Mega Man Legends 3 Officially Dead (OR: Well, If You’d Listened to Me, It Might Not Be…)

Dear Capcom, The next time you have the bright idea to complete a trilogy a few years too late, try publishing HD versions of the first two Legends games (and Tron Bonne’s adventure) on a DISC (PS3/360 and hell, maybe even Wii and PC), then use the profits from THAT to fund the new game, which SHOULD have also been on a console and not a 3DS exclusive.

I think the project was doomed from the start because it was going to be on a system with a fraction of the user base the original PS1 had. That and introducing gamers who may have missed out on the original games to the world and characters is always a LOT better than dropping a sequel onto a new system where more than half the people who might pick it up have never heard of (or played) the other titles. You DO know that the PS1 games fetch a TON of real money on auction sites, right? Ah well… live and learn, I suppose. RIP MML3!

Review: Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon


Platform: PlayStation 3/Xbox 360
Developer: Vicious Cycle
Publisher: D3Publisher of America
# of Players 1 – 2 (online: 2 – 6)
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
Score: B+
The bugs are back and badder then before thanks to developer Vicious Cycle and D3Publisher of America. Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon manages to be a leaner, meaner, faster and in a few way, better game than its predecessor thanks to tweaks to the run ‘n gun formula that streamlines the number of missions yet enhances the gameplay. Controls are tight, the action is more reasonably paced (initially) for new players and for the most part, the addition of online play is not bad at all. Some gamers whose experience with this budget series began with EDF 2017 (and those who seem to think the game ONLY appeared on the 360) might find nit-picky faults with some elements of EDFIA. However, those of us who’ve been around since the series debut on the Japanese PlayStation 2 and/or love original developer Sandlot’s work on the franchise now have a new dev team to moon over because they’ve taken the gameplay and refined it for a just as fun (and at times, more fun) to play experience.

Commentary: Video Games 1, Overzealous Opportunists: 0 (Again)

So the Supreme Court showed some actual common sense (mostly) in finally ruling that ALL video games (no matter the rating) are protected free speech as well as a form of entertainment and NOT “murder simulators” guaranteed to turn Little Johnny into Ed Gein within three seconds of picking up a controller. While it's unbelievable that it took so long, HOWEVER there's a new and more annoying issue that's cropped up. While the ruling DOES state that it's fine for minors to BUY M-rated video games, I HOPE that major retailers such as GameStop and others continue to enforce the ESRB ratings and ask for ID and.or refuse to sell ANY Mature-rated games to underage kids. Why? Pure common sense is the answer.Read more »

Save The Post Office – Write a REAL Letter!*

Yikes. You KNOW things are bad when you go to the Post Office and THEY’RE out of forms anyone can easily get online. Of course, by the time I realized I was running low on 2976-E’s and went to order some last week, the USPS online shop was down for the count for a day or two. Fortunately, I found a few spares in my scanner (of all places… I guess I need to use it more often, huh?), but those ran out yesterday. Amusingly enough, I’d forgotten to ask for a few when I dropped off some packages because a rather silly verbal battle broke out at the post office that involved a supervisor doing her job well and some really cranky people waiting on a really LONG line.

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Random E3 Thoughts…

Yeah, yeah, some of these are goofy or short enough to be tweets, but I'm old school (and low tech, as I'm still a poor bastard). In no particular order: AND after the jump, hah!Read more »

Film Review: POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold


Advertising isn't new to entertainment at all, folks. In fact, in the last century, both radio and TV broadcasts were sponsored by major companies pushing everything from cigarettes to cars to cereal and dishwashers. Soap operas were in fact, heavily reliant on pushing laundry detergent to a mostly female audience (though that selling point was phased out over time, the name stuck). However, these days, it's gotten to an over-saturation point where too many films,TV and even news shows are non-stop advertisements for nearly everything held, eaten or otherwise remotely handled by their casts.

Director Morgan Spurlock is no stranger to throwing himself head first into his documentary projects as a more than eager human guinea pig and in POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, he dives into the rather shifty world of product placement and manages to pop up smelling like roses and shilling to the masses simultaneously. The film is a hilarious peel back the curtains “Doc-buster” on how advertising agencies along with Hollywood film and TV studios have turned nearly every form of entertainment or information source into stationary or moving ads for thousands of popular products. If you've ever wondered about why you're seeing all those familiar foods, cars, clothes and tech toys called out by name or lovingly displayed in your favorite shows, films and news, you'll want to drop that remote and go buy a ticket to this instant classic.Read more »

Review: Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll

Platform: PlayStation 3

Developer: Omega Force


Publisher: Tecmo Koei


# of Players: 1


ESRB Rating: T (Teen)


Official Site


Score: B+

If you’re a big fan of hack & slash action RPGs and happen to own a PlayStation 3, Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll is going to be right up your alley. Omega Force’s latest is a solid dungeon hack with a few splashes of familiar genre influences (both Eastern and Western) from Diablo to Demon’s Souls. If that puts a grin on your face, you’re all set for many hours of quality monster slaying, loot grabbing and quests galore. The game’s non-linear structure allows for enough freedom that the main plot of a half-elf’s revenge against the evil overlord that killed his family almost takes second place to the sheer amount of rescue/escort missions, fetch quests, arena challenges and other RPG staples. I say almost because while the story does pick up as the game goes on, the simple, yet challenging gameplay is the star when it needs to be. While it isn’t perfect, Omega Force deserves a ton of credit for making such a fun to play experience that’s guaranteed to steal many hours from those players that fall under its spell.

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Commentary: Is 3DTV THAT Urgent Of An "Innovation"?


According to a friend I just got off the phone with, at CES 2011, you “couldn't take ten steps” without someone either handing you a pair of now cool (but still expensive as you have to buy that new TV) 3D glasses, or gently nudging you or using booth babes to lure your toward a glasses-free (and wallet busting) 3D experience. Yeah, yeah, I get it – it works and it works really damn well. The problem is… not everything that's going to be ON those new super sets will be worth watching in three di-mensions, dammit.

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Nintendo 3DS Pre-Order Madness Starts With Nary A Price Point In Sight (AND Your Kids WIll Go BLIND… Er, Maybe)…


I’m gathering that reports that the upcoming 3DS will carry a warning about use of its innovative 3D functionality being not recommended (or good, for that matter) for the eyesight of kids under six years old isn’t going to stop anyone from putting down a fat deposit at Gamestop and posting copies their receipts online. Of course, those pre-ordering folk aren’t six years old (and hopefully don’t have kids coming up on that age they want to introduce to that sort of eye/brain strain) and heck, trying to stop early adopters from throwing packs of money around is sort of bad for the economy (which someone should tell those AGAINST alternative fuel sources).

Still, Nintendo really needs to play offense as well as defense here as they address this potential sales-killing (or class action lawsuit bringing) issue as more of the dopier media outlets (you know, the ones that ALWAYS take the “Video games will turn your kids into mass murdering sex fiends in three seconds!” approach to this sort of news) take this negative angle and run wild with it. I say, as long as parents can read the damn box (or have a clerk point this age limit out to them) BEFORE they buy it, it’s all good. Now, about that price point… Guess we’ll see by CES (my prediction: $249.99, but perhaps with a pack-in and maybe loaded with some cool stuff)

My REAL question is this: Why the hell do we keep seeing kid’s movies arriving in theaters (then later on DVD or Blu-Ray) in 3D if kids under six shouldn’t be able to watch them at all? Granted, you can sit around playing “normal” games for hours on end with only a few issues. 3D gaming has been headache-inducing since the 90’s when there were something like two to four minute experiences along with a few other applications. I guess we’ll see what happens after the 3DS ships and more folks can afford 3D televisions and those expensive glasses.

Still, I’m crazy that way. I can see myself playing a 3D game ’til I fall off the couch from dizziness, but I just can’t imagine myself or someone else watching more than two 3D movies in a row before their butt tries to bite them for making them sit so long doing nothing…

How to Save Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark? Turn On the Camera, Julie…


While I haven't been to a Broadway show in decades, you can't go twenty minutes or so here in NYC without hearing or reading some more awful news about the show's numerous problems. Forget my own opinions about bringing such a risky project to life at such a huge expense during tough economic times and the hugely inflated but highly creative egos behind the show's development. I'm more concerned about stopping this overblown train wreck before there's a death on stage or off. Given the history accidents in some preview performances and the fact that this is a live show of such length and scope with never-before seen wire effects taking place every night means it's only a matter of when and how a fatal incident occurs.

However, I think there's a way to “save” the show and possibly recoup some of the production costs while turning an actual profit… eventually.

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