I am a big videogame fan. I buy all the new systems and all the new games of note for those systems. I have been playing games for as far back as I can remember and have played almost every single EA Sports title to date. That’s my background. If you need a resume or something like that, don’t bother asking.

In fairness, I should give them props too, to balance out the report and to keep this from a smearfest. I think their boxing and golfing franchises (Fight Night & Tiger Woods) are the class of their respective sports games. In these two cases they really have very little competition of any value and the character models look really well. I have heard the new Tiger Woods character in his upcoming game called “the most realistic character model in a game yet.” Both of those franchises do have flaws but none I want to talk about right now… except I’d like more boxers available. They left out legends (for various reasons I’m sure) like Foreman, Holmes, Marciano, Louis, Dempsey, Cesar Chavez, and Tyson. Then they are missing current popular boxers (including the best pound-for-pound in the world) like Mayweather, Calzaghe, Mosely, Vargas, Trinidad, Klitchko (either one), and a few more.

Now that I am done brown nosing. Let’s start with NFL video game options this year… come up with any? Well there are three this year. Madden, NFL Street, and NFL Head Coach. All 3 are by EA. They bought the exclusive rights to produce NFL videogames. I will tell you that Madden is fun. I will tell you that Madden has been fun for years. I will also tell you that this game is only as popular as it is due to the fact that there is zero competition. This also has amounted to an extremely mediocre product. The “2K” series was well on its way to take over the NFL crown as most people regarded it as a better game.

Last week, on the same day, an EA basketball game was released as was a “2K” offering. I have preferred NBA2K games over NBA Live games for awhile. This year though, there was a buzz for both. I wanted to read the reviews and see thoughts on both games before I made my choice. I went to IGN.com and here a few days later there is still no review on the NBA Live game by EA Sports. I found a nice letter to the editor that my say why.

“The review is coming. EA did not, despite repeated requests on our part, send us the game until after they shipped it to stores. That means we didn’t get it into the office until it was already on store shelves. This is usually done when a company knows a game doesn’t match up to the competition. Word was from people who played preview builds that the game didn’t hold a candle to NBA 2K7.“

I am tired of them buying up licenses, not improving their games, and essentially peddling inferior games on us at the new rate of $59.99 each.

I’m tired of typing and thus ending this rant abruptly.

I may revisit with screenshots.

Jon Favreau (One of My Favorites) has reportedly decided who is playing Tony Stark aka Iron Man in the live-action movie due in 2008…. (via the power of photoshop and pumpkin love)

ta da

Robert Downey Jr.

I found this on G4TV’s Feed which cites Dark Horizons as it’s source.

This should spark a chimefest…

It’s been almost 20 years since Crispin Glover was on the old-school David Letterman show as a guest.  I stumbled across a video on myspace that made me do some research and I found that this guy was (at least at that time and up to 2002) a fruitcake.  His appearance on that program sent preverbial douche chills up and down my husky spine.  I am around people that act like this on a regular basis, but this appearance was borderline ridonkulous… scratch that, it was all the way inappropriate.  Enjoy and please do some follow-up reading to the other wierd stuff this guy is known for.

I do have to say that there are reports that say he is merely in character for a role he was filming at the time and no drugs were present.  Maybe, and if so, kudos to him for his performance.  However, the rest of what he is about is odd and I feel different about myself after watching that video.

Read More Here

Here is his FREAKY film site…PLEASE watch the trailer and report what you make of it.

I saw Andy Brodell of the Iowa Hawkeyes in Wendy’s today. He must be getting fired up for what is going to be one of the craziest weekends that Iowa City has ever seen. I don’t know what he ordered, but I had Spicy Chicken with onions, which was actually solidly mediocre.
I was tempted multiple times to drop some BRO action on that dude. Ya know, maybe a “Kick some ass this weekend, BRO,” or maybe even a generic “What’s up, BRO?” like I didn’t know who he was and what is going down this weekend. Maybe “How’s the junior Frosty, BRO?” What about “Don’t drop the game-winning pass, BRO“? He might have given me a pile-driver for that. Alas, I restrained myself, and Brodell made it out of there without some douchebag Hawkeyes fan getting up in his business.

In other news, one of my friends caught Drew Tate getting it done at Steak N Shake. Both of these Hawkeyes are to be commended on their choice of fine dining.

I just heard from Taguchi that the spread of the Iowa/OSU game is 7 points. That’s pretty crazy. I thought that people would’ve predicted a blowout win for OSU. But–this is going down in Kinnick. I don’t care what mofos say; winning against the Hawks in Kinnick ain’t easy. Look–don’t get me wrong. I’m not getting high hopes. But if the Hawkeyes win Saturday, IC is going to be absolutely out of control.

Shit, I don’t know if half the students are going to make it to the game. They will either be face-down somewhere after pounding some Hawkeye vodka or they will be in jail.

I’m just callin’ it like it is, BRO.

“Go get your Chevy before someone else does.”

It’s Chevy’s new phrase. Notice that it doesn’t implicate the idea that the supply of cars will run out. No, this is a pure “get yours before the other guy” pitch. I love Chevy. They’re like that anonymous girl that used to come over and clean Bandy’s house…and I don’t even know what that means.

Spanky has challenged me, Girth Brooks, and a statement I made calling NCAA football predictable as pro wrestling.  I was wrong, sometimes you never see it coming in wrestling.  Sting’s “Crow” outfit, Hulk joining NWO, or Matilda being found by the British Bulldogs after being kidnapped.  College football has far fewer suprises than that.  I would be mistaken if I claimed to be able to call the whole season.  I will not back down from my idea that there are far more scenarios in college football that are almost written before they happen.  The truth is Kip, most everybody else knows that too and that is why it is harder to make money off of non-risky bets.

*****Steps Into Negrodamus Costume*****

Michigan State beats Illinois on 9/30
USC & OSU finish in the top 5 and both go to a bowl game

I’m already bored of this…those two examples I gave were probably decided BEFORE last season was finished and may also be applicable to next year as well. Florida Atlantic got beat by Oklahoma State, South Carolina, and Kansas St. to the tune of 45-6, 48-8, and 45-0 respectively.  Not a safe bet?  What about this upcoming week where there are 3 teams favored by 34 points or more??? Gee I wonder who wins a game where won team is predicted to win by 5 touchdowns.  Has there EVER been a game handicapped like that in the NFL?

I found a link that has ALL the NCAA football scores since 1869.  Just browsing at last year alone, you will see that certain teams go into games knowing they WILL lose…Citadel vs Florida St. or Duke vs Va Tech.  The phrase “any given Sunday” does not apply.

All NCAA Football Scores Through 2005

I’m going to STL for games on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. I won’t allow the ship to sink…just won’t have it. I might even buy a Juan Encarnacion jersey as a measure of last resort.
I’ll be back in IC by Saturday night, so if they’re partying like it’s 1999 (which they’ve been doing for 7 years), I’ll be in attendance. I was gonna try to get a ticket to the Iowa-OSU game, but I must heed a higher call. OSU’s gonna house ‘em anyway.

The AP reports Microsoft plans to start a service to rival Myspace and Facebook. Read about it here.

This is awesome. I can’t wait until  I am subscribed to 15 social sites. Then I can spend all muthafuckin’ day checking my wall for new posts and seeing whether Jane McHotbody finally broke up with Johnny McDildo. All day I’ll wonder how many times chicks have checked out my profile. Who needs General Hospital when I have my own little soap opera?
The Future is going to be cool. We won’t hang out in person with people–EVER. Our little “avatars” will meet up online, and we’ll have a virtual Spicy Chicken at a virtual Wendy’s, and then head to the virtual bathroom for some virtual explosion. We will turn into the Sims.

Of course, we might want to be Sims. Look how many goddamn copies they sold of the game. We probably want to be Sims because the news makes us sad, and we can’t handle being sad.

One gets the feeling that our interaction with the internet is doing things to us psychologically that we can’t even fathom. I won’t speculate on what’s happening, but it does feel creepy from time to time…

I don’t give a rat’s ass if Axl is singing. If he doesn’t have Slash back there, you don’t have Guns N Roses, but a Guns N Roses cover band.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060925/music_nm/review_music_guns_dc_1

Paul Gargano writes: “Lead guitarist Robin Finck injected a personality to rival Slash, even if his guitar tones sometimes strayed slightly from the originals…”

That’s mere propaganda. You can’t rival Slash until you can play as well as Slash. And guess what? I fucking doubt it. I don’t even have to hear this guy play to say I doubt it.

When Appetite kicks in and “Welcome to the Jungle” fires up–the scream is pretty badass. But it’s the riff that tees the whole thing off. Don’t ever forget it.

Slash: drummers are my homeboys, but you are the man.