Sites We Like

RealUltimatePower

Poop Report

Fat Chicks in Party Hats

Xbox-Scene

TechLore

NEWS 36 - 32 Comments
From: Ross Entered on: May 21, 2003 11:52 AM
Interesting. I may have to tune in. I wish all this had been going on when I was a kid and still collecting comics. I remember how any mention of ANY Marvel super hero in the mass media caused Roche and I so much excitement. Any cartoon, any action figure, anything - a feature film, a well-made one no less - was too much to ask for, though I entertained fantasies that it would happen one day. Instead, we got about 12 Secret Wars action figures, half of which were third-rate characters (Kang? Baron Zemo? The Falcon?), and for cartoons we got Spider-Man and his Amazingly Gay Friends. We did get some movies, but they were straight to video (Captain America, The Punisher) and horrendous. In any case, I am looking forward to the new Spider-Man cartoon, I've heard a lot of good things about it.     I just wish DC could get their shit together - Batman and Superman films have been bandied about in Hollywood for the past couple years, each one sounding shittier than the next. Now it appears that Christopher Nolan will be doing a Batman film but I haven't heard if there is a script yet, and there is no casting word on Batman. I'm still waiting for a portrayl that really does him justice. We might have come close with the Darren Aronofsky/Frank Miller Year One adaptation but it appears to have been shelved at this point.
From: Swerb Entered on: May 22, 2003 5:52 PM
Oh, come now. Firestar was a fantastic addition to the Marvel superhero canon.     And you know, that black Spider-Man Secret Wars figure was fuckin' sweeeet!
From: John Entered on: May 22, 2003 5:56 PM
I still have the black Spider-Man Secret Wars figure and it's fuckin' sweet.
From: Ross Entered on: May 22, 2003 6:31 PM
Don't touch the paint!!!     I actually still have Dr. Doom, the Hobgoblin, and a couple others in their original packages. The carboard is a little beat up, but they're in good shape. I wonder what they're worth. Hey, comic book store owner guy, why don't you make yourself useful and look those up for me?
From: Ross Entered on: May 23, 2003 10:38 AM
http://www.angelfire.com/comics/secretwars/index.ht ml     This site has good info on the figures, with the history of each. Some links are broken, though. The interesting thing is that in Europe they released Electro, Iceman, and the Constrictor. But not here.     From looking on ebay, it doesn't look like these figures are worth much, dammit. My hopes of early retirement living off all that Hobgoblin money are starting to seem just a bit unrealistic...
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 23, 2003 5:10 PM
Don't feel bad, Ross. I'd be perfectly willing to trade you some Alf POGs for them...
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 23, 2003 5:23 PM
Dude! I take that back! I'm getting low on the Alf POGs!
From: Swerb Entered on: May 23, 2003 8:49 PM
Remember Alf? He's back! In POG form!
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 23, 2003 11:35 PM
Exactly! From one of my favorite episodes of "The Simpsons"!
From: Ross Entered on: May 24, 2003 1:00 PM
Who is the biggest Simpson-lover here? It is a mystery...
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 24, 2003 1:36 PM
Though I love them -- particularly Homer and Ralphie -- I would have to take myself out of the running for biggest Simpsons-lover. Angie (a.k.a. ZillasWife/Angzilla/Jennettie) and BigFatty have both shown far greater dedication to viewing episodes. The sweet part is that many times I catch an older episode that I haven't seen yet.     Also, I don't particularly care for "Homer's Doh!-nuts"-brand cereal. I still get a craving for Smurf Berry Crunch every now and then. Remember that stuff? It was like flavored styrofoam. I used to pour sugar over it too. All part of this nutritious breakfast.
From: Swerb Entered on: May 24, 2003 2:28 PM
It is not a mystery who the biggest Simpsons fans is here... me. I bet I can out-reference anyone here...     Jack: The "Bart sells his soul" episode is one of my favorites, too... "Thank you, door!" "Way to breathe, no breath" and "This sounds like rock and/or roll!" are the best lines...     Other fave eps include Lisa the Vegetarian, Homer Badman (when he's accused of sexual harrassment) and when Troy McClure marries Selma ("I hate every ape I see, from chimpan-A to chimpanzee...").     By the way, both the Homer and Bart cereals are awful. A few people, knowing I'm a Simpsons fan, have bought them for me, and I just can't eat them, so the boxes are starting to pile up... My favorite awful cereal from my childhood, however, was Pac-Man cereal, basically a knockoff of Lucky Charms, but with less nutritional content.
From: Ross Entered on: May 24, 2003 8:00 PM
I of course only said that to see if anyone would challenge you, Serb. No one took the bait. ;)     BTW, are you gaming with us next Saturday?
From: Swerb Entered on: May 25, 2003 12:54 AM
Yeah, nobody took the bait because I would have crushed 'em. Like worms.     Yep, I'm planning on next Sat. When are you coming into town?
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 25, 2003 10:29 AM
We may have to try a new game or two before returning to Halo. Return to Castle Wolfenstein and BRUTE FORCE (!!!) should be out Thurs/Fri next week.
From: Ross Entered on: May 25, 2003 10:33 AM
I finally got Wolfenstein, by the way. Haven't tried it yet.     I'm most likely coming in not too long before the gaming starts, unless someone has a better plan?
From: Ross Entered on: May 25, 2003 2:57 PM
Just fired up Wolfenstein for the first time. I think it will be fun to play multiplayer. Though does it require 1 box/screen? I didn't check that part. If so, that might not be an option for a gaming night.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 26, 2003 12:13 AM
Yes, it's one box/screen. Which is really pushing it. Though my setup (ZILLABOX and FUNKBOX) provides 2 screens right off the bat. By the way, my new setup is extra sweet. I think Johnny and Fatty will concur.     Speaking of Fatty, he is now a Modding Jedi Master. I saw him wield a soldering iron for the first time and mod a V1.1 box in 5 minutes. The force is strong with this one indeed. The JOSHBOX lives!!!     I really want to get BRUTE FORCE for Saturday. It looks like an awesome System Link game!     By the way, Ross -- any chance of you bringing your box Saturday? I bet we got some goods to swap. Reading/writing direct with the harddrives is the way to go!
From: Ross Entered on: May 26, 2003 9:41 AM
It sounds like Brute Force comes out tomorrow - I haven't seen it anywhere yet - newsgroups or the donkey - we might need to buy that one to get it in time. Did you see that it only supports up to 8 in deathmatch though?     And yeah, I guess I can bring along my box.     How come Fatty was soldering? I thought you guys were scared of it and using the Matrix chips anyhow? And what makes you think a 1.1 box is harder?
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 26, 2003 9:49 AM
A V1.1 box IS harder! The pogo pin contacts are hollowed out. Fatty filled them in with solder. The chip is still removable though (its not soldered in). Brute Force was in the Sunday ads with an instore date of Thurs and Friday. I see Target includes a free guide with purchase. ONLY 8-player? Good enough for me!     Ok, so who's gonna buy it? Worse case is we just sell it back on Ebay later...
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 26, 2003 9:52 AM
Re: Bringing your box -- SWEET! Pack it all up! Maybe bring your game discs too in case anything's missing (I know someone wanted Circus Maximus and a couple other games you had that I never got).     Don't forget your controller -- THE POTATO -- I know it's your favorite...
From: Ross Entered on: May 26, 2003 10:31 AM
Speaking of xbox games, check this out!!     http://www.xbox365.com/news/zcomment.cgi?article=Ep VFVyEEAkUqqOuWTQ&tmpl=xxt_zc_template&prof=dev
From: Ross Entered on: May 26, 2003 6:30 PM
And Jack/Fatty, have you guys even played much of Vice City? I've been playing it on my PC and that is one great game! Even better than GTA3, if that's even possible. I have put Enter the Matrix on hold in favor of this truly great game.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 26, 2003 11:45 PM
I got Vice City for PS2 a week before I got Xbox. Vice City is slightly better than GTA3, but wasn't different enough to hold my interest when the Xbox appeared. Keep in mind that we played the hell out of GTA3 for months when it first came out. Plus it's hard to switch back to the PS2 games now -- with all the Xbox titles I have its just not worth getting the other system running. Especially since I got Burnout 2 on the Xbox now.     Look for Grand Theft on the Xbox late next year when Rockstar's exclusive contract with Sony is up. I myself am looking forward to True Crime: Streets of LA (even though its not an Xbox exclusive, so probably won't take full advantage of the box).     Have I told you guys how much my brother Tom LOVES his Xbox (the CATBOX)? OH MY GOD! He loves all the games but he and his girlfriend also LOVE playing all the music I put on it (using Xbox Media Player). Another happy customer. Hopefully he comes out Saturday for gaming. He's gotten quite a bit better at Halo now.     Tony -- When you coming to Grand Rapids? I need a new schmuck to run over in a warthog...
From: Ross Entered on: May 27, 2003 8:53 AM
Sorry JZ, but GTA is as good as anything the xbox has. You've got Halo, Splinter Cell... but GTA is easily a match for these games. I love what the xbox can do, too... but as a pure gaming experience, Vice City is the best thing going right now, having had my way with the best the Xbox has to offer. Even though you're right, that it's only slightly better than GTA3, but that's still one GREAT game. Plus, on the PC, I get the benefit of resolutions the xbox can't even dream of. But I'll be loving life if/when these games come to the Xbox anyway.     I generally loathe racing games - the driving levels in Enter the Matrix are enough to irritate me. But GTA is a different breed - far less realism, far more fun. Plus the entire focus of the game is not based on driving, only half or so.
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 27, 2003 10:01 AM
What are you sorry about, Rosster? I've had GTA3 for two years and Vice City since the day it was released last year. They're sweet! I've just already logged in several months playing GTA is all. Remember the first time you brought your Xbox with Halo over here? The boys were all queued up waiting to play my GTA3. It's nice that you've finally caught up with us on that one though... :)     Got Brute Force yet? XBOX.COM says its out in stores today (despite all the ads saying Thurs and Fri).
From: Ross Entered on: May 27, 2003 10:15 AM
What I'm sorry about is that you think that Vice City isn't worth playing just because you played its predecessor. I played almost all the way thru GTA3 (until I got stuck and had to give up - I do suck at driving, except when it comes to the Warthog) and I will go as far as I can with Vice City. They could make 10 more of these games and I'd play 'em all. For a single player experience (so as not to compare to Halo, which as a single player game is great but not in league with GTA), it is almost unparalleled.     As far as Brute Force goes, new in-store media typically comes out on Tuesdays (movies, music, games) so that's the official date but word on the net is that Best Buy is claiming they won't have it until Thursday for some reason - maybe the holiday weekend screwed things up. In any case, it should be showing up in... ahem... other places... pretty soon, I would think. I got no problem going in halvsies or thirdsies on it, though, if we need it in a hurry for Saturday.
From: Ross Entered on: May 28, 2003 5:50 PM
Brute Force is on the newsgroups. No sign of it on the donkey yet. Best Buy claims it's out today but their website still has the preorder images on it. I haven't checked the stores in person. What you gonna do, Jack?
From: Ross Entered on: May 30, 2003 8:45 AM
So how was the gaming last night?     And what's the status of Brute Force? Do I need to stop by Best Buy tomorrow before coming over?
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 30, 2003 10:52 AM
The gaming was good! Saturday will be BEST though because we'll have more people (that, and it's always fun to knock around some BIG'N'TASTY).     Willy picked up Brute Force. Are you still in for a third? It's on Will's credit card.     I seemed to like Brute Force better than Fatty and Johnny. Although I think we were all starting to get into it before we got stuck and didn't know how to progress. This one definately has potential. It controls just like Halo, but its third-person perspective which takes a little getting used to. The 4 main characters all have different qualities. I was digging my character: Hawk, who has a sniper rifle and the ability to cloak, sneak up on the enemy, and take them out like little bitches! Fatty was playing as some tough dude with huge guns while Johnny was scampering around with the Frog-Man-Dude.     Though it lets you play split screen, I found that the frame rate dropped considerably, plus your field of vision is greatly reduced. I think it really should be played one player per box.     You get HULK yet? I hear its a riot to play as Hulk but boring during the Banner missions.     SEE YA SATURDAY!
From: Ross Entered on: May 30, 2003 11:09 AM
Didn't even know Hulk was out.     As for Brute Force, I am in for a third, sure. Do you think it requires the media patch? Because I don't have that bios that automatically patches executables and my chip isn't set for flashing right now. The reason I ask is because this game is a DVD9 so it won't fit on a disc, which means HDD only for me.     Did you guys try it in deathmatch or only Co-op mode?
From: Jackzilla Entered on: May 30, 2003 3:40 PM
I'll get Brute Force on my harddrive and media patch it for you. We pride ourselves on Customer Service here. You really should upgrade that BIOS though... :)     We only tried the BF Co-op mode. I'm game to give BF deathmatch a try -- or even Castle Wolfenstein -- but with all the players we're gonna have, I think Halo is still our best bet for most of the night. We'll be gentle with ya TASTY. Oh wait... no we won't.     Later dudez