First of all, I like the initiative Microsoft is showing by putting Neo Geo games on the XBLA. They've managed to do what Nintendo won't -- at least, not in the States. Fatal Fury is a good start, now, how about some Samurai Showdown? Better yet, Metal Slug! Oh, sweet cherry poppin' christ... wouldn't that be special? Then again, that's what GameTap is for.

So, how 'bout them Cyberballers? If there's one drawback to being a guy, it's that every other guy assumes you must be into football. Just today, we had a dude looking at the house to give us a quote on winterizing our windows. He eyeballs the HDTV and turns to me, "D'you catch the Penn State game last Saturday? I bet it looked great on that!" I grinned, uncomfortably.

"Actually, no. I hate football."

He lets out a low, quiet, "Ah, I see." His disappointment is great. In his eyes, I am fail.

Even among my more nerdy friends, there are those into football. I can sort of understand why... Getting through high school can be an arduous ordeal -- sometimes, you have no choice but to understand the nature of the enemy, and this may mean going to extremes. I, on the other hand, never sold out. Football? That is the domain of jocks -- the tall, tough guys with the girls and the cars. They go to parties and proms while my friends and I hang out in basements, upgrading our RAMs and playing tabletop RPGs. I'm a walking cliche and that's just fine with me. I didn't get through all those years of high school only to turn back now and pretend some game that is only marginally more than any other video football game is good. Except, it is kinda good -- for a football game.

Here's the problem: a football game that features robots also better feature lasers, rockets, and maybe even chainsaws. Your team should be upgradeable -- better lasers, homing missiles, rocket packs. Each successful play determines what kind of weapons and upgrades you get: faster treads, smarter blockers, etc. And if I can earn the upgrades I need then I should have the ability to tear the upgrades off your players and attach them to mine. The actual game of football should be secondary to an all-out robotic brawl where my quarterback-bot can tear off your quarterback-bot's arms and beat it to death with them before grabbing the ball and flying to the end-zone, where your team has set up laser-mines that destroy my quarterback-bot before he can score. Does Cyberball 2027 feature any of this? NO! It's fucking football with robots and a ball that occasionally explodes! I am not impressed!

Although, as a football game, it is kinda ok. Considering it's the only football game on XBLA, I guess it's better than nothing while still having some small bit of originality. Can't knock it for that.