I don't know how to love you, baseball.

(Let me preface this review by saying that sports games aren't my forte. The two sports games with which I've had moderate levels of experience with are NFL 2K5, which I still play to this day, outdated rosters and all, and Virtua Tennis for the Dreamcast. Oh, and Wii Sports, but that really doesn't count, does it? Therefore, take everything I say here with a boulder of salt. I don't know much about sports, so any reviews I do are from an outsider's perspective.)

There is one point in my life that I can look back to - a fork in the road, where had I chosen differently, I would have turned out a completely different person. The choice was between the two great passions of my childhood, Little League baseball, and community theatre. I chose the latter, condemning myself to a life of drama, social rejection, and show tunes.

Had I chosen baseball to be my hobby of choice, who knows - perhaps I would be a jock, living off athletic scholarships and Slim Jims. I still retain a passion for the game, I try to make regular pilgrimages to the Great American Ballpark with my family (for which we are long overdue). I still watch the occasional game. I still get excited during playoffs. I am no baseball aficionado; I can't keep up with rosters or standings. But I do understood how the game is played, which is more than I can say about most other sports.

Baseball is the one with the stick where you try to hit the ball when Gary Busey throws it at you, right?

Major League Baseball 2K7, released by 2K sports, had a lot of promise when I first popped it in my 360. After all, 2K sports created NFL2K5, arguably my favorite sports game of all time. And hey, I like baseball. It's a natural fit, right?

Well, kinda. Apparently, something gets lost in translation when you bring the great American pastime to consoles.

Commence the Jigglin'!

Graphics:

As you can see in the screenshot above, the game looks phenomenal. The players and stadiums are rendered very well. I appreciated the level of detail that went into the accurate recreation of each ballpark. The Great American, which I have frequented quite a few times, was in rare form. Though, it still bothers me that the game has the same cardboard cutout audience that has been in every single sports game ever since the beginning of time. Come on people. If we can put 53,594 zombies in a mall, we can fill the stands of an average sized ballpark.

Also, the designers of this game created a new innovation that I hope to see in future titles: "Shirt Jiggle Technology". Through the magic of Shirt Jiggle Technology, shirts constantly move like the softest gelatin. Swing at a pitch? Jiggle shirt. Stand in the breeze? Jiggle shirt. Argue with the umpire? A-Jiggle shirt. I can only imagine how the world of sports games survived before this brave new device.

Sound:

The soundtrack in this game is surprisingly good. I've noticed a trend in sports games to fill their soundtrack roster with an eclectic mix of hip-hop and emo. Who exactly are these publishers trying to market these games to? No girly rock here, though. Wolfmother. Tapes n' Tapes. The Pixies. Nerf Herder. I found myself opting not to plug my iPod in to listen to my own music through the dashboard, and instead, indulge myself in the game's soundtrack. This is exceptionally rare.

Also, the in-game, play by play commentary from Jon Miller and Joe Morgan is fantastic. It's some of the most conversational, realistic voice-over work that I've ever heard in any game. With their insight, often times helpful, often times witty, the atmosphere of the game is elevated to a level that I didn't expect.

Gameplay:

Ah. There's the rub.

The batting in this game is terrible. It felt as though there was no rhyme or reason to it. Pitchers would pitch with randomly generated patterns, and you just pull the right analog stick back, and release it at the right time, hoping to make contact. There are variations of movements you can perform with the stick, such as pushing it forward to aim for the fences, clicking it inward to perform a bunt, or swinging it to the left or right to aim your hit to the appropriate region of the outfield.

However, all the control in the world doesn't change that fact that actually making contact with the ball is extraordinarily difficult.

Pitching is fantastic, though. Through certain gameplay mechanics, such as the catcher's aid, who holds his glove out exactly where you should put the ball, you know exactly what you should be doing with the ball at all times. There are certain moments where a certain pitch is specifically suggested, and if you comply, and strikeout the batter, certain aspects of your pitching stats improve. It's an interesting mechanic, and if the batting functioned nearly as well, I would still be sitting around, playing the game, instead of typing up this here review.

The game includes multiple gameplay modes, such as the obligatory character creation mode, the overly easy Home Run Derby, and a managerial game mode, where entire ball games play out like RPG's.

A wild Ken Griffey Jr. has appeared! He is left handed.

Do You:
Pitch to hit
Pitch to strike
Intentionally Walk
Cast Magic

Run

Most of the alternative game modes are throwaways, though. The career mode is deep, with roster customization, trading, drafting, etc. You have the option to turn most of this off, and simply play the games, which I, a managing novice, appreciated.

All in all, I found MLB 2K7 to be a decent sports title. If you're a massive baseball fan, if you follow the sport with a passion, and have enjoyed baseball games in the past, then by all means, pick up 2K Sport's latest offering. However, to those who aren't as well versed in sports games, it's a daunting title to pick up and enjoy. Due to a steep learning curve, and the fact that the sport just doesn't translate very well to video game, many casual gamers who give MLB 2K7 a chance may be left with a very bad taste in their mouth.

At least, until they see them shirts a-jigglin', free in the fresh spring winds.

Burgertime, or, the Origin of Nightmares

When I was a kid, I had this reoccurring dream that I was being chased by man-eating food products through a diner. I would wake up in terror, and stay up for the rest of the night, armed with a colander and a meat fork, on alert for sentient hot dogs that might try to kill me in my sleep.

I always wondered the origin of these nightmares - and after my usual stroll throughout the internet, I found a video that revealed the answer.



Did you watch it? Watch it again.

Through a child's eyes.

I don't get how this could have been considered a good idea for an advertisement. I don't remember the game being this... terrifying. It's as through Intellivision wanted to inspire fear into the hearts of their consumers. I know if I was of video game purchasing age when this commercial was released, I would remember this game on the shelf.

"Oh, Burgertime," I would say, standing in my local video game retailer. "That's the game with the commercial that scared me so badly that a shock of my hair turned white."

I am glad that this advertising trend died out with Burgertime. I don't think I could handle Viva Piñata related nightmares.

"WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?"

Ghost Ride(r) the whip!

Hi there.

As you've probably already figured out, this isn't Justin. My name is Griffin McElroy. Yes, I'm his brother. I'm a Broadcast Journalism major at Marshall University, and I love video games with a white-hot, fiery passion. I've been playing them for as long as I can remember, and to this day, still find enjoyment in blowing off my responsibilities to put some game time in the books. I like RPG's, action games, adventure games, and classic titles. I'm secretly a Nintendo fanboy, but don't tell anyone, alright?

We cool?

Good, then on with the post.

When my brother first asked me to help him write a blog dedicated to video games, I jumped at the opportunity with fevered excitement. To combine my two great passions, writing and video games, on a semi-professional level? It was too good to be true, I thought.

And then he handed me my first assignment - to review both handheld versions of Ghost Rider.

I tried to remember times in the past where I had wronged my sibling. I'd like to think that I've been a good brother, for the most part. I can't remember a single prank I've pulled on him, or any showing of innocent brotherly malice that I may have made against him throughout the years. So why had he chosen to punish me with... with...

A movie-based game.

Movie-based games, or as I like to call them, MBG's, are generally terrible. They are simple, mindless, stupid endeavors, often created as a way to cash in on a popular franchise. They simply have bad gameplay, sub-par graphics, and often, don't follow the plot of the film which they were based on.

In some cases, where the plot of the film is terrible to begin with, this may be a good thing.

Ghost Rider is actually a comic-based-movie-based game. A CBMBG. There's simply too many letters there for it to be any good.

My standards for the PSP version of this game were understandably low, and perhaps that's why, after a few hours of playing it, I harbor no resentment towards the game whatsoever. Yes, it follows all the criteria of a MBG, the gameplay is mindless and repetitive, the graphics are merely adequate, and the plot deviates from the movie within the first twelve seconds of the game. In all fairness, it's a new story. - Justin But despite all this, I actually found myself genuinely enjoying certain parts of Ghost Rider.

It plays like... well, let's just say that if imitation is a form of flattery, then God of War should be very, very flattered. Like, really flattered. At certain moments, when I was flying through the air, juggling enemies overhead with my ever-whirling chains, I felt like I was playing an expansion of God of War, where Kratos had decided to develop an interest in motorcycles, and also, his head was on fire.

Don't misunderstand, this game is not nearly as well-polished, or as finely crafted as God of War. While the controls are usable, they have been oversimplified to the point where the action sequences in the game can be completed with the repeated pressing of two buttons. The game moves on rails, obvious, blaring rails, made out of fire. You will fight enemies until they are dead, and then you will move five feet to the next checkpoint, and then you will fight more enemies, until they are dead. You will get sick of it very quickly, if you attempt a marathon Ghost Rider session. But in short bursts, which, in my opinion, is what handheld gaming is designed for, it's actually rather enjoyable.

(By the way, if you ever attempt a marathon Ghost Rider session, then you should probably brush the Cheeto crumbs off of your lap, and reevaluate your life.)


The bike racing sequences aren't bad either. I actually preferred them to the beat-em-up sections of the game. You'll find yourself flying down a highway, more than likely in Hell, taking out demons, who are riding on (as best I can tell) motorized dragons. You'll find yourself jumping lava-filled gaps, and sliding under low barriers, which will make you wonder who exactly designs these convoluted Hell highways in the first place. The bike combat levels are very fast paced, with stylized, slow motion sequences at certain stunt points along the track. I found myself enjoying these levels quite a bit, and wondered how the game would have turned out with just a little more TLC.

Another neat feature is your ability to upgrade the titular character's stats and moves by completing special (and impossible) challenges in each level. However, the points you earn by completing these challenges can also be spent on unlockable bonus features, such as artwork, making-of documentaries, and best of all, actual Ghost Rider comic books. I appreciated the irony in the fact that by the sixth level, my character was overwhelmingly weak, due to the fact that I had spent all my upgrade points on comics. The parallels to my own life were alarming.

Ghost Rider for Game Boy Advance was pretty much the same. While I prefer my GBA titles to be either RPG's or ports of Super Nintendo games, the controls are tight, the gameplay is enjoyable, and the graphics are pleasant. It's exactly what you would expect of a GBA port of a game on a console system.

All in all, the handheld versions of Ghost Rider won't revolutionize the industry. But, I don't know, if you really liked the movie, or you don't have the patience to wait two weeks for God of War II, then perhaps Ghost Rider might be right up your alley.

Consider this a challenge, or perhaps even a plea to all video game developers currently working on a MBG.

Surprise me.

‘Fuzion Frenzy 2’ not so much frenzied as boring

This is from today's edition of The Herald-Dispatch.

In looking for a new game to play through with my wife, I thought that “Fuzion Frenzy 2” for the Xbox 360 would be a perfect fit.

I was quickly disabused of this notion.

Far from being a frenzy of any sort, this collection of mini-games sort of lies there, daring you to try to beat the fun of it. But, at least in my experience, there really isn’t any to be had.

What will strike you almost as soon as the disc starts spinning is the cheapness of the game. I don’t mean cheap as in unfair, I mean cheap as in the characters’ lip-sync is so bad that it looks like a dubbed movie that was originally in a language consisting only of “Aaaahhhh” and “Ooooh.” Cheap. I mean cheap as in the music sounds like someone kicked Moby’s Casio down a flight of stairs made of broken glass. Cheap.

The setting is some sort of intergalactically famous game show from a future world where people only wear hip-hop-inspired glowing armor. You travel from planet to planet playing mini-games and collecting points for top performances. Whoever has the most points after a few games wins the planet. To win, a player has to dominate a certain number of planets that you set before playing.

The problem with the game is really in the mini-games that are offered up. Some are as simple as pressing buttons in sequence, some are more complicated and none of them are very fun.

There are rudimentary instructions provided with each game, but they don’t have enough information a lot of the time. Sometimes the games are hard to understand just because you can’t believe that they’re as simple as they seem.

The oddest design choice though has to be the inclusion of multiplier cards given out to players. Even when you do manage to take the top spot in a game, someone who performed more poorly than you can rocket past you in points by doubling or even quadrupling their award for second or third place. More than make things seem more frenzied and unpredictable, it just ends up being infuriating.

Needless to say, my wife and I didn’t have a lot of fun with this, but I can see how a group of four people might be able to squeeze out a few chuckles, just so long as they don’t expect long-term entertainment.

Also, don’t expect too much from the online multiplayer, as it’s pretty hard to find anybody except those few trolling for achievement points playing the game. I know at one point, I went 10 minutes without being able to find a game to join ... which is about as far from frenzy as you can get.

"You Don't Know Jack" returns with new games in March

You can call it March. I call it "New Jack City."

Those of you like me who pine for the glory days of the "You Don't Know Jack" trivia game series will be pleased as punch to hear that "YDKJ" will return next month with a series of downloadable games.

I talked to Andy Poland about this on Thursday afternoon. He's been working with Jellyvision (the company behind the games) for more than a decade as sort of a Jack-(if you'll pardon the pun)-of-all-trades. He's played host for a couple of titles, written, even created music.

After letting new Jack releases lapse at the beginning of the millenium as Jellyvision focused more on software development, it seems that we're about to be in the middle of a full-force Jackaissance.

The rebirth started recently with the Daily DisOrDat offered at the YDKJ site.

It's a Flash-based offering that's coming every workday. By utilizing Flash, Poland said that they've not only been able to turn the game around quicker, they've been able to make it more current.

"'You Don't Know Jack' was always 'Where pop culture and high culture collide,'" Poland said. "We wanted to take it to where pop culture and current events collide."

Poland admits that the Daily DisOrDat was created "to kind of test the waters" to see what the reception would be for some fresh "Jack" offerings.

Apparently, that response has been positive.

Poland said that gamers should look for the series to make a return in March ... just not on store shelves. "YDKJ" will be returning as a Web-based Flash title that would likely be broken up into seven-question games that would be dispersed on a regular basis. Poland said that, as he understood it, they were scheduled to premiere on March 5.

Poland said that they would probably be single-player only and stressed that many of the details are still being finalized, including exactly how the game will be dispersed and how much fans will have to pay to play.

"The suits are figuring out how we’re actually going to fund the thing," Poland said. "Most likely going to cost the user something, a download fee or subscription fee or something. But it’s not going to be a lot, it's just going to be enough to make it worth our while."

Though it won't be in retail channels, Poland said that fans could expect the same quality as their other products.

"It’ll be pretty comparable to popping in a CD," he said.

Poland also addressed the possibility of "Jack" appearing on home consoles. He said that while the company is actively looking into it, there's nothing official to report as of yet.

Updates on all things Jack can be found at www.youdontknowjack.com.

Happy Valentine's Day

I got married this year. See?
My wife Sydnee has, surprisingly, completely changed the way I played video games. There have been many more important changes, sure. But I think the most profound changes have been to my hobby of choice.

No, it's not that she's kept me from playing, she's not that kind of wife. No, what she's done is completely change the type of video game that I want to play. To whit: The most satisfying gaming experience I had this year was "Justice League: Heroes," a game that was almost universally regarded as mediocre. But when your wife is sitting next to you complaining about how much the Martian Manhunter sucks and how she wants to be Batman next time, the game had a very particular sort of magic.

Through my wife I rediscovered the fun of social gaming. I've remembered the little things that I forgot after two decades of playing games solely to entertain myself. Through her love of petting the goats and carrying around cats in "Zelda," I've been reminded that not every good part of a game has to have a point. Through her sister Rileigh and hours of Wii Sports, I've discovered that sometimes you don't need so much a single button to have fun with a video game.

Through finding someone to share my life with, I've discovered that I know longer play games to have an experience contained only to myself. I installed "World of Warcraft" again recently, only to begin mindlessly clicking and typing as if I had never left the MMORPG. That was all until I looked over to the couch and saw her, lying idly on the couch watching "The Daily Show" with a smirk while she was supposed to be studying. It was then that I realized, as I logged off for the last time and reclaimed my spot on the couch, that mindless escapism has no grip over those who have nothing to escape from.

Happy Valentine's Day everybody.

Surprise! "Battlestations: Midway" Isn't For Old Men

There's a special class of video game that I tend to think of as almost exclusively for grandpas.

Perhaps the most notorious offender is World War II games, what with their Panzer-this and Selbstladepistole-that, that seem to be little more than a history lesson with occasional shooting.

I was terrified this would be the case with "Battlestations: Midway," a naval strategy/action hybrid game set in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. So imagine my delight when it was not only not aimed at oldsters but was actually pretty compelling.

Don't expect to get your boots muddy with this particular WWII title, you'll solely be controlling vehicles in massive air and sea battles. You'll carry out those battles by both directly controlling ships and planes, and by ordering them remotely on a sort of cut-away mini-map. When battles get a little crazy, you'll be thankful to be able to get a bird's eye view.

Controlling the vehicles is a lot of fun, with planes tight and responsive and giant battleships handling ... well, like giant battleships. After an exhaustive tutorial (my wife started referring to this as "Tutorial: The Game") you'll take on a somewhat brief single-player campaign. You'll follow the career of recruit Henry Walker, from Pearl Harbor all the way to the Battle of Midway. The narrative isn't much to speak of, but it's honestly more than I expected.

When the campaign is complete, you'll be able to move on to nigh-impossible challenges testing your plane, boat and submarine skills. These are satisfying when you win and infuriating when you trip up after 30 minutes of battle. Overall, a really nice addition.

For many though, the crown jewel of this package is going to be the multiplayer, where teams playing as American and Japanese forces can face off, often controlling just one vehicle or airfield. It's a nice change of pace for someone who's been playing a lot of shooters lately, with a cohesive strategy much more important than a quick trigger finger.

There are some significant flaws here, with a large portion of the blame leveled at the last-gen graphics, but there's a lot of fun to be had. Best of all ... it's different from almost any other game out there ... and that's something you don't have to be a grandpa to appreciate.

You Gotta Do What? You Gotta Re-Enact Video Games in Real Life

This Parappa-related video is the best think you'll see today.



If you have no idea what's going on, this will help:

"Paperboy" the next Xbox Live release

IT'S FIVE DOLLARS!
This just in from Microsoft: "Paperboy" will be the next release on Xbox Live and it will be available this Wednesday.

AAarrrreminder!

Just a reminder to everyone, tomorrow is the deadline to enter the "Sid Meier's Pirates" contest.

All you have to do is email me your favorite pirate joke to jmcelroy@herald-dispatch.com, along with your name, address and phone number. Use the subject line "Pirate Joke."

One of you will win "Sid Meier's Pirates" for the PSP.

9Dragons Beta Opens Its Doors To All

While this news that I just received in my email was exciting, it became considerably less so when I realized that it was not "2Moons," the title that Shiny founder Dave Perry is working on. But it's still free, which is important.

Here's a trailer, the letter is below (to save some time, you can download the client here:

Dear Player,

Acclaim Games is pleased to announce the start of Open Beta testing for 9Dragons, our martial arts MMORPG. After several months of Closed Beta testing, 9Dragons is now open to all players for Open Beta testing. Anyone can now become a clan disciple and train their mind, body, and spirit to become a great Kung Fu warrior of The Land.

Also, effective immediately, Acclaim will begin providing service for 9Dragons in Europe on a dedicated European server initially located in the US and soon to be moved to a location in Europe for improved access.

Acclaim’s service will also provide European players with a team of dedicated Game Masters available for shifts in all European time zones. So, it is recommended that all European players create their characters on the European server. The American server is called "Nirvana (US)" and the European sever is called "Bardo (EU)" and you will be required to choose one upon character creation. US Players will want to stay on the "Nirvana (US)" server since the US connection to "Bardo (EU)" will not be great once the data is physically moved to Europe, and can lead to big lag times. To
celebrate this announcement, Acclaim will be offering double experience points to all American and European players on Friday, Feb 9 from 12am to 11:59pm PST (GMT-8).

As promised, 9Dragons will remain free to play for all players, supported by in-game advertising and item purchasing. We feel that our advertising should be conducted with respect for the player, and should not delay your gaming experience. We were careful to insert ads only in locations where there was already a natural pause in the game. We realize that this is the only way to keep the game both free and enjoyable to our players without distraction. We hope you will agree with our implementation and look forward to hearing your feedback for future changes.

To play 9Dragons, you must first download and install the new Open Beta client available at http://9dragons.acclaim.com/downloads/9Dgame.htm. Please report any bugs and issues to the Report a Bug forum on the message boards at http://phpbb.acclaim.com/9dragons/viewforum.php?f=16. Thanks and see you in The Land of 9Dragons!

Acclaim

Mario + Flute + Beatbox = Rock? or Fever Dream?

Greg Patillo seems to be a normal sized guy. But if he were about two feet shorter and had pointy ears, this video would be an exact recreation of a reoccurring nightmare I had for two weeks in 1987.

As it stands now, it's just cool. It just gets more rad at his MySpace here.

You Could Win "Sid Meier's Pirates!"

At least one of you will soon be unable to say that I never gave you anything. I'm having a contest, and here's the basic idea. I need to fill my collection of pirate jokes, because I'm running low.

(P.S. Did you you about that new pirate movie? It's rated "ARRRRR!")

All you have to do is email me your favorite pirate joke to jmcelroy@herald-dispatch.com, along with your name, address and phone number. Use the subject line "Pirate Joke."

One of you, randomly chosen is going to win a fabulous prize: A brand new copy of "Sid Meier's Pirates" for the Playstation Portable. Publishers 2k Games says, "Sid Meier debuts on the PSP® System with his award-winning adventure/strategy game, Sid Meier’s Pirates! Take on the role of a Pirate Captain to amass fortune and fame and seize your rightful place as one of the most revered and feared pirates in history."

Critics give it 87 percent on average, so you should be pleased. Plus, I've played it, what more endorsement do you need? You'll love it. But, you only have until Tuesday, so act fast.

Read complete rules here.

Zorro, Zorro, Zorro, He Makes the Sign on the Wii

Hmmm.

Well, here's the good news first: Someone is making a Zorro game exclusive to the Wii.

I know what you're thinking. You're excited that we're finally going to get a realistic sword-fighting game that accurately represents the experience. I mean, what better character could there be for that? What character is more defined by his sword?

"Players tend to do better and get less tired with abstraction," Pronto President and Creative Director Randy Angle said. "It's not a sword-fighting simulator."

Oh, well, OK. Hmmm. So this begs the question: Why make a game based on Zorro, a character whose entire mythology is based around swordfighting, and have him be controlled by waggling the Wii-mote hither and yon?

Look on the bright side, maybe we can find some comfort in the pedigree of developer Pronto Games. Looking at their site it looks like we've got "NickToons Winner's Cup Racing" for the PC, "Ten Pen Alley 2" and "Dungeons & Dragons: Eye of the Beholder" for the Game Boy Advance, and a few games for the Leapster. On the home consoles? Nada.

Well, maybe there's a long-standing tradition of good Zorro games that we can take comfort in. Let's look at all the Zorro games released in the past decade.

Let's see, there was "The Mask of Zorro" for the Game Boy Color ... and nothing else. There was "The Shadow of Zorro" for the PS2, but that was canceled.

It should come as no surprise by now that I'm not exactly bursting with confidence about the announcement. At the same time though, I'm not ready to write this one off completely. Perhaps instead of looking to the past, to what Pronto or Zorro has done before, perhaps we should look into the future, to what this means.

There was a lot of complaining when the Wii's hardware power was revealed (I've let a few fly myself). But maybe this is the environment it creates. Perhaps it makes an even playing field where even an untested group can be inspired by a character or a controller, and make a bid for current-gen legitimacy. If you're inspired by the Wiimote, you don't need to know how to wrangle hardware horsepower, you just have to know how to make a fun game.

My dad used to say that rain is the great equalizer in football, maybe limited graphics on systems like the Wii are the same thing video games, a situation where even little guys can make their stand if they have a lot of heart.

Perhaps we shouldn't sheath our swords (or our Wiimotes) just yet.

There's a New, Blue Enemy of the Video Marketplace

The future apparently begins when Wal-Mart says it does. Just a few months after Microsoft kicked off its digital download service through Xbox Live, the mega-retailer is dipping its massive toe into the water.

You can read the full story here. But this is a smattering.

"A “beta” version of the online video store, which debuted Tuesday, sells digital versions of about 3,000 films and television episodes from all the major studios and some TV networks, including Fox Broadcasting. Wal-Mart will not initially offer content from ABC, CBS or NBC, although the company said it hopes to add shows from those networks."

This isn't doom and gloom for Microsoft of course, for a couple of reasons.

1. They're Microsoft, there's very little that means doom and gloom for them short of nuclear winter.
2. Their services are a little different, Wal-Mart is only selling movies while Microsoft is renting them. That means Wal-Mart's service costs more, but they also aren't going to reach into your Xbox 360's brain and shake it until it forgets the movie like Microsoft does. TV episode prices are comparable.

On the list of things that should cause concern? Wal-Mart has bagged the big six studios: Walt Disney, Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox and Universal, the first service of its kind to do so.

I guess the biggest worry for me is that with three major players in this space, it's going to be nigh impossible for any one service to be comprehensive, as Apple, Microsoft and Wal-Mart all have the coin to make some big films and TV shows exclusive.

Ah well, as long as SOMEONE is making it possible for me to watch "CSI: Miami" at 3 a.m., we've already won.

Lost In Cage-lation

You know, you hear a lot of negativity about licensed games. (You know, game based on pre-existing characters or brand names?) I may have actually participated in a bit of that myself, I don't recall.

But our friends at 2k Games have reminded us that it's all about finding the right medium. In this case, it's in finding the right home for "Ghost Rider." We're going to weigh the value of the upcoming PS2 game against the upcoming film WITHOUT EVER SEEING OR PLAYING EITHER ONE.

ROUND 1: Poster vs. Box Art

Hmmm, this is a troublesome start. I definitely see Nicholas Cage and ... a girl. In the middle, there's a hint of a guy whose head is on fire.














Hey, now this is more like it. The guy with his skull on fire is front and center. Oh, and it appears he's about to whip something with a chain, rather than carrying a girl. Chalk one up for the Ghost Rider game.

Game : 1 Movie : 0

ROUND 2:

Wow, I'm not exactly sure what's going on here. There's definitely a motorcycle in there somewhere, but Nick looks kind of gloomy too, like he's trying to decide if he'll by the new "My Chemical Romance" CD or not.






Now this is MORE LIKE IT. There's a guy with his head on fire hitting what APPEARS to be the Devil with a chain. C'mon movie, you should at least try.

Game : 2, Movie : 0

ROUND 3:

Yeah, I have no idea what to tell you about this one. Let's see what the game counters with.

AAAHHH!!! Holy crap, the game's counter argument seems to be Ghost Rider flying down train tracks chasing a giant egg made of electricity.

GAME: FIVE BILLION, MOVIE: 0

"OK, so what's the point?" you ask. Well, I, personally have no interest in the story of Ghost Rider. The character, his mythos, is not compelling to me at all. But if you're going to give me some rad chains and a motorcycle that's on fire, we can probably work something out. It's all about finding the medium that's right for the character. The contest would have probably ended up very differently had "The Weather Man" ever been made into a game.

Anyway, you can find out for yourself when the game drops on Feb. 13 and the film is released three days later.

Monday VC Release Wii-view

Finally, the trickle of decent titles on the Wii's virtual console has become ... well, it's still a trickle, but it's a trickle that's brought us Super Mario World, which is definitely a good trickle to have. I'm going to go through these releases every week and give you my recommendations on whether or not they're worth your cash.



First though is "VIGILANTE: (TurboGrafx-16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): Brave the streets of New York City in this side-scrolling beat-'em-up game. Thugs kidnap the beloved Madonna, and it's up to players to become vigilantes. Players fight their way into enemy territory to get her back."

Huh? Kidnapping Madonna? Wasn't that the plot of "Desperately Seeking Susan"? Umm, I'm sorry, but that's a "NO."Next up: "Gain Ground™ (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): It's the 31st century, and science and technology have progressed to the point that the human race is approaching perfection: no war, no poverty and no conflict. (Hmm, sounds pretty boring so far. Let's skip ahed.) Players battle through different periods in history as they revive their survival instincts, while trying to live.

Well, that may not be so bad, let's look at a screenshot....Let us never speak of this again.
And, finally, "Super Mario World™ (Super NES®, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): During a vacation in Dinosaur Land" ... you know what? That's all I'm going to tell you. It's freaking "Super Mario World"! What more do you need?

Grand Theft Coke, Konami Announcement Today

Here's something nice for a change: A commercial that not only accurately reflects a game (it's spot on) but it also leaves you with a happy feeling in your heart AS WELL AS AN OVERWHELMING DESIRE TO DRINK COKE.



OK, we're a bit light on video game news today. Apparently, Konami's going to have some megaton announcement today, I'll be sure to post when I hear anything.

Colts Win Fake Super Bowl

As they themselves will admit, 1up's Madden-generated Super Bowl predictions aren't exactly original, but this sort of thing is good for a laugh, right?

They do some different stuff with this too, examining some different circumstances that could effect the outcome of the game. They also match the Colts against the '85 Bears.

I won't spoil the surprise outcome for you (oh snap, I guess I just did in the headline) ... anyway, just watch it here.

The Christmas Paper Chain of Delicious Games

Whenever the holidays started to get close, the waiting was assuaged by the creation of a chain of paper rings. Everyday, we'd tear one of the rings off, ever closer to the big event. Sure, it wasn't much, but it helped ease the waiting.

This time of year is similar. We're in the middle of a big, stupid video game drought, the weight of which becomes more crushing everyday. Perhaps now would be a good time to remind yourself of all we have ahead of us.



Shoop, shoop, kids, just keep waiting to exhale. The games will be here soon.

Dracula In the Palm of Your Hand

Alright, we'd be kidding ourselves if we didn't admit this 1up exclusive is the biggest story of the day. Castlevania is coming to the Playstation Portable.

It's called "Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles." In addition to a remake of the (until now) Japanese-only "Rondo of Blood," the game will also include "Symphony of the Night," the best Castlevania game ever.

For my part, I'm just happy to see a Castlevania game that doesn't look like the kind of nightmare an eight-bit Nintendo would have after seeing "Labyrinth."


I'm looking at you, "Dawn of Sorrow."

Anyway, here's a video of the new game.

Entertainment Tri-State Gaming Column for Feb. 1

GAMERS CORNER: 'Phoenix' flounders while 'Dusk' delivers
By Justin McElroy
The Herald-Dispatch

What have you been playing lately?

Oh, that's nice. Those are good games.

What have I been playing? Oh, how nice of you to ask, let me tell you.

Phoenix Wright: Justice for All (DS): This is the second iteration of the unmistakably Japanese lawyer simulation that's sure to get odd looks from your concerned significant other should they happen to peek over your shoulder.

If you played the first title you know exactly what to expect here. The game is still uniformly well-written and the system of law still seems to be "guilty until proven innocent." There are also a lot of illogical solutions to puzzles which can be really frustrating.

I'll be honest, I loved the first game, but without the novelty factor, I found those few quibbles I have beginning to outweigh the fun I was having. After playing through the first two cases, I was ready to move on to greener pastures. But if you like reading and don't mind looking up the occasional walkthrough online, you'll have a good time with this one. Honestly, I'd probably still be hanging in with it if I hadn't been distracted by the siren song of ...

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS): In a way, this is the same vein as Phoenix Wright. It's a well-written adventure game that's unlike anything on the home consoles. The only difference is that "Hotel Dusk" seems fresh, while Wright is sort of wearing out its welcome.

"Dusk" is a sort of "game noir" with you playing the role of a disgraced cop looking for answers in the seedy titular place of lodging. It forces you to use the DS stylus in a lot of interesting ways, which is someplace where Phoenix Wright fails miserably (that series has simply been adapted from the Game Boy Advance.)

It's also one of the most compelling graphical styles I've seen recently. Pretty much every writer has compared it's sketchy black-and-white look to A-Ha's "Take on Me" video. The comparison's popularity would be good enough for me to eschew it were it not so darned accurate. In any case, it's a wonderful game. Go buy it.

Crackdown (Xbox 360): This may just be a demo, but it's surprisingly good. I say "surprisingly" only because the retail version of the game comes with free entry into the "Halo 3" beta test, an awfully big carrot to attach to any game. But if the demo is any indication, the beta entry will be a bonus for purchasing the game, not the other way around.

"Crackdown" puts you in the boots of a superpowered cop cleaning up the streets by ... well, by killing people. It's a free-roaming city and you're presented with very little narrative to trip over. There's just good, old-fashioned bullets and explosions, as well as the ability to pick up cars and jump over buildings. If that's not enough incentive for you to go download a free demo, you should probably quit video games all together.

Justin McElroy is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch, as well as a part-time lawyer, detective and superpowered criminal murderer. Inquire about any of his services by writing jmcelroy@herald-dispatch.com.

Savvy?

Here's one just for my brother Travis ... and the millions of other people who love Pirates of the Caribbean: A sneak preview of the new Pirates MMORPG.



So, what do you think?

Spider-Man 3: The Movie: The Video Game: The Site

When I woke up this morning, I'm fairly sure I wasn't ready for this jelly:

Spider-Man 3: The Movie: The Game: The Site
has gone live!


Umm, next gen anyone?

No, wait, that's not it. Here it is:



That's all of the actual media you're going to get there, so I may have just saved you a visit.