Note: I sort of typed this up fast, so I am sure the typos are many. I didn't think this would be this hard, but I drew a blank for quite awhile. I also wanted to stay away from putting 10 Beatles albums on there just because that wouldn't be much fun. I am still toiling away with the bad album cover list. I don't have time now to pop on the album covers, but I will try and do it sometime this weekend.
10. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
Most people think of the Born in the U.S.A. cover with Bruce and the Flag behind him when they think of Springsteen album covers. I always like this one. I always thought this was the more striking cover with the white background and Bruce with his guitar. It just went with the whole theme of the album.
9. War - U2
I have this one on vinyl and it's very jarring to see a close of a young boys face with such angry eyes and a bloodied fat lip. This was when U2 was political without apologies and without trying to jade music fans. This could be one of the more important albums and covers from the 80s.
8. Nevermind - Nirvana
I can't help looking at this cover and wondering how they did that. So I looked it up and basically they just threw that baby in the water and shot a whole roll of film in about 30 seconds. I also found out that kid is like 17 now and has no shortage of pickup lines.
7. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band - The Beatles
You can look at this one forever and try and figure out who each face is. Or you can try to pick out all the Paul is Dead symbology. Or you can just get distracted by all the bright colors. There's a little bit of everything in this one. Most of all it captures the circus feel of the entire album.
6. Back in Black - AC/DC
I sort of had to choose between this and Metallica's Black Album for this one. It's bold when a band trys to just sell the album with a blank, black cover. It was never more appropriate though then when AC/DC released this album following the death of its lead singer. It didn't hurt that this ended up being probably their best album.
5. Get a Grip - Aerosmith
All I really have to say is cow utters. How many bands could get away with that? Maybe it's just funny to me because I grew up in the midwest, but come on cow utters.
4. Bat Out of Hell - Meatloaf
This one always catches my attention when going through my collection of CDs. I'll pull it out and just look at it even if I have no intention of listening to the album, which more often than not I don't. But it does capture the essence of rock 'n roll with the crazy looking guys driving his motorcycle off the cliff and into the pits of hell.
3. Sticky Fingers - The Rolling Stones
It takes a lot of balls to put a male crotch on the front of your album and then have a very noticeable bulge in the front to boot. Even if you don't want to look, you almost compelled to do so. But it's sort of the sophomoric humor that has helped the Stones stay alive for 150 years now.
2. Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin
Well to some degree the Zeppelin was always a little weird and this cover sort of epitomizes that with all the nude 'childlike' creatures crawling over the beach and rocks. This is one of the covers that I think every body recognizes when they see it, even if they don't know the title of the album.
1. Abbey Road - The Beatles
I think this has morphed into the most iconic of the many images the Beatles put out there. It just sort sums up the fact that this was it for them. They're all dressed differently walking single file across the street. I've always imagined they hit the sidewalk and all went off in different directions. It's just very serene.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Snakester's Top 10 Album Cover Art
Cover art has always been an essential part of music. It can set a tone for the album or turn you off to the music in an instant. Here are some of my favorites.
10. News To The World - Queen:
I remember getting his on vinyl from my uncle. Which would support the idea that cover art has a very different effect on the old vinyl LPs. They did alot more with the cover art them. The cover folded out I think and there is another picture of the robot reaching down into a globe structure full of screaming people. I guess it strikes me because of the remorseful look on the robot's face as he holds the dead/injured bodies. It is a very detailed drawing. Maybe it signifies technology gone wrong or how our own advancement can mistakenly be our undoing. Not sure, but I always liked looking at this one.
9. Vulgar Display of Power - Pantera:
I always loved the title of this album for Pantera and the cover art just adds to the meaning. Their music is like a punch to the face when you listen to it. This is by far their best album and I think the cover art sets the tone from the moment you look at it. I don't know whether it is or not, but I always thought it looked like Dimebag Darrell that was getting punched on the cover.
8. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd:
Perhaps one of the best albums ever made is very open to interpretation. The cover art follows suit with a simple display of how a prism refracts light into the colors of the rainbow. The cover only supports the fact that this album goes with The Wizard of Oz. Between the connection of the song Somewhere Over The Rainbow and the more visual connection of plain light (black & white) turning into the rainbow (color) as in the movie. Either way this image is perhaps even more iconic now that the band themselves.
7. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine:
They used an iconic picture from the 60's of a Vietnamese monk setting himself on fire in protest of the group. That pretty much sets the tone for their own music. Protesting persecution of minority races ranging from blacks & hispanics to native americans. It is a startling image that grabs your attention and makes you think deeper about your own resolve. It made a lasting impression of me since I first saw it.
6. Tommy - The Who:
It is a cool image that took me a long time to figure out. I always found it interesting with the woven pattern and one side being a picture of a sky with some birds flying. I think I finally read somewhere that it represents the openness of the human mind and how easily things pass through. Once I understand that, it gave the cover an ever better representation for the theme of Tommy. Even before that, it was still an awesome image.
5. Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden:
I love almost all of Iron Maiden's cover art with their mascot Eddie. This is by far my favorite. The devil looking like he is controlling a small eddie that is dancing on the ashes of burning corpses only to have Eddie puppeterring the devil. This is classic metal and adds to the mystic of devil worship even though there is like nothing overly Satanic about their music. I can only imagine how great this would look in a large vinyl cover!
4. Nevermind - Nirvana:
A symbol for a generation. I always wondered why there wasn't more outrage at the picture of the naked baby in the pool. These days they would have liked to have an investigation into Cobain's child pornography habits. It represented the change in culture and how the obsession for money was starting younger and younger in people. The purity of a naked child versus the evil of corporate money. You could almost say that was the struggly of Cobain's life.
3. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin:
This is probably the balliest cover art concept in the history of music. The original LP had no distinguishing marks of a title or the name of the band. Even today when I look at the CD cover of just the picture of the old man, it sets a good tone for the sound of album. Alot of it seems to harken back to the old world. The foldout on the vinyl cover shows a complete imagine of the picture hanging on a partially destroyed wall with the city in the background. There is sort of an enviromentalist vibe to it and I think some of the symbols on the album even represent base elements like Earth & water.
2. Master of Puppets - Metallica:
And Justice For All, Kill 'em All, & Ride The Lightening could have all probably made this list, but this one maked the biggest statement. The crosses of the dead connected by puppet strings to these hands in the sky. A grim picture that could be a statement on war or religion. Eitherway the tone is dark and menacing setting the stage for one of the greatest albums ever.
1. Abbey Road - The Beatles:
There are lots of great Beatles cover art but this is my favorite imagine. To me it beats of the others because it is an actual photo that is completely full of symbolism, some of which we still probably don't understand. I remember this cover especially being one to examine closely for clues on the Paul Is Dead conspiracy. (John in white of a preacher, George in plain clothes of the undertaker & Paul shoeless just as people are buried & Ringo in a black suit as an attendee of the funeral) It is a pop culture icon in itself and I could never list all the different parodies and tributes I have seen.
Honorable Mention:
Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan: stylish & suggestive
Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen: Iconic
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers: cool photoshop
Metal Health - Quiet Riot: a good metal image
Sticky Fingers - Rolling Stones: sex appeal in overdrive
The Beatles - The Beatles: took some guts & could probably disprove the point of this list
10. News To The World - Queen:
I remember getting his on vinyl from my uncle. Which would support the idea that cover art has a very different effect on the old vinyl LPs. They did alot more with the cover art them. The cover folded out I think and there is another picture of the robot reaching down into a globe structure full of screaming people. I guess it strikes me because of the remorseful look on the robot's face as he holds the dead/injured bodies. It is a very detailed drawing. Maybe it signifies technology gone wrong or how our own advancement can mistakenly be our undoing. Not sure, but I always liked looking at this one.
9. Vulgar Display of Power - Pantera:
I always loved the title of this album for Pantera and the cover art just adds to the meaning. Their music is like a punch to the face when you listen to it. This is by far their best album and I think the cover art sets the tone from the moment you look at it. I don't know whether it is or not, but I always thought it looked like Dimebag Darrell that was getting punched on the cover.8. Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd:
Perhaps one of the best albums ever made is very open to interpretation. The cover art follows suit with a simple display of how a prism refracts light into the colors of the rainbow. The cover only supports the fact that this album goes with The Wizard of Oz. Between the connection of the song Somewhere Over The Rainbow and the more visual connection of plain light (black & white) turning into the rainbow (color) as in the movie. Either way this image is perhaps even more iconic now that the band themselves.7. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine:
They used an iconic picture from the 60's of a Vietnamese monk setting himself on fire in protest of the group. That pretty much sets the tone for their own music. Protesting persecution of minority races ranging from blacks & hispanics to native americans. It is a startling image that grabs your attention and makes you think deeper about your own resolve. It made a lasting impression of me since I first saw it.6. Tommy - The Who:
It is a cool image that took me a long time to figure out. I always found it interesting with the woven pattern and one side being a picture of a sky with some birds flying. I think I finally read somewhere that it represents the openness of the human mind and how easily things pass through. Once I understand that, it gave the cover an ever better representation for the theme of Tommy. Even before that, it was still an awesome image.5. Number of the Beast - Iron Maiden:
I love almost all of Iron Maiden's cover art with their mascot Eddie. This is by far my favorite. The devil looking like he is controlling a small eddie that is dancing on the ashes of burning corpses only to have Eddie puppeterring the devil. This is classic metal and adds to the mystic of devil worship even though there is like nothing overly Satanic about their music. I can only imagine how great this would look in a large vinyl cover!
4. Nevermind - Nirvana:
A symbol for a generation. I always wondered why there wasn't more outrage at the picture of the naked baby in the pool. These days they would have liked to have an investigation into Cobain's child pornography habits. It represented the change in culture and how the obsession for money was starting younger and younger in people. The purity of a naked child versus the evil of corporate money. You could almost say that was the struggly of Cobain's life.3. Led Zeppelin IV - Led Zeppelin:
This is probably the balliest cover art concept in the history of music. The original LP had no distinguishing marks of a title or the name of the band. Even today when I look at the CD cover of just the picture of the old man, it sets a good tone for the sound of album. Alot of it seems to harken back to the old world. The foldout on the vinyl cover shows a complete imagine of the picture hanging on a partially destroyed wall with the city in the background. There is sort of an enviromentalist vibe to it and I think some of the symbols on the album even represent base elements like Earth & water.2. Master of Puppets - Metallica:
And Justice For All, Kill 'em All, & Ride The Lightening could have all probably made this list, but this one maked the biggest statement. The crosses of the dead connected by puppet strings to these hands in the sky. A grim picture that could be a statement on war or religion. Eitherway the tone is dark and menacing setting the stage for one of the greatest albums ever.1. Abbey Road - The Beatles:
There are lots of great Beatles cover art but this is my favorite imagine. To me it beats of the others because it is an actual photo that is completely full of symbolism, some of which we still probably don't understand. I remember this cover especially being one to examine closely for clues on the Paul Is Dead conspiracy. (John in white of a preacher, George in plain clothes of the undertaker & Paul shoeless just as people are buried & Ringo in a black suit as an attendee of the funeral) It is a pop culture icon in itself and I could never list all the different parodies and tributes I have seen.Honorable Mention:
Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan: stylish & suggestive
Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen: Iconic
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers: cool photoshop
Metal Health - Quiet Riot: a good metal image
Sticky Fingers - Rolling Stones: sex appeal in overdrive
The Beatles - The Beatles: took some guts & could probably disprove the point of this list
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A wrestling season
Rehashing some of the NWO Revenge tales in our previous lists got me to thinking about pro wrestling or sports entertainment or whatever it's called right now. I haven't watched either WWE or TNA for a few years. I haven't even bought or played the last couple of versions of Raw versus Smackdown. I've lost interest. That happened once before in the early 90s till the mid to late 90s, and my interest was piqued actually by the Revenge video game more than anything else.
Anyways the business of wrestling has been in a slow tailspin since the end of the Attitude Era and the purchase of WCW. I continued to watch for a few years as a lot of the dream WWF/WCW matches played out, usually not very well, in the new WWE. A few years ago TNA started to provide some competition for WWE. But it doesn't really compete. First of all, WWE is a streamlined product, it will get big again sometime because some character will take off, but in the meantime it is very kick and punch. I stopped watching RAW in part because it was essentially the same show with the same matches and same interview segments each week.
The little I have seen of TNA hasn't been very good. There's some interesting talent and characters and the six-sided ring is different. But basically it's WWE south with a different ring and less quality production and storyline writing.
How do you compete? How do you really do something different?
I think you have to look at what works around you in other pro sports and in reality entertainment.
First, don't televise new shows all year long. 6-to-8 months. If you have the backing to pay performers well, this will take some of the stress of their bodies, hopefully decrease steroid and drug dependency. Plus, it will keep the audience fresh. Give them a break and allow you to build excitement for next season by showing re-run highlights during television time. It also cuts back on production costs for a new company while still generating sales through DVDs and merchandise.
Second, no more champions. That is not more having a guy carry around a belt. Instead each season will determine that year's individual champion and possibly tag champions. At the beginning of the next year they're the defending champions in name like the N.Y. Giants are the defending Super Bowl champions. I think the way to work this is by creating 5 man teams at the beginning of each season. Each wrestler wants to win individually for himself but also for the team because they're would be incentives like automatic bids into season ending playoffs something like that. Here's where the drama comes in as teams try co-exist with each other and against other teams. You could even have a team manager or something. They're a lot coulds and shoulds in this part and I haven't worked it all out. Probably each week two teams could face off in a best of series matches. Each team would also pick two guys in the group to wrestle in the tag division. They're are endless offshoots. As I mentioned earlier, the end of the year they're be a playoffs to determine individual champion. That's where the team probably dissovles. Probably top eight records or maybe even use a point system to get into tournament with winning team getting three automatic bids.
Third, no more monthly pay-per-views. This became too formulaic in the WWE and WCW. Week one of each month set up new rivarly. Week two the rivarly is brought out in tag team main event or something like that. Third week the PPV match is made. Foruth week the face is beat down by heal. PPV - whatever happens, happens. In the new company, you have maybe three pay per views. The final one being the year singles and tags tournament. The other two could allow teams to earn challenges on the pay per view during regular shows. This is how rivalries could get settled. If you work on a points system, more point could be awarded for PPV match wins and main event wins. Team would try and get as many guys on the PPV as possible with them probably choosing who to fight in what kind of match. Again this could have endless offshoots.
Fourth, don't depend too much upon extremely muscled guys, wilds stunts and wacky run-ins. A little of all those are OK. But just a little and only used when needed or it makes sense.
I know this got long and there's probably more to it that I forgot and some of it is confusing. But I figured if NASCAR people can understand the algorithm they use to determine a champion, wrestling fans could get this.
Anyways the business of wrestling has been in a slow tailspin since the end of the Attitude Era and the purchase of WCW. I continued to watch for a few years as a lot of the dream WWF/WCW matches played out, usually not very well, in the new WWE. A few years ago TNA started to provide some competition for WWE. But it doesn't really compete. First of all, WWE is a streamlined product, it will get big again sometime because some character will take off, but in the meantime it is very kick and punch. I stopped watching RAW in part because it was essentially the same show with the same matches and same interview segments each week.
The little I have seen of TNA hasn't been very good. There's some interesting talent and characters and the six-sided ring is different. But basically it's WWE south with a different ring and less quality production and storyline writing.
How do you compete? How do you really do something different?
I think you have to look at what works around you in other pro sports and in reality entertainment.
First, don't televise new shows all year long. 6-to-8 months. If you have the backing to pay performers well, this will take some of the stress of their bodies, hopefully decrease steroid and drug dependency. Plus, it will keep the audience fresh. Give them a break and allow you to build excitement for next season by showing re-run highlights during television time. It also cuts back on production costs for a new company while still generating sales through DVDs and merchandise.
Second, no more champions. That is not more having a guy carry around a belt. Instead each season will determine that year's individual champion and possibly tag champions. At the beginning of the next year they're the defending champions in name like the N.Y. Giants are the defending Super Bowl champions. I think the way to work this is by creating 5 man teams at the beginning of each season. Each wrestler wants to win individually for himself but also for the team because they're would be incentives like automatic bids into season ending playoffs something like that. Here's where the drama comes in as teams try co-exist with each other and against other teams. You could even have a team manager or something. They're a lot coulds and shoulds in this part and I haven't worked it all out. Probably each week two teams could face off in a best of series matches. Each team would also pick two guys in the group to wrestle in the tag division. They're are endless offshoots. As I mentioned earlier, the end of the year they're be a playoffs to determine individual champion. That's where the team probably dissovles. Probably top eight records or maybe even use a point system to get into tournament with winning team getting three automatic bids.
Third, no more monthly pay-per-views. This became too formulaic in the WWE and WCW. Week one of each month set up new rivarly. Week two the rivarly is brought out in tag team main event or something like that. Third week the PPV match is made. Foruth week the face is beat down by heal. PPV - whatever happens, happens. In the new company, you have maybe three pay per views. The final one being the year singles and tags tournament. The other two could allow teams to earn challenges on the pay per view during regular shows. This is how rivalries could get settled. If you work on a points system, more point could be awarded for PPV match wins and main event wins. Team would try and get as many guys on the PPV as possible with them probably choosing who to fight in what kind of match. Again this could have endless offshoots.
Fourth, don't depend too much upon extremely muscled guys, wilds stunts and wacky run-ins. A little of all those are OK. But just a little and only used when needed or it makes sense.
I know this got long and there's probably more to it that I forgot and some of it is confusing. But I figured if NASCAR people can understand the algorithm they use to determine a champion, wrestling fans could get this.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Big Red's favorite Video Game memories
Note: I didn't number these. I am not sure if any of them stand out that much from any of the others. Maybe that's cheating, but who makes the rules any how.
One-yard to go
I think it was the first time my brother and I played through a Techmo Bowl season. For some reason I was the 49ers, I don’t recall who he was. But we met in the super bowl. With seconds left he took the lead and then kicked off. After the return, I had time for one play. In Techmo, it didn’t really matter where you were on the field the end zone was always a possibility. I remember dropping back to the opposite end zone, launching a pass that Jerry Rice dove for catch on the one-yard line where he was tackled. Even though it was only a video game, I’ll never forget coming up one-yard short in the super bowl.
Golden Eye war
In the dorms we’d have four man wars on Golden Eye. Like I stated before, I sucked at this game, but I still played for shits and giggles. Anyways, our one roommate Mike was pretty good, but he was also fairly sensitive. So as he knocked us off, we all complained how he like sneaking up from behind and couldn’t do it like a real man. The ribbing usually increased as the games went on until Mike eventually got mad and stopped playing. It usually took a couple days to get him to play again. Mike’s a good guy, but man did we like pissing him off.
It’s all gone
The Snakester and I played a couple shorter seasons on Sega’s World Series Baseball ’95. I remember though, we finally decided to go the long haul with a 162 game season with our drafted teams sometime in high school. We got a long way through, I believe past the all-star break. Which meant we spent a lot of weeks trading the game back and forth as usually it worked out where one of us had three or four games to play and then the other person did. Then I remember getting the game back one time, putting it in the system and the system going haywire for a second. When I got the game going, the whole season was gone. It was disgusting. I am not sure either of us touched that game again.
High Score
For a long time, when I took up Breakout again after work on Friday’s I really sucked at it. It just takes a long time to get used to the joystick. Anyways one night after a long night of work, followed by several hours of drinking, I hit a personal high score in the 400s. Very close to breaking through the first screen. I got up and took a picture on my cell phone, or at least I thought I did, I never actually been able to find that picture. Now it’s become tradition for someone who’s hits an unusual high score to mark that experience with a phone picture.
Macho Madness
The Snakester and I worked pretty hard to create exciting shows for a fake promotion using NWO Revenge. One time we we’re getting close to the big card of our year, Starcade. We had the main event between Sting and World Champion Goldberg. On the Nitro before we decided to have Goldberg wrestle Randy Savage in a world title match. Savage wasn’t real strong in the game so we figured it would be okay. I don’t remember if I controlled Goldberg or if Snakester did. As was the case with Revenge, sometimes guys were unbeatable in the ring. Savage came out firing and beat Goldberg in like five minutes. Our pay-per-view card was thrown completely for a loop.
My first Nintendo
Everyone has that one great Christmas present. This was mine. I had waited a long time to catch up to my friends and have a Nintendo system of my own. (Little did I know that newer better systems were all ready hitting the market). Anyways I tore at the paper and stared at the box. It came with Mario, Duck Hunt and the power pad track game. I used that system through all the blowing in the cartridges and tinkering just to get it to work. But that thing will always have a special place in my heart.
Crazy Dan and his exploits
Snakester and I lived our first year together in the dorms. Across the hall was a young man lovingly called Crazy Dan for some pretty good reasons. Anyways, Snakester and I had a nice collection of systems included a sega, a Nintendo, an NG4 and I think that was it, Snake would remember better than I. Well Crazy Dan always wanted to play Nintendo, but always asked to play like a kindergartner asking to go to the bathroom. It was funny because I don’t think he meant to. It was always enjoyable when Dan came over to play, because you never knew what he was going to talk about while sitting there.
Mints Galore
As stated in my previous list, Mario Kart was a way of life in the dorms in college. My second year there, we lived in a four person suite. Three of us were pretty close running buddies with the fourth, Alex, being the not so well liked space filler. Anyway one of the few times he joined us for a MK session, he pulled a late upset over my roommate Erik. Well Erik was a little competitive and he definitely didn’t like losing to Alex. He punched a small floor fan over and then tossed a cup full of National mints across the room. Then just left the room. It was hilarious especially later when Alex went to see if he was okay. Classic.
The Devil Train
This was the Snakester, the Style’s and my fictional wrestling stable. Snakester was named Lucifer Menedez. I was Jeffery Diablo. The Style was Hades McKenzie. Anyways in later Wrestling games like No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000, the Stable came to life in the create a character mode. I remember the first incarnations just being monsters. I’ve always thought this would be an excellent name for a real wrestling group. Heck when I get new wrestling games, I still make these guys up. Each time a little different, but with similar resemblances to the originals.
The Rivalry
Snakester and I generally got along most of the time. But we were guys. Competitive guys. Video games were just another outlet for us to outdo one another. Things could get pretty petty when we matched up. Somebody had to lose and that person didn’t always handle it well. We liked to raise the stakes by playing long seasons of baseball, football, wrestling, whatever game we liked at the time. The more time we put into it the more we got into it when we inevitably met in the postseason. I don’t remember who won what that much because we played so much, but I know we both went home mad a fair share of times.
One-yard to go
I think it was the first time my brother and I played through a Techmo Bowl season. For some reason I was the 49ers, I don’t recall who he was. But we met in the super bowl. With seconds left he took the lead and then kicked off. After the return, I had time for one play. In Techmo, it didn’t really matter where you were on the field the end zone was always a possibility. I remember dropping back to the opposite end zone, launching a pass that Jerry Rice dove for catch on the one-yard line where he was tackled. Even though it was only a video game, I’ll never forget coming up one-yard short in the super bowl.
Golden Eye war
In the dorms we’d have four man wars on Golden Eye. Like I stated before, I sucked at this game, but I still played for shits and giggles. Anyways, our one roommate Mike was pretty good, but he was also fairly sensitive. So as he knocked us off, we all complained how he like sneaking up from behind and couldn’t do it like a real man. The ribbing usually increased as the games went on until Mike eventually got mad and stopped playing. It usually took a couple days to get him to play again. Mike’s a good guy, but man did we like pissing him off.
It’s all gone
The Snakester and I played a couple shorter seasons on Sega’s World Series Baseball ’95. I remember though, we finally decided to go the long haul with a 162 game season with our drafted teams sometime in high school. We got a long way through, I believe past the all-star break. Which meant we spent a lot of weeks trading the game back and forth as usually it worked out where one of us had three or four games to play and then the other person did. Then I remember getting the game back one time, putting it in the system and the system going haywire for a second. When I got the game going, the whole season was gone. It was disgusting. I am not sure either of us touched that game again.
High Score
For a long time, when I took up Breakout again after work on Friday’s I really sucked at it. It just takes a long time to get used to the joystick. Anyways one night after a long night of work, followed by several hours of drinking, I hit a personal high score in the 400s. Very close to breaking through the first screen. I got up and took a picture on my cell phone, or at least I thought I did, I never actually been able to find that picture. Now it’s become tradition for someone who’s hits an unusual high score to mark that experience with a phone picture.
Macho Madness
The Snakester and I worked pretty hard to create exciting shows for a fake promotion using NWO Revenge. One time we we’re getting close to the big card of our year, Starcade. We had the main event between Sting and World Champion Goldberg. On the Nitro before we decided to have Goldberg wrestle Randy Savage in a world title match. Savage wasn’t real strong in the game so we figured it would be okay. I don’t remember if I controlled Goldberg or if Snakester did. As was the case with Revenge, sometimes guys were unbeatable in the ring. Savage came out firing and beat Goldberg in like five minutes. Our pay-per-view card was thrown completely for a loop.
My first Nintendo
Everyone has that one great Christmas present. This was mine. I had waited a long time to catch up to my friends and have a Nintendo system of my own. (Little did I know that newer better systems were all ready hitting the market). Anyways I tore at the paper and stared at the box. It came with Mario, Duck Hunt and the power pad track game. I used that system through all the blowing in the cartridges and tinkering just to get it to work. But that thing will always have a special place in my heart.
Crazy Dan and his exploits
Snakester and I lived our first year together in the dorms. Across the hall was a young man lovingly called Crazy Dan for some pretty good reasons. Anyways, Snakester and I had a nice collection of systems included a sega, a Nintendo, an NG4 and I think that was it, Snake would remember better than I. Well Crazy Dan always wanted to play Nintendo, but always asked to play like a kindergartner asking to go to the bathroom. It was funny because I don’t think he meant to. It was always enjoyable when Dan came over to play, because you never knew what he was going to talk about while sitting there.
Mints Galore
As stated in my previous list, Mario Kart was a way of life in the dorms in college. My second year there, we lived in a four person suite. Three of us were pretty close running buddies with the fourth, Alex, being the not so well liked space filler. Anyway one of the few times he joined us for a MK session, he pulled a late upset over my roommate Erik. Well Erik was a little competitive and he definitely didn’t like losing to Alex. He punched a small floor fan over and then tossed a cup full of National mints across the room. Then just left the room. It was hilarious especially later when Alex went to see if he was okay. Classic.
The Devil Train
This was the Snakester, the Style’s and my fictional wrestling stable. Snakester was named Lucifer Menedez. I was Jeffery Diablo. The Style was Hades McKenzie. Anyways in later Wrestling games like No Mercy and Wrestlemania 2000, the Stable came to life in the create a character mode. I remember the first incarnations just being monsters. I’ve always thought this would be an excellent name for a real wrestling group. Heck when I get new wrestling games, I still make these guys up. Each time a little different, but with similar resemblances to the originals.
The Rivalry
Snakester and I generally got along most of the time. But we were guys. Competitive guys. Video games were just another outlet for us to outdo one another. Things could get pretty petty when we matched up. Somebody had to lose and that person didn’t always handle it well. We liked to raise the stakes by playing long seasons of baseball, football, wrestling, whatever game we liked at the time. The more time we put into it the more we got into it when we inevitably met in the postseason. I don’t remember who won what that much because we played so much, but I know we both went home mad a fair share of times.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Snakesters Top 10 Video Game Memories
With our favorite video games comes good memories of playing them. I am trying my best to celebrate that here and hopefully didn't give alot of it away with my favorite games list.
10. Watching the AI play a cage match: This is an example of taking a wrestling game a little too seriously. I believe the game was Wrestlemania 2000 for the N64. Big Red, The Style & I were trying to make an awesome pay per view event and were even recording the game on the VCR because we thought magic was gonna happen. Except when it came to a cage match, our player matches never lived up to the hype of a cage battle. So we let the computer play itself. I don't remember who the wrestlers were but I do remember cheering like hell and being rather entertained.
9. Drafting baseball teams: The games were the World Series Baseball games from like '95 to '98 maybe on the Sega Genesis. We would draft baseball teams just to see who we could end up with. As we got better, we would try to draft the crappiest teams we could and still turn lifetime .230 hitters into .410 guys. I remember we never made it too far into the seasons. We would have more fun trying to draft weird teams and see who the other teams ended up with.
8. Circle of Death: I think I was kidding myself, but when my first Xbox 360 made it a year I thought I would end up in the clear. Then all of a sudden I went to turn it on and it happened. I got the 3 red lights known as the circle of death. Panic set it as I had Rock Band already preordered to come in the next two weeks. So I went ahead and brought a new Xbox & sold the old one when it came back from repairs... to my brother.
7. Searching our town for a Game Genie w/ my dad: I am pretty sure my dad was more excited than I was when they came out with the Game Genie for the NES. He was determined to try it out so we scoured our town a whole Saturday until at about the 6th rental store we stopped at they finally had one in stock. I am pretty sure after all that build up, actually using the genie was a letdown somehow.
6. Finally beating Bark At The Moon: Guitar Hero was a test of wills for me. I got to the final stage. Texas Flood wasn't too bad because it was slow. Godzilla was just fun. Cowboys From Hell was doable once I got the rhythm down. But Bark At The Moon haunted me for a week. I would try for 3 hours on end and still mess up at a few key spots that required alot of fast chord changes. I remember the relief when I finally past it and the sort of let down of having nothing follow except a screen to tell me to do it on Hard now.
5. First Online Gears of War match: Xbox Live and the other networks have given a new life to video games adding playability to what used to be shallow games. Gears of War is an awesome game and a good time online. I learned that I was a Noob and would be getting Powned for a long time to come. It was still a thrill every time I got into a match and the anxiety I had of being killed and losing.
4. Wii bowling with my nephew: The Wii is an amazingly fun system and can bring everyone into the game, even my 4 yr old nephew. He tries to play Xbox with me but it usually doesn't work too well. But when he started bowling, he would kick my butt every time. He figured the game out on his own and has learned many of the spin tricks. Of course, I think my in-laws hate me now for getting him hooked on the Wii.
3. Playing Mario Kart 64 in crowded dorm rooms: As referenced my in game list, Mario Kart brought everyone together because it was pretty easy to play. Dorm rooms though aren't the biggest thing in the world and when you split a 32" TV into 4 sections you kinda need to sit close. So we would all cram together on the beds and play for hours on end shooting each other with turtle shells. The best part was no one really ever dominated the games, so that keep everyone going.
2. All Night Wrestling Tournament: NWO Revenge brought of the best in our creative juices. My brother had a friend over and I had Big Red over. We put all the wrestlers names from the game into a draw and laid it out. We played until 4 in the morning I think by the time we got all the matches done. Well my brother quit way before that because all he could do was cheat and we wouldn't let him. Somehow Alex Wright always won every tournament we ever put him in. It was very strange.
1. NES behind the couch at Christmas: Don't ask me what year it was or how old I was; I don't remember. But I remember vividly opening my last present that was under the tree then finding a note somewhere. Santa told me to look behind the couch. There it was! my very own NES. I am pretty sure dad had it hooked up in about 10 minutes (which is impressive for his poor knowledge of TV wiring) and we were off an running. That was the beginning! I would never be the same after that fateful Christmas.
Honorable Mention:
Finally beating Super Mario Bros
Whooping Big Joe at wrestling
Looking in the Zelda: Ocarina of Time guide at Wal-mart whenever I needed a hint
10. Watching the AI play a cage match: This is an example of taking a wrestling game a little too seriously. I believe the game was Wrestlemania 2000 for the N64. Big Red, The Style & I were trying to make an awesome pay per view event and were even recording the game on the VCR because we thought magic was gonna happen. Except when it came to a cage match, our player matches never lived up to the hype of a cage battle. So we let the computer play itself. I don't remember who the wrestlers were but I do remember cheering like hell and being rather entertained.
9. Drafting baseball teams: The games were the World Series Baseball games from like '95 to '98 maybe on the Sega Genesis. We would draft baseball teams just to see who we could end up with. As we got better, we would try to draft the crappiest teams we could and still turn lifetime .230 hitters into .410 guys. I remember we never made it too far into the seasons. We would have more fun trying to draft weird teams and see who the other teams ended up with.
8. Circle of Death: I think I was kidding myself, but when my first Xbox 360 made it a year I thought I would end up in the clear. Then all of a sudden I went to turn it on and it happened. I got the 3 red lights known as the circle of death. Panic set it as I had Rock Band already preordered to come in the next two weeks. So I went ahead and brought a new Xbox & sold the old one when it came back from repairs... to my brother.
7. Searching our town for a Game Genie w/ my dad: I am pretty sure my dad was more excited than I was when they came out with the Game Genie for the NES. He was determined to try it out so we scoured our town a whole Saturday until at about the 6th rental store we stopped at they finally had one in stock. I am pretty sure after all that build up, actually using the genie was a letdown somehow.
6. Finally beating Bark At The Moon: Guitar Hero was a test of wills for me. I got to the final stage. Texas Flood wasn't too bad because it was slow. Godzilla was just fun. Cowboys From Hell was doable once I got the rhythm down. But Bark At The Moon haunted me for a week. I would try for 3 hours on end and still mess up at a few key spots that required alot of fast chord changes. I remember the relief when I finally past it and the sort of let down of having nothing follow except a screen to tell me to do it on Hard now.
5. First Online Gears of War match: Xbox Live and the other networks have given a new life to video games adding playability to what used to be shallow games. Gears of War is an awesome game and a good time online. I learned that I was a Noob and would be getting Powned for a long time to come. It was still a thrill every time I got into a match and the anxiety I had of being killed and losing.
4. Wii bowling with my nephew: The Wii is an amazingly fun system and can bring everyone into the game, even my 4 yr old nephew. He tries to play Xbox with me but it usually doesn't work too well. But when he started bowling, he would kick my butt every time. He figured the game out on his own and has learned many of the spin tricks. Of course, I think my in-laws hate me now for getting him hooked on the Wii.
3. Playing Mario Kart 64 in crowded dorm rooms: As referenced my in game list, Mario Kart brought everyone together because it was pretty easy to play. Dorm rooms though aren't the biggest thing in the world and when you split a 32" TV into 4 sections you kinda need to sit close. So we would all cram together on the beds and play for hours on end shooting each other with turtle shells. The best part was no one really ever dominated the games, so that keep everyone going.
2. All Night Wrestling Tournament: NWO Revenge brought of the best in our creative juices. My brother had a friend over and I had Big Red over. We put all the wrestlers names from the game into a draw and laid it out. We played until 4 in the morning I think by the time we got all the matches done. Well my brother quit way before that because all he could do was cheat and we wouldn't let him. Somehow Alex Wright always won every tournament we ever put him in. It was very strange.
1. NES behind the couch at Christmas: Don't ask me what year it was or how old I was; I don't remember. But I remember vividly opening my last present that was under the tree then finding a note somewhere. Santa told me to look behind the couch. There it was! my very own NES. I am pretty sure dad had it hooked up in about 10 minutes (which is impressive for his poor knowledge of TV wiring) and we were off an running. That was the beginning! I would never be the same after that fateful Christmas.
Honorable Mention:
Finally beating Super Mario Bros
Whooping Big Joe at wrestling
Looking in the Zelda: Ocarina of Time guide at Wal-mart whenever I needed a hint
Big Red's 10 favorite video games
Note: I think the final five or so on this list could be ranked in anyway possible and I'd be completely fine with that. The top five were pretty quick for me to come up with after that I struggled a little bit. I guess I've always had fun with the games I've played a lot with other people. I play PS2 now, which is fine, but basically I play alone. So I had a hard time putting those games on the list, because while I enjoy playing, I don't have the same memories attached to them as I do one's I played with others growing up.
10. NBA Jam – Nintendo
This was the first game I brought home that I really felt like I was standing in an arcade and playing. It had a ton of catchphrases and a ludicrous pace. Lots of dunking and lots of shooting from half court, but all-in-all it was fun. Plus it had tons of codes to get hidden characters and such. Always something to pop up to keep the interest.
9. Return of the King – PS2
I am not sure that I had really sat down and beat a game, as I did with Return of the King, since the first Mario that came with my first Nintendo. I’ve never been the kind of guy obsessed with beating games; usually I’d get interested in another game or something else about half way through and never really get going again. Return of the Kings made me want to get to the end. I wanted to see the graphics and take on some of the monsters of Middle-Earth. It wasn’t super hard and didn’t get too bogged down with storyline. It was straight to the point fighting.
8. Golden Eye – N64
This is probably the game on this list that I really sucked at. I could play through a lot of the levels alone fine, but put me against some of the wizards of Grant Tower C at NIU and I didn’t stand much of a chance. But nonetheless, it was a fun game where you could shoot at Russians (I think they were Russians) and how often do you get to do that anymore.
7. Madden Football 1994 or 2008 – Sega or PS2
I am cheating a bit here. Not too many people that like sports games could build a video game list without a Madden game one here. This two versions are the one’s I’ve played the most. For its time, the 94 game on Sega made you really think more about football strategy and study formations. By the time, I got around to the 2008 version that part of the game had been taken to a completely different level. They both deserve recognition on this list, but I didn’t want to take up two spots for the same brand of game.
6. Mario 3 - Nintendo
I just liked playing this one. I did want to beat this one, but I wanted to play every level also. I never did get to the end, basically because I didn’t use the cheats, but there was enough levels to keep me entertained for hours. I thought this strongest of the first three Mario adventures and the most in depth. I don’t know why I never bought this game, because I probably rented it a 100 times.
5. Breakout – Atari
We used to play this on the little TV in my kitchen when I was very young. We had the paddle which made breaking through pretty easy, but my siblings and I still spent a ton of time seeing who could go the farthest. Now I spend a lot of late Friday nights early Saturday mornings after work playing the adapted version on one of little battery operated systems that carry a handful of games. It’s a lot harder with joystick, but theirs is something relaxing about trying not out that screen of brightly colored brick, one brick at a time.
4. World Series Baseball ’95 – Sega
This still is the best baseball game that I have played. It didn’t take a super long time to work through 9 innings, unless you were on like easy mode and hit a home run on every at bat. It was good to play against the computer and great to play against a real person. Snake and I spent a lot of hours trying to get our teams through full seasons and seeing who could put up the best stats. My guess if we could find a similar game for a new system and both became independently wealthy, we’d give it another go through a 162 game season. We’re baseball freaks, what can I say.
3. Techmo Super Bowl – Nintendo
People always remember that you could throw the length of the field on this game and how unrealistic that was, but never give this game the credit it’s due. This was the first game really to inject NFL names and stats into it. You could play as your favorite teams and players and work through and entire NFL season. I loved this game. I wanted to take the Bears to the Super Bowl. I wanted to put up huge stats. I spent whole days going through season whether someone was there with me or not. I wish they still made games like this. I still be playing it.
2. NWO Revenge – N64
I read somewhere once that computers might teach kids to learn how to think, but mostly they teach kids how to think like computers. This is applies here, because while subsequent wrestling games that built off this games wrestling style never got the play time from me that this one did. Basically here Snake and I were able to create our on wrestling federation with storylines, pay per views and title scene. All it took was our own ingenuity within the game. Later versions (all WWE games) still had the same easy game play stuff, but the advanced season modes and career modes made our own ingenuity rather pointless. It was easier just to do what the game wanted us too and thus eliminated our need to think for ourselves.
1. Mario Kart – N64
I lived off this game through college like I did dorm food and alcohol. This was a daily thing among a group of us for four years. Not bad for a game with only 16 courses to keep our attention. Again, this game just let you play and it was best played with three others for bragging rights. We even had our own trophy made, a empty handle of Captain Morgan, for the times we’d play a cup or two to determine the room champion. The best part you could play and it’d only take 20 to 30 minutes and then you could be on your way. Which was good because I had a lot of food to eat and booze to drink during those days.
Honorable mention: Duck Hunt - Nintendo, Techmo Basketball - Nintendo, Excite Bike - Nintendo, NHL Hockey 96 - Sega, NFL Blitz - N64, Raw vs. Smackdown 2006 - PS2, March Madness 06 - PS2, X-Men Legends - PS2, No Mercy - N64
10. NBA Jam – Nintendo
This was the first game I brought home that I really felt like I was standing in an arcade and playing. It had a ton of catchphrases and a ludicrous pace. Lots of dunking and lots of shooting from half court, but all-in-all it was fun. Plus it had tons of codes to get hidden characters and such. Always something to pop up to keep the interest.
9. Return of the King – PS2
I am not sure that I had really sat down and beat a game, as I did with Return of the King, since the first Mario that came with my first Nintendo. I’ve never been the kind of guy obsessed with beating games; usually I’d get interested in another game or something else about half way through and never really get going again. Return of the Kings made me want to get to the end. I wanted to see the graphics and take on some of the monsters of Middle-Earth. It wasn’t super hard and didn’t get too bogged down with storyline. It was straight to the point fighting.
8. Golden Eye – N64
This is probably the game on this list that I really sucked at. I could play through a lot of the levels alone fine, but put me against some of the wizards of Grant Tower C at NIU and I didn’t stand much of a chance. But nonetheless, it was a fun game where you could shoot at Russians (I think they were Russians) and how often do you get to do that anymore.
7. Madden Football 1994 or 2008 – Sega or PS2
I am cheating a bit here. Not too many people that like sports games could build a video game list without a Madden game one here. This two versions are the one’s I’ve played the most. For its time, the 94 game on Sega made you really think more about football strategy and study formations. By the time, I got around to the 2008 version that part of the game had been taken to a completely different level. They both deserve recognition on this list, but I didn’t want to take up two spots for the same brand of game.
6. Mario 3 - Nintendo
I just liked playing this one. I did want to beat this one, but I wanted to play every level also. I never did get to the end, basically because I didn’t use the cheats, but there was enough levels to keep me entertained for hours. I thought this strongest of the first three Mario adventures and the most in depth. I don’t know why I never bought this game, because I probably rented it a 100 times.
5. Breakout – Atari
We used to play this on the little TV in my kitchen when I was very young. We had the paddle which made breaking through pretty easy, but my siblings and I still spent a ton of time seeing who could go the farthest. Now I spend a lot of late Friday nights early Saturday mornings after work playing the adapted version on one of little battery operated systems that carry a handful of games. It’s a lot harder with joystick, but theirs is something relaxing about trying not out that screen of brightly colored brick, one brick at a time.
4. World Series Baseball ’95 – Sega
This still is the best baseball game that I have played. It didn’t take a super long time to work through 9 innings, unless you were on like easy mode and hit a home run on every at bat. It was good to play against the computer and great to play against a real person. Snake and I spent a lot of hours trying to get our teams through full seasons and seeing who could put up the best stats. My guess if we could find a similar game for a new system and both became independently wealthy, we’d give it another go through a 162 game season. We’re baseball freaks, what can I say.
3. Techmo Super Bowl – Nintendo
People always remember that you could throw the length of the field on this game and how unrealistic that was, but never give this game the credit it’s due. This was the first game really to inject NFL names and stats into it. You could play as your favorite teams and players and work through and entire NFL season. I loved this game. I wanted to take the Bears to the Super Bowl. I wanted to put up huge stats. I spent whole days going through season whether someone was there with me or not. I wish they still made games like this. I still be playing it.
2. NWO Revenge – N64
I read somewhere once that computers might teach kids to learn how to think, but mostly they teach kids how to think like computers. This is applies here, because while subsequent wrestling games that built off this games wrestling style never got the play time from me that this one did. Basically here Snake and I were able to create our on wrestling federation with storylines, pay per views and title scene. All it took was our own ingenuity within the game. Later versions (all WWE games) still had the same easy game play stuff, but the advanced season modes and career modes made our own ingenuity rather pointless. It was easier just to do what the game wanted us too and thus eliminated our need to think for ourselves.
1. Mario Kart – N64
I lived off this game through college like I did dorm food and alcohol. This was a daily thing among a group of us for four years. Not bad for a game with only 16 courses to keep our attention. Again, this game just let you play and it was best played with three others for bragging rights. We even had our own trophy made, a empty handle of Captain Morgan, for the times we’d play a cup or two to determine the room champion. The best part you could play and it’d only take 20 to 30 minutes and then you could be on your way. Which was good because I had a lot of food to eat and booze to drink during those days.
Honorable mention: Duck Hunt - Nintendo, Techmo Basketball - Nintendo, Excite Bike - Nintendo, NHL Hockey 96 - Sega, NFL Blitz - N64, Raw vs. Smackdown 2006 - PS2, March Madness 06 - PS2, X-Men Legends - PS2, No Mercy - N64
Friday, September 19, 2008
Snakester's 10 Favorite Video Games
Videos games have grown from a geeky obsession into a multi billion dollar industry. Console and game sales continue to rise every year almost holding up our economy it seems. They are a big part of pop culture and a big part of my life from my childhood on. I read Game Informer Magazine which futures a small section each month where someone from the industry and a reader both list their top 5 video games. I have always thought with each month that I read them what mine would be. Well, we are taking it a step further and here is my top 10 favorite video games.
10. Earthbound (SNES): The graphics were cartoonish but the story was immense. This is not a very well known game but anyone who has played or seen it will be able to share their story of strife trying to complete this monster. I have never been a big fan of RPGs but this one struck a cord with me. It isn't the normal fantasy fair that usually comes with these games. It is an adventure of a boy named Ness who discovers a meteor has crashed near his house where a bee creature from the future instructs him to go on this quest. The game was sold with the strategy guide. That should tell you something right there to the size and complexity of the mission. It took be several long winter and spring months after receiving this one for my b-day in order to complete.
9. Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64): This one is aided just by the fact that finally on the N64 you could play with four players! It was as simple of a racing game that could be made and that added to the fun of getting everyone involved. The thrill or despair (depending on which end you were on) of the leader of the race getting wiped out by a turtle shell just before they would have won the race. That was always fun.
8. God of War (PS2): This is one of the most perfect games I have ever played! The graphics are amazing even on a standard definition TV and the gameplay was smooth & flawless. You play as Kratos, a spartan warrior, who is enlisted by the gods of Olympus to help them betray the god of war, Aries, who has become power hungry. The story is the most amazing part of this game and the way they reveal the back story of Kratos from how he became indebted to Aries to the point where we finally find out why he is soul is so tortured & is skin as white as a ghost. The fighting style is amazing, the graphics are bloody and the puzzles challenge yet delight. Still, the first time through seeing the scene on how Kratos evolves in the Ghost of Sparta is truly amazing and saddening at the same time.
7. Faxandu (NES): My uncle gave me this game after he had beaten it during his service in the Marines. I would consider this a cult gem from the glory days of the NES. This dark fantasy adventure had some truly weird looking monsters and a very challenging code system for continuing games. I remember being very frustrated when I couldn't get my codes to work until I could finally tell the difference between a script O and 0. You return from a long trip to your elvish town at the bottom of the World Tree to find it partially destroyed and overrun with dwarves. An evil as inhabited the World Tree poisoning the water supply and mutating dwarves into evil monsters. The original play took me several months but after I knew where I was going it could be beaten in about 3 hours. Which was very useful considering how hard it was to decipher the script code.
6. Metal Gear Solid (PSOne): I would describe this as a 4 hour movie with a game built into it. This series has been know for long cut scenes telling an amazing story. Some of them have gotten a little out of hand as it has gone on (I read somewhere a cut scene in MGS 4 is 90 minutes long!). This one had just enough back story from the original Metal Gear games on the NES to give it some depth before we dove into the Alaskan tundra as Solid Snake infiltrating a terrorist base. This is the ultimate espionage, sneaking game. The focus is always on hiding and avoiding conflict rather than just blasting everyone as in most games. This gave it a more realistic feel and made it more of a puzzle to try to figure out how to sneak through hangars without being seen. The many plot twists throughout can leave your head spinning.
5. Guitar Hero (PS2): I like to think I was an early adopter to this now craze. I remember reading about it as kind of a novelty in a magazine and knew I had to try it. I still remember the most songs from this one including No One Knows & Crossroads which I was never able to 5 star even on Medium. I remember practicing more than I ever had when I tried once to learn how to play a real guitar. The characters were cool and the songs were a good selection that introduced me to some new favorites. Whenever I hear them I can still see those notes flying at me and the way I had to move my fingers to play it. The series adds things with each installment and adds to their song catalogue, but the original will forever remain dearest in my heart.
4. Super Mario World (SNES): All of the Mario games have been great (except for the weird Mario's Time Machine). But this one always stands out to me because I spent alot of time finding all the hidden levels and learning how to fly with a cape. I remember the Star Road that lead to the hard levels called Tubular, Awesome, etc. It was the first Mario gave that could actually save your progress in order to alleviate those gruelling game play session where beating Super Mario Bros was more a test of endurance then game playing skill. The addition of Yoshi was the coolest thing to me and probably any other kid. This one also got my dad back into playing Mario with me, at least for a little while.
3. Red Dead Revolver (PS2): I don't think I have replayed a game as much as this one. I remember a long time ago seeing a commercial for it long before I even had a PS2 and I said I wanted that game. Well if you don't know by now, I am a western fan (see earlier posts). This was an old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western come to life, right down to Red wear a poncho and barely talking. The showdown sequences are wicked fun, staring down your opponent and then flicking the controller sticks to draw and hit the sweet spots. The story is well crafted and reveals enough of the past as you go. Riding the horse to run down and attack a train full of Spanish soldiers is the highlight for me, every cowboy's dream sequence.
2. NWO Revenge (N64): For me, this was the greatest wrestling game I ever played mostly for its simplicity. It was from the height of WCW's popularity before its inevitable collapse. The character models were still crude and the game fairly rigid, but it was still better than anything else we had ever played. The title challenges are the most gruelling test of gaming I have ever seen. You could not save and you had to win 7 matches I think before you got the title shot. The tag team title took literally 4-5 hours easy! All to just have your initials on the screen and your team wearing the belts in the exhibition matches. Still four wrestlers in the ring at one time was a big treat over anything else there was out there and it made the player be more creative in our match structure. It was pretty much all I played for about 2-3 years.
1. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64): Really I just wanted to say the whole Legend of Zelda saga but realized that would be a cheap way out and I didn't want to flood my list with the original Zelda & Link to the Past from the SNES so I have chosen the best. Just the fact that you start out as young Link and the game is in 3D make it one of the best. The adventure is pretty massive, the story is solid and the puzzles are very unique. I never got tired of replaying this game and just riding the horse across Hyrule field watching the sun set. This game had two unique features for its time in the concept of time passage from day to night and the different characters and monsters that were in the fields during those times. Also further into the game comes the object of time travel as Link is teleported into the future ruin of Hyrule as an adolescent. Then of course the puzzles that come with jumping back and forth in time to unlock dungeons etc. I would still challenge anyone to debate on a better adventure game than this one.
Honorable Mention:
Gears of War - Xbox 360 : beautiful game and fun gameplay
Warcraft II - PC: got me started on war strategy games
Manhunt - PS2: kind of scary how much fun killing people is
Tecmo Super Bowl - NES: the real football game
Donkey Kong Country - SNES: a good time with lots of secrets
007: Goldeneye - N64: fun gameplay and 4 person mutliplayer
10. Earthbound (SNES): The graphics were cartoonish but the story was immense. This is not a very well known game but anyone who has played or seen it will be able to share their story of strife trying to complete this monster. I have never been a big fan of RPGs but this one struck a cord with me. It isn't the normal fantasy fair that usually comes with these games. It is an adventure of a boy named Ness who discovers a meteor has crashed near his house where a bee creature from the future instructs him to go on this quest. The game was sold with the strategy guide. That should tell you something right there to the size and complexity of the mission. It took be several long winter and spring months after receiving this one for my b-day in order to complete.
9. Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64): This one is aided just by the fact that finally on the N64 you could play with four players! It was as simple of a racing game that could be made and that added to the fun of getting everyone involved. The thrill or despair (depending on which end you were on) of the leader of the race getting wiped out by a turtle shell just before they would have won the race. That was always fun.
8. God of War (PS2): This is one of the most perfect games I have ever played! The graphics are amazing even on a standard definition TV and the gameplay was smooth & flawless. You play as Kratos, a spartan warrior, who is enlisted by the gods of Olympus to help them betray the god of war, Aries, who has become power hungry. The story is the most amazing part of this game and the way they reveal the back story of Kratos from how he became indebted to Aries to the point where we finally find out why he is soul is so tortured & is skin as white as a ghost. The fighting style is amazing, the graphics are bloody and the puzzles challenge yet delight. Still, the first time through seeing the scene on how Kratos evolves in the Ghost of Sparta is truly amazing and saddening at the same time.
7. Faxandu (NES): My uncle gave me this game after he had beaten it during his service in the Marines. I would consider this a cult gem from the glory days of the NES. This dark fantasy adventure had some truly weird looking monsters and a very challenging code system for continuing games. I remember being very frustrated when I couldn't get my codes to work until I could finally tell the difference between a script O and 0. You return from a long trip to your elvish town at the bottom of the World Tree to find it partially destroyed and overrun with dwarves. An evil as inhabited the World Tree poisoning the water supply and mutating dwarves into evil monsters. The original play took me several months but after I knew where I was going it could be beaten in about 3 hours. Which was very useful considering how hard it was to decipher the script code.
6. Metal Gear Solid (PSOne): I would describe this as a 4 hour movie with a game built into it. This series has been know for long cut scenes telling an amazing story. Some of them have gotten a little out of hand as it has gone on (I read somewhere a cut scene in MGS 4 is 90 minutes long!). This one had just enough back story from the original Metal Gear games on the NES to give it some depth before we dove into the Alaskan tundra as Solid Snake infiltrating a terrorist base. This is the ultimate espionage, sneaking game. The focus is always on hiding and avoiding conflict rather than just blasting everyone as in most games. This gave it a more realistic feel and made it more of a puzzle to try to figure out how to sneak through hangars without being seen. The many plot twists throughout can leave your head spinning.
5. Guitar Hero (PS2): I like to think I was an early adopter to this now craze. I remember reading about it as kind of a novelty in a magazine and knew I had to try it. I still remember the most songs from this one including No One Knows & Crossroads which I was never able to 5 star even on Medium. I remember practicing more than I ever had when I tried once to learn how to play a real guitar. The characters were cool and the songs were a good selection that introduced me to some new favorites. Whenever I hear them I can still see those notes flying at me and the way I had to move my fingers to play it. The series adds things with each installment and adds to their song catalogue, but the original will forever remain dearest in my heart.
4. Super Mario World (SNES): All of the Mario games have been great (except for the weird Mario's Time Machine). But this one always stands out to me because I spent alot of time finding all the hidden levels and learning how to fly with a cape. I remember the Star Road that lead to the hard levels called Tubular, Awesome, etc. It was the first Mario gave that could actually save your progress in order to alleviate those gruelling game play session where beating Super Mario Bros was more a test of endurance then game playing skill. The addition of Yoshi was the coolest thing to me and probably any other kid. This one also got my dad back into playing Mario with me, at least for a little while.
3. Red Dead Revolver (PS2): I don't think I have replayed a game as much as this one. I remember a long time ago seeing a commercial for it long before I even had a PS2 and I said I wanted that game. Well if you don't know by now, I am a western fan (see earlier posts). This was an old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western come to life, right down to Red wear a poncho and barely talking. The showdown sequences are wicked fun, staring down your opponent and then flicking the controller sticks to draw and hit the sweet spots. The story is well crafted and reveals enough of the past as you go. Riding the horse to run down and attack a train full of Spanish soldiers is the highlight for me, every cowboy's dream sequence.
2. NWO Revenge (N64): For me, this was the greatest wrestling game I ever played mostly for its simplicity. It was from the height of WCW's popularity before its inevitable collapse. The character models were still crude and the game fairly rigid, but it was still better than anything else we had ever played. The title challenges are the most gruelling test of gaming I have ever seen. You could not save and you had to win 7 matches I think before you got the title shot. The tag team title took literally 4-5 hours easy! All to just have your initials on the screen and your team wearing the belts in the exhibition matches. Still four wrestlers in the ring at one time was a big treat over anything else there was out there and it made the player be more creative in our match structure. It was pretty much all I played for about 2-3 years.
1. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64): Really I just wanted to say the whole Legend of Zelda saga but realized that would be a cheap way out and I didn't want to flood my list with the original Zelda & Link to the Past from the SNES so I have chosen the best. Just the fact that you start out as young Link and the game is in 3D make it one of the best. The adventure is pretty massive, the story is solid and the puzzles are very unique. I never got tired of replaying this game and just riding the horse across Hyrule field watching the sun set. This game had two unique features for its time in the concept of time passage from day to night and the different characters and monsters that were in the fields during those times. Also further into the game comes the object of time travel as Link is teleported into the future ruin of Hyrule as an adolescent. Then of course the puzzles that come with jumping back and forth in time to unlock dungeons etc. I would still challenge anyone to debate on a better adventure game than this one.
Honorable Mention:
Gears of War - Xbox 360 : beautiful game and fun gameplay
Warcraft II - PC: got me started on war strategy games
Manhunt - PS2: kind of scary how much fun killing people is
Tecmo Super Bowl - NES: the real football game
Donkey Kong Country - SNES: a good time with lots of secrets
007: Goldeneye - N64: fun gameplay and 4 person mutliplayer
Thursday, September 18, 2008
List of the Day - 25 Best Metal Bands
Rob O'Connor writes a music blog for Yahoo! called 'List of the Day'. In honor of Metallica's new album, he publish the 25 Best Metal Bands. I am not going to recap the list or anything. You can & SHOULD read it for yourself (Click to the title of this entry for the link). I wanted to comment mostly on his preface in which he talks about what is considered Heavy Metal. That is probably the most open to interpretation genre there is in music or any other art form. I, myself, often use the term Hard Rock and Heavy Metal to distinguish between bands but I know I don't always use the same criteria. Not only is there Heavy Metal, but there is all the sub genres that were created by record labels and the bands themselves to help them standout among the metal scene. There are some questionable calls in his list as to be expected with such an open title. With that comes some of the stupid comments ('Where is this band' or 'That band isn't Metal' etc.) as if the writer purposely left off your favorite band just to piss you off. That is why Big Red and I enjoy making lists, they are open to interpretation. They are neither right nor wrong (although sometimes they can seem very wrong). They are just our thoughts and feelings. Of course, even our lists can bring out the idiotic comments too.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Death Magnetic - A Review
Metallica's Death Magnetic came out last week and I have listened to it a few times through really well so I feel like I should put in my two cents.
Every one's anticipation for the release probably fell into one of two categories: excitement at a return to form or a dread of what could come next. I have tried to stay away from other reviews of this album wishing to form my own opinion but it is hard not to see some of the headlines saying this was a return to their old self as in And Justice For All. That is lofty expectations for a group of guys 20 years older than they were making that album. The side of dread represents the group of people that were turned off by St. Anger and the subsequent documentary Some Kind of Monster. These days I am a little softer on my thoughts of St. Anger. It has grown on me as something different and at least fueled by some deep issues within the band and the anger that came out. There are a couple gems in there: Invisible Kid and All Within My Hands. My take on Death Magnetic is somewhere in between those two extremes.
I find this album to be more of a tribute to themselves than a return to form. I don't know if what I am hearing is something new or just a rehash of what they have already done. There is some And Justice For All moments in there but to me it seems more like Load/ReLoad just a little faster at times. One song is even titled Unforgiven III. The Day That Never Comes reminds me the most of Load and specifically the song Hero of the Day in lyrics and tone. Although I could see the comparison to One but I would never put it on that pedestal. The opener, That Was Just Your Life, is fully fueled metal but then the album fades over the long haul just like their following tour undoubtedly will. Although I would still pay to see one of their shows and would be singing right along with The End of the Line and Broken, Beat & Scarred.
Overall, the music is good. It sounds much more like Metallica and not like they are trying to copy the modern metal scene. The lyrics are bad at best, most of the time terrible ("whatever don't kill ya make ya more strong"). I thought they were more well thought out in St. Anger. The soloing is back and a very welcomed addition. Kirk keeps proving his worth as they get older. Lars's drums at least sound normal on this release if not predictable in his rhythms. The darker tone is a stab at reclaiming their youth and I think it would be unfair to believe that they could play as fast and hard as they did 20 years ago. After all that is what maturing as an artist should be; become more technical in your play and playing for deeper reasons. Handicapping them for age, which given what they've done to their bodies and the style they play is pretty good chunk, this is a very good album bordering on awesome. For every knock I would have on it, I could find just as many positives. I don't think it deserves all the criticism that the lofty expectations the name Metallica brings (return to form believers) nor does it warrant all the fan boy praise that is out there (those afraid of another St. Anger). I believe many other hard rock/metal bands out there would love to have made this album. *** - 3 Stars
EDIT: Check out a page on some of the chart success Metallica has achieved this this Album. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/13450/week-ending-sept-14-2008-metallica-and-the-hard-rock-pantheon
Every one's anticipation for the release probably fell into one of two categories: excitement at a return to form or a dread of what could come next. I have tried to stay away from other reviews of this album wishing to form my own opinion but it is hard not to see some of the headlines saying this was a return to their old self as in And Justice For All. That is lofty expectations for a group of guys 20 years older than they were making that album. The side of dread represents the group of people that were turned off by St. Anger and the subsequent documentary Some Kind of Monster. These days I am a little softer on my thoughts of St. Anger. It has grown on me as something different and at least fueled by some deep issues within the band and the anger that came out. There are a couple gems in there: Invisible Kid and All Within My Hands. My take on Death Magnetic is somewhere in between those two extremes.
I find this album to be more of a tribute to themselves than a return to form. I don't know if what I am hearing is something new or just a rehash of what they have already done. There is some And Justice For All moments in there but to me it seems more like Load/ReLoad just a little faster at times. One song is even titled Unforgiven III. The Day That Never Comes reminds me the most of Load and specifically the song Hero of the Day in lyrics and tone. Although I could see the comparison to One but I would never put it on that pedestal. The opener, That Was Just Your Life, is fully fueled metal but then the album fades over the long haul just like their following tour undoubtedly will. Although I would still pay to see one of their shows and would be singing right along with The End of the Line and Broken, Beat & Scarred.
Overall, the music is good. It sounds much more like Metallica and not like they are trying to copy the modern metal scene. The lyrics are bad at best, most of the time terrible ("whatever don't kill ya make ya more strong"). I thought they were more well thought out in St. Anger. The soloing is back and a very welcomed addition. Kirk keeps proving his worth as they get older. Lars's drums at least sound normal on this release if not predictable in his rhythms. The darker tone is a stab at reclaiming their youth and I think it would be unfair to believe that they could play as fast and hard as they did 20 years ago. After all that is what maturing as an artist should be; become more technical in your play and playing for deeper reasons. Handicapping them for age, which given what they've done to their bodies and the style they play is pretty good chunk, this is a very good album bordering on awesome. For every knock I would have on it, I could find just as many positives. I don't think it deserves all the criticism that the lofty expectations the name Metallica brings (return to form believers) nor does it warrant all the fan boy praise that is out there (those afraid of another St. Anger). I believe many other hard rock/metal bands out there would love to have made this album. *** - 3 Stars
EDIT: Check out a page on some of the chart success Metallica has achieved this this Album. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/13450/week-ending-sept-14-2008-metallica-and-the-hard-rock-pantheon
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Knowledge & Integrity
I am a life long Cubs fan and I am really enjoying this season. So it is almost a sin that recently I have found myself listening to White Sox games on the radio when the Cubs are not on. At first I dismissed this as just noise in the background because I needed something to break the silence. But my interest has grown which could be pointed towards the fact that for the first time in my life time teams on both sides of town are winning their divisions with the great dream of an all Chicago World Series. But even with that, it still isn't a reason to listen to the game.
I listen because of Steve Stone. The former Cy Young Award winner that has much just as big of a career as a broadcaster. I grew up listening to him call Cubs games with Harry Caray and later his grandson Chip. I remember vividly his falling out with the Cubs during the 2004 season in which the club blew their chance at making the playoffs after being just 4 outs away from the World Series the year before. That is were the integrity part comes in. Steve did not shy away from his straight forward observations of the team and his disappointment (maybe disgust) for the way they avoided blame. Obviously for an organization at the time that was afraid of the truth, this caused quite a stir. Steve left the position not wanting to be a monkey on TV backing whatever the team or skipper did. But that season made Steve Stone to me and many other fans, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what we were all thinking.
Now he is on WSCR The Score doing Sox games and will enter their TV booth next year. His knowledge of the game and situations is unbelievable. He seems to have this ability to understand the game like no one else and thus know what is going to possibly happen. There are plenty of clips that are evidence to this. I find myself listening to the Sox broadcasts just to hear what Stoney has to say and what he thinks about every team and every situation. He is my baseball guru.
I listen because of Steve Stone. The former Cy Young Award winner that has much just as big of a career as a broadcaster. I grew up listening to him call Cubs games with Harry Caray and later his grandson Chip. I remember vividly his falling out with the Cubs during the 2004 season in which the club blew their chance at making the playoffs after being just 4 outs away from the World Series the year before. That is were the integrity part comes in. Steve did not shy away from his straight forward observations of the team and his disappointment (maybe disgust) for the way they avoided blame. Obviously for an organization at the time that was afraid of the truth, this caused quite a stir. Steve left the position not wanting to be a monkey on TV backing whatever the team or skipper did. But that season made Steve Stone to me and many other fans, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what we were all thinking.
Now he is on WSCR The Score doing Sox games and will enter their TV booth next year. His knowledge of the game and situations is unbelievable. He seems to have this ability to understand the game like no one else and thus know what is going to possibly happen. There are plenty of clips that are evidence to this. I find myself listening to the Sox broadcasts just to hear what Stoney has to say and what he thinks about every team and every situation. He is my baseball guru.
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