An old fart like myself can really appreciate a Double Dragon revival on my precious GBA. The hours spent on both Double Dragon and its sequel were countless, both in the arcades and on the NES. DD2 went hand in hand with Contra as my favorite co-op games for the NES.
I'm so excited I could poop.
Anyway, I've got some brief bits of business to take care of. Firstly, you may or may not see a Week in Review this weekend due to the fact that Hilden is trapped somewhere in Packer country where apparently they have a lot of cheese and sausage but very unreliable hotel internet access. He apologizes and promises much satire and sarcasm next week.
Secondly, it's time for another Cooking with John Contest! Before we get to that, Loler, I swear your copy of Iridion 2 will be dropped in the mail soon. Life can be a pain in the ass.
So back to the contest. Up for grabs this time is a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean for PC, courtesy of GWX and the folks at Bethesda Softworks. What do you have to do?
Hm...let's see...
Write in and tell me which aspect you like most about GamingWorld X and which you least enjoy. Be brutally honest, if you must. Whichever letter most tickles my fancy will be the winner.
Welcome Sprewell! Please forgive the basketball babble that is about to follow. My team has been reborn.
About a week ago, my favorite Wolves player, Rasho Nesterovic, decided to go to the hated San Antonio Spurs. With him went most of my desire to watch a single Wolves game. The next day, the Wolves signed the talented, but under-achieving Michael Olowakandi to replace Rasho. A good move, but nothing to spark my interest.
Today, all of that changed. Latrell Sprewell joins the Minnesota Timberwolves and makes me a very happy man. A man who just may be excited enough to once again be a season ticket holder.
Ah...
Ok, I'm done.
I'm listening to a report which states that 1/3 of all Germans believe that the U.S. government sponsored the 9/11 attacks.
You know, I really enjoyed my time in Germany and found the people to be kind, intelligent, and generally pleasant and hospitable people. But come on! ONE THIRD?! I don't like to let my personal politics get in the way of reason and common sense, and while I tend to scratch my head at the decisions and actions of the current administration, this theory is just too insane for my pea brain to comprehend.
Even more startling is the fact that this same radio show is now interviewing dozens of Americans who share this same theory.
I'm dumbfounded.
I'd be interested in hearing what our readers have to say about it. Send in your comments because I'd love to hear them.
Friends that will from time to time show up at my doorstep with a bottle of Captain Morgain, simply wanting me to share it with them. Who am I to let them down? Just like that, a boring, quiet night at home turns into an incredibly enjoyable evening around the fire with a few close friends, chatting and laughing.
I'm feeling a little bitter towards Nintendo today. Sure, their holiday lineup is still strong, but I was really looking forward to busting out my GBA this Christmas and playing some Crystal Chronicals. The bit that I played at E3 was admittedly less than impressive to me. But for some reason, the more I think about the game, the more I need to play it. Perhaps it's just because I like gadgets and this game requires you to have plenty of them. In fact, just playing the four-player game will require a total investment of around $400. That's insane! But for some reason, I'm willing to give it a go.
Speaking of gadgets, I'm in the market for a new cell phone. This one looks extremely interesting; especially for the price. The deal is, I'm interested in finding a gadget that sort of serves as a catch all. Something I can use as a cell phone, as well as aloowing me to write these little entries from without sitting in my office, away from the rest of civilization. The time stamp will indicate that I'm indeed writing this at almost 1:00 in the morning, and that's because this is the only moment I've had to myself all day long. Having an all-in-one unit would really help me keep my sanity without forcing me to have to steal away a few spare moments in order to send these little messages to you.
Yes you.
And now because I don't know how to end this, here's a picture of a fat J-Lo.
I Don't Care! I'd like to briefly touch on two topics that have been nagging on me all day long.
1) Enough Kobe talk. Oh my gosh! A professional athlete just might be a pig! Say it isn't so! Being a Minnesota resident, I've been inundated with Kirby Puckett's scandal for the past year. Have these people heard of Magic Johnson or Wilt Chamberlain?
Furthermore, I don't want to know the phone number, email address, and mailing address of Kobe's accuser. Don't send it to me. Don't post it on our forums.
2) Before we all go around high fiving eachother because Saddam's kids were hunted down and killed three months after the war ended, let's remind ourselves that the man who started this "War on Terror", Osama bin Laden, is still missing. So put down the damn champagne and let's have some fucking perspective, ok?
Sorry for that outburst, but watching the news today was painful.
The following letter came in from Raffman, the winner of the first Cooking with John contest.
What's up John, It's the Raffman.
Listen, I just came across this Batman fan film and I thought you might like to take a look at it. I know your a Batman fan, so I figured I'd pass the link on to you. It's pretty damn cool.
This is where I found it for download - http://www.theforce.net/theater/shortfilms/batman_deadend/
I'm all over the Batman, man...man. As a matter of fact, I just finished reading the Batman Nevermore, which puts Batman into the world of Edgar Allen Poe. It's a bizarre concept, but one that works surprisingly well.
Thanks for the link, Raffman. Remember kids, you're all welcome to submit any link you'd like to pass on to your fellow GWX readers.
Young & the Restless One would think that running a gaming website would be nothing but sugar and handjobs. The truth of the matter is that even a monkey-run outfit like GWX can sometimes be the most trying of experiences.
It would make an incredible reality television show, to be certain. The infighting, the bickering, the scandals, the struggles. Hell, there are even conspiracy theories aplenty. It all makes for a hell of a work day.
I can only imagine how the "rookie" staffers are adapting to their new surroundings. As long as they duck in time, they should be all right.
So as expected, my post yesterday did indeed provoke a rise out of Heather. Here is her response:
Hey! Oh yeah, Heather's got something to say about it... Gosh that kid is annoying!! And of course, the study was conducted by a guy. I bet he'll grow up real nicely. Women can be as good as or better than men at anything, no matter what our centers of gravity or whatever crap this guy is saying. Guys have NO idea what its like to be female. Ask the little dude if he's ever experienced childbirth, or heck, even our favorite old monthly visitor. No he wouldn't know that, would he? He wouldn't be able to handle it! The only reason women are paid less than men is because idiots like him think we aren't equal. He's saying this is a Christian study... well as a Christian myself, I beleive God created me equal. Different from a man in some ways, but nevertheless, equal. I can't beleive a Christian organization had the nerve to give this kid second place! Come to think of it though, wonder how he felt about bein g beaten by a girl. Oh yeah, you are so much better... ugh....
Haha sorry for the rant. But I speak the truth. I wish I could be there to set the kid straight on a few things... girl style haha ;)
I've been meaning to tell you congrats on the wedding. I love hearing about it! I think it's so sweet ( and that's a classic example of the differences I was talking about, but whatever, lol). Congratulations and I hope you two many happy years together!!
Talk to ya later! ~Heather
Thanks for the well wishing, Heather. And I'm sure you love to hear about it because you're a girl and girls are genetically engineered for sappy crap.
Just Kidding!
The thing that scares me most about those freaks [Oh, and if you're wondering what Heather's talking about, read below] is that they are breeding. Yes, ignorance will live on through their children.
I Smell a Fair As Hilden mentioned briefly in his Week in Review, we took a little jaunt to Central Wisconsin yesterday. Christine and I had a ton of wedding stuff to take care of, and Hilden, with his typical "I've got nothing better to do" attitude, decided to tag along and check out the sites and sounds of my hometown of Merrill, Wisconsin.
It was quite the entertaining day as between picking up Bride's Maid dresses, picking out cakes, and auditioning wedding soloists, we gave Hilden the grand tour of our illustrious hometown, including a trip to the Lincoln County 4-H Free Fair.
The Merrill Fair is the one time of the year when the underbelly of Central Wisconsin comes out to play. From the carnies challenging your manhood to the Gomer Pyle Rent-A-Cops, to the laid off factory workers that spend their entire days in the beer tent, there's more than enough people watching opportunities to go around. Hilden got some great footage of the locals, including "Elvis" the bluegrass street musician and every variation of the mullet your mind could possibly imagine. Hopefully we can edit the footage into some sort of non-gaming feature to post on the site for your entertainment.
As I said, the weekend wasn't just for picking on the locals, Christine and I had a lot of wedding business to take care of. The wedding is exactly two months from today and I'm shitting my pants as each day passes by. With each unity candle, guest book, and cake topper we buy, the more I'm realizing that the day is almost upon us. The question is, how can I possibly be an "adult"? I obsess over video games, read Batman Detective Comics religiously, and laugh histerically over fart jokes. I have the mentality of a 14 year-old and here I am getting married!
Ok, enough about me and my self-therapy. Let's discuss more important things: games. This past week was all about the NES, inspired by the 20th anniversary of the Famicom. For one reason or another, NES gaming always leads to a marathon session of Ninja Gaiden. The game was so far ahead of its time, yet such a culmination of the 8-Bit action genre.
Hilden and I were fortunate enough to witness a demonstration of the new Xbox Ninja Gaiden by Team Ninja leader, Tomonobu Itagaki, at E3. And while the game was certainly a crowd pleaser with its sharp visuals and sleek ass kicking style, every ounce of my fanboy geekness is praying that Team Ninja considers including one or more of the original adventures as a hidden bonus or even re-releases them in an anthology for the GBA. The demand is most certainly there, and I think it's important for the new generation to know the roots of the series and just how incredible it was.
Of course, like I said, that's just the fanboy geek in me talking.
Everyone around GWX-HQ is buzzing about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, and I'm apprehensive for a few reasons. 1) I don't really care about Star Wars. Let me clarify that. The old movies kick ass and I could watch them each and every day. That being said, I'm not one of those guys. You know, one of those guys. The new movies, on the other hand, are like a cross between hooking up with your old girlfriend and not being able to recapture the magic you once had and sitting through a 2 1/2 hour insurance seminar. Hate me if you'd like, but I can recall a grand total of maybe twenty minutes of enjoyable cinema between both episodes I and II.
2) RPGs and I generally don't get along. It's not that I don't enjoy playing them. Hell, I love the Grandia series, the latest Arc the Lad was unfortunately overlooked by the general public, and the Lunar series is some of the best gameplay/storytelling to be had. For me it's more of a time issue. I hate nothing more than to get knee deep in an RPG only to find myself with less and less time, until I finally lose interest.
How can I remedy this? Well, kick Christine to the curb for starters. That pesky woman is the bane of my video game existence!
Now finally, I'd like to submit this link to you. I'm dumbfounded and completely unsure if this is serious or a joke.
Let me preface this excerpt from the link by telling you that it came from a "Science Fair" run by the Fellowship Baptist Creationists. It was conducted by a 7th grade boy. I do not concur with the results. I just pass along the information.
Jonathan Goode (grade 7) applied findings from many fields of science to support his conclusion that God designed women for homemaking: physics shows that women have a lower center of gravity than men, making them more suited to carrying groceries and laundry baskets; biology shows that women were designed to carry un-born babies in their wombs and to feed born babies milk, making them the natural choice for child rearing; social sciences show that the wages for women workers are lower than for normal workers, meaning that they are unable to work as well and thus earn equal pay; and exegetics shows that God created Eve as a companion for Adam, not as a co-worker.
I wonder if our resident Cooking with John female reader Heather might have anything to say about the above link?
Ok, one more. This 5 year-old wanted to disprove the theory of evolution.
Cassidy Turnbull (grade 5) presented her uncle, Steve. She also showed photographs of monkeys and invited fairgoers to note the differences between her uncle and the monkeys. She tried to feed her uncle bananas, but he declined to eat them. Cassidy has conclusively shown that her uncle is no monkey.
