So, I was reading the Livejournal Blog of Gamespot Freelancer Frank Provo, and came across this interesting quote:

"Personally, my respect for CNet is shot, and writing for GameSpot is going to feel like a chore for quite some time going forward, if I even continue to be given that opportunity."

Now, let's get this straight -- you're working freelance for a site that has basically shown that it is on the take; but yet, you're still willing - or even considering -- to accept money from Gamespot/Cnet, well... doesn't that make you nothing more than a hypocrite.?

Link: http://frankprovo.livejournal.com/2007/12/01/

Sorry, but this type of attitude is why in most cases, the term "Gaming Journalism" is an Oxymoron. If you're so disgusted by Gametop (Gamespot... Gamestop... Whorespot... same thing as far I'm concerned), then why even think about ever working for them again?

Sorry if I sound like an asshole (I've been known to shove my foot directly into my mouth on occasion), but Frank Provo sounds like a guy who wants to act like he's outraged -- and continue to get a paycheck from Cnet -- as opposed to being truly outraged.

EDIT: God dammit... when I attempted to edit the post, something happened and the text was gone...

Lately, the entire Sonic series has taken a turn straight into the dumpster in terms of quality, but hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when the words Sonic the Hedgehog went hand-to-hand with quality gameplay. The first three Sonic games on the Genesis were absolute gems (with the Sonic & Knuckles falling into the 'pretty good' category), but the best Sonic game to ever grace a Sega system was released on a system that...well...no one actually bought; a game that actually has a bit of controversy (well...not really) attached to it. That game: Sonic CD.

US Sonic CD: Stage 1-1



Japanese Sonic CD: Stage 1-1



One interesting thing about Sonic CD is the fact that the game looks and plays more like the original Sonic the Hedgehog than any of the future Sonic games on the Genesis. The reason being is that unlike the future Sonic games on the Genesis (which were developed in the United States under Yuji Naka), Sonic CD was developed in Japan by the original Sonic character creator, Naoto Ohshima. Originally, Sonic CD and Sonic 2 were supposed to be the same game, but due to creative differences between the US and Japanese studio, both games would eventually go in different directions.

While the gameplay of Sonic CD has a lot in common with the original game, one unique aspect that has yet to be resurrected is its time travel aspect. Each stage of Sonic is divided into three time periods: Past, present and future. Each time period within a level has a different layout (both gameplay and graphic wise), and its own distinct musical track.

It's pretty amazing that Sega's never attempted to go back to the whole time travel as it was by far, one of the most refreshing gameplay mechanics of any of the past Sonic games. Every stage has past, present and future signs. After you run past a sign and manage to keep going at full speed for a few second, Sonic magically transports to the exact same spot, but in a different time period (similar to the Back to the Future movies). As an added touch, if you manage to destroy Dr. Robotnik's machine in the past, the actual future in that particular level will change from the dreary, hopeless cyberpunk mess, and into a happy colorful utopia where all the bad guys are replaced with Sonic's lovable friends.

Past, Present, Bad Future and Good Future (In order)...







While the style of the graphics fall more in line with the original Sonic than with the look of Sonic 2 and the CGI-type look of Sonic 3, the time travel aspect of the game brings with it a bit more variety than other Sonic games. The sub-levels (Act 1-1, 1-2 etc...) themselves are -- like the other Sonic games -- very similar graphically but are completely re-done depending on which time-period you're currently in at the moment (Past = Prehistoric, Present = Modern, Bad Future = Decrepit Mechanical Wasteland, Good Future = Utopia).

The most controversial part about Sonic CD back when it was released in 1994 was undoubtedly the music...sort of. Before I get into the whole music controversy, first a little bit of history: After the release of Sonic CD in Japan, Sega of America decided at the last minute to replace the games original J-Pop music with a soundtrack provided by Spencer Nielsen, the composer of past Sega CD games such as Ecco, Spiderman, etc... At the time, Gamefan magazine (defunct since 2000) bitched about the fact that Sega changed the music, to the point where they actually re-reviewed the game -- the original Japanese version received a near unanimous 100% score -- and docked it by 20 -- 30 points..


Looking back, the only people that really bitched about the Americanized music were Dave Halverson at Gamefan, and a few Japanese import nuts. Now that I've listened to the soundtrack of both games, I can honestly say that I prefer the Americanized music in almost every instance (the one exception is the "Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom" BS -- which needs to go).

US Sonic CD: Stage 4-1



Japanese Sonic CD: Stage 4-1



Conclusion:Usually, most classic games rarely hold up to scrutiny -- while we may have fondly remembered going to the local video arcade as a kid to play Double Dragon and other classic games while growing up -- the fact is that many of these "classic" games are better left as memories of our childhood. Fortunately, Sonic CD is one of those rare games that manages to hold up very well -- especially when you hold up this game (along with the other Genesis games) to the horrible 3D versions of Sonic.

In many ways, Sonic CD proves that the Sonic games will never be anything other than mediocre in 3D, as the speed and style of the game can only really work within the realm of the 2D world -- where you're limited to eight directions rather than the infinite number of directions that are in a three dimensional game. It shouldn't be a surprise that the only decent Sonic games that have come out since the 16-bit era were on the GBA and DS -- all of which were 2D games.

Personally, I don't know what Kat was smoking when she was playing Sonic CD, but the music (both versions) blows away anything that was produced on the SNES. Now you can argue whether the music in Sonic CD was better, composition wise, to SNES classics like Final Fantasy 6 and other game; but in terms of technical quality, Sonic CD blows the SNES away.

In conclusion, Sonic CD would end up being a instant purchase if Sega was ever smart enough to release the game for Xbox Live or the Virtual Console. Of course, with this being Sega, we'll probably see a classic port of Sonic 3D Blast (A horrible late 1996 Genesis and Saturn game) before we'll ever see a proper homage to one of Sega's most overlooked classics.

Apparently, VGCHARTZ has joined NEXTGENWARS along with other videogame tracking sites to infect unsuspecting fanboys computer with a Trojan. It detected it as "HTML/Dldr.Agen.N.15".

I googled the virus and all I found was a bunch of foreign language forums, so I'm either assuming that the virus is new, or it's a false alarm. But then again, better to be safe than sorry.

If you want a larger screenshot, then click HERE

While it's not exactly "Hot-Coffee, there was a little bit of interesting videogame trivia that many people don't know about...



Before they became famous for Crash Bandicoot and more recently, Jax, Naughty Dog developed an obscure Sega Genesis game called Rings of Power. It was an old strategy game that was for all intents and purposes, forgotten within the video game community. But there is one interesting bit hidden within the game. Normally, when you start up the game, you will see this right before the games title screen.



But, if you put in this code by holding down these buttons while powering up your Genesis....

"To get an alternate Naughty Dog Games logo during the opening splash sequence, before you turn on you Genesis hold down A + B + C + Down-Right + Start on the second controller, then turn your power on."

You will get this Naughty Dog logo screen instead....



A couple of quick points: 1) I wonder what kind of furor this type of hidden nudity would have caused if people actually gave enough of a damn about Rings of Power to actually sell any copies. 2) There is something to say about the golden age of gaming before gaming became mainstream. Back when developers could actually pull this stuff off without all the parent organizations going nuts.

When Infinity Ward said that the tokens for the Call Of Duty 4 beta would be handed out at 12 PM on Monday, they also has the "PST" along side the time. What does that mean? It means that the fucking idiots on the east coast should stop hammering the site, as the tokens wont be handed out for another 2 and a half hours!

Seriously! Are people so stupid that they can't figure out what Pacific Standard Time is? If you're one of those unfortunate people, then here is a map that I made (despite my sucky photoshop skills) that should drive the point home.

So, I was playing a game on my PSP with the Dark Alex custom firmware 3.40 OE-A, when suddenly, I got the blue screen of death... I just love the irony of seeing my Sony PSP getting the blue screen of death... I got the screen after starting up a game of Fire Emblem using a GBA emulator (I own the game, I just transferred my game to the PSP because I like to play my games on a screen larger than a quarter).