Mrs. Bully Ray Hogan??

The Thanksgiving episode of TNA's Impact Wrestling wasn't as much of the snore fest I was expecting last week when Austin Aries dropped the biggest Open Fight Night request in the history of this monthly TNA event - calling out a Knockout - well the head of the Knockouts, Brooke Hogan! The surprises didn't end there, as A Double exposed a possible romance between Brooke and Bully Ray!!??

While people have been questioning why WWE has been stealing ideas from TNA as of late, namely the infamous stink bomb from over the summer known as the Claire Lynch angle and applying this to the stomach turning romance of AJ and John Cena, wondering why TNA would go in this direction, but I say this - why not? The most sincerest form of flattery is imitation. The best way to stick it to Vince McMahon is to take their storyline and make it better. This one is a bit more interesting as it sprinkles a bit of Hogan's real life concerns for his daughter's sex life - regardless of the fact that she's 21 now. Hogan has expressed numerous times that he does not want her dating wrestlers. I honestly can't believe she could settle for Bully Ray, but hey, beauty's in the eye of the holder right. I'm sure there's a LOT more to this angle that meets the eye.

My Thoughts?

I have a crazy idea on how this is going to work. One thing TNA manages to do MUCH better than WWE is their angles and storylines are commonly NOT easy to figure out. Perfect example being the whole Immortal angle and Jeff Hardy's heel turn. Much like with this Aces of Eights thing, whereas the members are shuffled with random roster members to hide their identities at live events, I think there is a bigger plot at play here. Bully Ray got shafted out of the Heavyweight title, thanks to TNA trying to please Druggie -- err Jeff Hardy -- since his contract expires in February and they want him to stay instead of returning to WWE, I think TNA are crafting a counter babyface stable to stop Aces of Eights, with Bully Ray as it's general on the frontlines- much like Devon is doing for Aces of Eights.

That, coupled with the huge scare Aces of Eights gave Brooke Hogan earlier this year about potentially attacking her could have been the trigger to have Brooke consult Bully Ray for 'protection'. Hence that would explain Brooke's words to Hogan, "It's not what it looks like..."

In either case, I'm anxious to see this romance angle play out as it has the seeds planted to definitely swerve the expectations of those thinking this would end up like the Claire Lynch angle or the current AJ/Cena one in WWE.

5 Reasons Why Mega Man STILL Matters

1UP.com has posted an interesting article on why the Blue Bomber still matters in gaming today. Check it out here.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2's Ranked Matches Are Pretty Damn Unfair...

Moments like this are rare and far in-between, whereas you search on Ranked Match online for Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and you are properly paired up with someone who is at your same rank and level.

Note: Somehow Aris found a way that works for him online... (Laughs)

Namco did a patch when the first set of DLC characters were released (Slim Bob, Miharu, and Sebastian) last month and it added the option to search for people 2 ranks above or below your current rank. This helped the problem somewhat, but it's VERY annoying to be matched up against the same guy with 3k wins and less than 50 losses about 6-10 times in one 2 hour session. From that alone, I dropped from Disciple rank to 2nd Dan in the span of a few hours, only to work my way back up to Disciple after sheer annoyance at this. 

"I truly believe that there should be a change in how you connect to players in ranked matches. They should not match you up by your character ranking but by the person's win percentage. I just earned my discple ranking for the first time and had it immediately taken away by losing 3 in arow. Because the people i played had over 700 wins and less than 200 loses but since they think there soooo good they can use half the characters and play lower ranked people and get more wins. If they did it that way then the people who know how to play well will still be on top and players like me in the 30-40% can improve and soon our win percentage will increase and we move on to better opponents. Then the people who have ahard time can contine to play others without getting crused by a good player with a low character ranking but a high win percentage. Because when you get destroyed in tekken its very discouraging. But that just my suggestion. Hopefully will be a way to match people up in later tekken games." -- via World Tekken Federation Forums

I agree here 100%. From how it stands, it makes no sense whatsoever on some the end results of matchmaking. I'm sure the common smart ass/knee jerk reaction is simply to just man up and take the losses like a trooper and bounce back from more practice, but there's no excuse for a bowl of shit that is this game's so-called matchmaking that is supposedly pairing players up deemed on player skill. News flash people, the shit is broken and Namco needs to fix it. If they can own up to Arcade Mode being too hard or taking the time to extract a microscopic religious symbol from the background of one of the DLC stages, then they can take a few minutes to take care of this if they expect people to invest into this game for the long haul.

All I ask is a simple patch to add a more in-depth filter. Search for Ranked Matches at your same level for players like myself who rather be paired with players at their own ranges of skill. If I'm in a mood for a challenge, I'll switch over to World Arena and make a few open challenges but other than that, I rather play some decent, yet fair matches on Ranked to help benefit myself and my team rankings. Or hell, allow all online matches contribute points to your team's level and rank. If that was the case, I wouldn't play Ranked EVER. A complete breakdown of how Promotion Chances would be nice too and/or an indicator of how close you are to reaching the next rank. It's pretty discouraging to defeat several players ranked above you, but you don't get not one Promotion Chance but the second someone lower and/or at your same rank defeats you (no matter how many wins prior), you find yourself in a Demotion Match.

As a result of my personal frustration on how this game's Ranked Matchmaking is constructed, I have dedicated more of my practice time offline in Ghost Battle and Practice Modes when I'm not playing friends offline in Versus, rather than online, as it's obvious I can't use Ranked as a means to experiment and my own personal basis of trial and error. My teammates would prolly get pissed at me in the long haul, but in all honesty, as it stands of today (11/29/12) I STILL have more points contributed to the team than all of them combined.

UPDATE (1/23/14) Since I notice that there are still individuals debating this matter in the comments, I figured I would share Aris' ongoing rage as he personally deals with Ranked Match.

After Namco-Bandai killed support for the World Tekken Federation service, it's sad to see this game's netcode go to absolute shit.

The SHIELD?

We were first introduced to the combined force of Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley), Seth Rollins (Tyler Black), and Roman Reigns at Survivor Series, delivering a double team powerbomb on Ryback, sending him through the announcer's table for the second time in that title defense.

During the chaos, CM Punk was able to weasle his way into keeping the WWE title for a bit long. Honestly, I rather him walk into WM as champion but that's a different topic altogether.

The Members of The Shield

Anyone who has been following NXT are no strangers to the current NXT champion, Seth Rollins, who has been quickly rising up the ranks and it's a breath of fresh air to see him finally make it onto the main WWE roster. I personally remember him as Tyler Black in ROH and WSX, frequently teaming with Jimmy Jacobs and the other various members of the Age of the Fall stable. This man can fit roughly any role in the ring - high-flyer, technical/submission artist, powerhouse, etc. He's a talented athlete in his own right. When the Shield start competing regularly on WWE programming, I'm positive the team will center around his talents.

Dean Ambrose, or better known as Jon Moxley to most, is an exceptional man on the microphone. His early work reminds me of Mr. Kennedy during the run on OVW mixed with the intensity of Raven and Chris Jericho, with some Brian Pillman on top. There's no doubt that he will be the core voice of this team.

Last but not least, Roman Reigns. From his few matches that I have seen on NXT (Mind you, I haven't been keeping up with NXT as much as I should be lately, with the exception of an occasional Paige match here or there...), this man will be the power at the core of this group. His mere presence demands power and authority. Good to see that WWE has another member of Rikishi's family on the roster as well. I definitely see him being an asset to the company for the years to come.

The Movitation?

It was revealed on Monday Night Raw (11/26/12) during an exclusive interview with Michael Cole that these three men were unaffiliated with WWE Champion CM Punk and describe themselves as a "shield" to the "wrongs" in WWE, thus dubbing their faction as The Shield. 

They attacked Kane during the main event later that night when he faced CM Punk. Daniel Bryan came to his partner's aid to receive similar treatment, while Ryback answered the demands of the crowd and laid waste to the Shield and sought to deal a dose of pain to CM Punk when this happened...

After that devastating spear/Gore from Reigns, the Shield laid waste to Ryback once more as CM Punk watched with glee. 

My Thoughts?

Like every other indy wrestling fan, I marked the fuck out when these guys stormed the arena at Survivor Series. Much like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson's WWE debuts, I knew this was going to be BIG.

Fast forward to a few weeks later, the initial buzz has passed and I'm honestly hoping and praying that they don't attach these guys as Punk's henchmen. Plus, I wished they picked a better name than the Shield and a better wrestler to steal clothing from. The Big Bossman look isn't doing it at all for me. 

Sure, when JBL had his year long title reign where he defied the odds on multiple occasions, he surrounded himself with the Cabinet (Orlando Jordon, Amy Webber, Jillian Hall, Doug & Danny Basham, Mark Jindark, Luther Reigns, Kurt Angle, Viscera, and Gangrel), but let's get this straight. CM Punk has deemed himself a credible athlete before going heel, and much like the high of Stone Cold Steve Austin, people are still loving him as champion, regardless of how negative/vulgar his acts - physical/verbal - could be. CM Punk is the last guy who needs 'back-up'. 

Let's look at what having New Nexus being led by CM Punk did: 

• All eyes were on CM Punk 24/7. As a result, this only catapulted his own career forward, much like how the Straight Edge Society did months prior. 
• The remaining members of the New Nexus were ALL entirely forgettable. Again, look at the former SES members. 
• After the faction dissolved, all of those guys failed to gain momentum without association to CM Punk. 

This is why I'm against the Shield being his personal bodyguards. In WWE, when you get that label as someone's goon/henchman, it's hard to bounce back from that unless you're The Big Show or Sheamus in this day and age. Otherwise, you're going back to development to be repackaged as a Funkasaurus when working as Alberto Del Rio's bodyguard didn't work out. Each of these individuals have the potential to get over on their own merits. WWE just have to provide them the proper platform.

A dream scenario, for me anyway, would be that the Shield are acting like they are supporting CM Punk, but in reality they are 'protecting' him until one of them earns a title shot - notably Seth Rollins, as he declares a champion vs. champion match, where winner takes all. Win-Lose-Draw, that should be a spectacle to behold, with the aftermath opening the floodgates on NXT, allowing some of those rising stars to compete on  the RAW Supershow in hopes for an opportunity to get the lost title back or vice versa, midcarders (who haven't had a big break) or more main eventers visiting NXT and putting those guys over more regularly. Either way, this would benefit WWE in the long run and breathe in a much needed breath of fresh air to the championship scenes for both RAW and Smackdown.

As it currently stands, I don't have any high hopes for WWE delivering big on this angle, but I'm going to stay optimistic about the future of these three Superstars' careers. Danielson and Punk both had it rough starting off and look where they are now, so I'm going to treat this as another speed bump in the road until these guys have the chance to truly shine in this company. 

Black Friday Specials & Sales Galore

If you're going out into the crowds this holiday then you should be prepared for some of these amazing deals with week. Check them out here.

If you're looking for games for that special gamer in your life, or just for some great deals for yourself, then there's PLENTY to be hunting for.

DmC (11/20/12 demo) Review

For those interested, the DmC (aka the Devil May Cry reboot) demo is up on XBL/PSN now.

I given that I've played every DMC title to date, along with Hideki Kamiya's newest title since leaving Capcom - Bayonetta, my expectations weren't very high going in with this title being made without his feedback/creative input at all. That being said, if you've played Bayonetta then you're not going to be surprised in the slightest that Capcom pretty much rips off a LOT from that said title - from the plot/story to some of the mechanics. 

OVERVIEW

The demo includes 2 stages. The first is a recommended tutorial of the basics and the second is strictly a boss battle against the Succubus boss that you've prolly seen in the many gameplay trailers by now. Sadly, both stages aren't anything new if you've been keeping up with the trailers for this game since it's initial announcement.

The demo features multiple difficulty settings for you guys who may not be as versed in the DMC series but want to give a go or you're a series veteran and want to be tested at your limits going in. Beating both stages of the demo unlocks "Son of Sparda" difficulty, which I'm guessing is the "Hard" setting for this game as "Dante Must Die" was one hit and you're dead in the older games.

For those concerned about the controls, they are FULLY customizable to your liking. That was a relief for me as I have two different schemes for Bayonetta and the DMC series in my head. 

GAMEPLAY

Regardless of Dante's emo-teen angst new appearance, this is STILL the Dante we know gameplay-wise. That's one thing that Ninja Theory has managed to make right. You can still juggle and beat up foes with ease while making it stylish as always. My concern is it's a bit TOO easy now and it's a bit cumbersome to be stylish with all of these hotkey commands to switch weapons on the fly or reel them back in for more damage. Another thing is that the controls aren't as responsive or as crisp as I would have liked. Call me spoiled by Bayonetta's controls, but this Dante is as sluggish as Nero felt to me in Devil May Cry 4.

The new Angel/Demon mechanics for weapons and skills are a nice touch to change up the variety, but the novelty wore off fast for me. The same goes for the new reel-in/dash-in skill. IMO it comes off as what Nero's Devil Bringer should have been able to do in DMC4, but now it's more refined. What that means is that if you knock enemies away mid-combo, you can yank them back in for more damage before finishing them off.

The enemies shown in the demo were rather intelligent for DMC fodder, but the plain as day attack cues and taunts before their special attacks is completely God of War baby mode. The DMC series is known for being harder than those cakewalk battles in God of War. I was rather disappointed at the lack of originality too. Sure, there's a few guys who have armor and shields to make you change your offense but it really gets old fast. Launch the guys up into the air, juggle into oblivion, rinse, repeat. IMO this game would REALLY benefit from a lock-on button to know who I'm singling out in a fight. Otherwise, you're just guessing who your attacks are going to hit.

Lastly, let's talk about that fancy new evade button. From my experience, it's just the same default commando roll Dante used to do in DMC1-4 when you hit away from the enemy + Jump button. It's not even that effective either as by default Dante just moves in whatever direction is free to evade, but this can be remedied slightly by holding the desired direction you want to go in unison with evade button. You have the option to use this move in the air as well, but it does absolutely NOTHING in the air. Completely pointless IMHO. They could've at least given you the option to use the air dashes like Trickster style in DMC3 for evasion in the air. 

GRAPHICS

I wasn't disappointed in the least by Ninja Theory's amazing visuals. They did a bang-up job on the sleeper-hit Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the PS3 exclusive Heavenly Sword, and they continue that trend here. Wonderful motion captures and jaw-dropping backgrounds and environments galore. This is the best Dante's world has EVER looked. Yeah that's saying a lot as DMC3 pushed the PS2 hardware to it's limit.

There's a few questionable parts on the graphics though, such as during the boss battle where it looks like you can jump onto the platforms but you can't even walk on top of them without phasing through and falling into the lava below. Better design here would have emphasized the Angel Grapple points better.

COMPARISONS TO BAYONETTA

• Dante seems to be directed towards the 'right' path by a fellow warrior in the Order (Vergil) = Jeanne D'Arc guides Bayonetta to the right path of acquiring the Left Eye for the Umbra Witches' order

• Limbo is a realm that cannot be seen by mere mortals and ordinary humans; this is where Dante battles the demonic forces in their 'true' form = Paradiso is the realm unseen by humans, and is where Bayonetta battles the Angelic demons that are the mortal enemies of the Umbra Witches 

• You are aided by a human girl named Kat, who can see the horrors of Limbo. = Kat is comparable to Luka in Bayonetta, who initially can't see what goes on in Limbo but manages to acquire the means to assist her where he can. 

• Dante is labeled as a villain for the acts he commits since humans can't see what really goes on in Limbo = Bayonetta is seen as a villain to the masses for the acts that humans can't see what goes on in Paradiso 

AFTERTHOUGHTS

Overall, this isn't as bad as I initially thought it was going to be. Dante does what he does best - kick some serious demonic ass and makes it look cool at the same time. Ninja Theory managed to avoid dragging the Devil May Cry name into the mud, with an entry in the series' lore that looks to be better than Devil May Cry 4 was and possibly open the door to further sequels.

That being said, I'm still in the majority that believes that there was no reason at all to reboot the series. Sure, Kamiya's gone from Capcom but Capcom could've at least let the man have his creation when he left. Damn, bastards at Capcom...

Does it score the investment for a pre-order though? No, not really, even though that exclusive Vergil content and DLC is tempting but Dan Southworth isn't playing him in this reboot so I'll pass for now. I'll end up renting this down the road, but there's not anything really new here to deserve a purchase.