bother! Ehh, OK, we actually had a pretty good week in video games. With releases like NIGHTS: Journey of Dreams for the WIi, and ATV Untamed for multiple platforms, it was a solid week. However, the Game of the Week has to be MX vs. ATV Untamed….for the Wii. Hah hah!
I love Christmas Parties. And no, not the ones where I drink too much orange soda and I get on the table and do the robot, Remember this site is rated PG, but the ones where I get with my friends and enjoy eachother’s company, including presents. To date, this Holiday Season I have had 5 or more so far, with about 4 more get-togethers planned. I abosolutely love CHristmas parties, and they’re what make Christmas even more CHristmas-y.
What is #1? Stay tuned tomorrow to find out!
I got my hands on two adrenaline-packed titles of this year, and I had a pretty good time with them. Let’s Start with SKate. Oh yeah, I also played Guitar Hero 3 for nearly 45 minutes in Sam’s. Skate was the potential Tony Hawk killer this year, however, I haven’t found anyone claim a verdict. I will. Skate kinda feels better to me. I would control my skater with the left analog stick, and the board with the right. The controls take some getting use to, beut in the end they feel solid. I snapped the right analog stick back and to the side a couple of times, and found out a couple of times what the ground tasted like, but pretty soon I was pulling ollies and being hip. Word. The controls worked really well, and the graphics were gorgeous. It felt like a must-buy for skating fans.
DiRT was another title I got to tinker with. This is basically a title that felt like Burnout met Motorstorm. Anyway, the game won a prize in my book for the most camera angles I’d ever seen. It also won an award for awesome damage system. Absolutely the most realistic I’d ever come with it. YOu hit a wall on your bumper, the bumper dents in perfectly. The windows crack, everything was great. I loved it, although the steering felt a little loose at times. Just a little tweaking, and it would also have been as cool. Strangely, there was no dirt on my track. It was rather clean. They were both great experiences.
I would like to let James and DM know that I put there gift cards to good use. I pooled them together and purchased Shadow of the Colossus, a PS2 adventure game. And only after reaching, far from beating, the first colossi, I love it. The scale is epic and the colossi leave you gasping, thinking “How do I do this?” The game is great, the graphics are gorgeous, and I look forward to defeating the 16 colossi and reviewing it at a later date. Thanks again guys.
I hate to sound so selfish, but hey, it was in your mind too!!! The GIft Process is probably the most recognized part of Christmas. But no, this does not just include getting presents, it can also include giving. There has to be a giver in order for their to be a givee’, right? Presents are the things that go under your Christmas Tree, that you fill the trunk with, and you are so grateful for this time of year. I would just like to use this moment to thank everyone who has ever given me a gift for Christmas. Thank you all so much, and Merry Christmas.
Gamespot is doing it’s best and worst of 20007 Awards which are coming up soon, and here are some of the categories and their nominees. You’re free to vote, so here’s a link to the first category. Click here to go to it.
Best Original Music-Orange Box, Mario Galaxy, Assassin’s Creed, Bioshock, Mass Effect. I of course voted Galaxy.
Most Suprisingly Good Game-Medal of Honor Heroes 2, Dimentium, Puzzle Quest, etc. I’m voting MOHH2.
Best Licensed Music-Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band, Def Jam Icon, etc. I’m of course voting GH3.
Best Story-Bioshock, Mass Effect, Orange Box, etc. I’m voting Mass Effect.
Best Sound Design-Bioshock, Def Jam, Rock Band, etc. I’ll vote Bioshock.
Best Graphics, Technical-Crysis, COD4, Supreme Commander, etc. I’m def. voting COD4.
Best Voice Acting-What? Super Paper Mario isn’t on here? Heavenly Sword, Bioshock, Mass Effect, etc. I’m voting Heavenly Sword.
Best Graphics, Artistic-Assassin’s Creed, Bioshock, Galaxy, etc. I’m voting Galaxy.
Best Use of A Creative License-The Darkness, The Simpsons, etc. I’ll vote Simpsons.
Best New Character-Portal, Heavenly Sword, Mass Effect, Bioshock, etc. I’ll vote Portal.
Funniest Game-Warioware Smooth Moves, Super Paper Mario, Simpsons, etc. I’ll vote Paper Mario.
Biggest News-Bungie/Microsoft Split, Manhunt 2 outlaw, GTA4 Delay, etc. I’m going with Bungie Split.
Best Multiplayer Game-Halo 3, Rock Band, COD4, etc. I’m for sure going with Halo 3.
Most Improved Sequel-Galaxy, Halo 3, etc. I’m 100% voting Galaxy.
Best New Gaming Hardware-360 Elite, Rock Band Set, PSP Slim, etc. I’ll vote Elite.
Most Innovative Game-Phantom Hourglass, Puzzle Quest, Orange Box, etc. I’m voting ORange Box, because of Portal.
Best Use of Control Scheme-Assassin’s Creed, Warioware, Hourglass, etc. I’m going with Warioware.
Most Despicable Use of In-Game Ads-GH3, Prostreet, Tabula Rasa, etc. I’m voting Prostreet, because real rock isn’t about complaining about advertising! Rocking is rocking!
Worst Trend-Bad Wii-ports, Frequent Updates, Lousy Cliffhanger Endings. Lousy Cliffhanger Endings Ratchet and Clank 5!
Most Dissapointing Game-Lair, Blue Dragon, Kane and Lynch, etc. Lair lair lair lair LAIR!!!
Flat-out Worst Game-Jenga, Anubis 2, Deal or No Deal, etc. Jenga, because what have been better than to have played Jenga on my Wii?
Worst Game Everyone Played-Mario and Sonic Olympics, Spiderman 3, NBA Live 08, Sonic the Hedgehog, etc. Gee, I wonder….
Most Dissapointing Delay-Spore, GTA 4, MGS 4, MErcenaries 2, etc. If you don’t know my answer leave and never come back.
Game of the Year- Galaxy, Rock Band, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Bioshock, etc. I’m voting Galaxy.
I’m going to vote for the Platform and Genres later.
(Note: These Are Actual Movies that came out, not the claymation specials.)
10. Jingle All the Way
9. The Polar Express
8. The Nightmare Before Christmas
7. Home Alone
6. Ernest Saves Christmas
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
4. Elf
3. A Christmas Story
2. The Santa Clause
1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
If you disagree with me, feel free to comment. I know you will.
The classic serenity that consumes the house. The casual me getting up and examining everything before calmly sitting down and watching Ren and Stimpy until the others get up. My sister running in and telling me to wake up after I surprisingly overslept. How did that happen? All of these are classic elements of Christmas Morning. The best morning of the year where you rush into Mom and Dad’s room, wake them up, and tell them Santa has been there. You tear open your presents, seeing your favored gift. I love Christmas, and Christmas morning is definitely one of the best parts. As an added bonus, I’ve added in a classic Christmas Morning video. Two Words-Nintendo 64.
Recently my Mom and I dropped by Wendy’s, which has exceptional chicken nuggets. They have a deal running through December 31st where if you buy a medium or large combo, you get a code for a free Rhapsody song download. I got two, and I looked forward to singing along with Billy Joel for the rest of the day. However, that is not what happened. I went to Wendys.com, where I entered my e-mail address, 10-digit code, and birthday. They then gave me another code to which I could go to Rhapsody.com and enter. But it wasn’t even that simple. I then had to create an account on Rhapsody, and download the 17 Megabyte software!!! Just to download You’re Only Human!!! That is not right!!!
Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy branches, oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas Tree, I forgot the words to the song. The Christmas Tree is definitely 42%, no 35%, no…….It’s a big part of Christmas. With the putting of the ornaments, trying to stuff all of the presents around the tree, and arguing with others about where certain ornaments should go, the Christmas Tree earns it’s spot at #5.
OK, I bet you’re wondering, Earl, why are you putting two in one day? You haven’t fell behind. Well, I realize that I will most likely not have time to do #1 on Christmas Eve, or the patience, so I put 2 today so I could finish on the 23rd, this Sunday. Thanks.
It seems really appropriate that today’s is Christmas Shopping since today was my family’s last day of Christmas shopping. Anyway, Christmas Shopping can be a fun, organized activity if you do it right, but can also be a pandemonious, crazy time if you wait until the 23rd. I cannot handle pandemonium. I throw up. I enjoy the making of the list, making inventory on presents (It’s my curse), and the process of getting those presents. I love the long lines, the crazy people on Black Friday, and just the general atmosphere. This makes Christmas oh so better.
Another thing that is a huge part of Christmas and what I thing is one of the vital organs of the body of Christmas is giving to others. I mean, we wouldn’t have the gift-giving process without someone giving. It just makes sense. And I don’t want to play out that I’m the next Ghandhi or the most holy one, but I loved giving Christmas presents to those in need for the past two years. It really completes the Christmas equation. I hope every one of you experience the gift of giving.
Mystery Men:(Grade:A-) One of my favorite comedies, Mystery Men tells the story of a couple of wannabe superheroes that have to save the world from a maniacal villain bent on world destruction after taking the real town Hero hostage. The movie has several superhero references/spoofs, all of which work well. The movie stars The Simpsons’ Hank Azaria as the Blue Raja, master of silverware who still lives with his mom, Kel Mitchell as The Invisible Boy who can only become invisible when noone is looking, Ben Stiller as Captain Furious, a rage-induced superhero, and more. Most of the hillarity comes from the fact none of them have superpowers, and yet they prance around as if they do. The movie serves as a great comedy, and despite some minor flaws, makes a great rent for a Friday night.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story: (Grade:A) Another one of my favorite comedies, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is a great sports comedy. The story follows Peter Lafleur, an Average Joe who runs his own gym (I nearly spelled it Jim) with his buddies Justin Long (Mac vs. PC), Steve the Pirate, and the rest. They now have some new competition, GloboGym, run by White Goodman, played flawlessly by Ben Stiller. This macho man wannabe delivers several classic lines, such as “We can turn that Frankenstein you see in the morning into a Franken-fine!”, and “Here at Globo Gym we understand that ugliness and fatness are genetic disorders, much like baldness or necrophilia, and it’s only your fault if you don’t hate yourself enough to do something about it.” GloboGym threatens to put Peter’s gym out of business, and they soon go into a dodgeball tournement to battle for the cash prize. They are trained byt Patches O’ Hoolihan, who delivered the classic “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball” line. The movie is pure hillarity and has several laugh-out-loud moments. However, some inappropriate themes are, well inappropriate and keep this movie from perfection. Other than that, Dodgeball is a great comedy to watch.
One if the best parts of Christmas day, if not the best thing, is going to my Grandma’s house for breakfast. My Grandma is an excellent cook, and her breakfasts are no exception. After unwrapping our presents, we go over and enjoy a delicious meal. I love my Grandma, her breakfasts, and Christmas.
Ever since the old days of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, even leading up to the days of Mr. Monk and the Secret Santa, we have had Christmas-themed movies and TV episodes for a long time. These provide a full Christmas atmosphere…inside your TV! I love Christmas, and Christmas-themed movies and TV episodes make it even better!
Not that 2007 is drawing to a close and the flood of great games has washed away our Christmas lists, and some will be very happy December 25-eternity trying to beat total 5-star Guitar Hero on Expert, we must now look ahead toward the year that is to come, and the awesomeness it has for us. I know that was the world’s longest run-on, but I passed English. Here are some of the biggest games…..in 08.
January
Burnout Paradise-360,PS3-22nd
February
Assassin’s Creed-DS-5th-No, this is not a typo.
Devil May Cry 4-360,PS3-5th
Turok-360,PS3-5th
No More Heroes-Wii-5th
Super Smash Bros. Brawl-Wii-10th-I want a 10 Game Informer, a 10.
Lost Odyssey-360-12th
De Blob-Wii, DS-?
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword-DS-?
March
Battlefield: Bad Company-360,PS3-?
Quarter 2
Lego Indiana Jones-360, Wii, PS3, PS2, DS, PSP
Splinter Cell: Conviction-360, PC
Mario Kart Wii
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots-PS3
Grand Theft Auto 4-360,PS3
Iron Man-360,Wii,PS3,PS2,PSP
Spore-DS, PC
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed-Wii,360,PS3,PS2,PSP, DS-September
Quarter 4
Fallout 3-PC
Dead Space-360,PS3
Borderlands-360,PS3,PC
Unknown
Alan Wake-360, PC
Afrika-PS3
Alone in the Dark 5-360, PS3, PC, Wii?, PSP
Banjo-Kazooie 3-360
Guitar Hero IV-360, Wii, PS3, PC, PS2?
Ghostbusters-Wii, PS2, PS3, 360, DS, PC
Brutal Legend-360, PS3
Bionic Commando-360, PS3
Mercenaries 2-360, PS3, PS2
Halo Wars-360
Haze-PS3
Killzone 2-PS3
Too Human-360
Tekken 6 (PS3)
StarCraft II (Win)
A Whole Lot of Wii-(Insert thing here) games
World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King-PC
Saboteur-360
Soulcaliber 4-360, PS3
Destroy All Humans 3!
AND MORE!!!