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 Jake's Clever Banter Here comes the reassurance, regular as clockwork. No, we're not dead. Yes, Tim is working on the next strip. I know it doesn't do anything for you to hear Tim still has schoolwork, but... well, he does. I can give you guys comfort in that we're just about done with a long-overdue project, after which we'll have another contest (With a rather good prize this time, if I do say so myself). Meantime, I'm once again wondering if I should do yet even more Gom strips so you guys have something to look at while you wait. It saddens me to think that we may have lost much of our audience because of these delays, because there's so much great stuff coming up. The next story arc both Tim and I feel is particularly funny, and sometime after that we plan on bringing the overall story up a notch, as well. Just... hang in there, OK? Oh, and here's an interesting bit- it appears the announcements of Metal Gear and Silent Hill movies were apparently a hoax, which strikes me as odd that no one thought to actually ask New Line or Konami about these so-called movie deals. Sorta' goes to show you how well these gaming websites check their sources. Funny how some, like Gamespot, were apparently never taken in in the first place... Anyways, waddya' guys think? Should I do a Gom strip? *Points to the dust-collecting messageboards* 4/5/02 - I see a red door and I want it painted black... Someone broke my driver side window this morning. Drove up my street with a BB gun apparently, and shot out the windows of every car on the block. I'm quickly turning into a pro-choice person, largely because the majority of the people that do this dumb shit were no doubt accidents. Now, I'm sure there's the rare person out there born to parents that didn't want him or care to raise him to be a productive member of society, but through adversity found hs way to becoming a positive influence on his society. But I'll bet anything that the majority of these people end up being a disease that the rest of us have to put up with. Erm... I'll bet I came off as a bit harsh there, huh? In all honesty, it's just my optemism about humanity waning. I have no resect for people that think nothing of causing pain to other people. Sure, it was ONLY a hundred fifty dollars and four hours to me, but good god, I'd like to see the tables turned someday. Then again, I can take comfort in the fact that whoever did this will probably lead an empty and meaningless life consumed by pain and guilt, and either get shot to death running from the police, or die from a drug overdose. I'm doing it again, aren't I? Sorry. Bad day. Before all this crap, things were going relatively well. I just snagged my copies of ATV and TMB. ATV I've played before and have always been impressed with- Rainbow Studios has always been an impeccable game designer with solid, well-designed games. Twisted Metal Black was a bit of an unkown for me, though, as I've never played anything in the series. That said, overall, it seems like a solid vehicular combat game. The controls are a little funky at first, and the Street Fighter-esque button combinations for energy moves clash horribly with the handling controls, but you get used to it. The graphics, as well, are unimpressive, albeit stylish. And that's really where the game's strong suit is. Twisted Metal Black exudes a dark, gothic style that is extremely well-done and very effective. Everything from the character storylines to the post-apocolyptic world pushes it with a great deal of grace and sincerity- something you wouldn't expect from a game featuring over-the-top psychotic characters, vehicles, and weapons. And the whole thing is topped off with the Rolling Stones' classic Paint it Black, wich fits the game to a "T". Funny, thinking about that... How brilliant this song is. Catching in purity such hopelessness and rage and sorrow in an incredibly great rock song. Done so so long ago, and yet I can't think of anyone who's done it better since. I'm no big Rolling Stones fan, but I have to admit that they must have been struck with a bolt of genius when writing this song. Oh, and oddly enough, what was meant as a joke in the current strip has apparently found it's way into reality- The same folks that are working on the Silent Hill flick are apparently in negotiations with Konami to make a Metal Gear movie. Again, as with the Silent Hill movie, they'd probably be best off if they just transcribed the first MGS game directly to script, as the plot was so damn good it could certainly stand up well against Hollywood flicks (And dear god help us all if they try and incorporate plot from the second game). I just have to wonder if they'll go after Kurt Russel to play the lead. It would be oddly appropriate. And besides, Kurt Russel inherently kicks ass, so the movie would have one thing going for it right from the get-go. I've got to be careful... I'm actually letting optemism seep into my outlook on videogame movies, and that always leads to dissapointment. Maybe the reason everyone looks at Res Evil and Mortal Kombat as being good is that they were both expected to really suck. But then, by the same argument that would've meant there are people that liked the Tomb Raider movie too and.... crap, that's right- there ARE people that liked the Tomb Raider movie. I feel like going back into my abortion rant again... Wanted: Oscar Award-winning actress to play archaic sex symbol from laughable videogame series. Bad one-liners and bra padding a must. 4/2/02 - Ugh... Let me give you a little insight on my thoughts on April Fools Day. Let me start by pointing you to the fact that this rant is being made on the second, and everything I'm saying is true. One year ago, on the tail end of March, one of my co-workers and friends, Shawn Williams, took his own life; most assume because of problems with his marriage and overall depression. However, Shawn was always a strong guy, and the thought of the man doing such a thing had never occured to me. So, by the time his best friend, another co-worker of mine, told me, it was April 1st and I didn't believe a single word of it. It wasn't a joke, however, and in retrospect it shows how stupid a "Holiday" like this is. The Penny Arcade guys have a disdain for it because it's a holiday that celebrates the indulgances of the dumbest members of our species. I feel it's much worse than that. It's a holiday that takes advantage of our trust of others, and celebrates our skepticism. Harmless pranks? Maybe that's where it starts. But when it evolves into a situation where I don't give a second thought to the news that someone I knew had died, it becomes obvious that it's far worse than that. So now, on a smaller scale, we're all forced to sit down and sift through all the news and try and figure out what was true and what was only a hoax. For those moronic enough to believe it, GameFAQs has not changed into GameFAX. And the only April Fools Joke at the GIA was the fact that people thought the news they delivered was an April Fools Joke. As I said in a messageboard post, all signs point to the GIA's farewell as genuine. There are far too many people involved saying they knew it would happen for it to be some conspiracy. It saddens me to see them go, as they've been one of the best fansites on the 'net, but from everything I've heard, the heart and soul (Along with most of the staff) will carry on over to Gameforms.com. If it's only half as good as it's predecessor, it'll still be one of the best gaming 'sites on the internet. Meantime, I'm gonna' go play some videogames and come back when the world has regained it's sanity. 3/31/02 - Happy Easter-thingy Yeah, I made a Gom strip for a holiday I don't really celebrate. At this point, prettymuch all the holidays are about commercialism and indulgance more than religion anyways. And I have no problem with promoting commercialism and indulgance- By the way, anyone that wants can indulge themself by sending money to Mognet aaaaaaanytime they want. No, really, we're fine with it. Speaking of indulgance, I've been indulging myself with some new games. For starters, Extreme G3. I'll have to disagree ith critics- I don't think it's better than the original. Although I think it's a good game, it's nothing to F-Zero X, Wipeout, or even the original Extreme G. The challenge level just seems too high. Also, I've given a few Sega games a whirl lately, too. Virtua Fighter 4's gotten some rave reviews, and having never played the series, I figgered I'd give it a whirl. After all is said and done, it just ain't my kinda' game. Although not being as stiff as Tekken, the controls are way too overcomplicated for their own good, and at it's core, it seems like an elaboration of DOA's counter system (Although I suppose it would be the reverse of the reverse, as Virtua Fighter came first). But as it doesn't compare even remotely with DOA3 in visuals, and DOA3, to me at least, is a zillion times more fun. So why the heck would I want to play it? On the other hand, another Sega creation has unexpectedly enthralled me to no end. A few days ago, Gamecube owners were unexpectedly graced with one of the best games on the system. I'm speaking of Sega Soccer Slam. Now, I'm no sports fan, and not really a big Sega fan, but I have to say that after learning the somewhat odd controls, this game's multiplayer (Both competitive and a VERY fun co-op) stays fun for hours on end. As someone stated on the GIA boards, with games like Smash Bros., Super Monkey Ball, and now this, the Gamecube is distinguishing itself as THE system of choice for multipayer game fans. And speaking of Sega, boy are they hogging the news spotlight lately. Announcements up the wazoo for the Gameboy Advance, and now this big news about Sega's own Amusement Vision (The team responsible for Super Monkey Ball) developing a new F-Zero game, to be published in the arcades by Sega and on the Gamecube by Nintendo (The two are reported to read the GC mem card for cross-compatability). "Whoa, whoa, step back a sec! Did you say F-Zero!?" Yeah, Nintendo's apparently grown so close to Sega that they're letting one of Sega's development houses take command of the next instalment in one of their biggest series. For all the crisicism Nintendo's gotten lately, think about how far they've come. If I said two years ago that we'd see Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog and Final Fantasy on Nintendo systems, I would have been laughed at by everyone in the industry. And apparently the just-announced Silent Hill movie has already been rushed to pre-production, most likely after New Line saw the numbers the Res Evil movie is bringing in. And despite the shadow that haunts game movies, I have hope for this one. Like always for this kinda' thing, we'll have to adopt a "Wait and see" stance. God, I hope they do the games justice. Oh, and I finally just today finished the loooooooooooong Star Trek first season set. After all is said and done, I have but two complaints about this aaaaaaaaaawesome set. One: The packaging, while very unique and cool-looking, simply isn't functional, and it's a pain to get out the DVD you're looking for. Two: Although I understand them having to spread the extra features across seven or eight seasons, the extras still seemed a bit slim. Oh how I wish these sets had commentary... 3/26/02 - To boldly go to what I've been missing far too long I am a Trekkie. I don't insist on the word "Trekker", I don't dress up as a Klingon, and I haven't seen every episode of every series, but I have a deep love for Star Trek. Few other television shows can claim to be so poignant and intelligent as well as entertaining. No documentary has better observed human nature, no soap opera has better explored the concepts of love, and no lovey-dovey rock concert has better expressed a sentiment of hope and optemism for our future. As I mentioned before, I was very much looking forward to the release of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD. After watching through about half of it, I realized a few things. For starters, value. I initially balked at the $100 price tag, but after watching through 3 or 4 of the 7 DVDs, I'm coming to the realization that this mere 1-season set is absolutely huge. 4 episodes per disc (Except the last, which has 2), about 45-50 minutes per episode... That means that this set has about 20 hours before extras (Which are considerable). Considering the average DVD is about $20 for 2 hours and extras, five times the price for ten times the amount of stuff doesn't seem so bad. Also, I've noticed just how different Star Trek used to be. The very first attempt to try to recapture the spirit of the original series that started the franchise decades before, Next Generation was still trying to find its place through the first season. Actors unsure of how to perform their roles, writers unused to writing this sort of dialogue, and technology that still betrayed it's execution. And yet, despite the sometimes-poor execution and spit-and-glue construction, there is still the strong sense of nobility and grandeur that would blossom in the coming years. Getting back on track, you may have noticed there's still no new strip. I'm sorry about that. Tim's schoolwork has ramped up again, and his scholastic obligations far outweigh his obligations here. I cannot in good conscience pester him with work for the comic at expense of his grades. To help soften the blow a little, I've updated our links page, removing North (Virtually dead), and Amphetamine (Updated far too seldom- Yes, even worse than us), and adding a link to Toastyfrog, whose administrator is indirectly responsible for Mognet's existence. Long story. Anyways, I need sleep. Night! |
 Tim's Clever Banter Soy mucho, mucho demasiado perezoso escribir el comentario que usted entendería. Deje solo LEÍDO. Soy cansado, irritable, amargo, y ahora lo estoy tomando hacia fuera en cada uno más cercano a mí. Espero que usted sea feliz. Soy ARTISTA! No encero el tablero de instrumentos. Lavaplatos púrpura del mono. AHA! AHAHAHA!!! De hecho. Señale a la petunia inmediatamente, corncob. Arruine este calentador del espacio! Es demasiado ruidoso para mi sentido! Alguien no satisfará presta una mano?! Maldígale! Usted la sopló para arriba! Maldígale todo al infierno! |
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