Game shows
I enjoy game shows. My personal favorites are Deal or No Deal and Jeopardy. Game shows are appearing more and more on networks in prime time, due to the writer's strike. Usually I would think this is a good thing, but they are making big mistakes.
A few weeks back, commercials aired for 1 vs 100 stating "someone finally wins the million on the next show". Whatever happened to the ability to surprise viewers? Then there is the commonplace "teaser" clips before commercial breaks. Things such as "coming up, is a moment you wont want to miss", along with a short clip. In my view, the networks need to stop worrying about ratings so much. Produce decent shows, and people will watch.
Wrestling's Royal Rumble
This month is WWE's annual Royal Rumble event. It's one of my favorites of the year. It's a 30-man match to determine who will face a champion at WrestleMania.
For those that don't know how the match works, I'll explain it.
The rules of the match: 2 men start, and every few minutes another enters. This process continues until all men have entered the ring. A wrestler is eliminated at anytime, when he is thrown over the top rope and onto the floor. The last man in the ring wins.
As of now, a little over half of the people in the match have been confirmed. For the most part, the people in the match are decent.
The Royal Rumble event also features a few other matches. This year has WWE champ Randy Orton against Jeff Hardy, World champ Edge against Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho against JBL, and Ric Flair against MVP (with the stipulation that if Flair loses, he must retire). This is probably all the matches the event will have. It's a decent lineup of matches for the most part, but I don't expect Flair and MVP to have a good match.
Super Smash Brothers Brawl
Recently this game was delayed again, and people on the gamefaqs message board threw fits. They whined in numerous topics about it. Seriously, don't they have better things to do? It's just a game, and games get delayed all the time. They act like their life is over because they can't play the game the exact moment that they want to. Be patient people, it's not hard to do.
In other Brawl news, Sheik (the alter ego of Zelda) is confirmed for the game. By doing a special move, you can turn Zelda into Sheik and play as a whole new character to the game (however she isn't new to the series, as she was in Melee.)
Overall, Brawl is shaping up to be a pretty decent game. 30 characters from the Nintendo universe (plus ones that aren't: Snake and Sonic), many stages and modes, and much more. I plan to get the game, but probably not right away.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Video game rant #2
(For the first rant: since December 11, 2007)
Remember, there is more to gaming than big name titles
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: try other games besides the big name ones. People complain there isn't any good third party games. Why exactly should companies make many when people seem to ignore them most of the time? If people actually bought the decent ones out now, then companies would realize the demand is out there.
Avoid video game stores for the most part
They love to scam customers, and shouldn't be trusted much. If you trade in games, you don't get much and they end up selling it for a lot more than they gave you. Profit needs to be made, but not this much profit. Another scam they have going (which I mentioned in the past), they sell used games as new. They have discs in a cabinet they claim are new, also they shrink wrap used games and sell them as new. The only good thing about video game stores: they have hard to find games sometimes. If you don't want to pay shipping from ordering online, it's a good idea to check game stores near you.
Pikmin 3 in the future?
Pikmin and Pikmin 2 were two great GameCube games, and it's likely Nintendo will make a new game. Hopefully they improve many things in it.
A few suggestions I have:
-Bring back the day limit. The sequel had no true game over and no limit, which was a bit dumb. Every game should have a game over screen, otherwise... what's the point?
-Split time between the surface and caves better. In Pikmin 2, caves were most of the game. They were repetitive after a while. In a new game, time spent on the surface and caves should be about the same.
-New Pikmin types are a must, but don't mess with the old types too much. White and purple should still be grown in caves.
-Online play isn't a requirement. Everyone always assume things such as "online games are the best" and "all games should be online" but that's not always true. Pikmin 2 worked fine as a multiplayer game, and a third game should be the same.
-Improve 2-player battle mode. It was fun for a bit, but got old with the lack of objectives and lack of levels to play in.
Remember, there is more to gaming than big name titles
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: try other games besides the big name ones. People complain there isn't any good third party games. Why exactly should companies make many when people seem to ignore them most of the time? If people actually bought the decent ones out now, then companies would realize the demand is out there.
Avoid video game stores for the most part
They love to scam customers, and shouldn't be trusted much. If you trade in games, you don't get much and they end up selling it for a lot more than they gave you. Profit needs to be made, but not this much profit. Another scam they have going (which I mentioned in the past), they sell used games as new. They have discs in a cabinet they claim are new, also they shrink wrap used games and sell them as new. The only good thing about video game stores: they have hard to find games sometimes. If you don't want to pay shipping from ordering online, it's a good idea to check game stores near you.
Pikmin 3 in the future?
Pikmin and Pikmin 2 were two great GameCube games, and it's likely Nintendo will make a new game. Hopefully they improve many things in it.
A few suggestions I have:
-Bring back the day limit. The sequel had no true game over and no limit, which was a bit dumb. Every game should have a game over screen, otherwise... what's the point?
-Split time between the surface and caves better. In Pikmin 2, caves were most of the game. They were repetitive after a while. In a new game, time spent on the surface and caves should be about the same.
-New Pikmin types are a must, but don't mess with the old types too much. White and purple should still be grown in caves.
-Online play isn't a requirement. Everyone always assume things such as "online games are the best" and "all games should be online" but that's not always true. Pikmin 2 worked fine as a multiplayer game, and a third game should be the same.
-Improve 2-player battle mode. It was fun for a bit, but got old with the lack of objectives and lack of levels to play in.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Things that annoy me part 2
Since I forgot a few big things in the first post, I decided to add them here.
-All the people that assume credit cards are free money. Debt wouldn't be such a big issue, if people actually thought before buying things. "Buy now, pay later" is just asking for trouble, if you obviously can't afford something. Things like school, a house and car are the few exceptions to this.
-All the advertisements for poker websites during poker tournaments on television. Unless I'm missing something, why exactly does just about every player need to advertise poker sites? Each player at the table is wearing a shirt, jacket or hat that is advertising a poker website. It just makes them look like employees of the poker website or something.
-Wikipedia editors that don't understand many of the rules. People assume they own articles that they personally create, think they can do what they want, create anything they want and so on. It's really not that hard to read policies and guidelines. The encyclopedia isn't a guide to everything, it's not a hard concept to understand.
-All the people that assume credit cards are free money. Debt wouldn't be such a big issue, if people actually thought before buying things. "Buy now, pay later" is just asking for trouble, if you obviously can't afford something. Things like school, a house and car are the few exceptions to this.
-All the advertisements for poker websites during poker tournaments on television. Unless I'm missing something, why exactly does just about every player need to advertise poker sites? Each player at the table is wearing a shirt, jacket or hat that is advertising a poker website. It just makes them look like employees of the poker website or something.
-Wikipedia editors that don't understand many of the rules. People assume they own articles that they personally create, think they can do what they want, create anything they want and so on. It's really not that hard to read policies and guidelines. The encyclopedia isn't a guide to everything, it's not a hard concept to understand.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Things that annoy me.
While I'm not usually one to complain, here is just some of the things that annoy me (also known as "pet peeves"):
-People at stores that have a cart full of items that use the express lane (usually 15 or 20 items only). Employees never seem to stop them, which is just stupid. The phrase "the customer is always right" doesn't apply here, as the customer is just ignorant. It's not hard to read the sign near the lane.
-Used video game stores that sell opened games as new. This is clearly false advertisement, yet they continue to get away with it. At GameStop and a few other places: you bring them a case, and they will get the game disc out of a cabinet. Seeing as how the game is out of the case, it's not new anymore. In my view, these places need to be investigated by the Better Business Bureau.
-All the focus on fashion. Let people wear what they want. There is all these magazines and shows that praise and bash people depending on what they wear. Who exactly made these people the experts on clothes? The majority of people enjoy what they wear, so leave them alone.
-People that judge things that they hardly know anything about. Research something before you comment about it.
-All the DVD editions of the same movie. There is limited edition, special edition, anniversary, unrated and so on. One big problem is that they don't always come out at the same time, so sometimes it's just better to wait a while before buying a movie. Unless you simply don't care about special features. Most of the time they aren't even worth it. Why buy a DVD for a little more, for things that you wont even watch more?
-The video game label of "kiddy". Most of the time when people call a game kiddy, they don't even know what they are talking about. Many people love to call Nintendo kiddy, however the system appeals to everyone and not just kids. There is kid's games (such as ones based on children's shows and so on) and a some kid's educational games, but that's the only things that can truely be labeled kiddy.
-People at stores that have a cart full of items that use the express lane (usually 15 or 20 items only). Employees never seem to stop them, which is just stupid. The phrase "the customer is always right" doesn't apply here, as the customer is just ignorant. It's not hard to read the sign near the lane.
-Used video game stores that sell opened games as new. This is clearly false advertisement, yet they continue to get away with it. At GameStop and a few other places: you bring them a case, and they will get the game disc out of a cabinet. Seeing as how the game is out of the case, it's not new anymore. In my view, these places need to be investigated by the Better Business Bureau.
-All the focus on fashion. Let people wear what they want. There is all these magazines and shows that praise and bash people depending on what they wear. Who exactly made these people the experts on clothes? The majority of people enjoy what they wear, so leave them alone.
-People that judge things that they hardly know anything about. Research something before you comment about it.
-All the DVD editions of the same movie. There is limited edition, special edition, anniversary, unrated and so on. One big problem is that they don't always come out at the same time, so sometimes it's just better to wait a while before buying a movie. Unless you simply don't care about special features. Most of the time they aren't even worth it. Why buy a DVD for a little more, for things that you wont even watch more?
-The video game label of "kiddy". Most of the time when people call a game kiddy, they don't even know what they are talking about. Many people love to call Nintendo kiddy, however the system appeals to everyone and not just kids. There is kid's games (such as ones based on children's shows and so on) and a some kid's educational games, but that's the only things that can truely be labeled kiddy.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas (and happy holidays to everyone that doesn't celebrate Christmas).
I celebrated Christmas early this year: on Saturday. I got what I asked for, with a few surprises. A few of the things I got: some gift cards, cash and the Narnia book set. I've read a few of them already, and it's a great series. I read these when I was younger, and they are certainly one of the better fantasy series out there. Also over the weekend, I saw National Treasure 2. I enjoyed it, and it's a little better than the original in my opinion.
I celebrated Christmas early this year: on Saturday. I got what I asked for, with a few surprises. A few of the things I got: some gift cards, cash and the Narnia book set. I've read a few of them already, and it's a great series. I read these when I was younger, and they are certainly one of the better fantasy series out there. Also over the weekend, I saw National Treasure 2. I enjoyed it, and it's a little better than the original in my opinion.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Reality television, celebrities and pro athletes
Reality television is invading television way too much. With the writer's strike, it's only getting worse. Personally, people are too addicted to American Idol and Survivor. Neither show has been very interesting for quite a while, but the addicts keep the garbage alive. The writer's strike is justified in my view, as they deserve to be paid for royalties and so on. The television companies need to just give in, and end this strike already.
There is way too much focus on celebrities in the United States. Go to a store, and you will find numerous gossip magazines. Turn the tv on: there is probably some sort of celebrity news show on. The paparazzi are paid to basically stalk celebrities for photos. Celebrities are to blame for this as well. They get large amounts of money for the first photo of their baby. That's just sick and wrong. Having a baby, shouldn't be another way to earn money. Also, it makes me a little sick that celebrities seem to be above the law at times. Numerous celebrities have been caught with drugs, sent to "rehab" and thats about it. Any other person would've recieved some sort of jail time. There is some celebrities that have gone to jail: but it's a small minority when you look at the huge amount that havent.
On the subject of money: pro athletes are paid too much. Why exactly is it reasonable that someone should get millions for his contract? Playing a sport (pro or not), should be about having fun, not how much money you can earn. Especially when they just blow the money on numerous houses, many cars and so on. Some donate to charities, but that doesn't justify the huge salaries. Teams will continue to do it, as long as they have the money. I enjoy it everytime the New York Yankees don't win the World Series (or even a playoff game), as it shows money doesn't always buy you a title. Overall, in baseball (and a few other sports at least): it's the same teams going to the playoffs due to the money. Salary caps should be in place, so every team is fair and it's not so predictable. However this probably wont happen ever, as the teams have the money to blow and there will always be greedy players out there.
Is anyone even reading this? I wonder that, as no one has commented yet on anything I've wrote.
There is way too much focus on celebrities in the United States. Go to a store, and you will find numerous gossip magazines. Turn the tv on: there is probably some sort of celebrity news show on. The paparazzi are paid to basically stalk celebrities for photos. Celebrities are to blame for this as well. They get large amounts of money for the first photo of their baby. That's just sick and wrong. Having a baby, shouldn't be another way to earn money. Also, it makes me a little sick that celebrities seem to be above the law at times. Numerous celebrities have been caught with drugs, sent to "rehab" and thats about it. Any other person would've recieved some sort of jail time. There is some celebrities that have gone to jail: but it's a small minority when you look at the huge amount that havent.
On the subject of money: pro athletes are paid too much. Why exactly is it reasonable that someone should get millions for his contract? Playing a sport (pro or not), should be about having fun, not how much money you can earn. Especially when they just blow the money on numerous houses, many cars and so on. Some donate to charities, but that doesn't justify the huge salaries. Teams will continue to do it, as long as they have the money. I enjoy it everytime the New York Yankees don't win the World Series (or even a playoff game), as it shows money doesn't always buy you a title. Overall, in baseball (and a few other sports at least): it's the same teams going to the playoffs due to the money. Salary caps should be in place, so every team is fair and it's not so predictable. However this probably wont happen ever, as the teams have the money to blow and there will always be greedy players out there.
Is anyone even reading this? I wonder that, as no one has commented yet on anything I've wrote.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Wikipedia, pro wrestling and more
I edit Wikipedia (a free online encyclopedia) on a regular basis, and it's fun to a point. However people are just fanatics at times, with their edit warring and personal view that they must get their ways always. One type of fanatic: anti-deletionists that give bad reasons to keep things. Wikipedia simply can't be the place for everything, but they feel like it should be (dispite many policies and guidelines that they choose to ignore and/or not read).
I've been a fan of pro wrestling for a while now, and it surprises me how ignorant people are of it. People assume it's completely fake, but it's not. Wrestlers get hurt for real, because moves are done wrong and so on. When someone falls off a cage, they didn't practice on how to not get hurt from a fall. In a way, wrestlers are stunt men/women: however, they aren't perfect. Before people judge wrestling (or anything for that matter): research the subject, instead of spouting out nonsense about it.
Also on the subject of wrestling, I still prefer WWE over the rest. Seeing as how WWE has no major competition, their product has been slumping over the years. Wrestling in North America needs another rivalry, like the one WWE and WCW had in the 90's (known as the Monday Night Wars). However, the second best promotion: Total Nonstop Action, isn't ready quite just yet. If they would get better writers, and stop relying on former WWE talent so much... things would be better I bet.
I've been playing the video game Pikmin 2 (for GameCube) a lot lately. It's a very entertaining game, however the original Pikmin is a bit more of a challenge.
A little less than 10 days until Christmas. About a week for me, as I'm celebrating it on Saturday December 22nd this year.
I've been a fan of pro wrestling for a while now, and it surprises me how ignorant people are of it. People assume it's completely fake, but it's not. Wrestlers get hurt for real, because moves are done wrong and so on. When someone falls off a cage, they didn't practice on how to not get hurt from a fall. In a way, wrestlers are stunt men/women: however, they aren't perfect. Before people judge wrestling (or anything for that matter): research the subject, instead of spouting out nonsense about it.
Also on the subject of wrestling, I still prefer WWE over the rest. Seeing as how WWE has no major competition, their product has been slumping over the years. Wrestling in North America needs another rivalry, like the one WWE and WCW had in the 90's (known as the Monday Night Wars). However, the second best promotion: Total Nonstop Action, isn't ready quite just yet. If they would get better writers, and stop relying on former WWE talent so much... things would be better I bet.
I've been playing the video game Pikmin 2 (for GameCube) a lot lately. It's a very entertaining game, however the original Pikmin is a bit more of a challenge.
A little less than 10 days until Christmas. About a week for me, as I'm celebrating it on Saturday December 22nd this year.
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