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So many people are pissed that MK vs. DC won't have the violence or fatalities of previous MK games. They say that it's not Mortal Kombat without them. What's that really mean anyway? Mortal Kombat was never that good gameplay wise. It had a gimmick, which was the violence. Yes, it was shocking back then, but today, TONS of games features graphic violence. Games like Manhunt, and even Gears of War, have surpassed MK when it comes to gore. So Mortal Kombat no longer had anything special about it. But now it does. It's got Batman.

So now that this game won't have fatalities, Midway gets a chance to find some other gameplay element to be the new hook. It's one of those times when restrictions bring creativity. I'm being optimistic about this whole thing.

Rock Band is a video game. Video games are discussed on the Internet on message boards. Some message boards are dedicated to a video game. So this leads to the fact that some message boards are dedicated to Rock Band.

Message boards are often full of idiots. One of the most annoying idiots are music elitists and fanboys. Uh-oh. What's this? Rock Band is a game about music? So people who are into music will visit Rock Band message boards. See where I'm going with this?

I'll summarize what I see on Rock Band message boards:

    - "[band name here] needs a song in Rock Band!"
     - "How can you like that crap? They suck."

     - "[song name here] announced for Rock Band!"
     - "Too bad it sucks."

     - "What do you think of this week's DLC?"
     - "Sucks. When are we gonna get good stuff?"
     - "Don't like it, don't buy it."
     - "I shouldn't have to not like it! Why can't they just release songs I like?"

I mean, DAMN! I understand that people have opinions, but so many see their own opinions as facts. So annoying. This is why I don't go to Rock Band forums...'cause they're basically just music forums...which are basically flame-war zones.

There's a trailer out and an interview.

And, of course, people are complaining, saying how it's stupid and how it "ruins" Mortal Kombat. Seriously? What the hell? I thought everyone already knew Mortal Kombat was ridiculous! Did you guys miss the second movie? Did you notice Dan Forden coming from the side of the screen screaming "Toasty!" And the over-the-top, unrealistic gore?

I was reading the official forum for this new game and one guy was like, "MK is from my childhood and you ruined it." Pshh. MK is from my childhood. Batman is from my childhood. I'm sure if I had any Mortal Kombat action figures, I would've made them fight my Batman one(s).

This game has the potential to be a lot of fun. Some great characters kicking the crap out of each other. It shouldn't be seen as anything more than that...however all this talk of the idea being "ridiculous" or "nonsensical" is ruining all that.

First there were people complaining about Star Wars characters in Soul Calibur, now this. THEY'RE GOD DAMN VIDEO GAMES!

Interesting...cue the bashing from the Capcom fanboys. Yeah, obviously it's a "rip-off" of Marvel vs. Capcom, but MK fighting games play much different than Capcom ones. Still need more confirmation, but this picture looks really cool. Two of my favorite fictional characters squaring off. :D

Edit: I'm hearing that there won't be Fatalities or blood in the game. WTF?! Noooo! Well, this could be seen as both good and bad. Good is Batman will never end up killing someone, and he won't end up getting killed. Bad is I bet Lobo's fatality would've been AWESOME.

Midway's unveiling the new Mortal Kombat tomorrow. Rumors include an "MK vs DC" game. Sounds ridiculous... I like ridiculous, though! So if that's the news, I think it's pretty neat. Though someone performing a Fatality on Batman doesn't seem right... So I still hope it's something else. But, whatever.

My second play-through of BioShock has made me appreciate the game a lot more. When I rented it, I had 3 days to beat it, so I was in a rush to learn and complete the game. Not exactly the ideal way to immerse yourself in a game.

Second time through, I had all the time in the world to learn the nuances of combat, strategy with plasmids, and time to just explore the environment. This is the way the game should be played. It was stupid of me to form an opinion from just a 3-day rental.

The game truly is a very atmospheric experience. I actually took my time to notice little details in the game, and took my time learning the history of Rapture. The story is just...amazing, though it's essentially optional. You can get the gist of it by just a quick play-through, but to really understand the characters, their goals, their fates, you have to actively pursue that: collect all the audio diaries, listen to all the radio transmissions, and just observe the environment.

It's pretty amazing how the developers put a lot of thought into how the environment was set up. They didn't just throw some objects in a room randomly. They pretty much planned out each room to tell a story. Like you'll walk towards a room, and you'll have a ghostly vision of what had taken place in that room. Then what's left is the aftermath.

A good example is what happened to Dr. Suchong (SPOILERS, obviously!). You're goal is simply to get to Dr. Suchong's clinic and pick up an antidote to cure yourself of mind control. In his clinic, you see an audio diary. Your instinct is to just pick it up and leave. But you pick it up and listen to it, noticing how the diary is right next to a dead body. You hear Dr. Suchong talking about the bond between the Big Daddy and Little Sister. A Little Sister bothers Dr. Suchong so he hits her, and in reaction, you hear a Big Daddy drilling into Dr. Suchong. You look at the dead body, and you see that there's a huge drill sticking out of the guy's stomach. You come to the realization that this is Dr. Suchong. Now, this has no affect on your goal, but it's just a really neat optional story that you can discover. This kinda stuff happens a lot throughout the game.

The same sorta stuff occurs in Metroid Prime, but instead of audio diaries they're text logs and the graphical detail isn't really there to present a story as strong as BioShock can. But still, I love this stuff.

So I take it back. BioShock isn't a so-so game. It's AMAZING. Go play it.

I've been seeing this screen since this morning. For some reason, my DirecTV receiver isn't working. The other receivers in the house work, but mine just cannot find that damn signal! I've tried rebooting it multiple times, but nothing has worked.

Perhaps this has something to do with the crappy weather we've been happening. Maybe something's wrong with one of the cables or the satellite itself. I don't know. Whatever. I need it fixed, though!

I'm typing this from the living room in front of the TV. I'm not even watching TV. I need a TV to be on, though! Without a TV on in the background, I just don't feel like doing anything. It's weird...

...kinda.

Remember last year, that whole "Live Search Club" thing with the bots and stuff? Well, I finally got my prizes in!

Well, not all of them. I ordered 3 360 controllers, Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged, Project Gotham Racing 3, and Kameo: Elements of Power. Today, I got PGR3 and Kameo. The controllers and XBLA Unplugged have been taken off the prize list, so I doubt I'll get them...BUT MAN, had I known that, I wouldn't spent my thousands of tickets on other things! Like those headsets! I could've gotten so many headsets...

Now...I just need to find something to do with these things. Should I play them? "Return" them to Walmart for credit? Legitly trade them in to GameXchange? I mean, these games are pretty outdated, and I probably wouldn't get much for 'em...